The Predator's Contract Partner

“You have to open your mouth, um?”

“Ugh!”

Lucerne stomped on Marco’s foot. He screamed and the shadows disappeared and seeped into his mouth.

“Take your time and teach him a lesson,”

ordered Lucerne as he twirled with the traces of the shadow left on his hand.

“… … .”

“Even if you die or manage to survive and continue being the useless coward you are, this punishment will still torment you. So take this opportunity to reflect on yourself and train your memory.”

“Argh—Ugh, ahh!”

Elisha didn’t even want to imagine what was going on inside Marco’s body. Lucerne extended his arm to her.

She took his escort and left the terrace. Her back was drenched in sweat.

“Can you do this?”

Elisha felt exhilaration and anxiety at the same time. Even Gaju knew his family fought dirty behind each other’s backs.

But the only thing the Head would never tolerate was murder amongst his family members. This was especially after the loss of Jacob’s and Lucerne’s fathers.

The patriarch’s rules were stricter than the imperial law. If someone did not abide by that single decree, the duke would draw his sword, and that meant the offender would recieve the death penalty.

“It won’t be serious. The Lord turns a blind eye when we exchange a couple of punches amongst each other.”

“It’s not like a couple of punches.”

Lucerne looked at Elisha and clicked his tongue.

“My shadow attacked him, a demon he can never control. So he will never complain about it to the Lord.”

Elisha understood what he implied. The shadow beast was a kind of guardian deity of the ducal family. But this ability had only manifested in Lucerne.

So it was a catch 22 for Jacob and Marco. Because even if they were to cry and protest to the Head, they would also be admitting that they were incompetent.

“Once he washes the inside of his body with magic, his head will be clear, and he won’t die.”

Elisha couldn’t help but admire him. The sight of Lucerne punishing Cartier’s men made him look even more incredibly attractive. Unconsciously, she squeezed the arm he was escorting her with.

“What? Do you want me to kiss you?”

“Your joke is… … .”

“Did you think I was joking?”

People were paying attention to them. Lucerne whispered in her ear, pretending to tenderly and affectionately touch Elisha’s hair.

“Everyone is talking about us.”

Elisha’s shoulders stiffened.

“I heard that you and I got married because we are perverted nymphomanics that are utterly crazy about sex. They say we can’t get enough of each other, sticking together outdoors, in the stables, and even in the halls of the duke’s mansion.”

“… … .”

“I can’t even say anything because it’s well-founded hearsay.”

Her cheeks glowed softly. She now realized why all those men were looking at her today.

(L) “Well……. It merits to be rumored all over that way.”

It was clear that Marco’s wife, Arien, was the one spreading gossip.

It was when Elisha was attacked on the street and walked around in her underwear. She then met Arien in the hotel garden, who believed that Elisha and Lucerne were having sex outdoors.

(L) “It’ll be amusing to know how many people asked to have an affair with you in the short time I stepped away from you.”

She knew that Marco tried to seduce her. They thought she would be easy since she and Lucerne were a perverted couple who were crazy about sex.

(L) “You got a man like that. Of all things, the dirtiest dung fly.”

Their faces grew closer and closer.

(L) “Then I can’t have your expectations disappointed again.”

His eyes flashed. Lucerne swallowed Elisha’s lips.

“Uh, unn…… .”

A deep kiss followed. Elisha closed her eyes tightly without pushing his tongue away as he rushed into her with passion. Instead, she unconsciously grabbed his collar. When they fell from each other slowly, Lucerne’s eyes became fierce.

“I can’t stink to you anymore, right?”

He chuckled and wiped Elisha’s lips with his thumb. The wives [t1v: and readers] sighed in regret and envy, and the men looked at them with intrigue.

She rested her face in his arms.

Perhaps, even after divorcing Lucerne in this life, it looked like it would be difficult for her to remarry to an imperial nobleman. It was good she had no intentions of doing so.

***

Lucerne was able to tolerate the ladies who gave him strange glances. However, the way men looked at Elisha he found was strangely offensive and unpleasant. He wanted to slap every single one of them across the cheek.

‘You look pretty today.’

Lucerne went up the stairs and saw Elisha. A bright green silk dress that showed off her immaculate arms, revealing the curve of her bosom looked perfect on her.

Suddenly, he recalled a nobleman who had been bothering him by grabbing his arm earlier.

‘I heard that you and your wife have been showing off your passion for each other in the Duke’s mansion and in the capital? Of course, I hope you fully enjoy your honeymoon as newlyweds. But, after that……. There is much more to enjoy. That’s what the married life of aristocrats is like. My heart is always open.’

Lucerne here tried to ignore him without saying a word. But he added,

‘By the way, your wife is very pretty. I guess she hasn’t put on her new dress. Looking at the bottom of her dress, you can see the finish on her hem that was popular a few years ago. Those wives with good eyes must have already noticed. To fix an old dress, you have to be more thorough. Since she is already a beautiful lady, she shouldn’t be wearing such a flawless dress. Jealous people will curse her behind her back.’

It was only then that Lucerne slowly looked at Elisha’s attire. He opened the door and asked her,

“Is that a new outfit?”

“No, I fixed what was in the mansion.”

“I knew it,”

Lucerne remarked indifferently.

“Among your expenses, the cost of clothing was unusually low. With how small it was, I thought you were going around naked.”

Elisha did a great job managing the mansion. But her personal expenditures were bizarrely low. It was almost non-existent.

“…….”

She frowned.

“What are you going to do if I take it off?”

“You should be punished. You should only do that in front of me.”

He spoke casually, and Elisha glanced at him slightly.

“Don’t do that again.”

She entered the room and released her hand that held on to his arm. Her hand flinched without realizing it.

“What are you talking about?”

“This kind of work.”

What Lucerne was talking about was, of course, her dress. Elisha remembered a few ladies today admiring and praising her outfit.

“I did it because I had the skills and the time.”

“Really, and who are you trying to impress?”

“…….”

“I’m not happy or proud of you for being frugal. You have to spend my money well to save face.”

Elisha was speechless.

“You are good at everything, I understand. But you have to make good use of my money to please me,”

He said evenly as if he was bored. Elisha looked at him.

“Alright, then I’ll go shopping right away. Can I do it tomorrow?”

This time she couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows as she asked; she barely managed to nod her head calmly.

She was strangely upset; her heart felt like it was pierced.

***

One day in Elisha’s previous life, the day before she was forcibly seated at the Cartier family’s banquet where Lucerne stabbed a fork between Jacob’s fingers.

At that time, Elisha had a habit of walking and hiding in the shade of trees. It wasn’t until she had burn marks on her face that she hated and feared being around people.

As she walked down the street, Elisha spotted Lucerne and the Headwalking side by side. She hurriedly hid behind a small tree. She was a tree tall enough to cover her body.

‘Why are the two of you having a friendly conversation?’

Elisha wondered.

“Really, it’s such a waste. If only she had a pretty appearance, she would have lived a comfortable life. If she were such a clever woman… … . I wanted her. But I think her heart is too weak, so she won’t be with me for long, so I’ll send her back to Jacob. I tried to raise her well but stopped.”

Elisha was startled. The Duke was talking about her. The only person Jacob gave and was by Gaju’s side was her.

“Grandfather,”

said Lucerne.

“As long as someone is connected with this family, it is impossible to live comfortably. This includes me. It’s a little ridiculous to say that.”

“Do you feel pity for that ugly child?”

“I have no sympathy for anyone.”

“If not sympathy? Are you saying you hold her in your heart? It’s the first time you’ve reacted to a woman’s story.”

Judging by the tone of the Head’s voice it was one of the rare times he was joking around with Lucerne.

If Elisha had been a woman with an ordinary appearance, the Lord would have never made the joke. He would have never allowed them to even meet the few times they had come across each other.

“I don’t care about anyone.”

“If you fall in love with someone, I will find it and kill it horribly. Lucerne. If a man like you loves someone, it’s over.. Isn’t the person without anything to lose the scariest?”

The Head’s laughter deepened; he would treat his grandchildren like this from time to time. But he soon returned to his cool-headed sober state. After all, it was simply a whim for him.

“Soft things don’t suit you.”

“I know. Something like that, I’ll cut it down with my own hands.”

Lucerne glanced at Elisha. Contrary to what she had thought, the tree with its lush leaves did not cover her entire body. Instead, behind the low branches, a part of her body was revealed.

“Considering the life I’ve lived, wouldn’t it be disrespectful to them?”

“What?”

Gaju stopped in his tracks.

“Lucerne. No matter how hard you try, you can’t become the Head. Accept it as a fact of your life. Don’t fuss about it anymore.”

The Head constantly compared Jacob to Lucerne. He pretended Marco was a favourite but excluded him from the most important work. And……. He favored Lucerne but publicly stated that he never intended to make him the Duke.

‘Why isn’t it obvious to everyone?’

The other candidates for succession harbored a deep-seated sense of inferiority; some even had seizures and feared Lucerne.

However, in Elisha’s view, Gaju was not the kind of person who would respect an illegitimate child. Above all, the Head placed great importance on obedience to himself, and Lucerne had become an unruly monster too large for the Lord to control.

Therefore, Gaju constantly compared, undermined, and used his three grandchildren. He used Lucerne, in particular, to motivate the other ducal candidates to work harder.

“I don’t even dream, for something like the Duke’s position.”

“Ha [sigh], you arrogant foolish bastard.”

The Head laughed.

“By the way. The woman.”

“Are you talking about Elisha?”

“Seeing that my grandfather knows her name, she seems to be doing an excellent job.”

“…….”

Lucerne continued while Gaju was speechless for a moment.

“That woman named Elisha. When she wore green, she was pretty.”

They disappeared.

Coming out of the shade, Elisha’s face was pale and tired. But soon, the tips of her ears began to turn red slowly.

Not because she was shy, but because she was ashamed.

‘What kind of human makes fun of any woman…….’

Elisha didn’t have a single green outfit.

So she looked down on herself.

The hem of her skirt was protruding through the branches. Shabby off-white clothes. A cheap dress made of cotton fabric.

A summer tree hung over that dress…….

It was all green.

A very brilliant green. A silky deep green.