The Contract Wife Tries to Leave - Chapter 136
The July weather was so hot that even thinking about outdoor activities was unpleasant.
Yet, despite the heat, Leonid went hunting on his estate bordering the woods, accompanied by influential figures from political and economic circles. Johanna didn’t want to join, but since it was hard to refuse his invitation, she had no choice but to follow along.
“Would you like some lemonade, Marchioness?”
Countess Stegner, seated beside her, offered. Feeling quite thirsty, Johanna gratefully accepted the offer. Somehow, the lemonade in the glass bottle was as cold as if it had just been freshly taken from the freezer.
“Hunting on such a hot day—honestly, I really can’t understand alphas.”
“But there are betas and omegas among them too, like Viscount Peres and Marquis Roiman.”
“Oh, right… Well, Viscount Peres makes sense, but Marquis Roiman is quite an unusual one, isn’t he?”
Under the makeshift tent, where a thick linen blanket had been laid out as a resting spot, there were six people sheltering from the heat. All of them were omegas.
It was Johanna’s first time being in a gathering composed only of omegas, so she listened to their conversation with a quiet curiosity.
“Well, there’s no rule that says omegas can’t be athletic, right? I was in much better shape before I manifested.”
“Lady Veles, you manifested at nineteen, didn’t you? That’s fairly late, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is. All my siblings manifested before they turned seventeen, so I thought I’d live my whole life as a beta… Oh, but didn’t Marchioness Neubitz manifest even later than me?”
Johanna, who had been quietly listening, flinched when a sudden question was directed her way, causing her to pause mid-sip of lemonade.
All five pairs of eyes turned to her at once, and she felt the weight of their stares. It was uncomfortable. Trying not to show her flustered state, Johanna feigned a calm demeanor as she answered.
“I manifested after I turned twenty. Before that, I lived as a beta…”
Who could have known that she would suddenly manifest as a dominant omega and have her life turned upside down? When she first manifested, she had debts and the reality of living as an omega seemed overwhelming. But in retrospect, she thought, perhaps it had been a stroke of luck.
“Honestly, I’m more interested in hearing the love story of the Marquis and Marchioness of Neubitz.”
“So am I.”
“No one ever expected Marquis Neubitz to have a love marriage. As you know… he has a rather particular disposition.”
Four of them looked at Johanna with eager eyes before breaking into laughter. One, however, only smiled politely; he was the only male omega in the group. Johanna found his silver hair fascinating and kept glancing at him, but she held back, worried it might be impolite.
“There’s not much of a love story to tell, really…”
“Oh, come now, that’s not true. Listening to others’ love stories is always interesting.”
“Yes, absolutely!”
“Hahaha…”
Johanna thought it might seem suspicious if she kept quiet, so she ended up telling a rather elaborate version of how Leonid was her first love.
Just as she was starting to run out of things to say and wondering if she should make something up, she spotted a group approaching on horseback in the distance.
“Ah, it looks like the hunt is over. Shall we start packing up as well?”
Ribich, the only male omega present, perceptively wrapped up the conversation. Johanna gave him a grateful glance, thankful for the timely intervention.
At the end of the group returning from the hunt were servants leading a cart. The cart was loaded with the day’s catch, covered with a black cloth, obscuring what animals lay beneath it.
For Johanna, this was a huge relief. She couldn’t understand why such a barbaric pastime as hunting still existed in the world.
“Was everything alright?”
“Yes, of course… What did you catch?”
She asked Leonid out of politeness as he dismounted his horse. In truth, she had no interest in what they had hunted and didn’t care to know.
As if he could read her thoughts, Leonid let out a small, amused sigh.
“A deer.”
“A deer, you say…”
“It was a handsome buck with beautiful antlers. Should I have the head mounted and hang it in our room?”
“No, I’d rather not, thank you.”
Seeing Johanna’s firm refusal, her expression turning serious, Leonid burst into laughter. His hearty laugh drew the attention of those nearby, who turned their heads with wide eyes. It seemed they were surprised, as Leonid was not someone known for laughing so openly.
