Chapter 102
“I don’t understand what you mean by asking me to confess something, Father.”
“Do you think I’ll let this matter slide? You gained far too much from the hunting tournament. Are you going to claim it was all a coincidence?”
“What do you mean by ‘gained’?”
“Carl became yours, and you won this summer’s hunting tournament, didn’t you?!”
Winning the Athena Island Hunting Tournament meant becoming the open object of the Empire’s admiration.
This mustn’t happen. This girl must be hated as a dreadful villainess! Only then, if it’s later revealed that she’s a fake purifier, she alone can take the blame.
The Count had no evidence, yet he instinctively felt that Odette had done something. That was why he was pressing her.
“Can’t you confess every detail of what you’ve done?!”
“Father, please. Tell me. Did I even have the means to commit any misdeed? I have never acted alone without Mrs. Becker or Dolly watching me.”
And that was the problem. Odette hadn’t even had time to scheme.
I asked Dolly and Mrs. Becker, but there was never a single lapse in their watch. Odette never acted alone.
Even when she rested in her room.
If it was prearranged in the mansion beforehand? …No, that’s even more impossible.
At the Count’s residence, Odette faced even stricter constraints.
Recently, Odette had barely left her room or the mansion. Mrs. Becker vouched for this—it was a confirmed fact.
“Father, think about it. I had neither the method nor the opportunity to disobey you.”
Yet the Count was suspicious of Odette. The submissive look had vanished from her eyes.
He had trained her well so that even when she expected punishment, she would cling to her parents.
Her upright posture while silently enduring punishment almost looks like defiance.
Even on the stone floor of the prayer room, so cold it felt like torture after kneeling for a short while, she had endured for two hours straight.
“Odette. If you lie to me even once in this prayer room, I will immediately disown you.”
For once, the Count was not bluffing—this warning was serious.
He sensed that Odette had something. He couldn’t afford to miss it.
“Do as you wish, Father. Even if you disown me, I have neither shame nor fear.”
Odette stared at him with unwavering eyes.
The Count groaned softly. There truly was not a trace of fear in her gaze.
Then is all of this really just a coincidence? That this cursed magic device is on my arm, and Carl was taken by Odette?
At that moment, Fernand, standing guard at the library entrance, spoke.
“Father, it’s already been two hours. Can we stop now? My friends are waiting for me.”
His tone was tinged with impatience. It sounded like he was desperate for a drink.
The Count, already on edge, snapped.
“Shut up, you foolish boy! Don’t you understand the situation? If Odette did this, I could lose my arm, and all you think about is drinking?”
Fernand closed his mouth and returned to his post at the library. His heavy footsteps—thump, thump—revealed his displeasure with his father.
But the Count had no intention of comforting his useless son.
“So Carl suddenly became desperate to offer loyalty and the laurel to you?”
“How could I have persuaded Carl in any way? I don’t even know why he acted that way.”
“Then why did you accept the Emperor’s grant so naturally? Why did you accept Carl’s laurel as if it were your due?”
“The Emperor coveted Carl, didn’t he? If I had refused, you would have been in trouble when Carl was taken away by the Emperor.”
She wasn’t wrong. Compared to the Emperor holding Carl, Odette having him at least allowed some control.
If this had been the old Odette, he would have believed it. The girl who once hungered for love and recognition like a beggar.
But there was no sign of submissiveness in her now, so she couldn’t have acted with such intentions—
At that moment.
“Father, I only did my best to make choices I thought you would favor… I didn’t expect you to be so angry.”
Odette had carefully gauged his expression, as always. Instantly, the tense atmosphere between her and the Count softened.
“I chose what I thought would earn your love… Everything I have is yours anyway. Carl is yours too, Father.”
Her voice was gentle and submissive, as always.
The Count was briefly confused by the sudden transformation. What? The rebellious girl from moments ago—why…?
Was I mistaken in thinking she was defiant because I was tired? I’ve been seasick for days, and running around in the hunting tournament…
Her drastic change in demeanor was so extreme that the Count doubted his own senses.
“Remain kneeling!”
Hoping the cold air would restore his composure, the Count left the prayer room.
If there had been even a momentary lapse in Odette’s watch, I’d be sure this was her doing. But there’s no lapse…
At that moment, Fernand called out to the Count.
“Father, the palace apothecary came looking for you.”
“What is it?”
“He is treating Carl’s injuries under the Emperor’s orders and found a high dose of brainwashing drugs in Carl’s blood. He came to ask if Lady Odette or you know anything about this.”
…Brainwashing drugs? Of course, they had been injected.
“Send the apothecary in.”
The apothecary bowed and entered. He summarized:
“Carl has an excessive amount of brainwashing drugs remaining. With this high a dose, there must be some abnormality in the brain. Bound by the commands given with the injection, he would blindly obey them as if compelled by obsession. If any of the commands could be dangerous, please let me know.”
Hearing this, the Count recalled.
Of course. His master is Odette, and she was the one who gave these instructions.
He vaguely remembered saying, ‘Your master is Odette,’ once while administering the drug.
The Count frowned.
Even casually saying ‘Odette is your master’ can bind him like this?
He knew brainwashing drugs required at least a month of consistent dosing with repeated commands for full effect.
Yet the palace apothecary firmly said “without fail, absolutely.”
…Only a master of pharmacology could know this, so he must be right.
He wanted to ask if a single dose could have an effect, but such a question would be tantamount to confessing.
“Oh my, it seems Odette has done something terrible to Carl. Can I request a covert treatment for the brainwashing?”
So the Count smiled politely and spoke to the apothecary. But as soon as the apothecary left for the infirmary, his expression darkened.
Damn. Did I foolishly mutter unnecessary words back then?
He had indeed given Carl more than the prescribed dose—generous, actually, about three times.
Being of the Fenril lineage, a larger dose was likely necessary for any effect.
So just because of that small ‘mistake,’ Carl became obsessively loyal to Odette?
His instincts screamed that wasn’t the full explanation, but at least it fit the circumstances.
The Count furrowed his brow and retraced his memories, reviewing everything from the day Carl arrived at the Count’s mansion through the ball to today.
Recalling reports from Mrs. Becker, Paula, and Dolly, he could only conclude:
There’s no opportunity for Odette to have schemed.
Still uneasy, the Count considered an extreme hypothetical as a final check.
What if Vanessa or Dolly has colluded with Odette? If I interrogate them, perhaps the answer will emerge—
At that moment, Fernand outside the side gate exclaimed loudly in surprise:
“Your Highness, Crown Prince! What’s going on here?”
