Resetting Lady - Chapter 138
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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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It was newly received, so it seemed wasteful to just throw it away. Karen looked at the manor.
“….”
Raymond was busy preparing to leave in two days. Karen looked at the stream. It wasn’t very deep. At most, below her waist.
And what she was wearing was the rough clothing that servants wore. The clothes were much cheaper than the hat. Karen stood up and entered the water.
“….”
And she grabbed the hat.
Karen lifted it and shook off the water with light taps. Indeed, the water wasn’t very deep. And just as she was about to exit the stream.
“…Gasp!”
Karen slipped on a stone at the bottom of the stream and fell into the water. Water filled her vision completely. Fallen leaves and flower petals floated chaotically on the surface.
Karen tried to regain her posture. It wasn’t something to panic about. But she kept slipping on the stones, and the more she struggled, the heavier her skirt felt.
Oh, this is bad.
Karen realized that the petticoats under her outer dress were newly ordered ones. She had forgotten since they were worn underneath, but they had layers of lace and were quite heavy.
Am I really going to die like this?
Karen was somewhat astounded at herself. What a ridiculous way to die. Well, she had once died by drowning face-first in dishwater. This could happen too. Accidental death isn’t uncommon. It’s possible to accidentally fall into water and die.
Karen felt her body gradually losing strength.
The sky seen from underwater was beautiful. And strangely, even though she was suffocating, it wasn’t painful.
It was a quiet and peaceful place. Karen smiled faintly while looking at the sky. At least this time was okay.
This time she had lived well. Raymond would remember her, and even if she died, he would come find her again. So Karen waited for death to come while underwater.
But she was worried that Raymond would be sad.
See, Lord Raymond.
I told you it would be better to have servants. Next time I must definitely say that.
But Karen’s wish wasn’t immediately fulfilled. Someone had strongly lifted Karen who had been drowning in the water.
Splash!
Karen clung to those arms and welcomed the world that suddenly returned to her. The surface outside the water brought her pain. Pulled up, Karen lay face down by the water’s edge and coughed.
“Cough, cough! …Ugh!”
Water came up from inside. Liquid that could have been tears or water flowed from her eyes.
“Damn it…. Are you crazy? Huh? What the hell were you doing?”
Karen looked at the person who had pulled her up. And she rubbed her eyes. It wasn’t Raymond.
“Walk around with your wits about you.”
She thought it was someone she’d never seen before. But the voice was familiar. And it was someone who absolutely shouldn’t be here. He was someone who absolutely shouldn’t be doing this kind of thing. Karen felt like her throat was being strangled. Even though she thought she had coughed up all the water, something still seemed stuck in her throat.
“Thank… you.”
It was Verdick Evans. Karen couldn’t recognize who it was at first. Soon she recognized him and was shocked twice. She was shocked that she hadn’t recognized Verdick Evans, and shocked that his appearance wasn’t the same as before. People can’t always be the same, but Verdick Evans had always been the same for 100 years.
He always wore expensive suits, his hair was neatly slicked back with just the right amount of oil, and his mustache was always neatly trimmed. His beard was cleanly shaved, boasting a sharp and neat jawline that didn’t match his age, and his perfectly fitted suits made his somewhat plump body look dignified.
And his monocle and gloves, cane and smooth voice were always impressive. He was a man with a more aristocratic impression than actual nobles. Although people who observed others deeply would mock him as vulgar because of the several rings and necklaces he always wore.
But he never showed a disheveled appearance from head to toe. He was even a man who wore a proper suit when rushing to kill Karen. Even when his only daughter Isella had collapsed, he remained neat.
But his current appearance was completely different from then.
He had no accessories at all. His face had unkempt stubble growing sparsely. Most of all, his impression had completely changed. She wondered if it was because his hair was wet and stuck to his face, but that wasn’t all.
His body looked swollen rather than dignified, and his skin, which had always been smooth and evenly colored, was blotchy, making Verdick look like a middle-aged man of his actual age.
Water dripped along his unkempt beard. The sight looked quite pitiful. Verdick frowned and angrily scolded the bewildered Karen.
“Damn it, hell…. It’s not even that deep, so why were you stuck face-first in the water like that? Are you crazy?”
Verdick angrily wrung out his soaked shirt like wringing a rag. Water sprayed from his mouth, making him look dirty. Verdick. The sight of him yelling angrily at Karen was familiar, but the content was completely different from before.
“Are you so desperate to die at such a young age?”
“Miss, at your age, shouldn’t you know how to live within your means? You’ll go without dinner tonight.”
“Why the hell were you in the water?”
“Didn’t I tell you to please Isella well?”
Karen remembered what Verdick used to say when he was angry with her. Those were the things he always said. To him, Karen was Isella’s maid and a thief who had stolen what was his.
“…Didn’t I ask why you were there?”
When Verdick asked again, Karen finally came to her senses. And Karen realized she had been standing there stupidly without responding.
“The water wasn’t even that deep.”
Verdick lowered his tone, perhaps thinking Karen was scared and frightened. Even his change in attitude was an unfamiliar sight. Was it inevitable to see new sides of people after living for 100 years?
But even in the 117th year when he had killed people, he hadn’t changed. The fact that he had changed this much meant that indeed.
“Thank you… sir.”
But what she needed to do now wasn’t reminiscing about the past. Karen answered quietly, pretending to be intimidated by the shouting. Karen wondered whether she should acknowledge knowing Verdick, but rather than that, she chose to pretend not to know and postpone it as much as possible. She had to avoid getting involved with him as much as possible.
“I was trying to retrieve a hat that fell in the water… and slipped on the moss.”
Hearing the shouting actually made her feel intimidated. Karen felt her body trembling weakly, perhaps from coming out of the cold water. Even though it was summer, the water was cold.
“My skirt got tangled and I couldn’t get out properly. I’m grateful for your kindness, sir.”
Why was Verdick here? Of course, Karen guessed the answer. Although this was the first time he was like this, it wasn’t impossible to infer why he was here.
Why he was here with such a miserable face.
It was several months ago when Karen had gone to find Verdick.
The fact that Verdick and Isella didn’t come when they were supposed to. And that he had closed all his businesses even at a loss. Raymond hadn’t simply said he wouldn’t marry Isella.
You still haven’t found Isella Evans.
So you came here.
* * *
Isella.
Verdick Evans initially thought it might be his daughter. The moment he saw the skirt swaying in the water, he had that thought. It might be Isella. His daughter might be in the water. Even though his legs wouldn’t move properly, he immediately jumped into the water.
But it wasn’t her.
When he rushed to the water’s edge and pulled her up, realizing it wasn’t Isella, he felt deflated. She was a woman around his daughter’s age, but unlike Isella’s blonde hair, hers was a vivid red.
Not his daughter.
Looking at the young woman coughing and spitting up water, Verdick felt angry. The first emotion Verdick felt after seeing the woman’s hair was rage. Since he had already entered the water, that momentum carried him to pull her out of the water, but Verdick felt no joy watching the woman breathe and cough up water.
Why are you here like this when you’re not my daughter.
Verdick felt like he might cry. But he couldn’t distinguish whether what flowed from his eyes was just stream water or his own tears. It had been so long since he last cried that he couldn’t sensitively detect what muscle movements crying involved.
There wasn’t enough time to shed tears.
Time had passed since Verdick Evans’s only daughter, Isella Evans, disappeared.
Before he knew it, the season had changed.
One day, on a cold spring day when no flowers had bloomed. Suddenly his daughter disappeared.
Isella vanished from the world without leaving any words or traces. Isella had never done such a thing before. The world changed as if Isella had never existed from the beginning.
But Verdick had no idea why Isella had disappeared.
Why did Isella disappear?
It was the same day as always. The piano teacher taught Isella, and in the afternoon Isella pestered him to go into the city and went out with a maid. It was the same ordinary daily routine as always.
Verdick was worrying that day about the possibility of collecting money he had lent to Prince Guiz. Even that evening, he was holed up in his room without eating, mulling over documents and legal matters while consulting with lawyers.
“Is Isella still sleeping?”
“Ma, master… the young miss is still….”
“Still not awake, she’s being too lazy. Go wake her and bring her here.”
“The thing is….”
The maid trembled as she confessed to Verdick.
“The young miss hasn’t returned home yet….”
“…Where did she go to play without saying anything?”
Verdick frowned, thinking his daughter had caused trouble. Where had she gone to play without even asking his permission? His business had been getting too tangled lately and was giving him headaches. When Isella returned, he would definitely discipline her.
“But why didn’t you go with her? Who did she go with?”
“Master, the young miss… disappeared by herself.”
Verdick felt his head turn white for the first time.
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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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