KFBRV Pt 2 Ch 19

While Rolf found the chapel oppressively dark, Odette had her status window active. Consequently, she enjoyed a crystal-clear view of his expression.

As his face contorted with mounting horror and panic, her amusement swelled.

It was hilarious to see the man who once lorded over her like a god, tormenting her effortlessly, now trembling violently over a simple greeting.

Another source of amusement caught her eye.

Frayed suit sleeves, cheap cufflinks, scuffed shoes, completely devoid of polish.

His attire—cheapened and pathetic—perfectly reflected his plummeted status.

During her time at the Count's estate, he never would have worn such rags.

Overflowing with a hefty weekly wage and bribes from those desperate for the Albrecht family's favor, the wealthy butler would have considered wearing such clothes an absolute insult.

Seeing him now, completely accustomed to the very attire and accessories he used to mock and despise, filled her with a profound sense of satisfaction.

Fully aware of the Count's current financial ruin, she feigned ignorance to deliberately provoke him.

[Odette] "It seems the Albrecht estate still overflows with money. Pouring this much blind wealth just to secure a single conversation with Charlotte."

[Rolf] "No, I'm h-hearing things. It's a hallucination. T-That's impossible...... That can't be—"

He seemed entirely incapable of accepting that she sat right beside him.

[Odette] "Then again, the Count's only business strategy was always peddling a Purifier. What other option does he have? I suppose he'll just have to crawl beneath Charlotte's feet and lick her shoes."

She leaned back against the pew, her words dripping with absolute vitriol. Yet, despite the blatant insult, he offered zero reaction.

His bizarre response caused her to narrow her eyes slightly.

[Odette] "Rolf."

The moment she called his name a second time.

[Rolf] "H-Heek! Oh God. Please cast this evil spirit out of this sacred place."

He clamped his hands together and unleashed a frantic torrent of prayers.

Evil spirit? Is he talking about me?

He was now sweating profusely.

Is he reacting this way because I blew out the candles?

I only darkened the chapel to hide my hair color......

It appeared that a specific action had severely triggered his terror.

Even a vibrating chainsaw wouldn't shake this violently.

Now, he was frantically making the sign of the cross toward Odette with trembling hands.

[Odette] "If I were an evil spirit deterred by the likes of your pathetic cross, do you think I could have entered the Grand Cathedral?"

Her exasperated retort carried a distinct note of futility. She couldn't believe this was the same man she had feared so intensely.

Rolf, the absolute judge who possessed the authority to punish her.

[Rolf] "Oh God. I have a son and a grandson. Please, have mercy on this old believer and protect me from that ghost—"

That very man was now babbling prayers simply because she blew out a candle.

She sighed, disgusted by the pathetic display.

[Odette] "I am not the one who killed you! You killed yourself! How dare you haunt me when you took your own life......!"

Now he was resorting to angry, desperate shrieks. He displayed absolutely zero remorse.

Not that I ever expected him to feel guilty.

For twelve years, he had gleefully participated in her torment. Seeing him now, projecting resentment and playing the victim, was utterly repulsive.

His weak-hearted panic is amusing. But, this is getting annoying.

She possessed zero intention of wasting time coddling and soothing a wretch like him.

She approached the panicking butler and pressed down firmly on his shoulders.

[Rolf] "Take your hands off me this instant?! You filthy, evil spirit!"

He began to let out high-pitched shrieks.

She raised her hand and—Slap!—struck him hard across the cheek. Naturally, she put her full weight behind the blow.

His shrieking stopped abruptly.

[Rolf] "H-How—."

He stammered, stunned into silence. She raised her hand and struck him again.

Slap! Slap!

As the sharp sound echoed through the chapel, Rolf's gaze gradually focused.

[Rolf] "Stop, stop!!"

His cheeks had long since turned a violent shade of crimson.

Only when her palm also reddened from the impact did he hastily block her hand.

[Rolf] "Y-Y-You were alive?"

[Odette] "Are you speaking informally to me?"

She delivered another stinging slap as a penalty for his lack of respect. He immediately corrected his tone.

[Rolf] "Y-You are alive, My Lady?"

Only then did she lower her hand.

---

The stinging pain of the slaps proved one fact: the Odette sitting before him was no ghost.

Furthermore, the distinct warmth radiating from the hand that struck him confirmed she wasn't a walking corpse either.

How in the world is she alive?!

Rolf wanted to scream.

He couldn't decide which was more horrifying: Odette returning as a vengeful spirit or Odette surviving her apparent death.

Regardless, as a sliver of reason returned, he stammered out his question again.

[Rolf] "H-How are you...... alive?"

His previous mocking, condescending demeanor had vanished entirely. The hierarchy between them had fundamentally shifted.

Odette was no longer a destitute orphan with nowhere to go; she was a genuine, awakened Purifier.

The revelation that she wasn't the Count's biological daughter inflicted zero damage on her prestige now. It only served to ruin the Count's reputation.

Conversely, Rolf was merely the butler of a crumbling estate.

Moreover, he was terrified. The person he believed was dead had returned.

[Rolf] "How is this possible. I specifically...... I buried your corpse with my own hands......"

Following the grand funeral mass, the Pope and the Emperor granted the Albrecht family the 'honor' of closing the casket.

Because he had personally participated in the burial, Rolf found the current situation utterly impossible to accept.

[Rolf] "My Lady? P-Please explain. How did you survive? You were dead."

How could a dead person return to life?

Had God loved her so deeply that He sent her back from the dead?

Even the faithless Rolf felt a surge of awe toward Odette in that moment.

[Odette] "I never died. I merely deceived everyone."

[Rolf] "Then whose corpse was that?"

[Odette] "I procured the corpse of a death row inmate with the same hair color as mine. You remember the execution grounds near our estate's cemetery, don't you?"

Now that he thought about it, when Rolf closed the lid of her casket, the body was already in an advanced state of decomposition.

Right. A dead person resurrecting is impossible.

Even if resurrection were possible, he doubted it would happen for Odette.

Rolf acted respectfully now, but he had spent twelve years treating her with absolute contempt because of her orphan status. Deeply ingrained habits die hard.

Once he accepted that the body he buried wasn't Odette's, he managed to calm down significantly.

[Rolf] "Good heavens, you fooled the entire world."

Reassessing the situation, he realized her survival was an absolute godsend.

[Rolf] "Ah, regardless of the method, it is a tremendous relief that you are alive, My Lady. Do you have any idea how much the Albrecht family has suffered because of your actions?"

The key to instantly reversing the estate's disastrous situation had returned.

Charlotte had repeatedly rejected the Albrecht family's offers of sponsorship. Rolf anticipated another rejection today.

But Odette is alive. We don't need to beg Charlotte anymore.

The era of overflowing wealth would return. His own secret kickbacks would become lucrative once again.

The thought brought a greedy smile to his face.

[Rolf] "Please, never pull such a stunt again. If you must, you absolutely must inform the Master and me beforehand. It seems there is no need for me to wait at the Grand Cathedral any longer. Shall we return immediately?"

[Odette] "......."

Despite the darkness obscuring her eyes, he felt as though Odette was piercing straight through his soul.

Why is she staring at me like that?

He thought he heard a faint, mocking chuckle escape her lips.

[Odette] "Do you believe I intend to return to that wretched estate?"

The sudden, chilling venom in her voice caused him to flinch violently.

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