KFBRV Ch 102

[Odette] "I do not understand what you want me to confess, Father."

[Ulrich] "Do you think I will let this slide? You gained far too much from this hunting competition. Do you intend to claim this was all a coincidence?"

[Odette] "What exactly did I gain?"

[Ulrich] "Karl is now bound to you, and you became the victor of the Summer Hunting Competition!"

The victor of the Athena Island Hunting Competition. It meant becoming the object of public admiration across the Empire.

This cannot happen. She must remain despised as a terrible villainess! Only then can I make her take the fall if her identity as a fake Purifier is exposed.

Though he lacked evidence, his instincts screamed that she had orchestrated something. Thus, he pressed her relentlessly.

[Ulrich] "Confess every single thing you did! Now!"

[Odette] "Father, tell me then. Did I even have a way to do anything? I have never once acted alone without the supervision of Mrs. Becker or Doly."

But that was the problem. She had no window of opportunity for schemes.

I questioned Doly and Mrs. Becker, but there was no gap in their surveillance. Odette never acted alone.

Not even when she rested in her room.

What if she prepared everything at the mansion beforehand? ......No, that's even more impossible.

The restrictions on Odette were far tighter at the Albrecht estate.

Recently, she had barely left her room, let alone the mansion. Mrs. Becker had vouched for this, making it an undeniable fact.

[Odette] "Think about it, Father. I have neither the means nor the opportunity to defy you."

Despite the facts, he remained suspicious.

The look of submission had vanished from her eyes. He had trained her so well, ensuring she would cling to her parents even while expecting a beating.

Now, her upright posture as she silently accepts punishment looks more like defiance. Enduring two hours on a stone floor so cold it felt like torture—that attitude unnerved him.

[Ulrich] "Odette. If you lie to me even once in this prayer room, I will disown you immediately."

This time, his warning carried genuine intent, not empty bravado.

There is something about her. I cannot afford to miss it.

[Odette] "Do as you wish, Father. Even if you threaten disownment, I have not a single shred of shame or fear."

She met his gaze with unwavering eyes.

He let out a low groan. He genuinely sensed no fear in her pupils.

Then is all of this a coincidence? The fact that this accursed magical tool is on my arm, and that she stole Karl?

Just then, Ferdinand, who had been keeping watch at the West Wing entrance, called out.

[Ferdinand] "Father, it's been two hours already. Can't we stop now? My friends are waiting for me."

His tone dripped with impatience. He sounded desperate for a drink.

He knew his son lacked patience, but hearing such drivel in this situation provoked a sharp rebuke.

[Ulrich] "Shut your mouth, you fool! Can you not grasp the situation? If this is her doing, my arm could be severed, yet my son only thinks about drinking?"

His nerves were frayed, his voice sharp.

Ferdinand clamped his mouth shut and returned to his post.

Thud, thud!

The heavy stomping of his feet made his resentment toward his father blatantly obvious.

However, Ulrich had no intention of soothing his pathetic son.

[Ulrich] "Are you saying he suddenly became desperate to offer you his loyalty and the laurel wreath?"

[Odette] "How could I have possibly swayed him? I don't know why he acted that way either."

[Ulrich] "Then why did you accept the Emperor's bestowal as if it were natural? Why did you accept the laurel wreath from him so readily?"

[Odette] "The Emperor coveted Karl. If I had refused, His Majesty would have taken him, and that would have put you in a difficult position, Father."

She spoke the truth. If Karl remained with Odette, the Count still maintained a shred of control.

If this were the old Odette, he would have believed her. The girl who starved for his love and approval like a beggar. But there was no way this wench, devoid of any submissive air, acted with such intentions—

Then, the mask shifted.

[Odette] "Father, I only did my best to choose the path you would prefer. ......I didn't know you would be this angry."

She cautiously gauged his mood, just as she always used to. Instantly, the tension between them dissolved.

[Odette] "I made that choice because I wanted to be loved by you, Father...... Everything I have is yours anyway. Karl belongs to you as well."

The voice was once again docile and submissive. He blinked, momentarily disoriented by the 180-degree shift.

What is this? Why did the girl who was defiant just moments ago—?

Did I perceive her as defiant because I was tired?

Between days of seasickness and running around the hunting grounds, I am exhausted.

It was an irrational and extreme change in attitude. Enough to make him doubt his own senses.

His intuition continued to scream warnings about Odette, but perhaps his instincts had dulled.

[Ulrich] "Remain on your knees!"

Hoping the cold air would restore his cool judgment, he stepped out of the prayer room.

If there had been even a momentary gap in Odette's surveillance, I would assert this was her doing. But there was absolutely no gap......

At that moment, Ferdinand called to him.

[Ferdinand] "Father, the palace pharmacist came looking for you. He has a question."

[Ulrich] "What is it?"

[Ferdinand] "He's treating Karl's injuries on the Emperor's orders, and he found a high dose of brainwashing drugs in his blood. He came to ask if you or Lady Odette knew anything about it."

Brainwashing drugs?

Of course, he had injected them.

[Ulrich] "Send him in."

The pharmacist entered, bowing his head. His report could be summarized as follows:

[Pharmacist] "An excessive amount of brainwashing residue remains in Karl's system. Using such a high dose would undoubtedly cause brain abnormalities. He would become bound to the command he heard during the injection, blindly and unconditionally trying to fulfill it. Like an obsession. If you gave any dangerous commands while injecting the drug, please tell me."

Hearing this, the Count searched his memory.

[Ulric] "You should know this. Your master is Odette, and she is the one who ordered this."

Come to think of it, he had said those words exactly once while administering the drug—.

He furrowed his brow.

A passing comment like 'Odette is your master' could bind him this strongly?

To his knowledge, brainwashing drugs required at least a month of administration with constant repetition of the command to be effective.

But the Imperial Pharmacist had firmly said, 'undoubtedly, unconditionally.'

Only a master of pharmacology can become an Imperial Pharmacist, so he must be right.

He wanted to argue, 'Does it work after just one dose?' but he couldn't ask such a foolish question. It would be tantamount to a confession.

[Ulrich] "Oh dear. It seems Odette did something terrible to him. May I ask you to treat the brainwashing quietly?"

Thus, he had no choice but to smile genially and make the request.

The moment the pharmacist turned back toward the infirmary, agreeing to the request, Ulrich's expression changed instantly.

Damn it. Did I mutter something useless back then?

He had injected the brainwashing drug a little...... no, significantly more than the prescribed dose. About three times the amount?

Since Karl was of the Fenrir clan, he thought only a large dose would be effective.

So, because of that small mistake, he pledged obsessive loyalty to Odette?

His intuition still screamed that something was wrong, but at least the logic held together.

Ulrich furrowed his brow, retracing his memories. He carefully checked again to see if he had missed anything.

From the day Karl arrived at the estate, through the ball, and up to today. Recalling the reports from Mrs. Becker, Paula, and Doly, he could only reach one conclusion.

None. There is no gap where she could have planned anything.

Still feeling uneasy, he tried to construct a far-fetched hypothesis as a final check.

What if Vanessa or Doly, one of them, conspired with her? If I interrogate them, the answer might come out—

It was that moment. Ferdinand's loud, surprised voice rang out from outside the side door.

[Ferdinand] "Your Highness! What brings you here?"

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