The Predator’s Contract Partner

Sniffle Sniffle.

The crying of a boy rang inside the carriage. The four-seater carriage was big enough for several adults, but the story of five long-seater riders changed.

The boy who was whimpering couldn’t hold back and opened his mouth.

“Oh, fuck. Why are you in someone else’s carriage? Uh, huh? This is my carriage. It’s my contract. Sniff…….”

“Ah, you’re too noisy, Lapis. Eh? Does that matter now? Let’s get together sometime. You always eat, battlefield, eat, and train. When we’re together, you’re shinning his shoes.”

“Uh, there’s a shadow – maybe it’s the High General!”

Lapis cried out in a fit of irritation, nonchalance.

“What is the general eavesdropping?”

Corinne, who spoke, looked around in surprise. Nora looked at him pitifully.

“The General does not eavesdrop. Corinne, come in here confidently, and I’ll kick you.”

Nora caught their attention.

“You saw her, didn’t you?”

“What do you mean, ‘her’?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. The wife of the General! Countess Lor?”

The sobbing of the boy, Lapis, grew louder when the story came out.

“Oh, it’s so loud. Stop crying, Lapis!”

Corinne shouted irritatedly.

“…….”

A dark boy resembling Lapis pulled out a handkerchief and wiped Lapis’ eyes. The two had the same appearance, but their skin and eye color were different, so people could easily distinguish between the twins.

“Stop crying, huh?”

“My brother, I can’t stand it. The High General… The trash that disciplines us if we make a mistake.…I knew he was a god, but I knew.…. but a woman……. a woman…..”

“…….”

“No, he doesn’t touch women. You can’t always take the initiative when you beat them up like that. Uh, uh, uh, uh. I’m a genius wizard, and I can’t believe I’m serving such a man.”

“Be quiet, Lapis!”

In unison, everyone used one voice to swear at Lapis. Ian laughed as if he were in trouble.

“So why are we all here in this carriage?”

“No, let’s sort things out. The High General got a contract marriage!”

cried Corinne.

“He’s not trafficking.”

“…….”

Nora said, cutting them off. Just before coming here, Nora had temporarily escorted Elisha at the request of the General. It was only for a few days, but only Nora and Ian had met her.

It was Ian and Nora who entered the ducal estate behind Lucerne’s buggy. They saw Elisha’s first encounter with Lucerne, who was hugging shabby laundry on her way out of the laundromat.

But both of them kept their lips sealed. It was not good for the knights to know that Lucerne’s new wife was a woman who was a laundry maid. They wanted to protect the honor and esteem of the new lady.

So Ian just said vaguely that she seemed like a good person. That’s all the information they could get from Ian, a former spy.

Nora was much harder to get information out of because she was naturally silent. But there was no lie in her words. So it was natural for the knights to pick up their ears.

“What do you mean? Explain it, Nora. Huh?”

“Did you say she was kidnapped with your own mouth?”

The knights scramble to ask.

“No, she didn’t seem to have been arrested or threatened,”

Nora spoke succinctly.

“Well, didn’t she get pulled out of Jacob’s mansion, right?”

“You didn’t think she was a spy?”

“What do you think? Is she pretty?”

A series of simultaneous questions from the knights popped up. The reserve Nora head started to throb.

“She’s…….”

“…….”

The knights’ ears perked up.

“Good.”

“Huh?”

It was a nondescript word.

“She is quiet and well-behaved. I told you she didn’t look like a bad person. Who’s able to fool the High General in the first place?”

Ian said with a shy look on his face.

“She’s pretty.”

Nora added.

“Yeah…… she is.”

“But the General said he would never have a contract bride. There were so many brides lined up to exchange their titles with him.”

“Right, saying two different things with one mouth.”

Once again, the carriage became noisy. Lapis eventually added a word.

“I can’t believe he didn’t invite us to the wedding….. See, this is a breach of contract. Look, this is my employment contract. Two days prior to an event, I must be notified. That way, I can attend……. I didn’t get invited, let alone a glimmer of a notice. I can’t live to be treated like this. Hm…… I’m……. I’m going to run away from home.….”

Lazri looked at Lapis with warm eyes and said,

“Lapis, you know what? The 80-year employment contract is just a slave document, so the general will not keep it.”