Chapter 45
About thirty minutes left now.
I shouldn’t have checked that bastard’s hatred level. If I hadn’t, at least I could’ve avoided that awful mental debuff.
Still, it looked like I’d make it to the hotel with some time to spare—and just as I felt relieved…
Thud—!
A man fell from the sky.
“…Ah.”
A familiar entrance. Damn bastard.
I stared at the man in front of me with distaste.
That twisted smirk, those irritated eyes. The face of someone fuming with rage that I had run away.
“Hello, Albrecht?”
“Your Excellency.”
‘Why did you follow me all the way here?’
I didn’t have time to argue with him.
“It’s been a while. I was terribly rude to leave first without saying a word—”
“Are you aware that I despise you, Albrecht?”
The moment we met, Sion bared his hostility. So unlike his usual cool self.
“I asked if you know.”
“…I do.”
“Really? Then that makes it all the worse.”
With those words, he threw a handkerchief at my feet. It fell into a puddle and quickly soaked up the muddy water.
“No matter how precious something is, Albrecht, the moment it touches you, I don’t want it anymore.”
I stared blankly at the handkerchief as it got dirtier. The one I had cherished so dearly.
“The moment it was tainted by you, it ceased to be valuable.”
‘That handkerchief was… supposed to be a key item to increase Sion’s favorability by over 10…’
It was a keepsake made by Sion’s mother herself. After losing all her mementos due to his father, Sion was supposed to treasure this and be moved by it.
‘Ugh. This isn’t the time for that.’
Snapping back to reality, I hastily bent down to pick up the handkerchief.
But the moment I touched it, Sion stomped on it.
‘…Is it really something to hate this much?’
He liked it so much when Charlotte gave it to him, didn’t he? And to her, it was just some random thing she happened to find.
The handkerchief had come to me along with other imperial gifts. My father took everything else but specifically told me to throw that one away.
Its rejection among all those precious items felt eerily similar to my own situation.
So I had secretly retrieved it from the incinerator, even getting beaten up by Fernand for it—but I had been happy just to have it.
Since then, whenever I had a hard day, I would take it out and read the embroidered words like a treasure. It felt like the sincerity stitched into it—divine grace and protection—really were with me.
‘The only thing that changed was the person giving it, yet this is how worthless and pitiful it becomes.’
“Please move your foot.”
“……”
“I didn’t expect you to be this offended. I apologize for overstepping.”
The status window still marked this place as a [Danger Zone].
Meaning, I could get pulled into the [Danger Zone] debuff at any moment. I had no choice but to apologize earnestly.
[Hatred Level: 55]
The hatred had increased again in that short time.
Clutching the handkerchief, I asked again.
“Please move your foot, Your Excellency.”
I looked up at Sion.
His violet eyes seemed displeased with how this was going.
“That’s not the reaction I wanted. I was hoping you’d be more honest.”
Still, he lifted his foot.
‘At least it didn’t get torn.’
I shook the mud off the handkerchief and gently wrung it out, holding it carefully in my hand.
‘I thought giving this would help me get more intel on Karl and improve my relationship with Sion.’
Now it was clear. No matter how precious it was to me, it couldn’t compare to something Charlotte just happened to pick up.
But this wasn’t the time to dwell on sadness. I had to end this quickly.
“I really was—”
Suddenly, Sion forcefully grabbed my wrist.
‘Ah—!’
[Hatred Level increased by 10]
[Hatred Level: 65]
As if betraying my hopes, the hatred only rose further.
“Apologies won’t cut it. I think I need to watch you break again before we’re done here.”
Pain shot through me as I raised my head to meet his violet gaze.
“I’m confused. I can’t just throw you in the torture chamber, can I?”
Torture chamber? What the hell was this bastard saying?
“Your Excellency, are you insane? How could you even—”
“I really didn’t want to use this method because it’s risky.”
And then it happened.
Sion’s violet eyes gleamed a faint gold.
And at that moment, something in my head snapped.
[The mind of “Bearer of the Necklace” has fallen under Sion’s “Brainwashing.”]
[Due to the side effect of “Brainwashing,” hatred level display has been temporarily paused.]
“Odette.”
That sweet voice. I could feel my eyes unfocus instantly. It was like my brain was melting.
‘That son of a bitch.’
I bit the inside of my cheek. I realized what he was trying to do.
Mind control. That damned bastard was trying to mess with my head using his ability.
I’d seen a similar scene in the <Sion Route>. He’d done this to Charlotte once too.
“Cry your heart out, Odette. I want to see you beg.”
< Smile brightly, Charlotte. I want to see you happy. >
It was the exact opposite of the line from the game.
Charlotte had fallen for the mind control and smiled sweetly. That was the moment Sion realized he had feelings for her.
I felt my lips trembling. I wanted to cry so badly I could die. I wanted to beg for permission to cry.
Tears were about to burst out.
But I didn’t want to give in. I didn’t want to obey the man who trampled on my handkerchief.
‘Besides, if the brainwashing works, I won’t remember this moment at all. Whatever order Sion gives me, I’ll carry it out happily.’
If he ordered a purification… I could be exposed as a fake purifier.
I clenched my teeth.
At least I wasn’t the only one struggling with this.
Using an S-rank ability this delicately wasn’t easy even for that bastard.
It was like pouring an ocean’s worth of water to extract a single drop with a dropper. That’s probably why he was sweating.
If he’d used his full S-rank power, I’d have cried uncontrollably and died of exhaustion already.
But I simply glared at him without crying. Sion’s voice came out, surprised.
“…This is unexpected.”
‘I’m not going to cry. Suck on that, you damn mutt.’
Just because you’re a transcendent, does that give you the right to crush someone’s pride? You cry and beg instead, you bastard.
I focused solely on my rage.
‘Cry. You’ll feel better if you cry.’
My brain kept urging me to cry, over and over—but I resisted.
Then Sion furrowed his brows slightly and his eyes turned a deeper gold, and tears welled up instantly.
I felt like a dam about to burst, barely holding back the flood.
‘Shit. I can’t take it anymore.’
And then—I had an idea.
‘Status window. Do I have to receive both the mental and physical debuff at once?’
[No. They can be processed separately.]
I was so glad I’d had a life full of moments where I had to hold back tears.
I knew exactly what helped hold them back best: fear—and pain.
‘Cancel the delay on the mental debuff only.’
[Mental debuff delay canceled.]
[Processing mental debuff now.]
I wondered how the debuff would be processed while I was still conscious… then I saw it.
A vivid hallucination. Not the Ervin Desert, but right here—Karl appeared out of nowhere and sliced my neck with an axe.
‘Hrk!’
Sharp, real pain followed. The pain of my neck being slashed.
[“Bearer of the Necklace” has entered a panic state. Sion’s “Brainwashing” has been forcibly broken.]
And then—whatever had been trying to force me to cry disappeared completely.
