KFBRV - Chapter 46




“...!”

The gold in Sion's eyes disappeared and returned to a perfect purple. Judging from his expression, he seemed quite surprised that his brainwashing had been broken.

“...Impressive, Albrecht. You’re not a Purifier, you’re a Transcendent? I’ve never seen anyone withstand this.”

That fucking kid looked genuinely impressed.

“I got a hit, Albrecht.”

He looked somewhat relieved, even though he had only had one bite.

Is it just me or is it just my imagination that this looks exactly like the expression on Sion's face in the game when he realizes his feelings for Charlotte?

Sion released her arm that he had been holding and lit a cigar. Odette could have died of embarrassment at the sight of his relieved expression, but she forced herself to smile, lifting the corners of her lips.

While acting as if the vivid hallucinations of the four male protagonists that were right in front of her eyes were not visible.

As if the babbling of the hallucinations of Sion from her past life was completely unheard of.

“Why don’t you just kill him quickly and finish him off? Lotte is waiting, so we have to go back quickly.”

“I need time to wash up and go back. I can’t meet Charlotte with my body entangled with something disgusting like this.”

Odette opened her mouth with a smile.

You said you didn’t like it because you felt like any precious item would be contaminated the moment it touched me?

At her voice, Sion turned his gaze back to her.

“Oh, that’s-”

Then, unable to continue speaking, his expression hardened.

“I understand very well how much you detest me, so please go back. I will never offer you anything again.”

Fucking S-class.

While Odette was briefly enduring that guy's brainwashing, her stamina dropped so much that her limbs were shaking.

Even the corners of her mouth are trembling.

"You-"

Sion's face, illuminated by moonlight as clouds passed by, was cold and frozen.

He was smiling so relievedly just a moment ago, but now he seems to have gotten angry.

“...Are you crying now?”

'Am I crying?'

At Sion's words, Odette was startled and touched her cheek. It was indeed wet.

It seemed that she had endured all the brainwashing that had been trying to make her cry, and now she was shedding tears of her own accord.

Wouldn't it be a weird sight, with tears streaming down my face while I'm smiling?

Feeling embarrassed, Odette roughly wiped away her tears with the palm of her hand.

[ Time left until stamina debuff: 15 minutes ]

[ Get out of the danger zone. ]


A status window appeared in front of her eyes as if warning her not to waste any more time.

Now was not the time to be feeling embarrassed.

“Your Grace, I will be going now.”

Even in response to her greeting, Sion's face remained frozen and he didn't move a single hair. It was as if he had frozen in place.

Odette quickly greeted him and then hurriedly left the place.

[ Pause lifted: Resume display of hate ]

[Disgust reduced during pause time: 20]

[ Dislike level: 45 ]


'Why did the disgust level decrease?'

It was hard to understand the window that appeared before her eyes, but Odette focused on running. The priority was to get into the hotel within 15 minutes.

As soon as she arrived at the hotel, the window she had been waiting for appeared.

[ Out of the danger zone! ]

As soon as Odette saw that safe window, she fell down with a health debuff.

***

As soon as dawn broke the next day, Odette returned to the mansion through the secret passage and met Malea.

To tell who should use the peony tea she brought from the salon.

Odette, who had sent Malea away, was lost in thought.

'I think it would be best not to use the secret passage for a while.'

The Count will be back soon with Ferdinand. He may burst into her room at any moment, so it would be safer to stay in her room as much as possible.

Karl will be coming as a slave soon, so it would be better to prepare for that day.

The only good thing was that Goetz had recommended someone useful at the time.

At that moment, a commotion was heard from the first floor of the mansion. It seemed that the Count had finally finished his long negotiations and returned from the palace.

“These damn things! It’s gotten to this point and not a single person is coming to report to the palace?!”

“Oh, hold on, my lord. My lord said that negotiations at the palace are of the utmost importance, so do not disturb-”

“Are you brainless? Robbers are breaking out, slave ships are suddenly wrecked, and landslides are occurring. Don’t you think of reporting this to me? Shouldn’t you report this to me by any means necessary?”

The unbridled swearing echoed from the lobby to her room.

The Count was clearly angry enough to see his eyes spinning as the sounds of objects breaking and crashing were heard afterward.

Count Albrecht, who had pretended to be a good person to the common servants for the sake of his reputation, was nowhere to be seen.

Odette opened the door and walked out elegantly, leaning her arms on the railing and looking down into the lobby.

The sight of the servants running around in a panic and the Count shouting was spectacular.

Soon the vassals, who had become thoughtful, came in, calmed the Count down, and hurried into the office.

'I guess you were very surprised because this is your first time hearing such bad news.'

Odette smiled brightly.

'Don't worry. I'll make sure you get used to bad news from now on.'

The first domino of revenge against her father was about to fall.

Domino exploits Paula's resentment.

***

As the noise in the noisy lobby died down, Paula headed to the kitchen to get the Countess's chicken soup.

'Ah, poor mother.'

The Countess abstained from food and drink during the period of her imprisonment and remained in seclusion, for she was so distressed by her son's betrayal that she could not visit the Empress's salon.

Although she sent Maleah away, claiming that she was sick, only her maid could enter the gallery.

Because only noble ladies were allowed to enter the salon's interior.

The interior of that salon was the very heart of the social world and the golden ticket to being recognized as a noble lady. It was something her mother had longed for and desired all her life.

'Don't cry. Even Ferdinand ignores Mother, so what am I supposed to do if I can't come to my senses?'

Paula barely held back the tears that threatened to flow.

It was Ferdinand who increased her pension despite the housekeeper and the head maid's pleas.

'He trampled on mother's lifelong wish, and yet he looks as if he has been insulted.'

She didn't know her half-brother was such a selfish bastard. A bastard who didn't even recognize his own mother. Now, the only one who could protect her mother was herself.

“Is the old master still in a bad mood?”

“Nonsense. The aide who went with me told me that His Highness the Crown Prince suddenly disappeared from the danger of running wild. He miraculously recovered his condition as soon as the foundation ceremony was over. The two weeks of negotiations that my lord had been negotiating for became completely meaningless.”

“Huh. Is that possible? Once the rampage starts, it can’t be stopped until it’s purified!”

“Yes! But His Excellency the Marquis Kleist said that negotiations were necessary for the future and negotiated for another two days. But in the end, it seems that it completely fell through. They ended up saying that they couldn’t give it to anyone other than Crown Prince Fenrir!”

“Then wouldn’t it be better to just report that the business is ruined? There are astronomical amounts to be gained from the negotiations, and the footmen wouldn’t interfere.”

“You too, be careful. The atmosphere in the office right now is really tense. Jacob went in to serve coffee and came out spilling hot coffee on himself.”

The maids chattered as they loaded puddings, cookies, and macarons onto trolleys.

Paula, who was scooping up chicken soup with a ladle, raised one corner of her mouth.

'Incompetent Count. You're saying that you foolishly ruined the negotiations after causing such a fuss?'

If it weren't for the slush funds her mother brought, he would have gone bankrupt and become penniless. Paula realized once again how incompetent the Count was.

'Was it my mother who first came up with the idea of ​​pretending to be a fake Purifier for Odette?'

Paula couldn't stand it, seeing her mother being treated this way, when he had always been saved by her.

Her mother's status in the mansion suddenly fell, and the servants had been ignoring her little by little for the past few days, and she hadn't even been able to hit Odette lately.

It meant that stress had built up to the max.

It was then that another maid joined their chatter.

“Hey, is it true that the danger of His Highness the Crown Prince running wild has disappeared?”

“Didn’t you know? They announced it in a big way in yesterday’s evening paper and today’s morning paper.”

“This is totally creepy. It’s exactly like that astrologer said.”

‘...Astrologer?’

Paula found herself unknowingly listening to their conversation at the unexpected word that suddenly appeared.


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