I Thought It Was a Common Transmigration - Chapter 91

‘That was the kind of man Edith Riegelhoff had in her sights. Damn it!’

What a thrill it must have been for this man to receive a charming smile and a pat on the back from a woman he had never dared to look at.

Fred Sicily became almost Edith’s dog.

He would give her all the information he had about the railroad business.

He also gave her many gifts.

But as soon as Edith had all the information she needed, she cut off contact with him.

Fred, who was addicted to love like a drug, was almost insane, and he followed her everywhere, insisting on his love.

‘Then he went down to the estate at the behest of Viscount Sicily…… so why is he here now?’

I asked as calmly as I could, though I felt myself shaking, “I heard that you went down to the estate, but when did you come?”

“I was just released from probation not too long ago, and my father let me go because I pretended to forget about you in front of him. If I’d known this would happen, I’d have lied and said I’d forgotten about you sooner. Haha.”

This is not good.

“I’m afraid I’m a bit busy at the moment, but if you have anything to say, please put in a request for a visit to the Ludwig mansion. Then, bye.”

I smiled and tried to walk past him.

“I put in a visitation request all the time, and I get turned down.”

My arm was grabbed and a gruff voice came from right beside me.

“Let go of me!”

“I don’t want to, Edith. I’m not letting go of you this time.”

“Aaaah!”

I screamed, as soon as I realized he was going to do something dangerous to me.

There are people coming and going right in front of me, someone will see this way.

And I made eye contact with a man who glanced this way.

“Help me!”

But as soon as I screamed, Fred clamped his hand over my mouth, and the man who had made eye contact with me turned away and went on his way.

Even if not him, there’s no way my screams couldn’t have been heard all the way out there, and no one was even looking this way.

‘W- what? No way, is the author intervening again?’

I shouted in confusion, trying to pry Fred’s hand away.

But Fred was kind enough to explain why no one was paying attention to me.

“Don’t get involved in what goes on in the back alleys, that’s the unwritten rule of this country. Haha.”

What the hell!

But then Edith’s memory flashed back to a similar piece of advice.

“If you’re walking down the street and you see something going on in the alley, not on the main street, don’t get involved.”

“Why?”

“Because even if you do, you’re not responsible for it, and it’s none of your business. Don’t make a name for yourself by meddling.”

Apparently, a tutor or something like that had told her that when she was younger.

‘Why is that just now coming to mind?!’

If it had occurred to me before, I wouldn’t have come to this dingy alley without an escort in the first place!

And with that, Fred subdued my struggling body with a fearsome force and dragged me somewhere down the alley.

No one stopped him, even when they saw me struggling.

‘How can the capital of the Empire have such poor security?’

If I can make it to Ryzen with Killian in one piece, I will devote all my energy to improving the security of Ryzen! I swear!

But none of those thoughts helped me in the current situation.

Even if Edith was healthier than Choi Soo-na in my previous life, I couldn’t resist the strength of a grown man while wearing an uncomfortable dress.

I kicked Fred in the shins and struggled, but he simply swept me off my feet and into an empty house down the alley.

He locked the door of the empty house and blocked it with something like a chair, and only then did he turn toward me.

“I missed you, Edith.”

“Ha, ha, are you kidnapping me?”

“Your answer will determine whether it’s a kidnapping, a love affair, or a murder.”

The word ‘murder’ made my head spin, but I quickly focused on the fact that he had other options in mind.

‘Yeah, that means there’s room for persuasion.’

I thought back to my part-time job in a call center in my previous life.

All sorts of crazy people would call in, but most of them would calm down if you listened to them calmly and empathized with them.

Of course, there were some who called just to blow off steam, but I prayed that Fred wasn’t the worst.

“Fred. What the hell am I supposed to do when you show up after all these years, kidnap me, and say scary things like that?”

I dropped my eyebrows and sounded like I was about to cry, and Fred looked flustered for a moment before scratching the back of his head.

“I- I’m sorry about that. It’s just that I was so excited to really meet you that I didn’t realize……”

I picked up on a strange nuance in his words.

Come to think of it, when he first saw me, he was surprised, saying, “You are really here.” It was as if someone had explained my location to him.

“Did someone tell you that you could find me here?”

“Oh, not really, I just overheard it.”

“……where?”

“Well, my sister was having a tea party at our mansion the other day, and I heard someone say something there.”

“You were expecting me to be here?”

Fred nodded obediently.

But it was a really strange story.

It was only two days ago that I’d decided to go out on Le-Belle Marie Street. How could that have been tipped off at a tea party that would have taken place at noon that day?

‘Unless the person who made the offer had given them a prior notice……’

The thought creeped me out more than the presence of Fred in front of me.

“Fred, do you remember who told you about that?”

“Why? Does it matter?”

“Yes, it does.”

“Then you should pay me to tell you that information. Isn’t that your modus operandi?” Fred smirked.

Goosebumps rose to the top of my head again, but I clenched my molars and held it in.

“Fred, this is a crime. Aren’t you the heir apparent to the Viscount of Sicily? You should think about how much of a disgrace you’re bringing to the family name by committing a crime like this!”

“You sound like my father, but I am not a man who values family obligations. In fact, I didn’t even know it until I met you……”

As he said this, he pulled a dagger from his belt.

“It turns out I’m a romantic who lives to love and dies to love.”

“W- what?”

“I decided on the ride back to the capital that I couldn’t live without you, so my life was either going to be about getting you, or dying with you…… There is only one of the two.”

I swear this is driving me crazy.

“Fred. I’m already married, you know that, don’t you?”

“I thought I was going crazy when I heard that, but Duke Ludwig is holding you hostage, isn’t he? Sooner or later you’re going to be thrown out…… so why don’t you come to me before then?”

Let me correct two things that are wrong with your statement.

First, you’re already crazy.

And I’m not a hostage anymore!

“You’ve got it wrong, Fred. I am the rightful daughter-in-law of the Ludwigs, and the wife of Killian Ludwig.”

“Shut up!”

Fred swung the dagger in an instant, and I stumbled backward.

Then, a familiar voice in my head announced,

[Edith Ludwig’s death as a villainess puts the story back on its original flow. Three minutes to go until death.]

Damn…… is the author intervening again?

I don’t even have Killian to save me this time, and I only have three minutes left.

My heart begins to pound frighteningly. It was already scary, but as the time until my death became more clear, my heart sank as the reality set in.

“Fred.”

I called his name more calmly, deliberately trying to calm my heart as it squeezed the last drops of blood from my body.

Then, as if his excitement had subsided a bit, he lowered his dagger.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Edith. I got a little carried away. This isn’t the marriage you wanted, is it?”

I felt the pressure in the way he asked, “Is it?” – that I had to say yes, so I could survive.

But I knew that wasn’t what this man wanted.

And as I racked my brain for the right answer without provoking him, one thing occurred to me.

‘I don’t think I’m going to die in three minutes. I survived last time.’

Yes, I did. I heard those words while I was drowning, and I survived.

‘Yes, I can survive.’

I swallowed dryly, took a deep breath, and spoke calmly again, “Fred. First of all, let me apologize for what happened three years ago. I’m so sorry for hurting you.”

“No, no, no, that’s not necessary, because I’m going to be unconditionally one with you today, and the past doesn’t matter……”

“If the past is not properly resolved, the present and future will never be okay. I’m sorry for taking advantage of your heart.”

It wasn’t my doing, but as someone who’s been treated like an object by my boyfriend in the past, I could understand Fred’s feelings.

The first thing I wanted was a sincere apology from my ex-boyfriend, who had treated me like an idiot and taken advantage of me.

But then Fred’s expression became strange.

“What are you up to this time, Edith……? You’re not the kind of person to apologize, are you going to pretend to apologize and then run away?”

He was half right, but I was a bit offended.