I Thought It Was a Common Transmigration - Chapter 103

“Edith.”

Killian called my name and pulled me into a hug.

His body scent, an intoxicating mix of musk and something like bark, always made my heart flutter.

“It won’t be long,” he said, “a month or so. Don’t go outside the mansion as much as possible, and don’t write to anyone.”

“Are you afraid that I’ll get excited and run outside when my father invades my in-laws’ house?”

I grunted complainingly, and Killian chuckled again.

“It’s not that, it’s just that…… you’re going to have to put up with the occasional outing into town for a while, much to your chagrin.”

The pat on my back was so sweet it made me want to cry.

“Come on…… do you think I’m a child? Just be careful not to get hit by an arrow.”

I said it jokingly, but the thought of him being hit by an arrow gave me goosebumps.

‘Think about something else, think about something else!’

Trying to vent my growing anxiety, I exclaimed, “Oh, by the way, I made something for you.”

“For me……?”

I put on the shawl beside me and opened the drawer.

There lay a pair of arm warmers I’d started knitting as soon as I’d heard that a territorial war had been declared and had only just finished yesterday.

But I noticed a snagged thread in one of the arm warmers that I knitted in a cylinder shape.

When I tried to fix it by pulling it in the opposite direction, the thread only expanded in the opposite direction.

In short, it’s a total mess…… a failed product that uses good wool and is expected to keep you warm once you put it on.

“Um…… it’s not that great, but I think you’ll need it…… no, just, wear it and throw it away after it gets dirty.

I blushed and held the tattered thing out to Killian.

Walking toward me in his robe, Killian looked like a 21st-century American muscular male model, and the woolen arm warmers in his hand lent a touch of reality to his otherwise unreal appearance. Almost too much.

“Pfft!”

Yeah, it’s funny, even to me.

Killian looked back and forth at the arm warmers I gave him, wide-eyed, and then tilted his head.

“I’ve been thinking about it since I saw those embroidered handkerchiefs at the bazaar, but I guess you’re not very good with your hands.”

“Oh, did you see them too?”

“I was afraid someone might see them, so I bought all three.”

“I was wondering who bought them, and it was you! Thank you, I was actually afraid they wouldn’t sell until the end.”

“Ahahaha!”

It was nice to hear his cheerful laughter.

Still, he didn’t let go of the arm warmers I gave him and continued to fiddle with them.

“By the looks of it, it must be pretty warm.”

“Actually, it’s a good one. I’m not very good at it, so I invested in the material.”

“……I’ll use it well, thinking of you.”

It’s kind of cheating to say something like that while looking like you’re about to die of joy.

I was momentarily stunned and at a loss for words.

Killian seized the moment, grabbed me by the nape of the neck, and leaned in to kiss me.

His smiling lips playfully flicked over mine, then devoured it. As soon as our lips parted, he stuck his tongue in, starting to make slurping noises.

“Ha, Killian……!”

“Mmh, one more time……”

I pushed him away, but Killian grabbed me tighter and led me back to the bed.

“Kil- Killian, you’re going to be late.”

“Just a quick one. Hm?”

I can’t stand it when someone who’s used to being respectful to others all the time is being so clingy like this.

“Ugh…… no……”

It was a typical “no, no, no……” scene.

[T/N: When you say “No,” but still do ‘it’.]

We glanced at the brightly lit window, nervously but quickly stripped off our clothes and sought each other’s body heat.

Remembering the heat of the previous night, our bodies quickly warmed up, and Killian and I impatiently brought our bodies together.

‘If Killian only wants my body, so be it, and I’ll be happy just the way I am.’

I know it sounds like I have too little self-esteem, but Killian is such a sweet and charming person that I could even think of such a thing.

He disliked me so much, but he took it upon himself to accept me as his wife, and he’s still trying to appease me to fulfill that responsibility.

The original Edith would not have met such a catastrophe if she had been given a little more leeway. Killian isn’t the kind of man who can cut off someone who’s clinging to him.

‘If this territorial war ends well…… if I can greet Killian without incident…… I can avoid the original ending!’

The third exception condition was something I couldn’t figure out, and now I wouldn’t be relieved to just avoid the original ending, but I would still be able to accomplish my primary goal of surviving.

“Ha, ha…… we have to stop here or you’re going to be really late.”

After one climax, I grabbed Killian’s shoulders to stop him from running his tongue over my lips again.

Killian glanced at the alarm clock on my dresser and clicked his tongue in frustration.

“I’m already getting irritated at the thought of not being able to do this for a month.”

“So are the other knights, and you should stop doing this.”

“Do you want to break the mood by talking about unimportant things until the end?”

“Because I don’t think you’re going to let up if I don’t.”

Killian nodded, ruffled his hair, and finally pulled away from me.

From then on, I was in a hurry, like a mother dropping her child off at daycare.

I bathed him with the water I had Anna hurriedly prepare, then attired him. While I was getting dressed, I asked Anna to shave Killian.

We prepared him like a baked bean over a roaring fire and went downstairs, and fortunately, the Duke came down late.

As he departed, the Duke looked around at the family and servants gathered in the hall and spoke in a firm voice.

“Jocelyn, I leave you in charge of this mansion in my absence. Philip, I expect you to help Jocelyn keep things in order.”

“Understood, Your Excellency.”

“Sir Gordon, I entrust you with the defense of this mansion during this time of territorial war.”

“I will defend it without fail!”

“Luigi, as the head maid, I will ask you to assist Jocelyn and Philip in maintaining the smooth running of the household.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Duke Ludwig spoke to each of those in charge of work at the mansion, starting with Philip the butler, Gordon the leader of the knight guards, and Luigi the head maid.

Then his gaze turned to us.

“Lizé, take care of Jocelyn. Don’t worry too much.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

“Then…… let’s depart now.”

The Duke spat out the last word resolutely, then turned around and walked out.

There was no word of command to me.

Perhaps everyone in the room noticed. For Killian’s face hardened instantly.

“Killian, you really have to go now.”

“……”

Clenching his molars, Killian seemed to struggle to hold back the anger that was bubbling up inside him. One would think it was Killian who was being ignored, not me.

“……I’m sorry, Edith. When I return, let’s leave for Ryzen.”

“Yeah. I’m fine, so don’t worry about me too much. I’m sure the Duke has a lot on his mind right now; I’m the daughter of an enemy.”

“No. You are not the daughter of an enemy, you are the daughter-in-law of the Duke of Ludwig and my wife. Don’t forget your name is Edith Ludwig.”

I will never forget it, because that’s the last thing I have left to beg him to spare my life.

But I just smiled and squeezed his hand one last time.

My fingertips brushed against the snagged thread on his arm warmer.

I’m grateful that he’s willing to wear the raggedy arm warmers I have knitted.

“Come back unharmed, and prove all your bragging about how great you are.”

“With pleasure.”

Killian kissed me one last time, then followed the Duke out the door.

Finally, the curtain had risen on what might be Edith’s last episode.

***

As the territorial war began, the capital’s newspapers saw a rise in sales.

The war between Count Riegelhoff, the richest of the Counts, and Duke Ludwig, the Emperor’s right-hand man, is sure to pique everyone’s interest.

– The reason for the territorial war is House Ludwig’s unfair pressure on iron ore prices! But is that the truth?

– Is it a simple family feud or the beginning of treason?

– The imperial family remains silent. What are the Emperor’s honest thoughts?

The front pages of the newspapers were filled with headlines that sounded like something you’d find in a hairdresser’s magazine.

Even then, the contrast between the newspapers influenced by Archduke Langston and Count Riegelhoff and those with an eye on the imperial family was palpable.

‘The imperial family is too quiet. Perhaps they are waiting for those involved in the treason to reveal themselves.’

In “I Refuse Your Obsession,” the current emperor, Byron Iberia, took this opportunity to purge those who opposed him.

Ever since he ascended to the throne at the tender age of 18, he has had to contend with a group of people who have looked down on him and belittled him.

But he is by no means an easy person.

A man who grew up seeing all sorts of dirty things from a young age, and who has been right in the middle of all those nasty power struggles, shouldn’t be.

‘But those who are drunk on their own handful of power don’t see that.’

Duke Ludwig had also been keeping his military forces hidden. It was also the will of the Emperor.

I could almost see Count Riegelhoff screaming at the top of his lungs, “Those bastards! They’ve deceived us!”

But that would be in the future.

For now, in the capital’s social circles, some were already predicting a victory for Archduke Langston and plotting to join him.