KFBRV Pt 2 Ch 42

Rosalyn wore a tunic identical to the one Charlotte had displayed on 'Victory Day.'

Looking at the painting, her thoughts naturally shifted toward her rival.

I set the stage for her and Rolf to join forces. I provoked them......

Even so, she hadn't expected Charlotte to decide on the adoption so quickly.

[Odette] "You are still a commoner. You are merely scheduled to enter House Albrecht."

When she had said those words, she assumed the "schedule" would take at least a few months.

Charlotte's reaction had been unexpected. The way she flinched suggested she had already finalized the adoption during her talk with Rolf.

Even if she is furious with me, that doesn't fit her personality. She made a choice this fast without weighing her options or playing a game of tug-of-war with the Count......?

The report from Lize was even stranger. House Albrecht had initially put the adoption on hold, yet Charlotte was the one now pressuring them to move faster.

If she is only going to the mansion because of my provocation, shouldn't she want to stay at the Cathedral as long as I am here?

Charlotte showed no interest in attacking Odette at the Cathedral. Even the status window remained silent, offering no warnings. She seemed obsessed only with House Albrecht.

It makes no sense for her to enter the mansion just to find my weaknesses.

Charlotte already knew the Count was the one who had cut Odette's tongue in her previous life.

In my past life, she already knew everything happening inside that house.

Therefore, Odette's weaknesses were not Charlotte's goal.

Why is she so fixated on that house? Unless there is something she can only obtain at the Albrecht mansion......

A figure suddenly flashed through her mind.

Karl......?

Two years ago, the status window that showed Karl's loathing was a lie. He had been under the 'Command' spell, unable to feel emotions.

[System Message]

['Karl's 'Affection/Loathing Deception' is the only status abnormality capable of deceiving the status window.']

[System Message]

['Members of the Fenrir Clan are born with a shield that disrupts the affection/loathing levels of all status windows.']

What if Charlotte had also fallen for that deception in her previous life? What if that lie had ruined Charlotte's plans? Perhaps in this life, she intended to claim Karl entirely.

[Odette] "......"

The image of Karl's despairing face as he witnessed her death surfaced in her mind. No, the emotion on his face back then was something far more complex than simple despair.

Odette ignored the tightening in her chest and focused on the problem at hand.

If she is truly after Karl, then I need more of my own people inside the Albrecht mansion.

She rose and sat at her desk to write a letter to Lize.

---

Chains bound Karl in the dungeon beneath House Albrecht. The basement reeked of blood and stale dust.

The Count had taken Karl in only to imprison a valuable member of the Fenrir Clan.

The Count wrapped multiple layers of iron around Karl's body. Every day, he injected him with strange fluids while babbling nonsense about nightmares. He talked about how terrifying these visions were for a child of Karl's age.

Karl barely remembered the details; they were not worth his time. He spent his energy acting. He pretended the weak chains could hold him and mimicked the symptoms of the drugs.

Then came 'Victory Day.' He let out a chuckle in the cold dark.

[Karl] "You returned."

He knew Odette was back in the capital. He recognized her scent. It was a dizzying, lovely fragrance of peach blossoms. It was a sweet, tempting scent that made his entire body ache.

A sharp joy made his fingertips tremble.

My master. My master who belongs to me from head to toe.

The arrogant master who had abandoned him was back.

He ignored the fact that the Emperor had appointed him a Captain in the Imperial Army. He gladly dismissed the annoying orders to fulfill his duties as a Transcendent now that he was no longer a slave.

Without his master, the Empire meant nothing. Humanity meant nothing. His life existed only to return the wounds she had given him—and to punish her.

---

A month passed, yet Odette's resurrection remained the talk of the Empire. Every newspaper and magazine obsessed over her. They called her the Purifier chosen by God, the Savior of Miracles, and the only person to return from death.

Her presence at the Cathedral caused a massive surge in donations. Some local priests even caused a scene, demanding that they write a new holy book featuring Odette immediately.

[Priest] "The records of Saintess Rosalyn were the most damaged, weren't they? Nothing remains! What if Odette's story meets the same fate?"

Everything Odette wore became a trend. People fought to buy the clothes she chose after her return, the shroud she wore when she "died," and even her black veil.

Every minor detail of her life at the Cathedral became public gossip. Because of this, no one wrote a single line about Charlotte for two weeks.

Only one event managed to push Odette's return off the front page.

⌈Albrecht Pharmaceutical Sued by Central Nobles.⌋

Two years after the fire, House Albrecht had re-released 'Morel,' a drug promised to erase fatigue and boost energy. However, the nobles who had bought and used the drug for a month began to report identical cases of extreme stomach pain.

---

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