The Regret Novel Female Lead with Unbreakable Mentality Chapter 77

Instinctively, I felt like I should take it with me, just in case. Maybe if I ask Coocoo about it later, I’ll find out what it is. I shoved the rock deep into my pocket and grinned.

 

It was nothing special, really, but for some reason, I felt oddly proud, like I’d just collected some kind of loot.

 

* * *

The honeymoon was officially over. Thanks to the evidence Duke Kalinos and I had gathered, the entire Sirentium family was left in ruins. The only silver lining was that an innocent collateral relative had taken over as head of the family and was working to rebuild it. Unfortunately, with the family’s guardian bird gone, it would take a long time to restore their honor. And on top of that…

 

“How could the Sirentium family do that to our Riwes? They’ll pay for what they’ve done.”

 

“For real~! They’ve gone way too far, Mother! They should be drawn and quartered! Not that Giselle did any~thing wrong, of course!”

 

“You’re right, Giselle. You really are a blessing.”

 

…Thanks to Yuliana’s unshakable faith in my luck, things had gotten even more hardcore.

 

Anyway, Yuliana was now busy personally taking care of Riwes. In other words, I finally had some free time to myself.

 

“Out of the frying pan and into the fire, huh.”

 

Unfortunately, a new quest had landed in my lap.

 

“Coocoo. (That rock you picked up brings good luck to people.)”

 

“Really?”

 

“Krrr. (It’s a very rare item that mages are desperate to get their hands on!)”

 

“Is that so? But willow warbler, why are you here?”

 

“Krrr. (Lady Giselle broke down the door and set me free, then took control of me! I, who possess the great ‘power of brainwashing,’ am now at the side of my master, Lady Giselle! Isn’t that amazing!)”

 

I clutched my head in despair. Now I’ve got twice as many mana-sucking freeloaders! I had no idea how to control them, and judging by how clueless they looked when we took down the Sirentium family, they didn’t know how I was controlling them either…

 

Now I’d have to drink twice as many potions and train even harder. Still, they helped me take down the villains, so I’ll let it slide.

 

Watching Coocoo and Krrr exchange satisfied grins, I shook my head internally.

 

“Coocoo, Krrr. Explain exactly what that stone is, using the five Ws and one H.”

 

“Coocoo! (I don’t know what the five Ws and one H are. Anyway, that stone is a lucky stone that can steal other people’s mana or bring you good luck!)”

 

“Krrr. (That’s right. I heard the head of the Sirentium family secretly stole it from the Magic Tower!)”

 

So that’s how it is, huh? I let out a hollow laugh and rolled the small stone in my hand.

 

In both my previous life and this one, I’d always wondered how Duke Reshaniel managed to steal my mana.

 

“So it was because that b*stard Duke Reshaniel had this lucky stone all along?”

 

Up until now, all I’d ever wanted was to escape this damn protagonist debuff. This curse where nothing ever goes my way and misfortune dogs my every step. I’d been twisting the plot of this novel every which way to make it happen. But now, just breaking free from the debuff isn’t enough for me.

 

“If I collect all these lucky stones, could I start raking in good fortune like the main characters do?”

 

I’d decided to set fire to this already tangled, chaotic world. I don’t know the exact method yet, but if I can steal the male leads’ luck, I’ll figure it out through some experiments. My eyes gleamed wickedly.

 

* * *

The Sirentium family’s trip to prison became a bit of a hot topic in society. Everyone was furious that the Sirentium family had used a child as an excuse to extort money and commit abuse.

 

[Was this the real mastermind behind the Sirentium family?]

 

Of course, there were occasional articles about Giselle as well.

 

So they’re trying to deliberately ruin her reputation. Vientin made a mental note of the journalist’s name who wrote the article. I’ll have to deal with them.

 

Normally, he’d spend his lunch hour tidying up his well-worn research equipment, but today, there was nothing left to organize. So instead, he’d collected every article about Giselle he could find. Without even realizing how his routine had changed, Duke Kalinos set his monocle down on the table.

 

The first thing that popped into his mind was Giselle’s sly, mischievous smile. Stories about her were always fascinating. Sometimes, the papers printed things outrageous enough to make him want to crumple them up, and every now and then, she’d show a side of herself he’d never seen before. One thing was certain: she’d lived a life far too dramatic for any one person to handle.

 

The more he got to know Giselle, the more he felt like he was wandering deeper into a maze. She’d even pulled off that ‘illusion’ magic this time—something that was supposed to be nearly impossible to use.

 

“Your behavior right now seems rather suspicious.”

 

“Yes, Employer. My private life is indeed a bit suspicious, but that can’t be helped. After all, even employees have secrets they keep from their employers.”

“Ah.”

 

Her line was so perfectly delivered, he couldn’t even argue back. Vientin found himself at a loss for words, reduced to scouring the papers for articles like this.

 

Why am I so curious about Giselle, anyway? Was it because no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t figure out what made her so suspicious?

 

She really is a research subject. A study only ends the moment you put a period on it when you finally get what you want. But somehow, he had a feeling his research on Giselle would go on for a long time. She was just too interesting to put a period on her story now.

 

At last, Vientin decided to fully admit to himself just how fascinated he was by Giselle. To the point where I want to spend more time with her… Enough that he wanted to avoid the divorce they had planned for the future, at least for a while.

 

But how am I supposed to puff off the divorce plan? His mind began to race.

 

* * *

Today, too, the Kalinos mansion was peaceful. Well, at least for Riwes and me.

 

After showering Riwes with affection to boost his confidence, I decided to show him around the mansion he’d be living in from now on.

 

“Riwes, you know, there’s a really smart maid here who can show you around the mansion.”

 

“Huh? Smart?”

 

At those words, a tiny little kid, Ivanka, slipped out from behind my back.

 

“He-Hello! I’m Ivanka, the maid who’ll be showing you around the mansion, Lord Riwes!” Ivanka bowed her head.

 

Riwes tilted his head and stared at her. “What’s that? Looks like a hamster!”

 

“I-I’m absolutely not a hamster! I-I’m just a maid who can give you a tour of the mansion! I’m really good at hiding, that’s all!”

 

“That’s right, Ivanka’s a genius at hiding. She knows a ton of stuff, too.”

 

At my words, Ivanka’s shoulders puffed up with pride. As she walked, she enthusiastically introduced every part of the mansion.

 

“This is a statue Madam Yuliana made while waiting for you, Riwes.”

 

It didn’t look like a statue at all. Honestly, it just looked like a lump of rice cake. But Riwes, apparently touched, had tears welling up in his eyes.

 

“D-Did she wait for me?”

 

“Yes! Lord Neslan has already knitted over a hundred sweaters while waiting for you, Lord Riwes. The whole family’s been waiting for you!”

 

“Whoa, even the maids? Even Ivanka? Everyone?”

 

“I-I was a little curious too…” Ivanka, looking embarrassed, hid behind my back again.

 

Riwes grinned and looked at her. “Then from now on, Ivanka is Riwes’s friend!”

 

“…Okay!”

 

I ruffled the hair of these two tiny kids, Ivanka and Riwes, and grinned.

 

* * *

…So yes, there were some pretty adorable moments like that.

 

That evening, at Count Florette’s request, there was a big family gathering at the Kalinos mansion. Neslan, Count Florette, me, Riwes, and Duke Kalinos were all seated together…

 

“Riwes is here!” Riwes, dressed up like a little gentleman and more excited than usual, plopped himself down in his seat.

 

At Riwes’s warm greeting, Yuliana stiffly stared off into space and replied. “You’re here.” She still didn’t seem to know how to act around Riwes. Instead of nudging her in the side, I deliberately focused on eating my ice cream.

 

“Riwes wants ice cream too…”

 

But I pretended not to notice and scraped up the very last bite of my ice cream, then put on a troubled face. Yuliana was the only one left with dessert.