I Thought This Was A Common Transmigration

Chapter 22

And I felt hopeless.

'No matter what I do, I can't avoid the ending where Killian beheads me?'

If this is what it takes to possess a character, I'd rather not do it.

I'd rather my life just end with me falling down the stairs and dying!

I tried to hold back the tears, but they wouldn't stop.

If I cry, I'll only be reprimanded for being an idiot......

"Hmm, are you sure you didn't do it?" the Duke asked in a surprisingly softer voice.

I just nodded.

"If you're so sure I did it, just slit my throat. Didn't I tell you before, I'll put my honor and my life on the line?"

I was so angry I didn't even have the strength to scream.

I really wanted him to just cut my throat cleanly.

"You are talking without thinking."

Suddenly, Killian intervened. He glared at me with contempt and gritted his teeth.

Then Cliff spoke to the Duke in a calm voice, "Father, don't you think it would be a good idea to investigate further? But of course...... we need to keep the suspect from getting out of the house."

The Duke nodded heavily as if he was reluctant to accuse me of being the culprit.

"Edith is on probation for the time being. If you are truly innocent, wait for the truth to be revealed."

And with that, I was 'led' back to my room.

Killian, who had escorted me himself, made Anna and the knight wait outside, then closed the door.

Then, without releasing his grip on my forearm, he pushed me against the wall.

"Are you crazy?"

"I wish I am."

"You think I'm kidding?!"

He glared at me as if to devour me. "Do you know what the Duke of Axel Ludwig's nickname was on the battlefield? It was 'guillotine without warning.' And you were talking about slitting your throat in front of such a person?"

One hell of a nickname. No, but what does it matter now?

I furrowed my brows, and Killian gritted his teeth, barely holding back his anger.

"I know very well that you have a lot of balls, but don't you dare talk about dying. Because running away with death is cowardly."

"So...... you were more annoyed that I told the Duke to slit my throat, is that it?"

"If you're guilty, you'll be punished; if not, the truth will come out."

He must have thought I would kill myself to protect Count Riegelhoff's safety.

I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of it all.

I felt like I was talking to a wall.

"Well, as much as you don't trust me, I don't trust you anymore, because I think you're going to frame me as the culprit somehow."

"What?"

"You're the ones who put the fake document in my hands, you're the ones who informed me that Count Riegelhoff had acted on it, you're the ones who will investigate it and pass judgment, and I'm just going to be locked up in my room and have to accept your verdict."

The arrogant man who believed that Duke Ludwig was infallible frowned as if displeased.

But he was not a stupid man, and his head seemed to spin enough to rethink the situation.

He stared down at me with clenched molars, then barely opened his mouth to mutter. "I promise you, on my honor, that I will never be partial in this investigation, and along the way, I'll let you know how it goes."

I don't know how he feels. Actually, I don't really care right now.

"Do whatever you want. Oh, and by the way, you know that thing about not being partial......"

As he looked at me with a frown, I asked with a devastated feeling, "If both me and Lizé are under suspicion at the same time, are you sure you won't be partial?"

His jaw clenched.

I pulled my forearm out of his slackened grip.

"That's what it means to not be partial, Killian, and that's why I don't trust you."

He tried to say something, but I didn't want to hear anything.

"I'm tired. Go back."

With those words, I walked to my dressing room.

Without a single look back at him.

***

"You say running away with death is cowardly? Do you have any idea what it feels like to be the one to even think about it?"

Locked in my room, I replayed Killian's words, recreating my anger.

He seemed to think I was trying to defend my family's honor to the death, but I was simply trying to assert my innocence in a situation where no one else would believe me.

"You're a mean guy. Do you think being handsome, fit, and sexy is everything? Tsk. Just thinking about it makes me want to see you again, asshole!"

I hate this world! I want to hate Killian, but I can't when I think of his face and body.

Who says a marriage based on looks won't last three years? No, that's not true. I can stay married for 15 years and still find him handsome. Even when we're fighting, I can look at his face and it defuses my anger.

I never thought I'd see the day when I'd understand the internet stories that say, 'Handsome is the best.'

But in this situation, where my handsome husband has no intention of appeasing me, it's natural to feel angry and upset.

"Ha...... you can call me cowardly all you want, but I'd like to die, too, because if that's what you want, why should I suffer?"

Punching my pillow in frustration, I sighed heavily and rubbed my face with both hands.

This life sucks, but my previous life was worse than this.

I was always broke, had a brother who would come and steal money whenever he could, a body that ached all the time, an ex-boyfriend who cheated on me or ignored his promises to me, and co-workers who looked down on me and slapped me on the back......

In the 28 years I've been alive, I wonder if I've ever thought about dying. But there is one memory from my previous life that makes me never think of suicide.

It was when I was sharing a hospital room with another leukemia patient my age.

***

"Sob, sob...... sob......"

The day I found out that my brother's bone marrow was a match for me, I lay alone in bed and sobbed.

It wasn't from joy.

"Oh, no, that's gonna fucking hurt! Just go to hell!"

I cried because I kept hearing my brother's voice in my head, telling me to die without hesitation.