THM 01

Chapter 1

“Then does that mean the two of you married for love?”

In a way, it was a slightly rude question.

The ladies invited to the estate didn’t bother with formalities and began asking whatever curiosities came to mind.

Johannes Schultz—who had vanished after leaving behind countless rumors—had reappeared. And not only that, he had returned with a commoner woman as his wife.

Of course they would have many questions.

The ladies’ gazes, openly brimming with curiosity as they looked at me, felt rather burdensome.

“Of course. We’re completely immersed in newlywed life.”

I showed no reaction to their excessive interest. Instead, I gave a suitable answer and simply took a sip of my tea.

“To marry Duke Schultz, the idol of everyone. You must be so happy, Duchess.”

“I’ve always dreamed of living in Müssen. It’s such a wonderful place.”

“I’m curious about your first meeting. Where on earth did the two of you meet?”

At the last question, everyone’s eyes turned toward me.

Surrounded by the ladies whose eyes sparkled with curiosity, I fell into thought.

How on earth am I supposed to explain this?

“Our first meeting? Well… how did we meet again…?”

When I hesitated to speak, the ladies lightly waved their hands and urged me on.

“There’s no need to be shy.”

“That’s right. We all got close like this too.”

“I wonder what side of you captivated the duke, who never kept women around him.”

They seemed to think I was simply a shy person. But I was never the type to act bashful or evasive.

It’s just that… right now, speaking carelessly would put me in a very awkward situation.

“Haha…”

I answered by taking another sip of tea.

They looked a little disappointed, but brushed it off lightly, saying, “There will be plenty of chances.”

Well, at least I managed to get through the immediate situation safely.

Hiding my unease, I gave them a light smile—hoping they wouldn’t ask any more difficult questions.

Then I cast a faint gaze out the window, filled with emotions even I couldn’t define.

Letting out a thin sigh no one noticed, I once again thought about the problem that had disrupted my otherwise perfect daily life.

These days, while living an enviable newlywed life with a flawless husband anyone would admire, one particular concern had arisen.

It seemed… my husband might be a murderer.

* * *

This is not the world I used to live in.

I realized that only recently.

At a time when I should have been enjoying an objectively perfect marriage, something I would have rather never known suddenly surfaced in my mind.

It was exactly one week ago, during a conversation with my husband.

“How about Prim Wood?”

My husband wanted to give the estate a nickname. As we exchanged various ideas, the name that started everything—Prim Wood—came up.

“Prim Wood…?”

“After your name. The estate is in the middle of a forest, after all.”

My husband said this with a smile, but a strange sense of déjà vu washed over me.

I couldn’t remember clearly, but I was certain I had heard that name somewhere before.

…And in a very, very bad context.

Pushing that uneasy feeling aside, I carefully tried to dissuade him.

“After my name? But this is the Schultz family estate. And we haven’t even been married for very long yet. Who knows what might happen? Isn’t it a bit too soon—”

“Are you saying we might divorce?”

What returned was my husband’s dry voice.

He cut me off and asked with a slightly stiff expression.

His extreme example startled me, but since we needed to appear like a perfect couple on the surface, it wasn’t entirely incomprehensible.

I calmly tried to soothe him.

“That’s not what I mean. I’m just saying it wouldn’t hurt to think about it more slowly. And besides, naming the estate after my family name… how surprised the late duke would be if he knew.”

“The opinion of someone who is no longer in this world is not important.”

“But…”

“Edith Schultz.”

My husband firmly called my name.

I didn’t know why he insisted so stubbornly on my “original” surname, but it was difficult to bend his will.

“…Alright.”

In the end, the estate was named Prim Wood.

But I still didn’t like the name.

Even though it was based on my surname, it gave off a strangely chilling feeling.

I wanted to dismiss it as nothing more than a bad mood, but the sudden anxiety refused to fade—even after I returned to my room and lay down on the bed.

All night long I tossed and turned, trying to figure out why that name unsettled me so much.

And when the name settled deeply in my mind, the fog that clouded my thoughts gradually lifted.

Then the memories of my previous life came flooding back.

Among modern nations, the Kingdom of Dochilia—leading the world in the railway industry.

Within it, the most beautiful city: Müssen.

The Duke Schultz who protected Müssen.

And…

Prim Wood, the Schultz ducal estate.

“My god… Johannes Schultz.”

My heartbeat, once steady, began racing, and the ground beneath my feet felt like it was vanishing.

Why hadn’t I realized it until now?

This place is inside a novel.

More precisely, inside a novel I read in my previous life.

I couldn’t remember the details very clearly because it had been so long, but I was certain.

And my husband, Johannes Schultz, was the male protagonist of that novel.

You might think, “Isn’t that a good thing?”

But I could confidently bet the rest of my life that it absolutely was not.

“Johannes Schultz is…”

Johannes Schultz is a mad serial killer.

No one noticed because they were deceived by his kind and perfect mask—except for the female protagonist.

But the number of women he had killed was beyond counting.

Of course, later he genuinely falls in love with the heroine and the story ends in a happy ending.

But…

“…That’s not me.”

My face twisted.

Maybe I stopped reading halfway through… I wasn’t certain, but I remembered there being a lot of discussion about the ending.

I suddenly jumped to my feet and began pacing anxiously around the room.

“I must be insane.”

Stopping abruptly to smack my own head, then pacing again—over and over.

“What was I thinking, walking into this crazy place?”

“He’s from a good family, he’s tall, and he’s even handsome. He’s perfect, isn’t he?”

“No. Johannes is kind.”

“But can you be sure? What if it’s all an act?”

I even started arguing with myself like a madwoman.

But this was serious.

My life was at stake.

“Maybe I’m the heroine.”

I even tried activating my optimistic thinking.

“No way.”

But that assumption quickly collapsed.

There were several logical reasons why I could not be the heroine.

First.

My name is Edith Prim.
The heroine’s name is Joanna Tennet—not even a single letter matches.

Second.

The heroine is described as having a fragile, delicate appearance.

I do not. Of course I’m pretty, but delicate? Not quite.

And the third and final reason.

The estate called Prim Wood existed long before the heroine appeared.

Since Johannes named it after me, that means the heroine’s appearance is still far in the future.

No one knows when his murders began.

Which means he might kill me…

Or he might not.

But…

“The chances are high.”

This is insane.

I walked straight into hell on my own.

I staggered forward blankly, my trembling hand gripping the frame of the mirror.

The face reflected in it looked like someone who was about to die.

Long brown hair.

Emerald-green eyes.

Those were the common features shared by the women Johannes Schultz had killed