KFBRV Ch 40
- Jan 23
- 6 min read
[Odette] "There, Karl. All done."
She brushed away the stray hairs clinging to his face and gave him a satisfied smile.
The haircut was a complete success, looking quite handsome on him. Though she had done the work, she admitted to herself that it was his face that finished the look, rather than her own skill.
[Odette] "You look even lovelier now that your eyes are visible."
His frame was slightly thin, but he possessed a beautiful bone structure. His face, full of a certain decadent charm, was actually quite to her liking.
She recalled that after he awakened as a Transcendent, he would become an even more striking man than he was now.
His dark red eyes, reminiscent of a predator's, stared directly into hers. Then, he spoke.
[Karl] "It is Lady Odette who is beautiful."
She looked at him in genuine surprise. She wondered if he was the type of character capable of saying such things.
In the game, she had never seen him act this way. Even toward Charlotte, once her favorability hit one hundred, the most he ever did was become a bit more docile.
However, she could not remain surprised for long. The first shooting star fell from the sky, acting as a herald for the mesmerizing display that was about to begin.
She remembered the "Night Lake Event" from Karl’s route in the game. It was the moment Charlotte first raised his favorability.
In that version of events, after the villainess Odette was dragged away by the Royal Guard, Charlotte visited the Albrecht estate, which had been turned upside down by a search. There, she accidentally discovered Karl locked in the basement of the detached house.
After rescuing him, Charlotte took him to her master’s clinic located near a lake.
Karl, who had only recently regained consciousness, stared blankly at the water while Charlotte sat cautiously beside him. The two remained there in silence until two shooting stars fell.
[Charlotte] "I heard a story from a gypsy once. In a certain foreign clan, there is a custom of making a wish on a shooting star. Isn't that romantic?"
Karl had remained silent.
[Charlotte] "Tell me your wish. Let’s each take one star and make a wish."
[Karl] "I am fine."
[Charlotte] "Really? Then I’ll take both. Please, let Karl be happy. And... please let that romantic foreign clan be happy as well."
Because of her wish, Karl had looked up at the night sky for the first time since the fall of the Fenrir Kingdom.
For the first time, he felt warmth toward Charlotte because she remembered—however clumsily—the customs of his home and his roots. Though his expression remained blunt, that was the plot point where he began to feel favorability toward her.
This was why Odette had been waiting for this meteor shower. She intended to mimic the game’s event as closely as possible. Unlike the other male leads, where she only needed to lower their loathing, she actually had to earn Karl’s favor.
She desprate that she had no status window to check his favorability. It was impossible to guess if his affection was rising based on his machine-like expressions or actions. Therefore, she planned to imitate the scenes from the game—moments where favorability was guaranteed to rise.
She remembered from her past life that the meteor shower on the final day of the Founding Festival had been spectacular.
Soon after, the meteor shower began in earnest.
Stars streaked across the dark expanse. It was a magnificent sight created by an overwhelming number of stars. There was only one thing that differed from her expectations: the sheer beauty of it.
Even though she intended to use this situation, she found herself overwhelmed. The sight was so breathtaking that an exclamation escaped her lips.
[Odette] "Wow..."
Thanks to the river, the night sky appeared as a double image, like a decalcomania. It was a fantastical feeling, as if she were standing in the middle of a universe where stars were pouring down.
It was then that the ancient language of the Fenrir clan suddenly came to her mind, as if she were possessed.
[Odette] "O bloodline of the wolf who swallowed the sun. Do you also have a great wish?"
Karl, who had been watching the meteor shower with hollow eyes, flinched and turned toward her with a look of visible agitation.
[Karl] "How... how do you know our ancient tongue?"
She wondered the same thing. She hadn't understood how she had uttered those words. She had originally intended to follow Charlotte’s dialogue and say, "Tell me your wish." But the moment she saw the magical meteor shower, the dubbed voice of the actor from the game echoed in her head.
Though she was the most surprised by the words that had left her mouth, she smiled boldly as if it had been her intention all along.
[Odette] "I told you, didn't I? I fell for your beautiful face. I studied the Fenrir Clan quite hard. That is all."
She shrugged her shoulders, dismissing it as if it were a trivial matter.
[Karl] "Studied? That is not information one can learn simply through moderate interest."
[Odette] "How tedious. Rather than questioning that, why don't you answer me? Do you have a great wish worthy of a shooting star?"
He looked at her as if he weren't entirely convinced, but when she showed no sign of elaborating, he finally spoke.
[Karl] "...I have none. Nothing to wish for upon a star."
His brief moment of agitation seemed to have vanished completely.
She thought about how Charlotte would have looked at this moment—pious and sweet, wishing for Karl’s happiness. Had that raised his favorability by one point?
[Odette] "I suppose... a mere star could never grant your wish."
She felt a bit sorry for him, but she couldn't be satisfied with a single point. To finish her revenge before Charlotte arrived, she had to start by making his favorability at least ten.
One might have expected him to be angry at her cynical tone, but he replied without expression.
[Karl] "Just because I am insignificant and lowly does not mean my wish is the same."
[Odette] "I didn't mean it that way. I meant that the wish you hold is one you should ask of a person, not a star."
[Karl] "You speak as if you know exactly what my wish is."
[Odette] "I do. You want to recover the ruins of the Fenrir Kingdom and hold a proper funeral for your kin, don't you? You want to ensure their souls do not vanish, but can be born again."
She went straight to the heart of the matter. In an instant, he moved with lightning speed and grabbed her by the throat.
The warmth of the docile pet was gone, replaced by the murderous intent of a wild beast.
[Karl] "You... what exactly are you?"
[Odette] "...Karl."
He applied a light pressure to her throat. She struggled to keep herself from gasping for air.
[Karl] "Even that ancient language just now... I am becoming certain. You must have conducted a secret investigation into the Fenrir Kingdom."
She knew it was impossible for her not to know. After all, the very first thing Karl did after awakening as a Transcendent was to recover the bodies of his kin abandoned in his homeland. She found it tragic that she could not tell him the truth.
[Odette] "I didn't investigate the Fenrir Kingdom. I investigated you."
To escape this killing intent, she had to show him that she was not a threat to the Fenrir.
[Odette] "I told you I wanted you, didn't I? So, of course, I know what your wish is."
Perhaps deciding that her words were not a threat, the sharp bloodlust surrounding him began to recede.
[Odette] "And the question you should be asking isn't 'how do you know that.' Didn't I just say that your wish must be asked of a person?"
She endured the pain in her throat and looked directly into his eyes as she spoke.
[Odette] "You should be asking if I can grant that wish. Isn't that right? If you are to pray for your wish, you should pray to me, your master, not to a star."
He asked her in return.
[Karl] "You... you can grant it?"
In the early part of Karl’s route in the game, he had told Charlotte about this wish after opening his heart to her. However, Charlotte had been too poor to grant it. Instead, to comfort him, she had built a simple grave in the imperial garden and offered prayers as a memorial rite. Even for that small gesture, his favorability had risen by five points—a significant amount.
Odette looked at him as his grip on her throat loosened.
[Odette] "It isn't free. It involves going to the tundra to recover every single skeleton buried in the snow."
[Karl] "..."
[Odette] "Can you even imagine how many gold coins would be required? I cannot grant such an expensive wish and receive nothing in return."
He pulled his hand away. He likely realized that this was a monumental opportunity—that she intended to grant his most desperate desire.
[Karl] "What... what do you want in exchange?"
He stuttered slightly, a rare break in his composure that revealed his desperation.
She was pleased. She had successfully navigated the events that had earned Charlotte five points.
[Odette] "Imprint on me, Karl."
It was time to proceed with the final favorability event to claim the last five points.
To support the original author and publisher, please consider rating the official release on Kakaopage.
Comments