Resetting Lady

“Um, I mean… Perhaps I did wrong you in some… in many ways, Carynne.”

“Too many to remember?”

“……”

Carynne laughed. Raymond’s face was serious, but it wasn’t what he thought.

Back then, she was just so bored she could have actually gone batshit insane, and killing Raymond seemed like a grand purpose for her. Physically and in the scale of her life, the idea of killing Raymond was a tantalizing goal.

“When I decided to become a murderer, life turned upside down. I thought… if the hardest person to kill was you, Raymond, killing you would be incredibly satisfying.”

“That’s profoundly touching.”

Raymond’s voice was tinged with sarcasm. Then he embraced Carynne again, as she shivered.

“Raymond, I’m a bit cold. Could you pull the blanket up more?”

Raymond glanced at the roaring fireplace. The blankets were thick. There was no more room to increase the warmth. Embracing her tighter, Raymond murmured.

“Winter is coming.”

But Carynne’s body was getting colder.

Raymond bowed his head to whisper to her. He had to keep talking. She wanted it. What should he talk about?

“When it snows, it will be really beautiful.”

“…Can we sled in the snow?”

“Yes, the grassy meadows are great for playing. I used to play there often as a child. This winter…”

This winter will see record-breaking snowfall.

Next summer, the monsoons will be severe.

And…

* * *

Truly, I had lived well even without you.

Just like that. Despite aching hearts and tears, despite vows of vengeance, time flows. We cannot destroy our lives clinging to mere months of memories.

The sky is blue, the air clear, flowers abound, and hatred, anger, and wars continue.

Good music and great books keep coming. Unexpected things happen. Friends die or stay, and new ones appear. As you age, there are so many things to do.

Good things happen in unexpected places. Unforeseen malice is seen. And sometimes, miracles. Storms turn to spring rain, wars end, and watching the next generation grow is meaningful. You would probably like it too. Amidst uncertainties, beauty is still found.

…I knew you’d be jealous.

That’s why next time, you should live longer and have your revenge. Live longer than me, boast about what I haven’t seen. That would be more equal.

Life is, sadly, worth living.

You meet countless people, rejoice, part, and feel grateful. If you live longer, you might meet better people, scholars, and individuals than I did.

But still, there is only one woman for me.

You.

Frankly speaking, I don’t want to say it was because of the few months we spent together. Our encounter was brief, and that was it. Many people move on from a separation and meet others without diminishing their past relationships.

Carynne, you spent your life seeking love and facing death repeatedly, but in the world, there are so many things happening that one doesn’t need to cling to such short-lived passions of men and women.

…Oh, alright. I’ll be honest.

I set my standards too high after you, and no other woman compared. You’re partly to blame for that. Are you satisfied? So, after that… it was enough. Even if it was a brief encounter, there was no need for more. Passion, youth, guilt, perhaps deception… all these things left their mark on a corner of my life, and that was sufficient.

So, you don’t have to feel any remorse.

I lived quite well without you.

…Carynne.

There’s one thing I lied to you about.

There’s something I’ve been too scared to tell you.

…I remember everything.

All your 100 deaths and the lives I lived after that. Then, the five deaths and five lives after those as well. I remember it all.

The year you fell from the tower—that year you turned 117…

After you died, all my memories came flooding back. There was no stopping them. And the hundreds of years before meeting you again in this life felt like I was walking through hell.

…I am over 7,000 years old.

You asked how I could still talk and move, but still, one goes on living. The reason I could stay sane, perhaps, is that my life after each of your 100 deaths was the same.

Before you turned 117, my life without remembering you was always the same. Mourning the same period, moving on the same way, always living the same time. It wasn’t such a bad life. …So now, I really don’t need to think of anything other than loving you. I’ve had my fill.

But still, I think it would have been better if you were by my side all those years.

* * *

Raymond closed Carynne’s eyes.

There seemed to be a visitor.

* * *

Verdic finally found his daughter.

The wet nurse who came up to replace the missing maid remembered Isella’s physical characteristics.

The corpse was indeed his daughter.

Isella had become part of Crown Prince Gueuze’s collection.

Verdic cried for only one day.

Then, he rose to think of what he had to do.

Having been tired and sad for too long, it became clearer what he must do.

Why did Crown Prince Gueuze kidnap Isella? Looking at the results first, there were many reasons.

For Crown Prince Gueuze—now king—a merchant who knew his secrets was a nuisance. While there might have been ways to win him over, Gueuze chose a cleaner method.

Just getting rid of everything.

Prince Lewis, Verdic, Marquis Penceir, even his own father.

Over time, Gueuze accumulated tasks he needed to perform.

Such are the deeds to be done as a king.

However, Gueuze’s plans were much shorter than expected.

Because he was fortunate.

People said,

The gods were doing everything to elevate him to kingship quickly.

Annoying money-grubbers like Verdic also had to be dealt with promptly.

Gueuze had his eye on Verdic’s daughter for a long time. A man like Verdic knew well how to flee and hide, but his only weakness was his daughter. She didn’t exactly suit his taste, but a young and healthy seventeen-year-old girl held considerable value.

“Have you finally found Carynne Hare?”

“We found a woman who resembles her. I think it must be her.”

Gueuze leaned his chin on his hand, lost in thought. The daughter, said to resemble Catherine, intrigued him.

But now wasn’t the time.

Things he planned to do over five or ten years were happening all at once.

But it was also a matter that’s troubling to put it off.

Gueuze shook his head.

* * *

It was during one night in springtime, the pouring rain drumming down heavily.

Raymond came to visit Crown Prince Gueuze.

Gueuze intended to call people to throw him out. He disliked this man. And above all, he was the henchman of someone who stood against him.

Initially, Gueuze thought Raymond had come to assassinate him. But as he was about to call people, Raymond showed his empty hands first.

So, Gueuze wondered what this man was plotting.

Rubbing his head aching from a hangover, Crown Prince Gueuze asked Raymond while holding a handgun in one hand.

Gueuze wanted to kill this man if possible, and he was ready to shoot if Raymond said just one single word wrong. He had to find some pretext to kill him.

But his initial restraint was due to curiosity.

A man who should never have come was here empty-handed, so there must be a reason.

This man had always, without fail, looked at him with contempt.

Yet here he was, now putting forward an unbelievable proposition.

“I intend to make you king.”

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