“I don’t know what my father wants me to confess.”
“Do you think I can just let this go? You’ve gained too much from the hunting competition. Are you going to claim it was just a coincidence?”
“What do you mean I got it?”
“Karl has become your servant, and you have become the winner of this summer’s hunting competition!”
The winner of the Athena Island Hunt. That meant Odette would soon become the public object of envy of the empire.
'That won't do. This girl should be hated as a terrible villain! That way, even if she's later revealed to be a fake Purifier, she'll be the only one to take the blame.'
The Count had a hunch that Odette had done something, even though there was no evidence, and so he was pressuring her.
“Can’t you tell me every single thing you did?!”
“Father, then tell me. Was there any way you could have done something to me? I have never acted alone without Mrs. Becker or Dolly watching over me.”
But that was the problem. Odette didn't even have time to make a fuss.
'I asked Dolly and Mrs. Becker, but there was never a moment of lapse in surveillance. Odette never acted alone.'
Even when resting in the room.
'What if it was prepared in advance at the mansion? ...No, that is even more impossible.'
Because in the Count's residence, Odette was subject to even more restrictions.
Odette had hardly ever been out of the mansion or out of her room in recent years. This was a fact, as Mrs. Becker assured him.
“Father, think about it. I have no way to disobey you, and no opportunity to do so.”
But despite this, the Count was suspicious of Odette. The submissive look in her eyes had disappeared.
He raised her well so that she had no choice but to cling to her parents even though she knew she would get beaten.
'The stubborn attitude of silently accepting punishment actually looks like rebellion.'
That attitude of enduring for two hours on a stone floor so cold that even kneeling for a moment felt like torture.
“Odette. If you lie to me even once in this oratory, I will banish you immediately.”
The Count warned with sincerity this time, not with bravado.
There was something about Odette that he had a feeling he couldn't let go of.
“Yes, Father. Even if you excommunicate me, I have no shame or fear whatsoever.”
Odette looked at him with stern eyes.
The Count groaned softly, for there was not a single trace of fear in her eyes.
'So is this really all just a coincidence? Her arm being filled with this magical tool, and Karl being stolen by Odette?'
At that moment, Ferdinand, who was watching the net at the entrance to the west wing, spoke.
“Father, it’s already been two hours. Can you stop now? My friends are waiting for me.”
It was a tone that was a bit harsh. It was a tone that made it seem like he was dying from alcohol.
The Count knew Ferdinand was an impatient person, but he was resentful that he said something like that in this situation.
“Shut up, you idiot! Don’t you understand the situation? If this is Odette’s doing, my arm could be blown off, and all you want to do is drink?”
The Count's voice, which had become sensitive, was sharp. Ferdinand shut his mouth tightly and went out to look at the net of the west wing again.
Odette, as always, cautiously observed his every move. At the same time, the tense atmosphere between Odette and the Count suddenly eased.
“I made a choice because I wanted to be loved by my father... What’s mine belongs to you anyway. Karl also belongs to you, Father.”
A voice as gentle and submissive as ever.
The Count was briefly confused by Odette's 180-degree change in appearance. What is this? Why is the rebellious girl just a moment ago-.
'Did I feel her rebellious because I was tired? After a few days of seasickness and running around in hunting competitions.'
It was an extraordinary and extreme change of attitude. It was so extreme that the Count began to doubt his own senses.
His intuition had been warning him to be wary of Odette, but perhaps his intuition had dulled.
“You stay on your knees!”
The Count, hoping that the cold wind would help him regain his composure, left the prayer room.
'If there had been even a momentary lapse in Odette's surveillance, she would have declared it was this child's doing. There was absolutely no lapse... '
At that moment, Ferdinand called the Count.
“Father, the palace apothecary has come to see you to ask you a question.”
“What is it?”
“They are currently treating Karl’s injuries by order of the Emperor, but a high dose of brainwashing drug has been found in Karl’s blood. They came to ask if Lady Odette or the Count know anything about it.”
... Brainwashing drugs? Of course, I injected them.
“Send in the pharmacist.”
Then the pharmacist came in with his head bowed. To summarize what the pharmacist said, it was as follows:
“Karl has too many brainwashing drugs left. If he had used this much, his brain would have definitely become abnormal. He would have been bound by the orders he received with the drug injection and would have blindly and unconditionally followed those orders. It would be like an obsession. If there is any order given while injecting the drug that is considered dangerous, please tell me.”
And when the Count heard those words, he searched his memory.
“You know. His master is Odette, and it is she who orders me to do this.”
Now that he thinks about it, he did say something like that once while administering the brainwashing drugs.
The Count frowned.
All I said in passing was, 'Odette is your master,' and you think I can be arrested for that?
As far as he knew, brainwashing drugs had to be administered for at least a month, and the brainwashing words had to be repeated consistently during that time to be effective.
But the court apothecary said firmly, 'Absolutely, absolutely.'
'...Only a master of pharmacy can become a court apothecary, so that would be right.'
He wanted to ask, "Is it effective even if it's only once?" but he couldn't ask such a stupid question. That would be no different from a confession.
“Oh my. It seems that Odette did something really bad to Karl. Can I ask her to secretly brainwash him?”
That's why the Count had no choice but to smile sadly and say that to the pharmacist.
As soon as the pharmacist said he understood and turned to the infirmary, the Count's expression changed.
'Damn. Was I mumbling something useless back then?'
The brainwashing drug was injected a little more than the original dosage... no, a lot more generously. About three times?
As a member of the Fenrir clan, it seemed that it would only be effective if the capacity was large.
'So, is it because of that small mistake that Karl became obsessively loyal to Odette?'
His gut still screamed that it wasn't true, but at least it made sense.
The Count frowned and searched his memory, once again to make sure he hadn't missed anything.
From the day Karl came to the Count's residence, through the ball, to this day.
The Count, recalling the reports made by Mrs. Becker, Paula, and Dolly, could not help but come to this conclusion.
'None. There is no room for Odette to plan anything.'
Still feeling uneasy, the Count tried to make a bold assumption as a final step in his review.
'What if Vanessa or Dolly, one of the two, joined hands with Odette? If I question them, the answer will come out...'
It was at that moment that Ferdinand, outside the side door, reacted with a loud voice of surprise.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince! What brings you here?”
“Do you think I can just let this go? You’ve gained too much from the hunting competition. Are you going to claim it was just a coincidence?”
“What do you mean I got it?”
“Karl has become your servant, and you have become the winner of this summer’s hunting competition!”
The winner of the Athena Island Hunt. That meant Odette would soon become the public object of envy of the empire.
'That won't do. This girl should be hated as a terrible villain! That way, even if she's later revealed to be a fake Purifier, she'll be the only one to take the blame.'
The Count had a hunch that Odette had done something, even though there was no evidence, and so he was pressuring her.
“Can’t you tell me every single thing you did?!”
“Father, then tell me. Was there any way you could have done something to me? I have never acted alone without Mrs. Becker or Dolly watching over me.”
But that was the problem. Odette didn't even have time to make a fuss.
'I asked Dolly and Mrs. Becker, but there was never a moment of lapse in surveillance. Odette never acted alone.'
Even when resting in the room.
'What if it was prepared in advance at the mansion? ...No, that is even more impossible.'
Because in the Count's residence, Odette was subject to even more restrictions.
Odette had hardly ever been out of the mansion or out of her room in recent years. This was a fact, as Mrs. Becker assured him.
“Father, think about it. I have no way to disobey you, and no opportunity to do so.”
But despite this, the Count was suspicious of Odette. The submissive look in her eyes had disappeared.
He raised her well so that she had no choice but to cling to her parents even though she knew she would get beaten.
'The stubborn attitude of silently accepting punishment actually looks like rebellion.'
That attitude of enduring for two hours on a stone floor so cold that even kneeling for a moment felt like torture.
“Odette. If you lie to me even once in this oratory, I will banish you immediately.”
The Count warned with sincerity this time, not with bravado.
There was something about Odette that he had a feeling he couldn't let go of.
“Yes, Father. Even if you excommunicate me, I have no shame or fear whatsoever.”
Odette looked at him with stern eyes.
The Count groaned softly, for there was not a single trace of fear in her eyes.
'So is this really all just a coincidence? Her arm being filled with this magical tool, and Karl being stolen by Odette?'
At that moment, Ferdinand, who was watching the net at the entrance to the west wing, spoke.
“Father, it’s already been two hours. Can you stop now? My friends are waiting for me.”
It was a tone that was a bit harsh. It was a tone that made it seem like he was dying from alcohol.
The Count knew Ferdinand was an impatient person, but he was resentful that he said something like that in this situation.
“Shut up, you idiot! Don’t you understand the situation? If this is Odette’s doing, my arm could be blown off, and all you want to do is drink?”
The Count's voice, which had become sensitive, was sharp. Ferdinand shut his mouth tightly and went out to look at the net of the west wing again.
Thump, thump!
The sound of his powerful footsteps clearly showed that he was hurt by his father.
But the Count had no intention of appeasing his pitiful son.
“So, are you saying that Karl suddenly became eager to offer you loyalty and a laurel wreath?”
“How, in what way could I have persuaded Karl? I also don’t know why Karl acted that way.”
“Then why did you take His Majesty’s award for granted? Why did you also take for granted the laurel wreath that Karl presented to you?”
“Wasn’t it the case that His Majesty was lusting after Karl? If I had refused, His Majesty would have taken Karl away from me, and it would have been difficult for my father.”
There is nothing wrong with that. Odette has more control than the Emperor.
If that was the old Odette, he would have believed it. If she had been thirsty like a beggar for his love and approval.
But this woman, who doesn't show any signs of submissiveness, could not possibly have acted with such intentions-
That was the moment.
“Father, I just did my best to make the choices you would like the most... I didn’t know you would be this angry.”
But the Count had no intention of appeasing his pitiful son.
“So, are you saying that Karl suddenly became eager to offer you loyalty and a laurel wreath?”
“How, in what way could I have persuaded Karl? I also don’t know why Karl acted that way.”
“Then why did you take His Majesty’s award for granted? Why did you also take for granted the laurel wreath that Karl presented to you?”
“Wasn’t it the case that His Majesty was lusting after Karl? If I had refused, His Majesty would have taken Karl away from me, and it would have been difficult for my father.”
There is nothing wrong with that. Odette has more control than the Emperor.
If that was the old Odette, he would have believed it. If she had been thirsty like a beggar for his love and approval.
But this woman, who doesn't show any signs of submissiveness, could not possibly have acted with such intentions-
That was the moment.
“Father, I just did my best to make the choices you would like the most... I didn’t know you would be this angry.”
Odette, as always, cautiously observed his every move. At the same time, the tense atmosphere between Odette and the Count suddenly eased.
“I made a choice because I wanted to be loved by my father... What’s mine belongs to you anyway. Karl also belongs to you, Father.”
A voice as gentle and submissive as ever.
The Count was briefly confused by Odette's 180-degree change in appearance. What is this? Why is the rebellious girl just a moment ago-.
'Did I feel her rebellious because I was tired? After a few days of seasickness and running around in hunting competitions.'
It was an extraordinary and extreme change of attitude. It was so extreme that the Count began to doubt his own senses.
His intuition had been warning him to be wary of Odette, but perhaps his intuition had dulled.
“You stay on your knees!”
The Count, hoping that the cold wind would help him regain his composure, left the prayer room.
'If there had been even a momentary lapse in Odette's surveillance, she would have declared it was this child's doing. There was absolutely no lapse... '
At that moment, Ferdinand called the Count.
“Father, the palace apothecary has come to see you to ask you a question.”
“What is it?”
“They are currently treating Karl’s injuries by order of the Emperor, but a high dose of brainwashing drug has been found in Karl’s blood. They came to ask if Lady Odette or the Count know anything about it.”
... Brainwashing drugs? Of course, I injected them.
“Send in the pharmacist.”
Then the pharmacist came in with his head bowed. To summarize what the pharmacist said, it was as follows:
“Karl has too many brainwashing drugs left. If he had used this much, his brain would have definitely become abnormal. He would have been bound by the orders he received with the drug injection and would have blindly and unconditionally followed those orders. It would be like an obsession. If there is any order given while injecting the drug that is considered dangerous, please tell me.”
And when the Count heard those words, he searched his memory.
“You know. His master is Odette, and it is she who orders me to do this.”
Now that he thinks about it, he did say something like that once while administering the brainwashing drugs.
The Count frowned.
All I said in passing was, 'Odette is your master,' and you think I can be arrested for that?
As far as he knew, brainwashing drugs had to be administered for at least a month, and the brainwashing words had to be repeated consistently during that time to be effective.
But the court apothecary said firmly, 'Absolutely, absolutely.'
'...Only a master of pharmacy can become a court apothecary, so that would be right.'
He wanted to ask, "Is it effective even if it's only once?" but he couldn't ask such a stupid question. That would be no different from a confession.
“Oh my. It seems that Odette did something really bad to Karl. Can I ask her to secretly brainwash him?”
That's why the Count had no choice but to smile sadly and say that to the pharmacist.
As soon as the pharmacist said he understood and turned to the infirmary, the Count's expression changed.
'Damn. Was I mumbling something useless back then?'
The brainwashing drug was injected a little more than the original dosage... no, a lot more generously. About three times?
As a member of the Fenrir clan, it seemed that it would only be effective if the capacity was large.
'So, is it because of that small mistake that Karl became obsessively loyal to Odette?'
His gut still screamed that it wasn't true, but at least it made sense.
The Count frowned and searched his memory, once again to make sure he hadn't missed anything.
From the day Karl came to the Count's residence, through the ball, to this day.
The Count, recalling the reports made by Mrs. Becker, Paula, and Dolly, could not help but come to this conclusion.
'None. There is no room for Odette to plan anything.'
Still feeling uneasy, the Count tried to make a bold assumption as a final step in his review.
'What if Vanessa or Dolly, one of the two, joined hands with Odette? If I question them, the answer will come out...'
It was at that moment that Ferdinand, outside the side door, reacted with a loud voice of surprise.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince! What brings you here?”
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