KFBRV Ch 12

[Odette] "If no one reported that I was illiterate, then I suppose no one mentioned that I was adopted either."

[Zion] "What kind of utter nonsense is this?"

It was more than just nonsense; it was the kind of statement that brought his mind to a screeching halt.

Illiteracy and adoption—these could not possibly be true. They contradicted every shred of information he had ever received.

However, as Odette tapped the edge of the recording stone to play it, his brow furrowed deeply. The stone projected a scene of a very young girl with platinum-blonde hair, sobbing uncontrollably and begging someone not to abandon her.

[Zion] "..."

Even the formidable Zion was rendered speechless.

After a moment, as if finally grasping the situation, he let out a low, bitter curse.

[Zion] "That birth certificate from Meursault I received this afternoon... no, forget it. It's undoubtedly a fabrication as well."

Those bastards. How dare they make a fool out of me?

Zion chewed on his cigar irritably, mentally discarding the hundreds of thousands of reports he had memorized.

In a world where even the number of parsley sprigs on his dinner plate was reported, these two vital pieces of information had never reached him. This meant the information had been intentionally filtered—all nine of his elite intelligence agents had turned traitor.

That bastard Ferdinand.

It seemed Ferdinand had a hidden talent for dirty tricks. Perhaps he should have been put to work like a dog in the Intelligence Department instead of the Navy.

Pressing his fingers against the bridge of his nose to stave off a mounting sense of defeat, a sudden thought struck him. He turned a sharp gaze toward Odette.

[Zion] "Then, is it possible that you weren't the one who refused the purification using the mines as an excuse?"

Odette remained silent for a moment before finally nodding.

A harsh, hollow laugh escaped his throat. He continued to chuckle self-deprecatingly, clearly shaken by the revelation.

Dammit, the Intelligence Department is a total shambles.

The woman who was supposed to be one of the most important figures in the Empire had become a complete mystery to him. The Odette he thought he knew was merely a pampered daughter whose parents couldn't control her wickedness.

[Zion] "To hell with it."

He crushed the cigar, which had been flattened like a piece of paper between his fingers, into the ashtray.

[Zion] "Fine. Let's assume your story is true."

Her teal eyes met his.

[Zion] "What is your reason for requesting this private audience?"

[Odette] "I wish to make a deal with Your Excellency."

[Zion] "A deal requires an exchange. Since the identities of the spies have already been revealed, what do you have left to offer?"

With a composed demeanor, she spread the documents he had kicked onto the table earlier.

[Odette] "You weren't informed of my illiteracy or my adoption. That proves all nine agents turned traitor. Am I right?"

[Zion] "I am aware. Are you trying to mock me?"

[Odette] "But is it really possible to deceive you with only nine agents?"

[Zion] "..."

[Odette] "There is a reason I sent you those documents this afternoon, even though you had already seen them."

Is this what it feels like to be outplayed in an information war?

The taste of defeat was bitter—so bitter that he felt the urge to light a third cigar.

[Odette] "I wanted to show you that these documents were forged so meticulously that even you couldn't find a flaw. You must realize that such a feat would require the cooperation of at least dozens of people."

[Zion] "...Dammit."

[Odette] "I will give you the names of the rats hiding within your department. That is my condition for our deal."

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Odette noted his obsessive-compulsive tendencies, a classic trait of a perfectionist. When he claimed the recording stone alone wasn't enough to prove her disownment, she handed him a bundle of papers she had prepared.

She had learned of these "rats" in her previous life because of Ferdinand. Specifically, on the day he had visited her in prison with the intent to violate her. Despite being a high-value criminal held in the deepest triple-security cell of the Imperial Palace, he had entered alone.

To the horrified Odette, Ferdinand had flaunted the three keys required to reach her cell. He had bragged about how many people he had bribed within the Intelligence Department, reciting the names of the nine at the mansion and the thirty-five within the department one by one.

Ferdinand's ability was to control insects. He used venomous bugs that stimulated hallucinations and pleasure centers to addict his targets, buying the loyalty of those who could no longer live without the high.

He had concluded, with sickening logic, that since he had worked so hard, he had the right to violate Odette.

Zion's expression darkened as he flipped through the pages. At first, it was a mere scowl, but by the time he reached the end, his face was contorted like a vengeful demon. He truly looked the part of the "Divine Beast."

His reading speed is the most monstrous thing about him.

In her past life as Han Suwan, she had only read that fast when skipping the terms and conditions of a digital certificate.

[Zion] "You brought this as proof of your disownment? These are just receipts one might leave when trading livestock."

[Odette] "It was an illegal disownment, so I never received an official certificate. Those are the only records that remain."

The receipts were evidence of the transaction between her father and the orphanage director—money paid to ensure that once Odette was cast out, she would never be adopted by anyone else.

Unlike the flashy, forged documents, these shabby scraps of paper were the only things that proved the real Odette's existence. The orphanage director had been killed by her father's hand once she began her charade as a fake Saintess.

[Zion] "Which of these many receipts contains your record?"

[Odette] "All of them. Because I was adopted and abandoned thirty-eight times."

At her calm reply, his face shifted from that of a demon to something even more ghastly.

[Zion] "Thirty-eight times?"

His violet eyes wide with shock, he looked at her as if she were insane.

[Odette] "Would you like me to play the rest of the recording stone? It contains footage of all thirty-eight instances."

[Zion] "How can you say that so calmly? Why are you so detached?"

[Odette] "Once you've been discarded thirty-eight times, you tend to become detached from most things."

He remained silent, seemingly at a loss for words, before eventually muttering.

[Zion] "To hell with it all."

Zion lowered his gaze back to the papers, and silence returned to the drawing room. Odette toyed with the recording stone on the table.

He loved destroying evidence, yet he couldn't bring himself to throw these away. That absolute bastard.

Her father was a serpentine man who used rare recording stones to capture every one of her thirty-eight abandonments. He was the sort of monster who felt omnipotent by repeatedly discarding and reclaiming a small child.

[Zion] "The handwriting matches Director Stiller's, and there are no signs of forgery. Dammit, I was wrong. It's embarrassing to admit, but there it is."

He set the receipts down with an irritable snap.

[Zion] "Fine. I've seen enough. I need that list of rats you mentioned. I accept your deal."

[Odette] "I'm glad to hear it."

[Zion] "I assume what you want involves revenge against your family."

She managed a bitter smile as Zion cut straight to the heart of the matter.

[Odette] "How can you be so certain? Couldn't it be something else? Perhaps a request to save me from them?"

She was testing him, but he merely snorted as if he had heard something absurd.

[Zion] "You maintain perfect etiquette, yet you show me a pitiful past with no sense of shame or humiliation. That is the attitude of someone whose mind has been completely consumed by the desire for revenge."

Is he speaking from experience?

Odette wondered, recalling his background from the setting guide she had read.

[Zion] "So, what am I putting on the scales? In exchange for the list, what must I give you?"

Meeting his violet eyes, she answered with conviction.

[Odette] "Falsify my father's financial records. While I strip the Albrecht family of their entire fortune, ensure he never realizes it is being stolen until it is too late."

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