Resetting Lady - Chapter 135
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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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“Even if I’m an old man, you’re also… hmm, anyway, let’s not hurt each other with age talk. We’re in the same boat.”
Raymond smiled and extended his hand to Karen. When Karen took his hand, he pulled her up.
“Would you like to have your meal here?”
Karen shook her head.
“No, I’ll go downstairs… This place also seems like it needs… cleaning.”
She didn’t want to eat on the bed. It seemed like the bed sheets needed to be changed first. When Raymond saw Karen’s expression, he turned his head away awkwardly.
That look made him seem like a truly ordinary person.
Karen looked down at the meat. Raymond always served only meat. This time it was meat again.
Meat.
Karen closed her eyes as a terrible thought came to mind. Her imagination was going too far. That couldn’t be possible, could it? The meat before her eyes was beef. It was a taste she was familiar with.
Human meat… what would human meat taste like? Did she know what humans tasted like? In fact, even if human meat were placed before her, she wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.
“…Karen, you should stop eating. There are many other things, so you don’t need to eat with such an expression.”
Only after hearing Raymond call her name could Karen escape from her delusion. When she looked up, her knight was watching her. His face was full of concern. Karen realized she had been frozen with tension.
Raymond stood up and poured water into Karen’s cup. It was warm water. She watched the dried lemon slice in the cup expand in the water, then lifted the cup and drank. As the warm water went down her throat, she felt much better.
“You’re really not feeling well.”
“I’m… not well.”
Karen answered with difficulty.
I’m disturbed because of what you were cleaning.
Karen grumbled inwardly. Then the heavy indigestion that had been pressing on her stomach felt like nothing.
“Stop tormenting me.”
“I… yes, I’m sorry.”
Karen saw Raymond bow his head deeply while cutting meat and knew how he had interpreted her words, but she didn’t have the energy to correct the misunderstanding. She had indeed been tormented quite a bit for several days. But now it was affecting her mentally beyond the physical.
Raymond wouldn’t feed her anything strange, would he?
Still, Karen didn’t touch the meat and reached again for the tomato she had been eating earlier.
“…”
As liquid flowed beyond the crunching red flesh, another unpleasant thought followed. This was serious. But it was better than meat. Karen continued chewing the tomato.
Karen couldn’t understand why she was so startled.
Why was she so confused?
“While you were sleeping yesterday, a supply wagon came and went.”
At Raymond’s words, she removed the tomato from her mouth.
“Then why did you only bring out this?”
“You can’t eat properly anyway right now.”
“Even so, reducing my choices now is a separate matter, isn’t it?”
Even when Karen glared at Raymond, he just shrugged and spoke as if it were natural.
“I thought you needed meat. Your face has looked too pale since earlier.”
“Do you have any sweets?”
“Yes.”
“Give them to me right now.”
“Eating sweets will ruin your appetite. I’ll give them to you after you finish your meal, and after you’ve digested everything.”
Karen opened her mouth in disbelief. She gripped the firm tomato in her hand. She glared at Raymond.
“You know you’re saying things even my nanny wouldn’t say, right? Do I have to have my meals restricted now too?”
“It’s just a suggestion.”
“You’re trying to control me.”
“That’s not it. It’s just…”
Raymond stopped speaking. Then he finally sighed and caught the tomato Karen threw.
“Should I have let it hit me?”
“No, because I threw it knowing Lord Raymond would catch it.”
Raymond sighed as he placed the tomato on the dining table.
“I should have let it hit me to seem pitiful to you. Anyway, I understand.”
Raymond raised both hands in surrender.
He looked so manageable. It was hard to think of him as the man who prevented Karen from meeting other people. So Karen threw another tomato. As expected, Raymond didn’t let it hit him.
A long quiet meal finally came to an end, and Raymond brought Karen some snacks.
Sitting on the long mint-colored sofa, Karen looked at the snacks Raymond handed her. There were biscuits studded with chocolate and apple pie.
“Lance made these.”
Karen’s face brightened. She could recognize the skill of Lance, who had been the pastry chef at Tess Manor, at a glance. Since Raymond wasn’t someone who enjoyed snacks much, when Karen called Lance to praise him, he would show off his skills even more. Because of this, she had to watch her weight more and more each day.
The heavily sprinkled almond powder and the crispy outer part of the pie seemed slightly burnt, but Karen preferred it that way.
When she put it in her mouth, sweetness spread. Karen closed her eyes and savored the sweetness. Even if it wasn’t extremely luxurious, it was enough for Karen who had been craving snacks for a long time. She wanted to eat things like this, not meat. As Karen was immersed in happiness, enjoying the snack with her tongue, Raymond asked.
“Are you satisfied?”
That wasn’t it. Karen opened her eyes and looked at Raymond.
“A little.”
Humans were truly simple – as her desires were fulfilled, tension and depression disappeared. Though nothing had changed, her body was forcibly made happy. She couldn’t help but smile at an apple pie, which was funny to herself, yet she couldn’t suppress the smile. It wasn’t a bitter smile or a sneer, but a satisfied smile.
“Would you like one?”
“Thank you.”
“Lord Raymond brought it anyway.”
Raymond took the pie Karen offered with his mouth. Watching Raymond chew, Karen asked him.
“How is Lance doing?”
“He’s teaching his secrets to the bread makers in the city.”
“I thought he might have retired, but apparently not.”
“He’s not old enough to retire. Lance hasn’t even married yet.”
“Oh my.”
Karen was surprised by the unexpected news. Lance was even older than Raymond. It was strange for him not to be married at his age. He should normally have two or three children by now.
“I didn’t know. Well, it’s not important.”
“We weren’t close enough to talk about such things. Could it be the same with Xenon?”
“…No, Xenon… got married before.”
“There’s a lot I don’t know.”
As they talked about people who weren’t here now, Karen felt a wave of regret. She realized anew that this wasn’t the kind of life she had wanted. Karen said to Raymond.
“…Lord Raymond, don’t you think we need a few more people after all?”
When Karen asked, Raymond spoke with a somewhat troubled expression.
“Karen, as you know… the first time you died was inside this house.”
“…Was it?”
“Yes.”
How was it again? Karen rolled her eyes as she reached for a second cookie. As more sweetness spread in her mouth, she remembered. The first time was poison, wasn’t it?
“Since I don’t know what will happen after a year, I want to eliminate potential dangers as much as possible.”
Raymond sighed. Then he stood up. Karen knew he was going back to work. Due to their excessive indulgence over the past few days, work had ended up being postponed and multiplied several times over.
What kind of work was he doing now? She was curious. Raymond and Karen were in the same space, but they kept missing each other on important matters. While waiting for a year later, they continued to defer everything to the present.
I have to endure it. Let’s not ask. That’s not what’s important.
“I hope you can endure just a little longer. After a year, let’s go anywhere and do anything.”
But how much did he know? She was curious. She had tried to endure it. Raymond stood up, turned around, and left. He was going to do something again in his study without telling Karen.
Perhaps where he was going wasn’t the study. Perhaps he was going to do something in another space Karen didn’t know about. But whatever he was doing, Karen didn’t need to worry about it. She didn’t need to know. He wouldn’t harm Karen.
But. Even so.
“So whose fingernails did you pull out?”
Raymond stopped walking. Karen regretted asking that. Raymond turned around. Karen lowered her head. Looking at him felt a bit burdensome. Would he be angry? Or would he be troubled? Karen recalled what she had tried not to ask him. But she simply couldn’t bear not asking.
“Karen.”
Raymond approached Karen and knelt on one knee. He looked up at her from below her lowered head. He placed his hand over Karen’s hands. His face was so gentle and kind that it seemed to have no connection to anything dirty or cruel.
“So that’s why you’ve been uncomfortable all this time?”
“…”
He opened Karen’s fist. Inside was the fingernail Karen had found. Raymond took it from Karen and put it in his front pocket. Then Raymond looked up at Karen’s face and said.
“It was necessary, so there’s nothing to be afraid of.”
“…Necessary?”
It was such a clear answer. Raymond wasn’t angry or troubled. It was because it was something perfectly natural for him to do.
“Yes. It’s to gather as much information as possible. You have nothing to fear.”
He pulled Karen’s shoulder firmly into an embrace. His low, gentle voice resonated in her ear.
“So don’t think about such things.”
He would handle all the dirty and messy work himself.
* * *
Raymond irritably swept back his disheveled hair as he picked up the pliers.
“…Damn it.”
He hadn’t wanted to show Karen anything filthy, but he had made a mistake. Raymond felt pathetic as he tapped the form before him with the pliers.
It had been dead for quite some time already.
But he had obtained everything he needed, so there was no real problem. Raymond knew well how clumsy Karen was, even when it came to killing people. With those delicate arms of hers, she probably couldn’t do it properly anyway. This kind of rough work was a husband’s job.
Raymond began clearing away the rags before him to finish his work.
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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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