Chapter 106
Early dawn on the third day of the Athena Island schedule.
Mrs. Becker, who had been keeping watch over Odette for two sleepless nights, had finally fallen into the deepest sleep tonight—deeper than anyone else.
It was because Odette had burned a sleep-inducing scent good for pregnant women in the room. Of course, Odette had also taken aqua mint.
Click, clack.
Odette walked down the empty hallway and opened the infirmary door, letting out a sigh.
There were four patient beds, yet Carl was lying on the floor on a blanket.
‘To think I’d be treated like this… Still, it’s good I came.’
As she set down the gas lamp she was carrying on the nightstand, Carl, who had been sweating profusely, opened his eyes.
With a swift, sharp, and intimidating movement, he grabbed Odette’s wrist.
“Ah!”
“…Master?”
But as soon as he recognized it was Odette, Carl quickly released her wrist. Then, with a worried tone, he asked her:
“I’m sorry. Did your wrist hurt?”
‘Yeah. I thought it was going to break.’
…She wanted to say that, but instead, she smiled gracefully, feeling guilty at the sight of Carl, all bandaged up.
‘I thought four assassins would be nothing for Carl… yet he’s been injured this badly.’
She had overestimated Carl’s strength, and he had been hurt more than necessary.
“Why are you sleeping here instead of on the bed?”
“I’m a slave. But that’s not the problem. How’s your wrist? It’s not broken, right? If you were hurt—”
“Stop. It’s fine, so stop asking.”
Carl looked hurt by Odette’s reaction.
“…I suppose I’m an ungrateful person. I’ve hurt the master who saved me from my father…”
‘He’s relaxed now, but does he need to look this pitiful?’
“No, calm down. That’s not what I meant. I wasn’t hurt at all, so don’t worry.”
“Master.”
“For now, come up onto the bed. If anyone complains about you being on the bed, you can even use my name.”
Odette held Carl’s hand to help him up—and at that moment, she was startled.
“What… why is your hand so hot?”
It was because of his fiery body temperature.
“Master, your hands are so small.”
As Carl sat down heavily on the bed, there was a strange smile in his voice, but Odette didn’t notice.
‘With his body like this… I guess it’ll be hard to give him any orders.’
She had come to Carl today to involve him in a plan for Dolly.
Although Carl had been obedient after losing his previous command control, Odette still didn’t fully trust him.
He was no longer the Carl of the Single Mind organization.
A Carl with his command broken was completely unknown to her. The information from his profile was useless, and now he couldn’t be bound as a hostage or treated as a gift.
‘Can a Carl with no command still be useful? Can I trust his loyalty without a leash?’
Thus, she had intended to test his usefulness in the plan for Dolly… but seeing the boy trembling with a pale face, all that thought disappeared.
Even Odette couldn’t force a boy in this state to obey.
“Your fever seems to be getting worse.”
Odette placed her hand on Carl’s forehead. He looked briefly confused but then rubbed his forehead against her hand, as if seeking comfort.
‘Maybe… Carl’s parents were the ones who were wrong.’
Odette sighed. If he truly had no emotions, would he be this happy to feel warmth from someone?
It was his parents who were truly emotionless—commanding him to become a weapon for Fenrir, raising him like a killing machine.
‘…But I can’t really criticize them. I came to use him myself, after all.’
At that moment, Carl weakly pleaded:
“Change the bandages, Master.”
Odette removed the bandages wrapping his arm and was horrified.
The long gash was filled with glass shards.
It was clear the shards had been intentionally forced in—to make Carl’s arm unusable.
“My goodness! What kind of bastard did this to you?”
“Master.”
“No. That’s not first. First, let’s remove all the glass.”
Odette frantically searched for tweezers. When she removed Carl’s clothes to expose his shoulder, it was even worse—there were shards embedded there too.
If she wasn’t careful, his arm might have to be amputated.
Before an Awakening, severed body parts did not regenerate. Carl could permanently lose the use of his arm.
Fortunately, the wound seemed recent.
“You have to endure the pain, Carl. We can’t leave the glass in.”
“Ugh… Master.”
“If you really can’t bear it, you can bite my left arm.”
Carl lightly bit her left arm instead of speaking. It was weak, probably from exhaustion.
‘He’s so weak he can barely bite…’
Odette wrestled with the shards for nearly an hour. After finishing and applying disinfectant, she wiped her forehead.
“I’ve removed everything I can see, but there may still be small fragments. Make sure you get treatment at the palace infirmary…”
She frowned mid-sentence.
‘If this wound had been from assassins, the infirmary would have treated it immediately. So this wound must have happened after he arrived here.’
Odette pressed her forehead.
“Carl, was this done by the infirmary staff?”
Carl, exhausted from enduring the pain, spoke in a hoarse voice:
“Master… rather than that… it’s about my wish…”
“Hm?”
“You said that if I obeyed well, you’d grant me a wish.”
“Then speak now. If you complete this command well, I’ll grant another wish for you too.”
Odette recalled their previous conversation.
“That’s right.”
“I want to tell you my wish now, Master.”
“First, let’s deal with the infirmary—”
“Now, Master. I want to tell you now.”
Carl spoke pitifully, feverishly. Odette wrapped a fresh bandage around him and asked:
“Alright. Tell me. What’s your wish?”
“Don’t abandon me, Master. I’ll be a good slave. Please let me remain your slave forever.”
Carl’s pitiful eyes stared straight at Odette. His words were extreme.
“Forever… Carl.”
“If I can’t live as your slave, my life will have no purpose.”
‘Why so extreme? Why is a boy raised as crown prince so obsessed with being a slave…?’
“Master, I’m so anxious without my father’s command. I lived my whole life as my father’s slave. I can’t live without orders.”
He pleaded earnestly, explaining he had been bound by commands since birth, serving as a weapon for Fenrir for seventeen years.
“You know what happens when an animal raised in chains suddenly gets freedom.”
Odette inhaled sharply at his words, as if he was holding himself hostage.
“If you abandon me like this, I’ll live a life worse than death. I’m helpless before freedom; I’ve never learned to think without orders. Being free from my father’s command is enough, Master. I want to live as your slave. Please let me choose.”
“….”
“You said you’d grant a wish if I obeyed. Keep your promise.”
Odette sighed.
‘Check loyalty.’
[ Carl’s Loyalty: 0 ]
‘Right. He hates it this much; if I abandon him, his loyalty could increase. It wouldn’t hurt to have someone loyal who will become a transcendent being.’
Since losing command, he had been obedient to her words.
‘I can test his usefulness in Dolly’s plan; if proven useful, I can use him in the revenge plan. If not, just keep him as a combat slave.’
Yet Odette didn’t realize she was being easily persuaded.
The intense pressure in the room clouded her rational thinking.
Odette didn’t actually need a “forever” slave for her departure. If Carl was useless for revenge, it would have been better not to make him a slave.
Yet she didn’t sense anything strange in her reasoning.
“Alright. A promise must be kept. I’ll grant your wish. I won’t abandon you.”
Ultimately, Odette said the words.
“Thank you, Master.”
Carl hugged her tightly.
She was a little surprised but didn’t show it, saying:
“Your body is still like a furnace, so rest for now. I’ll come back later.”
“Yes.”
Carl obediently closed his eyes.
‘It’s definitely easier to handle now. He’s much more human…’
Yet Odette felt an unsettling twinge at the thought:
‘Really? Has he really become more human?’
The more she thought about it, the creepier it felt. Her intuition was screaming for caution.
At that moment, a quest notification appeared before her eyes.
