Resetting Lady

“Jesse, press it down with the stick.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to just let the sack float away? It’s all tied up anyway.”

“No, what if it floats back up? Press it down and make sure she’s completely dead before letting go.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to just dismember her?”

“It’s better to just make it look like a regular drowning. What if the girl’s father starts poking around? Tsk.”

They shoved the struggling sack with a blunt stick. Bubbles were rising from within. Given time, she would drown.

Cain knew that Verdic must not trace this back to Crown Prince Gueuze. Verdic occasionally supplied materials that left no traces. If he found out his daughter had been brutally murdered, he would investigate thoroughly. If he discovered that Gueuze had ordered it, things would get complicated.

“Ah, yes, that’s right. Just make it look normal… But shouldn’t we at least have a taste before killing her?”

“Maybe that would have been more normal. A prostitute who accepts money is better than one who cries and resists.”

“You’ve never tried it. Once you do, breaking them in is fun. By the way, what should we do for dinner after this?”

“Not sure… How about fried fish? Seeing them flap around makes me want to eat fish.”

“Ugh. You’ve got a strong stomach. I can’t stand anything that smells fishy for a while.”

“This is clean enough, so what’s the problem?”

“Yesterday’s stuff was pretty disgusting.”

The man grimaced. Lately, Crown Prince Gueuze had been hysterical due to the lack of proper materials, making the work unbearable.

“Anyway, since Rud’s gone, that’s practically a promotion for me, right? Lunch is on me.”

“Hey, did you hear that? Cain’s treating us.”

Calm and casual voices exchanged above the water’s surface.

Looking at the wriggling sack, Cain sighed. He wanted to finish quickly and go have a meal.

“Take care of it properly.”

It was inevitable. How could they possibly let a witness live? Though they claimed to release the red-haired woman to deceive her, Crown Prince Gueuze had no intention of letting this girl live. Whoever she was.

“Is she still struggling?”

“Yeah.”

“Persistent. How about we bleed her out and then put her back in?”

“Forget it. I’ve told you a hundred times—Verdic’s gonna dig if we mess this up.”

“Are you talking about Verdic Evans?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

It happened in an instant.

Cain thought his vision darkened.

Night? Did night suddenly fall? Such absurd thoughts came first. But then the excruciating pain hit, and he screamed.

“Ah, aah, AHHHH!”

“Shut it.”

An unending pain filled his eyes. And then his vision cleared. Cain opened his eyes.

Or so he thought. His vision was strange. His eyes were showing his thigh and other scenes. His vision was shaking wildly. His own face.

Why can I see my face?

“Aaaaah!”

By the time he realized his eyeball had been torn out and was dangling down, it was too late. The intruding man kicked him into the water despite Cain holding his torn eyeball in panic. Cain couldn’t even struggle in the water. He had to hold onto his dangling eyeball.

“Who are you?”

“Ugh, ugh.”

“Why don’t you just take a dip? Save us some trouble.”

“You… you bastard!”

Jesse pulled out a dagger from his coat.

“My own blade’s pretty long too.”

Zion drew his own sword. The man was startled by the length of Zion’s sword and his battle-ready stance.

“Spare, spare me…”

Thunk—

But his plea was cut short. A stone flew at him, hitting his nose and mouth simultaneously, and he collapsed.

“Leave this to me, will you?”

“One survivor is enough. The guy with the missing eye.”

“You need more than one for a proper interrogation, Sir Raymond!”

“First, pull the one in the water out. Looks like a person. I’ll take care of the rest.”

“What?”

“Hurry up.”

Only then did Zion notice the bundle floating in the water. Damn it. Zion cursed as he jumped into the sewer. The moment he grabbed it, he realized it was a living person. It hadn’t stiffened yet.

Splash—

Disgusted by the dirty water, Zion grimaced as he untied the bundle. Was this what the men had been pressing down with the stick earlier?

Indeed, there was a person inside. But Zion was shocked to find the very person he was looking for.

“Isella?”

How on earth did Raymond know that Isella was here?

Zion looked up at his superior, the man he thought he knew well.

Raymond was looking down at Isella with an unusually stern expression.

* * *

Isella woke from a comforting sleep to see her parents’ faces for the first time in a long while. Their appearance felt so unfamiliar that she couldn’t easily speak. She couldn’t distinguish whether she was dreaming or had awakened from one.

“See, you only suffer when you leave home for so long.”

“…Father, Mother.”

Verdic sighed as he looked down at Isella. Her mother, Selena, also had tears in her eyes. Isella looked around at her surroundings.

“Is this… our house in the capital?”

“Yes, Isella. Everything is fine now. You’re safe.”

It was her room, made of cream-colored fabric and bright wood. It was a comfortable room, incomparable to the small room at the Grand Cathedral. She had used it every summer since childhood, but strangely, it felt unreal. Was her room always this nice?

“Ah, oww.”

“Don’t move too much. You have injuries everywhere.”

“All this suffering… What a mess.”

The stinging sensation on her face reminded her of what she had been through. Isella sat up, clutching the blanket. It was soft and warm. Tears fell onto the pure white fabric.

“Hic, hiic…”

She had survived.

She had survived. She had escaped that dark, terrifying room and the filthy water. Finally, she was alive, holding her parents’ hands at home.

Selena hugged Isella. Mother and daughter embraced, crying and celebrating her survival. After a while, Verdic, with a hoarse voice, spoke.

“Let’s go home now.”

Looking at their battered daughter, they realized anew that they were a family.

When Isella roamed the capital, her mother, Selena, had always kept an eye on her reputation through people. Despite her worries, Isella hadn’t acted excessively.

Verdic had been able to keep track of his daughter’s actions through his wife and had been helping her accordingly. The gold Isella sold had always fetched reasonable prices, and substantial donations were regularly made to the Grand Cathedral.

But being together in a safe place was different. The world was still dangerous for Isella.

Isella looked at her parents holding hands, finding it strange.

“For the time being, your mother and I will be by your side. It seems we haven’t spent enough time together as a family.”

“We’ve realized that life is truly unpredictable.”

“Father, Mother.”

Isella blinked.

“And we need to prepare for your wedding again.”

“What?”

Isella spoke urgently. Verdic nodded.

“I know who you want to marry.”

“Marry?”

“Zion Electra. He’s not worthy of you, but… since he saved you, I’ll allow it. He may still be immature, but I’ll see to it that he’s groomed into the position properly.”

***

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