KFBRV Ch 96

How did she know?

[Odette] "That is why you became my slave, isn't it? You thought if you won my favor and I led you out of the Empire, you could bring about its total ruin."

His face went blank. His mind calculated the risks with lightning speed.

It would be better to kill this woman.

Since she had unmasked his intentions, seduction was no longer an option. His plan to spirit away the Purifier cleanly had evaporated.

Killing both the Emperor and this woman here would accelerate the Empire's collapse.

The Imprint complicated matters. If his master died, he died too. He couldn't end her life. He would have to break her—leave her in a state of near-death, barely clinging to life—and then kidnap her.

It meant a grueling pursuit against three S-class Transcendents while dragging along the other Fenrir children, but it didn't matter.

If I use my own life as a sacrificial pawn, I can stall three S-classes. The Fenrir will not perish.

He tightened his grip. Even with the strength of an ordinary human, he could—

[Odette] "You're planning to kill me. And then you'll kill yourself."

She let out a hollow, weary laugh. For some reason, the sight of her face caused the strength to ebb from his hands.

Her eyes locked onto his.

Those teal eyes......

He had seen them somewhere before.

[Odette] "You told me meeting me was your greatest luck. Was that just a lie to curry favor?"

He blinked, his gaze void of emotion. He saw no need to lie, so he shook his head.

[Karl] "That was the truth."

She was the one who would spend gold for the Fenrir, the ultimate key to the Empire's destruction. Such a useful woman had walked right into his hands. Of course, it was luck. But......

Is that really all? Did I feel lucky solely because of her utility?

A sense of dissonance struck him. A familiar ripple of energy made him uneasy.

[Odette] "I thought so."

Even though she knew he could kill her, she didn't flinch. She pressed on.

[Odette] "Karl, listen well. Do you know why I said you are more precious than your fallen clan? It's because you are alive."

[Karl] "......"

[Odette] "If this revenge is your own will, I won't interfere. If protecting the Fenrir and sacrificing your life for vengeance is your choice, so be it."

[Karl] "......"

[Odette] "But if you are merely dancing to your father's tune, mechanically following his orders, then do not throw your life away. Your father is a bastard. You have no reason to obey the commands of a man who views his own child as less than an object."

She reached out and seized him by the collar.

[Odette] "You're my slave, aren't you? You should follow my orders, not the commands of your father's ghost."

Her teal eyes flickered.

In that moment, he realized whose eyes he was meeting for the first time. He understood why this teal gaze triggered such a powerful sense of déjà vu.

In the cradle, back then.

An invisible presence. Something that had looked upon him with pity. That sensation mirrored this exact moment.

Ah.

The realization hit him. He didn't understand the mechanics, but she had been there, in that cradle with him. Simultaneously, the words his father had hammered into him echoed in his mind.

"Your heart, your body. Use everything as a tool to protect the Fenrir. If anything attacks the Kingdom, sacrifice yourself to eliminate it. Your only value lies in destroying the enemies of the Fenrir."

[Odette] "Karl, as your only master, I command you. Defy your father's orders."

As he listened to her steady voice, he felt something akin to a shackle shatter inside his mind.

He remembered his father's glowing red eyes—a Fenrir Alpha's ability he hadn't even recognized. It was his father's "Command," a lingering psychic grip.

Instinctively, Karl realized his own power as the current head of the clan.

His eyes ignited with a crimson light as he moved to burn his father's influence with his own.

[Odette] "......Your eyes."

As the old Command dissolved, cold clarity returned to Karl's mind. Erasing the "Command" required neither great effort nor time once he identified it.

The blind loyalty. The unconditional urge for self-sacrifice. The overwhelming anxiety that his very existence would crumble if a single clansman died.

The brainwashing planted by the previous Fenrir Alpha broke. Karl finally found his true self.

[Karl] "......Master."

[Odette] "Could it be......"

She stared at him, her eyes wide with disbelief.

He felt as though he had been born anew. He met her gaze with his burning red eyes, like a hatch seeing its mother for the first time.

[Karl] "You told me to choose, Master."

He suppressed a sudden urge to laugh, keeping his voice soft and compliant.

Until now, not a single one of his actions or emotions had belonged to him. Acting on his own will and judgment for the first time in his life felt foreign—and utterly intoxicating.

I was trapped by something so simple for my entire life.

Where blind responsibility for the Fenrir once sat, a voracious, unrecognizable curiosity began to bloom.

He took in the sight of her small, pale hands gripping him, her red lips issuing stern commands, her cheeks flushed with agitation. And...... those teal eyes he had first encountered at the dawn of his consciousness.

Karl studied every inch of the woman before him and reached a swift conclusion. The name 'Fenrir' meant nothing to him now. He could slaughter the three children in the containment zone this very instant.

He would do anything to possess the master standing before him.

[Karl] "I'm glad you're alive, Master."

[Odette] "......The brainwashing broke."

Her voice carried a hint of realization.

He nodded, projecting an image of meekness and docility. He needed to look as vulnerable and pathetic as possible.

[Karl] "Master......"

He forced a look of absolute misery. Fortunately, the psychic shock of the shattering Command forced physiological tears from his eyes.

They were the first tears of his life.

[Odette] "Karl? Why are you......"

She looked startled.

Seeing her face, he knew he could sway her. She didn't realize that the previous Karl—the one blinded by the Command—was far more human than the creature standing before her now.

[Karl] "Master."

A tear traced a path down his cheek. He exploited the moment without a shred of guilt.

[Karl] "Please...... don't discard me......"

He dropped to his knees before Odette, offering his submission. He prayed; he looked piteous. He even felt a flicker of gratitude toward Zion for beating him half to death; it helped suppress his lethal aura.

[Karl] "I was wrong......"

[Odette] "Karl. I... I understand, so...... calm down for a moment. Please?"

Theodore had been right. Odette was surprisingly weak against those she perceived as pitiful.

The time spent with those brats was useful after all.

Indeed, she was at a complete loss.

[Odette] "Karl, don't cry...... Please?"

His master had no talent for consoling others.

Because of his father's weak Command, Karl had almost missed out on something this entertaining. A living master was far more interesting than a dead one.

In her flustered state, Odette finally spoke.

[Odette] "Fine. I'll allow you to remain my slave."

Karl nodded meekly, tears still falling.

With the brainwashing gone, he saw his master's true value. She was the only 'thing' that had ever sparked a genuine emotion within him.

If not for this woman, I would have spent my life chasing that tedious goal.

He trembled, feigning fragility. It was his first time contemplating how to use 'emotions.'

How does one play the role of a "good boy awakened from brainwashing"? It was a difficult task for someone who had never considered the concept of goodness.

Fortunately, it seemed to work. The suspicion in her eyes vanished.

You're vulnerable to this, aren't you?

Karl committed his current expression to memory—the look of a sobbing seventeen-year-old that put his master at ease.

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