Episode 15

Elisha, with her long hair up in a bun and a green dress with a black ribbon, looked like a girl who had grown up precious all her life.

Not only that, but her calm and detached attitude contrasted with her young and lovely face made her look even more precious. Lucerne looked at Elisha without speaking. Her eyes were sad.

'Is it strange?'

Elisha suppressed her desire to look in the mirror at that gaze. It was the first time in both of her lives that she had worn such a precious dress. Maybe it's funny because a shabby woman wears a fancy dress that doesn't suit her.

“You're pretty, so let's finish the contract.”

Lucerne spoke seconds later. Elisha had to work on her detached expression.

*​ *​ *​

“In 30 minutes Jacob's people will come to collect the money. Let's agree until then.”

Lucerne said. A contract was placed in front of them at the table. Elisha nodded her head and spoke straight.

“When is divorce possible?”

“Isn't it progressing too fast?”

Lucerne said as if it was absurd.

“My purpose is to run away from Jacob.”

“Isn't that what I did?”

“The end of escape is usually freedom. Thank you for saving me from Jacob, but……. If there is an end, I want to know in advance.”

Elisha said calmly.

“I want to get out of this family. The goal is to become free and live a normal life like a normal person. So……. I wonder when the time will come when we can get a divorce.”

Lucerne's eyes didn't even budge.

“It would be difficult if your attitude to do anything has already changed.”

Elisha tried hard to hold on to her heart. She hid her fists so as not to show her shaking.

“I'll do it. I'll take your word for it. However……. She can ask questions. It's up to you whether you'll listen, but I never told you not to say what you want.”

“What do you want?”

He stared at Elisha with red eyes.

“What if I earn 30,000 gold coins during the marriage and pay them back? Then can you get rid of the debt?”

“My little ghost has a naive side.”

Lucerne sneered.

“If you allow me to do that, you will use your status as my wife to make money in any way possible. How can I trust her like that?”

Elisha nodded her head. That was right. If she was the general's wife, she would be able to accept bribes or do dishonest things.

“And divorce, in two cases. When you're no longer needed Or when you have a successor.”

Elisha's heart trembled anxiously. Elisha thought she had learned the manners and behavior of the people of Cartier. Selling what you don't have. To make a favorable deal. That never loses.

However, the man she was dealing with now was also Katie. He was giving her a divorce and changing her words. But he never lied…….

“Then I will choose my successor both physically and mentally. Money anyway.”

“Elisha, why do you keep trying to take the initiative?”

Lucerne bowed.

“I gave up a lot. As you said, there are many people who would even sell a genealogy for 1,000 gold coins instead of 30,000.”

“…… It's too much to make them write a physical surrender memorandum.”

“Only when you betray me. Besides, I'm not selling women anywhere. If you commit a crime, they say I will protect you instead of handing it over to the imperial family, isn't that lenient?”

“…….”

“Of course, I don't know what will happen during the protection, but I'll make it safe in any way you can imagine.”

Lucerne didn't go easy on either. Elisha said softly.

“Then……. How do you do this? Please interrogate me by feeding me the confessional. You can do it the way you deal with spies.”

Lucerne's eyebrows twitched.

“However, the content of the interrogation is whether or not I am a spy. Please do as much as possible there. Interrogate me like that to find out for sure whether I'm Jacob's spy or not. I want to make you believe in me too. I'll agree to anything you want, as long as nothing is cut or broken.”

Elisha said calmly. Lucerne was silent.

“I don't know what the hell you are doing.”

Lucerne answered seconds later.

“Do you know what kind of medicine the confession is?”

“I heard that near Jacob's office. In the secret passage.”

“I learned all the bad things.”

Lucerne sighed coldly.

“I really want to buy your trust.”

“Don't keep throwing yourself out in front of me. Because I hate being illogical.”

Elisha caught a glimpse of her hope in those words.

“Then I will ask you one question.”

“…….”

“You are……. Do you want to be the family head?”

“If you knew how much I wanted it, you wouldn't carelessly say the word 'go' in front of me.”

Lucerne spoke terribly calmly. Elisha's eyes wavered.

“Then, when you become the head of household……. If you become the Duke of Cartier, you won't have to maintain the status of her son-in-law, right? No. It cannot be maintained.”

It was as Lucerne said. In that situation, Elisha would be unnecessary. For her to become head of household means that she inherits the duchy.

“You said, when I no longer need you, then divorce.”

“Keep talking.”

Lucerne said without blinking his eyes once.

“I will contribute to you becoming the head of the household. At least I will imitate my help. If you want……. After you become the head of the household, you can leave them separated and cancel the debt. You have nothing to lose. Not otherwise. Really, just in case you became the head of household. Only in that case.”

I thought it was a good condition for Lucerne as well. After all, if you become a head of household, you will need a wealthy and high-status permanent wife, not a contract wife like Elisha.

So when the time came, it was clear that Lucerne would be satisfied if Elisha let her go.

“An illegitimate child seeking the position of head of the family is called treason. I don't think that if I rebel, I might lose my life.”

He spoke in a tone that even bore him.

“Anyway, no matter who becomes the head of the house, Jacob or Marco, I won't leave you alone. No one can tolerate an illegitimate child who is superior to him.”

“…….”

“Wars happen anyway. At least you should get the family crest and smash it. And……. Jacob is a very tenacious person. You must be angry because you and I got married. He will try to retaliate against me somehow. He is an enemy to me too, so I want him gone.”

“Well, he must be your enemy. Interesting.”

Elisha watched Lucerne's lips form a delightful smile.

“Are those all conditions?”

Elisha caught her breath. She succeeded in persuading Lucerne. She suppressed her elation.

“Just two more.”

“Will there be more? It's a beauty world.”

Lucerne smiled.

“…… It's okay to do anything in my name. If you do business, you must never do illegal business. I absolutely hate things like drug and arms trafficking in particular.”

Lucerne nodded her head as if understanding her intentions.

“Great. I am not interested in that.”

“Second, please remove the section on adultery.”

Lucerne's action stopped.

“Why, does anyone have someone in mind?”

“No. Adultery is……. It is too easy to embellish.”

“…….”

Elisha's tone did not change. But there was a look of caution in her eyes.

“If you faked my adultery when we got divorced, then I was the only one violating the contract. Then you can kick me out penniless.”

That was the tactic that Elisha's birth mother used. Her father hired a knight to fake a scandal with her mother.

After kicking her mother out like a beggar, her father never looked for Elisha and her mother again.

Her mother wept bitterly when she told the story just before she passed away. She was only a contract wife to her mother and her father, and she was the head of a family.

'She was different from that woman. Because she is an Imperial nobleman…… All her life she'll take him…….'

Elisha didn't want to end up like her real mother.

“What does it mean to fake adultery?”

Lucerne asked without hesitation.

“Buy the right man and seduce me. A simpler way would be to cram him into a room with me and force him to do the work. It is also a technique that is actually used.”

It doesn't take Elisha to know that her contract wife's words are often miserable. Aristocrats without money are prey after all. It can be replaced at any time when a bride with better conditions appears.

“Under.”

Lucerne sneered.

“Are you imagining me buying a man to rape you and then kicking him out penniless?”

Elisha shut her mouth. It seemed that she had offended her lucerne.

“Why don't you imagine.”

“Yes?”

“If I put my mind to it, I'm not kicking you out penniless. I could pay off three million gold coins in debt and then get a divorce.”

“…….”

“And, even after you remarry another woman who will be your successor, they won't let you go. After imprisoning you like that, they make you a mistress. Wouldn't that scenario be okay? If it's possible, why don't he imagine the worst. If it's sincerity to even fake adultery, you shouldn't have to extract that much result.”

Elisha's hands trembled. She lowered her gaze, avoiding his eyes.

“…… I'm sorry if you felt offended.”

“I just can't figure it out. Are you weak, or are you weak.”

“…….”

“Or, is there a secret sin committed? Are you suspicious of others because you've been stabbed?”

Elisha flinched. Why the hell is this guy so quick-witted? Elisha said politely without showing off.

“There is no one in the world who is not a sinner. Even a person who is determined not to hurt anyone for the rest of his life will commit a sin if he is tied to such a hellish family.”

There was a strange feeling of guilt in Elisha's eyes. Elisha was recalling her past life. Lucerne pressed her eyes.

“Okay. Great. Erase the liver pain. But it doesn't mean she can commit adultery.”

“I don't think so. I don't even think I'm in the position of being your real wife. I know you are marrying for my name.”

It was too obvious that Elisha was not qualified to stop Lucerne's adultery, so he didn't say it. Elisha was the lowest of her contract wives.

“Do this.”

Lucerne whispered.

“I will remove the punishment for adultery. Put this in the contract instead.”

Lucerne held out her pen to Elisha. Elisha blinked her eyes.

“Write it in your own hand.”

Elisha's eyebrows narrowed.

“What is it about?”

“The bride handles all the sexual desires of the groom alone. A replacement cannot be found.”

“…….”

“Similarly, only her husband is allowed in Elisha de Lore's hole. Her husband.”

Lucerne whispered in Elisha's ear.

“Only through Elisha de Lorre's hole can you satisfy her sexual desire.”

Elisha's hands trembled. Before Lucerne changed her mind, Elisha wrote her letters with her trembling hand.

She said, “If her husband commits adultery, it is considered that her husband has not gratified her sexual desire.”

“…….”

“You are entitled to demand monetary compensation. In addition, for every adultery I commit, 10,000 gold coins will be erased from your debt.”

Elisha's hands trembled. She looked at him with surprised eyes.

“Are you serious?”

Lucerne was looking at Elisha with a nonchalant face.

“Would you like to agree?”

“…… Yes.”

How can you refuse As if Lucerne was finally having fun, she laughed.

“What are the exceptions to the provisions? When the hole is not in use, it sucks and bites with its mouth. Fuck it, and then mix your tongue again……. Even if I use my thighs like the last time, I'll get tired. Is not it? Would you like to write that part down?”

“Stop…… Do it.”

Before she knew it, she was hot up to Elisha's fingertips. Elisha couldn't tell if Lucerne was making fun of her or trying to suppress her.

'…… You can't scratch it unnecessarily. This person.'

However, this condition was absolutely advantageous to Elisha. Even if Lucerne committed adultery, Elisha was in a position where she could not protest.

'Maybe it's because I can always ignore the terms of the contract if I feel like it.'

Elisha bit her lips very often. Why? In front of Lucerne, she felt a little nervous, and when she spoke, a sweet taste came from her mouth. Her body trembled slightly and her stomach churned with strange excitement and fear.

“So, are you satisfied with the new items?”

“Yes.”

“I have to control it well. Don't let our little ghost fly away.”

Lucerne said nonchalantly. His hand touched Elisha's lips and fell.

“Remember, Elisha. If you really cheat on me, from that moment on, there will be no more politeness between us. Just because the clause is gone doesn't mean you'll be free between your legs. Understand?”

“…….Yes.”

His warning was frightening, but since she had no intention of cheating, Elisha just nodded her head.

“Don't bite.”

Elisha felt like she was being controlled. She nodded her head.

Then, Elisha moved her pen.

A few obscene sentences and a tidy signature. With that alone, Elisha became Lucerne's wife.