The Predator's Contract Partner

A spiral staircase was seen from the foyer from whilst she stood. From the lobby, she could see the stairs leading to the second floor where there was a huge clock hanging on the ceiling that had stopped.

‘This timepiece… it can’t be.’

Elisha stared at the watch while hiding her astonishment.

‘…that’s Fiboccina’s Clock of the Flowing World made in the year 553 of the Imperial calendar, right?’

After a famous painter painted the backplate, a wizard had cast permanent protective magic on it. The second hand, minute hand, and hour hand were all made of jewels such as obsidian and sapphires.

Even if its hands were still, clouds flowed on it during the day then it would be dyed red during sunset, and naturally turned black in the evening.

It was a treasure even the imperial family would have desired.

“That thing……..”

“Oh, it’s a gift from the Imperial Family. The general is not very smitten with art, so he often instructs us to hang it anywhere.”

“…I see.”

The more Elisha went inside, the more spectacular the mansion was. First of all, Lucerne was much richer than she had thought.

‘He won’t have to run a business like his other brothers.’

As soon as Elisha entered the house, she saw a vase rolling on the floor. On it was a verification that the vase was an ancient relic and a genuine item from an auction.

Real golden flowers were scattered in the air as a piglet with a magic stamp on its body ran past. The maids were chasing after him.

“I’m sorry. The pig escaped from the lab again,”

A sweaty maid told the butler.

“You! Why aren’t you taking care of my pig?”

Lapis yelled as he chased after the pig. Elisha stepped in front of the pig, cornering it. Lapis slid across the floor in front of her and grabbed the pig. He glanced at Elisha as he passed her with a hostile look.

“Lapis! You should say thank you. Huh—really…..”

The butler huffed, Elisha winked to indicate she was okay.

“Please understand. Lapis-nim is only 14 years old.”

“It must be puberty.”

“Puberty…….? Yes, puberty. Indeed. Lapis-nim and his twin brother, Lazri-nim are wizards—of only 97 wizards in the Empire. So please a little…They may do something unusual.”

“All right, you can’t force the wizards to be polite. But I will make it happen.”

“Yes?”

The butler seemed to be surprised that Elisha understood what he was saying so quickly. Elisha looked at him as if asking if something was wrong.

“Hmm. Yes. Then I’ll continue to show you around.”

It is obvious that the house without a hostess wouldn’t be the same as a house with a mistress keeping order but Elisha had never seen such a chaotic house before.

Elisha saw famous paintings haphazardly hanging on each wall. If they put them all up for auction, even the affluent would be moved beyond tears competing over these precious items with high bids.

“Are all of these belongings—gifts?”

“Yes, these are items received every time the master comes back from the battlefield…….”

“…….”

How many wars has he fought in his 20s? Elisha became genuinely curious. The butler said as if reassure her,

“Don’t worry. The ones that really matter are well stored in the treasury.”

Somehow, Elisha suspected the treasury would be even in a more terrible state. The butler also coughed with embarrassment,

“Due to the hasty nature of the sudden war the enlisted men were dispatched—because of that I was so busy so the house wasn’t organized properly even though our mistress has arrived.”

“It’s all right. You did fine,”

Elisha replied calmly. She didn’t expect, as a new bride, who came home without her husband, to receive a huge reception.

In addition, although the capital may be peaceful, the west was now a battlefield. The high general’s wife had to show a frugal attitude at times like this.

“More than that, I think there are some soldiers in the house. Where are they staying?”

“Oh, yes. Would you like to see the drill grounds? Perhaps first you’d like to go to your room and rest.”

“Since I have a lot of time to rest tomorrow, may I ask for your guidance today?”

Elisha wondered why the butler looked so surprised. Maybe he was expecting a fallen noblewoman to be innocent as a doll with no sense of reality? Or maybe it’s because her origin as a laundry maid was so well known.

Perhaps she was being looked down upon as a woman, noble in name only with a past as a slave.

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‘Either way, it’s not a bad thing.’

It was much more manageable turning a low evaluation to high regard than vice versa. Elisha was not angry at being ignored. Her previous life’s experience made it so.

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