KFBRV Ch 15

Ferdinand was in a foul mood. He was irritated that his mother had locked Odette in the dungeon without his permission, but more than that, he was confused by his own behavior.

[Ferdinand] "Mother, why are you being so intrusive! Why are you touching the toy you gave to me?"

He couldn't understand why he had lashed out at her with such harsh words.

Damn it. It's not like Mother's outbursts are anything new. I usually keep my cool, so why did I snap like that?

He had no way of knowing that Lize had slipped a truth serum into his honey water. The head butler, Rolf, had stepped in to calm things down, but the damage was done.

Ferdinand had seen the look on his mother's face—a cold, sharp expression that made it clear how deeply he had disappointed her. He knew he would have to spend a long time winning back her favor.

His mother was a woman who became paralyzed with anxiety if she didn't have absolute control over the Albrecht household. Because she had been looked down upon by the high nobility, she felt safe only when she held every scrap of power within her own walls.

As the daughter of a moneylender, she had been treated like a ghost in social circles. Even the Count had joined in, openly ignoring his wife. It was only after she gave birth to Ferdinand, the heir, that the nobility began to accept her as one of their own.

[Countess] "Son, you must never look down on me. You came from my own womb... I can forgive anything else, but never humiliate your mother in front of others."

Ferdinand had lived with the fear that if he ever lost his mother's favor, he would never be forgiven. He had spent years hiding his true feelings behind a mask of obedience.

[Ferdinand] "Forget it. I'll apologize to her later. First, I need to teach Odette a lesson."

A knock sounded at the drawing room door.

[Rolf] "Young Master! We have brought the Lady."

[Ferdinand] "Bring her in."

Rolf had told him that Odette had been acting arrogant and rude, and that his mother had been forced to lock her away.

When he saw Odette entering in a plain, dark dress, he assumed his mother had been right to punish her.

[Ferdinand] "Where did you get those drab clothes?"

[Odette] "Good morning, Brother."

[Ferdinand] "You have plenty of bright dresses. Why are you wearing something that makes you look so stubborn?"

[Odette] "It was a gift."

His brow furrowed. Even from a distance, he could see that the fabric was high quality. The design was elegant and classic, but the detail on the sleeves followed the latest trends perfectly. It was clearly from a top-tier boutique—a dress far more expensive than any he had ever bought for her.

[Ferdinand] "From whom?"

[Odette] "From a very wonderful person."

[Ferdinand] "This is why women must be disciplined. If you grow up too pampered, you fall for the first lowlife who looks your way."

[Odette] "Brother, please don't say that. Mother was the one who introduced us."

Ferdinand looked as if he had been struck across the face.

[Ferdinand] "Mother introduced you?"

She offered him a small, mysterious smile.

The "wonderful person" was Lize, and since the Countess was responsible for hiring the maids, she wasn't technically lying.

She let a soft blush creep onto her cheeks, pretending to be a girl in love. She watched with secret delight as his face twisted in anger.

[Ferdinand] "Mother introduced you to that scoundrel?"

[Odette] "Yes. She even said she hoped we would stay together forever."

It was a clever half-truth. On the day Odette was supposed to be executed in her past life, her mother had mockingly told her that since Lize was already dead, the two "commoners" could be together in the afterlife.

Ferdinand felt a sharp sting of betrayal.

[Odette] "Yesterday, Mother agreed to finally disown me. I was so happy. I'm going to be with a commoner, so my noble title was starting to feel like a burden anyway."

His expression turned monstrous. He remembered Mrs. Becker mentioning that the Countess had brought up the topic of disowning Odette, and that Odette had remained calm.

I thought it was nonsense at the time, but now it makes sense.

He felt a surge of rage toward his mother. How could she disown the "Fake Purifier" now? If the secret got out, Ferdinand would be executed for his crimes immediately.

But what angered him most was that his mother was trying to throw away his favorite toy without asking him.

[Countess] "Ferdinand, Odette is yours from head to toe. To train or to discard—that is for you to decide."

That was what she had promised when she first "gifted" Odette to him. But his mother rarely kept her promises. She had even allowed that maid, Paula, to ruin his doll.

He hated it when anyone else left marks on Odette's body. While other servants were careful not to leave scars, Paula always used a whip.

[Ferdinand] "And yet, instead of punishing Paula, you always told me to be patient!"

She had called Odette his doll, yet she let a mere servant damage her. She had never intended to keep her word.

[Ferdinand] "I begged her not to lock Odette in the dungeon, and she ignored me. If this gets out, I'll be the laughingstock of the Founding Festival!"

The anger he had been suppressing finally boiled over.

[Ferdinand] "And she's disowning her so she can marry a commoner? Without even consulting me, when my life is on the line?"

"Disowning" was a code word the Countess and the servants used when they were bullying Odette. Ferdinand had heard the word in reports many times, but he was too arrogant to listen to the details. Because of his own laziness, he now truly believed his mother was legally removing Odette from the family.

He wanted to wake his mother and demand an explanation, but he had to get to the Palace. The Crown Prince was in danger of another rampage, which meant the Imperial Family was desperate. He needed to be there with his father to demand more diamond mines in exchange for "help."

[Odette] "You aren't against it, are you? You always go along with whatever Mother wants."

[Ferdinand] "What are you talking about?"

[Odette] "You are the one who will be the Count. You are the one who will marry into the Imperial Family. You hold all the power and the right to decide, yet you always act like you're under Mother's thumb."

He felt like a veil had been lifted from his eyes.

Why am I so afraid of her being angry at me?

His mother had always told him he was her "greatest achievement." That meant the power didn't belong to her—it belonged to him. He didn't need her forgiveness.

[Ferdinand] "I don't care if she forgives me or not."

In fact, his mother was the one who should be asking for his forgiveness for messing with his property!

[Odette] "Look at this. Even when Mother is angry, the servants only care about what you think—well, except for Rolf and Paula."

Ferdinand finally realized the truth. Rolf had spent years whispering in his ear, telling him to stay on his mother's good side for his own sake. Rolf was simply protecting the Countess' power, not Ferdinand's.

His eyes widened with a new sense of authority. The real power in this house belonged to his father and himself. His mother was just the daughter of a moneylender who was clinging to their noble blood.

[Odette] "Brother, you never go against Mother. You'll give us your blessing, won't you? I just want to be happy with him."

[Ferdinand] "Haha. Did you really think I would allow that, Odette?"

He called for the footmen. He pointed a finger at her.

[Ferdinand] "Find out which boutique made that dress. Find the lowlife who bought it for her."

[Odette] "Brother!"

Her face went pale with fear. The sight of it made Ferdinand feel powerful again.

How dare my toy choose another man?

[Ferdinand] "And as for this girl—inject her with four... no, five doses of Mengele and leave her here! She needs to learn her place."

[Odette] "Please, no! You can't separate us when Mother gave us her blessing!"

[Ferdinand] "Lock my mother in her room as well! If any of you refuse my orders, I will assume you are her dogs and treat you just like the butler!"

[Odette] "Brother!"

Her voice was filled with despair. Ignoring her pleas, Ferdinand signaled the footmen to drag her away.

He felt a sense of clarity as he went to his room to change into his formal clothes.

[Ferdinand] "I should demand a marriage to the Princess as a condition for the purification, shouldn't I?"

The Princess was fourteen years younger than him, and while she wasn't as beautiful as her brother, the Crown Prince, she was good enough. Besides, he still had Odette to play with.

He hummed a tune as he dressed, his movements light.

[Ferdinand] "Finally. I feel like the master of this house again."

Odette had been right. He was the future Count. It was time the moneylender's daughter learned who was truly in charge.

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