Resetting Lady

He set down his trembling hand, which held a pipe.
His eye rims were red.

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The world was falling apart.
Even if he yelled or ripped his head off, the reality would remain unchanged.

“…Mister Verdic, the Countess would like to talk to you about the engagement ceremony and the assembly.”

“Get out! Leave me alone!”

Clank!

Verdic yelled as he threw the inkwell.
However, the servant remained stationed at the door.
The black ink spilled and seeped into the carpet.
That woman’s servant continued to deliver the message, again in that indifferent voice by the door.

“The Countess said that you must meet her.”

He wiped his own tears.

That goddamn woman.
My weakness got caught, and now look at this.
The engagement ceremony was right around the corner.
And my daughter.
In the last conversation we had, I shouted at her.

Verdic’s expression was distorted as he took a deep breath.

“…Please tell her that I will be there in a moment.”

Verdic’s chest was all ripped apart.
What a terrible thing.
But what’s more terrible was the fact that he wasn’t even allowed enough time to cry for his daughter.

The numerous plans he’d drawn up to secure Isella and Raymond’s marriage was all for naught.

He covered his face with his hands.

Verdic needed to continue working.
He took out a handkerchief and wiped the spilled ink.
However, the ink had already seeped into the material.
Even the handkerchief just got dirty.

Verdic’s tears trickled down, over the ink stains.

It was a luxury to even grieve.

 

“Isella! Isella! Where are you!”

“Milady…!”

 

Verdic grabbed the shoulder of the crying maid.

 

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“It’s not the two of them?”

“Where is her room!”

“The flames are too strong, it’s impossible to go back inside!”

“Get out of my way!”

 

Amidst the roaring flames, the fief lord’s mansion was being burned to the ground—the mansion that Verdic wanted to get his hands on.
But even if it collapsed, it wouldn’t matter.
Verdic’s daughter, Isella Evans, was still in there.

 

“It’s dangerous, Mister Verdic.”

“Sir Raymond… Lord Raymond… Please save my daughter.”

 

Verdic gripped Raymond’s arm.
He was willing to strike a deal with as much gold as the other man wanted.
He would offer all of his assets if asked.

However, Raymond’s face.

 

“…Mister Verdic.
I am not someone who can extinguish flames.”

 

There on Raymond’s face, Verdic saw a faint smile.

It might have just been a trick of the light.
He might have just seen it wrong.
Raymond didn’t reject him outright.
But he continued to speak.

 

“I do not know this place that well.
It would be best to straighten out the situation through the servants.”

 

He was right.
Raymond was a knight.
He was a soldier, and even the fief lord himself wasn’t here.
The situation was like that.

But… But.

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Whatever happened to a person’s heart?

When Raymond came out of the mansion with that girl in his embrace, Verdic collapsed to the ground, his eyes wide open.

His daughter yearned for that man so much, wanted to have for herself so much, and yet the one he brought out was Carynne Hare, not Isella.
This was something Verdic could not bear.

“Useless, glib bastard.”

What Verdic had given Isella was defective.
That’s what Verdic thought of Raymond—a useless knight who didn’t save his daughter.

The one who brought his daughter out was Dullan.

This gloomy man had been so humiliated by Isella, yet he did not hesitate to save her.
Even though Isella was now in a coma after inhaling too much of the smoke, even though there was a huge burn on her neck and bruises all over her body, she was still alive.

 

“But… It wouldn’t be strange if she’d pass away any day.”

 

When Verdic tried to embrace his daughter, who miraculously survived, Dullan stopped him and said that it might be too much of a strain on her.
Instead, Verdic confirmed that Isella was breathing by bringing a finger near her nose.

Dullan later told Verdic that he would stay at his mansion to continue taking care of Isella.
Verdic thanked Dullan.
They weren’t on good terms, but he was willing to stay in their family mansion for Isella’s sake.
Unlike his appearance, he was truly a saint who used his medical abilities for good.

“It’s not allowed.”

“It would be best for you to stand aside.
This concerns Miss Isella.”

He heard a scuffle outside.

“Open the door!”

At Verdic’s shout, the black-clad priest slowly entered.

“…Lord Dullan.”

Please tell me she’s alright.
Please tell me that my child can smile again.

However, the news that Dullan came to bring was devoid of any hope.

“The situation is very bad, Mister Verdic.”

“I…Is that, so.”

“She’s still alive.
Let’s hope that God bestows upon her His grace, Verdic Evans.”

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“As long as she’s alive, she’ll wake up one day.
Isn’t that right, Reverend?”

Verdic looked at the other man earnestly, however Dullan’s expression wasn’t good.
He spoke slowly.

“I can’t give you… a definite answer.
I will attend to her while I’m at her side.
I… also wish for the best.”

But it was a matter of course that Isella’s situation was grave.
Dullan’s expression wrinkled slightly.

“Thank you very much… truly.
Thank you, Reverend.
I will offer a donation to the parish.
And please, partake in anything you may need here at my residence…”

“…Alright.”

Dullan looked at the floor for a moment, then he said to Verdic.

“…Then, would you grant me a favor?”

Verdic was willing to pay anything, even if what he asked was a fortune.

However, what he asked for was nothing that he could have expected.

 

* * *

 

Under the law of succession, the fief lord’s seat fell unto Dullan.

Instead of the fief lord’s seat, the property was originally left behind for Carynne Hare, however the fire had destroyed all of the possessions that were supposed to be hers.

This wasn’t a surprise to Carynne.
However, it might have been a bolt out of the blue for 「 Carynne 」.

“It wouldn’t be a bad thing for you either.
To be my adopted daughter.”

“…I guess so.”

Her father died again this time, and Dullan became the fief lord.
The difference from before was that 「 Carynne 」 didn’t want to marry Dullan, so she entered the Evans household while saying that she would be Isella’s lady-in-waiting.

But now, she was here as the Evans family’s adopted daughter.

Carynne glanced down at the papers in front of her.
There was no reason for her to refuse.
Just as Verdic said, she wouldn’t lose anything from this.
But if there was one thing she wanted to quibble over.

“I’ve now become Carynne Evans.”

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She didn’t care for the way that name sounded.
As though he had caught onto this, Verdic’s eyebrows twitched.

Even if they were destitute, Hare was Hare and Evans was Evans.
There was a difference in their social standing.

Carynne could already imagine what Countess Elva would say to Verdic—that he was a merchant who was trying to buy pedigree with money.

“A woman’s last name isn’t that important anyway.
When you get married, your name will change to your husband’s.”

But your daughter didn’t like that idea very much either.

“…I see.”

Carynne picked up the pen and signed her name.

Now, she was no longer Carynne Hare, but Carynne Evans.
It was something that couldn’t be helped even if she tried to think it over.
There’s no other option that she could consider anyway.

“How is the schedule?”

“Tomorrow.
I’ll call the minimum number of people, so there’s nothing special to prepare.”

“I guess so.”

Carynne felt as though she had become a parrot.
There was not much difference between them.

Verdic briefly talked about the schedule of the engagement ceremony.
At this, Carynne recalled Isella’s engagement ceremony in the past—it was early autumn back then, but this time, it was early summer.

Was the story going to continue like this? Was she going to marry Raymond again? Was her exciting fun over now?

Carynne thought that this was a bit boring.
After all that, she’s just going to marry Raymond?

This time, once more, the plot was going all too swimmingly.

For her to marry Raymond as Verdic’s adopted daughter was much too smooth and slippery.

To the point of annoyance.

“You can wear my daughter’s clothes, and from now on, you can appear at functions as my daughter.
Either you or my daughter—that is, my real daughter… Since you both haven’t officially made your social debut yet.”

And I’ll also marry your daughter’s fiancée.

Verdic didn’t seem to be very happy about this kind of story.

Neither was Carynne.