The Contract Wife Tries to Leave - Chapter 104
After waiting in the lobby for about ten minutes, Ilian appeared. Her resentment toward him had only deepened since their last encounter, so Johanna didn’t even bother greeting him. She simply took out an envelope from her bag and handed it to him.
“Not even a greeting? How cold-hearted of the Marchioness of Neubitz.”
“…”
Johanna shot him a glare that clearly told him to shut up. Ilian smirked, snatching the envelope from her without even checking the amount and passed it to someone who appeared to be his assistant.
“So…”
“…”
“Did you hear from the Marquis Neubitz about the bad blood between me and that bastard?”
Johanna’s whole body expressed her desire not to engage in conversation with him as she only gave a small nod. Now that the interest had been paid, she was eager to leave. But his next words stopped her in her tracks.
“When I was seventeen, I killed my father with my own hands.”
Johanna, who had been about to turn away, paused and looked back at Ilian.
“It was Leonid Neubitz who helped me do it.”
“…”
She stared at him, dumbfounded. For a moment, she wondered if she had misheard. But no—she had clearly heard him say it. At seventeen, he had killed his own father with his own hands…
And Leonid had helped him.
…Come to think of it, Leonid had mentioned something about having made a deal with Ilian. Could that deal have something to do with what he was talking about now?
But why was he telling her this? It wasn’t something she needed to know. Johanna, overwhelmed with confusion, parted her lips and asked,
“Why are you telling me this now?”
“Who knows… Maybe I just felt like you should know?”
“…”
Now, Johanna could finally begin to grasp a little of this man’s intentions. From the very first moment they had met, he had been trying to invade her world, slowly breaking down the fortress-like boundaries she had built around herself throughout her life.
He kept trying to break through, endlessly attempting to intrude.
“Eucleides.”
He murmured, glancing over his shoulder. His gaze landed on a painting still hanging on one of the walls. It was the oil painting of 〈Eucleides Killing His Father〉
“I bought that painting when I was fifteen and hung it here.”
“…”
“My father always suspected that I was the product of my mother’s affair, so he neglected me. But around that time, he began to acknowledge my abilities and started considering me as a potential heir.”
“…”
“And I played the role of the talented, obedient child that he wanted. Whether it was because he was senile in his old age or something else, he eventually fell for the act without question.”
Ilian turned his gaze from the painting to Johanna, a madness lurking in his eyes. It was the same dark glint that filled Eucleides’ black pupils in the painting.
“So I thought, I must kill him with my own hands. So that he could see clearly who was taking his life.”
His eyes gleamed like those of a beast in the darkness, and Johanna suddenly realized the truth—Ilian was a practiced killer. Instinctively, she stepped back, but he advanced toward her with long strides. Just as his hand reached out, Nella stepped in front of her.
“Y-You mustn’t come so close to the Marchioness,” Nella stammered, trembling, yet daring to issue a warning. Ilian gave her a faint smile, the kind one might give to a weak, insignificant prey.
“Move. I’m not going to hurt her.”
“You cannot touch the Marchioness,” Nella insisted, her voice quivering.
“Ah… seriously…”
Ilian chuckled incredulously, then looked over Nella’s shoulder at Johanna. His hollow, ashen eyes met hers, and she flinched reflexively, taking another step back.
“Johanna,” he whispered, his voice soft, almost seductive, like a demon tempting a child’s soul.
“Shall I kill your father for you?”
“…!”
Johanna’s eyes widened in shock at the unexpected proposition. She clenched her trembling hands into tight fists, trying to hide her unease. Why would he offer something like that? She was confused. Of course, she wouldn’t accept it. No matter how much she resented her father…
“Keeping him alive will only hold you back. Wouldn’t it be better to kill him before he causes you any more trouble? You don’t love him anyway.”
