The Contract Wife Tries to Leave - Chapter 36
“…Fiancé?”
He stared at her with empty eyes, as if in a trance, muttering as though he was in shock from an unforeseen revelation.
The reaction was so surprising that Johanna momentarily lost her words and stared at him blankly. Slowly, focus returned to the man’s eyes. He glared at Johanna with a look that could devour her, pressing her harshly.
“You don’t have a fiancé.”
“Things just turned out that way. I’m not as unlucky as I thought.”
“…Ha… Who is it? Who’s this fiancé?”
“The Marquis of Neubitz.”
Finally, she spoke his name. Her conscience pricked her, a sharp pain in her chest. The unstable thumping of her heart seemed to echo in her ears.
Ilian’s expression briefly contorted upon learning her fiancé’s identity. Only after he took a step back did Johanna feel like she could breathe again. Taking a deep breath, she examined Ilian’s face and found him wearing an odd expression.
“The Marquis of Neubitz… Hmm…”
He narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Johanna as if searching for something. …Could he know something? Her heartbeat grew erratic. This man, a major figure in the underworld, would have vast amounts of information.
“I thought you were a naive deer…”
“…”
“But it turns out you know how to act like a fox too.”
He laughed subtly and tapped her cheek before stepping back a few more paces. With his pheromones now under control, it was much easier to breathe. Johanna gazed at him, trying to decipher the intention behind his words.
‘Does he know?’
That the Marquis of Neubitz was secretly seeking an omega to bear an heir.
“…”
Her face flushed hot in an instant. She had pretended to be proud, but in the end… she had made an impure contract. Even though it was the lesser evil, it was still something she couldn’t be proud of. And the man before her was more than capable of uncovering her truth.
“Why did you go to him, making me feel left out?”
Ilian smiled broadly. Johanna could easily read the malice in his expression. He was relishing her downfall, cruelly and devilishly.
“I told you I’d buy you for a high price. Did you forget that…?”
He stepped closer again, leaning down to whisper in her ear as she shrank back. His whispered words were enough to shatter her.
“Are you planning to bear another alpha’s child?”
“…!”
Johanna instinctively pushed him away. Without stopping, she raised her hand and slapped him hard across the face.
Smack!
The sudden sound echoed, drawing the attention of the staff and others nearby. They all stared in shock, mouths agape or eyes wide.
Johanna froze, shocked by her own impulsive action. She clasped her trembling hands together. Ilian slowly turned his head back to her, a faint sneer on his face as he looked directly at her.
“Quite a strong slap. From the future Marchioness.”
Muttering quietly, he didn’t seem particularly angry despite being slapped. Instead, he looked at Johanna with a mixture of desire and interest.
“…Poor Johanna Lucerne will be discarded when she’s no longer useful.”
“…”
“When that time comes, seeing how broken you’ll be… I’m really looking forward to it.”
He brushed aside a lock of her hair and then stepped back. Johanna felt a shiver run down from where his touch had been, gritting her teeth.
Ilian Rediess took some money from the envelope and handed it back to Johanna.
“Come and pay the interest every month. Paying it all at once is a breach of contract.”
“What are you talking about…”
“The last day of every month. You know the place. Be here.”
It was sheer nonsense. The idea of not being able to pay eight months’ worth of interest at once and having to meet him monthly was absurd.
But when Johanna faced the chilling darkness in his pitch-black pupils, she instinctively backed down.
She no longer had the mental or physical strength to argue with him. All she wanted was to get away from this place as quickly as possible.
“Can you repay the remaining half of the debt in a year? Fulfilling the demands of a man desperate for an heir won’t be an easy task. Right?”
“…I can repay it.”
“That’s fortunate then. Ah, speaking of which…”
The man added, as if something had just occurred to him. His smile, now a source of trauma for Johanna, slowly crept across his face.
“I heard your father boarded a cruise ship. About four days ago.”
“…What?”
Johanna’s eyes widened to the size of full moons at the completely unexpected news.
