The Contract Wife Tries to Leave - Chapter 59
Hesitating, Johanna instinctively pressed herself against the door. With a click, the door closed behind her. Her body reacted to the pheromones, trembling involuntarily as her heart raced.
“Why are you just standing there?”
Despite claiming to quit smoking, Leonid had a cigarette between his lips as he lazily watched Johanna, muttering softly… Is this a rut? The sudden thought made her cautiously study his expression.
“Oh, my pheromones… Haah.”
He let out a deep sigh, stubbing out the cigarette in an ashtray. Running a large hand over his face, his expression turned irritated, as if the situation greatly displeased him.
“I called you to ask if my mother said anything unnecessary. The pheromones are…”
He paused, getting up from his seat. He walked over to the window, throwing it wide open. A rush of cold night air filled the room.
“Sometimes, my pheromones act up like this. It happens when I’m really upset or tired. They say it’s a side effect of going through ruts without an omega for eight years.”
Leonid turned to look at her as he continued speaking, a faint smirk appearing on his lips. He walked over to the table, pouring whiskey into a glass filled with ice. The deep amber liquid shimmered as it sloshed around.
“When this happens, the best thing is to drink myself into a stupor and pass out. Otherwise, I end up causing trouble for everyone around me.”
The pheromones in the room began to fade, making it easier to breathe. As Johanna took a slow, deep breath to steady herself, Leonid watched her intently, sipping his drink.
“I despise omegas, but this contract does have its perks, it seems.”
“…Could you clarify what you mean by that?”
As she opened her mouth to ask, his pheromones flooded the air, brushing against her senses like a sharp flick to the tongue. Johanna flinched involuntarily. The unfamiliar and frightening sensation swept through her body, leaving a lingering sweetness in her tightly closed mouth.
“At least now I have someone to deal with during my ruts. Before… I was too busy avoiding all the moths drawn to my flame.”
He chuckled, as if recalling something amusing. His gaze shifted briefly, seeming to wander in the air before locking onto hers again. His eyes, darkened by twilight, were deeper than the amber hue of the whiskey in his glass.
“Don’t you think it’s pathetic, believing that intimacy can create attachment?”
She sensed that someone in his past had perhaps tried to foster a bond with him through physical closeness.
Maybe it was Viscount Bantwood. Or perhaps someone else who had harbored unrequited feelings for him.
Whatever the case, it was clear that Leonid Neubitz hadn’t loved any of them. Johanna found herself wondering if he would ever truly love someone.
It was hard to imagine him holding such tender emotions… looking at someone with genuine affection in his eyes.
“I don’t believe that mating has any purpose beyond reproduction. Anything else is just a human construct, a notion we’ve attached to it.”
“…”
“Especially between alphas and omegas… It’s practically animalistic, isn’t it? Going into heat, compelled to mate for the sake of reproduction—if that’s not beastly, then what is?”
His voice, muttering softly, carried a hint of weariness. It seemed as though he harbored a certain disdain for the fact that he, too, was an alpha, occasionally driven by instinct.
“What did you talk about with my mother?”
The question was thrown out casually, catching Johanna off guard. She hesitated, her lips parting but no words coming forth. Recalling her conversation with Hermia made her blood run cold and her hands and feet grow icy.
It wasn’t anything he needed to be concerned about. It was merely a warning, a reminder to know her place.
After carefully choosing her words, Johanna slowly responded.
“Countess Rinke gave me some advice… That’s all.”
“Advice? What kind of advice?”
“My…”
She faltered, hesitating for a moment. How much should she reveal? She considered the possibility that if she disclosed everything, Leonid might think his mother was being overly meddlesome. That would make her seem like a tattletale, a situation she wanted to avoid.
“…She told me not to forget my place…”
“Is that really all?”
Wilting under Leonid’s sharp gaze, Johanna silently nodded. Staring down at the floor, she absentmindedly picked at the hangnail on her finger, when she heard him sigh softly. Glancing up, she saw him scowling in irritation as he took a swig of his drink.
“My mother, Johanna…”
“Y-Yes? Yes…”
Suddenly hearing her name, Johanna startled slightly. It wasn’t “Miss Lucerne” but “Johanna.” He likely called her that without much thought, yet her heart foolishly fluttered in response.
“She’s quite obsessed with me, you know. Or rather, she’s obsessed with my position as the sole heir of the Elderique family.”
“…”
“That’s why she meddles in every little thing I do. It’s as if I’m still a ten-year-old child…”
He laughed as if he found the idea absurd, pouring more alcohol into his empty glass. Despite the amount he drank, he didn’t seem the least bit intoxicated. After downing the drink in one gulp, he spoke again, as if something had just crossed his mind.
