Chapter 53
Karl, dragged off by the Count, was locked up in the underground prison of the annex.
On his back, a freshly branded slave mark—made that very morning—stood out.
It had been Zion who insisted on branding him again, right over the scars from the first slave branding Karl had already received.
“Tsk, tsk. I really don’t want to give these injections. But since my daughter insists, I have no choice.”
The Count fastened multiple restraints onto Karl, wearing a mockingly sorrowful expression—but unable to hide the hint of excitement tugging at the corners of his mouth.
“You know, don’t you? Your master is Odette. And she’s the one ordering me to do this.”
The Count began mixing brainwashing drugs and poisons in a haphazard concoction.
Then he prepared a syringe to inject the mixture.
“There. Done. I’m such a good person—why is my daughter so cruel?”
With a smirk, the Count jabbed the needle into Karl’s arm. Just as he was about to press down the plunger—
“M-Master! There’s a problem! The lab’s on fire! The Third Laboratory!”
“What?”
The Count’s face drained of color. He hastily withdrew his hand from the syringe.
“That place has my most valuable ingredients! It’s full of rare herbs!”
Shouting in panic, the Count rushed off without a single glance at Karl.
The sounds of the Count’s voice, along with the hurried footsteps of maids, servants, and guards following him, faded into the distance.
Silence fell over the prison.
Without a trace of emotion, Karl pulled the syringe from his arm. His face showed neither relief nor fear.
After some time—
Click… click…
Footsteps echoed down the prison stairs. A woman’s steps.
“Hello. Have you been well?”
Odette approached with unhurried grace, a basket in hand, smiling at Karl.
The faint candlelight brought a glow into the pitch-black underground. Even in such dim light, Karl found her dazzling.
“You’ve gotten even more handsome since last time.”
At last, a flicker of interest stirred in Karl’s crimson eyes.
The annex—
A two-story building with a large garden, unusual for its size.
Its underground prison had the best soundproofing money could buy. The Count had personally ordered renovations to better torture Karl.
Well… that’s actually a blessing for me now, I thought, closing the iron door behind me.
It meant I could speak freely here without fear of anyone overhearing.
“I’ve missed you, Karl.”
He turned toward me, chains jangling—wearing both Zion’s magical restraints and the Count’s own.
I slid the key I’d taken from the prison door into the barred cell’s lock.
As expected, it clicked open.
The annex and the main mansion shared the same key system.
“Come on, give me your arms. And your legs.”
One by one, I touched the magical restraints binding him. They glowed white before releasing.
I couldn’t undo one of the Count’s mechanical shackles on his limbs, but…
After removing the gag from his mouth, Karl could finally speak.
“Master.”
The Count wouldn’t be returning for a while. The Third Laboratory would burn for at least a week.
I intended to keep Karl unbound during that time—as long as the Count didn’t find out.
“You’ll have to stay in the prison for now, but don’t take it to heart. It’s just temporary.”
“This place is fine, Master.”
His tone was calm. No wonder—this cell was far better than the main mansion’s underground prison, probably because the Count himself planned to spend time here.
Aside from the bars and the fact Karl was still chained to the wall, the place was neat—almost reminiscent of a spacious, spartan temple chamber.
Once I get Karl out of the Count’s grasp, he won’t have to see a place like this again.
I took items out of the basket.
“Your restraints have left a lot of cuts. Hold still, I’ll apply some ointment.”
“That’s not necessary, Master.”
“If you let me apply it, I’ll give you the letters from the children.”
That did it—Karl quietly held out his arm.
See? It was worth keeping the children close to me.
Applying ointment to a slave’s brand was also one of those “fixed favorability events.”
Even though I couldn’t see his stats, I was sure his favorability had just gone up by about five points.
As promised, I handed him the letters. By the time he turned to the last page, a bright red system window appeared before me—
[Hostility has decreased. (-5)]
Of course. The letters were filled with peaceful, happy stories that could make anyone smile—about the children’s first taste of new foods, their fine clothes and daily necessities, their safe and warm home.
Knowing the current hostility level really is the best.
It had jumped up by forty when I extorted his oath mark, so I needed to bring it down by the same amount just to get back to zero.
If only I could meet that “unfulfilled condition”…
I’d had Malea strip the Count’s study of every relevant book, but found no useful clues.
Karl finished reading and said—
“Thank you, Master.”
Of course. If you knew how much I had Gisella spoil them, you’d faint from the gold it cost.
“I’ve sent people to Tundra as well, so we should see results soon. I’ll tell you everything as soon as I hear back.”
[Hostility has decreased. (-10)]
I looked at the red window with satisfaction.
“I can do anything for you, Karl. That’s what love is, after all. So if you ever need something, just say the word.”
I began taking food from the basket.
“Do you like the bread?”
“Yes, Master.”
The Count’s chains bound Karl’s wrists, ankles, and neck to the wall.
That paranoid man must have had separate keys made for these.
The chains were short enough that Karl couldn’t feed himself, so I tore the bread into pieces and fed them to him by hand.
“Drink some milk too.”
I tilted a glass bottle to his lips.
Gulp.
A few drops trickled down his chin. Lacking a cloth, I wiped them away with my finger. He stared at me as if gauging me.
I froze for a moment under his gaze, then slipped the last bite of bread into his mouth.
“It’s already evening. I need to go—I have something to finish before midnight.”
Just then, clank—he grabbed my wrist.
“When will you return?”
I paused at the uncharacteristic show of emotion.
A few days ago, I might have thought this was thanks to preventing the “Fenril Containment Incident.”
Back then, I’d believed that event had turned Karl into a machine—and that erasing it had restored some humanity.
But Zion’s intel told a different story—
“I’ll be back soon. I don’t leave my possessions unattended for long.”
I ruffled his hair affectionately, even as my mind replayed the report—
“Karl: Known as the expressionless crown prince. Even the Fenril children in the Containment Zone found him unsettling.”
Gisella had said the same—Ruka and Lala were excessively afraid of him.
So he was always like this. Which makes it strange—why is he showing emotion only to me?
Still, I smiled and stroked his cheek.
“Besides, you’re my most precious possession. I’ll never leave you alone for long.”
“Master.”
“Until I return, think about your next wish.”
I swept my hand lightly through his hair.
“For now, get some rest. You haven’t slept well since leaving Tundra.”
The grip on my wrist loosened as I stroked his head. The sedative—swapped into the syringe in place of poison—was beginning to take effect.
Damian had replaced all the Count’s brainwashing drugs and toxins with in-game sedatives and health potions—both as a safeguard and to keep Karl from doing anything rash while I slept.
“But when I sleep… bad things happen.”
I paused at his slow, drowsy voice.
“I was always too late… and ruined everything.”
It hit me—Karl was only seventeen.
Zion’s report had mentioned it: the tragedy of Fenril Kingdom struck while Karl was away.
And the disaster at the Containment Zone happened while he was in the capital.
Each time he left, catastrophe struck his people—it was no wonder he’d developed an obsession.
How heavy must that have been for a seventeen-year-old? His insomnia was almost inevitable.
“If I’d just been a little faster—”
“Nothing happened because you were late, Karl. Sometimes terrible things happen to innocent people for no reason at all.”
“…”
“You couldn’t have been faster. You always did your best.”
“Then why… why do I feel this despair?”
“Because people feel guilt not only for their mistakes, but when someone they love deeply is harmed.”
“…”
“You did nothing wrong. Your despair comes from how much you loved those you lost.”
My soothing voice made his eyes grow heavy.
“So don’t dream—just sleep deeply. Nothing bad will happen.”
Soon, his breathing became steady. I laid him down comfortably, smiling faintly.
I think I know why he shows emotion only to me.
Once the crown prince, now the eldest of the Fenril clan, Karl had never had the chance to be spoiled. His emotions had simply withered.
And here I am—older, and his master. Maybe that’s why they’ve surfaced.
I felt a little bad for suspecting him of manipulation.
“Sleep well, Karl.”
This, at least, was my whole-hearted truth. Maybe the only truth I’d ever shown him.
“The fire isn’t under control, so Fernand and I won’t be able to return for at least two weeks.”
At dawn two days later, the servant who’d gone with the Count returned to the estate, bringing this news.
The Count and Fernand had been away for extended periods before, always sending word of how long they’d be gone.
It was nothing unusual—so I never imagined the butterfly effect this absence would cause.
I couldn’t have known how long the Countess had been waiting to hear that her husband and son would be gone.
As soon as she heard, she left her room.
“Drag Mrs. Becker out of her chambers immediately!”
At her order, Rolf and Paula stormed into Mrs. Becker’s room in the early morning and dragged the sleeping woman out.
