KFBRV Ch 95
- Mar 6
- 5 min read
To secure the best ending in Johan's route within The Only Savior, Charlotte had to emerge as the victor of the Athena Island hunting competition. A commoner required over five hundred points of fame to become the Crown Princess. Winning this event—and having her face minted onto silver coins for every citizen to see—was the only way to bridge that gap.
Odette recalled a specific conversation from that game episode:
<Last year's competition ended abruptly when assassins attacked His Majesty during the opening remarks. Two calamities struck the forest simultaneously, forcing every S-class Transcendent to leave His Majesty's side to suppress them. The assassins escaped. Consequently, His Majesty plans to remain within the Summer Palace this year rather than inspecting the grounds.>
In that timeline, Charlotte had brought the eggs of a small, charming waterbird as her "prey" to comfort the Emperor. Touched by the gesture, he named her the winner. Charlotte used her "Wish Ticket" with calculated grace.
<My only wish is for Your Majesty's eternal health.>
That saintly display moved the Emperor further, fueling rumors that eventually propelled her to the Crown Prince's side.
Odette knew exactly what prey would guarantee a victory this year.
I must capture those four assassins. That is the only way to seize the laurel wreath.
Of course, she had no intention of wearing it herself. Karl would be the victor today.
If I win, I only invite my father's suspicion. It isn't time for me to step into the light yet.
Fame and honor meant nothing to her. She coveted the "Wish Ticket." With it, she could legally bind Karl as a slave of her own household. And then there was this year's "grand prize" to consider.
[Odette] "Hyah!"
The mountain slope steepened. Karl should be approaching the designated location by now.
Earlier, Zion had worked some unknown magic; when Odette reunited with Karl, his crushing aura had vanished. While the change startled her, more pressing matters required her attention. She had given him strict instructions.
[Odette] "Karl, meet me at the Tartarus Cliffs. There, you will face the Emperor's assassins. Kill them and secure his favor."
Following the Emperor's scream, the panicked assassins would drag him to that very spot—the Tartarus Cliffs.
I must arrive before Karl.
Though she had commanded him to remain still after meeting the Emperor, the wolf was unpredictable.
He changed the plan the moment he thought I was committing suicide. He might decide to finish the Emperor himself.
The cliffs loomed ahead. She checked the system.
['Karl' is not within 20 meters.]
[Unable to check Loathing.]
Good.
She didn't summon the window out of curiosity—his Loathing remained at zero, anyway. She used it as a radar. Seeing the empty window as I approached the precipice provided a flicker of relief.
I made it first.
But the scene awaiting her at the cliff's edge shattered her expectations.
['Karl' has entered the 20-meter range.]
[Checking Loathing.]
[Loathing: 0]
Damn it.
The Emperor lay unconscious, pale from the blood loss of a poisoned arrow.
Four masked men—the assassins—were already dead. Karl had used his bare hands to sever their heads and limbs, scattering them like discarded waste.
That part was fine. The problem was Karl himself. He stood at the very edge of the abyss, gripping the unconscious Emperor by the throat with one hand, dangling over the void.
He dared to disobey me again.
Fury surged through Odette. She had already overlooked his defiance twice. This was the end of her patience.
She shouldered her shotgun, aimed just past Karl's head, and fired.
Bang!
The thunderous report echoed. Karl froze, the Emperor still dangling from his fist.
[Karl] "......"
She feared he might let go out of spite, but he maintained his grip and turned his gaze toward her.
Rage choked her words. She knew his motivation all too well.
The Emperor is the man who demoted the Fenrir clan to third-class citizens.
To him, the Emperor was a target for vengeance. Even if he died first, the Empire would still be destroyed.
But I warned him! I told him never to disobey me again!
[Odette] "......What were my orders, Karl?"
[Karl] "Kill the assassins. Secure the Emperor's favor."
[Odette] "Correct...... You understood my command perfectly."
He still held the Emperor over the heights. The monarch looked like a grotesque, limp rag doll, blood dripping steadily into the dark below.
[Karl] "I am not killing him. Nor do I intend to drop him. I am holding him here so the blood drains faster."
His voice was as flat as a man discussing drying laundry.
[Karl] "Therefore, I have not violated a single one of my Master's orders."
[Odette] "Then I will give you a specific one. Save the Emperor, Karl."
His crimson eyes locked onto hers, unblinking.
[Karl] "As you command."
He finally obeyed, hauling the Emperor back and dropping him onto the grass.
She rushed over, forcing medicinal herbs into the Emperor's mouth while addressing the wolf.
[Odette] "Does the Emperor know you did this?"
[Karl] "He only remembers being rescued. He lost consciousness the moment I finished the four assassins."
She suppressed her bile. Saving the Emperor's life came first.
He still seeks loopholes in my words.
If this continued, he might decide to slaughter the Emperor before she had properly set the stage.
[Odette] "Did it never occur to you that if the Emperor died like this, you would be the prime suspect? An escaped slave found on this island? You have every motive in the world."
[Karl] "It doesn't matter as long as the Fenrir's revenge is complete. I value the will of my clan above my own life."
The heat of her anger turned to ice.
This is the final move. If he doesn't change now, I will discard him.
Three strikes were enough. She would not be betrayed by a mere chess piece.
Karl watched the Emperor's breath return with a twinge of regret.
His Master had ordered him to rescue the man and win his favor, but she hadn't explicitly said to keep him alive. He had tried to exploit that gap.
I should have moved faster.
Suddenly, Odette's hands clamped onto his cheeks, pulling his face toward hers.
[Odette] "You understood the intent behind my command perfectly. The implication to keep him alive was undeniably there."
Her teal eyes bored into his.
Again.
His mother, his father—everyone had looked at him with apprehension. Even his own kin within the Fenrir clan treated him with a mix of discomfort and dread.
Even the children in the containment zone.
Their fear never bothered him, but Odette was an anomaly. She touched his face without hesitation. She pulled him close and comforted him as if he were no different from anyone else.
Karl preferred solitude. He couldn't understand others, and they couldn't understand him. To his eyes, they were weak, slow, and dull.
[Odette] "You understood my goal, yet you chose to exploit a loophole?"
The way this woman stared him down was always foreign and baffling.
This woman is so fragile. Why isn't she afraid?
The Imprint prevented him from using his full Transcendent strength, but even with the power of an ordinary man, he could kill her in an instant. She was thin, delicate, and small.
Is the part of her brain that feels fear broken?
[Odette] "Focus."
She pulled his face even closer. Her voice was resolute.
[Odette] "Karl, do you think killing the Emperor is enough to avenge the Fenrir Clan? It isn't. You don't just want one man dead—you want the complete annihilation of the Empire, don't you?"
His crimson eyes widened.
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