Chapter 67.2: Tpcp 67.2
The Predator’s Contract Partner
âRemember, Elisha. One drop of your blood will lead to the death of a hundred people.â
âWhat⦠â¦âwhy?â
âIf you donât understand, Iâll forcefully engrave it,â
he promised and lightly clicked his tongue. Elisha felt like she was an inferior student.
âYou are my wife and you are mine. Youâre under my protection and precious. So, as long as Iâm alive, if someone harms you, Iâll chase them to hell and make them see blood. Today, my knights, who are my hands and feet, did it. Without them, I would have done it myself.â
â⦠⦠.â
âNow does our clever little ghost understand?â
Elisha recalled her own wretched past life at that moment. The many miseries she underwent from being imprisoned in Marcoâs house passed before her eyes. Then, she was a being that had no protection. And nowâ¦. knights are fighting for her.
It was terrifying⦠⦠. a bizarre sensation that was also an ecstatic hue.
Nevertheless, at this very moment, there were people who were stepping out for her. Somewhere in this world⦠⦠. there was someone on her side. People on her side that everyone feared. Strong people were protecting her.
Such an intense sweetness engulfed her and was so frightening that Elisha choked on guilt.
âWhy? Are you frightened and appalled?â
âNo, no I am not,â
she hesitated, and then she confessed,
âBut itâs also a little unnerving, too. I donât want the people of the Knights of the Black Lion to get hurt because of me.â
âRight, then learn from that worry. Donât get hurt next time, alright?â
asserted Lucerne.
He sat Elisha down, slowly dumped her cooled tea down on the carpeted floor and poured her new, hot cup of tea.
âDrink slowly.â
â⦠⦠.â
âWe should go home together. Umm?â
She swallowed her tea as she held the cup with trembling hands. Belatedly he entered her sight.
âSpeaking of which, Lucerne.â
âYes.â
âYou mentioned before, that if I saw the Black Lion Seeds go wild on the battlefield I would change my assessment of them.â
Lucerne had guaranteed she would change her belief that they were a good people.
âI did.â
âMy sentiment has not changed. You are not always right.â
Lucerne laughed. With an exceptionally jubilant manner.
âHow admirable. Undoubtedly, you are,â
he whispered as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and led her out of the temple as if he were meticulously taking care that Elisha did not see anything more terrifying.
That evening, she received surprising news: the Knights of the Black Lions had inflicted the same stab wounds that Elisha received on more than one hundred paladins.
âThey are exceptionally strong people.â
Fortunately, no one among the Black Lion Knights was seriously injured.
The Lions of the Black Serpent always win. It was a common idiom in the capital.
âIt was like that too in my past life. The present life is the same.â
The black snake was Lucerne, and the Black Lions were his seeds.
***
The mansion was noisy. There were few injuries. They ate, drank, and chatted in the arena.
Revenge was sweet, and they were belligerents who reveled in violence in the first place. Elisha observed them from afar.
She had come across Ian and Corinne in the hallway. She pretended not to know anything and inquired,
âThe mansion is noisy, did something happen?â
Ian and Corinne answered very calmly.
âThere was a joint training with other knights,â he said.
It was a lie that even an idiot wouldnât believe. But they were impressive enough that she told the kitchen to prepare a special meal. She stopped by Lucerneâs room to discuss the management of the mansion and said cautiously,
âLucerne. Iâll be careful. Donât let the knights fight for me again.â
âEven if I had ordered them to, they would have disobeyed me,â
Lucerne grinned. It was true. If they didnât respect and love Elisha. They would never have moved if they hadnât thought of her as their lioness worthy of following.
âBut itâs pleasing to hear youâll be careful. Keep your promise.â
Elisha licked her lips at his words.
âPretend you donât know. If they know you know, theyâll be shy, and try to outdo each other and it will just make things bigger. Donât praise them for nothing.â
â⦠⦠.I understand.â
It was good to know that if she said thank you for nothing, they might have a bigger fight next time. The excitement that ran through her was a one-time thing. Elisha didnât want to cause another commotion.
âBy the way⦠⦠. itâs everything alright? It seems like a considerable predicament.â
âDuel between individuals has been illegal for a long time, but knights dueling between knights are not illegal. Itâs alright since youâve been stabbed, and we have the evidence.â
Even though Elisha assumed as much, she meekly nodded.