Resetting Lady

“Come to think of it, why do you still play a harpsichord? Everyone plays the piano these days.”

“Because of the difference in their timbre. And this one has been with me since I was young, so I just keep on playing on it.”

Actually, she wasn’t playing the harpsichord for the sake of its timbre. The simple truth was that they couldn’t buy a piano. Though her family didn’t lack anything, they couldn’t easily buy luxury goods.

To put it more bluntly and more vulgarly, ‘we couldn’t buy such things because we don’t have money.’

To maintain class and decorum, it was best to leave it unsaid. Of course, Isella had a keen eye to notice this, however, she had no sense of consideration. No, she didn’t even feel the need for it. No matter what, she wanted confirmation that she was better than Carynne.

While touching the harpsichord’s keys, which looked different from a piano’s, Isella asked.

“Hmm, should I give you a gift? Is it difficult for a harpsichord tuner to come all the way here in the mountains? When I listen to its timbre, the overall tone is a bit…”

“It’s alright. I’m comfortable with this.”

It’s incredible how she would utter rude things so casually. Carynne smiled as she looked at Isella’s face. Spending money and buying something for someone she hated, how leisurely she did things that weren’t at all supposed to be easy.

However, the feelings of this old woman who’s over a hundred years old wouldn’t change just because of the minor mistakes a young girl would make. If she was going to do something more dangerous in the future, make the scale larger. This huge liar had a soft complexion.

“Miss Evans, if you’re feeling bored, let’s walk around the fief.”

Isella agreed without any qualms.

* * *

Bowen, the attendant, carried their luggage and followed them from a distance. Isella wasn’t very pleased that it was him waiting on them, a man. To be exact, she was conscious about the fact that it wasn’t the maid that she hit, but Bowen instead.

“You know, about yesterday.”

“Yes?”

“I saw something scary.”

“I see.”

“That maid, you know, where is she? The black maid.”

“Hmm… Isella, I think she’s fully reflecting on her actions.”

“No no, that’s not it.”

She nervously clacked her shoes together. Carynne answered in a worried voice.

“She asked for a vacation. She said she needed to take a break for a little while.”

“Ah… That’s a relief.”

Carynne pondered for a moment. Would it be better to ask her now or would it be better just to feign ignorance? Rationally speaking, the right choice was to bury the topic.

Carynne chose Nancy for her first kill because the timing was just right, and even without the maid, she could continue on with her daily life without significantly affecting the novel’s future events. Even if Nancy disappeared, the overall plot of her going to Isella’s villa or her meeting Raymond would remain unchanged.

So if she wouldn’t ask Isella, she would just be able to proceed with her next killing without any difficulties.

“What did you see?”

Carynne instead chose to act curiously.

“I saw your maid with her head cut off at the neck.”

“Pardon?”

“So out of the blue, right…? But as you saw, the bed was clean and the necklace was there.”

“Her… neck?”

“Yes. Now that I think about it, it’s ridiculous.”

Like this. Shhk, she pretended to cut herself on the neck.

“You must have seen it wrong.”

“It’s just really…”

That’s weird. Carynne never cut her neck.

“Is she alright, that maid?”

How fun.

* * *

“Ugh,”

“I-I apologize.”

While Nancy was on her vacation, Donna, a young maid, was instead braiding Carynne’s hair. Since she was only a year younger than Carynne, she was generally in the position to just learn about her work while doing small errands.

Carynne was about to ask about when Nancy would return, but she soon sighed at her own forgetfulness and closed her lips. It was getting mixed up, time.

“It’s fine. Wet the brush first.”

She couldn’t believe that Donna, who had clumsy hands, was sent here. Thanks to that parasitic father-daughter duo, the servants seemed to have a lot more work to do. She was already missing Nancy.

Were the negotiations with the Evans family ever this long? It’s such a cumbersome period for Carynne as she already knew the ending anyway. If Evans were to pave the roads just as he pleased, many would rush in and the Hare estate wouldn’t be able to handle all those people.

Projects that usually took a decade to finish were completed in mere months by Evans, and as he had already purchased the area surrounding the fief, he tried to collect taxes excessively. However, he failed in that department, so he went bankrupt and all the rights to the territory were handed back to the Hare family.

One could suppose it’s because of his wickedness. Carynne closed her eyes.

She didn’t really feel any resentment towards Verdic Evans—just a sense of admiration at how fast his hands moved.

Seventeen-year-old Carynne Hare. That’s how everyone saw her, but she was actually an old woman who had already lived through 100 years. Even so, she couldn’t claim that she knew all about the secret of how the world worked.

Repeating the same time period at the age of seventeen, even a hundred times over, did not mean that she gained knowledge that would rival that of scholars who’ve made fantastic discoveries. And the problem lay with innate ability, with milieu, with endeavor.

She knew well enough about matters between men and women, however, business was a whole different thing. After decades of repeating the same events, she’d attempted to stop her father and tried to sabotage the deal.

But in the end, she found that the best method was to give this area away and wait later for Raymond so he could pressure Evans. So far, Carynne had been exacting vengeance in that manner. There was once a time when Evans tried to protect the Hare territory after receiving that pressure. It’s worthless to do that in this life, but it’s still not so pleasant to think that what was once owned would be lost to another.

“How many people have come from the Evans household?”

“Um… There’s Verdic Evans and his daughter, Isella Evans. Then there’s three specialists, two servants, one maid. Each of the three specialists also have one each of their own servants, and then there are two exclusive coachmen.”

“Looks like your mouth has gotten better.”

“Yes.”

“It must be hard for you.”

“…Yes.”

Donna didn’t hide her hostility. At that moment, Carynne felt a bit uncomfortable. It’s awkward how Donna wasn’t a maid from Raymond’s mansion, nor was she Nancy, who cared for her like a mother would.

Even if the Evans family was the one who’ll occupy this household, yes, this maid and the other servants were people of the Hare family. And of course, she was born and raised on this land.

“There are five people we have to wait on as guests of the family, so the work has increased threefold. Sleep comes only less than three hours these days. Do you know just when on earth they’re going to leave, Lady?”

“I’m not sure. Me too, I hope they’ll leave soon.”

Though they wouldn’t disappear until they take over this household.

As she soaked her face in cold water in a basin, she realized that another day had begun. It’s still dark out. Carynne, who stayed up all night, was suffering from the weight of fatigue.

The thought crossed her mind that she felt so tormented that she wanted to die, but she soon considered this notion to be funny. How extravagant it was for a murderer to complain about being so tired that she wanted to die.

“Who was called to be Isella’s attendant?”

“It’s Sera.”

Donna replied with a very negative expression. It’s fun to see her look like that.

“How is she?”

“……”

“What’s the matter? Tell me honestly.”

When Carynne spoke with a small smile, the maid muttered with a pale face.

“She complained that her meals didn’t suit her taste.”

“Hm.”

That’s actually a fact, and Carynne agreed with her on that. Because the roads were cumbersome, ingredients of high quality couldn’t come into the fief, and the greenery that did grow on the land were mostly ornamental trees, so they’re not good for eating.

Apart from that, since the main livelihood of the territory’s people was handicrafts rather than farming, not only the commoners but even the fief lord’s family had a firm lifestyle of a simple diet. For a millionaire’s youngest daughter who was used to all kinds of luxurious delicacies, this place was surely torturous.

“And she slapped someone for not taking good care of her clothes.”

“Goodness.”

“Isn’t she arrogant? After all, she’s also just from the working class like us.”

In the end, she’s saying that Isella was like her, but she didn’t like how the young woman was showing off.

Carynne just smiled. Evans wanted to have the Hare household, and they wouldn’t be able to stop him. What would it matter if they were to be laughed at. Seeing how Carynne stayed silent, Donna realized how presumptuous she was being.

“…I apologize. I went overboard.”

“What for. In front of God, humans are, after all, not equal.”

Maybe.

“Eyy, of course everyone’s different even in front of God. Unlike me or Isella, Milady holds a precious status.”

In the end, it was about status. Her family didn’t even have great territories like dukes, counts, barons and such. Judging by the standards of this world, the Evans family held more influence than a considerable number of aristocrats, so it was absurd that Isella was being compared to a maid like Donna. In terms of wealth, the Evans family was a few levels higher than the Hare family.

While looking at Carynne’s apathetic expression, she went ahead and emphasized the difference between Isella and Carynne.

“Even so! You’re different. Milady has received God’s blessing.”

Was it because someone said ‘You’ll be the most blessed woman in the world’ when she was born? Carynne snorted. Why would anyone take such words seriously.