IMTVD| Chapter 33

Episode 33

I had no idea how many hours we’d been riding. Horses and people alike were exhausted, the air filled only with the

sound of heavy breathing.

Honestly, this was even harder than when Edwin first pushed everyone into a forced march on the day he decided to

find Emilia.

That’s how reckless he was riding now and no one could get ahead of him. The knights could only pray his horse

wouldn’t twist a leg. If Edwin were to fall at this speed, it wouldn’t just be a simple injury it would be a disaster.

When they finally reached the Grand Forest, Edwin jumped off his horse immediately and gave quick orders.

“Split into three groups. One to the train station, one to search the Grand Forest, and the last will follow me.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Please be careful.”

The knights quickly split up and scattered.

Even on the way here, Edwin had been planning to search for Emilia while looking for Leo. He headed straight for a

well-known local informant’s place.

He knocked on the door, but since he didn’t know the special knock to get in, he just kept banging.

“W–who’s there?!”

Edwin was seriously considering breaking the door down when it suddenly opened. The informant, trembling with

fear, peeked outside.

He’d looked out the window to see what was going on only to spot a bunch of fully armed knights. Thinking

something bad would happen if he didn’t open up, he had no choice but to unlock the door. Edwin stepped in and went

straight to the point.

“Have you seen this woman?”

He showed the man a locket with Emilia’s picture inside.

“How would I know just from ‘oh?”

The man had been ready to brush it off but froze when he realized he had seen her.

“You’ve seen her.”

“Yes… she was actually here today.”

“When?”

“That’s confidential… but fine, I’ll tell you. About an hour or two ago.”

Normally, he’d never reveal client information that was an unspoken rule in his line of work, and breaking it could

mean losing his livelihood.

But the man in front of him was clearly no ordinary customer. And the deadly stares of the knights behind him were

enough to make him spill everything.

As the man spoke, Edwin’s anxiety slowly eased.

So… she wasn’t running away.

He’d thought Emilia was trying to escape again either because she hated him or feared him but apparently, she’d

only come here to find out something.

“What exactly was she looking for?”

His unease still lingered. He had a feeling it was connected to Henry’s missing sword.

When the informant hesitated, Edwin pulled out a pouch and dropped it on the floor. Gold coins spilled out.

“You’d better talk.”

“She’s probably at Karis’ Tavern!”

Edwin had been ready to use force if needed, but luckily the man got the message fast and told him.

With that, Edwin headed straight to Karis’ Tavern. Just hearing the name, he already knew who Emilia was after.

I told you to stay away from him…

Grinding his teeth, Edwin reached the tavern, walked in and immediately spotted two very familiar figures.

“Emilia.”

Emilia blinked in surprise when she saw him.

What’s Edwin doing here?

He should still be in Cardinal. Could it be… he came here looking for her?

Judging by the way he called her name and looked at her, she guessed right.

Meeting his gaze made her waver, but she didn’t loosen her grip on the sword in her hand.

“Tch. Edwin Casper!”

Henry’s voice dripped with resentment. Just seeing the man who had ruined his family and taken everything away

from him made his blood boil.

But right now, there was nothing he could do except flinch away from the blade Emilia was pointing at his neck.

Hearing Henry shout Edwin’s name, the other people in the tavern turned to stare.

Edwin ignored them completely his eyes were locked on only two people: Henry and, more importantly, Emilia.

“You took everything from me my family, my father, my fortune, everything!”

His desperate voice rang through the now-silent tavern. Both Emilia and Edwin found his words ridiculous.

But what came next was even more absurd.

“You haven’t forgotten, have you? You only married into our family because we had dirt on you!”

“Hah… And what exactly was that dirt?” Emilia asked sharply.

In the original story, the Hermann family’s blackmail had nothing to do with some “treasured sword” Henry had

mentioned earlier. So what was he talking about?

Her eyes shifted to Edwin, silently asking for an explanation.

Edwin took it as a cue to answer out loud.

“Publicly, yes it’s true I married because the Hermann family had leverage on me.”

“See! So”

“But you only know half the story. The marquis didn’t ask for marriage at first.”

“What?”

This was news to Emilia. She’d always assumed it was the marquis who’d pushed for it, since Edwin was the last

person she thought would want this marriage.

Henry looked equally thrown off.

“In fact, I provoked him into making unreasonable demands.”

“Edwin… what are you saying right now?”

Normally, Emilia was quick to pick up on things but this time, even Henry could follow what Edwin was implying.

Still, she found it hard to believe she’d heard him right.

Instead of answering further, Edwin stepped closer. Emilia didn’t back away, just kept her eyes on him.

His knights were already clearing the tavern, shooing everyone out.

Edwin stopped right in front of her. Their eyes met, and she found herself unable to look away.

“From the first moment I saw you, I wanted you.”

“And you kept avoiding me.”

She still couldn’t make sense of what he was saying or maybe she didn’t want to. But his words pushed her toward

one inevitable conclusion.

“I did all of this because I wanted to marry you. I’m sorry I never told you the truth, Emilia.”

“Stop it!”

She frowned and turned her sword from Henry’s neck toward Edwin.

Henry collapsed where he stood, while Edwin calmly met her eyes.

Some of the knights started forward, but Edwin raised a hand to stop them.

Emilia’s head was a mess. She couldn’t believe what she’d just heard that Edwin had wanted to marry her from the

start.

“Edwin… I’m human too. You can’t just keep lying to me”

“Do you really think I’m lying right now?”

She’d been about to tell him to stop deceiving her, to push him away for good. That was what her mind was screaming.

But her heart… her heart was trembling.

“I like you, Emilia.”