The Predator’s Contract Partner 95

Episode 96

'I'm thirsty.'

Elisha woke up in a hotel bed.

'Again like this…….'

She couldn't even guess what time it was. The reason I came to this hotel in the first place was because of a dinner reservation. That was long forgotten.

When you have sexual intercourse that exhausts you, you feel empty inside your body. Until the next day, there were days when my head was blank and I felt hunger and appetite for the first time in my life.

“I'm hungry.”

Lucerne nodded his head.

Soon the hotel's room service was delivered. From warm steaks to hearty potato dishes, two kinds of salads and five kinds of bread. She even has her favorite sweet mead.

The food overflowed, but Elisha was strangely disappointed.

“I was frustrated and wanted to go out…….”

Finally back in the room.

“You can sleep here and have lunch tomorrow.”

Lucerne said soothingly. After her sex, Lucerne was quite tolerant, so she often accepted and took care of Elisha even if she behaved a little wayward.

No, it wasn't quite like that. When she was bad, she would carry Elisha in her arms, not allowing her to go to the bathroom by herself.

'Maybe this man can be nice to his real wife.'

From Lucerne's point of view, Elisha is a woman who does not need to be respected, and her lack of respect in her private life cannot be helped. But she thought that perhaps if she married a woman of noble status like the princess, she might become friendly day and night.

Even though she's a bit rough at night, she has a friendly side anyway.

“I see.”

Elisha reluctantly nodded her head. He said nonchalantly, but kindly.

“Eat and sleep some more.”

*​ *​ *​

As the night fell, Lucerne lay down next to Elisha. After she sighed, Elisha sat resting on her bed.

“You must have been frustrated the past few days.”

“You were alone at home. I won't let you go out anywhere except in cafes.”

“Be patient. Marco's behavior is unusual. Now that he's insanely mad, it's no wonder he does anything.”

Elisha understood that too. She meekly nodded her head.

In fact, she hasn't needed to go out much yet. Besides, she was able to stay because Lucerne was free these days, and she kept taking her here and there.

“Can I still go to the cafe? Lucerne. I have to help you too.”

“What was the name of the cafe you go to?”

“It's 'Breath of the Spring Breeze'.”

“It's okay if you stay there.”

Elisha had barely made her debut a while ago. Since she had no social occasions, she naturally had no obligations to perform. But she was the general's wife.

She took care of the wives of the same military officers, and she had to hold meetings from time to time. It was natural for her to have a cafe as her base. When Elisha explained that, Lucerne nodded her head.

“Do the least. The commotion around you is the cause of everything.”

“I know. Be careful.”

Elisha calmly replied.

“But Marco's behavior is strange. Seeing that he came out to pick up her wife earlier, he looked the same as usual.”

Lucerne took those words indifferently.

“Oh, there was a rat in the jewelry store earlier?”

“Yes. And her rat husband was there to pick up his rat wife.”

Elisha and Lucerne knew from the beginning that Arien was at the jewelry store. She really didn't care about her and she wasn't a threat……. It was just ignored.

“I guess the couple over there is better than they look.”

Lucerne said languidly.

“Looking at Marco and Arien not getting divorced, it must be so.”

To the people of the Cartier family, wives were nothing more than a precious commodity. Arienne said she made the big mistake of busting Gunner's thing. Even so, Marco did not abandon Arien.

'Honestly, Arien is a full-time wife, not a contract worker.'

Elisha also had information he heard while going to and from her cafe. It was mainly information that Princess Ilione asked for.

“I heard that the Marcos have gotten better at Keumseul.”

“It's been a while since he started flirting with you, but he doesn't have any integrity.”

Lucerne mocked Marco. On the one hand, he frowned like a man with the intent to kill.

“There are many types of people in the world. There is a man who clings to and clings to those around him when he gets into a difficult situation. Marco is like that. He did what his father told him to do all his life. He lost that father, so he'll cling to the rest of his family.”

Elisha knew about Marco from her previous life experiences. He grew up obedient under his overbearing father.

In a previous life, Merha had been bedridden for several months as her health deteriorated a few years later. At that time, Marco followed Arien wherever she went and respected each and every one of them.

Everyone said that Marco and Arien became affectionate later on, but Elisha knew. Marco relied on Arien.

“That makes sense. It's good that her cousin is getting along well.”

” …… Are you serious?”

“That's how fun it is. Life is a mixture of good and bad things. Now that her couple Keum-seul has gotten better, the reverse won't happen.”

Elisha barely smiled. She also got along well with Lucerne.

*​ *​ *​

The day Lucerne and Elisha stopped by the jewelry store. Marco came to the jewelry store to pick up Arien.

Upon returning to Merha's sister-in-law in the temple, their house, Arien burst into tears.

“Arien, why are you crying?”

“I ran into the Lucerne couple in a jewelry store. She triumphantly handed her jewelry to her wife. But I can endure such humiliation as long as you have it.”

As Lucerne and Elisha said, the relationship between the couple was quite different. The couple hated each other and fought because of Arien's stupidity.

However, a couple's fight is a water cut with a knife, and the relationship could change overnight.

Even though Arien made a big mistake and caused her family to fall, Marco did not abandon Arien. Arien was moved by that. Marco, as Marco, stepped out of her father's shadow for the first time and came face-to-face with Arien.

“Don't cry, Arien. I will protect you. We have no choice but to get through this difficulty together. I will definitely restore your father and make you forget the humiliation of the day. That's right, Lucerne must be an illegitimate child. You don't even have the qualifications to be a the house governor candidate like me.”

The threat to survival that reached the tip of his chin made Marco stronger for the first time in his life. Even in a hopeless situation, Arien didn't hate when Marco showed his strength for the first time.

“More than that, Marco, if you were here to pick me up from the jewelry store, was there anything urgent?”

“Ah. Okay. Arien. My father sent me a note from prison.”

“Oh my gosh! How are you doing?”

But Marco had a sad face. This morning, the person in charge of taking care of Merha at the temple came to visit. Instead of handing over the note from Merha, he demanded compensation.

'I need at least 100 gold coins to give you this note.'

Marco gnashed his teeth and slapped the priest on the cheek. But he had to pay a huge amount of money.

“By the way, the contents of the note are a bit strange.”

Marco showed the note to Arien.

[Marco, the environment here is terrible.

Save me somehow Grab Lucerne's weakness and attack him. We must free the temple from its hands. Go to the Reliquary. Among the priests who supported me, there must be someone I can reach.]

“A reliquary?”

Arien tilted her head. In other words, the sanctuary of the main shrine was called the temple treasure house. There were relics of many gods there. But what does it mean to go there now?

Bang. Then there was a knock on the door. Marco and Arien's faces turned earthy.

*​ *​ *​

Outside the door, the priests stood as if surrounding the sister-in-law.

“I have already given you the end of a few days. I'm sorry, but now you have to leave the sister-in-law. Because High Priestess Merha has been relieved of her position.”

Marco and Arien lived a life supported by others from one to ten. When they were young, they were supported by the Cartier family, and when their hair was thick, the priests took care of them.

But overnight, the world changed. Merha's crime was too great. Merha, who had murdered the Prophet, was now an existence whose name should not be mentioned in the temple.

'I never thought we'd be kicked out on the street overnight.'

Arien and Marco gnashed their teeth.

“I get it. Okay! Let's pack up and empty the sister-in-law today.”

“If you don't leave here tomorrow, I will call the Temple Knights.”

Marco was angry and couldn't stand it. Besides, Marco's poverty was not one.

'What about the penalties for the temple business?'

Marco was still rich. The head of the family has already passed some of his fortune to his grandchildren. That alone was a huge fortune.

However, the problem was that Marco and Merha ate a lot of money by running the temple business on behalf of them. Moreover, the agency that auctioned off Ristralpo's body and handled the event was in Marco's name.

Now, it was obvious that the temple would file a huge lawsuit. Then Marco might really be broke.

The first financial hardship experienced by the Cartier family was despair. He would rather die than live in luxury.

“Marco! Wake up and pack your bags. That way, we can at least get a hotel within the day.”

Arien said clearly. The request to send a priest to pack the luggage had been ignored for a long time.

Marco rolled up his arms and started packing.

“Huck, huck.”

Marco was in poor physical condition. Arien was the same. Before they knew it, they took off their cumbersome clothes and packed their bags in the most frugal clothes they had, looking more impoverished than common people.

“Marco! Come and see. Let's steal some of our stuff from here.”

Merha lived a very arrogant life in the temple. He is the sacred object of the temple and has freely moved his collection to his mansion and put it on display. He used to brag about the exhibition room to others, calling it a dedicated museum.

“By the way, Marco. His father told him to go to the reliquary. But aren't all the items in here stolen from the reliquary?”

“That's right.”

“Besides, he told me to catch Lucerne's weakness. Could there be some hidden meaning behind it?”

“Where is Lucerne's weakness? He is a monster and a demon. Does he have a weakness for demons?”

Then Arien stopped moving her hands. She recalled the glimpses of Lucerne and Elisha in her jewelry store.

'The general really loves her wife!'

The clerks chatted noisily. Yes, it certainly was.

“Even the devil loves.”

Arien said.

“What, what kind of crazy is that?”

“Lucerne is obsessed with my and her wife. It is unreasonable to catch Lucerne's weakness. But what about her weakness?”

Marco and Arien looked at each other.

“Catching Elisha's weakness is catching Lucerne's weakness.”

“Would that be possible?”

Marco snorted.

“Everyone has a weakness. Or even create a weakness…….”

As Arien muttered, Marco realized something about her, as if struck by her lightning.

“Wait a moment……. Arien. Right. That was it!”

“Marco?”

“Okay. There was an inner meaning in what my father said.”

Marco suddenly started searching around the room. Soon he found a small dusty paper box. It was a really shabby box. Arien looked at the rotting box with a displeased expression.

“What is it? Marco?”

“A real treasure that will make our situation better.”

The corners of Marco's mouth went up. The eyes of the people of the Cartier family shone most intelligently only when driving others to ruin.

*​ *​ *​

Marco opened the old paper box. The inside of the box was empty. However, as Marco pressed down on the floor and touched the flaw, the ring hidden under the box was revealed. It was a box with a double device on the floor.

“What is this worn-out ring? It's really ugly.”

The rim around the ring was bronze, not gold or silver. Moreover, it was strangely curved, and upon closer inspection, a horned monster was sitting on top of the ring and laughing. When I lifted it almost up to my nose and took a closer look, I saw that the monster was even shedding tears.

“It looks terrible. Who made this?”

“A genius made it.”

“Yes? What do you mean?”

“Arien, do you know what this name is? It is a ring named 'Devil's Smile'.”

“A name worthy of a terrible appearance.”

“Stupid. Look Carefully. Look at the egg embedded in this ring. Did you wear gloves? Touch it gently.”

Arien pressed the black egg that was bitten in the devil's mouth. She thought it was a jewel, and she was soft like a pill. Arien made a hee-ki sound.

“What's this?”

“The egg embedded in this ring is an ancient poison. It is so deadly and cruel that it is nicknamed 'the devil's smile'. So. This venom is so demonic, it makes demons grin when they see it.”

In the relic storage of the main shrine, there were many treasures of evil gods that were worshiped before, but now forgotten. This devil's smile was such a thing.

“How painful is that poison?”

“If you take this poison, you will suffer pain that would be better than death, and you will die after suffering hellish pain for up to two months. If you're unlucky, you'll get sick for a few days and die. But even if you can usually live up to two months, you will commit suicide before then. This is the poison used by the followers of the ancient evil god on condemned prisoners.”

Merha was well versed in sexual physiology. He collected the objects of evil spirits. However, among the items of evil spirits, such dangerous items were often disposed of immediately upon discovery.

So the followers of the evil god would make a fake holy object and hide the real holy object, the poison of this wicked evil god, in it. It was a secret Merha told me when I was young.

'Look. Among the relics of evil spirits, there are many secrets hidden in these worn-out paper boxes or suspicious pots. This is the best poison of all. It's called 'the devil's smile'.'

Arien shuddered.

“It's a really heinous thing.”

She had just touched the poison. Arienne trembled and took off her gloves and threw them away.

“Is that all?”

“There is an antidote for this drug. It's an antidote called 'Devil's Tears'. The antidote is also made in a box like this one. And a ring identical to this one is hidden. The only difference is that the pills are white. But the important thing is that the antidote is three pills.”

“Why three eggs?”

“That's the scary thing about this poison. Once the poisoned person takes a pill of the antidote, he survives. And if you take two pills, the pain of death turns into moderate pain. And I live on the bone for about five years. And if you take three pills, you will be cured.”

Marco said with a sly smile.

“So you're saying that just taking two pills isn't a cure. Oh my gosh.”

At this point, Arien was able to understand her words.

“So……. This venom is a drug that has no choice but to obey whoever has the antidote. If you give them the antidote one pill at a time, they'll crawl.”

“Right! You gave me a hint Lucerne would never be able to touch it. Even if this is ancient reading, it's a magic tool, right? He has a shadow demon, a guardian deity. The Shadow Demon Beast will reduce the poison's effect, so you should try eating it. That bastard is not poisonous.”

Arienne had never gotten along so well with her husband. She raised the corners of her mouth.

“Then what if Elisha, that crazy bitch, eats this poison?”

“That's what I mean! If her wife dies before her eyes, vomiting her own blood from her poison, Lucerne will obey us even out of fear. Ah, god thank you You made a weakness for Lucerne too.”

“Marco, you are a genius!”

Arien nodded her head.

“If this succeeds, it is possible for us to take Lucerne's wife as her hostage, make her our slave, and handle it at will. I imprison him and torture him to the brink of death, then he gets everything he needs from Lucerne, and then gives him two pills as if he were to patronize him. And it is possible to see her wife die in front of Lucerne five years later.”

It was so good just thinking about it. Arienne said she didn't want to leave Elisha alone. Killing her was also mercy.

5 years. Within five years, the family head succession structure should be sorted out. After tackling Lucerne's weakness anyway, she can take out Merha. She said that when Mer Haman returns, she has nothing to fear now.

'I have to teach the lowly age the order of this world.'

What if you could blackmail with poison? Arien was thinking of catching Elisha first.

She said, 'She'll have her for a month or so and she'll train him up and down.'

She would tie Elisha up and treat her like her slave, whipping her daily and drying her blood to death.

When Merha returned, she was able to put the Shrine Knights under her command again. What if we threw her men to torture Elisha?

'No matter what I do, I have no choice but to obey. I want to live too!'

Arien smiled maniacally.

It was cruelty that was imprinted in her bloodline, who had lived as an aristocrat by birth. She used to look like that when her mother trampled the lowly on her country estate as a child.

“You, even if you can handle her, don't even think about touching her. Got it? Now we only have each other. Don't even dream about cheating.”

“I don't like that kind of woman anymore. I just hate venom. What I liked for a while was that year. That……. It's because you resemble someone you know.”

“Acquaintance? Who?”

“I have. Then. Someone I saw as a child.”

Marco mumbled and passed his words.

“By the way, where is the antidote? The medicine called 'Devil's Tears'.”

“That's what you mean.”

Said Marco.

“The medicine is in the reliquary.”

“I see. I get it now There was a hidden meaning in all of my father's words!”

Marco nodded his head.

“Most of the priests are under investigation with his father. However, High Priest Anton, who is in charge of the reliquary, is weak-minded and will never obey his father. Besides, his father tampered with the books of the temple treasures. He cooperated with that, so if you threaten him, he will listen.”

“Can you?”

“Sure. I will do something!”

Arien took Marco's hand. Their eyes began to sparkle with new hope.