IMTVD| Chapter 3

Episode 3

Emilia left the banquet hall with tears streaming down her face. Her heart was still racing, so she lightly pounded her

chest with her small fist, trying to calm it.

But no matter how hard she hit, her heart—one she thought had frozen over long ago—kept thudding wildly, refusing

to forget the warmth it had just felt.

She was confused. Since transmigrating here, she’d never felt anything like this before, and it was proving impossible

to shake off.

“Of all people… why you?”

Why did it have to be Edwin Casper—the man she needed to avoid at all costs?

She wondered what she would have done if it wasn’t Edwin. Maybe she would have forgotten about the Marquis and

Henry and taken that hand he offered her. But she knew that if word of that reached them, she’d be accused of acting

without permission and punished. So she refused.

Even so… she couldn’t stop thinking about his hand, his touch.

Why did it have to be him? She knew it wasn’t fair to blame him, but if she didn’t, she felt like what little self-control

she had left would crumble completely.

“You and I can’t be connected.”

She repeated it like a mantra, trying to drill it into herself.

It was one of the few promises she’d made to herself since arriving in this world—never to have any kind of

connection with Edwin Casper, the man who, in the original story, not only cast her aside coldly but also drove her to

her death with the heroine’s help.

When she got outside, the street was lined with carriages. She was supposed to leave with the Marquis and Henry,

but she didn’t want to go back in—especially not with Edwin still in there.

Her emotions were still all over the place, and she didn’t have the strength to face him again. So she headed straight

for the Hermann carriage.

When she got there, the servant waiting by it gave her a disdainful look. She ignored it—she just wanted to go home.

The servant stepped in front of her as she went to climb in.

“Where’s your ribbon?”

“…Ah.”

The decorative cord tied at her waist was gone.

“I must have lost it.”

“Hah. You lost it? What on earth were you doing?”

“…Sorry.”

There was no way she was going back inside to look for it. She didn’t even know where she’d lost it, and she wasn’t

about to wander around asking about it. What if she ran into Edwin again? She didn’t trust her heart to stay calm.

The servant finally stepped aside.

“I’ll tell the Marquis when we get back.”

He didn’t question why she was outside alone—maybe he just assumed she’d left because she didn’t fit in there.

Thanks to his ignorance, Emilia got into the carriage without further trouble.

What’s going to happen now…?

She still wanted to stop the story from going the way it did originally. But the first warmth she’d felt in this world had

come from the one person she was supposed to avoid most.

Out the window, she caught sight of someone wandering around holding a white cord—her ribbon. But at that

moment, the carriage started moving.

“This is for the best,” she murmured.

Even as the carriage rolled away, she still felt like she was standing on that terrace. She kept seeing him in her mind—

Edwin, with his jet-black hair and diamond-dark eyes looking down at her gently.

She shook her head to clear it.

For her own sake—and for Edwin’s—refusing his hand had been the right choice. The moment they became involved,

the stubbornly persistent original plot would begin to unfold. Cutting things off here was the right move.

“So please… find it.”

She had told him the location of the thing he’d been desperately searching for.

In the original story, Edwin’s half-brother had run off with secret family documents after losing a fight for the position

of heir. The Marquis had found them first and used them to force a marriage between Edwin and Emilia, planning to

use her to control him.

She’d told him where it was, hoping to stop their story from ever beginning.

But a few days later, Emilia’s hope was crushed.

The Marquis held a letter sealed with the Casper family crest.

“Emilia. At last, you’re finally going to be useful.”

It was a line she’d heard before—in the original story—and had prayed she’d never hear in reality.

“You’re going to marry that brat from the Casper family.”

It was surreal.

Before the original story began, Emilia had never once met Edwin Casper.

But that night, she had. And in a desperate bid to change the future, she’d told him where to find that item.

She’d thought he’d at least check, even if he doubted how she knew. But apparently, he’d been too late.

Did he not believe me?

It wouldn’t have been strange if he hadn’t—especially coming from a daughter of the Hermann family.

But still… she felt frustrated. She’d tried to change something—anything—but because Edwin hadn’t found the item

first, the story was back on its original track.

“Emilia.”

“Yes, Father.”

The Marquis’s gaze was cold and intimidating.

Just seeing the bruises still on her body brought back the pain of when she’d gotten them. She bit her lip out of habit

a reflex from learning that crying out in pain only made him hit harder.

Smiling faintly, the Marquis said, “The wedding isn’t far off now. You know what you need to do—get information on

the Casper family for our house.”

Nothing had gone the way she wanted so far. And now she was even more afraid—at first, she’d feared ending up like

the original Emilia, but now… she was afraid Edwin would come to hate her just like in the original.

“Well? Aren’t you going to answer?”

She looked up at him.

The smile vanished from his lips, and he glared at her with narrowed eyes, as if she were being insolent.

She clenched her fists and trembled. He was her father, but she felt nothing that resembled a bond between them.

She knew exactly what answer he wanted, but she hesitated.

She didn’t want to drag down the one person who had smiled at her with genuine warmth—even if it had only been

once.

Maybe the Marquis saw that as defiance, because he raised his hand to strike her. Emilia didn’t flinch. She chose to

take the hit calmly.

Then—

“Father, please calm down.”

“Let go of me!”

“You wouldn’t want the bride’s face to be bruised for the wedding, would you? Let’s not ruin the festive mood.”

Henry, who had been silent until now, stepped forward and grabbed the Marquis’s arm.

Both the Marquis and Emilia were caught off guard—Henry had always been one of the worst when it came to joining

in her abuse.

When she blinked at him in confusion, Henry smirked at her.

“Still, I think she needs a bit of… training before she goes.”

“What?”

The word “training” made her eyes widen.

She didn’t know exactly what he meant, but the sudden shift in the air made her want to run.

Henry spoke again before she could react.

“How about we lock her in the dungeon for a while? Let her reflect.”

Emilia’s stomach dropped.

She’d rather be beaten. She looked at the Marquis with pleading eyes, but he seemed to like Henry’s suggestion.

Henry looked right at her and mouthed silently, Thanks for helping me all this time. Now disappear.

He had stolen every bit of credit she’d ever earned in an effort to be recognized in the family. And now he was

throwing her away like a worn-out tool.

She’d always known, but it still hurt.

“I like it. Hey, someone get in here!”

“Please! I’m sorry! I won’t resist again, Father!”

“Lock her in the dungeon. No food or water until I say so.”

“Father!”

Even though she hadn’t done anything wrong, she fell to her knees, begging for forgiveness.

The Marquis didn’t care. He summoned the servants and ordered them to drag her away.

Henry gave her a smug smile as she was pulled toward the door.

I’ll keep an eye on you—before you leave, and after.

Even as she pleaded for mercy, no one stepped forward to help her.

“Congratulations on your marriage, my lady,” one servant mocked.

Three days later—on her wedding day—Emilia was finally let out of the dark, damp dungeon.

How can I cut her off from that family completely?

Edwin stared down at the wedding invitation, deep in thought.

If he showed any interest in her, the Hermanns would only see it as an opportunity and try to use her. Even if he

blocked them, they’d keep coming. And the one who would suffer most in the middle would be Emilia.

Then maybe…

It was a stupid idea, and he knew it. But still, he bit his lip.

If I pretend I don’t care about her…

Maybe then the Hermanns would decide she was useless and lose interest.

It would be hard on her, yes. But if it meant cutting her off from them, it was worth it. He’d make sure to sever their

ties as quickly as possible so her suffering would be short.

He wanted to see her smile again someday, but…

“Would you understand if I told you the truth?”

He knew it would be better to tell her everything. But for some reason, the thought scared him—he was afraid she

wouldn’t understand at all.