KFBRV Ch 75
- Feb 12
- 6 min read
How could she not laugh?
Odette giggled to herself, the sound bubbling up from deep within.
She was inside a game. She had reincarnated and then regressed into a world of pixels and plotlines. It was sheer madness. The absurdity of it all felt undeniably hilarious.
[Viktor] "You are completely wasted."
His voice drifted over her like a distant hum, vibrating somewhere above her head.
[Odette] "I never expected those rogue-like features of yours to suit a ceremonial uniform so well...... You look remarkably dashing."
The words spilled from her lips before she could catch them. Her tongue felt heavy, disconnected from her willpower.
She hadn't succumbed to the alcohol yet. She was perfectly lucid......
Or so she told herself. She decided to keep her thoughts locked away to avoid future regret. She wouldn't utter another word.
[Viktor] "A rogue? Me?"
[Odette] "Didn't you know? You have the face of a true delinquent. Everyone must have been shocked when they saw your wanted poster. Did they wonder how a face could fit a criminal profile so perfectly?"
[Viktor] "Good grief. I'm the one who carried you to the Imperial Physician, yet you call your savior a rogue?"
[Odette] "Please, calling yourself a savior is a bit much. Honestly, you only brought me there because you wanted to watch me suffer a little longer, didn't you?"
[Viktor] "Ha...... Unbelievable......"
[Odette] "Do you want me to call you a savior that badly? Wow...... You're not just rude; you're shameless."
She felt a surge of relief. She wasn't entirely drunk since she could still formulate such sharp rebuttals in her head. She maintained a steadfast silence.
It felt as though Viktor were arguing against her unspoken thoughts, but he always possessed uncanny intuition. It was likely mind-reading.
These Transcendents were monsters...... every single one of those bastards.
[Viktor] "I'm shameless? Me?"
[Odette] "But it makes sense. If I were you, I would have anticipated my own misery. You probably prayed a thousand times for Odette to just die......"
His hand flinched against her skin at her final thought, though she dismissed it as a drunken hallucination.
[Odette] "I'm sorry...... that someone like me...... wants to live......"
Was she tired?
Her knees buckled while she was still clinging to him.
[Viktor] "Sweetheart? Sweetheart!"
He caught her with one arm as her strength failed and she began to slide toward the ground. He shook her gently, his voice laced with sudden panic.
[Viktor] "Are you sleeping? Seriously? How can you say something like that and just drift off?"
[Odette] "......"
[Viktor] "You really are a drunkard, aren't you?"
He sighed. Her erratic giggling earlier made sense now; she had been intoxicated beyond measure. That was why she had collapsed into sleep so abruptly.
He gazed down at her sleeping face, his expression twisting into something complex and unreadable.
[Viktor] "I never met you back then. I didn't know what kind of person you were."
He whispered the words, a rare quietness settling over him.
[Viktor] "If I had known, I wouldn't have cursed you."
He should have hated her. During that year when he was trampled and ignored in his most vulnerable moments, he had craved her with a desperate, miserable intensity. His hatred had grown in proportion to that longing.
Yet, if he had known she was like this, he would have understood her even as he resented her. If he had known her life was just as ferocious as his own.
He had assumed she was no different from the other noblewomen—those who mocked, ignored, and toyed with him.
[Viktor] "What am I doing, talking to a blackout drunk? I'm losing my edge."
He exhaled sharply and scanned the hunting grounds.
His eyes caught the glint of "Aqua Mint" nearby. The herb possessed a stinging aroma and a spicy kick that could force even the most intoxicated person back to their senses for an hour.
Supporting the woman with one hand, he plucked the mint with the other.
She never ceases to amaze me. Every meeting delivers another blow of the unexpected.
Since their first encounter, she had been a constant source of surprise, a kaleidoscope of different sides. Perhaps that was why he couldn't stop wondering about her.
[Viktor] "Hey. Open up, you drunk."
He pressed the Aqua Mint against her lips, but she failed to swallow.
[Viktor] "Good heavens."
She popped the mint into his own mouth and chewed. He told himself his intentions were purely practical.
She had been desperate to return and had even sought refuge in his arms—the arms of a man she claimed to despise. Helping her sober up was simply fulfilling her wish.
Ignoring the erratic thumping of his own heart, he leaned down. The moment his lips lightly brushed hers—
[Viktor] "......!"
An incredible euphoria surged through him.
The beast residing within him was a Phoenix. Ever since that cursed guest had taken up residence, his nerves had felt as though they were perpetually melting in a furnace. His fire affinity was a catastrophic match for his body. Even a sliver of contamination caused pain equivalent to a total berserk state.
He had lived his life being seared alive from the inside out—.
Yet those agonizing sensations vanished instantly, drowned in the scent of peach blossoms. The colossal inferno, that legendary bird of hellfire, grew docile in an instant. It became as quiet as a well-trained canary.
It felt as though he were standing in the heart of a torrential downpour. His mind reeled, his soul threatening to drift away. This was the pinnacle of ecstasy. No drug, no alcohol, and no act of violence had ever provided such sheer pleasure.
His pupils dilated. He nearly lost his mind and attempted to claim her lips fully, but he managed to tear himself away.
[Viktor] "Haah."
This, too, was unlike him. Normally, he would have lost himself in the pursuit of pleasure.
But his own power held him back. The Phoenix within him raged, demanding he pull away immediately. The creature, just as temperamental as its host, seemed terrified that the woman might grow to hate them.
[Odette] "Cough."
She swallowed the mint and her eyes fluttered open. Her trembling lashes slowly revealed those stunning turquoise depths.
[Viktor] "Are you awake, drunkard?"
[Odette] "Ah......"
Confusion clouded her features as she looked around.
[Odette] "Let... let go of me."
The moment she realized she was in his arms, her face drained of color.
[Odette] "What time is it, Colonel?"
[Viktor] "Midnight."
[Odette] "I'm dry now, so I'll be going. If you don't mind, please take me back to the banquet hall quickly."
She scrambled away from him, her movements frantic.
He maintained a relaxed facade, though irritation pricked at his insides.
Where did that comfortable attitude from earlier go? Why the sudden tension?
[Viktor] "Why the banquet hall? Did you hide a handsome lover there, sweetheart?"
He spoke with a sneer, his thoughts drifting toward Johan.
[Odette] "Stop joking. I have to meet my mother."
[Viktor] "Your mother? Well, then, I must follow my sweetheart's command."
He offered a flirtatious smile and scooped her up. This time, he didn't sling her over his shoulder like luggage; he held her in a proper bridal carry.
[Odette] "Go faster."
She showed no signs of falling for his charm.
Hmm. My face isn't working?
He felt a dent in his pride as he began to run.
Fine. You win.
It was the first time he had ever agreed with that damn Phoenix. She was already this pale just from being held; if he had been caught devouring her lips, she undeniably would have hated him.
Look at that. Does that birdbrain actually have a mind? It's lived forever, so I guess it knows a woman's heart better than I do.
He had always been at odds with the intruder in his soul. But now that they shared a common goal in Odette, the stupid bird was proving rather useful and cooperative.
I won't share this purification with anyone else.
Viktor wanted her all to himself. How could he seduce this woman?
She danced with the Crown Prince, so does she prefer high-ranking men?
Setting goals wasn't his style, but he could adapt.
I can provide all the wealth and glory she could ever want.
His free-spirited nature didn't exactly mesh with high titles, but if Odette desired it, he would do anything. He could even trigger a coup and place her on the Empress' throne.
Plans to seduce Odette flowed through his mind without restraint—plans that didn't consider her own opinion in the slightest.
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