The Contract Wife Tries to Leave - Chapter 24
“I never thought the Marquis would do that. He’s usually meticulous about controlling his pheromones…”
Johanna awkwardly smiled and made an excuse at Victoria’s words.
“Maybe he just wanted to see if our compatibility was really that good.”
“Even so…”
Unable to speak ill of her master any further, Victoria sighed deeply. Then, glancing at the documents on the table, she asked,
“Is that the contract? Have you read it?”
“Not yet…”
Leonid Neubitz hadn’t given Johanna any time to review the contract. He had stormed in like a tyrant, humiliated her, and left.
Johanna let out a bitter laugh, recalling his cold gaze. It was a look that crushed even the slightest bit of hope.
Maybe it was for the best. Better to resign herself than to harbor presumptuous feelings for him… It would hurt less to give up.
Straightening her upper body from the sofa, Johanna spoke.
“I should read the contract. I feel a bit better now.”
“Yeah, okay. But that handkerchief…”
“Oh…”
It was then she noticed the piece of handkerchief she had forgotten about until now. Leonid had wiped his hands and neck disdainfully and left it on her body.
“……”
Johanna picked up the handkerchief with an indescribable feeling. The insult he had given her was similar in nature but different in nuance from Ilian Rediess’s.
While Ilian Rediess, true to his underworld nature, had insulted her with crude and raw behavior, Leonid Neubitz… His disdain was elegant, as if a superior being were trampling on her.
“Is it the Marquis’s?”
“Yeah.”
“Should I take care of it for you?”
“No, it’s fine. I don’t think he wants it back anyway.”
“That’s true…”
The Marquis Neubitz’s notorious obsession with cleanliness was well-known. Johanna gave a sheepish smile to Victoria, who sighed, and folded Leonid’s handkerchief twice before putting it in her pocket.
Then she reached for the contract as if nothing had happened. Her fingertips were trembling slightly, but Victoria pretended not to notice.
Johanna slowly reviewed the contract. Although she had a limited education, she was not foolish, thanks to her mother, who had been raised and educated as a noblewoman. Moreover, she was accustomed to dealing with contracts due to her work as an illustrator.
The contract was relatively straightforward but filled with legal jargon. She had to overlook some of it and focus intently on the key points.
In this contract, she was the ‘Party B,’ and the ‘Party A’ was Marquis Neubitz.
[The term of this contract shall be one year.]
[Party B shall not disclose any part or the entirety of this contract to external parties.]
[Party B must follow formal marriage procedures within one month of signing the contract and perform the role of the Marchioness in public.]
[Upon signing this contract, Party A shall pay Party B a contract fee of 80,000 rubles.]
[If Party B completes the contract within one year, Party A shall pay Party B a total compensation of 800,000 rubles.]
[Even if Party B does not fulfill the contract within the term, Party A may pay Party B half of the compensation, 400,000 rubles, if Party A deems that Party B did not neglect her duties.]
[This contract may be terminated before the end of the term by mutual agreement of both parties.]
[The contract term may be extended by mutual agreement of both parties.]
‘Can be extended…?’
Other things aside, that part was puzzling.
‘If Party A deems that Party B did not neglect her duties’ was just wordplay. The Marquis would pay the 400,000 rubles as hush money anyway, even if she failed to bear his heir.
Also, she already knew from the assistant that she had to play the role of Cinderella who had luckily married him.
‘I never considered the possibility of extending the contract…’
She just wanted to fulfill his wishes for one year and leave without any greed, not stay by his side for two or three years.
She had heard somewhere that physical relationships could develop into emotional bonds. Even if it was a dry act for procreation, could she remain detached while being intimate with him? What if she grew to like him more? What if these feelings became too overwhelming to handle?
“……”
Johanna swallowed a sigh and turned to the last page of the contract. She read through smoothly until she paused at a certain clause.
[Party B shall not harbor personal feelings for Party A or expect to receive any. Similarly, Party A shall not harbor personal feelings for or impose them on Party B.]
“……”
It was a sentence that truly hit a sore spot.
