“I’ve never actually been scolded by anyone. I’ve never been forgiven either.”
“...”
It was strange.
That kid has the most 'human' expression on his face she's ever seen.
Karl's real smile, something she's never seen before in her past life, this life, or even in a game.
The head maid, Dolly, was a loyal servant to the Countess.
But that loyalty came from money: from the enormous tips, the Countess generously showered upon her.
It meant that she was by no means loyal enough to share the fate of the Countess, who would soon lose all her authority and be deposed.
Besides, in Dolly’s judgment, this false accusation case was already over. In a situation where the truth was clearly revealed, trying to deny it would only lead to a quagmire, so abandoning Madam was the right answer for now.
“Madam, I beg you, it would be better to quickly admit your mistake and beg the Count.”
“Dolly, you did this on your own?! I didn’t order you to do it. Dolly did it on her own.”
But no one could believe that. Everyone knew that the maid was the Countess's second-most-confident person, second only to Paula.
Since Dolly admitted the Countess's guilt, the truth was as plain as day.
“Since the Countess refuses to admit it to the end, there’s nothing we can do. Even if we call Paula a witness, she’ll probably take the Countess’ side. Bring the coachman who was with her here immediately!”
When the witness was mentioned, the Countess suddenly changed her words.
“Yes. Even if the diamond earrings were like that today, Mrs. Becker is certainly the culprit! Who sent me a report accusing Mrs. Becker of theft? I was only doing my duty as the landlady who was accused!”
“Then where is the complaint?”
“That, that, it just suddenly disappeared. Really!”
Even though this was true to the Countess, a snicker came out from among the servants.
Ironically, of all the things the Countess said, the one thing that sounded the most absurd was the true one.
“I really received a complaint, but all of a sudden the letters disappeared! Seriously!”
The Countess beat her chest in frustration. But the more she did so, the louder the laughter among the servants grew.
“Oh, really? So that letter was written with magic?”
The Count mocked sarcastically.
“It really disappeared that day? It was definitely there until the moment I read it in front of the people below!”
Now the maids and servants didn't seem to have any intention of hiding their laughter, as giggles leaked out freely.
“Shut up! Who are you laughing at?”
That was when.
“Master, the complaint you mentioned was left in your room!”
One of the servants brought a crisp postcard.
High-quality paper. Amazingly pure white, unlike most letter papers which have a slightly yellowish tint.
The pure white postcards that could only be used in the palace were extremely precious. Moreover, the vertical stripes of blue and red on the border were so luxurious that they were remembered by all the servants and maids present.
“This is the paper that the madam showed to everyone when she received the complaint. I remember this paper too. However, there is nothing written inside.”
“No! I said only the letters disappeared! It’s real, it’s real!”
“It’s unlikely that there would be two sheets of such good quality and unique paper. And there’s no special equipment. Above all, if the letters on the complaint were gone, why didn’t you mention it until yesterday?”
'Well, if the letter disappears, everyone will assume that Mrs. Becker's crime was fabricated! We have to pretend that the postcard still exists so we have an excuse to lock up Mrs. Becker!'
But saying that was self-destructive. As long as they couldn't say that, the people in this room had only one conclusion to make.
“Perhaps the lady was reading from a blank sheet of paper at that time because she wanted to frame Mrs. Becker as a thief.”
“Whew. It looks like that. Good work, Jacob.”
“Why doesn’t anyone believe me? It’s so unfair! I’m telling the truth!”
The Countess glared at the servant with resentment. The Count asked in a calm tone.
“Sasha, do you really believe that the complaint is real?”
“I don’t believe it’s real-”
The Countess, who was about to shout, “I’m telling you, really!”, quickly shut her mouth the moment she saw the Count’s face.
It was because the eyes of the Count asking the question were like those of a snake. It was clearly an expression of an ulterior motive.
She didn't realize it when she was constantly yelling, but when she stopped talking, she realized how quiet the surroundings were.
The servants and maids were already looking at her as if she were a crazy woman.
“...”
It was strange.
That kid has the most 'human' expression on his face she's ever seen.
Karl's real smile, something she's never seen before in her past life, this life, or even in a game.
Odette was at a loss for words for a moment, then thought about it and added.
“...I hope my next wish has nothing to do with Fenrir. I hope it’s a wish for you.”
“Master?”
“You are more precious to me than dead Fenrir.”
As Odette said that, she lightly tapped Karl on the shoulder as if to encourage him.
Karl looked puzzled for a moment, nodded, and left the cabin.
Perhaps he will meet Goetz and join him. Odette too took off her blanket, turned off the fire in the fireplace, and fell into thought.
Karl sees Odette as the only Purifier, the only key to his revenge on the Empire. Now that she knows the truth about him, it's much easier for her to use Karl.
'I can run that kid wild without worrying about things like disgust.'
Perhaps Karl's plan included seducing Odette and destroying the Count's family.
With her, the empire will surely fall only when all the runaway delay agents disappear.
Not knowing that it was a fake purifier, was a wrong choice.
'I had planned to finish my revenge before Charlotte showed up. In fact, this situation has become advantageous for my revenge.'
However... She was sympathizing with Karl.
[ Karl feels little emotion. ]
Among the sentences in the status window earlier, the word 'almost' bothered her.
'Almost,' I mean, I feel the emotion.'
...Isn’t it too much for parents to treat their newborn child so terribly?
She remembered the moment when she first encountered Karl in the prison cell.
The image of Karl running desperately, fearing that the children would die. And the image of him being afraid of falling asleep that she saw a few days ago.
Is that really a pain that cannot be felt without emotion?
And even if you are completely emotionless.
'How can you ask your living son to risk his life for the dead Fenrir?'
Even your father who gave the order is now dead, so why are you bound by that order?
A weapon for Fenrir. A wish for Fenrir. For Fenrir... Then where is Karl’s life?
That image overlapped with hers. Karl, who followed his 'commands' even after his father died, and Odette in her previous life, who followed her father's orders even after being abandoned by him.
Maybe that kid also lost all the remaining opportunities in life because of 'conducting'.
Perhaps he was already a slave to orders before he became her slave?
Aren't you, like me, wasting your precious life following the orders of people who don't love you at all?
Maybe it was because of that sense of kinship that Odette felt a brief sense of guilt. And in the end, the reason she added those unnecessary words was because of that guilt.
'It's hypocritical to feel guilty when you're planning to use it for your revenge anyway.'
Such feelings are unnecessary for revenge. Odette tried to shake off her feelings of pity.
She has no intention of stopping her revenge. She was willing to use Karl as her chess piece.
When Odette left the cabin, there wasn't a hint of bitterness left in her
“Before we left for the ball, the madam ordered me to take any of the jewels in her room and hide them in Mrs. Becker’s room, and when the opportunity arose... to pretend to have found them stolen.”
After a long interrogation, the head maid lowered her head and confessed.
“No, no! The maid is lying now. How dare you lie to her?”
“Madam, please stop... Some people heard our conversation at that time... The groom and Paula who were there will all remember that conversation.”
“...I hope my next wish has nothing to do with Fenrir. I hope it’s a wish for you.”
“Master?”
“You are more precious to me than dead Fenrir.”
As Odette said that, she lightly tapped Karl on the shoulder as if to encourage him.
Karl looked puzzled for a moment, nodded, and left the cabin.
Perhaps he will meet Goetz and join him. Odette too took off her blanket, turned off the fire in the fireplace, and fell into thought.
***
Karl sees Odette as the only Purifier, the only key to his revenge on the Empire. Now that she knows the truth about him, it's much easier for her to use Karl.
'I can run that kid wild without worrying about things like disgust.'
Perhaps Karl's plan included seducing Odette and destroying the Count's family.
With her, the empire will surely fall only when all the runaway delay agents disappear.
Not knowing that it was a fake purifier, was a wrong choice.
'I had planned to finish my revenge before Charlotte showed up. In fact, this situation has become advantageous for my revenge.'
However... She was sympathizing with Karl.
[ Karl feels little emotion. ]
Among the sentences in the status window earlier, the word 'almost' bothered her.
'Almost,' I mean, I feel the emotion.'
...Isn’t it too much for parents to treat their newborn child so terribly?
She remembered the moment when she first encountered Karl in the prison cell.
The image of Karl running desperately, fearing that the children would die. And the image of him being afraid of falling asleep that she saw a few days ago.
Is that really a pain that cannot be felt without emotion?
And even if you are completely emotionless.
'How can you ask your living son to risk his life for the dead Fenrir?'
Even your father who gave the order is now dead, so why are you bound by that order?
A weapon for Fenrir. A wish for Fenrir. For Fenrir... Then where is Karl’s life?
That image overlapped with hers. Karl, who followed his 'commands' even after his father died, and Odette in her previous life, who followed her father's orders even after being abandoned by him.
Maybe that kid also lost all the remaining opportunities in life because of 'conducting'.
Perhaps he was already a slave to orders before he became her slave?
Aren't you, like me, wasting your precious life following the orders of people who don't love you at all?
Maybe it was because of that sense of kinship that Odette felt a brief sense of guilt. And in the end, the reason she added those unnecessary words was because of that guilt.
'It's hypocritical to feel guilty when you're planning to use it for your revenge anyway.'
Such feelings are unnecessary for revenge. Odette tried to shake off her feelings of pity.
She has no intention of stopping her revenge. She was willing to use Karl as her chess piece.
When Odette left the cabin, there wasn't a hint of bitterness left in her
***
“Before we left for the ball, the madam ordered me to take any of the jewels in her room and hide them in Mrs. Becker’s room, and when the opportunity arose... to pretend to have found them stolen.”
After a long interrogation, the head maid lowered her head and confessed.
“No, no! The maid is lying now. How dare you lie to her?”
“Madam, please stop... Some people heard our conversation at that time... The groom and Paula who were there will all remember that conversation.”
The head maid, Dolly, was a loyal servant to the Countess.
But that loyalty came from money: from the enormous tips, the Countess generously showered upon her.
It meant that she was by no means loyal enough to share the fate of the Countess, who would soon lose all her authority and be deposed.
Besides, in Dolly’s judgment, this false accusation case was already over. In a situation where the truth was clearly revealed, trying to deny it would only lead to a quagmire, so abandoning Madam was the right answer for now.
“Madam, I beg you, it would be better to quickly admit your mistake and beg the Count.”
“Dolly, you did this on your own?! I didn’t order you to do it. Dolly did it on her own.”
But no one could believe that. Everyone knew that the maid was the Countess's second-most-confident person, second only to Paula.
Since Dolly admitted the Countess's guilt, the truth was as plain as day.
“Since the Countess refuses to admit it to the end, there’s nothing we can do. Even if we call Paula a witness, she’ll probably take the Countess’ side. Bring the coachman who was with her here immediately!”
When the witness was mentioned, the Countess suddenly changed her words.
“Yes. Even if the diamond earrings were like that today, Mrs. Becker is certainly the culprit! Who sent me a report accusing Mrs. Becker of theft? I was only doing my duty as the landlady who was accused!”
“Then where is the complaint?”
“That, that, it just suddenly disappeared. Really!”
Even though this was true to the Countess, a snicker came out from among the servants.
Ironically, of all the things the Countess said, the one thing that sounded the most absurd was the true one.
“I really received a complaint, but all of a sudden the letters disappeared! Seriously!”
The Countess beat her chest in frustration. But the more she did so, the louder the laughter among the servants grew.
“Oh, really? So that letter was written with magic?”
The Count mocked sarcastically.
“It really disappeared that day? It was definitely there until the moment I read it in front of the people below!”
Now the maids and servants didn't seem to have any intention of hiding their laughter, as giggles leaked out freely.
“Shut up! Who are you laughing at?”
That was when.
“Master, the complaint you mentioned was left in your room!”
One of the servants brought a crisp postcard.
High-quality paper. Amazingly pure white, unlike most letter papers which have a slightly yellowish tint.
The pure white postcards that could only be used in the palace were extremely precious. Moreover, the vertical stripes of blue and red on the border were so luxurious that they were remembered by all the servants and maids present.
“This is the paper that the madam showed to everyone when she received the complaint. I remember this paper too. However, there is nothing written inside.”
“No! I said only the letters disappeared! It’s real, it’s real!”
“It’s unlikely that there would be two sheets of such good quality and unique paper. And there’s no special equipment. Above all, if the letters on the complaint were gone, why didn’t you mention it until yesterday?”
'Well, if the letter disappears, everyone will assume that Mrs. Becker's crime was fabricated! We have to pretend that the postcard still exists so we have an excuse to lock up Mrs. Becker!'
But saying that was self-destructive. As long as they couldn't say that, the people in this room had only one conclusion to make.
“Perhaps the lady was reading from a blank sheet of paper at that time because she wanted to frame Mrs. Becker as a thief.”
“Whew. It looks like that. Good work, Jacob.”
“Why doesn’t anyone believe me? It’s so unfair! I’m telling the truth!”
The Countess glared at the servant with resentment. The Count asked in a calm tone.
“Sasha, do you really believe that the complaint is real?”
“I don’t believe it’s real-”
The Countess, who was about to shout, “I’m telling you, really!”, quickly shut her mouth the moment she saw the Count’s face.
It was because the eyes of the Count asking the question were like those of a snake. It was clearly an expression of an ulterior motive.
She didn't realize it when she was constantly yelling, but when she stopped talking, she realized how quiet the surroundings were.
The servants and maids were already looking at her as if she were a crazy woman.
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment