Resetting Lady - Chapter 24

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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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Verdick also stroked his chin as he supported his daughter’s words.

“And, Miss Hyer. Creating relationships that could harbor resentment… is not good. I advise you as an elder. That’s not right.”

Karen lifted her chin resolutely.

“I believe love can overcome it.”

* * *

“What do you think?”

“…About what.”

“About me taking in that child.”

“You’re insane.”

“Oh, a definitive answer.”

“…I’m not joking.”

“Hmm.”

Tom’s mouth was severely damaged. Karen’s knowledge had its limits in caring for him. Eventually, she took Tom to see Dulan. Dulan refused, saying he was busy, but after repeated insistence, he finally began the examination.

With a deeply furrowed brow, he examined Tom’s mouth, administered injections and medicine, and cut away part of the affected area. Even as the charred black flesh was cut away with a scraping sound, there was no pain. That frightened Tom even more.

“How is it?”

“…We’ll have to wait and see. And from now on, go to Milton.”

Milton was a doctor who assisted Dulan. Though older than Dulan, his skills were clearly inferior. Karen was somewhat displeased by Dulan’s obvious rejection.

“You?”

“I’m busy.”

Who was it that had postponed mass even for a minor scratch?

She didn’t bother pointing it out. Though incompetent at management, Dulan was still the future lord, priest, and doctor. Any one of those roles alone involved considerable work. Beyond work, his lofty pride wouldn’t allow him to be bothered with a single servant boy.

Dulan wasn’t the only one who found Tom troublesome. Karen had to suppress laughter when she thought of people’s faces that day.

Everyone’s expressions had changed as if they’d put something filthy in their mouths. A hint of sympathy mixed with obvious disgust appeared. But propriety sealed their lips, so only the atmosphere grew cold.

In the end, it was Karen who changed that atmosphere.

Karen had to put on quite a performance, showing Tom’s severe wounds. Recalling the previous day made Karen feel somewhat better.

“Look at this.”

“Ugh.”

Isella had retched.

Suppressing the urge to giggle, Karen forcibly opened Tom’s mouth to show it while continuing to speak.

“…The townspeople did this.”

“That’s a bit…”

“Severe.”

“This isn’t all. From head to toe, there’s not a healthy spot.”

Karen showed the inflammation in his mouth and palms, and the wounds on his back. Tom wanted to scream, but knowing he had no allies, he could only endure. Even as Karen stripped his clothes, no one pitied him.

“Ah.”

There was no one here to protect him.

Tom, who had grown up on the streets and was quick to read situations, realized this and despaired. No one felt sorry for him. There was only slight disgust, anger, and curiosity. In his position, he couldn’t even buy sympathy.

Karen pressed down firmly on the flinching, gaping Tom while staring at the Lord.

“Father, not as the Lord’s daughter, but as a victim, I want to show mercy. I hope for a better future through forgiveness.”

The Lord snorted at Karen’s plea.

“Enough. Treat him and send him back.”

“This child is an orphan. Eventually the parish or you must take him in, so why haven’t you taken any measures?”

Verdick also supported the Lord.

“Miss Hyer, because no paperwork has been filed. Let him work at the parish. As I said again, keeping an enemy close is not advisable.”

“How can a child who can’t read fill out paperwork? Who would help a nine-year-old left alone? Look at what his body has become in just a few days.”

Shut up and stay still. Karen gripped the whimpering Tom’s shoulder. Tom opened his mouth several times, but only groans like ‘haa’ came out.

“Will he be able to speak?”

At Karen’s question, Tom looked at Dulan with pleading eyes. Father, please understand. Please notice. At least tell them I can speak again. But Dulan didn’t even look at Tom.

“…Impossible. For the rest… of his life.”

“Thank you.”

Tom despaired.

Karen was satisfied.

A companion who couldn’t speak was quite appealing. He was illiterate so couldn’t write, couldn’t speak, and didn’t have much time left to live. Perfect. Karen was pleased with what she felt was quite a good choice. Though he was still male despite his condition and couldn’t serve as a maid, being young made him easy to accompany and being sick made him easy to handle.

And when corpses disappeared again a few days later, Karen wasn’t flustered. Being surprised became Tom’s role.

“Look at that, just as I thought?”

The corpses had disappeared again. Karen pointed at the empty fireplace.

“Thomas and the unknown Mr. A should definitely be there. Ah, though I can guess who it was.”

Only a day had passed. The two corpses that had been there all the previous day were gone. Karen had deliberately left the door slightly open. But no one talked about the corpses. Whoever did it, the bodies were disposed of secretly.

“Oh my goodness!”

She clapped her palms together.

“The corpses are gone!”

Was she telling him to laugh? Tom tried to force the corners of his mouth up.

“Ah…”

Tom opened his mouth then grimaced in pain. There were holes in his tongue and palate. The worst was his throat, swollen from inflammation, with pus flowing and causing terrible bad breath. When Tom opened his mouth, Karen covered her nose at the stench that flowed out.

“Don’t speak, just nod or shake your head.”

Tom nodded. His father’s corpse, already gone, wasn’t important to him. Though Tom could only manage head gestures, Karen was happy that even such responses came back. Proper conversation was necessary to prevent the collapse of one’s ego.

Continuously thinking about murder was reaching its limits. There were limits to mulling things over alone in her head, and her talking to herself had increased too much. She needed to organize her thoughts while speaking, and needed a listener. Even if it was close to talking to herself, having someone react in front of her was a great help in organizing her thoughts.

Karen quite liked having a mute boy who listened to her words.

“I think of it this way for now.”

Karen picked up a piece of charcoal and drew a picture on the floor.

“Well, it’s all speculation anyway. Um… I could be wrong.”

She felt her ears reddening. What if it’s all wrong? Having a listener brought slight embarrassment and tension. But it was fun, like playing detective.

“Look, the mansion is L-shaped. The long south-facing side is the main axis, and from the 4th floor up it’s composed of bedrooms. Guest rooms are also arranged on this side. Isella’s room is here too.”

My room is on the same floor but separated like this. Karen focused on how her room and this place were quite far apart. A grand mansion with similar rooms lined up could certainly be frightening. But since Isella had never experienced anything scary here before Nancy’s incident, the possibility of it being a hallucination was low. Her claim of seeing Nancy must be true.

“My room is somewhat separated from here, and to the west are the maids’ rooms… The west 3rd floor has the servants’ rooms, and your room will probably be arranged on this side too. Mr. Deane the coachman also lives on this side. Anyway, it’s quite a distance, so after I killed Nancy… why are you so surprised?”

To calm Tom, whose eyes had widened as he made incomprehensible sounds, Karen had to pick up a poker.

“I’ve done some killing, you see. Um, anyway. I wanted to surprise Isella, so I brought her to this room. I strangled her after giving her paralysis medicine.”

Tom trembled violently. If he hadn’t created burns in his own mouth, if he could communicate with others, Karen would have killed Tom just as casually. At first Tom thought Karen hadn’t killed him purely out of sympathy, but within a few days he realized how naive that thought was.

This young lady was insane. Systematically so.

Karen cheerfully recounted and organized the murders she had committed. Tom tried to focus on her words while pulling himself together.

“I placed Nancy in that room around 4 PM. Isella discovered the corpse at almost exactly 10 o’clock. There was physically enough time to cut the corpse’s neck… But only someone like me who knows the maids’ rest times could bring a corpse there. The corridor is completely empty for only 30 minutes. Just bringing it there used up all the time. This means servants were constantly coming and going after that.”

She picked up a new branch, drew human figures, and smudged the top. Then she drew a long line over the corridor drawing.

“At midnight I heard Isella running into the corridor, so I waited and then went out. And we went into the room together, right? I did help her change her soiled clothes. Still, it would have been about 10 minutes total. To clean up the corpse and room while avoiding the servants’ eyes during this time would be impossible.”

Karen was delighted.

Tom looked at Karen’s sparkling eyes. She seemed very intrigued and happy. A smile lingered at the corners of her mouth and her voice was high, making it seem like he should smile along. So he smiled back too. Because it seemed like it would be less frightening that way. It probably didn’t look natural, but it didn’t matter. Whatever expression Tom made, Karen would keep smiling like that anyway.

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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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