Resetting Lady

Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Youre not going to eat?

Huh?

I heard that His Lordship is providing free meals. Youre not going for some?

A pretty girl. She looked older than Tom though. Averting his eyes, he looked at the ground. Was she someone who came to watch the trial? Since she didnt know his face, then shes probably a merchant who had traveled from afar.

If I go, itll get weird.

Because your dads a murderer?

My dad is not a murderer!

He shouted. However, let alone getting startled, the girl continued smiling.

Yeah. Not a murderer, but a rapist, right? No, I guess an attempted sexual offender.

That woman didnt die.

He looked like he was about to cry. Tom widened his eyes just so the tears wouldnt fall.

S-She didnt die. A-And in the end, she wasnt raped.

Is that really how you feel, or are you making a remonstrance for your father?

R-Rem?

Hearing a word he didnt know from the girl, Tom made an idiotic sound. At this, the girl frowned.

Rather, give me a new, fresh answer.

Huh?

If I like your answer, Ill give you five gold coins.

Five gold coins. For an answer squeezed out from Toms head. What did she mean five gold coins. She must be quite rich. This opportunity would not come again. Tom wracked his head on what to answer to get those coins.

U-Uh Both? The young lady didnt die in the end, and she wasnt raped either. I dont know why my dad had to die. And Uh, why is rape bad?

Your answer is such a mess, where do I even start?

No, my dad Sure, in the end, all thats left of my dad and uncle were their corpses. The lady might have even wanted to do it on the street.

I dont think so. Honestly, your dads filthy and ugly. Why would a young, rich woman want to do that with a man like your Mmh.

Tom tried to think of Thomas strengths, then he remembered what his father used to say like a habithis pride.

Hes big down there.

Ah.

As the girls expression changed as though she heard something unexpected, Tom continued excitedly.

And we dont know in the end. Only their corpses were left. Why is rape worse than murder? In the end, its because hes not a noble. All nobles will eat well and live well anyway.

Wrong answer. Theres no way a rich girl would understand his perspective on this or that.

Tom knew that he lost his chance at those gold coins. Still, he couldnt endure the anger welling up inside him. Its like this every day. Just so he could eat, he did this every day. Wouldnt it be over after he had counted to a hundred? But Tom was so angry about this.

Whats wrong with that? There were several prostitutes and gigolos on the street, and itd be over in no time after they open their legs or mouths. If it was punishable by death, then about fifty villagers deserved to die.

I wanted a new answer.

You think its fun seeing me like this?

Kinda.

The girl covered her lips and chuckled.

Right then, Tom wanted to knock her down. To attack her.

Why are you here, Miss Hare?

Oh my. Hello, Sir Raymond. Thank you for participating in the trial. Its over, right? I had absolutely nothing to do in my room.

That thought ended in the face of incredulity. The blond knight, who Tom saw at the courtroom, tripped Toms legs before he knew it. And as Tom fell down, his line of sight saw only the red-headed girls body, and she just stood there without looking back at him.

U-Uh

As he fell, his face was in pain. Despair rushed in.

Dont go out for no reason. Please return home.

I wasnt really shocked by any of it, Sir Raymond. Im fine.

The girl replied with a smile. Then, she raised Tom back to his feet and whispered to him.

At dawn, come in through the back door of the Fief Lords mansion. Ill give you the gold coins. And I have something to tell you about your father.

Tom could not reject the offer.

* * *

His head was hurting. He could feel blood trickling through his hair. It was prickly, this pain.

After the trial, he went to the back entrance of the fief lords mansion. But he was suddenly hit on the back of his head and he lost consciousness. When he opened his eyes, his hands and legs were all tied up. As his mouth was gagged by a piece of cloth, all he could say was, Mmph, mmph. He couldnt move because he was tied very tightly. And here, Tom had no choice but to look at Carynne Hare.

Before him, Carynne waved her hand as a greeting when she saw that Tom had woken up.

Youre up?

He couldnt answer. She turned away from Tom and continued what she had been doing. She was sweating from all the hard work. Carynne continued to speak quietly as she hacked away. Tom finally realized. Hed been fooled.

!

I need to trust my senses, right?

As flesh and bones were being cut with a wire saw, the sound of it sent chills down his spine.

Now Tom knewwhen humans were being cut, the sound was the same as when animal meat was being cut. Humans were the same as animal meat.

Tom wanted to scream out loud, but his mouth was gagged. He wanted to cover his ears, but his limbs were firmly tied. All Tom could do was writhe. And that meatthe human who had now become meatwas someone he once knew. Tom realized why he was beckoned to this place. It was because of that meat.

So, I need a witness.

Tom knew that it was him who needed to witness something. Carynne threw away the saw that had flesh on it, then took out a new saw. Sweat trickled down. It appeared like she was overwhelmed with the work, but she showed no signs of stopping. There was a shine to her eyes, the feeling of fulfillment at the hard labor.

Huu, I didnt personally see Nancy, so I dont know how many parts there should be. Usually, um The arms, legs, head. Six parts, then? Right? No, maybe not six parts. I dont think its like this.

If only he could open his mouth, Tom would have already screamed. Anyone would. And when Tom checked the head of the corpse, he soiled himself. Carynne took the chopped off head and placed it next to Tom.

So today, I want you to watch this for a bit. You cant sleep, okay?

He would not be able to sleep.

* * *

The texture of the childs brown, curly hair felt good on her hand as she stroked it. Carynne corrected Toms posture so that he could sit upright. He would have to endure for one entire day, so she prepared this herself. Tying his hands and feet and covering his mouth while he was passed out, she gave him some water and medicine.

The weather outside isnt not cold anymore, so I dont need to light up the fireplace.

With his eyes trembling in fear, Tom struggled abruptly when he saw the face of the corpse.

Shh, shh. Stay still. He was already dead anyway, you know. He wont touch you. Its safe.

Oh, Tom. Its me you have to be wary of, not the corpse. However, as though he was having a seizure, Tom tried to get away from the dead body, so Carynne had to hold the block of wood in her hands threateningly again.

Would she need to give him morphine, she wondered, grumbling. But a nine-year-old childs body was too small, and Carynne didnt know the appropriate dosage for him. If he were to die prematurely because of the drug, then it was only Carynne whod suffer in the aftermath. Its not that she didnt understand Toms confusion, but she had her own reasons. Initially, she had another corpse in mind for this.

She didnt really want to disturb him like this. Carynne patted the childs small back and spoke.

Even if you tell me to be strong, this is going to be my only chance The difference between a man and a womans physical strength is just Even if I try to kill more, everyones busy, and I can never be alone, and Im weak, too In the end, the only person I could kill is a kid like you. I wish I was stronger. Hm? Sorry, dont cry. You cant live long anyway.

Thats why youre the easiest prey. Carynne draped a blanket over Tom.

Its all a matter of time, you know. In reality, you have much too many diseases. You dont know that your curly hair will soon fall out. And you have blisters on your hands and feet, then sores in your mouth, and You worked too hard, didnt you?

The market value of his body wasnt as high as expected. Carynne spoke while she was disinfecting him. This treatment might just be in vain, but the weak feeling of camaraderie made her do so anyway. The child was either severely blistered or swollen here and there, and the fragile parts of his body now had bizarre appearances caused by inflammation.

It was going to be impossible for him to grow up normally. No, Carynne wrestled with her memories. In the end, even if Carynne brought him here, Tom would die in a months time. It was meaningless to think about him growing.

So, in the end, this was all too easy of a choice. To conduct her experiment, she needed a dead body and an orphan who no one cared about. It hurt her pride a little, but thats all.

If I have to choose strong points Since hes your father, the son will be the best candidate to watch him, right?

Thomas was fortunately entirely intact and moistened. The bodies of the criminals had been prepared by the prosecutor before the trial, and their insides were empty due to a simple preservative treatment of the corpses.

After the trial, Carynne picked up the body that was discarded and essentially treated as mountain manure. She chose Hans for this at first out of angerhe was the one who stabbed herbut she soon thought that Toms father, Thomas, would be better so that the child could focus more while watching the body. Apart from that, Thomas was lighter than Hans.

Even so, Im glad he hasnt started rotting yet.

The door closed behind her.

Tom was forced to make eye contact with Thomas dismembered headthen closed his own eyes. Hed rather die. Thomas eyes were no different than a dead animals eyes. The empty stare was so sickening that Tom prayed for Carynne to return and conduct whatever experiment she was doing.

His entire body was bound, but he was free to open or close his eyes. He was going to sleep until she returned. He prayed that, as he was sleeping, he would never wake up again. He would rather just die while he was asleep.

However, as frost seeped into his body from the frigid floor, he was reminded of his cold reality. Even when he was covered in these blankets, the cold would not go away.