Chapter 71
[ ‘The price of confirming Hatred Value: 24-hour Stamina/Mental Debuff’ — the conditions to nullify it have been met! ]
[ Would you like to remove the 24-hour Stamina/Mental Debuff? If removed, you will no longer need to pay a price when checking Hatred Value. (However, the limit of 2 checks remains.)
YES / NO ]
[ If you choose NO this time, permanently removing the price of Hatred Value will never again be possible. ]
The moment I saw that status window, I instinctively realized:
‘So the sudden shift in vision just now was because of this window.’
The conditions being fulfilled—those were connected to the flower bud I had just seen in the dream.
‘I don’t know how the conditions were met, but for now, let’s lift the 24-hour debuff.’
Even if it weren’t a once-in-a-lifetime chance, I would’ve done so. That 24-hour debuff had hindered my revenge far too much.
‘Lift it.’
The moment I thought while staring at the status window, the YES button flashed, and then another notification appeared.
[ Debuff removed! ]
[ Congratulations! You are now closer to ‘Completion of the Status Window’! ]
The once pure-white status window turned into a faint shade of pink.
“Haah.”
Sion stared at Johann, who was dancing the waltz, with a look of disbelief, then downed the drink in his hand in one gulp.
It was already his several-th round, but it wasn’t doing much. An Overlord’s liver instantly neutralized alcohol—if anything, his mind only became sharper.
Thanks to that, every useless noise around him rang all the clearer.
“The Crown Prince isn’t someone who dances. What on earth is going on? Truly, heaven and earth must have flipped upside down.”
“Really? To me it looks completely natural. Today, Lady Albrecht is beautiful enough that no man would seem strange asking her for a dance.”
“Well… when you put it like that, I guess you’re right. I’d better hurry and find out who designed that dress.”
There wasn’t a word in that conversation he could argue with—and that only grated on his nerves more.
Yes, Johann dancing was a world-shaking event. Yes, Odette did look particularly stunning today.
Sion, uncharacteristically, crunched the ice between his teeth. He was in a foul mood. So foul, he could hardly stand it.
‘What the hell is he doing, letting himself be completely swept up by a woman, when he’s the Crown Prince?’
To the eyes of ordinary people, that waltz might look graceful enough. But to Sion, with his sharper-than-most senses, the flaws were glaringly clear.
Johann’s hand was anything but steady.
He was overly tense. That idiotically large man was forcing himself to dance tiny steps, and it looked utterly ridiculous.
‘Come to think of it, wasn’t that woman supposed to be Johann’s first love or something?’
Ever since awakening at age four, the idiot had spent fourteen years romanticizing his meeting with a Purifier.
Even if she was the first Purifier to appear in decades, the Empire’s reward for Odette had been excessive.
And at the heart of that excess was Johann’s stupid devotion.
Even her absurdly high “dignity allowance” was only a thing because Johann had insisted on giving her what was supposed to be his own allowance.
After all, there was no such thing as a “dignity allowance” for Purifiers in the first place. For Purifiers, as long as they were properly compensated for purification work, that was the end of it. The Imperial Family wouldn’t normally pamper them beyond that.
And look at him now—afraid she might be uncomfortable, he couldn’t even extend his arm properly. Shrinking back, too afraid to apply any strength.
‘Anyone watching would think she was made of spun sugar.’
If the lead partner is too terrified of breaking the other, how could a proper waltz ever come out of it?
‘He spent fourteen years dreaming of dancing with a Purifier… and this is the result? If young Johann knew the dance he longed for would look this pathetic, how devastated would he be?’
At least the boy had been blessed with a good face.
The only reason the dance was tolerable to watch was because their faces were absurdly beautiful.
An impossibly handsome man and woman, like a painting. A living masterpiece—
‘Damn it.’
Sion couldn’t keep sneering any longer. His insides were boiling.
‘Well, how could Johann not be swept up? By that witch of a woman.’
Just remembering the time he’d followed Odette and seen her crying was enough. He’d never forget it.
That unyielding mental strength that not even an S-rank mind control ability could overcome. That fury, that defiance, that blazing pride.
Her turquoise eyes had seemed like flames that would swallow him whole. His entire body had tingled.
At that moment, Sion had realized: I desire this woman. I want to possess her. And I’d do anything for that.
‘Should I lock her away? Pretend she’s dead? The Claißt Marquisate has plenty of secret spaces. If I want to own her—’
The only reason he hadn’t carried out that thought was because, after her brainwashing had ended, she had… cried.
That crying—he’d never seen anything like it. Holding it in until her body shook, holding it in, then at last breaking down.
The tears streaming from her small face had felt like a waterfall.
She hadn’t even been able to distort her face as she wept. She looked like someone who didn’t even know how to sob aloud. And in the end, Sion could do nothing but clumsily leave, unable to comfort her.
Since then, every time he slept, he dreamed of returning to that street.
And in those dreams, this time, he didn’t panic at her tears. He willingly locked her away. If he thought of her crying as nothing but a wound he himself had left, then he was glad for it.
And then, base and filthy, he indulged himself in her. To a degree of degradation nothing else in the world could match.
‘So I can’t really blame Johann for being swept up. If anything, I should blame the witch who ensnares people.’
If even he—called a fiend—was pulled in that far, how much more so the upright Crown Prince?
So this agitation he felt was nothing more than desire. The urge to take, to break with his own hands, to leave behind his mark.
The same vulgar, filthy feeling his father had for his mother.
‘The Crown Prince doesn’t have it in him to possess a person. At best, he’s just some boy pining in unrequited love.’
So he would never actually take Odette away from Sion. Being wary of it was laughable.
To soothe the fire in his gut, Sion snatched another glass of alcohol from a passing servant.
And that was when it happened—when a heavy fragrance of peach blossoms suddenly wafted through the air.
Sion had smelled this scent once before. His body reacted instantly, eyes darting toward the woman.
“……You… that fragrance… suddenly….”
He wasn’t the only one to notice. Johann’s face had flushed bright red as well.
And no wonder. The scent was maddeningly alluring. So sweet that goosebumps rippled across his whole body.
Of all things, his ability’s symbolic beast was a dog. And now, like some hellhound wagging its tail in delight—
And then it happened. The woman swayed unsteadily, as if dizzy.
At the same time, the peach blossom fragrance surged to unbearable strength. Like a giant water balloon bursting, flooding the entire ballroom.
‘What the—?’
Sion instinctively moved to her side, grabbing her shoulder. At the same time, Johann reached to support her by the waist.
They’d acted in unison, but Johann glared at him in suspicion. Sion ignored him.
“You—what’s wrong? What’s happening to you?”
“I… I just need a bit of fresh air. I’ll step out to the terrace, so please don’t follow me.”
With a firm tone, she turned and left for the terrace. Johann, bewitched, moved to follow her, but Sion stepped in his way.
‘Nothing good ever came of chasing after that woman.’
“Your Highness, there’s something I need to report.”
“Claißt. Later.”
“It concerns Odette. Just now, Your Highness made a very foolish move, and we’ll need to handle the fallout together.”
Of course, it wasn’t that Sion didn’t want Johann going after her. Certainly not that he couldn’t stand to see them clinging together any longer.
“What?”
“With this much attention, word will inevitably reach the Count. You know well enough what her situation is in the Count’s household, don’t you?”
In that instant, Johann’s face paled.
“Damn.”
Sion intended to cut off every possible route the rumors could take toward the Count. A bit of intimidation and pressure would be enough.
And the thought that he was covering Johann without him even realizing it left him oddly satisfied, bringing a smile to his lips.
“I forgot. I was just so glad Odette accepted my request for a dance.”
But the moment Sion heard those words, his smile vanished in an instant.
Normally Johann’s instincts were sharp, but this time he failed to notice how Sion’s expression had chilled all at once.
“……What the hell? That fragrance—it’s completely gone.”
The scent that had seemed ready to fill the whole hall had disappeared in a flash. As if someone had forcibly gathered it all away.
