Prologue
If you asked who the most beautiful woman in Barceha was, every citizen of the Empire would unanimously say Odette.
And if you asked who the most wicked woman was, they would also say Odette.
Despite enjoying every privilege as the Empire’s sole Purifier, she never once purified a Transcendent—Odette Rina von Albrecht.
They said she was the Empire’s greatest villainess.
Pale skin so translucent it seemed her veins might show. Eyes the color of the summer sea. Flowing platinum blonde hair tinged with lemon.
A beautiful woman in a silk nightgown laced with frills gazed lifelessly out the window.
The more the glorious sunset painted the sky crimson, the more despair Odette felt.
“…It’s okay. I endured it yesterday too.”
The most dazzling flower of high society. The Empire’s greatest villainess. Yet her quiet muttering was so pitiful it was almost laughable compared to her reputation.
She had to struggle even to whisper those words to herself to suppress her fear.
Because soon, her father would come upstairs to give her an injection.
“It’s nothing hard.”
She pretended to be calm, tried to deceive herself—but it was no use.
Her arms and legs were already trembling at the memory of Mengelre’s pain.
The green liquid that mimicked a Purifier’s scent was like a hornet.
When injected, her entire body would swell as if stung by a venomous wasp, and she’d be driven mad by the unbearable itch.
How many endless nights had she begged to die, just to escape the torment? Mengelre’s pain never became familiar—it only grew worse with time.
“Don’t tremble… Please.”
But she had no choice but to endure.
Then—thud, thud. The sound of her father’s footsteps came up the stairs.
Odette wrapped her thin arms around her shoulders. Fortunately, her trembling had subsided by the time the door was flung open.
Bang!
Without a knock or a word, Count Albrecht entered, his expression filled with displeasure.
“…You’re here, Father?”
Odette stood and bowed deeply toward him—not like a daughter, but like a lowly maid.
“Be silent. I’m not in the mood to accept greetings from something so insignificant today.”
He snapped at her, then gave a signal to the butler standing behind him.
The butler stepped forward and rolled up Odette’s sleeve.
“There’s not a single thing about you I’m satisfied with. Aren’t you ashamed to face your brother?”
With those words, the Count stabbed a long syringe into her arm.
The sudden, forceful motion made her delicate arm twitch in pain.
Drip. Drip. The green liquid slowly oozed into her veins, thick like syrup.
Her milk-white skin swelled bright red, and she bit her lip, gasping for breath.
‘It hurts more than usual.’
“Hngh…”
A stifled groan escaped her lips, and the Count furrowed his brow.
“Feigning weakness again! Such dreadful habits.”
‘Something’s wrong. This pain… it’s not like before…’
Her father’s voice began to fade.
She’d been injected with this drug every day for three years, but today, her reaction was different.
Heat surged to her head. Her limbs felt like they were shattering. Her lower abdomen boiled, then froze. Cold sweat drenched her body.
Odette’s consciousness began to slip away. Her rough, gasping breaths grew quieter, until finally, with a soft thud—she collapsed, unconscious.
The Count looked down at her with disgust and muttered,
“Tch. You can’t hide filthy blood, can you?”
He was about to order the butler to drag her away when—
“Cough—!”
Odette, who had been still as death, suddenly came back to life, choking violently and spitting blood.
“Cough, cough—!”
She vomited blood for a long while, then steadied her breath and slowly raised her head. When her eyes met the Count’s, he instinctively recoiled.
Her usual timid turquoise eyes were now raging with indescribable emotions.
As if she had become someone else entirely.
