The Predator’s Contract Partner

Elisha wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. Freckles was whispering. They were now snooping among the trees near the outer road and gazing at the carriage.

“He's got an angel's face—so handsome! I would have never been able to imagine such a face,”

said the girl. Even from afar, they could tell man's face was not ordinary.

“Then take your time looking,”

Elisha murmured.

“Huh? How do you expect me to do that?”

On the other side of Lucerne's wagon, another wagon was running at a gallop.

'Gallop Gallop'—the sound of hammering hooves rang in Elisha's head. Lucerne's wagon stopped just before the carriages crashed into each other, and both came to a standstill.

The carriage came to a rough stop, splashing muddy water on Elisha's dress hidden between the shade of the tree. Elisha quietly frowned.

Whoa, whoa, whoa!

shouted the horseman.

Creak— the carriage door opened.

The wagon that blocked Lucerne's carriage was white. It was a carriage plastered with the motif of the Cartier crest.

Freckles' eyes opened wide with realization, and looked at Elisha in shock.

'What? Did you know the carriage would stop?'

It seemed that way.

“They must be crazy; if they had stopped a little later, both carriages would have turned to powder,”

Freckles whispered. Lucerne's carriage door was firmly closed.

Wham—

Instead, it was the white wagon that opened the door.

“Oh! General! This Carola, she is so surprised. She can't believe you're here. Are you going to the main residence?”

What got off the wagon was a woman in a white dress with glamorous lace embellishments. Her brown hair was lifted into an elegant bun. A soft, birdlike slender body with a girly face. However, she looked a little odd because of her big breasts.

When Elisha saw her, she clenched her hands. This was the woman who would ruin Elisha's face in the future. It was Jacob's wife, Carola.

A few days ago, Elisha was wearing a lace carefully sewn. The maid said it was an important dress, so she rushed to Elisha. Now it seemed she was trying to get noticed and impress Lucerne.

Only then did Lucerne's carriage door open slowly.

“Carola is always curious about how you are doing, General.”

Carola said coquettishly, leaning against his carriage like a child and talking in the third person.

“I want you to stay away from my carriage.”

Soon a voice came from inside the carriage. It was deep, low-pitched, and intense—hardly forgettable.

“Yes?”

Carola's voice broke, distorted.

“You're blocking my carriage door now, so get out of the way. Or do you want to cling on the door like this instead and go inside?”

From Elisha's position, one could see the back of Carola's neck. Her throat turned red. Carol stepped aside.

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At last, he got off the carriage. The moment she saw him, a light piercing blow penetrated Elisha's bosom.

The man's hair was black, and his eyes were very dark and impressive. They seemed to be reddish-brown at first glance, but when sunlight hit those eyes, everyone noticed that the man's eyes were intensely red.

The man was tall enough to have to stoop down from the tall carriage, and he had very broad shoulders. On the other hand, his waist exposed under his cape was narrow, and his thighs were solid and firm. He was wearing a military uniform that was tailored perfectly and tightly against his whole body.

Even from a distance, his hot energy seemed to hurt. He was an overwhelming male.

Freckles never saw a man like him before in her life. Elisha watched her hands trembling gently as her eyes were filled with joy.

“Oh, my gosh. It's really him. It's him…”

Lucerne clicked his tongue while looking at Carola. It was the natural arrogance and dominant temperament of a ruler.

“I would have told you not to come out. Such an unpleasant reception.”

Carola blinked, undeterred.

“Carola was on her way out, and then she saw a nice carriage and told them to stop. She pondered if the horseman needs to be educated again. He stopped the carriage suddenly. Carol was also very surprised,”

said Carola, twisting herself like an embarrassed toddler.

Lucerne, with dark eyes, just stared at Carola. He soon turned away as if he had lost interest.

Suddenly Lucerne's gaze turned to the shade where Elisha hid. Elisha was stunned.

“Who's there? Come out.”

Elisha hesitated, then stepped out of the shade. Freckles followed with a shudder.

Freckles was astonished and watched Elisha, her mouth agape. She didn't notice because she was so excited to see Lucerne, but Elisha's appearance was extraordinary.

“How did you…”

From Elisha's exposed white cleavage to her clinging skirt, muddy water was everywhere, dripping slowly off of her. Lucerne's wagon had stopped in a hurry and baptized Elisha with dirty water.

Additionally, Elisha's eyes were still red and shiny; her tears were still flowing as she held some ruined laundry tightly in her arms.

Lucerne's gaze slowly searched Elisha. It was a gaze that seemed to gently investigate her whole body.

Elisha felt naked in front of him.

Self-conscious, she felt like she was going back to the Elisha of her previous life, who had sustained burns on her face.

He was a man with eyes who could make taste sensations through its power: a man who would make you doubt yourself, a man who was perfect and would hurt others.

At the same time, the memory of the day before the return came to mind.

That day Elisha was standing in front of the snake painting. Before she knew it, someone was close to her.

Elisha noticed who he was and held her breath. Jacob's archrival. Lucerne.

'Hey, concubine.'

'Jacob asked me why I, a bastard, am coveting the family.'

'Go and tell your master. I swore to myself when I was seven. I'm going to tear everything apart that is out of my reach. Especially since the more I can't have it, the more I want it. So I'm going to get my hands on the House of Cartier that can't be mine and destroy it, and then display the broken pieces all over the world, and take only what I want from the family.'

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'I'm not a lunatic. It is what it is.'

At Lucerne's last words, Elisha suppressed her overflowing fear.

Her whole body was shaking.

'Cartier's leech.'

'So decide. Will I break it or not.'

'If not.'

Elisha felt nauseous. She lowered her eyes.

“What's wrong with her?”

Carola's gaze followed Lucerne. She looked as if she saw a stray.

“Isn't this Jacob's terrority?”

Lucerne murmured softly.

“Why is that woman crying and hiding?”

Carola was unhappy. She was upset that Lucerne was paying attention elsewhere.

“They… they are maids who work here—the children of lazy families who are able to send their daughters away to pay off their debts. I felt sorry for them, so I gave them easy and simple work like laundry. Aren't you interested in Carola?”

Even the talkative Freckles felt tired from her incessant talking. Carola continued to talk, regardless.

“…Maybe. Maybe she was crying because she was scared of ghosts. Did you know? A man killed himself in this creak. After that, there are rumors about ghosts coming and going. Carola takes care of it. The lowly things are dumb so we know how to deal with them. “

Lucerne glanced at Carola, disgusted. As it was, Lucerne turned his gaze back to Elisha.

“Indeed, the maid.”

“Is a good-looking maid.”

Elisha doubted her ears.

Lucerne's and Carola's carriage almost crashed.

Carola's flirtation with Lucerne and evident desire for an affair.

Elisha in hiding, soaked with muddy water, watching the situation.

This all happened in her previous life.

But there was only one different thing.

Elisha had wanted to observe Lucerne closely.

She had taken one more step out of the shade with a desire to study him. Maybe that was why Lucerne noticed her presence.

'It was the day after when Carola beat me and Freckles side by side for witnessing this.'

But now it was subtly different from her first timeline.

Carola's voice went shrill.

“Lucerne is temperamental. He wonders what's the matter?”

“I never said you could say my name.”

Lucerne cut her off sharply. Carola mumbled her lips like a child and looked back at Elisha.

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“You—come here!”

As Elisha approached, Carola ordered:

“Apologize to the general right now. Does Carola have to teach you that, too?”

Elisha looked at Carola with a blank face. A maid utterly unafraid of her was a foreign sight to Carola and Lucerne's men.

“What do you want me to apologize for?”

Elisha asked calmly.

“The Grand General is a precious guest, and here you are with your dirty self in front of him. It's sad if Carola is misunderstood that she doesn't take good care of the maids. You're all in front of the general because you want to show your spoiled and messy appearance, aren't you?”

Pretending to be dumb, Carola's voice that mimicked baby speech became bizarrely clear the moment she attacked someone.

Elisha spoke politely.

“Should I take off my clothes?”

“What?”

Carola looked at Elisha with the irate eyes of a madman.

“It's an accident that dirtied my clothes. But if you say it's not an accident, it means there's blame, and the sin is not on me, but my clothes. So if you're uncomfortable, I'll take off my clothes. But I can't apologize for something I didn't do.”

Elisha spoke softly.

Lucerne was quicker than Carola and understood her meaning. Lucerne's lips curled up. 'Look at this,' his amused expression seemed to say.

If one thought about how her clothes became stained, the cause of the accident is that the wagons stopped and poured muddy water on her. So she had to blame either Carola or Lucerne's carriage.

So Elisha said what she couldn't point out.

“Ahh, these days, the lower ones are so bothersome. So mean! What kind of ugly thing are you doing in front of the general?”

Carola, who was hit by a blow from her, peeked at Lucerne while grinding her teeth. Lucerne ignored Carola and then inquired of Elisha:

“Why are you crying? I think I asked that.”

Elisha pressed her eyes with one hand. Even the back of her hand was soaked with muddy water. She bent her knees slowly and curtsied.

“I am sorry to delay the decision of Milady. I just cried because I was sad that the laundry was ruined.”

Lucerne nodded.

“Yes, you deserve to be upset.”

Lucerne beckoned to Elisha to come close to him – his servants hurried to receive Elisha's laundry. Elisha approached Lucerne gingerly.

“You cried in front of me, so I'll compensate you.”

Lucerne glanced at his lieutenant, who took the purse out of his chest pocket.

“How much do you want as a reward?”

“It's all right.”

“Then what shall I give you?”

“Then please be merciful and let me go.”

“Really? That's disappointing.”

He said without changing a single expression. His emotionless eyes were even sultry.

“Well, It's not money that's needed for a lady.”

Lucerne loosened his cloak from his shoulder. The long, dark-colored cape with a golden ornament on its shoulders was obviously a luxury item. He draped it over Elisha's shoulders. His eyes rested on Elisha's muddy breasts.

“Be careful, go well-covered, so that no one looks at you.”

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He whispered.

“Especially after your mouth asked if you should take it off.”