Chapter 60: A Heart Trapped by the Contract

A Heart Trapped by the Contract

*Why does it hurt?*

*Why does thinking about him hurt?*

*Is it the contract?*

*Is it forcing me to feel this way?*

*Am I going to become his puppet?*

*His slave?*

*His...*

She couldn’t finish the thought.

Sweat gradually soaked through her clothes.

Revealing the curves of her body.

Her fitted purple robe clung to her skin.

The green sash emphasized her narrow waist.

Her E cup tits rose and fell with panicked breaths.

Her peach-shaped ass was pressed against the bed.

Her thick thighs were trembling.

Her porcelain skin was slick with sweat.

Evelyn had developed beautifully.

Delicate features.

Soft and supple skin.

She was one of the most famous beauties in the school.

And her aptitude—S-rank, one in ten thousand!

Yet now, she had been contracted by a nobody.

She felt sullied.

Defiled.

*I hate him,* Evelyn thought.

*I hate him with every fiber of my being.*

*He took everything from me.*

*My freedom.*

*My dignity.*

*My pride.*

*My future.*

*He killed Levis.*

*He forced me into a contract.*

*And now he’s going to...*

*He’s going to take my body.*

*Like I’m nothing.*

*Like I’m a toy.*

*I want to kill him.*

*I want to destroy him.*

*I want to make him suffer.*

*But I can’t.*

*I can’t even think about hurting him without feeling pain.*

*The contract won’t allow it.*

*I’m trapped.*

*I’m helpless.*

*I’m his.*

*Forever.*

*I hate him.*

*I hate him.*

*I hate him.*

But she lacked the courage to end it all.

In the next room, through the crack in the door, the faint scent of blood drifted out.

Inside that room lay a corpse.

It was Evelyn’s former beast-soul master—Levis.

After leaving the dungeon, Leon had activated Sacred Beast Domain and brought Levis’s body into the Blackheart estate along with him.

It was a warning.

A threat.

A corpse appearing mysteriously in the Blackheart estate.

Evelyn would have no way to explain it.

*Maybe she should just submit.*

Evelyn clenched her fists.

*That infuriating bastard...*

*He was actually quite handsome, though.*

*His black hair.*

*His purple eyes.*

*His strong jaw.*

*His confident smile.*

*The way he moved.*

*The way he talked.*

*The way he looked at her.*

*Like she was a prize to be claimed.*

She hated him.

She hated him so much.

But she couldn’t stop thinking about him.

She sat alone on her small bed.

Surrounded by silence.

Only the sound of her own breathing echoing through the empty room.

Her thoughts spiraled.

Being contracted by him was undoubtedly a defilement.

Yet—every time she thought of Leon, a strange emotion welled up inside her.

*Is it attraction?*

*No.*

*It can’t be.*

*I hate him.*

*But...*

*His eyes.*

*His touch.*

*The way he held her chin.*

*The way he looked at her like she was precious.*

"No—this must be the soul contract subtly taking effect!"

Evelyn slapped her own cheeks.

Trying to snap herself out of it.

*It’s the contract.*

*It has to be.*

*It’s making me feel these things.*

*It’s not real.*

*It’s not real.*

*None of it is real.*

But no matter how hard she tried to remind herself, his image lingered like a stubborn ghost.

Refusing to fade.

---

Outside the estate, Evan Blackheart stood beneath the night sky.

His expression was dark.

Almost murderous.

Ever since his mother had been contracted by Leon, his life inside the family had become unbearable.

Everywhere he went, someone had something to say.

Some laughed behind his back.

Others didn’t even bother hiding it.

Leon.

That worthless commoner.

That D-rank nobody.

He took my mother.

Evan’s jaw tightened.

He humiliated me.

He destroyed my reputation.

And now the family laughs at me.

He remembered the family meetings.

Again and again, they had gathered to discuss the situation.

And again and again, they had reached the same conclusion.

Nothing.

No solution.

No way to break the contract.

No way to force Leon to release Evelyn.

Eventually, the meeting would turn toward him.

And he would get blamed.

Why are they blaming me?

His hands curled into fists.

It’s not my fault.

It’s his fault.

All of this is his fault.

His breathing grew heavier.

I’ll make him pay.

I’ll destroy him.

I’ll take back my mother.

And I’ll make him suffer.

The Blackheart family was enormous.

Its territory was filled with villas and private residences.

But those residences weren’t given to just anyone.

Only the family’s true geniuses were granted one.

Evan’s eyes moved toward Evelyn’s villa.

Jealousy burned inside him.

Why are female beast-girls valued so highly?

The question had bothered him for years.

We’re both S-rank.

So why am I stuck with an A-rank beast-girl?

His gaze hardened.

Why is my own mother so powerful?

Why did she choose him over me?

Why?

Why?

Why?

The questions repeated themselves until they stopped sounding like questions at all.

They became fuel for his anger.

Leon...

Evan’s eyes narrowed.

I’ll kill you.

I’ll make you beg for mercy.

I’ll take everything from you.

His lips curled into a bitter smile.

Just like you took everything from me.

He was so consumed by his hatred that he barely noticed the person standing beside him.

Anna.

His contracted beast-girl.

She had been following him quietly for some time.

Young and headstrong, she finally couldn’t take it anymore.

She puffed out her cheeks.

"Master, you’re ignoring me again."

Evan barely looked at her.

"Not now, Anna."

Her expression fell.

"But you never have time for me."

"I said not now."

"But, Master—"

"I said NOT NOW!"

Anna flinched.

Her shoulders stiffened.

For a moment, she simply stared at him.

Her eyes began to glisten.

She quickly lowered her head so he wouldn’t see.

She didn’t say anything else.

Evan didn’t notice.

He was too deeply buried in his own anger to notice the hurt standing right beside him.

Neither of them noticed the two faint figures moving through the darkness nearby.

They passed quietly.

Almost silently.

One of them slowed for the briefest moment.

A pair of eyes settled on Anna.

The gaze lingered.

Then the two figures continued on their way.

---

Under the cloak of night, two silhouettes glided silently past Evan and Anna.

Drawing no attention whatsoever.

One pair of eyes—seemingly intentional, seemingly casual—fell upon Anna.

Leon hadn’t expected to run into Evan and Anna on his way back to Evelyn’s residence.

*Evan was a mess—let’s not even go there.*

*But Anna...*