KFBRV Ch 77
- Feb 16
- 6 min read
The time to sever ties with Sasha had undeniably arrived.
Unlike Ulrich, who had been groomed as a young Count, Sasha was a vulgar embarrassment. Her exclusion and the subsequent mockery she endured in high society were pathetic. He had never once regarded such a woman as his wife.
Though he had married her out of financial necessity, her father—that so-called father-in-law—was intolerable. The man had tried to leash Ulrich just because he had borrowed a bit of money.
Before Odette became a fake Purifier, how much did that man interfere? I only used a bit of that measly dowry.
The man had nitpicked every business venture. He had demanded a grandson, insisted Ulrich pay attention to Sasha, and threatened to cut off all funding if he took a mistress—.
The Count, who loathed nothing more than being ordered around, was fundamentally incompatible with such demands.
A few businesses collapsed into a mess, but I still have the casino and the pharmaceutical company.
Once wealth began pouring in because of Odette, he had repaid the debt to his father-in-law. Since then, he had openly ignored his wife as if to avenge the humiliation he had suffered. Even the father-in-law seemed to be enduring it lately, so Ulrich hadn't intended to cut Sasha off in this manner, until now—.
Right. Blood will tell. How dare she run rampant in my mansion while I'm away?
[Vanessa] "Is there a way? Dismissing me is a noblewoman's inherent right."
[Ulrich] "There is one way to ensure a noblewoman can never use any authority in this mansion or the estate. We prove she has lost her mind."
[Vanessa] "You mean...... turning Sasha into a madwoman?"
[Ulrich] "She just accused you of theft without a single shred of evidence, didn't she? I'll use that as the basis to claim she's insane. A noblewoman who has lost her sanity can be exiled to a monastery."
The idea was incredibly tempting. She stopped her sobbing.
[Vanessa] "But it's not as if there was no evidence at all. An anonymous letter arrived accusing me. She read it publicly in front of all the servants......"
[Ulrich] "Dammit. Does that make framing her as a madwoman difficult? If anyone else saw that letter besides Sasha......"
[Vanessa] "There must be someone, right? Rolf, or the head maid, or—"
She cut her sentence short.
[Ulrich] "Why did you stop?"
She recalled the words Odette had spoken a few days ago.
[Odette] “Well, looking for it won't do much good. Even if you check the handwriting, it's meaningless. No one besides my mother has actually seen the contents of that letter. And no one ever will.”
At the time, she thought Odette was just making excuses because she didn't want to be questioned. But looking back now, those words were the absolute truth.
Goosebumps erupted across her skin.
[Vanessa] "No one else saw it. No one else in that room saw the letter with their own eyes. Sasha simply read it aloud."
Could Odette really have drawn such a massive picture?
Vanessa had always dismissed the possibility, but this time, she couldn't ignore it.
If that's the case—Odette, that girl is no ordinary creature.
She swallowed hard.
[Ulrich] "How do you know that?"
[Vanessa] "It's a long story. Just trust me. No one besides Sasha certainly read that letter."
She burned with the desire to tell the Count the truth, yet she remained silent. If she revealed that Odette had orchestrated this entire play, he would view her as a dangerous threat and throw her into the dungeon.
Then he'll interrogate me on how I knew. Even if I was blackmailed, this man will think I conspired with her. He'll strip away my hiring authority.
If that happened, she would lose her grip on the household.
I know how men like him operate.
Vanessa had lost her husband young and was naturally prone to loneliness. Because her temperament clashed with other women, she had only ever associated with men.
That experience gave her certainty. A man like the Count would lose interest in her the moment he suspected she was in league with Odette. If she lost her influence, she could never seduce him again.
I can't let that happen....…
I just heard the plan to exile Sasha. If that woman is gone, I can take the position of the lady of this house.
No matter how chilling Odette's grand scheme was, she couldn't tell him. Not until she had secured the title of Countess for herself.
......She's bolder than she looks. I must not ignore her.
Vanessa thought quietly. Underestimating that girl would lead to a disastrous downfall.
Her instincts screamed a warning: Odette Lina von Albrecht was a person to fear.
Lize moved with extreme caution, checking for any prying eyes as she headed toward the basement of the annex.
Creeeeeak—.
The dungeon door swung open to reveal a man with jet-black hair.
Just as Lady Odette said.
Lize recognized his face. She had seen him in the newspapers before. The man who was once the Crown Prince of the Fenrir Clan—.
At the sound of the door, blood-red eyes fixed on her. Even though his expression remained unchanged, she felt a crushing weight of interrogation.
It was a pressure that demanded to know: What is a creature like you doing here?
Even bound in heavy iron chains, the man exuded pure terror.
Is he...... even human?
She wondered. If one were to mold disaster and ruin into a human shape, this man would be the result. He felt like a monster wearing a human mask.
[Karl] "Tch."
The monster clicked his tongue. In that moment, she felt her heart drop. He wasn't human. He couldn't possibly be.
[Karl] "There is a different woman who should be here."
His commanding, overbearing voice echoed through the stone room.
[Lize] "I... I came on the orders of Lady O-Odette."
She blurted out the answer, driven by a desperate instinct for survival.
In that instant, the murderous aura surrounding him vanished. His aggression evaporated into nothingness, replaced by a vacant, indifferent expression.
......He just looks like a...... handsome boy now.
The abrupt shift in his atmosphere felt even more unsettling to her.
Let's... let's just finish this quickly.
Lize opened the iron bars with the key Odette had given her and stepped inside.
[Karl] "......"
He didn't even spare her a glance. She preferred it that way as she pulled out the key with sweat-slicked hands.
The key I stole from the Count's coat.
As always, the Count had handed his coat to the housekeeper. As soon as the Count left for his room to meet Mrs. Becker, Lize had spilled coffee over the garment, pretending it was an accident.
[Lize] "Oh my! I-I'm so sorry!"
[Courtney] "Lize! Have you lost your mind? Do you have any idea how expensive this coat is?"
While Courtney scrambled in a panic, she pretended to wipe the coffee while slipping the key from the Count's inner pocket.
Everything happened exactly as the Lady said. That the key would be inside the coat, and that it would fit these restraints perfectly.
After freeing Karl with this key, she was supposed to slip it into Courtney's apron.
......She said this would get Courtney into trouble.
She followed the Lady's orders without question.
[Lize] "Lady Odette gave the command. ......You are to escape the mansion immediately and board the carriage waiting by the back gate. A man named Goetz will be waiting for you."
[Karl] "......"
[Lize] "Go. Right now."
Karl's status was that of a slave, yet she couldn't bring herself to speak informally. The lingering pressure from earlier made her words stumble awkwardly.
Clang—.
As the last of the chains fell away, Karl walked out of the cell without looking back.
[Lize] "Phew...... What kind of human is that?"
She slumped to the floor as the tension finally broke.
[Lize] "You should be grateful to the Lady! Otherwise, you'd be dead!"
She tried to act tough after the fact, but her trembling legs told the truth.
Still, she couldn't sit for long. There was much work left to do.
She sighed and intentionally dropped a hairpin on the floor.
With a sharp clink, the evidence was planted. Then, she too hurried out of the dungeon.
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