KFBRV - Chapter 96



How do you know that?

“That’s why you became my slave. You thought you could completely destroy the Empire by winning my favor and taking me out of the Empire.”

Karl's expressionless head quickly made a decision.

'This woman is better off dead.'

Once she realizes the intention, seduction is impossible. Then, the method of cleanly stealing the Purifier also disappears.

'It would be better to kill the Emperor and the woman here to help the empire fall.'

If the person he imprinted dies, he will also die. So, the woman's life cannot be ended here all at once.

After reducing her to a near-death state, he'll have to kidnap her.

The problem is that he'll have to take the other Fenrir clan members with him to chase after the Transcendent One for a while... but it doesn't matter.

'If I use it as a card that sacrifices my life, I can somehow stop three S-class enemies. The Fenrir clan will not be destroyed.'

Karl put strength into his fingertips. Even if he had the strength of a normal human, it wouldn't be a problem at all...

That was when.

“You intend to kill me in the end. And then you intend to kill yourself.”

The woman laughed hollowly. For some reason, when he saw her face, he felt the strength drain from his hands.

Odette's two eyes were looking at him.

'Teal-green...'

He was sure he had seen these eyes somewhere.

“You said meeting me was your greatest luck? Was that a lie you were trying to win my favor?”

Karl blinked with emotionless eyes. There was no need to lie, so Karl shook his head.

“I meant what I said.”

She is the one who will write the gold coins for Fenrir and is also the best key to the downfall of the empire. Such a useful woman has come into his hands on her own.

Of course, it was the best luck. But...

'Is that really all? Was it really because of this woman's utility that I felt lucky?'

Karl felt uneasy. The waves he had felt before were making him uncomfortable.

“Yeah. I think so.”

The woman continued speaking without averting her eyes from Karl even though she thought he could kill her.

“Karl, listen carefully. Do you know why I said you were more valuable than your fallen clan? Because you’re alive.”

“...”

“It doesn’t matter if it’s revenge of your own free will. Whether it’s the mission to protect the Fenrir clan or sacrificing your life for revenge, it doesn’t matter if it’s something you’ve chosen.”

“...”

"If you are simply wielding your father's command, you don't have to give your life."

The woman said this and grabbed Karl by the collar.

“You are my slave, aren’t you? You must follow my orders, not those given by the ghost of your father.”

The woman's turquoise eyes blinked.

With that, Karl realized who he had first met eyes with, and why he felt a sense of familiarity in this turquoise.

‘...At that time, in that cradle.’

An invisible entity. Something that looked at Karl with pity. Didn't that feel the same as now?

'Ah.'

Karl realized, somehow, that she had been in the cradle with him at that time.

At the same time, he remembered what his father had said to him in the cradle.

“Your heart, your body. Use them all as objects to protect the Fenrir clan. If anything is attacking the Fenrir kingdom, sacrifice yourself to eliminate it. The only value of your existence lies in eliminating the enemies of Fenrir.”

“Karl, as your sole master, I command you to disobey your father’s orders.”

As he listened to Odette's calm voice, Karl felt something like a chain breaking in his head.

The red eyes of his father that he once saw. The abilities of Chief Fenrir that even Karl himself did not know about. His father's 'command' remained in himself.

Karl instinctively realized the abilities he could demonstrate as a leader.

Then Karl's eyes glowed red. It was to erase his father's abilities with the power of the modern leader.

“... Your eyes.”

With his father's powers gone, Karl felt a sense of calm returning to his mind. It didn't take long or much effort to erase 'command'.

Blind loyalty to the clan. Unconditional sacrifice for the protection of the clan. An overwhelming sense of anxiety that one's own existence would crumble with each death of the clan.

When the brainwashing that the previous leader, Fenrir, had put in place was broken, Karl finally found his true self.

“...Master.”

"No way..."

Odette looked at him in disbelief.

It felt like he was born again.

He looked at the woman holding him with red, burning eyes, like a bird hatching from an egg and seeing its mother for the first time.

“The master asked me to choose.”

Karl spoke in a calm voice, somehow holding back the laughter that was about to burst out.

All his actions and emotions up until now had not been influenced by Karl's will at all. So now, for the first time in his life, he was acting according to his own will and judgment, which felt very unfamiliar and somewhat ecstatic.

'I can't believe I've never been able to escape from something this easy in my entire life.'

In the place where the blind sense of responsibility towards Fenrir disappeared, a greedy curiosity that even he could not identify began to slowly bloom.

The small, white hands that held him, the red lips that gave him strict orders, and the cheeks that flushed with excitement. And... the blue-green eyes that he met again after the moment of the beginning.

Karl, who was examining each woman in front of him one by one, quickly came to a conclusion.

Fenrir's name meant nothing to him now. He could probably kill the three children locked in the cell right now.

If only he could get his master right in front of him.

“I’m glad my master is alive.”

“...The brainwashing has been broken.”

Odette made a sound as if she had realized something. Karl nodded, meekly and obediently.

To look as helpless and pitiful as possible.

“Master...”

And Karl tried to make the most pitiful expression he could. Fortunately, the aftereffects of something breaking in his brain caused him to shed tears.

It was the first tear he had ever shed in his life.

“...Karl? Why you...”

Fortunately, the woman had a surprised expression on her face. Looking at her face, Karl was sure that he could change her mind.

Odette doesn't know that the previous Karl, who was blinded by command, was much closer to being human than the current Karl.

“...Master.”

Tears streamed down Karl's cheeks. He took advantage of them, disgustingly.

“Please don’t abandon me...”

Karl willingly and gladly knelt before Odette. Please, let him look pitiful. He was even grateful to Sion who had half killed him and suppressed his feelings of oppression.

“I was wrong...”

“Karl. Oh, I understand... Calm down for now. Yes?”

What Theodore said was true. Odette was weaker than she seemed to be when it came to looking pitiful.

'The time spent with those kids was useful.'

Really, Odette was at a loss.

“Karl, don’t cry... Yes?”

His master has absolutely no talent for appeasing.

Didn't Karl almost lose much fun just because of that weakling's command? A living master is much more fun than a dead master.

Odette, who had been fidgeting, finally spoke.

“Yes. I will allow you to continue to be my slave.”

Karl nodded his head gently and meekly, tears streaming down his face.

After the brainwashing was broken, the true value of the woman in front of him was revealed. The only 'something' that made Karl feel some kind of emotion.

'If it weren't for this woman, I would have spent my whole life chasing that boring goal?'

Karl shivered as pitifully as he could. It was the first time in his life that he had pondered over 'emotions' so much.

How do you act as a 'good boy who woke up from brainwashing'? It was difficult because he had never thought about goodness before.

Fortunately, there was nothing awkward, and Odette's eyes, looking at him, relaxed.

'You're weak at this kind of thing?'

Karl now had his expression memorized. The seventeen-year-old's cry relieved his master.


Previous                Next



Support Novellate!

        Buy Me A Coffee

Comments