The Contract Wife Tries to Leave - Chapter 198

For now, Johanna was the only Omega who could handle Leonid’s rut, so the plan had inevitably faced delays.

Still, Hermia seemed intent on ensuring Johanna was fully expelled from the Elderique family. That goal might not be far from realization.

If Johanna, after spending his rut with Leonid, were to become pregnant with his child, it would be a nuisance… but Josephine already had contingencies in place.

The first option was to claim that the child in Johanna’s womb wasn’t Leonid’s, fabricating evidence as needed. The second option was to eliminate Johanna entirely, along with the child.

Poor Johanna. Josephine would have preferred to go with the first method, but the second option was undoubtedly more thorough.

If she threw Johanna to a pack of ravenous wild dogs, that would surely put an end to everything. Just the thought of Johanna’s once-brilliant radiance dulling made a thrilling shiver run down her spine.

Her heart raced with a sadistic anticipation. Subduing her exhilaration, Josephine walked into the entryway.

But the atmosphere among the servants who greeted her felt oddly different than usual. Puzzled, Josephine tilted her head and approached the head butler, who flinched even before she spoke, looking visibly uneasy.

“Oh, y-you’re home, my lady.”

“…….”

What was going on? Why was everyone acting this way?

Just as Josephine opened her mouth to ask, she heard her name.

“Josephine!”

It was her second brother, Karl. He rushed toward her with a stricken face, grabbing her shoulders tightly. Startled by Karl’s unusually intense behavior—so out of character for him—she frowned. They weren’t close siblings, so why was he looking at her with such concern?

“Karl, what’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“Josephine, you need to…”

Karl began to answer, but just then, two more people appeared, descending the staircase on the left. One was her eldest brother, Ernst, and the other was their father, the Marquis of Babenhausen.

‘Why is Father here… at this hour?’

This was his busiest time of day with work. So why was he approaching her with such a fierce glare? An inexplicable dread made Josephine’s heart race.

“You vile girl.”

The Marquis reached her and immediately hurled an insult at his own daughter without hesitation. Josephine’s face went pale at the sudden attack.

Instinctive fear overtook her, and she took a step back, but the Marquis reached out, seizing her by the collar and striking her pallid cheek with brutal force.

Smack! Slap!

“You reckless fool! You had to go and cause trouble, didn’t you? Worthless parasite!”

Ernst stood by, watching coldly, indifferent to the violence unfolding before him, while only Karl reached out, his face ashen, attempting to intervene. But before Karl’s hand could touch their father, Ernst pulled him back.

“Stay out of it, Karl.”

“Let go! You can’t just beat her senseless…!”

“She brought it on herself,” Ernst replied, his voice chillingly devoid of warmth, as though Josephine were barely even his sister. Karl’s lips quivered with anger as he spat back with contempt.

“You’re all insane… I’m so sick of this.”

“…….”

Karl struggled to break free from Ernst’s grip, but he couldn’t overcome the strength of a dominant Alpha. Eventually, he gave up, sagging as Ernst held him around the waist and pulled him further back. Meanwhile, Josephine had endured more than ten blows, leaving her in a state that could only be described as utterly battered.

“Because of you, I’ll have to bow my head to the Marquis of Neubitz! If word of this reaches the Duke of Elderique… This mess happened because you’re too greedy for your own good! Know your place!”

The Marquis of Babenhausen flung Josephine aside like a ragged doll, and she stared blankly at the floor, unable even to cry.

“Go to the Weimar estate immediately. Get on your knees and apologize to that doctor, Oder! And beg forgiveness from the Marchioness of Neubitz! Do whatever it takes to reach an agreement, even if it means groveling like a dog! If this goes to trial… you can consider yourself disowned that very day.”

At last, the full reality of the situation sank into Josephine’s mind, and tears began to fall silently from her eyes.

Either Mary had betrayed her… or someone had discovered the villa’s basement. Someone who already harbored distrust and suspicion toward her… Ernst, or perhaps Karl.

Her icy gaze turned to her two brothers. Ernst’s face was cold, as though he were looking at a mere insect rather than his sister. Karl, in contrast, seemed wracked with guilt, unable to meet her gaze.

‘It’s you…’

Karl Babenhausen… You bastard, if only it weren’t for you.

Her thoughts drifted to the revolver at her waist. She imagined drawing it, shooting Karl, Ernst, and even her father. But that savage vision remained just a fantasy; she didn’t have the courage to carry it out.

Josephine looked down at her trembling hands, braced against the floor. Her pale knuckles, laced with blue veins, glistened with the tears that dripped onto them. She wanted to die. She wanted to kill. Yet, in the end, she could do nothing. Her long-buried rage was utterly powerless.