Chapter 85
The scene matched exactly with the coachman’s testimony.
“That girl… no, is she even alive?”
The Count reflexively called Odette “that girl,” but quickly corrected himself when he noticed the questioning look on the servant’s face.
There were many eyes watching here.
“Odette! Odette!”
Fernand ran up and patted Odette on the back.
Cough, cough!
When Odette spat out water, Fernand let out a sigh of relief and then lifted her up.
The Count was, at least for the moment, relieved that Odette was alive.
“Fernand, take Odette to my office. And Rolf! You go fetch Paula immediately!”
The Count, focused on Odette, did not notice that someone sitting atop the high walls of the Count’s estate was watching him grind his teeth while holding a gun.
“She doesn’t look like she cares for the child at all.”
Karl, who hadn’t left yet, murmured in a blunt voice. He had been delayed climbing over the wall while restraining the hunting dogs trying to pounce on Odette.
It would be problematic if the woman he intended to use for revenge against the Empire died first.
“I still have to kill Count Albrecht anyway. Would it be better to do it in advance?”
He was both an enemy of the Fenrir clan and a member of the Count family; eliminating him early would remove the inhibitor delaying the chaos.
Karl’s eyes gleamed with lethal intent as he flexed the bones in his hands.
“Go now. If you complete this order well, I’ll grant you one more wish.”
That’s strange. Becoming that woman’s servant was just a means to avenge the Empire, so I don’t really need to obey her orders.
Even though Fenrir always came first in his mind, the woman’s voice made Karl’s hands relax.
Right. I can kill the Count anytime anyway.
Thinking this, Karl turned to leap off the wall—but then he paused and glanced back at Odette.
Karl had once looked back at a woman in this way. Before the fall of the Fenrir Kingdom, in the palace gardens.
A woman sitting beneath the bright blue sky, as if buried in lace, placing a bird of the same color as him on her finger, cautiously trying to whistle.
Karl had never looked back even on the battlefield, but for the first time, he had done so in that moment.
In his life, it was the only time he had ever looked back at something solely because he wanted to see it again.
The memory of that scene was strangely etched into his heart, resurfacing unexpectedly at times—like now.
And once again, it was her. That woman.
“…”
A subtle ripple stirred in his heart. He wondered what it was, but there was no time to dwell. Following orders was paramount.
The ripple was trivial; Karl left the wall without a trace of hesitation.
Behind him, the Count’s sharp voice rang out.
“Grab Paula and bring her to my office. Alive or not, it doesn’t matter. Beat her if you have to!”
Whack!
Head maid Dolly slapped my cheek to wake me. I slowly opened my eyes.
“Huh? Where am I…?”
“Wake up, miss!”
To be precise, I only pretended to be waking up and looking around the office. I had been conscious the entire time since pretending to collapse by the pond.
That’s why, in the hallway before entering this office, I could exchange glances with Rize, who had been secretly waiting there.
Rize signaled that everything had gone well.
The basement key was safely hidden on that woman’s body. And she gathered the maids and reported everything about Paula accurately to the Count.
“…Are you awake?”
“Yes… Father.”
“Then kneel on the floor.”
As I rose from the sofa and knelt, my father kept his gaze fixed on the documents atop the office desk.
Those documents would contain the coachman’s testimony and the maids’ statements.
Paula grumbled constantly in front of the maids about Karl arriving.
Paula’s complaints weren’t entirely unreasonable. With the Count’s finances worsening and even the staff’s salaries being cut, it was natural to resent the Count for causing unnecessary trouble.
But Paula is the only one bold enough to openly talk back to a noble.
She was that arrogant. Surely, she didn’t hold back her complaints for the sake of her peers’ feelings.
The surrounding maids, acting like emotional trash cans, would have endlessly absorbed her grumbling.
All Rize had done was gather the maids who disliked Paula and subtly encouraged them to truthfully testify exactly what Paula had said.
“You ignorant girl—”
The Count looked up from the documents and paused when he saw me. My appearance in the light was clearly that of a critical patient.
“Really… what a mess you are.”
My white dress was soaked in blood. After being submerged in the pond, the blood had spread, making my appearance grotesque.
Even someone with a twisted personality would flinch at this.
Normally, the Count would have stomped on my hand with his boot. He always took out his anger on me when annoyed.
But seeing my state, he only sighed.
“Odette, tell me everything you know about what happened today, in full detail.”
“Father.”
“If you leave out a single thing, you’ll be beaten severely and thrown into the underground prison.”
Saying that, the Count casually gripped the hunting rifle on the desk. If I disobeyed, he would likely use the butt on me.
But right now, I am not his target.
He was angry because Karl had disappeared. And he was certain Paula was behind it.
He’s trying to intimidate me to ensure Paula testifies exactly what she did to Karl.
I needed to perfect the story before Paula gave her statement.
“Can’t you tell me right now?!”
“I don’t know what’s going on, Father.”
I shook my head with a frail voice, pretending to know nothing.
“I lost consciousness on the carriage while traveling with Paula because of a sudden scent inside the carriage… When I came to, Paula was beating me by the pond.”
“And then?”
“After hitting me, she pushed me into the water, telling me to die. I tried to resist, but my limbs had no strength.”
“…Continue.”
“I flailed, but water entered my nose and mouth… I couldn’t breathe. No matter how much I screamed for help, Paula ignored me and ran to the entrance of the annex’s underground prison. I thought I was going to die, but when I came to, I was in the office… That’s all I know, Father.”
“Is that all? Did Paula say nothing else?”
I hesitated briefly.
“…Just before losing consciousness, I think I heard her say that now that Odette is dead, all that remains is to get rid of Karl from the mansion.”
Fernand, standing silently nearby, muttered under his breath.
“Damn that girl…”
“I really don’t remember anything after that. I’m sorry, Father.”
Fernand added, “Karl seems to have left the mansion by climbing over the wall. There were dead hunting dogs and footprints nearby. But the trail suddenly ended as soon as he crossed the wall.”
“Damn it.”
The Count swore and slammed his fist on the desk. At that moment, a servant knocked and reported.
“Master! We found the sleeping scent mentioned by the coach on the carriage.”
Now both Father and Fernand had no choice but to believe my statement. My testimony, combined with the coachman’s and the maids’, fit together perfectly.
