I Thought It Was a Common Transmigration - Chapter 126

“Lady Edith did not assist the Riegelhoffs in their dastardly deed; I saw it with my own two eyes; rather, it was her who was most assaulted by them!”

Duke Ludwig had already heard Killian’s testimony and realized his own misunderstanding, but he wanted to hear more from the man who had ridden ahead of the knights on the day of the kidnapping.

“Tell me in detail.”

“On that day, I heard that there had been an attempted assassination of the Emperor at the palace, and that all parties in the capital had been stopped because of it. I had a bad feeling about it, so I told Sir Gordon that we’d better go and see the Duchess. I was in a hurry, so I set off first.”

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

“From a distance, I saw three women in gowns being dragged away by men in black. Two of them had already fainted and were being put into the carriage, but the third resisted to the end. Having succeeded in pulling away from the captors, she did not run away, but fought to free the Duchess, who was being carried up into the carriage.”

Renon recalled the moment with a somber expression. The moment when he had felt so helpless.

“Our knights were closing in fast, and if she had held on a little longer, the kidnapping would not have been so easy, but one of the men got out of the carriage and beat her mercilessly. The woman who fell had reddish-brown hair, and the man who beat her was unmistakably…… Shane Riegelhoff.”

“Are you sure?”

“I swear on my honor.”

Puzzlement flashed across the Duke’s face.

If it was true, he should be treating Edith like a hero, not a sinner.

But for Killian, who was listening, the more important question was where and how Edith was injured.

“Do you remember where and how Shane hit her?” he asked.

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

“How could he hit such a fragile woman? Not to mention she’s his sister.”

Not only Killian, but even the Duke asked in surprise.

“I was so surprised that I ran over, but the mercenaries were more numerous than I expected, and I was quickly surrounded. While I was struggling with them, Shane managed to escape with Lady Edith in the carriage.”

“Damn it……”

Killian gritted his teeth.

He couldn’t imagine where or how badly Edith was hurt.

“Why the hell did she get treated so badly? No matter what, she’s still a blood relative……”

“I think it’s because Lady Edith has completely turned her back on the Riegelhoffs. She was very much looking forward to going down to the Ryzen estate, and had dreams of developing it; there is no way that someone like her would have betrayed House Ludwig.”

“You mean she did……”

Duke could not finish his words, a regretful look on his face.

Killian felt his heart sink. He wondered how long Edith had been looking forward to that day, mulling over her plans for the estate.

And he felt so foolish for not knowing any of that, for thinking only of what would happen if she went to Ryzen estate and whined about being cold.

“So, you came running as soon as you woke up because you were afraid Edith was going to be executed?” Killian asked, smiling faintly.

Renon nodded, bluntly and with some embarrassment.

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

Just then, hysterical laughter came from the center of the execution ground.

All eyes turned to Sophia at the eerie sound.

“I see you are all very impressed with Lady Edith, a virtuous daughter-in-law who has forsaken her own family to serve her in-laws…… I am moved to tears.”

Sophia, who had let out an even more agonizing scream when Shane was screaming and dying, appeared to be already half out of her mind.

Her eyes blazed as if she were seeking revenge, and then she revealed Edith’s secret.

“But what? The wife that the son of the great Duke of Ludwig has taken is actually an illegitimate child, not of the Count’s blood, but of someone whose lineage we don’t even know. Hahaha!”

The words drew a collective gasp, and Killian and the Duke exchanged glances.

But Killian wasn’t surprised by the fact. Instead, he felt like a puzzle had finally been solved.

“Is that why you abused Edith?”

“When a dog doesn’t recognize the grace of its master for giving it back what it deserved, it needs a good beating to bring it to its senses.”

“A dog……?”

“Yes! That bitch Edith was Count Riegelhoff’s dog. If you let a female dog loose in heat, a bunch of male dogs with valuable information will flock to it.”

Everyone was stunned by Sophia’s attitude, referring to the woman who had been her master as a ‘dog’. Or, more accurately, Edith had never been Sophia’s master in the first place.

“She was quite useful until she got married, and then she couldn’t recognize her master and kept doing stupid things. If it weren’t for that bitch’s betrayal, you’d be the ones sitting in the execution ground right now.”

Sophia scoffed sarcastically, but Killian spoke the truth to her, his voice cold.

“So you’re saying that the most important person in the Riegelhoff family was Edith. If I’d known the family was doomed without her, I would have married her sooner.”

He walked down to the execution ground, snatched the axe from the executioner’s hand, and ordered Sophia’s hands chained to the frame.

“I will slaughter this dog of Riegelhoff, who has been tormenting my wife, myself. First, the hands that dared to hit my wife.”

The chained hands fell to the floor.

“Aaaaaahhh!”

“Shut up. My wife was the one who took a beating from you and still held her chin up in front of me. If you’re going to be so cocky, why don’t you take a lesson from Edith?”

Killian frowned, then smirked. “Well, I guess you’re too stupid to learn from Edith, and…… too late.”

He swung his axe wildly, slicing through the noisy wailing Sophia in one fell swoop.

“If Edith is a dog, then you are nothing more than a dog flea that owes your life to her.”

Spitting the last word with contempt over Sophia’s mutilated body, Killian handed the axe back to the executioner and turned to the Duke.

“I will take Edith to the mansion right now and summon a doctor, even if you need to interrogate her, her treatment comes first.”

The Duke nodded, unable to say anything more.

But then the soldier standing next to Killian spoke up, “By the way, just now, Lady Lizé went to the dungeon with a hot-water bottle.”

The soldier looked at him with an expression that said, “Don’t worry too much, Lady Lizé is taking care of her.”

But Killian felt a strange sense of unease at that moment.

It was the same uneasiness he’d felt when he’d heard that Edith was going out for a walk and shopping with Lizé.

“Just now?”

“Yes. I saw her go downstairs earlier……”

As soon as Killian heard that, he turned toward the dungeon, but Cliff grabbed him.

“The execution isn’t over yet. Lizé went to deliver a hot-water bottle, so you stay where you are.”

“No. I’m just uneasy that she’s gone.”

“What?”

Killian turned toward the dungeon, and Cliff followed, frowning.

As they stood in front of the stairs leading down to the dungeon, they heard Lizé’s screams coming from the dungeon.

Killian and Cliff ran down the stairs to the dungeon without a second thought.

***

“And then, as I’m sure you remember, Lizé tried to frame you.”

I nodded slightly, listening to Killian’s story.

“I don’t think I’ll ever forget the look on Lizé’s face for a long time to come. She didn’t seem like the Lizé I knew, or maybe I’ve known her wrong all these years……”

Killian seemed to lean more toward the latter.

“What’s Lizé doing now?”

“She’s locked herself in her room. She doesn’t even remember what she did to you. The doctor says she may have been traumatized by the gruesome sight of the execution ground and acted out without realizing it……”

“What?”

“That’s ridiculous, I know. Cliff and my father probably know it too, but they’ll probably just bury it.”

Smirking, Killian leaned in closer, his voice low. “But that’s their idea. What do you want me to do? Just tell me honestly, without worrying about what others may think.”

“Why? If I want something, you’ll make it happen?”

“Yes.”

“Even if I ask you to kill Lizé?”

“Yes.”

……I wonder what happened to him during this whole time that made him change so much.

Excuse me, wasn’t Lizé the girl you were desperately in love with?

My incredulity must have shown on my face, because Killian smiled bitterly.

“I know I must seem shameless. I know I’m shameless to even pretend to be your husband now, but…… I mean it, I want to be your supportive husband from now on.”

Killian held my hand a little tighter. “I don’t know why I’m seeing everything about you so clearly now, and I’m regretting why I didn’t see your pain sooner. I’m sorry, Edith.”

“Why are you acting so strange all of a sudden, so unlike you,” I asked, half-jokingly, because he looked so serious and distressed.

But he didn’t smile.

“I know it’s hard for you to accept my change right away, too. Doubt me all you want, blame me all you want. I’ll be waiting forever, until you’ve made up your mind.”

It was a little over the top, but I could tell he meant it.

But the truth is, it wasn’t Killian’s fault that he’d been suspicious and distant from me all this time.