KFBRV Ch 86

But...... one single problem will gnaw at his mind.

[Ulrich] "I do not understand. She went straight to the villa from the ball. How did she get her hands on the key in my pocket?"

There it was, the inevitable question.

He knew he had never shared a space with Paula, making it impossible for her to reach the dungeon key hidden in his coat.

She spoke, her voice trembling with feigned hesitation.

[Odette] "Father, I hesitate to speak, but I do not believe she acted alone. It seemed she had an accomplice. Someone waited for her at the entrance of the villa's dungeon."

[Ulrich] "What?"

[Odette] "That person's name is—"

The name she uttered turned every face in the room to stone.

---

Courtney, the housekeeper, was the one who found Paula. As a loyal shadow to the Countess, she worked closer to Paula than anyone else. She predicted the girl's movements with ease.

That brat always crawls into the Madam's dressing room when terror takes her.

Sure enough, Paula crouched in the corner of the dressing room. The moment she saw Courtney's face, a scream tore from her throat.

[Paula] "I-I didn't do it! I didn't do anything!"

Her frantic denial, offered before a single accusation was made, carried the weight of a full confession.

[Courtney] "Get out!"

She gripped her wrist with bruising force and hauled her from the room.

[Paula] "Let go! Let me go!"

The Countess had spoiled this girl for too long, leading her to forget her place.

She barked orders at the nearby maids.

[Courtney] "I have found her! Drag her to the office immediately!"

The maids moved with clinical efficiency, hauling Paula away. Courtney followed behind, breathing a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness I was the one to find her.

The Count had not reached this level of fury in years. This incident would undoubtedly leave both Paula and Doly—both of whom belonged to the Countess' faction—permanently disgraced.

Courtney expected to be scrutinized as well. Finding Paula was her only gambit to regain the Count's favor.

After this, the Madam will be nothing more than a scarecrow in this mansion.

She refused to lose her position. While she had previously served the Countess out of necessity, she now realized her survival depended solely on Ulrich.

I needed an achievement to prove my worth. This is perfect.

[Paula] "I never touched the Lady! I never struck her!"

Her shrieks echoed through the hallway as she was dragged toward the office.

[Paula] "How can you treat me like this based on a coachman's words—Aaaak! Y-You're alive?!"

The moment she saw Odette kneeling in the office, her body underwent a violent convulsion of shock.

Ulrich narrowed his eyes and dismissed the junior maids who had brought her in.

[Ulrich] "Leave us. Only Courtney and Paula shall remain. This is a solemn gathering for high-ranking staff only."

Paula had already committed an act of madness; there was no telling what she might scream next.

He intended to keep the circle small to prevent the family's darkest secrets from leaking. If Paula became desperate enough to face death, she might blurt out Odette's secrets.

He spoke to her, his words dripping with venom.

[Ulrich] "Honestly, you are the mirror image of your mistress. Especially in the way you spin such clumsy lies."

[Paula] "M-Master."

[Ulrich] "Sasha's favoritism made you bold, and now this disaster is the result."

[Ulrich] "This wench tried to kill Odette and dared to touch my slave, Karl. She deserves only death."

He gestured toward Ferdinand with a cold, murderous expression.

[Ulrich] "She knows the greatest secrets of our house. Cut her throat yourself, Ferdinand."

[Ferdinand] "Yes, Father."

Paula looked around with a vacant, dazed expression.

[Paula] "Wait—if the Lady is alive, why must I be beheaded—Eek!"

Ferdinand unsheathed his sword. The cold steel whistled through the air, and her face drained of all color. Silence finally claimed her.

He...... he really means to kill me.

Just then, the doors burst open. A woman rushed in, her appearance disheveled from struggling past the guards.

[Sasha] "N-No!"

She threw herself over Paula, shielding her with her own body.

[Sasha] "No! Husband, you cannot. Please, not Paula. Paula! Apologize quickly, beg for mercy!"

Paula had tried to dodge Ferdinand's blade, but the steel had already carved a deep crimson line across her shoulder. The sight of her own blood sent her into a state of shock.

Since entering this mansion under Sasha's protection, she had never even faced a stern scolding from the Count. She believed herself untouchable, even if every other maid was expendable.

She fell to her knees, trembling.

[Paula] "I...... I was wrong. I disobeyed the Young Master's orders and laid hands on Lady Odette. I thought if I missed today, I would never have another chance......"

[Ulrich] "Indeed. And that is why you touched Karl as well. You forgot your place."

[Paula] "What?"

[Ulrich] "You, a mere lowly thing, dared to set him free?"

She blinked, her face a mask of utter confusion.

[Ulrich] "When I think of the nightmares I will endure because of you, I feel like taking the heads of both you and your mistress right here."

[Paula] "Karl is free? What are you talking about? I didn't do that. Entirely not—"

[Ulrich] "I am weary of this. I found your hairpin at the scene, yet you still deny it?"

He sneered and hurled the engraved hairpin at her face. The metal cut her cheek, but she remained motionless, staring at it in a daze.

[Paula] "Why is this—"

Ulrich, disgusted by what he perceived as a performance, hoisted his hunting rifle and leveled the barrel at Paula's head. The click of the safety echoed in the tense room.

[Ulrich] "Is death the only way to silence your mouth?"

He looked ready to pull the trigger at the slightest hint of another excuse. But this time, Paula was innocent of the specific charge. She shook her head frantically.

It wasn't me! It really wasn't me!

His finger tightened on the trigger. Instead of Paula, who had squeezed her eyes shut, Sasha let out a piercing scream.

[Sasha] "Not Paula! Do not touch her!"

She clung to Paula with a desperate, manic grip, acting as if she would gladly die in the maid's stead.

[Sasha] "Not Paula. Absolutely not!"

[Ulrich] "Tch."

Unable to get a clear shot, the Count clicked his tongue and lowered the rifle. He jerked his chin toward Ferdinand.

[Ulrich] "We shall deal with the accomplice first. Rolf, seize her."

In an instant, Rolf pinned Courtney's arms behind her back. The housekeeper, who had been watching the drama unfold with smug satisfaction, gasped in horror.

[Courtney] "B-Butler? What is the meaning of this?"

[Ulrich] "Doly. Search the housekeeper. If Odette's testimony is correct, you will find the key."

[Courtney] "What? That makes no—"

Doly's hands were faster. A metallic rattle echoed as a key Courtney had never seen before fell from her apron pocket.

[Courtney] "Why—why is this here—"

[Ulrich] "Ha. This confirms it. Paula and Courtney committed this act together."

[Courtney] "I—I know nothing of this—"

[Ulrich] "I am sick of it. Ferdinand, silence that housekeeper immediately."

Without a moment for a scream to form, his blade grazed the inside of the housekeeper's mouth.

As if prepared for this very moment, Rolf stuffed a thick white cloth into her maw. Her muffled cries died against the fabric.

[Ulrich] "The sound of their denials gives me a headache."

[Paula] "Hic."

Paula let out a sob-like hiccup at the sheer brutality. The Countess tightened her hold on her and spoke with a trembling voice.

[Sasha] "I...... I do not know what happened, but it seems Paula and Courtney conspired together. She is just a maid. The housekeeper holds the power in this house. Courtney must have led her! Kill that woman and let Paula live!"

As everyone turned their attention toward the Countess, no one spared a glance for the weeping Courtney.

Except for Odette.

[Odette] "Her name is Courtney. Since she was waiting for Paula, she must be the one who smuggled the key out of the mansion."

The goal of today's scheme was always Courtney. Among all those who required vengeance, none had tormented Odette in such a dark, insidious way as the housekeeper.

In my past life, Courtney was the one who cut out my tongue.

Ulrich had given the order, but Courtney had wielded the blade. She was the one who had shoved a filthy napkin into Odette's mouth to stifle the screams.

The frustration of being unable to plead your innocence because your tongue is gone...... It is an indescribable agony.

Even so, Odette considered herself merciful. Ferdinand was a master of the blade; the cut was clean and instantaneous.

Unlike me, Courtney. I had to endure the slow, clumsy agony of your unskilled hands.

Prev

TOC

Next

---

To support the original author and publisher, please consider rating the official release on Kakaopage.