Resetting Lady - Chapter 78

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Karen pressed her forehead and collapsed onto the sofa with a thud. She kicked off her shoes and threw them aside. As she lay there, countless portraits of women hanging on the wall looked down at Karen. Of course, this was just her imagination. A portrait is just a portrait.

Karen lay there and turned her gaze toward her predecessors. They too all looked down at her. Did you all also meet someone, fall in love, and come to an end? And at the end of that was her mother Catherine.

“…You managed to get along well with such a man. Though I don’t know if you really got along well, anyway. You should have dealt with things before leaving. What kind of behavior is this…”

Karen looked at her mother Catherine’s face among the women. Her predecessor. Her mother. Perhaps “Karen’s” mother. (Karen still dreams of the world outside the book.)

“Why did you leave like that?”

Karen found it difficult that Catherine had left no records behind. Why didn’t she leave clearer, more detailed records? Only abstract words about loving, and even those memories might have been erased. No, that’s not right. Maybe the memories weren’t erased. Perhaps… no, no.

Karen rubbed her eyes. She was tired and sinking into thoughts again. This was useless. There were too many other problems to delve into herself.

“Fall in love.”

“To the extent that I would approve.”

Karen naturally chose Raymond. Because there had been no other man who suited Karen until now. His face was decent, he had reasonable money, he didn’t gamble, and he didn’t have other women. Though he had acted suspiciously in this life, considering what Karen had done, it was natural for him to be suspicious.

“Things keep happening one after another… Fine. It’s good. Living various lives is okay too, and the lesson about finding true love is quite interesting in its own way.”

“…”

The portraits only maintained their silence.

“But I never thought about mother’s ex-man.”

Karen felt like crying a little. It couldn’t be that. That couldn’t be it. Wasn’t he even older than Father? He even had children. True love couldn’t be that. There are rules in romance novels, aren’t there?

“…”

Karen recalled the romance novels that occupied a portion of her book collection. Among the countless protagonists in novels, there were many older men and many men with children. Men wounded by their ex-women were more than common.

“It can’t be…”

But there were no novels about a man pursuing both mother and daughter simultaneously. Karen clasped her hands together. Please exclude that man.

In one corner of her mind, the cliché ‘if you’re curious about the male lead, look for the person with the most power’ came to mind, but Karen desperately ignored it. Let’s ignore such clichés. It was more of an instinctive rejection than rational thought.

“…Is it because I think looks matter in men too? But when I only looked at the portrait, Prince Guize in his younger days was better than Father… No, no. I absolutely hate it. Mother didn’t choose him either.”

Karen stared at Catherine’s portrait and fell into contemplation. Why was Prince Guiz so uncomfortable for her?

“What about Lord Raymond made you fall for him?”

Prince Louis asks. Had she fallen for Raymond? Even now? She didn’t know. But the fact that Prince Guiz made her uncomfortable was true. But why was that? Why did her heart feel stuffy? Just as murder didn’t matter anymore, just as sexual relations no longer held meaning, love was the same.

But why was she confused? Prince Guiz wanted her. That was certain. But imagining herself declaring love for him in front of Dulan was something she didn’t even want to think about. Why on earth?

“My head hurts…”

Karen took the medicine Donna had brought and closed her eyes. She didn’t want to think about anything. She just wanted to earnestly beg for love when Raymond returned. Then he would look at her as if she were ridiculous and tell her to stop reading books and go exercise first.

But she needed that somewhat distant conversation partner. She needed those dry eyes. When Raymond returned, she would discuss it with him. About the attitude Prince Guiz was showing toward her.

* * *

“This is from the royal palace.”

But reality doesn’t unfold as one wishes. As is the case with most things. The next morning, Karen received a letter stamped with the royal seal. There was no contact from Raymond.

The invitation’s content was simple. The location and arrival time, and a phrase requesting that she wear the items sent along with it. But just because the content was simple didn’t mean the meaning was simple too. Prince Guiz had sent a pink dress and necklace. That alone was offensive.

“It’s clothing.”

Finished clothing. This was against etiquette. Considerate people don’t give clothing as gifts. It’s difficult to guess the most suitable form for the other person, and there’s no gift more bewildering than ill-fitting clothes.

Sending fabric would be proper, and if one wanted to be more thoughtful, they would send a skilled tailor along with it. But Prince Guiz had sent finished clothing. As if she should adjust her body to fit the clothes.

“It’s all silk… It looks quite expensive.”

“It would be expensive.”

And the fashion was quite outdated. Giving a light pink dress to someone with red hair. The fashion sense of middle-aged men is terrible. It was a design that might have been fashionable twenty years ago. To go out wearing this. She would surely become a laughingstock. Karen took a deep breath. What would Isella have done? ‘I’d rather die than wear that!’ Her voice seemed to ring in Karen’s ears.

“It’s okay… Yes… it’s not worth dying over…”

“But it looks… pretty?”

Donna’s uncertain compliment was no comfort at all. Donna had also become accustomed to Karen’s high-quality clothes, and even if she couldn’t wear them herself, her standards had risen. Her eyes were also saying ‘that dress really looks like something for grandmothers.’ But seeing Karen’s grim expression, Donna quickly changed the subject to another item.

“But what about this necklace?”

Karen picked up the necklace that the prince had sent along with the invitation. The dress fabric was certainly luxurious, but the dress’s splendor was nothing compared to the necklace. The dress was just a minor accessory. The real thing was that necklace. This was what the prince had decided to send.

“How is it?”

“…It looks incredibly expensive.”

“Right? It would be incredibly expensive.”

The design was decent. Jewelry accessories are less subject to fashion trends than clothing. And this necklace wasn’t the kind of design that would be subject to trends. To speak of trends, other people need to be able to easily get their hands on something. The necklace wasn’t the kind of item that would be dismantled like other accessories as time passed.

“If Mother had received this, she wouldn’t have owed money to Mr. Verdick.”

“That much?”

“Yes.”

The necklace had twelve rubies and dozens of diamonds. Small diamonds surrounded the twelve rubies, and those rubies and diamonds were arranged in flower-like patterns, creating harmonious beauty.

The purity of the rubies was also top grade. It was a luxury item whose price would be difficult to estimate. Even Verdick’s daughter Isella probably didn’t own such an item. This was something only royalty could give.

And this was definitely not something that could be given merely as a memento. It was something that would be bestowed upon a queen or a concubine. Karen held her head. When exactly had Prince Guiz started coveting her?

“Really blatant.”

Karen sighed and put the necklace back down. To reveal his desires so hastily. Wasn’t he like a petty thief trying to steal quickly when the owner was away? Too fast and too blatant.

“Wow…”

Donna, who had been gaping and carefully touching the necklace with her fingertips, wrapped it in cloth and slowly backed away. She seemed afraid to even touch it carelessly.

“You’ll be fine.”

“…”

Karen chewed her lips. How annoying. This time Karen didn’t have the energy to worry about Prince Guiz too. There were so many things to worry about right now. Karen felt that her plan to spend a year peacefully committing murders seemed like a distant dream.

“Maybe he just feels fatherly toward Miss Karen, or maybe he was purely moved while remembering Lady Catherine… couldn’t that be… pos… si… ble…”

Donna, who had been trying to interpret things favorably, saw Karen’s stern face and cautiously closed her mouth. Donna could say such dreamy things because she hadn’t seen Prince Guiz directly. Karen recalled Prince Guiz. She recalled his eyes.

“He wants me to wear it and come tomorrow. I’ll know when I go.”

He’s not even giving me time to think.

Prince Guiz was not an important figure to Karen. He was someone Catherine had not chosen. Whatever power he held in the world, whatever he looked like, it held no value for Karen. He was someone who would not provide answers and was merely a supporting character.

“There are too many characters.”

“Pardon?”

“Please exit the stage.”

“Pardon?”

She waved her hand at the bewildered Donna.

“I’m joking. It’s complicated because I’m getting involved with such big shots. More importantly…”

“Yes, yes?”

“Was there no telegram from Lord Raymond?”

“He left yesterday… There wasn’t any.”

Donna said while reading the situation. But normally he should have sent a telegram today. That was one of the things that rarely changed. But there was still no news from him. And tomorrow, the third day when he should return, was the day Prince Guiz wanted to see Karen.

Tomorrow. Karen looked down at the invitation with an uneasy heart. But what would change if she worried about it?

“At least I don’t need to worry about it. He told me exactly what clothes and accessories to wear and what time to come.”

“Yes…”

Karen looked down at the dress and jewelry the prince had sent while rubbing her forehead with her hand. It was difficult to hide the constantly arising unpleasant feeling.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————