I Thought It Was a Common Transmigration - Chapter 154

20. Flashback (13)

While the doctor was examining Sierra in the guest room, Edith, Killian, the Duchess, and Princess Catherine listened to the shocking story of the sobbing Daniel.

“So, you’re Johann?”

“Yes……”

“And Marchioness Theroux recognized you, didn’t she?”

“Yes.”

“Then why did you pretend not to know at first?”

Johann sobbed and fidgeted with his hands, then finally answered, “I heard that my mom abandoned me, that she secretly threw me away because I was useless…… and I thought she’d hate me even more if she found out I was here……”

Catherine got angry at those words. “Who? Who told you that?”

“My- my aunt…….”

“Your aunt?”

Johann remembered clearly what had happened five years ago.

***

On the day of the outdoor banquet at the imperial palace, Johann was playing in the garden with his cousins.

It was the happiest day of his life: great weather, plenty of food, and fun with peers he hadn’t seen in a long time.

But then his Aunt Avery waved from the other side.

“Auntie!”

“It’s been a long time, Johann.”

She beamed, picked him up in a hug, and walked deeper into the garden

“Auntie, where are you going?”

“Um, your mom asked me to do something for you, so I’m taking you with me.”

Hearing that his mom asked her to, Johann clung to her, not suspecting anything. She was an aunt who often came to visit the Theroux mansion and was very close to him.

But as she carried him into the secluded garden,  a man was waiting for them with the shabby clothes and wig typical of a commoner.

“Let’s change your clothes.”

“Why?”

“It’s a disguise game. We’re going to play hide and seek in disguise.”

“Wow, that sounds like fun!”

Johann excitedly changed his clothes and put on the wig.

“How about it, Auntie? No one will know it’s me, right?”

“Sure. You won’t get caught.”

Avery’s smile was a little odd, but Johann let it go.

This time, however, the man waiting for them picked Johann up, looked around, and set him down in a carriage.

“Huh? Why am I in a carriage?”

“Listen, Johann. What your mom asked me to do was to get rid of you, because you’re no use to her.”

“What?”

“Think about it. She’s already got two other healthy sons above you, and there’s no reason she should have to keep you.”

“But!”

Avery pulled a pouch from her arms and waved it around. “Look at this. This is the money I got from your mom for getting rid of you. You remember this silk pouch, don’t you?”

It was one of the gifts Johann had given his mom for Mother’s Day this year.

“She said she didn’t need it and gave it to me. Your mom has had a hard time raising you. She was even suspected of having an affair because you didn’t look like your father.”

When Johann was at a loss for words, the man in the carriage said, “If you don’t want to give your mother any more trouble, you’d better behave yourself, because if you run amok, she’ll be in even more trouble.”

Then he slammed the carriage door.

Suddenly thrown from the midst of happiness to the depths of misery, Johann could not recover from his despair.

Later, he cried and struggled, only to be beaten by the man.

The man took him somewhere in the countryside and sold him to the owner of an inn.

***

“I can’t believe the kidnapper was Aunt Sierra’s sister……!”

Catherine gaped.

Johann was smart enough to remember all of this, but he was only eight years old at the time.

And when he didn’t hear any rumors about the Therouxs looking for him, he believed Avery’s words.

“No, Johann! They were afraid that if word got out that they were looking for you, the kidnappers would hurt you. Your parents did everything they could to find you!” Catherine cried, pulling Johann into a hug.

Just then, they heard the sound of something falling down behind them.

They spun around in surprise to find Sierra on the floor, trembling, with a devastated look on her face.

“Johann……!”

“Mom……”

“My baby, there hasn’t been a moment since the day I lost you that I haven’t thought of you, and the hope that you might be alive has kept me from dying.”

“Mom!”

Johann jumped to his feet and ran to Sierra.

The mother and son, who hadn’t seen each other in five years, burst into tears as they embraced.

For a moment, everyone was overwhelmed with emotion, except for Edith.

‘That’s great, but…… why was I the one to find him?’

In the original story, it was Lizé who found the boy, so Edith was confused by the current situation.

The feeling of being robbed because she lost a promising talent was a bonus.

Anyway, judging from her memories of the original story, the Emperor would soon call her and offer to give her something in return.

‘Tsk. No matter how much I hate her, I have to save human lives, right?’

Of course, there was no telling if the Emperor would really forgive her.

Duke Ludwig or Cliff, who had nothing to do with this, would most likely be released, but death by hanging was probably being discussed to punish Lizé, who had dared to bring in a fake and cause even more pain to the Therouxs.

***

The news that the real Johann had been found, this time, sent the imperial family into both shock and happiness.

Sierra’s sister Avery was quickly arrested, and an interrogation team was set up to convict her.

She denied it, but when the innkeeper who bought Johann and the man who sold him were brought in to testify, she finally gave up.

“She had everything,” she said, “and she was always pretending to be noble and elegant! I wish I could see her arrogant face crumble just once!”

She always thought she was prettier and more popular than her sister, but when Marquis Theroux chose Sierra as his bride, she was devastated.

The more she saw of her sister’s happy family, the more her hatred for her grew, and she kidnapped their youngest son, whom they loved so dearly, hoping to destroy their happiness.

The kidnapping of the youngest son, which had tormented the Marquis and Marchioness of Theroux for five years, came to a happy and bittersweet end.

The Emperor summoned Killian and Edith, having not yet decided what to do with the Ludwigs.

“It was indeed a coincidence, a will of God, but it is true that you saved Johann and kept him safe. If it were not for you, my brother and sister-in-law might have suffered until they died.”

“Your Majesty.”

“From what I’ve heard, the Countess was the one who saved Johann’s life, so go ahead, Edith Ryzen. Tell me what you wish. I will reward you on behalf of Marquis Theroux.”

Edith, who had her head down, took a deep breath and gathered her courage.

“The Ryzens have nothing more to ask for, for we are already well endowed with Your Majesty’s grace. Nevertheless, if I may dare to ask, please forgive my sister-in-law, Lizé Ludwig, for once.”

“What?”

The emperor’s brow twitched. “Your saving Johann’s life has nothing to do with Lizé Ludwig’s bringing in a fake and disgracing the imperial family.”

“I am aware of that. But if that hadn’t happened, Marchioness Theroux would never have come to the Ludwig mansion, and then she wouldn’t have recognized Johann, and we would have taken him to Ryzen without knowing anything.”

A sigh was heard from the Emperor.

Edith added, “Isn’t all this God’s will to return the missing son to the Marquis and Marchioness of Theroux? Please think of it that way and forgive my sister-in-law for once.”

The Emperor thought for a long time, and finally, with a long sigh, came to an unpalatable conclusion.

“Now that you mention it, I’m at a loss for words. I see. I will spare Lizé Ludwig’s life.”

That meant Lizé had avoided the worst of it, but it didn’t mean she was completely off the hook.

“In exchange for sparing her life, I revoke her noble title and order her to serve in a monastery for the rest of her life and do penance for her sins. Her marriage to Cliff Ludwig is also annulled as of this day.”

The Emperor’s decision left the Ludwigs speechless for a time. But they couldn’t ask for more forgiveness from the Emperor.

Lizé, who tried to protect her status as the “future Duchess Ludwig” by signing a prenuptial agreement with Cliff, was ultimately stripped of her position as Cliff’s wife by order of the Emperor.

***

‘Yeah, it all went to shit when Edith appeared. I don’t know why I had to get caught up in that……’

Leaning against the cold stone wall of the prison and reminiscing about the past, Lizé regretted it over and over again. She wished she hadn’t made that soul possess Edith, wished she hadn’t ignored Killian’s change in demeanor.

But it was all for naught now.

‘What will happen to me now?’

All she had in mind at the time was how to make the fake look like the real Johann. She hadn’t realized that the location of the mole, which she had written “above the collarbone,” was actually on a different side.

The punishment for disgracing the imperial family was second only to treason. She could be executed or imprisoned forever.

In all her years of writing the punishments of villains, she had never considered their fears or suffering, so she couldn’t think of what to do in this situation.

Suddenly, an attendant burst in.

“The prisoner Lizé Ludwig, you are hereby ordered by the Emperor!”

Lizé went into a daze, thinking that her execution had finally been decided. But the Emperor’s orders were not what she expected.

“Your life will be spared, but your Ludwig surname and noble title will be revoked, and you are ordered to serve in a monastery for the rest of your life and do penance for your sins!”

Before she could react to the unexpected notice, Lizé heard something even more shocking.

“You should be thanking your sister-in-law. Countess Ryzen found the real Young Master Johann and asked the Emperor to reward her with your salvation.”

“Edith? Edith found Johann?”

“Yes. She found the real Young Master Johann, not the fake one. As soon as you’re released from prison, you’ll leave for Rodanthe Monastery. Stand by.”

The attendant gave Lizé a dry stare and walked out the door.

But even with the good news that her life had been spared, Lizé felt utter despair.

For it was clear that she had met an end befitting a villainess.