Resetting Lady

“……”

As liquid flowed from beneath the crunchy red sphere, Carynne’s unpleasant thoughts resurfaced. This was serious. But still, it was better than meat. She continued to chew on the tomato.

She couldn’t understand why she was so surprised.

Why was she feeling so confused?

“Yesterday, while you were asleep, the delivery carriage came and went,” Raymond said.

She took the tomato out of her mouth in response.

“But why did you only bring this?”

“You can’t eat anything properly right now anyway.”

“Even so, does that mean our choices have now been limited?”

“I thought you might need meat. Your face has looked too pale since earlier.”

“Do we have any sweets?”

“Yes.”

“Give them to me right now.”

“If you eat sweets, it’ll only spoil your appetite. I’ll give them to you after the meal, once your digestion has settled.”

Carynne was shocked and opened her mouth wide. She gripped a firm tomato in her hand and gave Raymond a stern look.

“You’re not going to suggest that I skip even my dessert, are you? Do I have to be restricted so much that even my meals are being policed?”

“It’s just a suggestion.”

“Trying to control me, aren’t you?”

“That’s not it. I just…”

Raymond stopped talking. And eventually, with a sigh, he caught the tomato that she had thrown at him.

“Should I have let it hit me?”

“I threw it because I knew you’d catch it, so don’t bother.”

Raymond placed the tomato on the dining table and sighed.

“I probably still should have gotten hit and pretend to act pitiful in front of you. Anyway, fine, I understand.”

Raymond raised his hands in surrender.

He seemed much too accommodating. It was hard to think of him as the same man who was preventing her from meeting other people.

So, Carynne threw another tomato. Raymond, once again, did not let it hit him.

A quiet meal finally came to an end, and he brought some sweets for her. Seated on a mint-colored, long sofa, She examined the sweets he had brought for her—chocolate-covered biscuits and apple pie.

“Lance made these, didn’t he?”

Her face lit up. Lance, who used to be the pastry chef at the Tes Mansion, had a distinctive touch that was instantly recognizable. Since Raymond wasn’t particularly fond of sweets, she praised him to encourage Lance to improve his skills. Consequently, she had to pay more attention to her figure as time went on.

The generous sprinkling of almond powder and the crispy outer layer of the pie seemed slightly overdone, but she preferred it that way.

As she bit into it, the sweet taste spread in her mouth. She closed her eyes and savored the sweetness. It wasn’t incredibly luxurious, but for her, who had been deprived of sweets for a long time, it was enough. She wanted to eat something other than meat. While Carynne enjoyed the snack, her eyes closed in bliss, Raymond asked.

“Are you satisfied?”

She wasn’t completely satisfied. She opened her eyes and looked at him.

“A little.”

People were so simple. Once their desires were fulfilled, their tension and depression disappeared. Nothing had changed, yet her body had involuntarily become happier. She couldn’t help but smile at herself. It wasn’t a bitter or mocking smile, but a content one.

“Would you like one?”

“Thank you.”

“Well, you’re the one who brought them anyway, Sir Raymond.”

Raymond accepted a piece of pie from her and ate it. While watching Raymond chew, Carynne asked him a question.

“How is Lance doing?”

“He’s mentoring bakers in the city.”

“I thought he’s already retired.”

“He’s not old enough to retire yet. Lance still hasn’t gotten married.”

“Oh my.”

She was surprised by the unexpected remark. Lance was older than Raymond, and it was unusual for him not to be married yet. Typically, by his age, someone would already have a couple of children.

“I didn’t know that. Well, it’s not really important,“ she answered. “We didn’t really have the time to discuss that. Does Xenon also fall into that category?”

“…No, Xenon… he got married a long time ago.”

“I seem to have missed out on a lot.”

As she talked about people who were no longer here, she felt a sense of regret. She realized that this wasn’t the life she had wanted. She said to Raymond,

“…Sir Raymond, don’t you ever feel like you need more people around?”

When she asked this question, he looked somewhat awkward.

“Carynne, as you know… the first time you died was inside this house.”

“…Was it?”

“Yes.”

How did it go again?

Carynne averted her gaze and reached for another snack. As the sweet taste filled her mouth, the memory came back.

The first time she died, it was through poison.

“I’d like to avoid anything risky since we don’t know how things will be within a year.”

Raymond sighed and got up. She realized that he was going back to work. Due to their excessive indulgence of each other for the past few days, the work had piled up and had to be postponed.

What kind of work was he taking on right now? She was curious. Even though Raymond and Carynne shared the same space, they were constantly missing out on what was important to each other. They were delaying the present to a year from now.

Endure. Don’t ask. It’s not what matters.

“I hope you can be patient for a little longer. Let’s do whatever and go wherever we want after a year.”

But how much did he really know? She was curious. She tried to hold it in.

Raymond got up and turned to leave again—to go to his office, where he was doing things that he wasn’t telling Carynne.

Maybe he wasn’t staying in that office at all. Maybe he was doing something in another place that she didn’t know about.

But, whatever he was doing, Carynne didn’t need to worry about it. There’s no need to know. He wouldn’t harm her.

But still…

“So, who owns the fingernails that you’ve pulled out?”

Raymond stopped in his tracks. Carynne regretted asking the question. Raymond turned around. Carynne lowered her head.

It felt a bit uncomfortable to look at him. Would he get angry? Or would he feel awkward? She just remembered that she already decided not to ask him.

But she just couldn’t bear not to.

“Carynne.”

Raymond approached her and knelt down on one knee. He looked up at Carynne from beneath as she had bowed her head. He placed one hand on hers.

His face looked so incredibly gentle and so incredibly affectionate, showing no signs of dirtiness or cruelty.

“Is that why you were uncomfortable all this time?”

“……”

She unclenched her fist. Inside it was the fingernail she had found. Raymond took it from her and put it in his front pocket. Looking into Carynne’s face, Raymond spoke.

“It’s necessary work, so there’s nothing to be scared of.”

“…Necessary?”

It was a very clear answer. Raymond didn’t get angry, nor did he seem flustered. It was because it was something he considered perfectly natural.

“Yes. It’s to gather as much information as possible. There’s nothing for you to be scared of.”

He gave Carynne’s shoulder a firm squeeze. Then, Raymond got up.

“So please don’t think about such things.”

He was willing to handle the dirty and unpleasant tasks himself.

* * *

Raymond brushed his disheveled hair nervously and picked up the pliers.

“…Damn it.”

He didn’t want to show any dirty business to Carynne, but he had made a mistake. Raymond felt pathetic about himself and nudged the thing in front of him with the pliers.

It’s been dead for a long time.

But he had obtained everything he needed, so it didn’t matter.

Raymond knew well that even if Carynne tried to kill someone, she would do it very clumsily. With her feeble arms, she wouldn’t be able to do it properly.

Such rough tasks were up to the husband.

Raymond began to clear away the mess in front of him to finish his work.

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