KFBRV Pt 2 Ch 98

Click.

The carriage door opened. To her surprise, Lize was not the one standing there.

[Odette] "How…… why are you here, Your Highness?"

She gasped, her face flushing with confusion at the sight of Johan.

[Johan] "It’s too quiet here. I thought you might feel lonely exploring a place like this by yourself."

He held a silver candlestick as if he were the butler of the estate. He had clearly been waiting in the garden this entire time.

His face is always so handsome that it makes me feel almost unworthy.

Feeling awkward and overwhelmed, she looked around, desperate for Lize’s presence.

[Odette] "Where is Lize?"

[Johan] "The moment I arrived, she mentioned she had to visit her family home. I told her to go. Even for a dedicated maid, serving the Crown Prince alone must be a burden."

He seemed to think he was doing Lize a favor by letting her leave, but he was wrong. Odette knew exactly why Lize had vanished.

On the night she returned from the Calamity, Odette had told Lize everything that happened in the deep sea. She spoke of the World Tree, the Calamity, and Karl, who had lived for ages.

It was an unbelievable story, but Lize listened without a single doubt. After hearing it all, she had only one thing to say.

[Lize] "I’m going to support the Crown Prince. That slave guy is a jerk."

[Odette] "Huh? ……Is that the important part of this story?"

[Lize] "It’s vital! Karl is a lost cause. Break the promise. A verbal agreement won't even hold up in court. My Lady’s happiness is what matters, not some promise!"

[Odette] "Uh…… Lize? Did I mention that Karl is actually a god?"

[Lize] "The most important thing in a man is his attitude. Ah, sorry. His face matters, too, right? But after his face, it’s his attitude, My Lady. I’m telling you this as your loyal servant. Break the promise!"

Given her fierce stance, her reason for leaving was obvious.

Down with Karl! Give the Prince and My Lady as much private time as possible!

That was surely her goal.

Lize.

As she mourned her maid’s absence in her mind, Johan reached out his hand.

[Johan] "May I have the honor of escorting you, My Lady?"

She had no choice but to take his hand.

He led her from the carriage toward the mansion. As they walked, an unexpected sight met her eyes.

Why is the house so clean?

The Albrecht estate, which should have been a wreck, was perfectly repaired. The smashed walls of the first floor and the dungeon looked pristine, unlike the ruins she had last seen.

The servants who fled in a hurry couldn't have cleaned this.

The transformation continued inside. The stairs, the tiles, and the chandeliers—every broken corner now looked brand new.

[Odette] "Did you…… did Your Highness repair all of this?"

[Johan] "I was the one who broke it, wasn't I? So I should be the one to fix it."

He answered smoothly, even though he hadn't been the one to damage the interior.

[Odette] "Don't tell me…… did you do this yourself?"

She asked with a hint of worry, remembering the time he ran off claiming he would do his own laundry.

[Johan] "If I had done it myself, I probably would have broken even more things. Don't worry. I called the Imperial Palace engineers. Only the most skilled ones."

The mansion wasn't just repaired. Every trace left by the Count, the Countess, and Ferdinand had vanished. It felt like walking into a house without a master—a new home that Odette could fill from the beginning with her own hands.

As she passed through the lobby and reached the center of the mansion, she stopped. Her gaze was fixed on a painting hanging above the central staircase.

[Odette] "It changed……"

In the spot where a massive portrait of the Count’s family once hung, a different family now stood. The painting showed Odette sitting in a chair with her biological mother, while her biological father stood behind them.

Though the painting was a creation, it overflowed with such realism that it looked as if the artist had painted it from life. That single portrait made them look like the only true masters of the estate.

How did he recreate them? He answered before she could even ask.

[Johan] "I found a few photographs. I ordered the court painters to work on it. Do you like it?"

In the painting, she wore a comfortable smile. Odette stared at it for a long while before heading straight for the study.

She wondered what had become of the portrait there—the one showing the Count’s "happy" family that she had always longed to join.

In its place hung a black-and-white photograph. A young couple smiled at the camera while holding an infant. They didn't look wealthy or noble, but they looked so close and happy that it warmed the heart. She knew instinctively that the child in the center was her.

[Odette] "These couldn't have been easy to find."

Her voice trembled. Across two lifetimes, she had searched for any trace of her biological parents but had never found a single photo.

[Odette] "I lost them so young I can't even remember their faces. I wasn't even sure if I could call what I felt 'longing'."

Yet, she had kept searching. Sometimes she doubted herself.

How can I love parents I don't even remember? Maybe I'm just looking for fuel to hate Ulrich even more.

[Odette] "It makes no sense to feel homesick for a place I've never been. That’s how it felt to 'miss' my parents. It was a constant desire to return to a place that didn't exist."

At some point, Odette realized her parents had become like a fairy tale to soothe her loneliness. When she wanted to imagine herself being loved, she thought of them like a painkiller. Yet, she always knew that love wasn't real.

[Odette] "But they really…… they really did love me."

She gently touched the photo. The tender affection in their eyes was clear even through the old image.

[Odette] "It wasn't a fairy tale."

It was a love that had truly existed for her from the moment she was born. Realizing this, a sense of peace filled a corner of her heart like a rising spring.

Lina. Are you happy?

Her parents in the photo seemed to be asking her. Now, Odette could give a definitive answer to the question Viktor had once asked.

Yes. I’m happy.

Not just "seemingly" happy, but genuinely so.

To love another person, one needs the certainty that they can be loved. Odette realized that certainty was now filling her soul. She was finally ready to love someone properly.

[Johan] "Here."

He handed her a ring.

[Johan] "A new head of the house needs a new heirloom."

In Barzeha, it was tradition for family members to buy a precious gem for a new head of the house. Since Odette had no family left, Johan was offering it in their place.

[Odette] "Your Highness, this is……!"

But what he offered was not something to be handed over so lightly. This ring was the heirloom passed from the Empress to the Crown Princess. It was a priceless jewel of the Imperial family, held by the most powerful woman in history.

She wanted to refuse, but then she saw the burning look in his eyes. She realized the truth. Johan, who still couldn't confess his love because of his guilt over exploiting her, had gathered all his courage. This was the only way he knew how to express his heart.

[Odette] "If you give me this ring once, it can never return to the Imperial family."

Her words meant she would never marry him. She would never become a member of the Imperial family.

[Johan] "I know. I’m giving it to you because it doesn't matter. I want you to have it."

His eyes looked so pained as he held out the ring that Odette asked on impulse.

[Odette] "Your Highness…… are you happy with this situation?"

His face twisted with sorrow at the question.

[Johan] "I can't lie to you."

[Odette] "……Your Highness."

[Johan] "I can't say I’m happy, but it’s enough. I won't lose you by chasing perfect happiness. I’ve already done so many stupid things and even lost you once."

[Odette] "……"

[Johan] "So don't worry. If you are happy, I will eventually be happy too. Because you are my greatest joy."

Hearing him say that, Odette couldn't refuse. She hesitatingly took the ring. Even though she placed it on the ring finger of her right hand instead of her left, Johan smiled with satisfaction.

This is for the best.

Odette pressed her lips against Johan’s. Fortunately, today was also the day for his purification. Even if this kiss held her true feelings, it wouldn't be a betrayal of Karl.

[Odette] "Johan."

She whispered his name, encouraging him. He flinched before kissing her more deeply. His warm body and weight soon surrounded her.

Odette planned to be happy from now on. Johan was right. She couldn't lose the person in front of her by searching for a perfect happiness that didn't exist. She would focus on the Transcendents. She would focus on saving them and filling herself with the joy they gave her.

Odette had been a little orphan girl, broken by Ulrich, deceived by Sasha, and insulted by Ferdinand. As a lonely girl, she had walked a wicked and solitary path. She thought she would live that way forever.

But things would change now. She knew some men would stand by her side no matter what path she chose. She knew she would receive the "true love" she had missed for her entire life.

Now that she was ready to love, she could one day return the love she received. She would learn the joy and happiness of loving someone.

Odette realized she had finally reached the "somewhere" she had longed for in her past life.

She had arrived in the perfect fairy tale she had dreamed of—one where she was showered with real love.

※THE END※