KFBRV Pt 2 Ch 15
- 14 hours ago
- 7 min read
Despite the significant size of the scar, she let out a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness. At least it doesn't restrict my movement.
When she first arrived here, she didn't have a single uninjured spot on her body. It was the price of making an excessively reckless gamble against Viktor on the snowy mountain.
After drawing the Yeti pack's attention, she intended to sprint to a location she knew would be a blind spot for him. She had memorized the snowy mountain's topography flawlessly.
However, her injured ankle severely limited her jumping distance, causing her to plummet directly into a crevasse.
Fortunately, it wasn't too deep, and a protruding ledge caught her fall. Had that not happened, she would have undeniably died.
Scaling the cliff face afterward inflicted a massive gash on her shoulder.
I need to return to the capital soon, so a quick recovery is essential.
Once she returned, she would face a multitude of opponents, leaving zero room to coddle her body.
She inspected the scar and called out to the empty air.
[Odette] "Status Window."
At her command, the pink status window materialized before her eyes.
[Odette] "Open the Shop. I will purchase a Healing Potion."
[Healing Potion]
[Price: 5 Selene]
[Would you like to purchase?YES / NO]
[Odette] "Yes. Purchase it. Apply it directly to the wound."
Upon her command, a ruby-colored liquid coated her back. The cool sensation of the medicine seeped into her skin.
The status window sold items that didn't exist in this world, and the efficacy of the 'Healing Potion' was extraordinarily potent. Yet, it still required a full year to heal the wound completely.
If not for this medicine, my entire back would be one massive scar. No, even before that, I probably wouldn't have been able to use my shoulder properly.
Recalling the events on the snowy mountain naturally brought Viktor's face to her mind.
As the potion absorbed into her skin, her back trembled minutely.
Those crazed eyes.
They mirrored the eyes of a bull charging wildly at a red cape. The eyes of a beast willing to endure absolute destruction to capture its prey.
She couldn't comprehend it. Why did he pursue her with such rabid intensity?
No...... Should I assume Johan is the same?
She had utilized the status window to fake her suicide with a customized corpse. She had reduced all four of their Loathing levels to absolute zero.
Furthermore, Charlotte had conveniently appeared at the exact moment of her disappearance, providing the perfect distraction.
Odette had systematically erased every single reason for them to pursue her, ensuring her clean exit from the protagonists' world.
Therefore, the only thing left for the male leads was to fall madly in love with Charlotte and play out their romance.
So how did she end up enduring a pursuit even more grueling than in her past life?
Her escape this time proved so agonizing that she even suspected those bastards had gone easy on her in her previous life.
Viktor, in particular, pursued her with an absolutely terrifying, relentless intensity, utilizing every conceivable method.
Although she believed she had successfully thrown him off her trail after receiving Karin's assistance, she couldn't afford to drop her guard.
A suspiciously expensive-looking falcon continuously circles the sky. And it specifically hovers only around the garden where I am.
Because of that, she couldn't overstate the amount of caution she exercised. She exclusively used wooden shutters, opening them only for brief, fleeting moments.
When she needed to contact Goetz or Damian, she even relied on Karin to relay the messages. Naturally, she never once stepped foot outside the villa's main gate.
Having finished applying the potion, she pulled a coat over her dress. With the bandages gone from her shoulder, her movements felt lighter.
She gripped the trunk she always kept by her bed.
[Odette] "Now, it's time to say goodbye to this sanctuary, too."
It had been the most comfortable and warmest place in her entire life. A place that provided a profound sense of cozy protection.
She had cleaned the cabin meticulously. Once she walked out with her trunk, it would look exactly as it did before her arrival.
Leaving wasn't easy. However, she had a far more critical and pressing task ahead of her.
She left a letter for Karin on the table.
Karin had departed for the capital two days prior. She had packed her bags the moment she heard Charlotte was seeking an adoptive family, undoubtedly rushing back to sabotage her efforts.
Odette equipped the glasses and hood she had purchased through the status window. These items possessed a magical effect that altered her impression and aura.
[Odette] "Thank you, Karin."
Offering a quiet farewell to the empty cabin, she turned and walked out the door without hesitation.
She boarded a stagecoach and headed straight for the train station.
Victory Day.
It was the grandest event hosted by the Grand Cathedral and a blatant display of their power.
Therefore, they never hosted Victory Day on a small scale. Unless, of course, they declared a mourning period and skipped the event entirely, as they had done for the past two years.
This year's Victory Day promised to be larger and more extravagant than ever before. The sheer scale of the holy knights' parade marching through the capital proved it.
Thousands of holy knights, clad in pristine uniforms and marching in perfect, rigid formation through Rosaline Square, presented a magnificent spectacle.
Thump. Thump.
Their synchronized footsteps echoed like the booming of a colossal timpani.
And what of the ceremonial silver swords held by the knights in the front row?
They glinted dazzlingly under the sun, a brazen display of newly acquired, exorbitant wealth.
While the morning parade featured only the holy knights, the spectacle would reach its peak in the afternoon when Saintess Charlotte joined the procession in a Landau carriage.
The scale of their charity efforts was equally unprecedented. Temples and monasteries across the entire Empire opened their doors, distributing pot-au-feu and potatoes to the impoverished.
They specifically selected priests with exceptional looks and dressed them in tunics instead of the traditional, austere robes. This calculated move aimed to evoke the imagery of Rosaline's attire as described in the scriptures.
These priests lined the streets, handing out roses and chocolates to every citizen they encountered.
And what of the confetti fluttering through every corner of the capital?
[Citizen] "This year's event seems excessively loud."
The mourning period had long since ended, but hosting the event with such deafening fanfare still rubbed some the wrong way.
While a few frowned in disapproval, the vast majority of citizens were captivated by the vibrant, bustling streets they hadn't seen in years.
From the third-floor corridor of the Grand Cathedral, the festive, chaotic panorama of Rosaline Square was visible at a single glance.
An assistant priest of the Grand Cathedral, standing in the corridor and watching the crowds, let out an exclamation of awe.
[Assistant Priest] "Wow. How long has it been since I've seen so many people on the streets? Pouring an absolute fortune into this was definitely worth it."
A stern reprimand snapped from behind him.
[Pope] "Ahem......! A priest shouldn't speak so frivolously."
The startled assistant priest whipped around. The Pope, clad in his pristine white robes, stood there.
[Assistant Priest] "H-His Holiness the Pope! Forgive me. I misspoke in the presence of such a revered figure."
As a lower-ranking member not officially inducted into the Grand Cathedral's inner circle, the assistant priest rarely encountered the Pope. He bowed deeply, nearly collapsing from shock.
[Pope] "Mind your words from now on. No matter how far the citizens' faith has fallen, for a priest to discuss such vulgar matters on the eve of a holy day is unacceptable."
He delivered the gentle scolding. The young assistant priest retreated from the corridor, bowing repeatedly in nervous deference.
The moment the assistant priest vanished, the Pope's expression shifted. The light in his eyes radiated a sharp, worldly satisfaction. He stroked his beard with contentment as he gazed down at the square.
It was absolutely worth expanding the scale. Hoho.
He had orchestrated this Victory Day event as a massive gamble.
Two years had passed since Odette's death. With donations drying up, he had launched this ultimate gambit to rally the believers' support.
The Temple endured an excessive amount of backlash after Odette's death.
From the Pope's perspective, the outrage was utterly absurd.
The Purifier took her own life, so why did the Temple become the target of public fury?
It was true that the Temple had attempted to tame Odette. But from the Temple's viewpoint, it wasn't just her; all Purifiers were entities that naturally required taming.
During the era when the Pope wielded greater authority than the Emperor, Purifiers inherently belonged to the Grand Cathedral under the title of 'Saintess'.
Regardless of changing times and laws, certain traditions demanded preservation, didn't they?
Odette's refusal to submit to the Pope's authority was insolent. Consequently, it was also true that he had publicly condemned her for neglecting her duties as a Saintess.
But did that kill her? The Pope had never once crossed any legal boundaries.
How much longer must we act like sinners for a crime the Grand Cathedral didn't commit?
He was utterly sick of hearing the name Odette. That was why he had staked everything on preparing this Victory Day.
He intended to use this day as a springboard to restore the Temple to its former glory from two years ago—no, to elevate it even higher.
Pushing Charlotte into the spotlight served that exact purpose. The only thing capable of replacing Odette was a new Purifier.
The more faith the new Saintess gathered from the believers, the more the Temple could restore its own prestige.
She is far better than Odette. Yes. They can't even be compared.
Because she was a commoner, she was submissive and far easier for the Temple to manipulate.
She even sought the Pope's counsel when selecting a family to adopt her or a noble house to sponsor her.
She possesses an agreeable personality and requires absolutely no taming.
While Odette might have possessed superior purification abilities, that fact meant nothing to the Pope. He wasn't a Transcendent, after all.
Looking back, her death was actually a blessing in disguise.
She orchestrated such a colossal miracle, only to die alone before the Temple could even exploit it.
He had been bitter about the lost opportunity at the time, but in hindsight, it worked out perfectly.
Had she remained alive, Charlotte's debut as an excellent A-class Purifier would have garnered very little attention.
Even if an obedient Saintess appeared, she would have been treated as nothing more than a shadow to the S-class Odette.
The time had finally come to restore the Temple's influence.
He watched the people drinking beer and dancing under the fluttering confetti, a satisfied smile blooming on his face.
Just as he was wrapping up his thoughts,
[Unknown] "His Holiness the Pope."
A fragile woman's voice reached him from behind.
To support the original author and publisher, please consider rating the official release on Kakaopage.
Comments