Click. The carriage door opened. To her surprise, Lize was not the one standing there. [Odette] "How…… why are you here, Your Highness?" She gasped, her face flushing with confusion at the sight of Johan. [Johan] "It’s too quiet here. I thought you might feel lonely exploring a place like this by yourself." He held a silver candlestick as if he were the butler of the estate. He had clearly been waiting in the garden this entire time. His face is always so handsome it makes me

[Paula has been imprisoned.] Sasha received the short telegram and sprinted through the main gate of the Imperial Watch Station. What on earth does that mean? I asked them to find my ring, so why did they take the child? Her goal in reporting Paula was to get her money back, but she secretly thought it wouldn't be bad if Paula came crawling back to her. After looking into it, she realized hiring a maid cost much more than she expected. A maid with long experience in a noble h

She frowned at his stubbornness and snapped back. [Odette] "Stop being so difficult. How is there an 'intention' in these clothes? I’m covered up perfectly with total dignity." She thought he should at least come up with a believable excuse. His explanation felt so lazy that she couldn't even pretend to fall for it. But he wasn't making excuses. [Viktor] "Do you ever wear blouses that button all the way to your chin? You didn't have another choice, did you?" He spoke as if he

Lev seemed to recall something at the lawyer's words. [Lev] "Ah. Don't tell me, is it that case? I think I heard something a few days ago about a bastard impersonating a noble. Hmm. I think I even received a sketch." Unlike ordinary imposters, this man hadn't used the fake identity to commit any additional crimes. Impersonating a noble was a serious offense, but the only victim—Köndel himself—showed no real desire to press charges. The most the Watch could do was draw up a sk

[Officer] "Ha. The way you’re acting, someone might think you were dragged here unjustly." The middle-aged officer, who had been polite until now, openly showed his disgust. He crushed his cigarette into the ashtray, as if it had lost its taste. The officer beside him chided his senior. [Lev] "Senior, look at her. See, I told you there's no need to go easy on them. Criminals never change." The man who spoke was tall, scrawny, and looked about twenty-five. The young officer ge

When she lost her senses, she called out to him—Zion, Zion—with such heart-wrenching longing. But as soon as she regained her clarity, she returned to that cold, formal title. [Zion] "Don't worry. Lady Brentano and Countess Lilienthal are handling those fools in the House of Lords." Odette had demanded the right to succeed the Albrecht title, but her request wasn't a simple plea for a personal favor. She wanted a total reform of the law. Currently, the laws of Barzeha gave ab

Wh—what? Vanessa looked down at the Count's struggling back and murmured quietly. [Becker] "I hesitated. Killing you right now brings the most gain to both me and my son, but it felt unfair. You fell into my hands in such a pathetic state, and I almost killed you without getting my revenge." [Ulrich] "Va—Vane." [Becker] "I nearly died because of you. My precious son almost never saw the light of day. I survived, but you left me with a limp." [Ulrich] "……" Seized by a dark ome

[Odette has destroyed the source of the Calamity.] The Emperor stared at the report from Johan and Zion, unable to believe the words even after reading them several times. Resurrections were one thing, but this was absurd. She had been swallowed by the Calamity only to return alive? At this rate, she wasn't just a Purifier, she was an immortal. Destroying the Calamity was a feat meant for Transcendents. The Emperor couldn't accept that a Purifier—who possessed no special powe

Karl acted as if he were granting a selfless permission, though madness and jealousy drove his every move. In the end, he ensured that Odette's guilt focused entirely on him. [Zion] "You claim to be a submissive slave while you deceive your master? Even for a man of your low character, this is disgusting. It's enough to make me sick." Zion pointed this out with a provocative glare, but Karl only offered a twisted smile, seeing right through him. [Karl] "If you find it so repu

Her thoughts tangled further with every word Karl spoke. I don’t want to make the wrong choice. I want to save Johan, but you are precious to me, too. If saving him means breaking my promise to you. I would rather give up the purification. She wasn't sure if love was something one could achieve through effort alone, but she knew that love began by putting the other person's heart first. That was something she could control, and something she felt she must do. This promise was

Johan writhed so violently that his agony was plain to see. Tears streaked his face, and his brilliant blond hair clung to his skin, soaked in cold sweat. Jagged scars, reminiscent of burns, covered his arms, legs, and neck. Odette recognized them instantly. They followed the exact lines where Johan's body had been torn apart in the deep sea. Every time his sweat touched those red marks, He flinched as if scorched by hellfire. His sobbing intensified. A low, guttural groan es

[Ulrich] “Th-this... what in the world......” The Count had craved power for a lifetime, and as age crept in, he craved youth. To him, aging equaled weakness. After Ferdinand nearly strangled him, his obsession with youth intensified. The humiliation of being tossed against a wall like a ragdoll by his own son left deep scars. The day the hierarchy between father and son flipped, his world shattered. He used to see himself as a majestic ruler and Ferdinand as merely a child u

The Count never loved Sasha, yet a crushing sense of betrayal washed over him. He had spent his life insulting her through endless affairs, but he never imagined she would insult him like this. A master may keep many slaves, but a slave could never serve many masters. This was the imbalance of their relationship. As an aristocrat, he ruled the commoners; as a husband, he ruled his wife. To him, even if they committed the same sin, his status made her crime far heavier. Moreov

His words echoed in Odette's mind. [Damian] "I kept the blue gem safely in Paula's jewelry box until the day I left. I clearly saw her tuck it away when she departed." If Sasha held that gem now, along with a pawnshop appraisal, the situation was obvious. Paula had given the ring to Sasha. She likely wanted to cut ties A blue diamond commanded a price high enough to change a commoner's life, but it couldn't compare to the value of the House of Köndel. The honor of a historic

You stayed quiet when it was Zion? Why do you only block Johan? The Status Window didn't answer her question. [Starting transport to the Albrecht Mansion!] It simply moved Odette and the group to the middle of the mansion's garden, acting as if it hadn't heard a word. [Servant] "Aaaagh!" [Servant] "Ghosts! It's a ghost!" The servants in the garden shrieked at the group appearing out of thin air. Their loud cries ruined the moment Johan intended to speak. [Viktor] "Stop the fu