The Contract Wife Tries to Leave - Chapter 161
Johanna moved towards the drawing room with Nella by her side. Upon arrival, they found Annette waiting quietly in the hallway.
With a serious expression, Annette approached, casting a cautious glance at the closed drawing room door as she whispered,
“Lady Hermia has arrived. But… her expression doesn’t look favorable.”
“…”
A strange foreboding crept over Johanna. Could it be that Hermia had discovered the incident involving Ilian Rediess? It wouldn’t be surprising if Hermia had her own informants within this mansion.
Annette seemed to share her thoughts, her face shadowed with unease as she gazed at Johanna. The timing seemed unfortunate, especially with Leonid away from the mansion.
Though there was little Johanna could do in this situation, she offered Annette a gentle smile to ease her worries.
“It’ll be alright. Even if she directs her displeasure at me… we can just listen quietly.”
“But, that matter… it wasn’t the Marchioness’s fault…”
“Exactly. How could it be the Marchioness’s fault? If any blame should be assigned, it would lie… with me instead…”
Nella, standing beside Annette with a troubled expression, let her brows droop and began to sniffle softly. Still carrying the weight of guilt, she struggled to hold back tears. Johanna gently patted her shoulder, offering quiet reassurance.
“Don’t let it trouble you anymore. At the time, it was the wisest choice we could make.”
“Marchioness…”
“If it had been me who tried to escape, I would have been caught immediately… Annette, could you open the door, please?”
Leaving the tear-streaked Nella behind, Johanna turned to Annette, who nodded solemnly, her expression softened, as she gripped the door handle.
With a deep breath, Johanna stepped through the open door.
Countess Rinke, Hermia Rinke Elderique, sat gracefully on the sofa in the center of the drawing room, elegantly savoring her tea. The sight was so refined, it resembled a beautiful painting.
Despite her age, she appeared startlingly youthful, more like an older sister to Leonid than his mother.
“Good day, Countess Rinke.”
“…”
Johanna offered a polite greeting, approaching cautiously while watching Hermia’s reaction. Although she noticed Johanna’s entrance, Hermia merely glanced her way without uttering a word.
Seeing Johanna hesitantly standing there, Hermia placed her teacup down with an irritated gesture and prompted her.
“Sit.”
“Yes, Countess Rinke.”
The moment Johanna sat, Hermia’s sharp gaze pierced her like an arrow. Johanna instinctively swallowed dryly, clutching the hem of her dress as tension mounted.
“Do you have any idea why I’m here?”
“That… I…”
The pointed question caught her off guard, leaving her momentarily speechless. Was Hermia implying that if she had any guilt, she should confess it now?
…But, as Annette and Nella had said, she had done nothing wrong. She couldn’t apologize for having been abducted. Even with a skilled bodyguard present, the incident had happened—a disaster no one could have foreseen.
As Johanna struggled to find an appropriate response, Hermia’s voice cut through the silence, her tone anything but friendly.
“Are you involved in an improper relationship with the moneylender you borrowed from?”
At those words, Johanna’s head snapped up, meeting Hermia’s gaze directly. However, she didn’t look away; there was no reason for her to be misunderstood over such a baseless accusation.
“Absolutely not.”
When Johanna responded firmly, Hermia’s gaze narrowed as she glared at her.
“…How shameless. I heard you were found covered in an Alpha’s pheromones.”
“…!”
Hearing about that incident from someone else hurt more than she expected. And to hear it from someone who scorned her… it brought a wave of unavoidable shame. Johanna felt her face heat up, flushing with embarrassment.
The fear she’d experienced—being abducted by Ilian Rediess, overpowered by his pheromones—came flooding back. Her entire body trembled, her breathing grew uneven, and her heart pounded fiercely. She could feel the intense pulsing in her carotid artery. Clenching her trembling hands into tight fists, Johanna steadied herself.
“Logically speaking, what Alpha would drench an Omega in pheromones without having impure intentions?”
“…”
“I’ll ask just to be certain, but you didn’t defile yourself, did you? If you’ve been running around engaging in shameful acts with other men…”
“Absolutely not. Never…”
Johanna trembled with indignation. Even though she knew she had to humble herself, she didn’t deserve to hear such harsh words directly.
If she had suffered more than a ‘pheromone bath,’ how would Hermia have reacted? Would she have shown compassion, trying to protect her as a fellow woman and Omega?
…No, Hermia would have cruelly cast her aside, deeming her an unworthy Omega incapable of preserving her virtue, unfit to bear an heir for the Elderique family.
For Leonid…
