I Thought It Was a Common Transmigration - Chapter 72

“I’m fine, but your complexion is so bad.”

“Do you think I’ll be okay when you’re on the verge of death?”

I’m touched. He actually seems to have a soft spot for me.

I gently brushed his tousled hair out of his face, trying not to look too pleased.

“How long have I been unconscious?”

“Three days, Edith. You just woke up for the first time in three days.”

“What? Three days?”

My eyes widened.

I didn’t feel like I’d slept that long……

Regardless, I had to get things straightened out.

“Killian. What on earth happened to you? I heard the yacht had a malfunction.”

“We’re looking into it now. Upon examining the yacht, I found that some important screws in the cockpit had come loose. I’m assuming that Samuel was neglecting his duties, or that he was paid off by someone.”

“I don’t think so, Killian.”

“Edith……?”

He’s an extra who probably isn’t even mentioned in the original story, but he has already become known as “Samuel” in this world.

I don’t want him to die for nothing at the hands of the author.

“Why would he do something that would get him caught so quickly, he was even on the yacht with you. I’m sure the real culprit has been keeping an eye out all this time.”

Killian sighed and hugged me. Then he whispered in a voice only my ears could hear.

“I think so, too. It’s just a warning from whoever it is.”

“Killian……!”

“We’re not neglecting our investigation into Samuel, of course, but we don’t have any leads yet.”

The frustration of having to investigate a crime that left no evidence behind was evident in his voice.

But with the intervention of the author, who is no different from god, it would be impossible to find evidence.

“I don’t think the culprit of this will be caught so easily. On the flip side, it also means that they’re very determined.”

“Determined on killing you……?”

“That’s what I’m thinking, Killian. You’re a good swimmer, aren’t you?”

Killian nodded. I expected him to.

“That’s why they were probably aiming for me.”

“But why……”

“I think we need to know who did it so we can know why……”

Killian nodded and hugged me tighter. “For now, just focus on recovering yourself.”

In his firm embrace, I let out a sigh of relief for the first time. “I know it’s late, but thank you for saving me.”

“I’m also thankful you’re alive.”

I enjoyed Killian’s embrace for a moment longer before I lifted my head and said, “Don’t punish Samuel. It’s not fair for an innocent man to suffer when the real culprit is probably someone else.”

“I know he didn’t cause the breakdown on purpose or try to hurt you. But it was his fault that he didn’t double-check the yacht that day, and he should be punished.”

“You’re all so forgiving of the mistakes of nobles, so why are you so harsh on the mistakes of commoners?”

Killian sighed, his brow furrowed. “Because the unlearned need a good education.”

I couldn’t disagree more. “I understand that mistakes need to be corrected and people need to be taught the error of their ways, but we should be more forgiving of the unlearned. Who is more guilty, the person who has been taught and makes a mistake, or the person who hasn’t been taught and makes a mistake?”

My voice became louder without me realizing it as it reminded me of the master’s graduates I met while working at the company. They were the ones who made mistakes themselves and only criticized other employees’ mistakes, saying, “This is why a bachelor’s graduate shouldn’t do this.” The nobles here look like those master’s graduates.

“You don’t seem like a noble sometimes……”

“I’m just human.”

Killian looked at me grimly, but kept a firm grip on my hand.

“If that’s what you think, then…… okay.”

“Thank you, Killian.”

He told me to get some more rest and laid me down.

I too was getting tired again and wanted to sleep.

“By the way, Killian.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“How are Lizé and Cliff doing?”

“Lizé and Cliff are fine, why do you ask?”

“I thought they might be surprised.”

Killian fell silent.

He seemed to realize that I was feeling uneasy about them.

I closed my eyes, pretending not to notice his agitation.

‘I can’t help but suspect.’

Cliff, who had recommended me to go yachting, and Lizé, who had wanted to come along the morning of the yacht ride……

Of course, they were both characters who were set up to be ‘righteous,’ but you never know.

‘The original story is already falling apart……’

I sighed in frustration and drifted back to sleep.

***

Even thinking about it again made me giddy.

Killian got goosebumps all over his body when he thought about everything that had happened from the moment Edith had fallen into the water.

Edith held out her hand, saying how cute the fish were splashing in the calm waters, the beautiful weather, the fresh breeze, and the smooth sailing of the yacht to the center of the lake.

Although brief, Killian felt a surge of happiness.

And then, as if waiting for him to feel that happiness first, the yacht suddenly tilted.

“Uh……?”

He blurted out something stupid in disbelief at the situation, and with a piercing scream, Edith fell into the lake.

“Edith!”

On the yacht, which seemed to be moving of its own accord, Killian frantically threw the rope in his hand toward Edith.

But when he lost sight of Edith’s head bobbing above the surface, he didn’t think twice before taking off his vest and shoes and jumping into the lake. With one hand, he gripped the rope tightly.

When he spotted Edith sinking into the depths of the lake, he felt his heart freeze.

He couldn’t remember how he’d swum there and saved her.

The next thing he knew, he was swimming toward the yacht, yelling at the unconscious Edith to wake up.

“Haa……”

Just thinking about it made his heart race and his breath catch in his throat.

As he pressed against Edith’s chest, pale as a corpse and not breathing, Killian begged God over and over again to save her.

“No, Edith, please! Please live, open your eyes! I’ll never forgive you if you die like this!”

He kept yelling at her, not knowing what he was saying.

Luckily, Edith started breathing again, and after being attended to by a doctor, she opened her eyes, but that didn’t make her near-death experience go away.

I remember thinking it was just an annoyance when Edith collapsed from the poison in the peach pie, but now just thinking about her pale, wet face sends shivers down my spine.

No, the peach pie incident was only now becoming horrifying in retrospect.

‘Someone must have targeted Edith.’

Killian could tell even if Edith didn’t say it. He’s a good enough swimmer that if he falls into the water, he can quickly swim out.

But for Edith, it was a different story. After all, with their heavy dress hems and uncomfortable shoes, women were always in danger whenever there was a boating accident.

So whoever was behind the wheel of the yacht must have wanted Edith to be in danger.

But who and why……?

‘Count Riegelhoff, who hates Edith, or Count Sinclair, who hates Lizé and the Riegelhoffs, or someone else……?

It was the Riegelhoffs’ maid who poisoned the peach pie, but she wasn’t the one who poisoned the embroidery thread.

As for who stole the documents, no suspect has ever been found.

In all three cases, the evidence pointed to Edith, making it difficult to point to anyone other than her, but also making it all the more suspicious.

But there came a point where a whole new set of assumptions started to creep in.

‘No way, Lizé…… No, no, no, it can’t be.’

Lizé was the one who defended Edith every time she was accused of being the culprit.

Moreover, she was the one who would marry Cliff and become the Duchess even if she did nothing.

Just as Edith had no reason to hurt Lizé, Lizé had no reason to hurt Edith.

But the more Killian denied it, the more he was bothered by the subtle changes in Lizé’s demeanor lately.

‘Why has she suddenly changed?’

She had certainly given him and Cliff their fair share of affection before, but in the months leading up to his marriage to Edith, he felt that her affections had shifted toward Cliff.

In fact, it was one of the reasons he had accepted to marry Edith.

‘Didn’t you have feelings for Cliff? Why the hell are you just now……!’

Lizé, who had remained the same after Killian married Edith, had changed only recently when Killian began going out with Edith.

With the kind of subtle flirting that’s scary if you are aware of what you are doing……

And ever since he’d felt it, a terrifying assumption had been brewing in Killian’s mind.

‘In addition to the peach pie incident, there was another person who could have been a suspect in the cases in which Edith was accused of being the culprit.’

It was Lizé.

During the document leak incident, Lizé was the one who had access to the documents and was able to draw the tables, albeit clumsy.

She was the one who could have applied the poison directly to the embroidery thread.

That suspicion made Killian suspicious of everything she’d told him about Edith.