Resetting Lady - Chapter 236

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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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The atmosphere had been unsettling since lunchtime.

Raymond swallowed as he looked across the empty dining table. He had waited all morning just to see his wife again at this time. But Karen was not at her seat. When Raymond approached the dining table, a servant pulled back the chair. Raymond didn’t sit down but stood and asked the servant.

“Has Karen not come yet?”

“Yes, the lady has not arrived yet. Would you like to eat first?”

“No, I’ll wait.”

She’ll be here soon.

Baron and Baroness Seyertes always followed certain rules.

One of them was punctuality. Especially for meal times, keeping to the schedule without being even a few minutes late was an unspoken rule between the two. Whenever both were staying at the manor, they always ate together at the same time.

The masters had to keep time so that the servants could properly prepare and work. Karen, who valued meals, always considered meal times equally important. But for Karen to be late. She must have been quite upset. Raymond sat down and quietly waited for Karen.

“….”

“….”

But as time passed, only silence lingered and Karen did not come.

By the dining table, servants stood quietly, watching their master’s mood.

Raymond began to fidget, placing his hand on the table, then touching his forehead, then touching the table again. Then when he opened his mouth, a sigh-mixed sound flowed out.

“Karen is very late.”

“I’ll reheat the meal.”

“…Ah, when was it put out?”

Raymond looked down at the dining table.

It seemed like there had been nothing there just a moment ago, but quite some time must have passed. Before he knew it, the meal had been placed on top, and it had already grown cold.

“You ordered us to bring it out a while ago, sir.”

“I did?”

“Yes.”

The meal was an overly elaborate menu considering it was lunch. This was because he had specifically instructed them since morning to take special care to stimulate Karen’s appetite.

For the appetizer, truffle mushrooms and cheese were topped with herbs. Since it was a season when truffle mushrooms were hard to obtain, Raymond had to spend gold coins to procure the mushrooms.

Also, for the main course, a young turkey was roasted with apples and nuts, accompanied by mashed potatoes mixed with finely chopped onions and carrots.

In small white bowls, various sauces like apple sauce, giblet sauce, and cranberry sauce were arranged like jewelry, and white bread had been baked just in time for lunch.

And though it wasn’t on the table, a cheesecake topped with oranges was also prepared as a dessert to eat after the meal.

If it’s too late, it won’t taste as good.

Raymond waited with his hands folded, but what eventually appeared was not Karen but Nancy.

“I’m sorry, Baron. Baroness Seyertes says she will not be eating.”

“She’s skipping the meal?”

“Yes.”

Raymond asked in a trembling voice.

“Is Karen… sick? To skip even her meal….”

How could Karen skip even her meal?

The mushrooms he had procured this time were something Karen had been looking forward to as well. What if she had fainted from psychological shock? The image of Karen coughing up blood flashed through Raymond’s mind.

“No, she’s just angry.”

“…Haa.”

Raymond sighed in relief at Nancy’s honest answer.

‘She’s just sulking.’

This was like a silent threat.

Raymond came to that conclusion. Of course, he was disappointed to have to eat without Karen, but he couldn’t surrender to her here.

This wasn’t for anyone else but for Karen herself. Last time he had followed Karen’s decision, but this was a different matter. Wanting to protect his pregnant wife was definitely not excessive and was something that absolutely had to be done.

‘I can’t give in here.’

He wanted to immediately go to Karen’s door and surrender, saying ‘Let’s go anywhere! Just say the word!’ but that would definitely not be a wise approach. Raymond held back what he wanted to say and answered the maid in a gentle voice.

“I see, she must be upset, so comfort her well. And if there’s anything she wants, let me know right away.”

“Yes, Baron.”

Nancy went upstairs.

‘It’s fine.’

Raymond consoled himself and drank cold water repeatedly.

Then he picked up the bread from the table. It was certainly very delicious bread. Raymond took a big bite of the bread. But Raymond couldn’t quite swallow it and just chewed slowly for a long time. His eyes were blankly staring into space and his hands were trembling slightly. He looked like something terrible would happen if someone disturbed him.

“…What should we do?”

“…What do you mean what? Stay still, you fool.”

Even when the servants behind him exchanged glances and whispered quietly, Raymond didn’t notice at all. When Raymond didn’t come to his senses even after a long time, the butler who had been watching the situation quietly approached Raymond and asked.

“Are you alright, Baron?”

Only then did Raymond finish swallowing the bread in his mouth and open his mouth. He tried to smile but his face stiffened into a bizarre expression.

“I’m fine. This looks like a very delicious meal. The portion is too much for one person to eat alone. James, would you like to join me? This fish looks very appetizing.”

“No, I’m fine.”

The butler didn’t point out that there was no fish on the table. But Raymond, with a slightly haggard face, offered again.

“Don’t be modest.”

“It’s almost dinner time already. Baron Raymond should get up now too.”

“…Right….”

Raymond stood up unsteadily.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. Tell the kitchen to prepare dinner properly.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Very properly.”

“Yes.”

Raymond gave firm instructions to the butler.

“The Baron didn’t eat his meal?”

“That’s right, so prepare dinner even more properly.”

“But James, what more can we do here?”

“Put gold on it if you have to!”

The kitchen was turned upside down.

And all the staff worked up a sweat preparing the meal. As a result, a meal several times more luxurious than lunch was prepared. Luxurious foods that would only appear when royalty visited were prepared one after another.

“Baron Raymond, dinner is ready.”

“Alright.”

But Karen didn’t appear at dinner time either. Raymond deliberately went late to show that he was also a bit sulky, but still only two place settings were arranged in the dining hall, and no one was sitting there.

“…I don’t see Karen.”

“Baron, the lady said she would skip dinner too.”

“….”

Raymond drank wine repeatedly by himself. There was nothing he could do while Karen was firmly sulking.

The alcohol he drank only made his stomach burn.

* * *

James, the butler of the Seyertes family, found life refreshingly new every day lately.

This was because countless things had happened since Raymond left the army.

When he declared he would break his engagement with Isela Evans and marry Karen Hyer, everyone in the manor was filled with worry.

It was understandable that Raymond had finally rebelled against his brother’s decisions that he had always complied with, but breaking an engagement and marrying another woman was definitely not a wise action. How much bad blood was there between the Evans family and the Seyertes family?

The Evans family would seek revenge.

Raymond’s brother, James, and many other retainers all thought so. Even when Raymond became baron instead of his brother with the backing of the royal family and the duke, everyone looked at the young baron with worried eyes.

‘He’s causing trouble because he’s young.’

But that was the unfounded worry of those who knew nothing.

Raymond handled everything instantly and smoothly, before the people around him even had time to understand the entire process.

He made decisions instantly without a moment’s hesitation on matters that others would spend a long time pondering. It sometimes looked like madness, but as time passed, it became clear that they were the best choices beyond criticism.

‘That person seems to have lived several times longer than me these days.’

Even Xenon, who had watched Raymond since childhood, clicked his tongue and secretly looked up to Raymond. Raymond was able to turn potential enemies into allies during the process of handling affairs, leaving those around him even more speechless.

Whatever he wanted was achieved, and whatever he chose was absolutely right.

People who knew Raymond had no choice but to believe in him more and more. Since whatever he commanded would surely be the right decision in the end, his retainers became more loyal to him.

So that dawn, James nearly fainted.

James, who was checking the manor’s situation with a lamp at dawn, initially thought it was an intruder when he saw a suspicious person standing in the corridor. But the silhouette was somehow familiar.

“…Master?”

“Did you sleep well, James? Good morning.”

“Gasp…! Are you alright? Why are you here…?”

“I’m always healthy.”

But James couldn’t feel relieved. Raymond’s face looked terrible. His eyes were bloodshot and his voice was hoarse. He had heard that Raymond was pacing in front of the Baroness’s room until late last night, but to still be here at this dawn… didn’t that mean he had been doing this all night long?

“Have you been standing here all night?”

“I couldn’t sleep… Don’t worry about it.”

“How can I not worry? Don’t tell me you’re heartbroken because you fought with Madam…”

“I didn’t fight with Karen.”

“No, yesterday you clearly had different opinions about going on a trip…”

“I said we didn’t fight, James.”

Are you perhaps crying?

He couldn’t bring himself to ask that much. Raymond’s face looked extremely unwell. Raymond muttered like a parrot. His mental state didn’t look good either.

“But it’s dangerous so I absolutely can’t let her go. Still though… how could she suggest sleeping in separate beds?”

Usually, couples from households of some standing often used separate bedrooms. The previous Baron and Baroness, who were Raymond’s parents, were the same. But Raymond and Karen were still newlyweds, so they had been using the same bedroom.

“Young mas… Master, for a married couple to use separate bedrooms is…”

“…”

The servant who was about to say “not that strange” swallowed his words. Raymond’s face looked like that of a person whose water had run out in a dry desert.

“This is truly too much.”

* * *

“Miss, are you really going?”

“Yes.”

Karen answered with a bright smile.

“I’ve been saying since I was young, haven’t I? That I’m the protagonist of a romance novel.”

“I did say that, but… that’s…”

Nancy glanced around nervously, but Karen’s hands moved without hesitation.

“It’s a pregnancy escape, isn’t it?”

A ticket was clutched in her hand.

Pregnancy escape.

It was one of the time-honored clichés of romance novels.

A plot device where the female protagonist, unexpectedly pregnant, runs away from the male protagonist.

Usually it features a female protagonist running away from a male protagonist who doesn’t want the baby. The female protagonist endures the pain of childbirth alone without a protector. Readers feel sympathy and cheer for the female protagonist. Of course, most of the time there was a misunderstanding, or if not, it becomes a catalyst for the male protagonist to realize his feelings.

“I don’t remember reading you pregnancy escape stories to brainwash… or rather, even to comfort you, Miss. Premarital pregnancy is for adults.”

“I bought and read them myself. And if there are no detailed descriptions, it’s all-ages.”

Because Nancy had brainwashed Karen, Karen had read all kinds of romance novels. She had hoped that perhaps she could find hints to escape her repetitive life in such places.

But Nancy continued to argue back at Karen.

“What you’re doing isn’t a pregnancy escape, Miss. You’re just secretly going out to have fun.”

“If you run away while pregnant, it’s a pregnancy escape. Don’t be too picky about genre fiction.”

Karen waved her hand dismissively while earnestly looking at the list, showing she found it bothersome.

“I’ll need leather boots, and I should take some cash too… bring me my green coat.”

“…Ugh…”

Nancy tried to stop Karen but couldn’t think of a proper way.

If Karen ran away, she would definitely be interrogated severely. Nancy’s head became complicated. She didn’t want to get in trouble. She absolutely didn’t want to return to a wandering life.

‘What if I get kicked out?’

Nancy was a maid from Karen’s parental home.

Though she also served as a lady’s maid, her position in the Baron’s family was ambiguous. She was treated as a maid from the parental home because she knew Karen’s secrets and was skilled with hallucinogens, but she wasn’t assigned to the kitchen, laundry, cleaning, or anywhere else.

Yet she was too old to officially become a lady’s maid, and crucially, she was of a different race. To continue receiving wages while simply attending to Karen as she did now, pleasing Karen had to come first.

As the mistress of the manor, Karen could control her living situation however she wanted. If she felt betrayed, Karen could easily throw her out.

‘I want to keep living the sweet life here… Should I report this to Baron Raymond?’

But if she kept quiet like this, it was obvious that Raymond would fire her too.

No matter how much Karen was the Baroness, the actual master was Raymond, the Baron.

It was uncertain how much Karen would take her side, and just thinking about what would happen if she got hurt was terrifying.

If she obeyed Karen, Raymond would fire her.

If she rebelled against Karen, Karen would fire her.

Nancy swallowed dryly.

Thud!

“Eek!”

Karen threw an empty bag at Nancy.

“Shh, be quiet and pack quickly. Raymond hasn’t noticed yet, right?”

“Yes, yes… It seems that way.”

“Then hurry and pack inconspicuously. Why are you standing there dazed?”

Because I can hear the sound of my life being ruined.

Nancy cried inwardly.

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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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