KBRV 57

Chapter 57

“V–Victor.”

Victor stared blankly at the sight of the woman before him coughing up blood.

Why? …Why is she like this?

Her mouth and hands smeared with blood. Her face, drained of all color in an instant. Eyes wide and lost, like a frightened child. A face frozen in unmistakable terror.

There’s no way… no way that woman could look like this.

It was hard to make sense of what he was seeing.

She was always unbearably elegant, a woman who, though younger than him, seemed to carry eyes that had already lived far longer than his.

But now, she was staring at him in abject fear, as if he were her only lifeline.

…What am I supposed to do?

As Victor stood frozen in shock, Odette crumpled to the ground like a marionette whose strings had been cut.

Only then did Victor realize he had been paralyzed by the sight.

He hurried to catch the woman who had collapsed, gathering her in his arms—awkwardly, clumsily, like an ordinary man.

So unlike his usual self, who moved with strength and certainty.

“Odette…? Honey, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

Blood continued to drip from the corner of her lips.

A–a doctor.

Lifting her up, Victor was startled by how light she felt—far too light. He looked down at her again in shock.

And then he saw it. Her skirt had slipped up slightly, revealing her calves. Victor’s eyes widened.

“Hey… what’s wrong with your legs?”

Horrific burn scars ran across her skin. The sight confirmed his suspicions.

A noblewoman who wandered alone without her maid. An adoption. Scars left untreated.

And most of all—her muttering earlier.

“How can I… be hated less?”

That voice, so weary, so laden with self-mockery.

That fragile, lonely smile—it would have been better had she just cried.

Victor’s instincts had never been wrong.

This mansion was not safe for her. Not in the slightest. Leaving her here would be insanity.

So, instead of stopping at the Count’s manor right in front of him, Victor ran at full speed to the Imperial Palace. There, doctors could be found, and as an S-rank Transcendent, he had the privilege of entering freely.

Though it was his first time ever making use of that right.

And there, the palace physician delivered words that left him reeling.

“She’s suffering from malnutrition and severe stress. Her stomach is badly damaged, and she has multiple injuries across her body. And… forgive my boldness, but… is this young lady being abused?”

“What the hell are you saying? Speak clearly.”

Even then, Victor tore at his own uniform with brute force, ripping it into rough khaki rags to cover Odette’s face.

He couldn’t risk the doctor recognizing who she was.

“There are many bruises and wounds in places not easily visible. They were inflicted carefully, leaving no lasting scars. M–may I ask… surely these aren’t your doing, Colonel?”

The physician mustered great courage to accuse a Transcendent to his face. That was how dire Odette’s condition truly was.

Victor’s expression hardened into something lethal.

Odette opened her eyes in the familiar dream of the Heart Wasps.

This time, she awoke beside the great tree she had once thought dead.

This dream again?

She sat up with a weary sigh. But the scenery was different.

The wasps were nearly gone, the land looking barren—like a desert.

Even the Heart Wasps clinging to the tree are almost gone.

Odette reached out and caught one feeble wasp crawling along the bark. The moment she touched it, the memory of herself spitting blood earlier flashed before her eyes—as though she were watching it from someone else’s perspective.

In that instant, instinctively, she understood.

She had vomited blood to expel these wasps from her body.

And then—a cracked, rose-pink system window appeared before her.

[ Retrying Status Window Activation… ]
[ ERROR ]
[ Activation Failed! ]
[ Reason for Failure: Unknown Parasite ]

The flickering screen glared painfully in her eyes before emitting a sharp pink glow—then snapping shut.

“What… was that just now?”

Blinking in confusion, Odette clutched at the necklace around her neck.

“Did this necklace… just activate inside my dream?”

Just how many functions did it hide?

And the color of that status window…

The usual screen was white. But the one she had just seen was rose-pink.

Like the limitless system window given to the protagonist of the game Danguwon.

“What is going on…?”

But she didn’t have time to dwell on it. The world around her suddenly went pitch-black, the ground collapsing beneath her.

This time, when I opened my eyes, it was another dream.

The memory of my past life—imprisoned deep within the Imperial Palace’s dungeon. The exact same scene I had suffered two days ago, under the Mental Debuff.

I frowned.

Don’t tell me… another debuff? But I didn’t even check Hatred today.

But soon, I realized this wasn’t a debuff.

When I turned around, I saw my past self—like a ghost, as if I were only an observer.

So this is just a dream, huh.

And what good was it, to relive that hellish moment again and again?

Once in reality. Once more under the debuff. And now again, in my sleep.

…And what’s with this stench? My head’s splitting open.

The air was thick with a nauseating, artificial rose stench that made me want to retch.

This smell… it’s coming from me, isn’t it?

Then I heard footsteps.

I knew whose they were. This was the day I first met Charlotte.

Sure enough, the door creaked open and a girl stepped in. With her came a pleasant rose fragrance that filled the dungeon.

Pale pink hair. Light blue eyes.

Heart-shaped lips that curved when she smiled. Cute rabbit-like teeth. Cotton-candy softness, harmless and lovely.

…And such a gentle fragrance.

The stench faded, overpowered by her presence—like the fresh roses after a spring rain.

Soon, Johan and Zion entered behind her, blindfolded, standing guard as if to shield Charlotte from me, the prisoner behind bars.

Johan’s voice lashed at me.

“You vile woman. To avoid giving testimony, you cut out your own tongue?”

The sound of it made my head spin. The stench and fragrance alike vanished, and I was drawn into my past self’s body—just as I had been during the Mental Debuff.

“….”

…Wait, what was I just thinking about?

Blankly, I lifted my gaze to the Crown Prince.

Ah, yes.

I had been trying to understand why the royal guards suddenly stormed our manor. Why Father had done that terrible thing to my tongue. Why the guards had dragged me to this dungeon.

I couldn’t make sense of it.

But why was His Highness claiming I had cut out my own tongue?

That’s not what happened…

Yet, I did not shake my head. I could not.

Even the smallest glance or gesture was permitted only at Father’s command.

And Father had never rehearsed this situation with me.

If he had not instructed me beforehand, then there was only one thing I could do.

As always—wear that haughty, doll-like mask.

If I move on my own, I might be discarded again.

I didn’t want to be abandoned. If I obeyed, surely my family would come for me.

Father himself had promised. If I behaved, they would take me back.

“You pathetic thing. It’s only your tongue! Is enduring a little pain so hard? This is for your own good! I’m doing this to save you! How dare you not trust your own father? Do you still call yourself my daughter?”

Don’t be anxious. I simply can’t see the grand design Father has drawn. It’s nothing, really—I’m just worrying too much.

“Albrecht… do you feel even the slightest remorse?”

“….”

“If you believe you’ve done wrong, nod your head. If you do, I’ll at least try to spare you from the gallows.”