KFBRV Pt 2 Ch 89

Her thoughts tangled further with every word Karl spoke.

I don’t want to make the wrong choice. I want to save Johan, but you are precious to me, too.

If saving him means breaking my promise to you. I would rather give up the purification.

She wasn't sure if love was something one could achieve through effort alone, but she knew that love began by putting the other person's heart first. That was something she could control, and something she felt she must do.

This promise wasn't made lightly. She hadn't committed herself just to take it back so easily. She felt grateful to Karl, and sorry, and she wanted to return his feelings in any way she could.

Why do I always make the wrong choice when it comes to love? Maybe I am simply unfit for it.

Eventually, every problem—

[Karl] “Shh. You don’t need to think about anything.”

He spoke, tenderly stroking her cheek. His soothing voice snapped her train of thought instantly. Her mind went quiet, as if it had stopped.

The tightening grip of Johan's fingers on her knuckles and his worried voice calling her name felt strangely, impossibly distant. Even the chirping of birds and the rustle of leaves vanished, replaced by a vacuum of silence.

As her senses dulled and her thoughts simplified, the crushing weight of anxiety lifted.

[Karl] “I don’t want you to blame yourself. Just focus on your heart.”

Only Karl's gentle voice remained clear. His expression stayed as calm as a still lake. It seemed as though no matter what strange answer she gave, he would remain unshaken. No matter what conclusion she reached, he wouldn't be cut or bruised.

[Odette] “But……”

Odette searched her mind. But... but what?

She had been full of arguments just a moment ago, but the thoughts refused to connect. Her mind felt like the most perfect blank sheet of paper in the world.

Ethics, morality, loyalty, conscience—the gears that should have been turning in her brain felt broken. Only raw, primal feelings such like or dislike, the kind a child might voice, drifted through her head.

[Karl] “But?”

Perhaps because only her basic instincts remained, his question sounded like he was coaxing a child. No matter how much she dug through her mind, she couldn't find a reason based on duty.

Finally, she voiced her most primitive emotion.

[Odette] “Karl, you’ll be in pain…… I hate it……”

It was a clumsy expression, but it was her truth. She hadn't wanted to sound so much like a child.

As soon as the words left her mouth, she felt her face heat up at how raw and childish they were.

[Karl] “……”

It didn't seem like such a shocking statement, but his eyes shook violently. It looked like endless ripples forming on a once-still surface. Though his expression didn't change much, it was a rare, intense show of emotion for him.

[Karl] “You hate that I am in pain?”

He repeated her words as if savoring them.

Odette wanted to give a proper response, but her mind remained a blank slate. As she gave a quiet nod, a smile slowly spread across his lips. It was a smile full of rapture, the kind she never thought would suit him.

[Karl] “Nothing can cause me pain except for your suffering.”

He spoke with a choked voice, resting his forehead against hers.

[Karl] “If your choice today leads you to deep guilt and agony in the future, that is what will make me saddest.”

[Odette] “……”

[Karl] “You are my god. Therefore, your choice is always entirely right to me. It only needs to be the right choice for you.”

It's okay to be honest. My choice isn't wrong.

Perhaps self-assurance only grows when there is at least one other person who believes in you first.

For the first time, Odette felt a firm root of confidence take hold in her heart. His total faith allowed her to believe in herself.

Karl pressed a light kiss to her forehead. Startled, she looked up, but he had already vanished.

Seeing that Viktor and Zion were also gone, she realized Karl had departed with them.

Karl left so I could make an honest choice.

As he disappeared, the sounds of the world returned. Johan's presence became sharp and clear again.

If she ignored everything else and thought only of her own heart?

She decided to think of just one thing: what she had felt at the moment Johan was being erased. With that focus, the answer came easily.

Odette squeezed back, gripping the fingers Johan had entwined with hers. Johan didn't ask if she was okay or if she would regret it.

[Johan] “It's alright. I won't let you regret this.”

Instead, he answered with certainty. She bit his lip. She felt his trembling breath through his soft lips. A shallow kiss wouldn't longer work as an even a temporary fix.

She had already made her decision. Performing a half-hearted purification out of pathetic guilt would be the worst path of all.

As her heart raced from his tender kiss, she couldn't help but think of Karl. As if noticing her thoughts, his kiss grew more persistent.

Odette couldn't have known.

You think of me the whole time.

Watching Odette worry only about him while kissing Johan, Karl wore a smile of pure satisfaction. Everything had happened exactly as he desired.

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Forcibly moved to the rear garden by Karl's power, Zion twisted his lips in disbelief.

[Zion] “How low. Or should I say... how dirty?”

He sneered at Karl. This was his honest assessment after watching everything Karl had done.

Since shattering Karl's sphere, Zion had felt a strange high, and his status had remained elevated even after his resurrection. Though not as stable as Karl, he was evolving into something closer to a god than a divine beast.

An unrefined, clumsy god with a high risk of vanishing within three months—but because he now existed on a plane beyond the Transcendents, his vision reached much higher. He could see the truth hidden behind Karl's mysterious attitude. He knew exactly what that bastard wanted.

Karl's indifferent gaze flickered toward Zion.

[Karl] “A jealous man is an ugly thing, Marquis Kleist.”

[Zion] “I’ll return those words to you. You ugly son of a bitch.”

Odette seemed to view Karl's actions as a sacrifice, but Zion saw the opposite. Karl had decided to save Johan because he was hideously jealous of him.

[Karl] “……”

Look at that—he shut his mouth as if the word "jealousy" hit the mark.

If Johan died, the sympathetic Odette would have given the largest piece of her heart to him. Her extreme regret and guilt would have eventually turned into love.

Zion had handled mental powers for a long time, so he easily spotted changes in emotion. He noticed the feelings in Odette's gestures that she didn't even recognize herself.

Under normal fate, she would have loved Johan most. She carried the seeds of a destined love for him. Among the usually eccentric Transcendents, Johan was rare in his kindness. Odette was easily moved by such warmth and often mistook guilt for love. They were, in a way, a perfect match.

But even a destined love needs a trigger to bloom. Johan's death would have been the decisive trigger for Odette to realize her love for him. By having Odette save Johan with her own hands, Karl had perfectly crushed that chance to bloom.

It's quite unfair for Johan. A small corner of Odette's heart would have brought him more joy than life itself.

The vile Karl must have seen the future where Odette loved Johan. That was why he used such methods to keep Johan alive. What Karl wanted was Odette's heart—specifically, the largest piece of it. And he had no intention of yielding even a tiny fragment to Johan, even if he were dead.

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