Chapter 21.2
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 couldnât hold back and opened his mouth.
âOh, fuck. Why are you in someone elseâs carriage? Uh, huh? This is my carriage. Itâs my contract. Sniffâ¦â¦.â
âAh, youâre too noisy, Lapis. Eh? Does that matter now? Letâs get together sometime. You always eat, battlefield, eat, and train. When weâre together, youâre shinning his shoes.â
âUh, thereâs a shadow â maybe itâs the High General!â
Lapis cried out in a fit of irritation, nonchalance.
âWhat is the general eavesdropping?â
Corinne, who spoke, looked around in surprise. Nora looked at him pitifully.
âThe General does not eavesdrop. Corinne, come in here confidently, and Iâll kick you.â
Nora caught their attention.
âYou saw her, didnât you?ân/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
âWhat do you mean, âherâ?â
âDonât pretend you donât know. The wife of the General! Countess Lor?â
The sobbing of the boy, Lapis, grew louder when the story came out.
âOh, itâs so loud. Stop crying, Lapis!â
Corinne shouted irritatedly.
ââ¦â¦.â
A dark boy resembling Lapis pulled out a handkerchief and wiped Lapisâ eyes. The two had the same appearance, but their skin and eye color were different, so people could easily distinguish between the twins.
âStop crying, huh?â
âMy brother, I canât stand it. The High General⦠The trash that disciplines us if we make a mistake.â¦I knew he was a god, but I knew.â¦. but a womanâ¦â¦. a womanâ¦..â
ââ¦â¦.â
âNo, he doesnât touch women. You canât always take the initiative when you beat them up like that. Uh, uh, uh, uh. Iâm a genius wizard, and I canât believe Iâm serving such a man.â
âBe quiet, Lapis!â
In unison, everyone used one voice to swear at Lapis. Ian laughed as if he were in trouble.
âSo why are we all here in this carriage?â
âNo, letâs sort things out. The High General got a contract marriage!â
cried Corinne.
âHeâs not trafficking.â
ââ¦â¦.â
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 Lucerneâs buggy. They saw Elishaâs 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 Lucerneâs 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. Thatâs 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.
âWhat do you mean? Explain it, Nora. Huh?â
âDid you say she was kidnapped with your own mouth?â
The knights scramble to ask.
âNo, she didnât seem to have been arrested or threatened,â
Nora spoke succinctly.
âWell, didnât she get pulled out of Jacobâs mansion, right?â
âYou didnât think she was a spy?â
âWhat do you think? Is she pretty?â
A series of simultaneous questions from the knights popped up. The reserve Nora head started to throb.
âSheâsâ¦â¦.â
ââ¦â¦.â
The knightsâ ears perked up.
âGood.â
âHuh?â
It was a nondescript word.
âShe is quiet and well-behaved. I told you she didnât look like a bad person. Whoâs able to fool the High General in the first place?â
Ian said with a shy look on his face.
âSheâs pretty.â
Nora added.
âYeahâ¦â¦ she is.â
âBut the General said he would never have a contract bride. There were so many brides lined up to exchange their titles with him.â
âRight, saying two different things with one mouth.â
Once again, the carriage became noisy. Lapis eventually added a word.
âI canât believe he didnât invite us to the weddingâ¦.. 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 attendâ¦â¦. I didnât get invited, let alone a glimmer of a notice. I canât live to be treated like this. Hmâ¦â¦ Iâmâ¦â¦. Iâm going to run away from home.â¦.â
Lazri looked at Lapis with warm eyes and said,
âLapis, you know what? The 80-year employment contract is just a slave document, so the general will not keep it.â