KFBRV Pt 2 Ch 49

Before she could even ask, Zion opened the carriage window and addressed the guard.

[Zion] "I am Marquis Kleist. I seek an audience with the Emperor. Open the gates."

[Guard] "Yes, My Lord!"

The guards avoided looking inside. They didn't dare ask about the figure hidden under the coat.

As the Emperor's watchdog, Zion could bring anything or anyone into the palace without question. Whatever he carried remained a state secret.

The carriage passed through the gates without a single delay.

Did he hide me by chance? Or was this his plan all along?

[Zion] "Keep the coat on. You came here for a secret meeting with the Pope, didn't you?"

He spoke flatly. His face remained expressionless, just as it had when he rejected her offer of a deal.

[Odette] "How do you know that?"

[Zion] "I saw the bottle in your handbag. The label belongs to the shop where Raphael buys his arsenic."

Odette marveled at the depth of his information. He had deduced her entire plan from a single label.

[Zion] "You want a private meeting with the Pope? The carriage provides enough privacy. It is better than stepping out."

[Odette] "I thought you said a deal wasn't necessary."

[Zion] "No deal is necessary, Odette. From now on, I will do whatever you want."

A shadow of misery crossed his face.

Why...... so sudden?

She wondered about his change of heart, but he clearly wanted the subject dropped. She didn't care enough to press him.

[Zion] "Wait here. I must take measures with the driver."

He knew the palace like his own home. He stopped the carriage in a deserted area and dismissed the coachman.

The driver's eyes glowed gold—the unmistakable sign of Zion's mental command. He effectively blocked all palace staff from the area and soon returned with the Pope.

This is...... too easy. My original plan would have taken hours.

Zion's reputation for handling the Empire's dirty work was well-earned. Within moments, the Pope stood before her.

[Pope] "Why did you summon me here, Saintess Odette?"

The man looked annoyed. Zion stepped outside to stand guard.

I hate owing Zion. He will surely come to collect this debt later.

She brushed the thought aside and focused on the Pope. If she couldn't persuade him now, Zion's efforts would go to waste.

[Pope] "Your demand for a meeting is quite rude, Odette. You even involved the Marquis. If you had business, a summons to the Cathedral would have sufficed."

She reached into her white handbag and pulled out a stack of papers.

[Odette] "Reading this will make our conversation much faster, Your Holiness."

[Pope] "What is this—"

The Pope's voice trailed off as he read the first line.

Müller was efficient; he had organized the evidence with perfect clarity. Even a stranger to the situation could understand the implications.

The Pope now grasped exactly how the arsenic Raphael purchased affected a victim's body.

[Odette] "I came to save your life."

The Pope flipped the pages in silence.

[Odette] "I heard your digestion is failing recently. You struggle for breath."

[Pope] "......"

[Odette] "Brown spots have appeared on your palms and the soles of your feet. These are classic symptoms of arsenic poisoning."

[Pope] "......"

[Odette] "If you doubt me, consult any physician. As long as they don't belong to the Cathedral, they will tell you the same truth."

[Pope] "......Sigh."

[Odette] "Do you still find our meeting inconvenient, Your Holiness?"

The Pope pressed his fingers against the bridge of his nose. Exhaustion weighed on him.

Odette knew he was finally ready to listen.

---

Zion maintained his distance to respect Odette's privacy, but he stayed close enough to guard her. Consequently, snippets of their conversation reached his ears.

The Pope clearly believed her. He agreed that Raphael intended to assassinate him the moment he became a candidate for succession. A counterattack was necessary.

However, a problem remained.

[Pope] "How can I trust you?"

The Pope wanted leverage. He refused to be the only one with a weakness.

Old toad. He should be grateful she is willing to help him.

The Pope had survived forty years of palace intrigue. He knew alliances only functioned when both parties held a knife to each other's throats. Odette understood his intention perfectly.

[Odette] "I plan to frame Ferdinand for the murder of High Priest Raphael. This bottle contains wasp venom for that purpose."

She willingly handed him her weakness.

[Odette] "Do you want to know why I would go so far?"

The Pope remained silent, but his stillness gave her the answer.

[Odette] "The Albrecht family adopted me to be Ferdinand's toy. I was his plaything."

Zion heard every word.

---

Zion had already tortured the traitors of the Albrecht estate. He knew every fact of her treatment there. Yet, hearing the story directly from the victim made it sound entirely new.

[Odette] "Living as a toy meant daily proof of my own worthlessness."

Though she spoke calmly, the emotions of her childhood bled through.

At fifteen, Ferdinand liked marking her. At eighteen, he liked controlling her. At twenty-three, he liked mocking her. Odette had been only six, nine, and fourteen during those years.

[Odette] "I loved the Count, the Countess, and Ferdinand. Perhaps that was my own cowardice. If I didn't love them, the pain became unbearable. Without the excuse of love, there was no reason for me to suffer such treatment."

Zion understood the physical violence she had endured, but he had never considered her scars. He had avenged his own father, but he had never experienced her sense of helplessness or shame. He had never felt the anxiety that he was a victim because he deserved it.

He had never felt the need to hide his abuse out of fear that people would see how insignificant he was. Zion, who had the power to take revenge easily, was different.

[Odette] "Perhaps the only self-love I have left is my anger."

Zion finally realized the truth. A Transcendent differed from a normal human. They were distant from loneliness and pain, making it hard for them to understand a Purifier.

I see why she reacted to my actions like that.

Her life consisted of people trying to control her. She was a pretty toy, nothing more.

When Zion tried to brainwash her, keep her in his palm, and lock her away, she saw Ferdinand in him.

Zion had called it love. The Albrechts had said the same thing.

He finally understood why even his hallucinations of Odette were cruel to him. He had been a monster to her.

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