Resetting Lady

Donna looked at Carynne with an envious gaze.

“Milady’s beauty is evidence enough of being blessed.”

“Sure…”

She’d been raised from a young age being showered with compliments to the point that it was embarrassing, so it could be that she accepted it naturally. Carynne’s thoughts were starting to get mixed up with ‘Carynne in the story’.

She’s sure that she grew up with shining eyes and expectations around her. Then, it would be natural for her to dream like this, too.

A blessing was something that even gypsies on the streets could give, and the blessing she received when she was born did not mean anything big in the city. Even so, in Carynne’s case, her outstanding beauty was enough to be talked about by the countryside folks as something sacred.

As a young woman who’s heard only praise all her life, Dullan just couldn’t compare… Carynne couldn’t even laugh at 「 Carynne 」.

In the end, it’s just fantasy. In the end, she was like a character in a theatre play. The script was a script, and a role was a role. However, if one were to repeat the same mimicry over and over again, the inevitable result was to laugh riotously in cynicism.

Like 「 Carynne 」, how many female protagonists out there dreamed of a shining future that transcended reality. Even while wanting to read a plot so commonplace that no literary value could be dredged up from it, those who laughed at such things had also seen or read the same things countless times. There were people who ridicule a woman who could not rein in her vanity and naïvete, and while pretending to sympathize with her, they comfort themselves.

In the end, despite Carynne finding love, it was the same as「 Carynne 」 running away or 「 Dullan 」 laughing at her. However, while those were just her personal emotions, it was a sort of appreciation for the main characters. With a drawn out sigh, she also sometimes lamented their given roles.

Sometimes, when she saw people with unimportant roles while wearing the mask of society’s people—for example, Donna, who was under such illusions—Carynne’s heart seemed to tighten up.

Their clothes were different, but the roles they played and the lines they spoke were much the same. Nancy. Donna. Sera. There was no difference.

Then if you look at it that way… In the end, she realized that she was also a mere doll acting upon a given role… That’s too…

“Milady?”

“Mm, it’s nothing. I just dozed off for a second.”

“I apologize for not being able to speak well. Nancy’s vacation was extended…”

…Was that how it was covered up? She wondered how long the label of a ‘vacation’ would change. The corpse disappeared. In a way that didn’t make sense.

Isella had mentioned that the corpse was mutilated in a way that Carynne didn’t do, so the clear conclusion was that there was a third party. Who touched it, she wondered.

Jjak.

“M-Milady?”

“I’m just sleepy.”

“You can’t do that! Your face… your face, what should…”

“I’m sleepy.”

Let’s not be caught up in a turmoil of thoughts, Carynne. What you don’t know is what you don’t know. You’ll find out if you continue to experiment.

“Donna.”

“Yes?”

“If you’re having a hard time, why not take a vacation?”

“Hehe, it’s fine. Everyone has a huge workload these days, so it’ll be really hard if I’m also gone.”

While pursing her lips in regret, she recalled the date.

“Time flies by so fast.”

It was almost time for him to show up.

Carynne gave up on her short break and started to prepare for her encounter with the male protagonist.

She’d have to slim down her waist, take care of her skin, get her hair done. When meeting him, she didn’t have to worry about amassing wealth or power. There was but one requirement.

She had to be pretty no matter what.

* * *

“What the. Just when did you say she’s coming back?”

“I-I’m not sure… It’s at least two weeks—”

“How can a maid be granted two weeks of vacation!”

Isella held Sera up as she got angry. But it’s the truth, the maid cried as Isella shook her, but the young woman soon collapsed into her seat, exhausted. Was it because of her period? Her lower abdomen was tight. She held her stomach and lay down.

“……”

Shudder. Goosebumps came over her.

“I saw it there.”

That strange delusion. The woman who was cut off at the neck. She wanted to be assured, so she needed to confirm it herself—that it was a dream, that it was an illusion.

She wished to see the maid living and breathing with her own eyes. But then all she heard was that the maid had taken a vacation that started on that very day. Nobody saw her, and so while repeating, ‘It can’t be. It can’t be,’ she got nervous for no reason.

A maid that was taking such a long vacation just because she was feeling terrible? Odd. She wasn’t a high-born lady-in-waiting, but a mere personal maid of the daughter of a countryside fief lord. She was also a dark-skinned woman, so the chances were even lower.

In addition to taking care of Carynne, there were all sorts of chores slated for a maid like her because guests like Isella were here for an extended visit, so it couldn’t be that the maid was allowed that long of a vacation when there was so much work to do.

Isella couldn’t comprehend it.

She wanted to ignore it, but doubts continued to swirl in her mind. Just as her menstrual cramps couldn’t be relieved right then, that unpleasant feeling was stuck on her. Apart from the disbelief and embarrassment she felt from showing such a disgraceful appearance to Carynne, she was still very much doubting whether it did or did not happen.

Perhaps it was all a hallucination. But Isella had never suffered such a thing before. Her monthly menstruation fluctuated her mood and gave her cramps, but it was never so severe that she would see things like this. Before hallucinations, she rarely ever had any nightmares in the first place.

Even if she was in the dark, there were always maids by her side who made her forget her fears. Incense wafted through her room, which was full of decorations and veils, and there, a pleasant bed was promised to her.

After a good day, better days would follow, and her father’s business ventures had never failed. What was left in her future was to become a dignified noblewoman.

So why.

“No…”

Isella didn’t want to admit that she was feeling anxious.

No. She shouldn’t doubt the happy future ahead of her. She’s the Evans family’s precious daughter. There will always be happiness ahead of her.

“The necklace…”

The colorful necklace was neat and without any blemishes. Was there really blood on this? Isella rolled over the necklace in her hands. This necklace had no place in such a nightmare.

The unchanged jewels seemed to promise a tranquil, eternal peace. However, as the memory of the corpse stayed with Isella, she became even more frightened the more she looked at the necklace.

Even if the gems lasted forever, she realized that she could die at any moment.

“There’s something strange about this fief.”

“Pardon?”

“You don’t feel it?”

“……”

What should she say to the maid here?

Seeing Sera’s expression, which was full of suspicion and irritation, Isella stopped there. Something’s strange, but the maids in this place didn’t know because they only served as hands and feet. Even that ‘something’ was difficult for them to grasp.

Clicking her tongue, she closed her eyes.

What was up with this place. She was eventually going to own this. Would it be fine? Was this something she could ignore? To straighten this out, where the hell should she start?

“Miss Isella Evans.”

“Yeah?”

“A telegram from Sir Raymond has arrived.”

Her thoughts about the maid were soon pushed aside into the abyss, and Isella became delighted again as she snatched the telegram to read it.

And promptly, she looked as though she was about to cry.