KFBRV Ch 114
- Mar 13
- 7 min read
[▶ The people who agree with the rumor about the Vicious Villainess have vanished!]
[▶ Vicious Villainess (Rumor Removed/▼ Decrease of 2)]
[▶ The people who agree with the rumor about the Selfish Purifier have decreased! (12 people → 11 people)]
[Current Bad Reputation You Possess:
▶ Vicious Villainess (0 people / ▼ Decrease of 32)
▶ Selfish Purifier (11 people / ▼ Decrease of 4)
▶ Arrogant Flower of Society (8 people / ▼ Decrease of 18)
▶ Ignorant Lady with an Empty Head]
It seemed Karin was working hard in the salon.
Although a bit of a bad reputation remained, Odette planned to erase this separately on another day.
If what Karin said was true, Doly and Rudolf would soon make their move together.
After the salon concluded, someone knocked on her door.
Doly, who had been in a daze ever since returning to the room, flinched violently at the sound.
Odette sneered at the sight. She had a fair guess as to who the visitor was.
[Odette] "Who is it? Come in."
As expected, the group of maids who opened the door and entered were the very ones who had sympathized with Doly’s gossip and gleefully reported it to their masters.
[Maid A] "Greetings, Lady Albrecht. We have come because we have a brief business with Doly."
[Maid B] "We are terribly sorry, but if the Young Lady permits, we would like to have a word with her. We plan to talk in the garden just ahead, so it won’t take long."
It was clear they had been severely scolded after the salon for feeding false rumors to their masters. Look at their fierce expressions. That "talk" would undoubtedly be a physical conversation.
[Doly] "Ah, I am troubled because I must attend to the Young Lady."
And preposterously, Doly dared to use Odette as an excuse. Such brazenness.
Odette spoke in the voice of a benevolent master.
[Odette] "I am not such a cruel master that I wouldn't allow time for chatting with friends, am I? It does not matter if it takes a long time, so feel free to talk to your heart's content. Doly, have a good trip."
Doly turned pale at her words.
[Maid A] "Thank you, Lady Albrecht."
The maids bowed politely and dragged Doly away in perfect order.
Click.
The moment the door closed, and she was left alone in the room, a white bird flew in through the window. The bird fluttered in front of her, then perched on her finger when she offered it.
On its ankle... what is this?
Something like a note was tied to its ankle. She immediately unfolded it.
Mrs. Becker requested to buy an "Ancient Gladiator’s Choker" from my father, so I am letting you know.
It seemed it might relate to your safety. Selling it felt like it might cause trouble for you.
If you have any requests, please tie a note to the ankle and send it back.
I hope this information is sufficient payment for the handkerchief and your comfort.
It was a letter from Karin.
Ah. Come to think of it, the maid leading the group was Karin’s maid.
It seemed she had deliberately dragged Doly out of the room to create an opening for the carrier pigeon. By putting her own maid in the vanguard.
Glancing through the crack in the door at the group of maids heading to the garden, she saw that a specific maid bowed politely toward her room.
The maids must have already known Karin’s heart. The behavior they showed in the salon earlier had been an act, conscious of Doly’s presence.
Odette threw the note into the fireplace and twisted her lips into a smile.
A Gladiator’s Choker? Look at this?
She had thought Mrs. Becker’s recent disobedience was merely due to simple wariness.
So she was being defiant because she had something to rely on? Because she thinks the Count will destroy me soon.
The Gladiator’s Choker was a small-time bomb. A magic tool that, once a time limit and a target were set, could only be deactivated by killing the designated target within that time.
It was the choker placed on both gladiators in the ancient Colosseum battles of this world. That way, since they would die anyway, they would fight with all their might to settle the match within the time limit.
And the purpose of buying it was obvious.
She joined hands with the Count. They intend to put that on my neck and force me to kill Karl with my own hands.
Given the Count’s personality, she had expected him to try to use her to kill Karl.
As long as Karl was alive, the Count was bound by the restrictions of the thread bracelet. He was not a man who could tolerate being controlled by anyone.
Furthermore, he likely found her rising reputation displeasing.
I wondered what method they would use, and it turns out Mrs. Becker is helping with this.
To think she dared to pull such a dirty trick behind her back? Not knowing this, Odette had acted generously for no reason.
She smiled coldly.
Right, Mrs. Becker. I thought you were enduring surprisingly well for your personality.
She took out a fresh piece of paper and wrote a note.
You may sell the 'Ancient Gladiator’s Choker' to Mrs. Becker. No, I would like you to sell it. However, please make sure to sell two of them. Absolutely.
Thank you for telling me, Karin.
She tied the note to the white carrier pigeon’s ankle and sent it off. The white bird flew without delay toward Karin’s room.
Several hours later, Doly returned, glaring at Odette while huffing and puffing. She looked as if she had been through quite an ordeal with the maids; her hair was pulled out, and her face was covered in scratch marks.
Good. This actually works out better.
If she didn't need to be generous to Mrs. Becker, the plan became even easier.
She had to use Mrs. Becker to her heart's content in her plan to catch Doly.
Dawn over the sea. The sunlight glittering on the beach, the relaxing sound of waves, and the beautifully breaking foam.
On such a beautiful beach, a man and a woman were having a secret meeting. It was Rudolf Caspar and Doly.
[Doly] "Odette humiliated me like that! I became the only laughable person. Does this make sense?"
She sobbed as she complained to her fiancé. Rudolf clicked his tongue.
[Rudolf] "Tsk."
In the Albrecht Count's estate, the head maid's main duty was the mental education of the maids. She had to brainwash them into believing Odette was a villainess.
Therefore, Doly excelled at politicking and agitation. By the standards of the Albrecht estate, she was an excellent head maid.
For a woman with such skill in agitation, this humiliation was a first in her life. She had only ever designated targets for insults; to become the target herself was unprecedented.
[Rudolf] "That insignificant thing dared to touch my baby?! My baby had every right to be angry."
However, Rudolf was the same kind of person as Doly. Someone who verified his own influence and presence by creating rumors and watching them spread.
And when someone crumbled due to the rumors he created, he felt a sense of pride, as if he had become a great person.
[Doly] "I cannot understand it! How did a woman who cannot even read pull off such a scheme?"
[Rudolf] "Indeed. Perhaps she can read and has been lying all this time?"
[Doly] "It gives me goosebumps. How can she act so brazenly?"
She shuddered as if she didn't remember her own dirty tricks.
[Rudolf] "Exactly. Disgusting human. What kind of article should we use to teach her a lesson? How about the one we discussed last time, about her beating a maid to death?"
He was the only outsider who knew Odette’s secret. The Count had tried to silence him as well, but changed his mind after reading the Secret Leak tabloid. His existence was a great help in ruining Odette’s reputation.
Since then, he had been on a roll, receiving support from the Count's family. Since his lover was a person of the Count's household, she could also serve as a hostage if necessary.
[Doly] "Forget it. Do you think that will be enough? How is that different from usual?"
She still felt unsatisfied.
[Doly] "Rudolf, it's because you didn't see those eyes. How pathetic and stupid the guests in the salon thought I was... Furthermore, I've completely fallen out of favor with the maids."
She grew endlessly depressed.
[Doly] "Now the maids won't even include me in their conversations. The article to screw her over needs to be fresh and new for my anger to be resolved."
[Rudolf] "Hmm."
After pondering for a while, he let out a loud laugh. Bwahaha!
[Rudolf] "Baby, want to hear my idea? I just thought of an exquisite article."
[Doly] "What is it?"
[Rudolf] "Karl’s romantic loyalty to Odette is already a hot topic on the mainland Empire. If we utilize this well, we could become very rich. Hmm?"
The story of Karl catching the assassins at the hunting competition had already spread widely across the mainland. Especially after his photo was published in the newspaper, it had become even more sensational.
A handsome slave who, despite achieving the great merit of catching four assassins alone, willingly dedicated the glory to his master. He even had the tragic backstory of being the crown prince of a ruined kingdom.
Such a man pledging eternal loyalty to a villainess? Was that not romance itself!
Because of this, the Empire's bards were already making songs about the event.
Rudolf chuckled. The material that just crossed his mind would undoubtedly become the perfect article to ignite the already hot topic.
[Doly] "So what is the article exactly? Don't keep me waiting, tell me."
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