Chapter 29
That proud and arrogant woman collapsed to her knees without hesitation on the filthy rooftop floor.
“Thank you for saving me, Colonel König.”
“……?”
‘What… was that?’
Victor looked down in confusion at the woman kneeling on the ground with her head bowed.
‘Did I lose my mind? Or am I dreaming while standing?’
There was no other way to explain what he was seeing.
No noble had ever thanked Victor like this. Not even when he saved their lives from a disaster.
No matter how powerful an S-rank transcendent might be, a commoner was still a commoner. To them, bowing their heads to someone from the underworld, whose origins were unknown, was unthinkable.
Even the most “humble” noble wouldn’t go that far. So what about Lady Albrecht?
‘Am I the crazy one? Or is she insane?’
Bleeding from her injured arm and shoulder, Lady Albrecht was kneeling with her forehead to the ground.
Victor let out a stunned laugh at the sight—something he had never even imagined.
“Babe, did you maybe hit your head really hard?”
“…Pardon?”
“Must’ve hit it hard enough to turn into an idiot.”
His tone was light, but Victor was seriously considering the possibility.
“No. Thanks to you saving me, my head’s perfectly fine.”
‘What is going on?’
He had sent Odette a lot of letters—and received a few in return.
Coming from a rough background, Victor had met all kinds of people. He could judge someone’s character from just a few lines of text.
And he had read her personality in those letters.
“Babe. I guess you were so shocked you forgot, but I’m a commoner from the slums. A greeting like this is a breach of etiquette.”
Arrogant. Conceited. Self-absorbed and selfish. A person who would gladly exploit others while believing herself the center of the world.
“You shouldn’t bow your noble head like this. Aren’t you embarrassed, being a noble and all?”
“You saved my life. What’s status in the face of that? More importantly…”
“…”
“You save people from disasters, Colonel. You do the noblest work in the world—what’s so humiliating about that?”
“…”
“What does a noble’s status mean in the face of life?”
Her shoulders trembled, possibly from the shock of the raid. Her voice was stiff, evidence of her tension.
Yet her words were sincere.
“Truly, thank you. Because of you, I survived.”
Her bruised forehead pressed against the ground, her slender shoulders quivering faintly.
Everything about this scene contradicted Victor’s expectations—except for the frustrating fact that she still managed to look graceful, even in such a humiliating pose.
‘…What is this…?’
He felt his intense hatred deflate like a balloon.
‘Was all my burning hatred up to now pointless?’
He had planned to torment her thoroughly now that they’d finally met. But she was so different from what he imagined, he no longer had the heart for it.
‘And what is this smell?’
A faint, sweet scent lingered around her. Like a fleeting trace of spring, stirring something in him.
The more he smelled it, the more the pain in his body seemed to ease, however slightly. The fact that this woman—whom he’d hated—was unsettling him, filled Victor with humiliation.
‘Why does everything about this woman get on my nerves? Her actions, her scent—everything.’
This wasn’t just unexpected. It was like being hit over the head. A jarring first encounter.
Her body was starting to tremble—not from what just happened, but because of the number in front of her eyes.
[ Hatred Level: 90 ]
Just like in the game, after the first time using it, the necklace no longer needed to be physically opened.
‘Check hatred level.’
Just thinking the command in her mind was enough. Thankfully, she was already bowing, so she could hide her expression—her teeth gritted in frustration.
She had already resigned herself to enduring the mental debuff. With her stamina debuff, she wouldn’t be able to move for 24 hours anyway.
‘…But 90? Seriously?’
At 100, the system marked it as “unbearable murderous intent.” And he was already that close?
Every time she heard that damn soft voice after seeing the hatred level, her stomach churned.
‘I feel like I’m going to puke from fear.’
Damn Victor. How could he speak in that grossly gentle tone with a hatred level of 90?
“Babe, lift your head for a second.”
I barely managed to look up and meet his gaze. His stare was oddly persistent.
The only small mercy was that he seemed less angry than before I knelt down.
‘…Thank God. Dropping to the ground must’ve been the right call.’
Maybe he was simply shocked, but it also helped that I wasn’t acting like a noble.
To Victor—who had once been kidnapped by a twisted noblewoman at age 15—nobles must be revolting.
‘Even in the <Victor Route>, Charlotte lost favor every time she acted like a noble.’
That’s why he never got along with Zion, who was noble to the bone.
Then, just as our eyes met, Victor smiled slyly.
His pale green eyes sparkled like peridots under sunlight.
“You look better kneeling like that.”
‘…Excuse me?’
“I was angry when you refused to purify me, but now that I’ve met you, I think it’s for the best. Just seeing you is unpleasant—imagine having to touch you. That’d be a nightmare.”
What? Why is this jerk acting like this?
That twisted smirk of his made me shrink. That smooth-talking flirt only ever wore that face in two specific situations—
Either when he could barely restrain the urge to kill…
‘…Or when he’s in denial about falling for Charlotte.’
But no way is he falling for me. So by process of elimination, he’s dying to kill me.
“I understand. I’ll make sure never to purify you, Colonel.”
I answered with utmost sincerity and care, every word enunciated clearly.
And yet, his lips twisted even further. And just as I feared, the necklace vibrated lightly, displaying a new message:
[ Hatred +5 ]
[ Hatred Level: 95 ]
‘Why?! I said exactly what he wanted to hear!’
Did he think I was lying? Maybe the version of me he knows would lie easily?
I bit my lip.
‘In this game, once hatred hits 100, there’s no going back!’
In line with the grim tone of the genre, once the hatred level reached 100, it could go higher—but never decrease.
And now, only five points away.
And the guy was glaring at me so hard it felt like lasers might shoot from his eyes.
I racked my brain for any memory from the <Victor Route>. What options had increased Charlotte’s favorability?
[ Grab Victor’s sleeve and tilt your head cutely ]
[ Offer your hand for a kiss like a noble lady ]
Was I insane?! Those would push the level to 100 instantly.
‘Why are these the only choices I remember?!’
“It’s not a lie. I really won’t purify you. If you’re still unsure, I’ll even swear to God—”
But at that, his brow furrowed deeper.
[ Hatred +2 ]
[ Hatred Level: 97 ]
[ ※ WARNING! Once Hatred reaches 100, it will no longer decrease. ]
And then it happened.
BOOM! A firework exploded behind me, lighting up the night sky for the first evening of the Founding Festival.
At that exact moment, Victor’s expression shifted—his irritation vanished, and his face turned pale.
I was briefly confused by the sudden change.
‘…Ah. This…’
I remembered.
There had been a part in the lore book—a note about Victor’s past, connected to fireworks.
