Chapter 8
When Odette turned to really leave, the Countess shouted in a flustered voice.
“What are you all doing?! Stop that wench right now! Make her kneel before me!”
But it seemed Rolf wasn’t the only one intimidated—none of the servants dared to move, even at the Countess’s outburst.
‘What on earth is going on?’
Was Odette always like this?
The noble grace she exuded was even more flawless than the Countess’s. She gave off an air that made it instinctively clear—she must not be touched.
“Ha! No one dares listen to me? Do you all want to be kicked out of this household? Have you forgotten how your colleagues were silenced three years ago? Grab that girl immediately! Rolf, you too!”
The Countess’s shrill scream shattered the atmosphere Odette had taken control of. Only then did Rolf hastily step forward to block her path.
‘I almost ended up escorting this brat out myself! …How dare she humiliate me?’
Consumed by rage, Rolf seized Odette’s arm tightly and pleaded to the Countess.
“Madam, the young lady needs a harsher punishment. Please, lock her in the underground prison. If you want to fix such unruly behavior, we need your wise and bold judgment!”
But the Countess looked reluctant. Ferdinand had asked her not to imprison Odette until after the Founding Festival.
Odette always developed a severe lung illness after being locked down there. And during the festival, they couldn’t be without the doll that would flatter the young master’s image.
‘But it’ll be fine. The young master would never get mad at Madam.’
Rolf grinned smugly with confidence. That was when it happened—those cool turquoise eyes turned to him.
‘What’s with those eyes?’
The gaze was chilling, as if it saw right through him. But before he could fully shiver, Odette’s eyes returned to a calm expression.
“Another method would be better, Rolf. Ferdinand wouldn’t like this.”
“Madam.”
“It’d be better to inject her with a few bottles of Mengelle instead. I’ll confiscate her new clothes, too.”
Click. Click. The Countess, approaching in her heels, violently grabbed a handful of Odette’s radiant platinum hair.
“Odette, aren’t you ashamed to face Ferdinand like this? You have a brother set to marry into the imperial family—you should behave more properly. Carrying yourself like this…”
Rolf clamped his mouth shut. He was overwhelmed by the Countess’s eyes, which were blazing with the will to crush any resistance.
“The imperial family? You really must have lost your mind. No one in the world would take a murderer who killed while high as their son-in-law.”
But Odette showed not the slightest hint of fear. She didn’t flinch at all from the Countess’s pressure.
Instead, it was the Countess who stiffened under Odette’s presence.
‘This can’t end half-baked.’
She had played along with this ridiculous performance, and it would be a waste if she didn’t end up in the underground prison.
‘Mother must be the one to lock me up.’
She needed to plant the seed of conflict between Ferdinand and the Countess.
“You dare insult my son?!”
“I’m just stating the truth. How is that an insult?”
In contrast to her mother’s rising screech, Odette’s voice grew lighter, almost singsong.
“This is why one shouldn’t raise a human brat.”
“Considering you gave birth to a beast, of course you shouldn’t be raising a human.”
Watching her mother clench her jaw so hard her chin jutted forward, Odette laughed mockingly.
“Oh my, what a terrible mistake I made. A beast is far too noble a title for Ferdinand. I think something more like a parasite suits him better.”
“…Lock this wench in the underground prison at once!”
At last, the Countess snapped and called the footmen.
Just then—
“Mother, what are you doing?”
A drunken young man’s voice echoed through the lobby.
Ferdinand was descending the stairs slowly, looking down at the scene with his snake-like brown eyes.
Odette’s face turned ghostly pale, like a wax figure. It was from disgust and hatred. Her arm trembled violently in the footman’s grip.
“She’s my toy—I should get to use her one last time before she dies, don’t you think?”
‘That bastard who bribed a guard to open the prison door. The one who dared try to humiliate me.’
As Odette’s arm shook, the Countess gave a satisfied smile, mistaking the trembling for fear of the underground prison.
“So now you understand your place. Do you finally realize how wrong you were?!”
Emboldened, the Countess raised her voice even louder.
“Take her to the dungeon immediately!”
“Hey, you! Let go of her right now. How dare you touch my toy without permission—”
“Don’t delay! Get her into the dungeon right away!”
Ferdinand’s interference was meaningless.
The footmen swiftly dragged Odette toward the prison. As she was pulled away, she clenched her fist so tightly that her palm bled.
‘I have to endure. Charging at that bastard now would be foolish.’
As she was taken out of the lobby, she heard Ferdinand screaming from behind.
“Mother! Did you just lock Odette in the dungeon on your own?!”
“Ferdinand, at least listen to your mother’s side. That girl—”
“Mother, why are you acting like this? Why are you using my toy without permission?!”
Ferdinand’s voice, rougher and louder than usual, grew fainter.
The honey water he kept in his room—switched in secret by Lize—had been laced with a truth serum. And now that serum had taken root, fueling the growing conflict between mother and son.
The Albrecht family had a long history of rebellions from branch lines and retainers. The underground prison was proof of that history—full of torture devices and white bones.
The stench of blood caked on the execution stand, the reek of mold in the damp air. Even the slightest movement stirred a cloud of dust.
‘I used to cry so much just because I was scared of this place.’
Trapped behind the bars, Odette reflected.
Spending the whole day in darkness among the bones used to make her feel like this was her tomb. So when she was released, she always became more obedient to her family.
‘What a joke. That so-called family was my real grave.’
After mocking her past self, Odette stood up. Dawn was near—it was time to act.
‘By now, the wounded Crown Prince should have returned to the palace.’
<The Crown Prince Rampage Incident>. That was today.
The day the Crown Prince, burdened by the trauma of war and signs of instability, suffered a breakdown.
In her past life, the incident caused irreversible hatred from the male leads. The fact that her regression occurred the day before that event—she couldn’t have been luckier.
Odette ran her hand along the iron spikes embedded in the prison bars and floor. After being pricked several times, she finally found it—the one spike made of a different material.
‘This is it.’
She pulled on the cone-shaped spike with force, and a key, coated in dust, popped out. It was the key to the secret passage.
An old Count, fearing rebellion, had hidden it there long ago in case his retainers ever imprisoned him.
Odette only knew this because she’d once hidden in the secret passage during a past life to escape the Transcendents.
‘I’ll need this again someday.’
Click. She opened the bars with the key and walked toward the execution stand. When she dragged it aside, a narrow passage was revealed—just big enough for a person to squeeze through.
With no hesitation, she stepped into the pitch-black, labyrinthine tunnel. The spiral staircase was designed to disorient, but for Odette—who had used it dozens of times in her past life—it was no obstacle.
Soon, she reached her destination.
The Albrecht family’s apothecary storage. The place where the highest-grade berserk suppression agents were kept.
The height of spring. The sweet, warm scent of roses filled the air.
After taking the berserk suppressant from storage, Odette exited through the gate closest to the palace and headed directly for her destination.
Thanks to a guard who recognized her at first glance and opened the gate, she quickly arrived at the palace garden.
<The Crown Prince Rampage Incident>. She had heard the court recount this day’s events so many times she was sick of it.
“Odette Rina von Albrecht. You refused the Crown Prince’s repeated purification requests.
You said you’d do it in exchange for diamond mines, so the royal family gave you twenty. Yet you never once showed up.
You even intimidated your father into withholding the temporary berserk suppressant he monopolized!
In the end, the Crown Prince had to sacrifice one of his own eyes!
Once a body part is severed during an impending berserk state, it can never regenerate!”
A rampage from an S-Class Transcendent was as good as a catastrophe.
Odette only learned in court that the military and the royal palace proxy had knelt to her father, begging him to allow purification—to prevent the Empire’s destruction.
Fortunately, no one died. But the berserk Crown Prince had to sacrifice his eye to stop himself.
Only in that trial did she learn of the horrible reputation she’d gained for things she never did.
‘I was such a fool. So careless, so unprepared.’
At that trial, Count Albrecht had given the performance of a lifetime.
“She was a sickly youngest daughter, and I spoiled her too much. Blame my poor parenting. Please punish me!”
Wearing a luxurious dress to the memorial, more extravagant than the emperor’s outfit at the birthday banquet—every cost was shamelessly billed to the imperial court.
He transferred ownership of the gifted diamond mines and fertile land, selling them dirt-cheap to another kingdom. With the money, he ran human trafficking, drug trade, and even demanded the enslavement of the Fenrir tribe—all blamed on Odette.
“Ugh… ughhhh…”
And to top it off, they claimed she wasn’t even a real S-Class purifier. Of course she was sentenced to hanging.
The emperor’s cold face. The noble jurors’ disdain. The helpless, terrified version of herself—mute, unable to say a word.
Shaking off the memories, Odette slowly walked toward the center of the rose garden.
Where a fountain carved with the World Tree stood in beauty.
“Count Albrecht’s… daughter? What brings you here?”
And there he was—exactly where she expected. Male Lead 1, Johann, collapsed on the ground.
His muscles torn so badly the bone showed from shoulder to hip, gasping, drenched in blood.
“Hah… Did His Majesty drag me here? Father’s being dramatic again…”
Despite the weak bravado, he was clearly in dire need of purification.
