Isn't that the basics of nobility?
It is the law of disciplining subordinates by giving appropriate rewards for good deeds and appropriate punishments for bad deeds.
Karl tapped the bent railing he was still holding onto with his fingertips.
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.
When a slave does something wrong, it is the master who punishes him. So what if the master does something wrong?
It was at that moment. The sound of someone climbing the stairs outside the room was heard. Karl's hearing had become more acute since his awakening.
Following the sound of footsteps, a voice was heard. It seemed to be the Count, who had just arrived at the villa after receiving Odette's telegram.
"I'm going crazy. I thought that kid was finally going to be useful, and then she suddenly committed suicide. Damn it..."
The Count muttered plaintively as he walked up the stairs, never suspecting that anyone could be eavesdropping on him from this distance.
Disgust rose in Karl's eyes as he overheard the Count's words.
Just when Karl's frustration was at its peak, the door opened with a creaking sound.
"What? Why are you... here?"
Karl's gaze was directed not to the Count's face but to the Count's hand. More precisely, to the broken thread bracelet he was holding.
As Odette was officially declared dead. It appears that her magical bracelet was also cut off.
Since it is a bracelet that deals with contracts, its effect is lost as soon as the death is processed on paper.
"I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise."
"Hello. How are you all?"
'What should I do, Master?'
Judging from the way she greeted him back then. Odette probably wanted to end the relationship between slave and master. She even removed the imprint that was on his blood without permission.
So now he has no obligation to obey Odette. Moreover, since he has awakened as a transcendent being, the Empire will naturally exempt him.
That was the law of the empire. The transcendent beings were too precious to be kept as slaves.
But... But you know what? What if what I want is to live as a slave?
What if things like immunity and Imperial law mean nothing to me?
'Don't you think it would be necessary to correct the master's habits before that?'
He grabbed the lower part of the balcony railing, which he had been tapping with his fingertips, again.
Then, with a loud noise, the already twisted railing snapped and fell into the sea.
Now, there is not a trace of the railing left on the balcony.
The Count's face turned pale as he saw Karl turning the railing into powder with his bare hands.
It was a blank expression, as if he had just faced a long-standing nightmare.
'I followed orders, but you punished me instead of rewarding me. That's not how you treat a slave or a dog.'
As if trying to appease the Count, Karl smiled faintly. Then he sat up.
"Your Excellency."
If the master were alive, it was clear who she would turn to.
His master is a blind woman. She will never let go of revenge.
Karl gave his frightened target a polite look.
"I, too, am bewildered by the sudden death of my master. Count, who should I follow now?"
He faced the Count, who was casting a wary glance at him.
'It would be better to buy the target's trust.'
Instead of chasing his master's ass, Karl intended to hold the Count in his hands.
So that she had no choice but to walk into his grasp.
'Let's talk about the punishment you will receive when we get there.'
Odette will have to come back. And once she does, she will never be able to leave again.
Karl, who had predicted the future, laughed contentedly like a full predator.
***
Side story 4. Karin's position
Lady Albrecht is dead. That means... Odette is dead.
At the Meursault villa, she pulled the trigger of a pistol against her own head and threw herself off the cliff.
Karin couldn't think of anything as she listened to the series of news relayed by the maid.
It was as if her head was cloudy and murky, as if it was filled with fog.
"That can't be... Why would that kid..."
She managed to squeeze out her voice. but she couldn't continue speaking for long because she was feeling dizzy.
The sky was spinning and everything seemed to be going black, and it felt like the ground was collapsing...
Karin instinctively flailed her hands, grabbing whatever was around her. When her vision returned, she saw the face of the maid looking down at her with pity and tears in her eyes.
Only then did Karin realize that what she had hurriedly grabbed was the hem of the maid's skirt.
"Ugh... Miss."
It was strange. Why was the view of the reception room behind the maid the same as usual? Why was the sky outside the window still clear?
That kid is dead. Karin's world is completely turned upside down and falling apart.
How can the world be so normal and peaceful?
Karin grabbed the maid's skirt even tighter. But no matter how much she struggled, she couldn't stop herself from sinking into the bottomless abyss.
Her memory after that wasn't clear.
Karin has been locked in a dark room with the curtains drawn ever since Odette died. One day, she even screamed and asked for the clock to be taken away because the ticking of the second hand was so loud it seemed like it would rupture her eardrums.
Then, on some days, she would become strangely calm. She thought.
'This is the feeling of grief that the book explained. I would observe my own emotions as if I was someone else and laugh out loud.'
And sometimes, she would suddenly feel an unbearable surge of anger.
'Why couldn't I stop Odette? What should I have done to save her?'
She felt pathetic and hateful towards herself. No, it seemed like the world was the one she hated.
How can you laugh and chat in a world where Odette is dead? How can you live normally?
After she got really angry, she collapsed on the floor like a corpse, exhausted. At that moment, the days ahead of her felt unbearably long.
How many days like that have passed?
On a day when winter rain was pouring down fiercely, Karin, with a haggard face, walked into the garden.
It was an impulsive action committed because she couldn't stand the worried gazes of her employees.
She said it was a walk, but in reality, it was more like wandering. Without a single maid to assist her, and without telling anyone.
There is no way that a Young lady would walk around like a ghost, holding only a black umbrella.
That was when.
“Lady Karin.”
Outside the back door, a soft, warm voice like a flute whispered her name.
The owner of that voice probably doesn't exist in this world.
'Am I hal lucinating now?'
Karin couldn't help but turn her head in the direction of the sound, even though she thought the voice was an illusion.
'...Why is there a person standi ng there...?'
When she turned her gaze, there was an unidentified person with his hood pulled over his head. He was standing close enough to the cold iron door covered in thorns so that he could barely avoid being stabbed.
At that moment, a voice was hear d again.
"Lady Karin. How have you been?"
"...surely..."
"I came to let you know that I am alive."
"Lady Odette?"
"...That's right."
"Oh my god, my God!"
Karin screamed, then, ugh. She covered her mouth with both hands.
She didn't understand the situation, but at least she had an inkling that she couldn't be caught by others right now.
Odette was waiting for her by the back door with her hood pulled down very tightly.
'You screamed without thinking? You almost caused Lady Odette trouble like an idiot!'
Karin quickly looked around. Fortunately, there was no one around.
However, after thoroughly checking the surroundings, Karin ran towards the iron gate where Odette was standing.
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