KFBRV Ch 35
- Jan 22
- 6 min read
The train station was more than just old; it was eerie. The wood was rotting, and not a single station employee was in sight.
As she stepped onto the platform, a bright red warning sign caught her eye.
※Members Of The Fenrir Clan Are Forbidden From Using Main Roads※
The notice went on to explain that the Fenrir people were allowed only to travel through the sewers alongside the roads.
That miserable excuse for a human being.
She thought, her jaw tightening.
How much more could he possibly torment children?
This region was a wasteland where no citizen of the Empire dared to live due to the frequent Calamities. Restricting the use of the roads was nothing but pure, calculated cruelty.
With a cold expression, she reached out and ripped the sign from the wall.
She knew her father had likely used her name to justify every one of these atrocities.
She walked out of the station, her heels clicking against the parched earth. The landscape was a jagged horizon of ruins—homes destroyed by past disasters and left to crumble.
After a long walk along the main road, the containment zone finally appeared.
From the outside, it looked like a fortress. Thick walls were reinforced with iron bars, clearly designed to ensure no one could ever escape. It was a structure built to prevent the people inside from even catching a glimpse of the world beyond. It wasn't just a prison; it was a birdcage made of stone.
She approached the only entrance: a massive gate carved from obsidian-black magic stone. This gate was the ultimate lock, ensuring that no one could pass without the master’s permission. It was a hellish design, intended to let those inside wither away in isolation.
She took a breath and placed her palm against the cold, dark stone. As if recognizing its master, a white Septagram magic circle flared to life beneath her feet, glowing with an ethereal light.
The master of the magic stone is still set to me. Just like in my past life.
She remembered the courtroom from her previous life—how a fragment of a door she had never seen before had recognized her as its owner. At the time, she had been bewildered. Now, she simply offered a bitter smile.
At least my father’s obsession with framing me as a villainess is useful for once.
The white light faded, and the heavy gate groaned as it slowly slid open. She stepped inside but was forced to stop almost immediately.
A young boy, with heavy iron shackles around both ankles, was staring up at her with wide, round eyes.
Luca.
She recognized him from Karl’s memories in the game. Even in those memories, this child had already been dead.
[Luca] "Who... who are you, Miss?"
The shackles were connected to iron balls the size of cannonballs. Engraved on the metal was the same magic circle she had seen on the gate. It was a lethal device: if the child tried to pass through the gate without permission, the magic would instantly detonate his body.
The boy looked no older than eleven. His round eyes gave him the innocent look of a puppy.
[Odette] "Luca."
When she spoke his name, the boy flinched. He quickly averted his eyes and dropped to his knees on the hard ground.
[Luca] "I’m sorry for looking at a citizen! I’m sorry for trying to spread disease! Please forgive me!"
He trembled, pressing his forehead toward the dirt.
Her heart sank.
This was a barren land with no food or people; the Count’s subordinates must have been the only ones who occasionally brought supplies. It was easy to guess how those men had treated a child like Luca.
Those absolute monsters.
She thought, her blood boiling.
The magic gate only responded to the master or someone carrying the master’s blood. Realizing her father had drained her blood just to create a system that tormented a child made her feel sick with rage.
She approached him slowly, careful not to startle him, and knelt to inspect his injuries.
His ankles are a mess.
The skin was raw and bloody, torn by the constant friction of the heavy iron. She reached out and touched the shackles. The Septagram pattern glowed white, and the metal clicked open, sliding off his bruised skin.
[Luca] "No! It—it shouldn't be open! Lady Odette will be so angry with me!"
Pale with terror, Luca scrambled to try to put the shackles back on.
They used my name to terrorize him?
Her eyes narrowed.
The next time I see those guards, I’m going to destroy them.
Luca had never even met her. For him to react this way, the brainwashing must have been constant and horrific.
[Odette] "Don't worry, Luca. That won't happen."
[Luca] "You don't understand, Miss. You don't know how much Lady Odette hates me. Wait... how do you know my name?"
The boy looked distressed, his small hands fumbling with the heavy iron he couldn't reattach.
[Odette] "I am Odette, Luca. And I have never hated you."
She spoke softly as she pulled out the emergency medicinal herbs she had brought from the mansion. She began to apply them to his ankles. His eyes grew even wider.
As she carefully treated his wounds, making sure her fingers didn't cause him more pain, Luca stared at her in total confusion.
His cheeks flushed red; he clearly wasn't used to the touch of another person. His innocent eyes were a storm of bewilderment.
The interior of the containment zone was even more desolate than the exterior. The well water was filthy, and the food supposedly distributed yesterday was already rotting or moldy.
To get clean water or cook what little they had, the children had to find firewood—meaning they had to drag those heavy shackles across a wasteland that barely grew dry grass.
My father is a piece of work.
She thought, her anger simmering.
He’s lazy when it comes to basic supplies, but remarkably diligent when it comes to cruelty.
Luca, who had been watching her intently, suddenly tugged on her sleeve. He pointed toward a makeshift shack that barely qualified as a hut.
[Luca] "This is our home, Big Sister."
After realizing she was "Odette," he had initially been guarded, but as she helped him walk, the walls between them had begun to crumble.
[Odette] "May I come in?"
[Luca] "Of course! This whole place belongs to you, Lady Odette. We only stay alive because of your mercy."
She sighed. She had spent the entire walk trying to tell him that wasn't true, but years of brainwashing couldn't be undone in minutes. She offered a sad smile and patted his head.
The door creaked open with a high-pitched metallic screech, kicking up a cloud of dust.
[Luca] "Lara! Are you in there?"
A heavy, rhythmic clanking sound followed—the sound of chains hitting the floor.
[Lara] "Luca!"
A young girl popped out from the shadows.
That must be Lara.
She had a short bob and a missing front tooth, like a tiny, adorable rabbit. She stood there with her mouth agape, staring at Odette. She was far too thin and small to be dragging such heavy metal behind her.
Odette knelt to meet the girl's eyes.
[Odette] "Hello, Lara. My name is Odette."
She used her gentlest voice, hoping to soothe the child. Instead, Lara’s face lit up with a terrifying, radiant joy.
[Lara] "Wow! The Great Lady Odette! It’s an honor to meet you!"
[Odette] "What?"
[Lara] "Thank you for letting a dirty Fenrir girl like me live here!"
She immediately dropped to her knees and bowed her head in a display of blind, heartbreaking devotion. Odette felt as if she had been struck.
How can a child say something like that?
How much abuse did it take for a child to sincerely thank her for her own misery?
She looked at Lara’s shining eyes and saw a reflection of her younger self—the little girl who had been abused for years and yet looked at the Albrecht family with gratitude because they had "saved" her.
While Odette stood frozen in shock, the door to the shack groaned open again.
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