Dear Contract Husband, I Didn't Know You Were Like This? - Chapter 8
Maya narrowed her eyes and spoke in a cold voice.
“It’s possible. After all, you never really raised me.”
“What…?”
“It makes no sense to say you raised me when you’ve given me nothing.”
It was a do-or-die moment!
“My God, this child has really gone mad! Maguire! Maguire! I can’t live with her anymore!”
Elise shrieked loudly.
“Mother, it’s impossible to deal with this child!”
Maguire, too, gave up, making a sound like a pig being slaughtered.
“You are a disgrace to the Pendragon family!”
Otto Pendragon was no different.
“I think you all are the disgrace of the Pendragon family.”
Maya bluntly corrected her father, who had neglected his children while only sharing his bloodline.
“Ugh…!”
This time, it was Otto who clutched his neck.
In the end, the negotiation broke down.
***
Maya was thrown out of the Pendragon house with nothing but the clothes on her back.
At a time when she had no savings, Maya, now a nameless commoner, had nowhere to go.
First, she sat down in an alleyway, pondering her future.
‘Think positively.’
Losing the Pendragon name didn’t mean losing her power.
‘But how will I awaken now?’
Wielding a sword was as natural to her as breathing.
Becoming a swordmaster was as inevitable for Maya as her upcoming birthday.
This time, she would have to struggle for a long time in the muck.
To ensure her survival and awakening, Maya knew she needed significant money and the power to protect herself.
But that wasn’t the only reason for her desire to awaken.
‘If I want to live a long, long life, I’ve gotta awaken.’
Maya was aware of the prophecy about the Demon King’s arrival.
The gradual signs appearing in the empire were clear evidence that the prophecy was coming true.
The rivers turning blood-red, abnormal weather patterns, and the appearance of extraordinarily powerful demons were all forewarnings.
Maya’s existence added credibility to these omens.
The Pendragon family, known for their exceptional swordsmanship, had not produced a swordmaster since their founder—until Maya came along.
[The formidable power of the White Dragon shall rise anew amidst a looming catastrophe.]
This was the last testament of House Pendragon’s first household head, Ariette Pendragon.
Before Maya’s regression, even without the Emperor’s intervention, the empire’s situation was deteriorating.
The increasingly powerful demons were a significant problem in the North.
Naturally, the selfish Emperor paid no heed to this.
Eventually, to protect the dying people of the North, Grand Duke Tristan rose in rebellion.
The flames of rebellion that started in the North spread throughout the empire.
Thus, Tristan invaded the imperial family.
Maya recalled Tristan’s face, which she had seen before her death.
‘I thought he was my age, but he wasn’t.’
The Grand Duke Tristan, whom she thought was only three or four years older, appeared to be a late teenager at most.
A remark made by one of his close aides stuck in her mind.
“Grand Duke, you finally had the chance to return to your age…”
The aide’s words seemed to echo Tristan’s statement that she was the only way to break his curse.
A curse.
It was improbable, but the thought lingered. It was the most hopeful option for her.
‘Like the shackles of a contractor on me, there must be restrictions on him, born with the blood of the Black Dragon.’
The Bayarden family, symbolized by the black dragon contrasting the Pendragon’s white dragon, was a noble house that had defended the empire alongside the Pendragon family and the imperial family since the founding of the empire.
‘I tried to avoid the Grand Duke, but…’
To awaken without entanglement with the Emperor, there seemed no other way than to meet and negotiate with Tristan.
To uncover the true intention behind the proposal he sent her and to mutually benefit from it.
‘The Grand Duke needs me.’
Maya decided to leverage this to propose a deal to Tristan.
The Tristan she had seen in her past life was a warm person with a strong sense of justice, kind enough to give an easy send-off even to the tyrannous emperor’s dog.
‘The perfect contractor.’
From her previous life as the tyrant’s dog, she knew how vital a contractor was.
And since she was currently in the North, there was no better contractor for her than Tristan.
The thought of using Tristan made her feel guilty, but it was necessary.
‘After all, I’m selfish and a bad person.’
To live this life properly, a deal with the Archduke is essential.
‘I need to move quickly.’
If not now, then soon, the choices available to Grand Duke Tristan will not be limited to her alone.
I must take advantage of the current situation.
‘…Though I feel sorry for the grand duke, a deal where each holds the other’s weakness is more certain.’
If Maya truly can lift his curse…
Then, they could be perfect partners for each other in a transactional relationship.
