I Thought It Was a Common Transmigration - Chapter 92

“Fred. You’re under no obligation to accept my apology, but calling me ‘not the kind of person to apologize’ sounds like something I should be apologizing for on my end.”

“What?”

Fred looked genuinely puzzled. What the hell was so incomprehensible about that?

“You’ve always been an arrogant woman who looks down on others, a domineering little devil, and for you to apologize is ridiculous.”

Ah…… Fred.

Even if you didn’t look like a squid, I would have rejected you.

“So I guess that means you’ve been crying about true love without even knowing me very well.”

“What?”

“Fred. You don’t know how much I’ve suffered from men like you, all of them jumping at me based on my looks and my family name. Do you know how awful those covetous eyes were?”

My blood was boiling.

But then I heard another voice in my head.

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

Yay, the time to death has been extended by three more minutes!

I don’t know how much longer I can extend it, but I’m going to have to hang on for as long as I can.

“At first, I thought you were different, but in the end, you whispered the same words as the other guys. Do you remember?”

“W- what words……”

“You said, ‘When are you going to give your body to me?’ As if you shouldn’t have given me that much information and brought me a gift……”

“Isn’t that a given?”

“It means that…… my body was your purpose from the beginning, and you can’t put the word ‘love’ on it.”

Fred’s breathing became ragged.

I wondered if I was provoking him, but I needed to set his memory straight. A distorted memory of a man who saw himself as a pitiful victim.

“I was really disappointed in that, and that’s why I cut off contact with you. I sometimes wondered if I had misunderstood you, but the way you talked to me today, it seems I hadn’t.”

Fred didn’t seem to know what exactly he’d done wrong, but his fiery momentum from earlier had waned.

“I’m sorry I didn’t live up to your expectations. I’m a completely different person from nicknames such as the little devil or the flower snake of Riegelhoff, I’m just an ordinary girl.”

“Then why did you do that to men? You used them under the guise of giving them your heart, took advantage of them, and then abandoned them!”

“I was the one who was taken advantage of by men. They would come up to me and whisper that they loved me for who I really was, but in the end, they wanted my body, and I rejected them!”

“No way……!”

“Well, since I got married, I’ve been living my life the way I want to. The only party I’ve been to this year is the National Day, I don’t care where people gather, I just read my books and live in peace. Boring, right?”

I smiled at Fred and paced slowly. I walked over to the window and pretended to be lost in thought as I looked out, even though it was hard to see outside due to the heavy dust on the windows.

I was pretty nervous about pretending to be nonchalant with a man holding a dagger behind me.

“Even if you were with me, I guarantee you’d be sick of it in half a year, I’m not the girl in your fantasies.”

“No…… no……! My Edith is……!”

“Your Edith in your fantasies is probably the kind of woman who seduces men like a femme fatale, making them grovel at her feet, and then gives them her sweet nothings at night, right?”

Fred didn’t answer. I must have hit the nail on the head.

“You know what I’ve been reading lately? It’s called ‘Agriculture for the Empire’s North Central Region,’ and the chapter on distinguishing between sea beans and mung beans made a big impression on me. Today I had to buy a new pair of stockings because the ones I usually wear have holes in the toes, and I’ve been a little constipated lately, and I’ve got gas in my stomach……”

“S- stop! Don’t say it! Don’t damage my Edith!”

As expected, he was just trying to fit me into a woman of his own imagination.

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

Extended three minutes again.

Whoa, this is really hard on the heart.

“Fred. I’m not the woman you wanted, I’m just a meaningless existence that you projected onto. Don’t you think it’s a shame to end your life with such a meaningless existence? Don’t you feel sorry for your life?”

If I had put as much energy into my presentation as I did in my previous life, my standing in the company would have been much higher.

Well, it’s a do-or-die game, so I’ll give it my all.

“That…… I…… I……”

“I know, Fred. You were thirsty for love, and I just happened to look like the girl you wanted. I was young, too…… and I knew it, but I pretended not to, because it felt good to be the object of your passionate gaze.”

Fred began to sob.

“Did you ever love me…… even a little?”

“If I care about my safety now, I could lie and say I did. But I’ll be honest with you: the feelings I had then were not ripe for love; they were curiosity, crush, and self-indulgence.”

Fred hung his head in despair.

I was afraid he’d snap out of it at any moment and lunge at me.

‘Anna! Anna, please notice I’m gone!’

There was only one way out of this damn building, and that was the only way I could get away.

I could only hope to convince Fred to let me out on my own, or that Anna would realize I was gone and come looking for me.

The problem was, neither of those options seemed too likely.

“Sorry……”

“Fred……!”

“I realized this while I was down at the estate recuperating, but I like women who trample on me.”

Ha, that’s creepy……. no, no, I respect your taste.

“That’s far from me.”

“I must have misunderstood…… you.”

I nodded, giving him a benevolent look, hoping he’d come to his senses, and trying to give him hope.

“I heard somewhere at the party that men like you are rare, and that your type of woman is always in short supply. So have hope, Fred.”

Fred smiled faintly and nodded. “If you’ll forgive me this once, I’ll never appear before you again.”

“As an apology for my past, I’ll forget about today, too.”

“Thank you. Oh, and this is the luggage you were carrying out earlier…… huh……?”

Luggage? What luggage?

Uh……? Wait!

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

At the same time I heard the voice, Fred’s eyes turned toward me as he smiled devilishly.

In his hand was a book I had bought at that bookstore earlier, The Countess’ Pet Dog.

The cover showed a man lying flat on the floor with a dog leash, stepped on by the foot of a woman in high heels.

“Heh, heh, heh…… I almost got fooled by you again, Edith. My Edith!”

Holy crap!

Why the hell are those books there?!

“Oh, you’re mistaken, Fred. I don’t like all those books!”

“Did you hate me enough to lie to me at such length, when I could be your faithful pet dog?! Why?!”

He drew the dagger again.

“Because I’m ugly, right? Because I know what women say about me, and since it’s impossible for me to be handsome…… you’ll have to be ugly.”

What kind of logic is that?!

But I didn’t feel like arguing about it now.

The sharp end of the dagger was already pointed at my face.

“Fred, calm down.”

“Don’t worry, Edith. I’ll come after you, I promise.”

And Fred lunged at me.

“I said calm down!”

I picked up the chair I’d been holding onto earlier and slammed it down on him.

With a whoosh, Fred rolled on the floor.

‘Eh! Is he dead?’

But as if my strength wasn’t strong enough, he jumped back up with a surprised look on his face, clutching his forearm where the chair had hit him.

I’d unintentionally taken my first chair shot of my life, but it didn’t go so well.

Unlike before, when he had approached me defenselessly, thinking I was a helpless woman, now he looked like he was facing an armed robber.

“Even my dad never hit me……”

Ah, is that so? No wonder his son looks like this.

“Fred. Don’t do anything stupid.”

“I’m going to make you my own queen, Edith, even in death, so…… please accept my love now.”

He lunged at me again, and I swung the chair again.

But he pretended to swing a knife, then grabbed the chair leg and pulled me roughly away.

I was almost dragged by the chair, but I quickly let go and ran behind a large table.

What followed was a chase and a fight in the small room.

‘If I get caught here, I’m really dead.’

As I ran, I looked around for anything I could use as a weapon, but there wasn’t a single thing left in the seemingly abandoned building, not even a fireplace poker.

“Gaah!”

Fred suddenly shouted, leaping over the table to pounce on me as I rummaged around.

“Aaah!”

My vision flipped as I heard a loud crash and the sound of something breaking.

I fell to the floor, and Fred, dagger in hand, was on top of me, laughing maniacally.