I Thought It Was a Common Transmigration

“The young lady did not assist the Rigelhof family in their dirty crimes. I saw it clearly with my own two eyes. In fact, it was Edith who was assaulted the most by those guys!”

 

Duke Ludwig had already sensed his own misunderstanding after hearing Killian’s testimony, but on the day of the kidnapping, he wanted to hear more about Renan, who ran ahead of the knights.

 

“Tell me in detail.”

 

“That day, I heard that an assassination attempt had been made on His Majesty the Emperor at the Imperial Palace and that all parties in the capital were stopped because of it. For some reason I wasn’t feeling very well, so I told Lord Gordon that it would be a good idea to go and see the Duchess. I was in a hurry so I started first.”

 

It was the same thing he heard from Gordon, the knight commander who guarded the mansion.

 

“From afar, I saw three women in dresses being dragged away by black-clad assailants. Two had already fainted and were being loaded into the carriage, but one resisted to the end. The woman succeeded in throwing off the assailant who had grabbed her, but she did not run away, but she hung on to lower the Duchess, who was being hoisted into the carriage.”

 

Renan recalled that moment with a sad expression. That moment when he felt so helpless.

 

“Our knights were approaching quickly, so if she had held out a little longer, the kidnapping would not have been so easy. But one of the goons got out of the carriage and beat her mercilessly. The fallen woman had dark hair, and the assailant who hit her must have been… It was Shane Riegelhoff.”

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“I swear on my honor.”

 

A look of bewilderment appeared on the Duke’s face. If that were true, it would have been enough for him to treat Edith as a hero rather than a criminal. However, for Killian, who was listening by his side, the more important question was where and how Edith was injured.

 

“Do you remember where and how Shane hit Edith?”

 

“He hit her in the face with his fist, hit her in the stomach with his foot…”

 

“He hit a vulnerable woman like that? His own sister?”

 

Not only Killian but also the Duke asked back in surprise.

 

“I was so surprised that we ran, but the number of mercenaries was greater than I expected, so we were quickly surrounded. While we were fighting with them, Shane took Edith and ran away in the carriage.”

 

“Shit…”

 

Killian gritted his teeth. He couldn’t even guess where and how much Edith was hurt.

 

“Why on earth was she treated so harshly? No matter what, she was a blood relative…”

 

“I think the reason is that Lady Edith has completely turned her back on the Rigelhof family. The young lady was very much looking forward to going down to her estate and was full of dreams of developing it. There is no way such a person would have betrayed the Ludwig family.”

 

“You said that…?”

 

The Duke regretted it later, and Killian felt his heart break. He wondered how long Edith had been looking forward to that day, mulling over plans to develop the territory. But he felt so foolish that he didn’t know anything about those feelings and only thought about what would happen if she went down and whined about being cold.

 

“So, did you run to Edith as soon as you woke up because you were afraid she would be executed?”

 

When Killian asked with a faint smile, Renan nodded his head with a blunt yet somewhat embarrassed expression.

 

“Do you think I would let my wife die? But thank you, Renan. Thanks to you, my father finally seems to believe me.”

 

At that time, hysterical laughter was heard from the center of the execution site. Everyone’s eyes turned to Sophia at that eerie sound.

 

“Everyone seems very impressed with Edith. A noble daughter-in-law who abandons her own family and remains loyal to her in-laws… It brings tears to my eyes.”

 

Sophia, who was screaming even more painfully than Shane as he was dying, already looked half insane. She lashed out with her eyes blazing, as if she was seeking revenge, and then revealed Edith’s secret.

 

“But what? The wife that the son of the great Duke Ludwig took was not actually the Count’s daughter, but an illegitimate child whose offspring we do not know. Ahahaha!”

 

At those words, everyone took a deep breath and looked at Killian and the Duke. But Killian wasn’t surprised by that fact. He actually felt like the puzzle had finally come together.

 

“So you abused Edith?”

 

“If a dog doesn’t show gratitude to his owner’s for giving him what he deserves after being abandoned, you have to beat him to make him come to his senses.”

 

“Dog…?”

 

“Yes! Edith, that bitch was Count Rigelhof’s dog. If you let a female dog in heat out, male dogs with valuable information will flock to her.”

 

Everyone was shocked by Sophia’s attitude of referring to the woman who was her master as a ‘dog.’ No, it would be more accurate to say that Edith was never Sophia’s master in the first place.

 

“She was quite useful before she got married, but now that she is married, won’t she not recognize her master and repeat her stupid behavior? If it weren’t for that bitch’s betrayal, you would be sitting on the execution floor right now.”

 

Sophia sarcastically scoffed, but Killian shot her the truth in a cold voice.

 

“So, this means that the most important person in the Rigelhof family was Edith. If we had known that the family would fall so drastically without Edith, I should have hastened to get married.”

 

Then he went down to the execution site, took the ax from the executioner’s hand, and ordered Sophia’s hands to be tied to the scaffold.

 

“I will personally slaughter the Rigelhof dog that was harassing my wife. First of all, the hands that dared to hit my wife.”

 

The two hands that were shaking on the frame fell to the floor along with the ax blade that fell with a thud.

 

“Geuaaaaaa!”

 

“Noisy. My wife was a woman who proudly held her chin up in front of me even after being hit by you. If you’re going to be sassy, why don’t you learn from Edith?”

 

Killian laughed like that.

 

“Well, you’re too stupid to learn from Edith… It’s too late.”

 

Then he swung the ax sharply and cut down the noisy tree branch in one go.

 

“If Edith is a dog, then you are no better than dog fleas whose lives depend on that dog.”

 

Killian uttered his last words as if spitting contemptuously at Sophia’s steaming body, handed the ax to the executioner, returned to his place, and spoke to the Duke.

 

“I will take Edith to the mansion right now and call the doctor. Even if there is a need to interrogate Edith, treatment comes first.”

 

The Duke could no longer speak harshly and nodded his head. But then the soldier standing next to him whispered.

 

“Still, Lady Lise just came down with a hot pot.”

 

The expression on his face seemed to tell him not to worry, as if he thought Lise was truly amazing. But Killian felt a strange sense of anxiety at that moment. It was the same anxiety he felt when he heard that Edith was going out to play with Lise.

 

“Just now?”

 

“Yes, I saw her going down earlier…”

 

As soon as he heard that sound, Killian headed towards the prison. It was Cliff who caught Killian.

 

“The execution is not over yet. Lise went to deliver the hot pot, so you stay where you are.”

 

“No. It’s because I feel uneasy that Lise went.”

 

“What?”

 

As Killian headed toward the dungeon, Cliff frowned and followed Killian. And when they stood in front of the stairs leading down to the dungeon, Lise’s screams were heard from the dungeon. Killian and Cliff ran down the stairs of the dungeon without even thinking about who would go first.

 

* * *

 

“I think you remember after that. Lise tried to frame you.”

 

While listening to Killian’s story, she nodded slightly.

 

“I don’t think I will forget Lise’s expression at that time for a long time. It felt like she wasn’t the Lise I knew. Or maybe I’ve been mistaken about Lise for a long time…”

 

Killian seemed to place more emphasis on the fact that he had misunderstood Lise.

 

“What is Lise doing?”

 

“She is locked in her room. I don’t even remember doing that to you. The doctor said that she seemed to have been mentally shocked by the terrible sight of the execution site and displayed destructive behavior without realizing it…”

 

“Yes?”

 

“That’s ridiculous. I know it, you know it, and Cliff and Dad probably know it too. But it seems like we should just leave it at that.”

 

Killian, who was smiling crookedly, came closer to her and asked in a low voice.

 

“But that’s what they think. What would you like to do? Speak honestly without worrying about what others may think.”

 

“Why? If I want it, you will make it happen?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“What if I ask you to kill Lise?”

 

“I will.”

 

…What happened to him during this time that made him change so much?

 

‘Hey, Lise is the girl you had a crush on.’

 

Killian smiled bitterly, as if his absurdity was clearly visible on his face.

 

“I know it will feel shameless. It might be a shame to try to pretend to be your husband now. but… I’m serious. I want to be your reliable husband from now on.”

 

Killian held her hand a little harder.

 

“I don’t know why I can finally see everything about you so clearly. I regret why I didn’t understand your pain sooner. I’m sorry, Edith.”

 

“Why are you acting so strange all of a sudden? It’s not like you.”

 

He looked so serious and distressed that she asked him half-jokingly. But he didn’t laugh.

 

“It might be difficult for you to accept my changes right away. Doubt as much as you want, criticize as much as you want. I will wait forever until you calm down.”

 

It felt a bit over-the-top, but she could tell that he was sincere. But in fact, it wasn’t Killian’s fault that he had been suspicious of her and tried to keep his distance from her.

 

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