Resetting Lady - Chapter 57

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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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“Hah.”

Raymond pressed his forehead with his white-gloved hand. He actually seemed somewhat relieved. The commotion centered around Karen spread quietly throughout the hall. Sighs and snickers circulated through the space.

Some of the snickers were directed at Karen, but most were aimed at Baron Ain. Her peers found it amusing, but most of the nobles (especially those who had lost money to Ain before) looked at Baron Ain with cold eyes.

“To take such a fortune from a seventeen-year-old young lady.”

“Really, it’s too much.”

“It’s unbearable to watch.”

Ain was a famous gambler in his forties. For someone like him to hide his identity and participate in the game was shameless. Especially when his opponent was Catherine’s daughter, whom Ain used to follow around in his younger days. To beat seventeen-year-old Karen, who had just made her debut?

“Really, it’s too much, Baron Ain.”

“Indeed it is.”

Elba fanned herself with satisfaction. Even though Karen had lost a large sum, considering the Evans family’s enormous wealth, it was an extremely trivial amount. So Countess Elba lightly comforted Karen and gladly joined in the criticism of Ain, enjoying herself.

“How do you feel? Are you pleased to have taken the money?”

“I…”

Ain stared blankly down at the cards. Those whispers echoed in his ears. Ain couldn’t understand.

‘Why?’

Ain had won.

He had definitely intended to lose.

Raymond looked at Karen from the balcony with an incredulous expression.

“You said you’d show me magic.”

“Did it not meet your expectations?”

“No.”

“I’m sorry to disappoint you.”

Karen bowed her head and sat on the balcony railing. The summer night sky was splendid and beautiful, as if starlight would pour down.

“It’s dangerous, so please come down.”

“Why are you worried about me?”

“Well, right before my eyes…”

Karen looked at Raymond’s face. Behind Raymond, the banquet was still continuing in the hall. She could hear music and the sound of people chattering. Raymond’s face was hard to see clearly as it was backlit.

“The railing is thick enough, so it’s fine.”

And anyway, until the day before that, she wouldn’t die easily. Karen looked down below the railing. Below were well-maintained garden trees.

“Even if I fell from here, wouldn’t I get caught on those trees?”

That’s how it used to be.

“Unnecessary adventures are not to be taken.”

“Or would Lord Raymond save me?”

“Karen, if you’re curious, it’s fine to try.”

“Hmm…”

Karen decided to stop. She couldn’t see Raymond’s face clearly, but she felt like her heart would ache if she tested him for no reason. She would just fall with a thud and die with her head cracked open. Karen giggled and came down from the railing.

“Ouch.”

“That’s what I told you.”

“Ugh…”

Karen twisted her ankle while coming down, perhaps due to her high heels. Tears welled up. It wasn’t something she could stop with willpower. Karen sat down, suppressing her groan.

“I can hardly stand.”

“…Did you sprain your ankle?”

“Yes. It’s embarrassing, but may I take off my shoes?”

“Please, make yourself comfortable.”

Karen carefully took off her golden shoes. And she had to frown at the stench herself. It was a smell that most young ladies would be too embarrassed to endure until the end.

“It’s severe.”

“Don’t say it’s because I didn’t wash.”

“It’s not that level…”

Raymond looked at Karen’s foot, then knelt on one knee and bent down.

“Is it ‘that’ wound?”

“Miss Isela Evans’s shoes seemed to be made of steel.”

“…Mm.”

“Um, could you put my foot down?”

It’s a bit embarrassing. Even though it’s a severely wounded area, it’s not something to show normally. Karen was slightly surprised that she felt embarrassed. Come to think of it, even though she acted wildly, she never stripped and wandered around like a street drunk.

Perhaps she still had a long way to go. While Karen suppressed her laughter while having all sorts of fantasies inside, Raymond had quite a serious expression, unlike her.

“What’s so serious?”

“These shoes seem too big for you, Karen.”

“Because they belong to Miss Isela Evans.”

“…Mr. Verdick wasn’t one to be stingy about trivial things.”

I wonder if that’s the same Mr. Verdick who starved me for throwing away a single needle recently.

“Losing his daughter must have been a great shock.”

Miss Isella isn’t dead, you know? Karen had to suppress her desire to retort. How convenient it would be if she had actually died. Right now, Karen wouldn’t have enough even with two bodies. She felt somewhat hurt by his words blaming Karen.

No matter what I do, shouldn’t you accept me? But knowing that such complaints didn’t fit the current situation, Karen kept her mouth shut.

“He’s not someone who cares about such trivial things… he’s more of a cruel person.”

“I know.”

“You don’t know.”

No, I do know. But Karen didn’t want to start an argument.

Raymond looked somewhat depressed.

“You said you’d show me magic.”

“What did you expect?”

“I thought you’d win splendidly at gambling.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I thought you’d prove your worth that way.”

“Well… that would be nice too.”

Karen raised her finger to point at the champagne in the ice bucket next to Raymond. But there was only the bottle.

“Please give me some consolation drink.”

“…There are no glasses.”

“Just give it to me.”

Stopping Raymond who was about to call a servant, Karen gestured to Raymond to open it. If it were Dulan, he would have told her to drink less.

“From the bottle…?”

“Yes. I can’t live without any alcohol at all.”

“At your age…”

Raymond looked at her somewhat pathetically and then granted Karen’s request. The cork came out with a pop. Karen took the bottle and poured it straight down her throat. The sensation of alcohol flowing down her throat felt good. She hadn’t been able to drink for too long. Karen, feeling somewhat better, asked Raymond.

“Did you want me to beat Baron Ain?”

“Well. Rather than that, I just thought you would. You made bold claims, jumped into the gambling table triumphantly, and ignored those who tried to stop you.”

“…Don’t tell me you’re sulking?”

When Karen looked at Raymond with wide eyes, Raymond averted his gaze.

“Don’t put it that way. It’s just astounding.”

“Ahaha.”

Karen laughed.

At the same time, laughter erupted from inside the hall. Good timing.

“Do I look incompetent?”

“Enough to consider canceling the engagement.”

What a joke. Anyway, Karen and Raymond’s engagement would continue. Once their relationship was established, it wouldn’t break. Unless separated from the beginning, Raymond wouldn’t let Karen go. Whether for emotional reasons or external affairs.

“…You seem more ordinary than I thought.”

I wonder just how much he had imagined. Karen raised her finger to tap the bottle. It was to gauge how much alcohol was left. She felt slightly dizzy, perhaps having drunk too much at once.

“What would I become if I beat Baron Ain?”

“You would prove your talent as an excellent gambler.”

“And I’d hear some stories about Mother’s love too.”

That’s all in the end. Karen smiled bitterly.

There was something more urgent than the meeting with Prince Guiz that Baron Ain had proposed. And people who are meant to meet will meet somehow. She would meet Prince Guiz even without going through Baron Ain.

But he had never given Karen any particular answer until now. Since he had decided to dig deeper about his mother, he would meet her, but he was ultimately a dropout. He was a person of lesser value than even Lord Hyer or Baron Ain.

“I can ask Prince Guiz about my mother later as well.”

A man worthless to Catherine was also of diminished value to Karen. Even though he held the position of prince, to Karen he was a secondary figure. More important than that, she needed hands to handle things more effectively. If she continued to take on Isella’s role simultaneously like now, time would just pass by and she would meet death without gaining anything. That was the worst outcome for Karen.

“Lord Raymond, I told you I could use magic, didn’t I?”

“A witch who can’t even guess one card starves to death.”

“I’ll show you.”

Until now, Raymond had not let Karen go. But what if it were like this? Rather, she would show him something else.

“You know, I’ve been accompanying Lord Raymond every night, haven’t I?”

“Yes.”

“During the day I work, and all other times I’m always surrounded by maids. Most of them are Verdick’s maids too.”

“I’m curious what you’re going to say.”

“That I cast magic.”

Karen looked into Raymond’s eyes. She was curious how his face would change when she said these words.

“The prostitute found at the river this morning? The corpse with her uterus carved out and eyes plucked out.”

Even if she won overwhelmingly at cards, she would just be a skilled gambler.

She didn’t want that. She couldn’t be satisfied with such a thing. And Karen denied what denied her. That was what Karen wanted to reject more than anything.

The assumption that even her coming back to life and repeating her existence was Karen’s delusion.

Karen thoroughly rejected that assumption. It was a desecration of her own life. And if she didn’t verify that first, nothing would begin.

But how could she verify it? How could she distinguish between Karen winning by playing cards she knew and Karen winning because she was skilled at gambling? Wasn’t the fact that the coachman’s feelings for Nancy had transferred to Donna something only Karen knew? Evidence that only Karen knew was meaningless.

Then the verifier who would help her must not be an insider. Raymond, who held hostility toward Karen yet had no choice but to help her, was appropriate. Karen spread her fingers and held up four fingers.

“Three more women will die over the next month. The newspapers that love giving nicknames will call the culprit the Jack of Spades. Something about how the dagger stuck in the heart resembles a spade or whatever?”

Karen was delighted. His face showed an expression she had never seen before. It was truly pleasant beyond measure. Ordinary? How interesting. Let’s see if the future goes awry.

“And the prostitute found this morning isn’t the first victim. The first woman for ‘practice’ is in the birch forest on the east-west side belonging to Evans Estate. Want to go see?”

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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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