KFBRV Ch 97
- Mar 6
- 6 min read
[Impossible Achievement! You have successfully broken Karl’s 'Command'!]
[The following rewards have been granted:(1) Recovery of Odette’s lost quests(2) Increased daily 'Loathing' checks (2 → 5)]
Odette stared at the shimmering status window with a touch of bewilderment.
I didn't expect the Command to actually break.
A lifelong, blind devotion to the Fenrir shouldn't have shattered with a single sentence. She had bared her claws and reprimanded him only because she needed a justifiable reason to discard him.
But at the very moment she prepared to deliver the killing blow—the final rejection that he was no longer her slave because he couldn't defy his father—Karl’s eyes had ignited with that crimson light.
A lingering sense of unease settled in her stomach. Karl continued to prove himself an unpredictable variable.
[Karl] "I was wrong. From now on...... I will prioritize your orders above all else, Master."
Karl, now liberated from the Command, pleaded with tears streaming down his face. This vulnerable, fragile boy bore no resemblance to the boy who had stood there two hours prior.
A Karl fueled by blind loyalty was difficult enough to manage. Will a Karl with free will be any easier?
In fact, the leverage she had planned to use—the children held as hostages—had lost its potency. Without the Command, he would be harder to handle.
I should discard him. It's the logical choice.
Yet, the sight of the previously mechanical Karl weeping so long and so deeply gave her pause.
[Karl] "I didn't know my father’s Command still lived within me, Master. I certainly didn't know he viewed me as nothing more than a tool."
Worse, she saw a reflection of herself in him. She saw the version of Odette who had helplessly obeyed her own father's whims, never realizing she was a slave.
[Karl] "I'm sorry for holding you back before, Master. I didn't want to defy you. Does that just sound like an excuse?"
Karl trembled as he recounted his actions one by one.
I felt the same way when I first realized my father’s betrayal. The sting of treachery, the self-loathing, the regret, the guilt for those hurt by my actions......
As Odette glimpsed the turmoil in his heart, her resolve weakened.
I received a second chance at life. Do I have the right to strip Karl of his?
[Karl] "I'll follow any order you give me now, Master. No matter how trivial or how difficult. You're the one who helped me live my own life."
Fine. I can watch him for now. If I don't give him this chance, his Loathing might spike......
[Odette] "Fine. I’ll allow you to remain my slave."
The permission finally slipped through her lips.
Karl gradually calmed, a boyish smile touching his face. It was faint, but undeniably bright and kind.
[Odette] "Shall we ride back together?"
She asked gently, moved by his earlier breakdown, but he shook his head.
[Karl] "Thank you, but horses are too slow. I dislike them."
He shouldered the corpses and gathered the Emperor into his arms before answering.
[Karl] "Go on ahead, Master. I will follow your orders and delay my return."
[Odette] "Bring the Emperor when he wakes. Appearing at sunset will have the most impact. Did Goetz explain how to behave after receiving the laurel wreath?"
[Karl] "Yes, Master."
A separate return suited her better. She needed time to contemplate the status window and Karl’s sudden transformation.
[Odette] "Don't kill the Emperor this time."
[Karl] "Don't worry, Master. I’ll never defy your orders again."
[Odette] "Then. I’ll see you soon."
She descended the mountain ridge and summoned the status window.
Confirm the rewards.
[Achievement 'Karl’s Brainwashing Broken' rewards confirmed:]
[(1) Lost 'Status Window Quests' recovered!
(2) Loathing can be checked 5 times per day!]
The color of the status window had deepened, and now, a scent of peach blossoms wafted from it whenever it opened. As the hue intensified, the window associated with her necklace began to mirror the one from the game The Only Savior. It looked like the same omnipotent interface.
If it mentions 'recovered quests,' then this necklace wasn't just a simple device to check affection and loathing. It was a complete status window from the start.
Suddenly, a new notification flashed before her eyes.
[♡ Quest Generated ♡]
[Objective: Obtain the 'Laurel Wreath,' the symbol of the hunting competition victory.]
[Reward: Recovery of the 'Inventory' function.]
[Deadline: End of the Hunting Competition]
[Penalty: None]
A quest immediately after receiving the reward?
Her expression soured. Still, it proved her hypothesis.
That mocking heart symbol undeniably belonged to the status window of The Only Savior.
Since Karl was destined to win the wreath anyway, the quest presented no disadvantage. If the inventory function returned, her capabilities would expand significantly.
If so...... is there a way to reclaim every function?
A spark of ambition lit her eyes.
After tethering the horse near the stream and changing back into her dress in her room, Odette returned to the glass conservatory with the patiently waiting Mrs. Becker.
[Odette] "I apologize. I felt a sudden bout of dizziness and had to rest in my room for a moment."
The lie went unchallenged. The conservatory hummed with the chaos of other events.
[Lady A] "Lady Odette, it's a disaster! Assassins targeting His Majesty appeared in the hunting grounds!"
[Odette] "Oh, good heavens. Is that true?"
She offered a shameless response.
[Lady A] "That's not all. The assassins kidnapped His Majesty and vanished into the mountains! The Royal Guard still hasn't found those thugs."
Another young lady, pale with fright, chimed in.
[Lady B] "A disaster occurred at the same time, separating the Transcendents from his side......!"
[Odette] "How could such a thing happen......! I feel ashamed for lying down, oblivious to the danger."
She played the part of the shocked noblewoman perfectly.
Everyone approaches me so easily now.
The guests no longer seemed to care about her bad reputation. It appeared Doly had managed to make herself even more detestable in the interim.
The Royal Guard had returned empty-handed, leading the nobility to assume the Emperor was dead.
As the sun began to set, the Emperor returned to the Summer Palace hunting grounds, supported by someone’s arm.
[Man 1] "Look! Someone is carrying His Majesty on their back!"
[Man 2] "Oh, thank God. What a relief."
Bright smiles returned to the faces of the aristocrats—except for Count Albrecht. Upon identifying the man holding the Emperor, his face turned ashen.
[Ulrich] "K-Karl. How dare you—!"
In his agitation, the Count let out a shrill, piercing scream at Karl.
[Emperor] "Quiet! Who are you shouting at? Karl is the savior who rescued me. I will not forgive anyone who lays a hand on him!"
The Count fell silent, but he couldn't hide his ragged, shocked breathing.
The Emperor’s attendants rushed forward to support him. The gentlemen and ladies from the conservatory swarmed the Emperor.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Zion slipped toward Odette.
[Zion] "How's my handiwork? I skinned that pressure right off him, didn't I?"
He spoke as if he were bragging about removing fish bones, clearly fishing for a compliment.
[Odette] "Indeed, Your Excellency. Your talent is quite remarkable."
She offered the praise readily.
Clearly, no one in the crowd feared Karl anymore.
Since her father remained transfixed by Karl in a state of shock, there was no risk of their conversation being overheard.
[Odette] "How did you do it?"
[Zion] "Why?"
[Odette] "You used a mind control ability on him, didn't you? That couldn't have been easy. It must have required a great deal of technical skill."
A Transcendent's nature was innate. Using an ability on someone destined to become a Transcendent—not just a current one—would be far more difficult than using it on an ordinary person.
Does he realize Karl is about to awaken as an S-class Transcendent?
She tested the waters, but Zion only chuckled.
[Zion] "It required immense skill. You couldn't even imagine it."
His arrogant posturing suggested he hadn't realized Karl's true nature yet. At that moment, Doly approached, her eyes fixed on them.
Odette fell silent, and Zion expertly mimicked the air of someone who had never spoken to her.
[Emperor] "I owe you my life, Karl. To think a savior would rescue me."
The Emperor, looking like a man who had narrowly escaped death, praised Karl loudly for all to hear.
To support the original author and publisher, please consider rating the official release on Kakaopage.
Comments