Resetting Lady

Chapter 268

Gueuze was constantly looking for an excuse to behead Lewis.

If it were up to him, he would have already turned Lewis into one of the decorations hanging on his wall. While his preference was for women who had just come of age, making Lewis unsuitable for his tastes, that didn’t mean he couldn’t hang him up.

Lewis, as his own blood, carried a rare value, and eliminating this obstacle from his path would bring him immense satisfaction.

But actually acting on this desire wasn’t easy. Lewis was growing, and it wasn’t just Gueuze who noticed. Lewis was always surrounded by guards and maids, and those loyal to the king were loyal not to Gueuze, but to Lewis.

Gueuze grew anxious and increasingly threw himself into his twisted hobbies, the only outlet for his frustration. His hobbies were beyond reprehensible by societal standards, but once started, he couldn’t stop. Nor would he ever stop.

Yet recently, even finding ‘materials’ for his hobbies had become difficult, leaving Gueuze’s frustrations bottled up and unaddressed.

And then, on that fateful day, he finally acquired the perfect material—a rare find after so long.

Gueuze was utterly satisfied at first sight. After all, people can’t live on work alone. A good hobby adds richness to life.

“My mother is Catherine Nora Hare.”

Nonsense!

Gueuze did not believe her. How could he? He had spent years consulting secret doctors and taking various medicines, all to no avail. And now, this woman—someone he was meeting for the first time, who had been brought in as one of his materials—claimed to be carrying his child?

Absurd. Madness. She was obviously lying through her teeth to save her life. Gueuze was certain of it. He didn’t believe a word she said.

But despite himself, he couldn’t ignore the words spilling from Catherine’s daughter.

It wasn’t because he believed in reincarnation. No, it was because the one word he longed to hear most—‘child’—was what she had uttered.

Even though he was the only recognized son of the king, having a child would make his claim to the throne more secure. Royalty usually married in their teens and had children by the time they were his age—many even had grandchildren by now.

He had no children thus far, and he didn’t expect that to change in the future. Yet now, out of nowhere, a woman appeared claiming to carry his child—Catherine’s daughter, who looked exactly like her.

“…Ha.”

How could he not be intrigued?

He didn’t believe it—couldn’t believe it—but if something really was growing in her belly, maybe he could use it. Maybe he could kill Lewis and claim the child as his own.

The thought pleased him.

And this woman? She was nothing more than a weak peasant. Catherine, at least, had been a count’s daughter and an grand duke’s granddaughter.@@novelbin@@

But the grand duke had been dead for years, and the count had passed early as well. Carynne’s father, Lord Hare, would be utterly incapable of protecting her. So Gueuze could kill her at any time. She was expendable, useful only as long as he wanted her to be.

“Your Highness, I’m sure you will love me again in this life. And once the child is born, you’ll be certain it’s yours. Please, just wait. If you still don’t believe me after that, you can kill me then.”

Carynne’s voice was filled with desperate pleading. Of course, it was all lies to save her life. There was no way he could believe her.

But Gueuze found her deceit rather entertaining. The king was already preparing everything to pass the throne directly to Lewis. If Lewis died, chaos would surely follow.

In such a situation, if Gueuze had a child of his own, things would take a very interesting turn. Yes, a child was exactly what he needed.

His wife had long since passed, and despite his decadent lifestyle, he had neither a steady mistress nor any acknowledged illegitimate children. This had led to some unflattering rumors. If they were just rumors, he could have dismissed them, but they were true, which made them far more problematic.

Gueuze made up his mind.

“Very well. I won’t dispose of you for the time being. But if you fail to please me, I’ll make you into a mounted display at once. Remember, your life is in my hands.”

“Your Highness, you will come to love me.”

Perhaps.

Carynne smiled.

After killing Lewis, he would toy with her, then kill her too.

Gueuze smiled as well.

“Fine. I won’t deal with you for the time being. But if you fail to please me, I will turn you into a taxidermy exhibit on the spot. Remember, your life is in my hands.”

“You will fall in love with me, Your Highness.”

Maybe.

Carynne smiled.

After killing Lewis, she would play with him before ending his life.

Gueuze smiled as well.

* * *

“Carynne Hare, you are pregnant.”

The doctor informed her. Carynne lowered her head.

“…I see.”

Though it was the pregnancy she had longed for, the situation was far from ideal. She was nothing more than Gueuze’s plaything—nothing more, nothing less. While she had avoided an immediate death in the underground prison, the crown prince still didn’t trust her and was constantly waiting for the right moment to kill her.

She didn’t feel a sudden surge of maternal instinct or sadness. What mattered most was herself, and after that, Raymond. The child in her womb was not her priority.

“It can’t be helped.”

From the beginning, her reason for wanting to get pregnant was her desire for death. Pregnancy, as a means to reach death, was far removed from any result of love.

Even if the child’s father was her beloved Raymond, it wouldn’t change anything. The child wasn’t the result of love between them. It was just another new life, created to take on the burdens she wished to escape—another extension of herself.

Carynne thought of her mother, Catherine, who looked so much like her. People often remarked that they were almost identical, as if they were the same person. Carynne imagined that the Grand Duchess Carla, and even Carla’s mother before her, must have also looked like her.

What kind of lives had they lived? How many times had they chosen death? To outsiders, their lives might have seemed like eternal youth, but after enough cycles of death, a deep longing for true death would set in.

If only Catherine had told her that the way to finally reach death was through a simple pregnancy—well, as simple as it could be in their world—what kind of life would Carynne have led?

It doesn’t matter now.

That was all in the past.

This time, she would succeed. She would survive by any means necessary and eventually reach a proper death.

Carynne clenched her fists over her belly, gritting her teeth at the man who wasn’t there.

Even swallowing him whole wouldn’t quench her rage.

Because of one word from Isella, she had chosen a life full of thorns instead of a peaceful death. And Isella had spoken the truth. Because it was the truth, Carynne knew she had no choice but to walk this path to the end.

Dullan, you fucking bastard.