The Contract Wife Tries to Leave - Chapter 149
“Let the people know…!”
The man holding Nella roughly clamped a hand over Johanna’s mouth, stifling her shout. Taking advantage of that momentary distraction, Nella managed to slip through the assailants and took off running.
“Hey, catch her!”
“Forget it, leave her.”
The man who had covered Johanna’s mouth shouted, but another stopped him. Johanna furrowed her brows. They had someone escaping, yet they chose not to pursue her?
“Marchioness of Neubitz? We won’t harm you, so just come quietly.”
“…”
What on earth were their intentions? Were they kidnappers looking for a ransom? Or perhaps they were working for someone who held a grudge against Leonid…?
Whatever the reason, if they intended to use her as leverage against Leonid, their plan was bound to fail. She simply wasn’t worth that much to him.
With her mouth still covered, Johanna was dragged out of the carriage. The driver and the guard were sprawled out in different directions, and the street around them was eerily deserted. Not a single soul or creature in sight, as if someone had cleared the area in advance.
The assailants led Johanna to a pitch-black carriage parked nearby. One of them opened the door and gestured for her to get inside. When she hesitated, another shoved her roughly.
“Ugh…!”
As she was forced into the carriage, a sharp pain shot through her left ankle—it seemed she had twisted it near the ankle bone. Johanna gritted her teeth, trying to endure the pain. At that moment, a familiar voice rang out above her.
“Didn’t I tell you to handle her carefully? Do you have a death wish?”
“S-Sorry, Boss!”
That voice…
“You’d better know you’re in for a beating later.”
“S-sorry…!”
Ilian Rediess.
It was him.
Johanna slowly raised her head. The inside of the carriage was as spacious as a traveling coach, and directly ahead of her, Ilian sat on a seat, his posture relaxed.
“Hello, Johanna.”
As their eyes met, he flashed a playful smile.
“Happy birthday.”
* * *
Nella ran without stopping until she reached the Weimar estate. Seeing her disheveled state, the gatekeeper quickly opened the main gate, and Nella rushed into the main building. As soon as she encountered Annette, she urgently blurted out her words.
“Please… let me see the Marquis… right away…!”
Her breathing, ragged from running, calmed somewhat during the walk to Leonid’s office. However, her heart continued to pound wildly, as if it might burst out of her chest, and she was barely holding herself together.
Leaving the Marchioness behind and fleeing alone had been a rational decision. It was better for one of them to escape and alert others rather than for both to be captured, and Nella had a higher chance of success than the physically weaker Marchioness.
So, she had run all the way here on her own… but the guilt of leaving the Marchioness behind weighed heavily on her, making it hard to breathe, as if her chest were being crushed.
“What happened? Where is Johanna?”
The question came from Leonid the moment the office door swung open. Nella’s body trembled violently. Tears streamed down her face as she responded.
“A-A group of attackers… they suddenly ambushed us… and they kidnapped the Marchioness…!”
The expression vanished from Leonid’s face in an instant. His eyes, wide and the color of a sunset, filled with shock as he processed the news.
* * *
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Johanna’s voice was sharp as she questioned him. Inside the slowly moving carriage, she sat across from Ilian. He casually placed a cake on a small table, then set candles into it and lit them.
“I’m here to celebrate your birthday, of course.”
“How did you even know it was my birthday?”
“It’s all in the contract. Are you dense?”
“…”
As Johanna pressed her lips together tightly, Ilian burst into laughter, clearly amused. The candle flames flickered with the movement of the air inside the carriage. Ilian even pulled out a bottle of champagne and popped the cork.
“Have a drink.”
“…”
He extended a glass filled halfway with champagne, but Johanna just glared at him, refusing to accept it. Ilian feigned a look of disappointment.
“I’m sorry about your twisted ankle. But I really am trying to celebrate your birthday.”
“I don’t want any so-called birthday wishes from you, Mr. Rediess.”
“Don’t be so cold. I even helped your father get a job.”
“…What did you just say?”
Johanna was so stunned she couldn’t find the words. He helped her father find a job?
“Why would you do that?”
“He was out looking for work, and I felt sorry for him, so I hired him at my place.”
“…What kind of place?”
“A casino.”
“…”
“It’s just cleaning and running errands. Don’t look at me like that.”
The Lucerne family had once been a respectable noble house, and because of that, her father had always resisted doing menial tasks. And now he was doing cleaning and errands? It was hard to believe.
