KBRV 80

Chapter 80

[ “Karl has entered within 20 Quetzeta range.” ]

[ “Checking hostility level.” ]

[ “Unable to determine specific hostility (conditions not met).” ]

[ “Hostility detected increasing. (+5)” ]

“Cough, cough!”

“Master, you must command me to save you at once.”

“Cough, Karl…”

“Hurry, Master.”

“Save me—now. Cough, cough!”

I managed to give the order.

“By your command.”

Karl answered as if he had been waiting for it, and immediately leapt out of the pond.

For just a brief moment, my vision blurred.

“Other than Sasha, there’s no one else. I didn’t see the anonymous letter myself—it was Sasha who read it aloud in public.”

Countess Becker’s firm tone began to convince the Count as well.

“If what you say is true, Vanessa, then this is perfect. It means there’s nothing in the way of completely getting rid of that woman.”

Then he tugged on the bellcord. When Rolf came rushing in, the Count gave an order.

“Since Madam Becker was falsely accused of theft, we must uncover the truth of this matter. Summon all the servants and maids to the main hall at once!”

Normally, when handling such matters, only those involved would be gathered in the Count’s study.

To summon every servant in the household to the main hall—usually reserved for entertaining distinguished guests—meant that the Count intended to make a spectacle of this.

And so, the servants who gathered in the hall quickly realized it.

‘He means to utterly humiliate the Countess.’

The Countess had already lost face in front of the servants when her son had her confined.

Even if there are flaws between husband and wife, isn’t it expected that they cover for each other? The Count’s actions were a warning to the household.

A warning that he had no respect for the Countess as his wife and that he intended to keep trampling her down.

Standing at the head of the hall, the Count addressed the gathered servants.

“I utterly despise those who abuse their rank to torment the innocent. To think that while I was away, such a disgraceful thing happened in this household—it is deeply disappointing.”

Just as he was speaking with weight, the doorman announced the Countess’s arrival.

“Master, the Countess’s carriage has just passed through the front gate.”

“Perfect timing. Bring Sasha here immediately!”

The Count deliberately called her “Sasha,” not “my wife” or “the Countess.”

Speaking of his wife as if she were a mere servant. A deliberate jab at her commoner origins.

Understanding their master’s intent, the servants dragged the Countess in as though she were under arrest, forcing her to her knees on the floor—like a criminal.

By the Count’s side sat Madam Becker, weeping softly.

From the arrangement alone, it was laughable who looked like the true mistress of the house.

“What is the meaning of this?”

The Countess protested.

“The meaning? An innocent woman like Madam Becker must be thrown into prison at your whim, while you—guilty as you are—find it beneath you to kneel?”

“Ha! Are you saying this ridiculous farce was stirred up because of Madam Becker?”

“I’ve already heard everything from her. You smeared her without proof, treated her as a criminal, publicly branded her a thief, and even locked her in the dungeon? Your arrogance knows no bounds!”

“Ha! A smear? Are you seriously believing the words of a mere maid over your own wife? That thieving wench?”

“Calling an innocent woman a thieving wench? Sasha, your tongue is vile. The servants tell me no jewelry was ever found in Madam Becker’s chambers.”

It was then that Dolly, the head maid standing at the front of the group, suddenly stepped forward and knelt.

“Master! That is not true. Today, I myself discovered them. The Madam’s diamond earrings—hidden inside Madam Becker’s nightstand.”

The Count glared at her with irritation.

‘A tactless, insolent wench.’

Then he glanced at Becker, who quickly descended from beside him.

“My Lord, I swear I am innocent. I never stole those earrings!”

She fell to her knees beside the Countess, bowing and pleading.

Pointing at Dolly, she cried out:

“This is the head maid’s slander! I’ve never so much as touched those earrings—I would stake my life on it! Surely you can see this is someone’s scheme against me!”

Becker raised her voice further.

“What’s more, those earrings were still in Madam’s chambers the day I was dragged to the dungeon! Ask the other maids—someone else must have seen them!”

Her resolute tone made Dolly flinch.

“Doesn’t it strike you as strange? For two weeks, nothing was found in my room, and then suddenly the very day the Count returns, they appear? Anyone with eyes can see this is a setup!”

Her bold voice began to falter.

“Even if I am just a maid, I too have my honor. How could I, who have devoted myself to Madam, be treated this way—”

She broke into pitiful sobs.

Weakened by her ordeal, Becker looked pale and gaunt. The servants, it seemed, empathized more with her than with the Countess, gazing at her with pity.

Then, one maid raised her hand.

“Um—I remember. Earlier today, while preparing for the ball, I checked Madam’s attire. She tried on those very earrings.”

It was Malea—unfortunately, the Countess’s close maid. That made her words all the more believable.

The Countess glared at her in betrayal, but Malea did not falter or retract her words.

“So it is certain those earrings were in the Countess’s chamber as of this afternoon.”

At Malea’s testimony, other maids began nodding in agreement.

“I remember as well.”

“Me too.”

Since Becker had already been imprisoned at that time, it proved she could not have moved the earrings herself—someone else had framed her.

“Please, Count, believe me—I am innocent!”

Becker cast Malea a grateful look and then burst into tears.

“How dare you lie—”

“Silence, Sasha!”

The Count cut off his wife harshly.

“As if slandering an innocent wasn’t enough, you now dare to lie brazenly? To create such vile disgrace under my roof, and to feel no shame?”

His voice was full of rage. The hall fell into heavy silence. No one dared to take the Countess’s side.

Not Rolf, not the housekeeper, not even the head maid. Not even those who had served him for years.

Karl carried me to a small hut.

The Count’s gardens connected directly into the forest, and not far from the pond there stood a little hut.

The gardener who once lived there had been killed by the Count three years ago, and since then it had been abandoned.

Karl handed me a blanket. Shivering on the old floor in front of the lit fireplace, I pulled it around me and whispered,

“Thank you.”

I had never been strong to begin with.

Now, after alcohol and water had sapped my body heat, and with blood still in my mouth, my body had reached its limits.

“There’s no need to worry about me further. You may leave now. Just follow the orders I gave you. Do you remember them?”

“Yes. To escape the estate immediately and rendezvous with the carriage waiting outside. I remember.”

Karl’s red eyes rested on me. It seemed that on his way to follow that command into the woods, he had stumbled across me by chance. I was lucky.

“When you meet Goetz, he’ll take you to where the Fenrir children are. I’ve already given him instructions—just do as he tells you.”

“…”

“That means you may stay with the children until I call for you again.”

For a fanatic of Fenrir like him, it should have been welcome news. Yet Karl only stared at me intently.