I Thought It Was a Common Transmigration - Chapter 59

‘What about all those rumors about Edith?’

Killian was not one to judge someone based solely on uncertain rumors, but the rumors about Edith Riegelhoff were too abundant and too consistent.

But from what he had seen of Edith herself, she could hardly be what they said she was.

‘Who on earth is the venomous, vicious, lascivious Riegelhoff family flower snake referring to?’

The inscrutable question kept nagging at him.

‘Does it have something to do with the fact that she said it was her first time at the opera and her first time receiving flowers……?’

Killian began to harbor new suspicions about Count Riegelhoff.

‘I’ll have to watch Edith more closely in the future.’

He had a feeling that digging into the truth she was hiding would lead him to a much bigger truth.

While he was lost in thought, there was a knock on his bedroom door. If anyone would come at this hour, it would be someone close to him.

‘Edith?’

His heart skipped a beat.

Killian opened the door, his heart racing.

But it wasn’t the person he was expecting.

“Sorry for coming this late at night, Killian. May I speak with you for a moment?”

“Lizé……”

Lizé had never come by at this hour before.

Killian let her into the room, looking uneasy and anxious.

“What’s wrong? You don’t look well.”

“Killian. I’m here to talk to you about something I’m not sure what to do.”

“Is that so? Then sit down and tell me. What’s going on?”

“Well…… it’s about……”

Lizé fidgeted for a long moment, biting her lip.

Her white skin looked even paler today.

“Lizé. The fact that you came to me means you trust me, right? Then don’t worry, talk to me, I’ll help you with anything.”

Killian’s soothing voice seemed to give Lizé some courage as he patted her delicate shoulder.

“Killian. One of the maids at the mansion…… disappeared today.”

“Disappeared?”

“She left all her belongings behind, but she was nowhere to be seen.”

“Did she go out and not come back?”

“I don’t know, no one has seen the maid since the lights went out last night, but……”

Watching Lizé’s eyes waver, Killian realized that this was what she wanted to talk about.

“Of course, it’s something I can’t be sure of yet, and I don’t believe all of it myself, but……”

The way Lizé spoke in circles made Killian feel uneasy.

“Lizé. What is it you want to say? Say it.”

At the sound of Killian’s low voice, Lizé closed her eyes tightly.

“The maid said she saw Edith poison the embroidery thread, and she said she’d tell Cliff today…… and then suddenly disappeared……”

“What……?”

Lizé’s hands were trembling.

Normally, Killian would have been paralyzed by the way Lizé was talking and would have gone to get Edith right away, but now he couldn’t take this story lying down.

The last thing he wanted to do was push Edith around just because he was ‘upset’.

“Who did the maid say that to?”

“She said she told the other maids around her……”

“There’s no way Cliff didn’t know about that all this time.”

“She said she’s been thinking about it for a while, and when Cliff heard about it today, he sent someone out to find her.”

“I’ve never heard anything about that.”

“It happened today when you and Edith were out, and Cliff seemed to be trying to handle things on his own, saying that if we told you, you’d just cover for Edith, but…… I thought you should know.”

Killian’s eyes narrowed, several assumptions and questions quickly crossing his mind.

“Killian. Could it be that Edith really tried to kill me?”

Lizé, who looked at him with teary eyes, was still pitiful and lovable, and Killian wanted to protect her.

But Killian also has a duty to protect Edith.

She is his wife.

“I don’t think so.”

“Killian……?”

“She has no reason to do such a thing.”

“Well, she wouldn’t, would she?”

Lizé asked like she was hanging on by a thread, and she, too, was shuddering at the assumption that Edith was the culprit.

It would be creepy to think that someone you see face-to-face every day could have tried to hurt you with such a nonchalant smile on her face.

Killian sighed and continued, “You’ve said it before, too, but why would Edith want to kill you?”

If Edith was a spy planted within House Ludwig by Count Riegelhoff and ordered to assassinate someone, she would target someone from House Ludwig, not Lizé, someone from another family.

He used to think that perhaps Edith wanted to kill Lizé because he was in love with her.

However, based on their time together, Edith was not jealous of Lizé.

‘She never craved my affection in the first place.’

She didn’t expect anything from him, much to Killian’s displeasure.

So there was no reason for Edith to want Lizé dead.

“I wonder if the maid is under someone else’s command.”

“If it was someone else……”

“Of course it’s the real culprit, and they don’t want to get their tails stepped on, so they spread just enough rumors to make Edith look suspicious and get rid of her.”

Lizé swallowed hard.

“I’ll have to investigate all the other maids who said they heard it from her.”

“Oh, no, I didn’t mean for this to get this big!”

“Shh, calm down, Lizé. You have nothing to worry about. It’s chilly in the mornings and evenings, and you should dress a little warmer.”

Killian carefully draped the shawl back over Lizé’s slender shoulders, where it had slipped off.

“……okay, thank you, Killian.”

“You’re welcome. Let’s go. I’ll take you to your room.”

Killian stood up and walked with Lizé to her room, saying one thing as he walked.

“Lizé. I’m sorry, but in the future, if Cliff tries to take matters into his own hands regarding Edith, will you come to me and tell me? I’m her husband, after all, and I should know.”

Lizé’s eyes widened, but then she nodded.

“Okay.”

“But don’t tell Cliff, or he’ll keep it from you.”

“……I’m sure he will.”

Lizé also knew Cliff’s personality, so she agreed with a bitter smile.

After walking Lizé to her room, Killian kissed her on the forehead to say goodnight.

Killian’s expression, mild until then, turned cold as he turned his back on Lizé’s room.

What’s the point of bringing it up now

‘What’s the point of bringing it up now, when everything’s been covered?’

Edith was right.

It was as if someone was persistently trying to make her into a villain.

***

“Huh? He asked me to join him for lunch today?”

“Yes, miss.”

“W- why……”

Anna was only relaying what she heard from Killian, so it was hard to get an answer from her.

After the opera date, Killian made it a point to spend time with me every day.

At first, I was just happy to have the afterglow of the date, but after three days, I started to wonder.

Grumbling to myself wouldn’t get me any answers, so I decided to ask him at lunch today.

Killian showed up at exactly the right time.

“How are you, Killian.”

“That seems like an awkward greeting for a married couple.”

“Well, is it…….”

Unlike me, who felt awkward sitting next to him, Killian sat down across from me quite naturally.

“So, how’s helping out with Renon’s work these days?”

He was so casual about asking how I was doing. So much so that I wondered if I was the weird one for feeling awkward in this situation.

“It’s kind of like what you saw when you came over: I get a job from Renon, I do it, and I hand it all over.”

“……you mean there’s no conversation?”

“Yeah. Usually, I don’t either, but Renon seems to like to be quiet and focused when he’s working.”

Then I remembered what he said about Renon when he embraced me. I think he said something like, “Did you cry like this in front of Renon, and did you know how naughty it was……”

“No way, you still think I flirted with Renon?” I asked nervously.

Killian’s mouth closed tightly as if that was the correct answer.

I really wanted to say no, no way, but I had a question I couldn’t learn without asking.

“Killian…… are you jealous?”

At those words, Killian glared at me.

“What are you talking about? You’re my wife anyway, so why would I be jealous of Renon?”

“Yeah, well, sure, but…… then why did you ask me that?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, the night before we went to the opera, you mentioned that I cried in front of Renon…… and yes I did, but how the hell did you know that? Did you spy on me?”

His fork and knife, which had been cutting into the chicken meat, came to a halt.

He did spy, yes.

“Hmph…… I didn’t realize you had a hobby of spying.”

“It’s not like that.”

“Oh, yeah. Well, let’s just say it is.”

I glared at him as if I understood everything, and Killian’s cheeks turned red.