KFBRV Ch 39
- Jan 23
- 6 min read
[Karl] "What?"
[Karl] "The reason you want me so badly is because of my power, isn't it? The strength that the leader of the Fenrir clan possesses."
She remained silent.
[Karl] "Then why do you have no interest in the other Fenrir children? It is strange. Why is it that you only wish to possess me?"
He spoke with an emotionless tone, as if pointing out a logical inconsistency that he could not grasp.
The question caught her off guard, but his peculiar way of speaking was even more unnerving.
It was clear that while he did not care if he was made a slave, he would likely kill her the moment she showed any desire to enslave the children.
She knew she had to give him an answer.
The real truth was that he had killed her in her previous life. To get her revenge, she needed him to be the one to kill her father this time. She wanted the Count to suffer the same fate. However, if she said such a thing aloud, she would be treated like a madwoman.
She could not let her lie drag on. He had been a crown prince; if she showed even the slightest opening, he would see right through her deception.
It has to be a plausible reason. A reason why a villainess would want only Karl and not the Fenrir. But it cannot be so cruel that he refuses to trust me with the children.
She struggled to find a way out. She maintained an arrogant expression that seemed to say, Don't you even know that much? while she broke into a cold sweat internally.
There is no perfect answer. I might as well give a shallow, empty response.
Having made her decision, she looked at him with a vain, mocking smirk.
[Odette] "It is because you are so handsome. You are exceptionally beautiful."
[Karl] "What kind of nonsense is that all of a sudden?"
[Odette] "I didn't know what you looked like before. But once I saw you by chance, I found I wanted you so badly I couldn't stand it. It is a beauty so great that I cannot even sleep knowing I do not own it. A decadently handsome man like you is rare, after all."
She was actually being sincere about his looks. Perhaps because her personal feelings were involved, the words sounded quite truthful even to her own ears.
[Odette] "Yes. I have fallen for your face. To be honest, I don't care about the Fenrir clan. Your shining face is the only reason I want to possess you."
His expression remained as machine-like as ever. His stoicism made her feel even more anxious.
[Odette] "I am the only Purifier in this empire. I can have whatever I want. Indeed, I should have it."
She wore a greedy smile and lightly grabbed him by the collar, pulling him closer so she could look up at him. The force she used on his shirt caused an old button to pop off and bounce onto the floor.
[Odette] "So, you belong to me as a matter of course."
In that moment, through the gap in his shirt, she saw the blood-stained brand of a slave. The sight jolted her back to reality.
I am the master, yet I am being led by him.
Throughout the entire conversation, he had looked bored. He acted as if he didn't feel a shred of interest. If he remained indifferent while she became desperate, she would be the one who looked like the inferior.
She bit the inside of her cheek and twisted her grip on his collar more firmly, forcing him to lower his head to her level. Their faces were so close they nearly touched as he leaned down slightly.
She looked down at him and spoke.
[Odette] "That reason is more than enough."
His red eyes finally glared at her. He looked as if he were witnessing an act of insolence from a subordinate, his gaze filled with resentment at being treated this way for the first time.
She met his glare with a relaxed, playful smile. This was how the dynamic between a slave and a master was supposed to be.
[Odette] "Don't ask such trivial questions from now on, Karl. It is not a slave's place to ask why a master wants something. A slave should only worry about what the master wants. That is all."
['Karl’s' loathing has decreased. (-5)]
The status window flickered before her eyes.
I thought his hatred would increase in this context, but it actually went down.
As if proving the status window was correct, a faint glimmer of interest appeared in his red eyes.
She realized then that if she ever took him lightly, it would lead to disaster.
The children, who had been running around the circus all day, fell into a deep sleep the moment they sat down.
Gisela, who had been waiting nearby, arrived at the containment zone in a carriage. Odette moved the sleeping children into the carriage and then spoke to Karl.
[Odette] "You’ve sweated so much. You need to wash up. Come with me out of the containment zone."
After persuading him to leave, she found herself soaking her feet in the Nemetes River. It was a clean river located only thirty minutes from the containment zone. It was a tragedy that the people in the zone were forced to drink from rotten wells while this was so close.
Karl was washing his sweat-soaked body further down the river, away from her sight.
In the privacy of the moonlight, she carefully pulled a white handkerchief from her sleeve. She held it up to the light.
May God’s grace and protection be with you.
She had read the short phrase embroidered on the fabric dozens of times. It was her most precious possession, both in her past life and this one. It was so valuable to her that she only carried it on days when she felt she needed luck.
I never expected that Charlotte would be the one to pick this up later.
In the original game, after Odette was dragged to prison, Charlotte would happen to find this handkerchief at the Count’s mansion.
[Karl] "Lady Odette."
At the sound of his voice, she carefully folded the handkerchief and tucked it back into her sleeve. She turned to look at him while her feet were still in the water.
Petals from blooming lilacs and cherry blossoms drifted in the breeze. Somehow, the sight of him looked romantic.
[Odette] "You changed into the clothes I gave you."
He was wearing the new outfit she had provided. The white shirt and dark brown trousers fit him perfectly.
You truly cannot hide nobility. Even in simple clothes, it’s obvious he was a crown prince.
[Odette] "It suits you well."
She answered with a hint of admiration. She wanted him to use her.
You have so many wishes for the Fenrir clan. You should be calculating exactly how useful this shallow woman standing before you can be.
Karl had many desires but possessed nothing. To him, Odette would seem like a golden purse that had suddenly fallen into his hands.
Realize just how useful a master who fulfills your wishes can be.
She intended to fulfill his wishes one by one, making them even grander than he imagined. Slowly, she would earn his loyalty, even if it was a fragile loyalty destined to break the moment Charlotte arrived.
[Odette] "It would be better if your hair were a bit shorter. May I cut it for you?"
[Karl] "Yes, Lady Odette."
At those words, she gave a charming smile and pulled her feet from the river. The water reflected the night sky so clearly that it looked as if she were stepping out of the Milky Way itself.
[Odette] "Sit here."
She pointed to a fallen tree stump nearby.
Snip, snip.
As she trimmed his bangs, she recalled what he was like in the original game.
[Do you want to save a man suffering from despair?
Do you want the blind loyalty of a man who looks only at you, like a Labrador Retriever?
If pure love were sculpted into a man, it would be Karl.]
The strategy to win him over was simple. Perform a few deeds for the Fenrir clan, and the task was complete. Even in the "Reverse Harem Route," where she might be caught with other male leads, choosing the options that benefited the Fenrir clan would solve any problem. Furthermore, he was the type to be blindly devoted to anyone he pledged his loyalty.
This meant nothing was making it difficult for her to use him for her revenge.
He seems like a different person compared to her past life.
She remembered the Karl she had encountered in the garden of the detached house in her previous life. Even in rags, he had overwhelmed others with his presence. He had possessed a beast-like pressure befitting the wolf clan and a fierce spirit that would rather die than be tamed.
Yet now, he was so docile. It felt as if she were watching a wolf pretend to be a small dog.
The fact that the children didn't die made such a huge difference.
She glanced at the night sky and began to finish the haircut.
She sensed that the event she had been waiting for was about to happen.
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