The Predator’s Contract Partner
chapter-213

She couldn’t tell Lucerne what she was thinking. So she gave a simple and brief reply:

“If you kill Carola prematurely, you will give Jacob an excuse to attack. Besides, he is an idiot. If he sees Carola injured or dead, he might try to get revenge.”

“And the more stupid you are, the more stubborn you are.”

“Yes. Jacob will never see her again, now that he knows that Carola’s sex fantasy is you.”

Elisha and Lucerne saw through Carola’s operation through Mimosa. They also figured out her plan without difficulty. In contrast to Jacob, who was clueless.

‘Just having an affair with the prince is a huge disgrace to Jacob. Nevermind calling out Lucerne’s name in front of people and uttering nonsense.’

Elisha wanted to laugh. After all, the people in this family never disappointed her expectations.

“People in this family are tolerant of women cheating on them, aren’t they? But since it was the first prince. It’s impossible to come back from.”

The men of the Cartier family were proud of their bloodlines. Carrying a child of the Cartier family changes a woman’s internal magical structure due to that special bloodline.

Mana is a power possessed by everyone, even non-mages. Wizards only have the talent to refine and use them.

So, a woman with a child in the Cartier family has traces on her body. The change in her magic structure leaves a beautiful pattern on her body. In the end, they were tolerant of infidelity because no matter what she did, she was a woman of the Cartier family.

Lucerne’s eyes changed.

“Nonsense.”

“… … .”

“I will never be indulgent of your wishes. If you do….”

“…… What then?”

“Things will go as you imagine.”

“Will you kill me?”

“You still don’t have much of a grasp of reality.”

Lucerne bore into her eyes. Elisha stared back, sitting on top of the chair.

“Whether you cheat or murder someone. Whether you’re in bed with the emperor instead of Jewel.”

“… … .”

“I won’t kill you or throw you away. In other words, even if my treatment of you changes, the fact that you have to be by my side does not change.”

Elisha slightly frowned.

“Should I thank you for not cutting my throat right away?”

“Rather than that, don’t make me do anything I’ll regret.”

Lucerne smiled. He brushed his fingers from the tip of Elisha’s well-groomed nose to her lips.

“Anyway, you can’t do anything that will make me abandon you, like Jacob did to Carola. I will make you live by my side, to the point where you’ll be sick and tired of me.”

Elisha was at a loss for words. He had a knack for being both creepy and affectionate at the same time. At times like this, it was always her who ran away from the confrontation.

‘They say that he can even tear demons apart with his bare hands. What’s the point of me fighting back?’

Of course, he had never really seen how he killed a demon.

At that time, Lucerne spoke first.

“You can rest now, Elisha.”

He flipped her hair.

“The crown is to trample on someone and win against another. I’m not waiting for someone to put it on my head. If someone else was talented you would have sought to crown someone other than me, right?”

Elisha sensed his suspicions and was chilled. She chose her words carefully. Even if Lucerne fully cooperated with her this time around.

He was not an opponent she could handle and deal with at will.

After all, if Elisha and Lucerne’s positions were switched, she would have also doubted him. She said quietly as something came to mind, and she was watching something invisible unfold before her eyes:

“Lucerne, have you ever seen Hell?”

“I’ve seen something similar.”

“Then have you ever seen the world we live in become hell in one day?”

“No,”

Lucerne replied.

Elisha raised the corners of her mouth. A bitter smile soon formed. In her previous life, she saw hell.

“Hell that comes in one night. Such a hell,”

Elisha’s hand traced his collar.

“Comes for money.”

In her previous life, Marco had the temple’s power on his back. Supported by the imperial family, Lucerne joined Cartier’s power struggle. Eventually, the grandchildren threatened even the life of the family head.

Finally, the Head pulled out his sword. The Cartier family had lent a large amount of money to the temple and the imperial family. Generation after generation, the money had now grown to a staggering amount.

‘Recover all funds.’

The day the Lord ordered that, the empire became hell. The value of money collapsed, and the empire’s economy crumbled. It happened all in one night. That was the hell the Cartier family could create.

Every merchant went out of business, and people took to the streets. Elisha was under Jacob, so she wasn’t affected much. But she saw an increase in children begging on the streets. After some time, she discovered that even Rosaria’s monastery and orphanage had children who had gone hungry, and many had to be relinquished to the streets.

Others were fine no matter what. They were fine no matter who was hurt.

Anyway, for Elisha, life after 14 was a road to hell.

But, for Elisha, the monastery was a place of memories with her mother. It was the only place she received someone’s goodwill without demanding anything in return. It was her sanctuary—the last memory of her dead mother.

‘Elisha, all this mother can give you is her love. I’m ashamed. Without you, I would have fallen apart. But please trust your mother. I love you, my daughter.’

Hell was a place where even one’s last precious refuge was taken away. Elisha learned then.

‘I don’t want to see something like that again.’

When the members of the Cartier family started fighting at the risk of spilling blood, the cost was devastating. You can read more here.

z