I Thought It Was a Common Transmigration - Chapter 47

“But I didn’t mean to seduce you.”

“You walked into a man’s bedroom in the middle of the night in a sexy outfit and kissed him, but you didn’t mean to seduce him…… what a very convenient excuse.”

“Oh, no, I really just wanted to get a quick kiss, just one kiss. I swear.”

I tried my best to explain, but Killian shook his head mockingly.

Well, from his point of view, it might have looked like I did seduce him……

And it was clear to me what he thought of me.

A lustful woman who uses her body to cover her lies!

Wow…… in my previous life, I never thought I’d get such a great title……

“I think I understand what’s going on here, Killian Ludwig is the fish you successfully caught, so now you’re going to focus on other prey?”

“What? Haha, Killian, what kind of imagination are you running on? What do you mean other prey, is there even any prey around here that I can catch?”

I laughed at his ridiculous assumptions, but Killian gritted his teeth and leaned closer to me.

It was only then that I realized he was breathing quite heavily.

“I’ve heard rumors that you’re a skilled hunter, and you use your advantages so well.”

“Advantages?”

His lips touched the nape of my neck unexpectedly.

“Where do you think I heard that Edith Riegelhoff’s skin was so smooth and fragrant?”

“Ah!”

He brushed his lips over the nape of my neck and nipped at my shoulder.

“At the social club where young men gather, you were quite the hot topic. Do you know that?”

It didn’t hurt where he’d bitten me, but it made me gasp.

“Even when I didn’t want to hear it, it was always talked about – how tempting you are, how many men have fallen for you……”

That’s a little unfair.

No matter how much I searched Edith’s memory, I couldn’t remember ever crossing the line with a man.

Sure, she’d flirted with them, and she’d pretended not to notice their flirtatious touches, but she’d never allowed them to go beyond that.

That was Count Riegelhoff’s directive.

He would sell me to whoever would buy me, but I must be a virgin or I would be worth less.

So all those people talking about me and spreading stories must have been bluffing.

But who would listen to me?

“So tell me…… how easy would it have been to seduce a man?”

“N- no, no……!”

“You know that’s how men lose their minds.”

He pulled my nightgown down impatiently.

Even as I listened to his insulting words, a strange sense of anticipation filled me, and I didn’t actively stop him.

But just when I thought he was about to lash out, Killian suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.

“Ki- Killian……?”

His gaze was fixed on my shoulder.

‘What, have I done something to spoil the mood?’

It’s probably because I was in the throes of excitement that the thought crossed my mind.

Killian, on the other hand, seemed to be frozen in place, his excitement gone in an instant.

He hastily slid off my bed, turned on a nearby lamp, and began to stare at my shoulder again.

And then I realized what he was looking at.

“This…… is definitely not an accidental bump.”

He was looking down at the bruise Sophia had created.

“Killian, t- this, so, I mean……”

I opened my mouth to say something, but the truth was, I didn’t know what to say.

As he laid me down and pulled my nightgown further down again, the words Sophia had spoken echoed in my head.

“You know that you’re a discarded pawn in the Riegelhoff, and the only thing left for you is to be discarded here as well……”

I was giddy.

Even though I trusted the main flow of the original story, I felt uneasy about this situation.

In the original story, Edith is never beaten by Sophia, nor does she reveal any evidence of her persecution.

But how would the story change if Killian realized that Sophia was responsible for the countless bruises on my body?

Killian stared at my back and didn’t speak for a long moment. No, he didn’t move.

“Killian……”

I tried to get up again, but he pushed me back down on my stomach, ran a hand through my hair, and pulled down my nightgown to examine my body.

I couldn’t see what my back looked like, but seeing him this serious, it must be pretty bad.

As I gave up resisting and relaxed my body, Killian calmly began to dress me again.

‘We were in a good mood. Damn.’

Too bad.

As ecstatic as I was to be sharing a body with Killian…… right now I just need his body heat.

If he hugs me, maybe I can rekindle some of the dying embers of courage……

“I’m sorry for losing my temper.”

“Oh, don’t be, we’re husband and wife, and I know it’s a wife’s duty……”

I was hoping that since I was aware of a wife’s duties, Killian would fulfill some of his husband’s duties, but the way things were going, that wasn’t going to happen.

“Husband and wife……”

There was no more heat in Killian’s voice. It was like he’d regained his cold self.

I knew I was about to be bombarded with questions I wouldn’t be able to answer.

“Yes, we’re husband and wife, after all, so I’ll ask: Who did this?”

He asked straight away. There was no way I could answer.

The damn constraints made my tongue stiff before I could bring up Sophia’s name.

When I said nothing but averted my gaze, Killian swept my hair back behind my ear.

His touch was definitely softer than before.

“Yes, thank you.”[1]

[1] The full sentence of this phrase is “Yes, thank you for your answer.”

I said nothing, but he heard an answer in my silence.

Then he slid off the bed, looking like he’d decided something.

It was as if he didn’t even feel a physical need for me, which made me impatient.

“Killian…… I know it’s…… inappropriate in this situation, but can’t you just…… hug me?”

“Is that to distract me?”

“No, it’s not like that, it’s just…… just…… just, because I want to……?”

You kissed me just because you wanted to.

I can’t?

Can I……?

“I’m not a beast enough to hug a woman covered in bruises, just sleep well tonight.”

Ah, as expected……

Killian walked out, looking more angry than when he came in.

I was left alone in my room, enveloped in silence.

‘He must have lost interest in me.’

I can’t even stand in for Lizé with a body like this.

I was chilled to the bone because Killian hadn’t even bothered to put a blanket over me.

‘Oh, it’s cold……’

It’s summer, but it’s cold.

Every time I looked at Killian, I told myself that his heart was not for me, yet I became more and more greedy, and loneliness pierced me.

I am sad because I have no hope but Killian, and he makes me feel hopeless.

I am sad that he didn’t embrace me warmly.

‘I’d rather he’d ignore me altogether, but lately he’s been acting strangely caring, and I’m getting my hopes up.’

I tried to breathe a sigh, but the tears that had formed in the corners of my eyes quickly dripped away.

I quickly wiped my tears with my sleeve.

‘Oh, how embarrassing. You can’t be weak. No one cares about you here but yourself, so…… don’t be weak.’

I tried to hold it back, biting my molars, but tears quickly soaked my lashes and cheeks.

‘Oh, you idiot…… idiot, idiot, idiot!’

I laid my head back on the pillow and closed my eyes.

Hopefully tomorrow morning I’d wake up in my crappy dorm room.

Killian was a brilliant light that thrilled me to look at, but I’d rather live a dull life without knowing him than suffer like this.

Whether it was the emptiness of my heart or the fever of my weeping, I couldn’t think any further and fell asleep.

***

Killian decided to let go of the idea that he knew a woman named Edith.

She is not who he thought she was. Not even close.

“With everyone suspicious of me because of the peach pie incident, do you really think I’d do something like that?”

He was surprised to hear Edith ask in disbelief.

Maybe it was because, as she had vaguely noticed, everyone in the Ludwig household was ignoring her.

In fact, he didn’t think she’d be foolish enough to do it, even under suspicion.

She then asked to be watched if there was any doubt about her innocence.

She even gave a warning not to easily frame her as a villain without putting in that much effort.

‘She’s right. We suspected her of everything that happened without putting in the least bit of effort.’

When the realization hit, Killian felt puzzlement before shame or embarrassment.

‘Why did I do that?’

In hindsight, it didn’t make sense.

The Ludwigs had never used such a flimsy tactic before, whether on the battlefield or in the political arena.

‘Why didn’t I see anything wrong with it until it was pointed out to me by Edith herself?’

I felt like I was possessed by a ghost.

But it didn’t seem that his senses had been dulled, as he suspected that the maid from Riegelhoff reacted sensitively when Edith asked for more maids.

Anyway, the surprises kept coming from Edith.