KFBRV Ch 91

[Zion] "Share this umbrella, or watch the butterfly you sheltered crumble into dust."

[Odette] "Your Excellency!"

She bit her lip.

What is this lunatic playing at?

[Zion] "You know I am a Transcendent. Shall I demonstrate how easily I can grind this creature into microscopic grains?"

[Odette] "Let it go."

[Zion] "I might even treat you to a spectacle where every butterfly beneath this silk canopy spontaneously plummets to the earth. No Imperial law forbids the use of abilities against insects."

[Odette] "Have you lost your mind?"

[Zion] "Don't fret. I shall grant them the mercy of absolute euphoria as they strike the pavement. It will be an ecstasy far beyond anything a mere insect deserves."

He's a complete madman.

[Zion] "Still refuse to share the umbrella?"

He tilted his head, his expression twisted into the cruel, mocking smirk of a storybook villain.

[Odette] "I want nothing more than to share it with you. The desire is driving me mad, Excellency."

She spat the words, her eyes boring into his.

[Zion] "Such a passionate confession. As a gentleman, I cannot ignore a lady's plea."

He opened his hand. His large palm had shielded the creature from any new harm.

The butterfly, oblivious to its near-atomization, flitted back toward the shelter of Odette's umbrella.

Why does he get more insufferable every time we meet?

His Loathing must have spiked during their time apart. She summoned the status window.

He doesn't usually go out of his way to harass people, but at this rate, it has to be at least 40—

[Zion's Loathing: 15]

What?

The number stunned her.

Fifteen?

Even in the "Zion Route" of the game, one only saw a level that low after choosing every perfect dialogue option. This man—a world-class misanthrope—started with a baseline of hatred far higher than the other male leads.

If his Loathing is down, why is he tormenting me more? I thought he harassed me because he hated me...... Is it something else?

Does he like me?

She brushed the hopeful thought aside.

In the game's lore, Zion was "the ultimate bastard who is only warm to the woman he loves." He was currently anything but warm.

[Odette] "If you intend to hold the umbrella, hold it properly."

Her sharp tone met his violet gaze. A flicker of something predatory flashed in his eyes.

I didn't expect this from him.

A silent sigh escaped her.

 While it was a first for a "male lead," it wasn't the first time a man had looked at her that way. She had seen that look often during her days among the beggars.

Eyes that hungered for her body. Eyes filled with base, carnal desire.

[Zion] "With pleasure."

His other hand snaked around her waist, pulling her flush against him as he adjusted the umbrella. He positioned it so that even a slight attempt to pull away would leave her drenched in the downpour.

Low, animalistic lust. It was familiar. Fedinand looked at her with that same filth. She found it shocking to see it in Zion. Among the male leads, he was supposed to be the most frigid.

You pursued a platonic ideal with Charlotte. Where did the 'Long-Legged Uncle' go?

In the original story, he claimed that spiritual communion was the only complete form of love. He preached that true love was a noble emotion built on reason, while base desire was a beastly excretion.

So, Charlotte gets the "Noble Love," and I get the "Excretion"?

If it were affection, she could manipulate it. But this...... there was no way to use his lust. Zion himself considered sexual desire disgusting; how could she leverage something he hated in himself?

Rain lashed against the silk above them.

[Zion] "I have a question for you, Albrecht."

[Odette] "Speak, Your Excellency."

[Zion] "......What do you know about your biological parents?"

A chill raced down her spine. A scream nearly tore from her throat.

What? How does he know about that?

She had told Viktor, but his personality made him a vault. He would never leak information to Zion, his greatest rival.

[Odette] "Nothing at all. I don't even know who they were."

She forced her expression into a mask of calm and shook her head.

In her past life, she had learned the truth from Ferdinand's nanny—who they were and how they died. But Zion had no way of knowing. The nanny, the only living soul with the secret, was dead.

Terrifying. Just how far does his information network reach?

[Odette] "Have you discovered something, Your Excellency?"

[Zion] "The broad strokes."

[Odette] "I am curious. I've had no way of finding out."

[Zion] "Do you wish to know?"

She shook her head. Why pay a price for information she already possessed?

[Odette] "Everything comes with a price. If so, I am not curious."

[Zion] "......For this information, at least, no price is required."

His voice softened unnervingly. In that moment, she caught a glimpse of his internal state.

When it comes to revenge, Zion feels a sense of kinship with me.

Possessiveness was easily mistaken for love. With the right nudge, she could make him believe it was the latter.

He said spiritual communion is the true form of love. Can't we commune through our mutual thirst for vengeance?

A shared bond of revenge. Comrades-in-arms. Could she sublimate his base desire into genuine affection through that?

If she secured his affection, he would become a devoted tool.

[Odette] "Then...... please tell me."

Her voice came out as a cautious whisper.

[Zion] "You know the Albrecht line has a history of branch-family rebellions? And that Ulrich's grandfather seized the title through a coup?"

She nodded, feigning intense focus.

Frightening man. He really did find out everything.

[Zion] "Your biological grandfather, Kuchler, was the original Young Count Albrecht. Your great-grandfather was the Count. The rebellion led by Ulrich's grandfather resulted in the decapitation of both your great-grandfather and grandfather."

[Odette] "......"

[Zion] "Only the Young Countess, your biological grandmother, survived and fled. She was pregnant at the time."

[Odette] "......Excellency, what are you saying?"

[Zion] "Listen. She hid her identity and lived as a commoner. She raised a son and eventually married. The problem arose when Ulrich inherited the Countdom. He remembered the story of the escaped Countess. He sent his men to scour the land until they found your father and mother. He had them shot dead."

[Odette] "......"

The truth, though familiar, made her limbs tremble. She had reacted the same way when she first heard it from the nanny. Her indignation was impossible to suppress.

[Zion] "However, the henchman...... he couldn't bring himself to kill the infant he found in the house. He never reported the child to Ulrich. By some twist of fate, he left the baby at a random orphanage."

[Odette] "And the girl's name......?"

[Zion] "Lina."

[Odette] "......"

[Zion] "The name reserved for the eldest daughter of the Albrecht House: 'Odette'."

Her adoptive father had pretended to gift her a name and a title. In reality, he had merely returned what he had stolen from her.

As if hearing it for the first time, she let her knees buckle. His honed reflexes caught her instantly. He pulled her upright, his grip firm.

[Odette] "I see......"

[Zion] "Are you alright? You've turned white as a sheet."

[Odette] "I spent my life desperate for the love of the man who murdered my father."

She didn't need acting skills; she needed memory. She summoned the vivid self-loathing she had felt in her previous life when this secret first came to light.

[Odette] "How...... how did you find out?"

[Zion] "Don't worry about the validity. It is an absolute fact."

The henchman and the nanny were long gone.

She leaned into him, her face pale. She racked her brain for the right words—the ones that would make him believe they shared a soul.

[Odette] "Then...... it is only you. You are the only one who can truly understand and help me......"

[Zion] "......!"

[Odette] "Only you have endured this pain and can understand this thirst for revenge."

Zion stiffened. When he spoke, his voice sounded like a sage who had finally solved a lifelong riddle.

[Zion] "......Yes."

He pulled her closer, wrapping her entirely within his embrace.

[Zion] "......You are right."

She fought to hide her surprise. She hadn't expected such a violent reaction.

[Zion] "That is the answer. I am the only one who is entirely on your side, Odette."

His voice dropped an octave.

[Zion] "The nature of my feelings doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is that I am your only answer."

[Odette] "Your Excellency..."

[Zion] "No one else understands you. Not the agony of a family becoming enemies, or the grief of losing kin to kin."

[Loathing decreased by 5.]

The soft pink status window appeared.

His arms constricted around her.

[Zion] "Johan, Viktor...... they can never be your answer. Neither of them knows this brand of hatred."

She didn't quite grasp his monologue, but she had successfully pivoted his desire toward a spiritual obsession.

Unlike before, he held the umbrella entirely over her, neglecting himself. That kind of consideration only appeared when he felt affection.

Now that I have his favor, perhaps I can use him to solve the problem with Karl's pressure?

Lost in calculation, she failed to notice the faint, manic glint flickering in his violet eyes.

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