I Thought It Was a Common Transmigration - Chapter 116

“I, too, must find Edith. Even if she is a spy, there is no denying that she is my wife.”

“Killian! Are you saying that you will put your personal feelings above the family name?”

“If Edith is truly guilty, I will punish her. Even if she has to be killed, I will do it myself!”

Killian’s mood was fierce, as if he would draw his sword at any moment.

He turned toward the knights guarding the mansion. “I’m going to check the site where my mother and Lizé were kidnapped right now! Leonard, pick ten men and get them ready!”

But Cliff’s anger at almost losing Lizé was not to be denied.

“Father,” he said, “I’ll send more people. I’ll find Edith Riegelhoff and bring her before you!”

At the mention of “Edith Riegelhoff,” Killian glared at Cliff.

Unfortunately, there was no time to argue about Edith’s name.

Killian stormed off to the Wellesley’s abandoned villa, ignoring the welcome dinner that had been prepared for their return from the war.

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

I kept thinking of Edith, who smiled steadfastly even though she was ignored by Duke Ludwig, and that last smile kept coming to my mind.

No, actually, not just at this moment, but throughout the war, I couldn’t stop thinking about that smile, those warm eyes, and the dizzying scent of roses.

I thought of Edith, who must have struggled night after night knitting the sloppy arm warmers she gave me. It was a genuine smile that day.

‘Edith, where are you?’

If she really was a spy for the Riegelhoffs, I had to find her first.

‘I must find her and keep her safe and hidden. I will take her secretly to Ryzen and have a child with her, and neither my father nor brother will be able to do anything about it.’

The cold wind stung his cheeks, but Killian didn’t slow down a bit, and it didn’t take him long to reach Wellesley.

“There it is!”

The knight who had been with Cliff on the hostage rescue led Killian to the villa where the incident had occurred.

The air still reeked of something rotting, but Killian didn’t let that stop him from entering the villa.

Bloodstains on the floor and walls gave him a rough idea of what had happened here that day.

“The Duchess was at the end of the room over there, and Lady Lizé was at the other end of the room.”

“Did you search every nook and cranny?”

“At- at that time…… the Duchess was not in good condition and we had to return quickly……”

Without listening to the knight’s answer until the end, Killian ordered the knights behind him to search each room.

He headed for the storage room on the first floor where Lizé had first opened her eyes.

“Turn on more lights!”

He ordered two more lanterns to be lit in the poorly lit area, and then knelt down on the floor of the empty storage room.

“Y- Young master……?”

The other knights were bewildered, not knowing what he was doing, but Killian scanned every inch of the floor with the lantern.

“Did you say the mercenaries were all wearing hoods?”

“Yes.”

“Shane is blond, and the maid is dark-haired, right?”

“Yes, they are, but–”

“Then…… who does this reddish brown hair belong to?”

Killian held a few strands of long brown hair in his hands.

“Edith was here.”

Killian scrambled to his feet and headed outside. The knights were searching each room, but none of them said they had found anything.

“Where did they take her?”

Killian pictured this place that day in his head.

Lizé said Edith wasn’t there when she woke up, so she must have been taken somewhere earlier.

And neither Count Riegelhoff nor Shane would have forgiven her for betraying the family.

‘They probably would have killed her before anyone else.’

Killian scanned his surroundings, his gaze landing on a dark passageway in the opposite corner of the storage room.

“What’s that?”

Killian gestured, but the knight who had come with Cliff looked surprised, as if he’d never seen it there before.

“I- it looks like a staircase…… to the basement.”

“Did you check the basement back then?”

“I- I’m sorry, we were too busy fighting in this narrow place……”

Killian thought it would be better to check it out for himself rather than listen to more frustrating answers, so he headed straight down to the basement.

It was underground, but not very deep.

He opened the door that led to the basement and found himself in a passageway that wasn’t entirely underground.

“It appears to have been used as servants’ quarters or a wine cellar.”

Ignoring the knight’s further explanation, Killian headed straight for one of the rooms.

He headed there for one reason.

Of all the rooms along the passageway, it was the only one with an open door.

“Ah……!”

Killian exclaimed as the lantern illuminated the room.

There, someone was trapped.

A heavy wooden chair sat in the center of the cold stone room, a bundle of unknotted rope lying behind it.

An extinguished lantern on a rickety wooden table, and a black horse whip lay haphazardly in front of it.

But what caught Killian’s eye more than anything else was the blood on the floor, and the corsage he’d bought Edith.

“Edith……”

Edith was here.

And she had gotten out of here alone.

How far could a wounded woman in a banquet dress and satin shoes travel in this cold weather?

“I have to find her…… I must find her……”

Killian gripped the corsage tightly and clenched his molars.

He must not allow himself to panic and falter here. He had to move now, for the sake of Edith, who must be shivering somewhere.

“Leonard.”

“Yes!”

Killian turned to Leonard, the only knight who knew that Edith had been abused by Sophia.

“I want you to go to the mercenary guild right now and hire searchers. Scour the capital. She probably hasn’t gotten out of the capital yet.”

“Yes!”

“I’ll start with a sweep around here.”

At that, Leonard paused and spoke cautiously, “Perhaps you should go back to the mansion and freshen up first; you have not rested for too long.”

But Killian shook his head.

“If it were you, would you be able to rest after losing your wife?”

Then he turned and headed upstairs.

“Two of you will follow Leonard to the capital, and the rest of you will search around here!”

The knights looked at Killian questioningly, but the corsage in Killian’s hand and the heavy air of Leonard behind him told them something.

Above all, Killian’s eyes were more desperate than ever.

“Yes! I understand!”

The knights investigating the villa rushed outside and mounted their horses.

Killian looked up at the sky, light snow was falling. He then gritted his teeth and climbed onto the horse.

***

Walking north from Wellesley, I was lucky to meet a kind-hearted Baron and his wife.

“You look like a noble lady, why are you walking alone?”

“Oh my God, your face……!”

Luckily, they didn’t know who I was and didn’t run away when they saw my miserable appearance.

I clung to them as if it were a heaven-sent opportunity.

“Help, I was kidnapped by muggers and barely escaped!”

It’s not even a lie.

And the baron and his wife also believed me.

“I hear there are a lot of kidnappings for ransom these days. Come on, come on, get in the carriage!”

I gladly accepted their favor.

The Baron and Baroness Reuben, who had just come up from the countryside to visit relatives in the capital, were good people, as if they had never done a bad thing in their lives.

They not only gave me a ride in their carriage, even though I looked suspicious at first glance, but also offered me water.

This saved me from fainting from exhaustion.

“Which House are you the lady of? Let us take you home!”

“Your favor is very much appreciated. However, I have a matter to attend to first. It is a matter of family importance, so please forgive me if I do not elaborate.”

I acted like a young lady with a complicated backstory and wiped my face with the handkerchief the Baroness had given me.

The dried blood was so stubborn that it took me a long time to wipe it off with a wet handkerchief.

‘Thank goodness. If I had somehow made it to the capital alone with a suspicious appearance, I would have been taken straight to the police.’

I promised the Baron and Baroness that I would return the favor someday, assured them not to worry, and headed down Darsus Street to the bank.

I wished I could cover my face, but I didn’t have any money on me.

Fortunately, the bank gatekeeper did not stop me.

“I came to get my money.”

It must have seemed very strange for a woman with a huge bruise on her face to show up and ask for money as soon as she sat down.

The teller forgot to put on his welcoming smile and just stared at me with his mouth hanging open, then whispered in a low voice, “Do you want me to call your house?”

“No! Can’t you see the look on my face right now? I just left my house after a fight with my husband, why would I go back there?”

“Ah……!”

With that, the teller nodded quickly, as if he understood everything, and handed me the forms for withdrawal.

There were many forms to fill out because I wanted to withdraw a large amount of money.

I quickly filled out the forms, glancing toward the front door of the bank in case someone was looking for me at any moment.

If I hadn’t had the experience of helping Renon with his work, I would have gotten lost.

“Are you going to withdraw the full amount?”

“Yes. I’d like it in bills for ease of carrying. I’ll divide the large bills and small bills according to what I wrote on the forms.”

The teller didn’t seem to notice that I was from the Ludwig family, thanks to the pseudonym I’d used to open the safe.

He couldn’t imagine that it was Duke Ludwig’s daughter-in-law who showed up looking so disheveled.

I took the rest of the money–minus the safe deposit box fee–in bills, and divided them in half appropriately, stuffing them in both pockets.