KFBRV Pt 2 Ch 44

Agony seared through the Count, and his vision turned white. When he finally regained consciousness, he found himself slumped against a wall, his head throbbing from the impact.

He glared up at Ferdinand, who stood over him.

[Ulrich] "You monster! Have you lost your mind?"

Ferdinand didn't answer. Instead, he strode forward and wrapped both hands around the Count's throat.

Even as a D-class, he possessed the strength of a Transcendent. The physical gap between him and an aging, ordinary man was absolute. Escape remained impossible.

Seconds ticked by as he squeezed. Darkness swallowed the Count's vision, and he lost consciousness.

When he woke again, Ferdinand was gone.

That cursed boy. He did this and just walked out?

The Count never lifted the house arrest.

A hollow laugh escaped him as he sat alone in the room. He knew exactly where the boy went. A gambling den. Even after committing such a crime against his own father, that was the only place he desired.

[Ulrich] "You don't even recognize your own father? I saved you from execution—"

A wave of emptiness crashed over him. His own son had tried to kill him. The shame was too great to share with anyone.

I wasted my life raising that thing.

At that moment, a worried voice drifted in from the open doorway.

[Vanessa] "Are you alright? What happened...... Oh, heavens!"

It was a voice he had once found charming, though he hadn't heard it in a long time.

She rushed toward the Count with a stiff, awkward limp.

[Vanessa] "I heard a loud noise from downstairs and came to check. How could you be on the floor like this?"

He vaguely recalled a report that she walked with a heavy limp after giving birth. He had ignored the details back then.

[Vanessa] "My goodness. Why is your neck so red?"

Her face looked worn compared to two years ago.

Immediately after Odette's death, Ferdinand had locked Vanessa in the attic out of rage over losing his "toy." She had spent the last two years raising a child in that confined space. It was no wonder her beauty had faded.

I hated them both so much back then. I wanted her and the baby to die.

He had forced Alpha Ridilium into her body for months because he refused to have a bothersome bastard. Yet, she had survived and given birth anyway.

He remembered hearing her pleas for a physician or a midwife. He had ignored them, hoping the ordeal would kill her.

Yet today, her face brought him a strange sense of relief.

[Ulrich] "Cough, cough!"

He gasped for air, triggering a fit of coughing.

[Vanessa] "Oh no! Please, stay still. I will call a physician!"

[Ulrich] "Cough. No. It's fine, Vanessa."

He used her name for the first time in years.

The knowledge that Siegfried's daughter aimed to destroy his house had already pushed his nerves to the breaking point. Now, his only legal heir had turned against him.

In this split second, he felt a spark of gratitude that his bastard son existed—the only bloodline he had left.

His voice softened.

[Vanessa] "My...... My Lord."

She flinched. Having lived as his lover for years, she immediately sensed the opening in his heart. The Count had called her name specifically to create that opening.

[Ulrich] "Help me up. I must go to my office."

He prepared for the worst. Since receiving his orders, Rolf had conducted a thorough investigation into Charlotte. He had even found a connection between Charlotte and Paula that previously seemed non-existent.

Five years ago, when Paula served as Sasha's close maid, they traveled through a mountain pass on their way back from a visit to Shylock. Sasha suffered from severe motion sickness. They stopped at a mountain village to buy herbs, and that village was where Charlotte grew up. Charlotte, who was the village's only apothecary even as a child, must have been the one who provided the medicine.

In the worst-case scenario, I must accept hrt adoption.

The Count possessed no social standing, no dignity, and no money. The journalists who once manipulated public opinion in his favor had long since abandoned him.

Odette's behavior fueled his desperation. Since her return, she reacted with icy coldness whenever reporters asked about House Albrecht.

Like a true daughter of Siegfried, she was hunting him.

His pharmaceutical company was his last remaining asset. If that collapsed, he would become a "fallen noble," a man with a title but nothing else.

[Ulrich] "I can't let that happen...... Never......"

He desperately needed a negotiation. If he adopted Charlotte, he would once again be the father of a Purifier.

While she lacked Odette's current fame, she was one of only two Purifiers in existence. The nobles suing him would likely seek a settlement rather than stay enemies with the family of a Saintess.

Furthermore, Charlotte had offered to hand over her support funds. Though the amount was small compared to the lawsuits, the Count was drowning.

He knew people would whisper. His "real" daughter stayed at the Cathedral while he brought a "stranger" into his home.

It would fuel the rumors of abuse, but he had no time for such concerns. House Albrecht faced destruction. He had to put out the fire at his feet first.

He let out a low groan. His instincts told him the time for a final decision had arrived.

*****

[Vanessa] "Then, please rest well, My Lord."

The moment the office door closed, the pity vanished from her face. The submissive woman disappeared, replaced by a face twitching with suppressed rage.

Filthy Count.

Her womb had suffered permanent damage during the last birth. She had endured massive bleeding and a severe infection. If Malea hadn't secretly brought in a midwife, both Vanessa and her son would be dead.

The midwife's words haunted her: "How long did you take that Alpha Ridilium? Mothers these days...... they have no love for their children. Be grateful it only ended with a difficult birth. It's a miracle you're alive."

Vanessa could never have another child. The Alpha Ridilium had poisoned her. Her rage burned every time she remembered that her lover had fed her that toxic drug for months.

She clenched her fists and began the climb to the attic. Even now, she had to crawl back to that cold space.

With every limping step, she ground her teeth.

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