Chapter 4: The woman he was looking for
❖❖❖ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟒 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍 𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐎𝐑 ❖❖❖
As soon as Ethan awoke and began searching for a woman, his brother Merrick pressed a palm to his forehead with a groan.
“My brother, on the verge of marriage, is out looking for a woman? What would Mother say if she witnessed this scene?”
“It’s not what you think.”
“You spent the night with her, and yet you claim it’s not like that?”
“I owe her a debt.”
Ethan, after all, was soon to be married in a political union.
Merrick’s expression grew troubled.
“Whatever kind of woman she may be, she’s not the one you should be interested in right now. I’ve heard rumors about Lady Liden McCurry. She doesn’t seem like an easy match. In this day and age, a man taking a second wife before marriage—”
“A second wife? That woman is already married.”
“You— with a married woman?!”
Merrick cast a glare at his younger brother as though he were a depraved creature.
❖❖❖
Lady Kim Siyeom hummed softly to herself as she admired her reflection in the mirror.
There stood a noblewoman of Western grace—blonde, radiant, adorned with luxurious pearl earrings—straight out of a foreign film.
Though adjusting from her former Eastern appearance to this newfound Western elegance had been difficult at first, it only took a week.
Now, she carried herself as though she had always belonged in this body. She even looked years younger—having gone from nearly sixty to her forties. A transformation she was quite fond of.
Only one thing marred her joy.
Lady Kim cast a lingering gaze at the portrait hanging on the wall.
A striking silver-haired gentleman with neatly combed hair and a gentle smile—a man who had passed away only weeks ago.
It was the late Viscount Florence.
“Why did you have to die with that face? You should’ve lived and been with me instead. Truly, the heavens are heartless. To think I’d have such terrible luck with men… If only you’d died a month earlier!”
Unfortunately, the body she now possessed also belonged to a widow.
She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the portrait.
She could’ve lived a grand life with a foreign nobleman. What a shame.
Sighing, Lady Kim eventually left her chambers and made her way to her second son’s room.
Unlike her eldest son, who had embraced their new life with enthusiasm, Seongmin had appeared gloomy ever since their transmigration.
He refused food and seemed constantly melancholic, eventually falling ill.
“Are you looking for Seongmin? He left earlier,” said her eldest, Byeongmin, as she stopped before the second son’s door.
“Left? Where would a sick boy go?”
“He looked fine to me. Said he had something to check on and left this morning.”
Check on something?
Lady Kim’s eyes narrowed with suspicion.
Her intuition was as sharp as ever—a skill honed from years of raising two sons alone after her husband’s early death, juggling work and life’s harsh lessons.
She had survived, refined, and learned to sniff out trouble with precision.
And right now, her instincts told her: whatever Seongmin was trying to find, it was something she wouldn’t approve of.
“He said he was looking for his manager. I think her name was… Yoonji? She was cute, even if a little slow. He thought there might be other transmigrators out there and went to find her.”
So far, only three people from their plane crash had been confirmed in this strange world.
Even Lady Kim had wondered if others had made it.
But she hadn’t voiced that thought—hoping it wasn’t true.
“What’s the point in looking for her? Even if she transmigrated too, she’s probably fine. Why bother?”
“You’re so cold sometimes, Mom. We’re all from the same world. Helping each other could be good. Who knows? Maybe she became richer and nobler than we did.”
“We’ll see about that when the time comes.”
‘Not Da-in, not the manager… I’ll find the daughter-in-law I want here, in this world. No matter what.’
Lady Kim liked her new life. And now that the daughter-in-law she disliked was gone, she saw no reason to cling to the past.
Though generally kind-hearted, she couldn’t help but find Seongmin’s lingering attachments frustrating.
“Well, I’d best get going.”
“Where to?”
Lady Kim held up an invitation.
“To the Capital’s Noble Ladies’ Gathering. If I make a good impression, I might even meet… what’s the equivalent of a queen here, Byeongmin?”
“The Empress?”
“Yes! Maybe I’ll meet her. I need to look my best. The higher my standing, the better your marriage prospects.”
“Right! Go get ‘em, Mom!”
Energized by her son’s support, Lady Kim threw open the door.
“Butler! Butler!”
She was about to instruct him to prepare the carriage when he came rushing up the stairs, face flushed.
What’s gotten into him?
“I need a tailor for the finest dress in town. Somewhere that sells luxury—”
“My lady! There’s been a disaster! The late master left behind a massive debt!”
What?! That handsome foreigner?
‘Of course. The pretty ones always bring trouble.’
If he were still alive, I’d make him sell his looks to pay it off!
“A-Ahhh…”
“Mother!”
Lady Kim grabbed the back of her neck and collapsed.
❖❖❖
On the road to the capital, Ethan stood at the village entrance, surveying the town.
This had to be the village closest to the forest where he had spent the night.
“It must be here.”
He had already dispatched his men. News would soon return.
Leaning against the white fence, he took in the peaceful simplicity of the place.
Beside him, Merrick mirrored the posture.
“What do you plan to do if you find the married woman?”
“Repay my debt. I survived because of her.”
“A debt? If it’s something you owe after spending the night together, then it can only mean—”
“Think whatever you like.”
Merrick shot his brother a pointed look, clearly unconvinced.
“If a commoner had truly helped a noble, she would’ve stayed behind, waiting for a reward. But this one vanished. Just how terrible were you last night that she left—ugh.”
Ethan silenced him with a friendly jab.
He, too, fell silent.
‘What exactly happened last night?’
His main concern was whether he had lost his memory again.
He combed through his recollections.
As he focused, voices began to resurface.
“Excuse me, are you sleeping?”
“Is it alright to just doze off like this?”
“Seriously? In the original work, you stayed up until dawn. I know I’m not the heroine, but still—come on.”
Her curt voice, her odd words—her presence lingered in the haze.
As Ethan furrowed his brows, lost in thought, Merrick nudged his side.
“Was it really that amazing?”
“Beyond belief.”
“Wow…”
Her speech had indeed been something else.
She had ranted at his request—mostly about her in-laws.
It was shockingly effective.
The stories were so vile and bizarre, he had become immersed, unable to hear the sinister whispers of the evil god.
He had shared in her rage over a torment he’d never experienced—life under cruel in-laws.
It had drained him as though he’d endured it for a decade.
‘That must’ve been when I fell asleep.’
And what a peaceful slumber it was.
Neither in the Duke’s chambers nor on the battlefield had he ever slept so soundly.
Now understanding the gist of it, Ethan glanced up.
Hooves thundered in the distance.
“They took their sweet time.”
The knights dismounted and approached.
“Your Grace, there is no one named Gemma in this village.”
“She’s not here?”
Could he have chosen the wrong village? Were there others nearby?
There weren’t—this was the only village close enough for her to have walked to the forest.
“We checked every house. No woman by that name resides here.”
“She worked at an inn. Did you check those?”
“Yes, and among the staff, there was no one named Gemma.”
Then what had he seen and heard last night?
Was it all a hallucination?
No—it couldn’t be.
Proof remained in his hand.
[As the rumors say, Your Grace, you are truly magnificent. It was an honor to be comforted by someone like you. I shall never forget that night. Thank you.
-
Gemma]
A note, clenched in his palm when he awoke.
She had vanished.
He remembered the fear—the thought that he might disappear, devoured by the evil god.
And when he opened his eyes to the sun’s warmth, what greeted him was not despair, but gratitude—for the woman who had talked through the night.
“So she lied about everything, huh… Wait a second.”
He pictured her writing the note beside his sleeping form.
Those pale, delicate hands tracing graceful letters.
A smile broke across Ethan’s lips as he crumpled the note.
“Find out who stayed at the inn last night. She must be a noblewoman.”
❖❖❖
Some time later, in a hunting field near the capital—
A woman donned in an elegant hunting outfit loaded a crossbow with steady hands.
Upon her shoulder perched a majestic hawk, wings tucked tight.
“Ready, Madam!”
The servant opened the cage. A pheasant burst forth.
The woman released the hawk, which soared, herding the bird.
With razor-sharp focus, she tracked her mark.
As her breath stilled, she pulled the trigger.
Whiiiing—Bang!
“A perfect shot, Madam! Absolutely splendid!”
The woman was none other than Samantha Kenwolf—Ethan and Merrick’s mother, and the matron of the most powerful house in the Empire.
❖❖❖
