I Think My Husband is a Murderer

“Then are you two in a love marriage?”

In a way, it was a somewhat impolite question.

The invited ladies in the mansion began to casually bring up their various curiosities without any sense of decorum.

Johannes Schultz, who had left numerous rumors in his wake and hidden his whereabouts, appeared. Moreover, he appeared with a commoner woman as his wife.

It was natural for them to have many questions.

The gaze of the ladies, openly showing their interest and looking at me, felt quite burdensome.

“Yes, that’s right. We are deeply in love in our newlywed life.”

I didn’t show any particular expression towards their excessive interest. Instead, I gave a suitable answer and took a sip of tea.

“Being married to the idol of the masses, must be wonderful, Duchess.”

“I’ve always dreamed of living in Muesen too. Muesen is such a splendid place, isn’t it?”

“I’m curious about your first encounter. Where and how did you meet, exactly?”

Everyone’s gaze focused on me with the last question.

Among the ladies with sparkling eyes, I found myself trapped in a dilemma.

How should I explain this, exactly?

“First encounter? Well… How did we meet, again…”

When I hesitated to speak, the ladies lightly clapped their hands and urged me on.

“No need to be shy.”

“Exactly. We all became close in the same way.”

“I wonder which aspect of the lady captivated the Duke, who never kept any women by his side.”

It seemed like they thought of me as someone easily embarrassed. But I was never a shy or reserved person.

However, at this moment, it was truly an awkward situation to be teased without thinking.

“Haha…”

I responded by taking a sip of tea.

They seemed slightly disappointed, but they casually shifted the topic, saying, “There will be plenty of opportunities.”

For now, we managed to pass through the immediate situation unscathed. Is that fortunate?

I smiled lightly towards them, hiding my anxiety. Hoping they wouldn’t ask any more difficult questions.

And even I threw a faint gaze filled with unsettled emotions out of the window. Releasing a barely noticeable sigh into the air, nobody noticed, recalling once again the topic that had overturned my perfect daily life.

In the midst of enjoying a flawless honeymoon with a husband envied by others, one concern had arisen.

It seems like my husband might be a murderer.

***

This place is not the world I used to live in.

I discovered this fact not long ago.

While objectively enjoying a perfect married life, something I would have rather not known suddenly came to mind.

Exactly one week ago, during a conversation with my husband.

“Primwood, how does it sound?”

My husband wanted to give a nickname to the mansion. Amidst various opinions, the name “Primwood,” which became the root of the problem, came up.

“Primwood…?”

“After your name. The mansion is in the middle of a forest, after all.”

My husband smiled and spoke, but I felt a strange uneasiness. I couldn’t remember the details, but it was definitely a name I had heard somewhere before.

…And it was a very, very bad association.

I cautiously interrupted him, pushing that uneasiness aside.

“My name? But this is the Schultz family mansion. And we haven’t been married for long. It’s too early to say what will happen…”

“Are you saying we’re going to get divorced now?”

His voice returned, dry and cold. He interrupted my words and asked with a slightly tense expression.

While his extreme example was bewildering, I understood that we had to maintain an outward appearance of perfection.

I quietly calmed my husband down.

“It’s not that, but if you think about it slowly, it’s not too late. Moreover, naming the mansion after my surname… How embarrassed would the previous Duke be if he knew?”

“Opinions of someone who doesn’t even exist in this world are not important now.”

“But…”

“Edith Schultz.”

My husband firmly called out my name.

I couldn’t understand why he insisted on using my ‘original’ surname, but it was difficult to break his stubbornness.

“…Fine, I understand.”

In the end, the mansion’s name became ‘Primwood,’ but I still didn’t like the name. It was named after my surname, but it gave off a strangely eerie feeling.

I wanted to think it was just my imagination, but the sudden onset of anxiety showed no signs of dissipating. Not even until I returned to the room and lay on the bed.

I spent the night tossing and turning, trying to find the reason behind the tremor caused by that name.

And when that name deeply settled in my mind, the hazy mist gradually disappeared, and memories from a past life came flooding back.

Among the modern countries, the kingdom of Docilia is leading the railroad industry.

The most beautiful city among them, Muesen.

The Duke of Schultz, who protects Muesen.

And…

Primwood, who is the Duchess of Schultz.

“Oh my goodness. Johannes Schultz.”

As my relatively regular heartbeat quickened, I felt a sense of distance beneath my feet.

Why didn’t I realize it until now?

This place is from a novel. To be precise, it’s from a novel I read in my previous life.

It’s been so long that I don’t remember the details clearly, but I’m certain. And my husband, Johannes Schultz, is the male protagonist of that novel.

“You might think it’s good to be the male protagonist, right?” But I can confidently say that I’m absolutely not, staking my remaining life on it.

“Johannes Schultz is…”

Johannes Schultz is a deranged serial killer.

Underneath his kind and perfect facade, no one except the female protagonist noticed. But the number of women he has killed is countless.

Of course, in the end, he falls sincerely in love with the female protagonist and it ends with a happy ending. However…

“…That’s not me.”

I frowned.

Did I get off halfway…? I’m not sure, but I remember there were many discussions about the ending.

I quickly got up from my seat and paced anxiously around the room.

“I must be crazy.”

As I stood still and hit my head, then resumed walking several times.

“What’s so good about walking into this mad place?”

“The house is nice, you’re tall. You’re even good-looking. It’s perfect, isn’t it?”

“No, Johannes is kind.”

“No, can you be sure? It could be an act.”

I even had conversations with myself, like a mad person.

But I was really serious. It was a matter of life and death.

“I could be the female protagonist.”

Suddenly, I started to turn on the positive circuit.

“That’s unlikely.”

However, that assumption quickly vanished. There were several reasonable grounds for me not being the female protagonist.

First,

My name is Edith Prim. The name of the female protagonist is Joanna Tannet, and not a single letter matches.

Second,

The female protagonist is described as delicate in appearance, but I am not. Of course, I can be considered pretty, but delicacy is not my strong suit.

And finally, the third reason.

The name of the mansion, Primwood, existed long before the female protagonist appeared.

Since Johannes named it after me, it means it will be a while before the female protagonist appears.

No one knows when his murders began. In other words, he could kill me or he could spare me, but…

“The likelihood of being killed is high.”

It’s unbelievable. I voluntarily walked into hell.

I moved with a bewildered expression on my face. Trembling hands held onto the frame of the mirror.

The reflection of my face in the mirror clearly showed the signs of impending death.

Long brown hair and emerald eyes.

It was a common characteristic among the women Johannes Schultz had killed.

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Translator Note:

 

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