KFBRV Pt 2 Ch 22

Odette swallowed a laugh. Charlotte wore an expression she knew all too well.

The exact look of someone blindsided by a person they deemed utterly beneath them.

It was the identical, infuriated scowl Han Songyi had directed at Han Suwan the day she received her university acceptance letter.

To witness that expression—she had seen only once in her past life—before their battle had even officially begun.

Absolute joy and exhilaration flooded her chest.

---

Charlotte couldn't process the reality standing before her.

How...... how is she alive?

Following the funeral mass, the entire world believed she was dead, but Charlotte harbored intense suspicions.

Having utilized the status window in her previous life, she knew the 'Customizable Corpse' item existed.

Consequently, immediately after Odette's funeral mass concluded, she traveled to Athena Island to contract Mueller for a private investigation.

Originally, she planned to forge a connection with Mueller the following year to build a more solid alliance, but verifying Odette's death took absolute precedence.

I needed to know exactly what gun and bullets she used to kill herself, and whether the corpse attracted the specific insects it naturally should......

Mueller seemed to find the request 'bizarre,' but he ultimately accepted the commission.

Mueller possessed exceptional competence, and his absolute rule was never to lie to a client. He was also a man Charlotte had successfully collaborated with in her previous life.

Therefore, I trusted his report.

He had delivered a definitive conclusion.

⌈The corpse has demonstrably decayed, and maggots have consumed the flesh.⌋

Such a phenomenon was impossible if the corpse was a fabricated item. Furthermore, the gun and bullets retrieved from the scene were ordinary, mundane objects.

Above all, considering how long the body had been submerged in the sea, surviving was a physical impossibility.

[Charlotte] "Why are you...... how are you here......"

She found herself repeating the same words like a broken phonograph.

Odette burst into laughter.

[Odette] "You're quite the liar, Charlotte. Since when could you and I read each other's minds?"

Charlotte's eyes darted frantically, betraying her profound confusion.

I need to calm down first. I absolutely can't let her control the narrative.

She closed her eyes, forcing her racing thoughts into order.

She had already suspected Odette possessed memories of her past life. Her actions in this timeline deviated far too drastically from the original plot.

But since she was officially dead, I assumed she posed zero threat as an unpredictable variable......

Her violently trembling eyelashes gradually stilled.

Mueller allied with her in this life.

To think she managed to turn Mueller. He wasn't the type to be easily swayed by coin, and he had historically despised Odette.

What on earth did she offer him?

Ah...... damn it.

As she calculated, realization struck her.

His wife must have survived. I should have thoroughly verified her death.

This meant every single detail of the commission she entrusted to Mueller had undoubtedly reached Odette's ears.

And that meant Odette knew her true identity.

She knew Charlotte was Han Songyi.

So, Han Suwan and I are fighting with the full knowledge of both our lives.

Once she organized the situation, a smile returned to her face. Cute dimples deepened at the corners of her mouth.

When she opened her eyes to face Odette again, she had completely regained her composure.

[Charlotte] "Why are you acting like this in this life, Odette? Or should I call you Suwan unnie? You know perfectly well from experience that absolutely no one likes a cunning orphan."

She stepped aggressively closer, twisting her lips into a sneer. She deliberately evoked the persona of Han Songyi.

If Odette still harbored a desperate need to be loved, that ingrained fear and helplessness would instantly crush her.

If she clung to her anger, her deeply rooted inferiority complex would trigger a rabid, defensive reaction.

Either way, Charlotte intended to shatter Odette's composure and seize control of the situation.

Trampling her opponent, stealing what they cherished most, and flaunting it as her own—that was Han Songyi's absolute specialty.

Losing a pawn like Mueller would not flip the board.

---

Odette drew a sharp breath.

The perpetual, sickening warmth had vanished entirely from Charlotte's light blue eyes. Only a ravenous, naked ambition remained.

Meeting that gaze, she mirrored the action, taking a deliberate step toward her.

[Odette] "Is that so? Shall we test that theory? Let's see if absolutely no one likes a cunning orphan."

Her blatant attempt to exploit Odette's trauma proved one thing: Charlotte recognized she was at a severe disadvantage.

Odette possessed zero intention of getting swept up in that pathetic manipulation.

[Odette] "Cute little Charlotte."

She casually tapped Charlotte's cheek with one hand. Exactly how one might handle a disobedient dog.

It was a calculated provocation. Designed explicitly to ignite Charlotte's fury.

As expected, she flinched violently and stumbled backward in shock.

Did you think you were the only one capable of mockery?

Odette delivered a chilling smirk, conveying that exact sentiment, and turned her back immediately.

She strode purposefully toward the main gate of the Grand Cathedral, the same path Charlotte had just taken.

As anticipated, Charlotte made zero attempt to stop her. She undoubtedly harbored her own insidious scheme.

But will it be of any use?

That scheme was precisely what Odette had been waiting for.

Charlotte was mobilizing the Grand Cathedral's personnel to attack her. Eagerly spinning vicious lies. And Rolf was eavesdropping on every single word.

Stepping through the main gates of the Grand Cathedral, she glanced at the clock tower. The fireworks display was scheduled to begin shortly.

I need to head toward the sea immediately.

She was just about to re-equip the items that altered her hair and eye color.

A hand gripped her arm with a pathetically weak force.

[Zion] "O......dette?"

Startled by the low, raspy voice calling her name, she snapped her head around.

Shockingly, a man stood there, his frame terrifyingly emaciated.

It was Zion.

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