Resetting Lady - Chapter 41
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
“True love.”
“How do I know if my true love is dying from a stray bullet beyond those White Mountains? Or how do I know if he’s a vagrant on the streets dying of disease? When I’m not even sure if I actually read the book.”
Who would be her destined person? If it was because his love was lacking, who should she meet? The few people she had met besides Raymond were far inferior to him.
“Is it a matter of the intensity of love? Did the people I met not love me the way Father loved Mother…? I’m curious.”
Why was Father Mother’s love? How much did Father love Mother?
The lord watched Karen’s fingertips turn white as she gripped her glass and slowly spoke again.
“So the way I can help you is…”
Karen looked at the lord’s face and spoke expressionlessly.
“Show me proof of your love.”
“How?”
“If you truly believe, if you love me that much, you wouldn’t fear death. If I die again, Father will come back to life again. And even if you really die, nothing would be frightening. You’d be able to meet Mother.”
“…Ah.”
“Of course, it’s only… for confirmation. If Father refuses, I have no other way.”
Karen shrugged her shoulders.
“How could I force Father, who shakes all the servants in the manor and Dulan?”
She meets the lord’s gray eyes. In his eyes, she sees the face of a daughter who perfectly resembles his wife.
“But whatever choice you make, I’ll be able to confirm it. The intensity of Father’s love.”
Karen lifted her empty glass. A servant approached from afar and refilled it. The lord also lifted his glass. Father and daughter clinked their glasses together in the corner of the hall.
“Ah, as expected. Everything tastes good when I eat without medicine. That bad Dulan.”
“Don’t be too hard on him. He’s doing it all for your health.”
“Still, it’s too excessive. I’m sure there were times I died from drug overdose. And I’ve experienced higher cuisine elsewhere, so this isn’t that great.”
“Where was the best?”
“Outside the book… Is that the wrong answer?”
The lord looked troubled.
“How about ranking within this place?”
“Lord Raymond’s chef is excellent. Mr. Cray, the bald one. Ah, he’s not here now, he’ll come in about three months.”
“I see.”
While continuing trivial chatter, Karen noticed the lord staring intently at the tableware on the table.
“Well, this is a trivial matter, but… that dining knife would be difficult. I’ve tried it.”
“I, I wasn’t thinking of using this.”
The lord looked slightly embarrassed and turned his gaze away.
“The first time can be a bit scary. I never got used to it either, so I failed many times. Never cut your wrists. You have to cut almost to the point of severing them, and it’s so cold that you really die… I died.”
Karen couldn’t help but laugh and had to turn her head away.
The lord didn’t know whether to laugh and just lifted his glass.
“Did I die before too?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm… I see. How?”
“I think it was because you were too upset about what Verdick did to you.”
Karen searched her memory. The lord didn’t always die.
Sometimes he lived and stayed by her side until the day before Karen died.
But most of the time he didn’t. The lord who was properly defeated by Verdick was shocked and fell ill, languishing away until he passed from this world.
“The business failure seemed quite hard on you.”
Karen lowered her voice.
Fortunately, Verdick and Raymond were focused on Isella, not this way.
“…I thought I didn’t care much about it.”
After his wife died, he thought everything was meaningless. The estate, people, all of it. Did he still have such passion left? The lord became slightly disturbed. Karen patted her father’s arm to comfort him.
“People are much more multifaceted than they think they are. But still, in the next life, I’ll observe more carefully how Father passes away.”
“Th, thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Clang.
Over there, Isella was being ridiculed by the countess. Her face was bright red with embarrassment. When Isella gets flustered, her movements and voice become even louder, causing accidents that are difficult to handle. Karen looked at her lovely rival with affection. Verdick couldn’t bear to watch and covered his eyes with his hand.
“Verdick’s expression is amusing.”
“I find Isella’s expression amusing.”
Another father and daughter watch the flushed faces of the first father and daughter while drinking. The lord put down his glass and stood up. Karen asked.
“Where are you going?”
“To ask Mr. Verdick to take care of you.”
“Ugh.”
Karen’s head ached thinking of herself suffering as Isella’s maid. This time there had been many incidents, so she would be even more irritable.
‘I should have killed Isella first.’
What use is regret now? Still, since Nancy, who was close to her, died and things unfolded this way, it turned out well in the end. Resolving not to be depressed over trivial matters, Karen smiled wryly at the approaching Isella.
“Miss Isella.”
“Ka…ren.”
“Sit down and calm yourself with some brandy.”
“Thank you.”
Contrary to her words, she downs the alcohol with a face that looks ready to commit murder. Karen thought that if the two of them were standing at a murder scene right now, Isella would definitely be identified as the culprit just by looking at her face.
Isella glares at Lady Elba across the way. Her mistake was small but significant. She had called her Lady Orphen, using her surname, instead of Lady Elba.
“Ugh…”
“It’s Lady Elba. Not Lady Orphen. You should call her by her name, not her surname. She’s Count Orphen’s wife and Baron Ronua’s daughter.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Using her surname is an act of disrespecting her.”
“Why on earth is that!”
“…Lower your voice, Isella. Lady Elba is Baron Ronua’s daughter, but Baron Ronua had his noble title confiscated and was only restored about ten years ago. Calling her Lady Orphen instead of Lady Elba reminds her of her shameful past.”
“…What? Why is that shameful?”
That’s just how it is here.
Karen felt like crying at Isella’s clueless expression.
Right. You don’t need to think about anything. Since you’re the daughter of Verdick Evans, who’s wealthy enough for Lady Elba to borrow money from, what could be the problem?
You don’t need to think about anything. It would have been fine to live ignoring honor, reputation, or minor etiquette. Verdick’s gold coins would cover all those shortcomings. You don’t need to worry about every little word. Because it’s okay anyway.
“When ‘Lady’ is followed by a surname, it’s for women who are commoners, not those with noble fathers. When she debuted, she entered as a maid to Count Orphen’s mother. Back then, she couldn’t even use the title ‘Lady.’ And even after marriage, she was Lady Orphen, not Lady Elba. Only after Baron Ronua was restored did she become Lady Elba, so it’s something to be even more careful about.”
“Hah…”
But Karen didn’t tell her the story hidden behind it.
Even if Isella made a mistake, well-bred ladies don’t get so angry at the mistakes of the poorly educated. When Karen made a mistake long ago, she just smiled awkwardly and her pale maid came running to inform her.
‘Even with the same mistake, the consequences for the protagonist and supporting character are different.’
Karen smiled.
Her anger was more for show to Verdick. Since Verdick’s wealth binds her, Karen and Isella’s positions are completely different. In other words, Isella is someone the countess didn’t want to look favorably upon from the start.
“Aren’t you Lady Karen?”
Karen mechanically repeated the explanation she had given dozens of times already. About 60 years ago, she had gotten angry at Isella for not understanding after telling her several times and got slapped. Now she recites the given lines while thinking of other things.
“I’m from the landowner class but haven’t received a noble title, so I’m just Miss Hyer.”
Isella’s face looked bewildered.
“You don’t get the title ‘Lady’ either?”
“Yes. Even if you’re from the landowner class, you need to be within the five counts. Hyer Estate was an independent nation in the past, but after being conquered, it’s under Orphen County.”
So I need to make a good impression. Under the assumption that the story continues, that is.
“If I marry a son of a noble family, I become Lady Hyer… more precisely, I take my husband’s surname. It’s the same for Isella. When you marry, you don’t become Lady Isella, but Lady Sayertes, following Lord Raymond’s surname.”
“I prefer Lady Isella… or Evans. That’s disappointing.”
“Yes…”
A smile crossed Karen’s face.
“Why are you talking like that?”
Isella’s voice is sharp.
“No. It’s something you might not know.”
“Are you mocking me now for not being a landowner’s daughter like you?”
“Don’t overinterpret, Isella. I just said it’s possible.”
“You laughed!”
“Just as one might not know something, couldn’t one also smile? If it bothers you that much, I’ll apologize.”
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————