Resetting Lady - Chapter 10

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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02. The Marksman

“Oh, that won’t do.”

The coachman is horrified.

“Since when did you become my master?”

“If the master or Lord Dulan finds out, I’ll be the only one who dies…”

That’s not my concern. Karen slightly lowered her head.

Actually, Karen didn’t particularly want to cause trouble either. This was labor for Karen. Something that originally existed in the book, something that had to happen.

Karen had to go down to the town. There were many reasons why “Karen” needed to go out. A circus troupe called by the Evans Merchant Guild, famous orchestras, and merchants selling strange and wondrous items had arrived in the town.

“Karen” wanted to coax the family’s coachman into letting her go out alone to the town to see the sights. Recently, carriages had been coming and going frequently because of the Evans Merchant Guild, so one more carriage wouldn’t be noticed—that was the plan.

Her father and fiancé were busy, and Isella was in a bad mood and wouldn’t even talk to her. The servants were also busy during this time, and “Karen” had no intention of just lounging around. Karen actually wanted to lounge around, but she too had to do her job as the female protagonist. Because that would make things easier. Therefore, Karen was playing the role of a young lady who couldn’t bear the stuffiness and decided to sneak out for a bit.

Her hair was neatly braided up, and her dress with scattered flower patterns was clean but worn. Over it, she wore a cloak made of rough fabric. It wasn’t excessively shabby, but it certainly wasn’t clothing befitting the leisure class.

Even with age, old things don’t particularly improve. Hiding her complaints, Karen wore clothes that didn’t suit her taste and said she would go down to the town without any companions. As expected, the coachman’s face looked as if something filthy had been shoved into his mouth. It was amusing that she was ordering around a subordinate while claiming to sneak out, but there was only one road and it was steep, making truly secret departure impossible.

Recalling the memory of having her intestines pierced by a wild boar when she went out into the forest on an adventure, she bullied the coachman. Anyway, there had been a lot of back-and-forth travel lately, hadn’t there? She tried meaningless persuasion, saying she would use a town carriage on the way back, but it was useless as expected. Karen tapped her shoe tips and made threats.

“You, who pays your salary?”

“The lord, sir. Not you, miss.”

Now he’s even waving his hands dismissively. Karen pulls up the corners of her mouth and extends her hand.

“How about this?”

She offers money. The coachman’s eyes widen briefly, then close again. He seemed tempted but thought the risk was too great.

“I might get fired…”

His trailing words suggested he’d take the risk for more money, but Karen really wanted to go out and spend money today, so she ignored that option.

“Come on, what are the odds of that happening?”

“But if something happens to you while you’re out alone, I’ll definitely get fired.”

How long has it been since I became an adult? She pulled up the corners of her mouth while frowning at the head-shaking coachman and tapped her heels. It was body language mixed with the tantrum of “I’m going out to play!” The coachman shook his head as if fed up.

“But if I don’t cause trouble and come back quietly, it’ll be fine, right? I’ll feel refreshed, and you’ll get extra income. And honestly, this place… it’s the countryside. When will such an opportunity come again?”

“Even in the countryside, there are many things a properly raised young lady shouldn’t see.”

“What, taverns with women?”

“Well, not exactly that, but…”

“And even though it’s such countryside, everyone wants to see the interesting things that have been coming in lately.”

“Why don’t you go with Lord Dulan?”

“I don’t want to!”

The coachman clicks his tongue seeing Karen’s disgusted reaction.

“It’s dangerous for a woman alone, so absolutely not. Well… um, if you insist, go with the servants.”

“Everyone’s too busy.”

Knowing that, you still want to go out! At that look, Karen brazenly lifted her chin with an expression that said, “That’s why I want to sneak out!”

“Well, since everyone’s so busy… it might be okay to rest occasionally. Well, now that you’re a lady’s maid, you’re not in charge of cleaning or kitchen duties, so it’s relatively okay to slip away…”

Huh. I’ve repeated similar conversations dozens of times, but something feels off. Something bothers me. Ah, right. The conversation that always happens here continues like this.

And she’s not here now. I suppress my trembling heart. How will it continue? What’s the next card? I’m gambling. How will it turn out?

“You… like Donna, don’t you?”

“Pardon?”

The coachman is visibly flustered. His skin flushes.

“No, I don’t! I mean, more than that, why suddenly…”

“Do you dislike her?”

“No, it’s not like that…”

“Oh my, oh my. Your face turned red, boy.”

“…I’m ten years older than you, miss.”

“And you’re 10 years older than Donna too!”

I grin wickedly at his face that seems to be boiling.

The coachman’s expression relaxes.

No one can be harsh with beauties and superiors.

The atmosphere instantly softened.

“Sorry, sorry. I’m not teasing you. It’s just that everyone’s so busy lately.”

“…”

“So I want to give gifts to the kids. And I heard there are many new items being distributed lately, so I want to take a look.”

“…Absolutely not alone.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll pull Donna away from her work. We can just go have fun together.”

“Still, two women alone won’t do.”

“Alright, alright.”

She raised her hands in surrender.

“I’ll take a male servant too. Really, it’s hard being a woman.”

Leaving behind the coachman with his face flushed red, Karen turned her steps to call Donna, who would be dozing in a corner of the maids’ room, avoiding the eyes of the senior maids.

Appropriate conversation, ordinary humor, normal whining, decent conclusion.

The housekeeper Helen looked at Donna and Karen with a sighing gaze that said, “There’s so much work to do, yet you’re going out to play!” then nodded. Bowen checked the time briefly, then put on his hat while emphasizing they had to return before dinner.

“Hurry up!”

Karen called the servant and maid with an excited voice as she headed toward the carriage.

The road for outings repeated many times, a refreshing breeze tickles the hair.

The air is clear and fresh. While being helped onto the carriage, she sees Donna running over with an excited face and Bowen walking slowly with dignity.

When a bright, girlish voice mixed with laughter was heard near the carriage, Karen tried to lift the corners of her mouth. Change is enjoyable. Let’s smile. After several attempts, she barely managed to smile before Donna got on the carriage. Donna sat down and looked out the window excitedly, making a fuss. Karen also looked out the window and murmured that she was excited.

The story has changed. This is something to be happy about. This outing was always with Nancy. Just having a different maid as a companion would change the conversation so much. New conversations would follow. Perhaps we might even go to new places. That’s what I hoped for.

This outing is important. It’s an outing where “incidents” and “encounters” happen. After that, the coachman getting scolded and fired is truly a trivial matter. What was the coachman’s name? Karen didn’t bother trying to recall his name that she couldn’t remember. He was someone who wouldn’t appear again after this brief conversation. But I know one thing. Karen closed her eyes. And just once, she let out a long breath.

That coachman was originally the one who blushed looking at Nancy.

Always, for a hundred years.

* * *

Business is progressing.

Donna, who was born and raised in this region, said it wasn’t like this until just recently, her eyes widening. There wasn’t such a road there, that place was just a dump, she exclaims in amazement everywhere they go. The maintenance is progressing at an insane speed. Indeed, it was worthy of the hunt that the Evans family had been working on for a long time.

“Look over there. My goodness… such a large circus troupe has come even to a neighborhood like this.”

“Indeed.”

The Evans family wasn’t trying to extract profit from the Hyer family, but to take the estate itself. So the estate was developing like crazy with the enormous wealth and skill that the Evans family was pouring in. The estate residents were bewildered but couldn’t take their eyes off the entertainment and wealth they provided, secretly showing favor to the Evans family.

Even Donna, who harbored hostility toward the Evans family, couldn’t control her excited heart at such spectacles and pestered Bowen.

“Excuse me… Mr. Bowen…”

“…”

“…Yes.”

When the two girls looked at Bowen with sparkling eyes, Bowen had no choice but to check the time and emphasize once more that they mustn’t be too late before purchasing tickets.

“It’s still early, so let’s look around the city more.”

“Yes.”

More people gathered, and the old father who wasn’t bright about business and the naive fiancé were being completely devoured by the city’s cunning merchants. Karen knew these facts but hadn’t thought about how to interfere in this life.

The Hyer family was smoothly heading toward ruin. Such things were merely trivial matters for this version of Karen. The family would go bankrupt and all possessions would be seized, meals would become meager, Dulan would return to the mountain monastery, and the despairing lord would pass away in sorrow. A decent tragedy that would add pitiful beauty to the female protagonist.

“The streets are really incredibly bustling!”

Bowen hurriedly followed the girls who were running around among the people in the streets. When Karen and Donna picked up this and that, Bowen paid and carried the items. And when he looked around, they were already peering around at some distant shop. The servant seemed to quickly tire of it.

“Tsk tsk. As expected, men who only do easy work have such weak stamina.”

Donna laughed as she entered a hat shop first, with Karen following. Bowen didn’t enter the shop and waited outside. It seemed awkward for him to enter a place that only sold women’s items. The shop filled with fluttering fabrics, decorative artificial flowers, and all kinds of hats was a place that excited the heart, and besides hats, it also sold inexpensive accessories and sewing tools.

Karen, being the lord’s daughter, doesn’t buy things sold in such shops. The best items are first offered to the lord, and skilled seamstresses don’t open such shops but belong to estates.

However, wandering around like this had a unique charm unrelated to the quality of goods, providing different kinds of fun. Karen chose or browsed items for the servants, not for herself.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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