KFBRV Ch 101
- Mar 8
- 6 min read
[Doly] "Lady Odette, come here. The Master has something to say to you."
She snatched the wooden box from Odette's arms without asking for permission. Then, she scanned her dress from top to bottom and spoke.
[Doly] "But, My Lady. Wearing a dress that bares your shoulders to play the Saintess is a bit much. Others might not know you are a fraud, but don't you know it yourself? It embarrasses me just looking at you."
[Odette] "Do—"
She cut her off.
[Doly] "What was the prize? I heard His Majesty say this time's prize would be a magical artifact. The Master asked about it."
Her consistently insolent attitude stunned Odette, but she decided to let it slide for now.
Ensuring the plan progressed smoothly mattered more than venting her immediate frustration.
[Odette] "An invisibility ring. If the wearer puts it on and shouts 'Invisibility,' they become invisible. It supposedly hides you from the eyes of others."
[Doly] "Wow. Does such an artifact exist? The rumors called the summer hunting competition prize extravagant, and they were right."
Doly marveled and led Odette toward Ulrich and Ferdinand.
Upon spotting the laurel wreath on her head, both men contorted their faces with sheer displeasure.
It's a relief that this is the Summer Palace.
Had this been the Albrecht estate, the level of torment would have defied imagination.
Since the situation favored her exclusively, an interrogation was guaranteed, and they would have relentlessly tortured her until their anger subsided.
But things differed here. With so many watching eyes inside the palace, Ulrich couldn't freely assert his dominance.
That bastard is obsessed with maintaining his image.
Consistent donations. A benevolent influence caring for the estate's lowest class. Overflowing anecdotes of his kindness.
Even during the days when he ruined his businesses catastrophically, he acted as a tyrant only to his family; outside, he maintained the facade of a gentle, genial man.
After presenting Odette as a Purifier, his dedication to image management intensified. Recently, absurd rumors even painted him as the Empire's most upstanding figure.
[Ulrich] "We head to the West Wing."
He muttered the command. He suppressed his fury within his low voice. Odette followed him and mouthed words to Mrs. Becker.
Aren't you going to stop him?
But Mrs. Becker ignored her command, snapping her head away.
Oh, really?
The lighting ceremony kicked off the garden party. Illuminations shaped as flowers glowed brilliantly, prompting several guests to address Odette, the star of the day.
[Ulrich] "Apologies. Odette is unwell."
He rejected their conversational overtures and dragged her away from the outdoor banquet hall.
The Emperor, having intentionally sent Karl to the infirmary for a private discussion, ordered the Imperial Physicians to leave the room.
Stepping into the infirmary, expecting to find only a slave, a scream tore from his throat.
[Gregory] "Heeek!"
Karl's bared torso, exposed for the physician's treatment, presented a gruesome spectacle.
Blood-red bruises mottled every inch of his body, his skin torn and split. It defied comprehension how he had managed to stand upright in such a state.
They aren't spear or sword wounds, so how are they so deep?
The injuries suggested a brawl with four bears rather than four assassins.
The lacerations looked as though brute force had mangled his flesh.
Emotion swelled in Gregory's chest.
He fought those beast-like bastards this fiercely for my sake.
[Gregory] "Karl."
He called out in a soft tone.
This display fueled his greed. Anyone would covet such a man as their personal knight.
Would he yield if I offered him the Captaincy of the Imperial Guard?
No. I should grant him a high-ranking noble title. He used to be a Crown Prince, so if I appoint him as a Count—
However, Karl's response shattered his hopes.
[Karl] "Since Your Majesty isn't the one treating me, was it necessary to dismiss the physicians just to visit?"
The mildly affectionate and polite Karl from earlier vanished.
[Gregory] "What?"
Karl offered a blank face instead of an answer. It wasn't the ordinary stoicism of a human.
Absolute emptiness filled his eyes. If a tin knight from an Imperial fairy tale possessed eyes, they would look exactly like his.
Why is he so terrifying?
That machine-like expression on a boy's face emanated an unnerving, repulsive aura.
Now that he thought about it, the boy had acted exactly like this when he was the Crown Prince of the Fenrir Kingdom.
A mere seven-year-old child who dared to seek refuge. He had been so chillingly unpleasant that the Emperor refused to offer a shred of help. A child who inspired a bizarre terror.
A decade-old memory had completely slipped his mind. Even when begging for asylum, those eyes had stared at the Emperor of the Empire as if examining an insect.
But how had he evolved into something incomparably more repulsive? No, he hadn't been this abysmal even when locked in the containment zone.
He resembled a demon unsealed from its bindings—.
Yet, Gregory kept his brow smooth.
Back then, he had concluded this boy was untamable, but he knew the circumstances had changed. If this beast could pledge loyalty to Odette, surely he could force him to submit to the throne.
Thus, he continued in a soothing tone.
[Gregory] "You suffered this much damage, Karl."
Had Gregory ever tried this desperately to earn another's favor in his entire life? The profound emotion in his voice moved even himself, yet Karl didn't bother to nod.
Those vicious crimson eyes lacked any trace of humanity. Instead of sparing the Emperor a glance, he let out a quiet scoff.
[Karl] "Still, getting hurt was worth it. I know how to control it now."
A faint murmur. The peculiar amusement in his voice made it obvious who occupied his thoughts. It matched the exact smile he had worn while gazing at Odette earlier.
The meaning of 'control' became agonizingly clear. A suffocating pressure exploded from the boy for a fraction of a second, only to vanish entirely. He treated the retraction of his overwhelming aura like a breathing exercise.
Gregory had encountered individuals with terrifying auras before. He interacted with Transcendents regularly, and his own son was an S-class Transcendent.
He had faced an entirely unrestrained pressure when appointing Viktor. But an aura that felt cursed like this was a first. A murky, cloying pressure.
This bastard is completely deranged.
Gasping under the weight of the aura, he reached an absolute certainty. This creature was not something he should ever attempt to tame.
Unable to even hint at changing masters, the Emperor barely managed to speak.
[Gregory] "R-Right. I only came to check on your condition. I shall take my leave now."
Fleeing without a word would be too humiliating. He forced out a closing remark, but the moment he did,
[Karl] "You were still here?"
He offered only that dismissive reply.
He continued to release and retract his aura methodically.
[Karl] "Ah. And Your Majesty. Let me offer a piece of advice. Watch your mouth in the future. If you spew nonsense about my master one more time, I will rip out your tongue."
Paralyzed by terror, the Emperor forgot his own divine status and nodded instinctively.
Satisfied, Karl waved his hand, shooing the monarch away like a nuisance. He undeniably intended to return the insult the Emperor had dealt Odette earlier.
Crazy bastard.
Those eyes lacked sanity. The fact that he had masqueraded as a normal human in front of the crowd earlier sent shivers down the Emperor's spine.
Wasn't the Fenrir Kingdom the only nation on the continent that rejected the Sun God?
For a moment, Gregory harbored a thought unsuited for the 19th century. Perhaps the myth held truth—that the ancestors of the Fenrir clan had slain the Sun God, cursed to bear black hair devoid of light as punishment.
The texture of Karl's aura defied that of typical Transcendents.
If the pressure of an S-class Transcendent mirrored the blazing sun, his aura manifested as a cloying, abyssal darkness.
It felt like walking upon the surface of hell or death itself.
I'd rather try to tame a wild Transcendent.
They possessed the perfect leash: a "Purifier." If the Emperor secured the Purifier, he could command those Transcendents as soldiers.
In contrast, that boy was an utterly unleashed beast.
Relief washed over him that Odette had claimed the monster.
Ulrich dragged Odette to a prayer room situated in the West Wing of the Summer Palace. Since the Palace currently bustled with activity, the West Wing remained the only secluded area.
Fearing discovery by the palace staff, he selected the cramped prayer room for his interrogation.
[Ulrich] "I demanded an immediate confession. Do I look like an idiot who will just nod and move on if you feign ignorance?"
He had forced her to kneel on the unforgiving floor of that suffocatingly small space for two straight hours.
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