The Contract Wife Tries to Leave - Chapter 34
He was exactly the type of person she didn’t want to get deeply involved with. Once she paid off the loan shark debt, she hoped never to see him again. The problem was she might have to see him regularly until the debt was fully paid off.
“What brings you here?”
As she entered the lobby, the receptionist eyed her suspiciously and asked.
Johanna hesitated, unsure of what to say. Here to repay a debt? That sounded ridiculous, even if it was true.
“Tell Mr. Rediess that Johanna Lucerne is here.”
That was what she settled on. The receptionist gave her a skeptical look but muttered, “Ah… alright.”
She had no interest in the rudeness of a nameless employee, so Johanna stood near the desk and slowly surveyed the lobby.
The lobby was filled with curious objects that seemed to have been brought from overseas. These unique items created a peculiar harmony, reflecting someone’s distinctive taste. In some ways, it seemed much more refined than the Littberg estate.
However, there was one piece of art that felt out of place.
A large oil painting hung on one wall. Johanna recognized it from a reproduction she had seen in the library.
〈Eucleides Killing His Father〉
The painting depicted a dynamic scene from mythology.
In ancient mythology, Eucleides was abandoned as an infant, believed to be the queen’s illegitimate child. Later, he grew up and discovered that he was, in fact, the legitimate heir.
Eucleides sought out his father, the king, to reveal the truth and ask to be accepted, but the king had already remarried and had one son and two daughters as heirs.
When the king gently refused him, Eucleides left the palace with a heavy heart. Shortly after, he was attacked by assailants, and a goldfinch warned him that his father had ordered his death.
The goldfinch was the spirit of his deceased mother, and Eucleides learned the shocking truth that his mother had also been killed by his father. Swearing revenge, Eucleides dedicated offerings to the goddess of vengeance and gained wisdom and strength.
Eucleides then became a hero in the war that followed, and during a celebratory feast held in his honor, he drove a dagger into his father’s heart, killing him.
The oil painting captured that very moment.
‘This painting really stands out.’
It seemed like its placement was deliberate. Johanna gazed at the oil painting, at Eucleides plunging a dagger into his father’s heart. The king’s eyes, wide with shock, contrasted with Eucleides’ determined, dark eyes that shone vividly.
“…Hello. What are you doing?”
A voice suddenly came from behind, making Johanna stiffen.
She stood still for a moment before slowly turning around. Was it a primal fear? Her heart raced as if sprinting up a steep hill. Just as she expected, it was him standing there. He wore a black suit, like mourning attire, but his shirt was a deep wine color.
The color reminded her of the man’s pheromones—the rich, spicy aroma of well-aged wine.
The memory inevitably stirred fear. Johanna gathered strength in her legs to avoid faltering and faced the man.
“Were you looking at this painting?”
With a leisurely stride, the man approached her and gave a faint smile. It was an odd smile, one that conveyed surprise yet hinted at amusement.
“The king never liked the queen from the beginning.”
Ilian Rediess began speaking in a soft tone. His languid gaze swept over the oil painting on the wall.
“The queen’s appearance was unpleasant to him. She was under a curse that made her appear ugly only to the king. In reality, she was a great beauty.”
Eager to rid himself of the queen as soon as possible, the king devised a plan. He would sleep with her to get her pregnant but then have men visit her room, framing her for infidelity.
By doing so, the queen would be seen as an immoral woman who had committed adultery and given birth to an illegitimate child, making it easy to depose her.
“The child born had a face that resembled the queen entirely. There wasn’t a single feature that looked like the king. It was the perfect condition to claim the child was illegitimate. In the end, everything went according to the king’s plan.”
The newborn was placed in a small boat and sent adrift down the river, and the queen was deposed and confined to a secluded palace. However, the queen prayed to the gods every day, proclaiming her innocence. Afraid that the truth might come out, the king eventually decided to kill her.
“The king didn’t know. He never imagined that the infant would survive and return…”
At some point, the man had come up beside her. He took his gaze off the painting and looked quietly at Johanna.
His eyes were unreadable. The man seemed like a dangerous enigma.
