Chapter 31
Fernan’s feelings were all too obvious.
‘It must’ve pissed him off that he lost Odette, and now he’s realized he’s lost control of the household too. And Mother probably wanted him to know what it feels like to have something taken from him.’
When Fernan heard the report that Odette had come down with tuberculosis, he must have been furious with his mother all over again.
Especially when even the head maid and housekeeper—those he thought were loyal to him—took his mother’s side and defied his orders. It would’ve felt like she’d stripped him of his authority.
To Fernan, taking away his mother’s chance to attend the salon was likely a fitting revenge.
‘He’s the kind of self-important bastard who thinks if he’s hurt, then it’s only fair that someone else’s lifelong wish goes down the drain too.’
That didn’t mean Odette felt sorry for his mother.
The Empress had invited Countess Albrecht out of a mother’s heart, worried about Johan spiraling out of control.
She’d gone out of her way to appease the countess because she desperately wanted Johan’s purification—pure maternal love, nothing more.
And even knowing that sincerity all too well, she sat there plotting how to raise her own standing. Sympathy? There was none to be had.
‘Well, I suppose her maternal instinct never extends beyond her precious son. No wonder she can’t understand the Empress’s heart.’
The only reason she cherished Fernan so much was because he had elevated her own status.
Now that very son had trampled her lifelong wish. The betrayal and emptiness must have been unbearable.
‘I need to drive a wedge into that rift between them.’
Just as Odette’s thoughts came to a close, Malea broke the silence.
“Young Miss, there’s one thing I should report. Young Master Fernan has handed over the mansion’s financial control to Mrs. Becker.”
“Really?”
“Isn’t it strange? That role usually belongs to the lady of the house, and if she’s not around, then it goes to the butler or housekeeper. Since when does a maid get to handle the estate’s finances? I’ve never even heard of such a thing.”
“What was Mrs. Becker’s reaction?”
“She seemed surprised too… but who knows. Mrs. Becker’s a guest your mother brought in, right? She’s obviously conscious of your mother’s opinion, so maybe this is Young Master Fernan’s way of leaving the door open for reconciliation?”
Malea then brought a warm towel and began to wipe down Odette’s body.
‘That’s probably what everyone thinks.’
Even Fernan probably believed that. He likely didn’t want to cut ties with his mother completely—just wanted to knock her down a peg or two.
Maybe he thought he was offering an olive branch in his own way.
‘If Mrs. Becker had any sense of her place, it might have actually worked as a peace offering.’
But a woman who stole another’s husband? Would someone like that ever know her place? Besides, Odette was planning to provoke Mrs. Becker as much as possible going forward.
Let her forget all sense of place and propriety—and run wild.
By the time her bath was over and she was dressed in her nightgown, it was less than ten minutes until midnight.
‘The stamina and mental debuffs will kick in right at midnight. I’d better send Malea away now.’
Odette had a rough idea of what the stamina debuff—her price for using the necklace—would entail.
Considering in <Danguwon> the screen went black and the narrator said, [A day disappeared], it probably meant she’d be asleep for 24 hours.
The mental debuff, on the other hand, was a total mystery. She’d never experienced that part of the game before.
The necklace was only used a couple of times even throughout the entire <Zion Route>. No one had reason to use it twice in a single day.
Because of that uncertainty, Odette wanted to be alone in her room as much as possible during the 24-hour debuff.
“I should go to bed now. You may leave, Malea.”
“Young Miss… um, the young master left this and told me to make sure you got the injection. He said it’s the tuberculosis medicine…”
Malea awkwardly held out a syringe filled with a green liquid. It was ‘Mengelle.’
“I-I couldn’t say no. The young master said he’d check personally after the Founding Festival to make sure you got the daily shots… He said he’d even check for injection marks. I had no choice.”
‘Can’t even come into my room for fear of catching TB, but he’s thorough about this, huh? Pathetic bastard.’
Malea didn’t know exactly what this was, but judging from Fernan’s behavior, she could tell it wasn’t tuberculosis medicine. She knew it wasn’t something good for Odette.
‘Even if she’s seen my weakness, she still fears Fernan more than me.’
Malea wasn’t afraid of Odette—she was afraid Fernan might actually kill her.
‘I really can’t trust this girl. She’ll never put my orders first.’
“Here,” Odette said, extending her arm. Malea gave the injection with a relieved expression.
It was an expensive skin treatment anyway—no harm in taking it. As Malea focused on administering the shot, Odette asked:
“So you’ll go to the Empress’s salon in my mother’s place. Did you keep the list I wrote for you?”
“Yes, don’t worry, Young Miss.”
“Could you bring back some peony tea leaves when you return? Ask the Empress’s maid directly—she’ll make sure you get some.”
“I’ll do that, Young Miss.”
Once Malea left, the room was quiet. Five minutes until midnight.
Odette blew out the candle and lay on the bed.
She retraced the steps of the past she had changed. So far, everything had gone smoothly, without any major mistakes.
There was only one more major incident she needed to stop—one that was crucial for her relationship with the male lead.
‘The <Fenril Detainment Incident> that happened on the last day of the Founding Festival.’
It was an event tied to the fourth male lead—Karl.
The Fenril clan Karl belonged to originally lived beyond the Empire’s northern tundra border, in the Fenril Kingdom.
Despite its barren land and small population, it had rivaled the Empire in strength.
They had once prospered, but a great calamity had wiped them out, and now only four members of the Fenril clan were left alive.
Three of them—excluding Karl—died in the Empire’s detainment facility on the last day of the Founding Festival.
That was the <Fenril Detainment Incident>.
This incident turned Odette into Karl’s mortal enemy—though at the time, she hadn’t had a clue.
In her previous life, the <Crown Prince’s Rampage> had been so severe that the <Fenril Incident> barely got any attention.
Male Lead 4, Karl, wasn’t even an “Ascended” being at that point.
So the world forgot the incident easily—but Karl never could.
‘Especially since he was dragged to our estate and subjected to human experiments right after that.’
The Count had demanded Karl be handed over as a slave if they wanted purification from the Imperial Palace. And he’d even falsely claimed that Odette wanted it.
“If it weren’t for you, there might still have been hope for our clan.”
She would never forget.
That lifeless boy tied like a dog in the garden of the annex. The expression on his face. The blood-red tears that streamed from his eyes.
The way Karl gritted his teeth and glared at her.
“I will kill you with my own hands. No matter how high your status is. I will find a way.”
And in the end, he did.
He awakened as an Ascended being and severed Odette’s head with an axe.
DONG. DONG. DONG.
The mansion’s grandfather clock struck twelve. Midnight.
Even though she was deep in thought and didn’t feel sleepy at all, she fell into slumber as if bewitched.
As if sucked into a dream by an overwhelming force beyond her control.
