Contract Marriage Rewritten
Chapter 12
Upon returning to the Detached Palace, Laniakea immediately began packing her things.
First, she took out all her possessions and gathered what she could take with her. As expected, most of it had to be left behind in the Imperial Palace.
Fortunately, the clothes she had brought when leaving Priatra were still there, so she wouldn’t have to leave with just the clothes on her back.
Since she didn’t have very much, it took only a few hours for Laniakea to finish organizing everything.
Even though she had lived inside this splendid, opulent Imperial Palace for nearly three years, everything she could truly call her own fit into just four bags.
While Laniakea packed, Lucy stood beside her with a dejected expression. Laniakea smiled wryly as she looked at her.
Keeping Lucy by her side had not merely been by order of the Empress.
Lucy liked Laniakea more than any of the other royals—as though she had come here from the very beginning solely to protect her.
Yet now, if Laniakea left, Lucy would have to serve another member of the imperial family in the Imperial Palace.
“Her Highness the Consort. Me too. Run away.”
“It’s not running away, it’s leaving the palace… But Lucy, you have to stay in the Imperial Palace.”
After all, was it not under the long-standing agreement between the imperial family and the Lupin tribe that Lucy, the strongest among them, had been sent here?
“Still, together.”
Seeing Lucy pouting made Laniakea’s heart heavy as well.
How much help had she received from Lucy during her stay at the Detached Palace? Pulling dead trees from the garden, dusting the high walls, washing the long, heavy curtains…
Tasks that would have required dozens of people, Lucy handled all on her own with ease.
Of course, it was not just with heavy physical labor that she had helped.
‘I wasn’t lonely because Lucy was here.’
Even Laniakea, who enjoyed being alone, occasionally felt lonely and isolated. Whenever that happened, she would teach Lucy the Imperial language.
She wasn’t a quick learner, but because Lucy was always earnest, Laniakea poured her heart into teaching her.
Had she not taught her every single rule of imperial etiquette, even the ones she herself had barely memorized?
‘To teach Lucy properly, I studied the palace etiquette even harder, too.’
Thanks to that, Laniakea had unintentionally mastered near-flawless etiquette. She couldn’t bring herself to be an embarrassment of a teacher to her student.
‘With her exceptional skill as a guard, she’ll most likely become a lady-in-waiting to the Empress…’
Laniakea hoped with all her heart that whoever became the new Empress would be someone who understood Lucy.
“I should get some sleep for tonight. You should head back and get some rest too, Lucy.”
Swallowing her lingering regret, Laniakea spoke to Lucy.
As if she had secretly been hoping Laniakea would tell her to come along outside the palace, Lucy tramped out of the room looking even more crestfallen at the dismissal.
After turning off the lights and lying in bed, Laniakea pondered how much money she should ask of Hyperion.
Though she had remained confined to the Imperial Palace, she was fairly knowledgeable about market prices outside.
Using one of her few privileges as Crown Princess, she had frequently visited the imperial library to read books alongside the periodic reports.
The imperial quarterly reports not only summarized state affairs following council meetings, but also laid out regional developments and local price indices in detail.
Reading through them, had she not thoroughly researched what each region was famous for, their respective climates, and where rent and living costs were cheap?
‘Near the Great Forest would be best for starters. Even if it’s not quite like Priatra, the land beside the forest will be full of life force, and it’ll be easier for spirits to appear.’
Besides, living costs were low in that region.
‘Once I get a house and household essentials… the way to make a living would naturally be farming, right?’
Laniakea thought back to the small vegetable patch she had created in a corner of the Detached Palace’s garden.
Carved out at the boundary between the garden and the palace woods, it was so tiny it was almost embarrassing to call it a plot.
There, Laniakea had planted leftover kitchen scraps, like carrot tops and green onion roots.
‘They grew phenomenally well.’
Naturally, the Mole had lent a hand.
[I may look like this, but I’m an Earth Spirit! Growing delicious vegetables is my specialty!]
How the little creature had puffed up with pride while saying that.
Yet the moment she tasted the dishes made from crops grown in that patch, Laniakea understood the Mole’s confidence.
“Goodness, Her Highness the Consort. Where on earth did you get these carrots? I’ve never tasted carrots so sweet.”
“Just look at how thick and plump these onions are.”
“Look at these herbs too. To have an aroma this rich yet gentle!”
The two elderly maids who prepared her meals couldn’t hide their amazement upon seeing the vegetables Laniakea had grown in her patch.
They whipped up a meal in no time, and hadn’t everyone in the Detached Palace murmured with ecstatic faces that day, ‘That was an absolute masterpiece of a meal…’?
Ever since then, the maids had looked at Laniakea with longing eyes, hoping she would grow something new in her patch again.
‘If I go to the countryside, buy a cheap plot with poor soil, and farm it together with the Mole…’
In Laniakea’s imagination, a vast field began to overflow with various crops.
Carrots, cucumbers, eggplants, pumpkins, potatoes, tomatoes…
Her daydreaming continued. If she didn’t stop at vegetables, but grew wheat and barley, and even got an orchard to grow apples and grapes…
The corners of Laniakea’s lips curved upward. Could she finally fulfill the dream she had only imagined since childhood?
‘Once I can afford a bigger house and land, I’ll be able to summon other spirits comfortably too.’
Laniakea thought of the other spirits. Unlike the highly affable Mole, the other spirits took time before they could be summoned again once called.
Moreover, no matter that it was the Detached Palace, with Lucy and the other servants around, she couldn’t summon them freely either.
But soon, that too would be a thing of the past.
‘By the way, how much should I really ask for?’
She remembered Hyperion saying he would respect her wishes. She also remembered him saying, ‘Aren’t you my wife?’
‘Fortunately, he didn’t seem to dislike me as much as I’d thought.’
Then wouldn’t it be fine to ask for a little—just a tiny bit—more generous an amount than she had initially planned?
As such thoughts drifted through her mind, Laniakea’s eyes gently closed.
Blink.
Laniakea blinked rapidly.
The first thing she saw was a dim, indistinct darkness.
As she blinked a few more times, her eyes adjusted to the dark, taking in the paintings and moldings on the ceiling.
Late night. It was her familiar room. She ought to feel comfortable, yet she felt her heart pounding violently.
Just then, the rattle of a turning doorknob broke the silence. Someone was trying to enter her room.
It couldn’t be Lucy. Lucy always knocked vigorously on the door before coming in.
More than that, there was no reason for anyone to sneak into her bedroom at such an hour.
The last time something like this happened…
“……!”
Recalling that past incident, Laniakea bolted upright in visceral disgust and terror.
She needed to scream at the top of her lungs for help, but her voice wouldn’t come out properly.
While Laniakea stumbled, the door swung completely open. At that moment, she caught a metallic glint.
Chills crept up her spine. The intruder held a bladed weapon. What they intended to do with it was obvious without asking.
‘Lucy, I have to call Lucy!’
Yet the assailant closed the distance faster than Laniakea could open her mouth.
“Guh!”
Immediately, the assailant’s hand clamped around her throat. Choking violently as her airway was cut off, Laniakea flailed her arms.
The assailant smirked at her feeble resistance. Confident they would achieve their goal in an instant, the assailant failed to notice Laniakea’s flailing hand throwing open the window.
The moment cool wind rushed through the open window—
“Crow… tit…”
Laniakea squeezed out her voice with all the strength she possessed.
While the assailant paused, bewildered by her unexpected action, the air suddenly shone brilliant and bright. Then, scattering radiant light, a translucent Crow-tit materialized between Laniakea and the assailant.
As the stunned assailant stared blankly at the bird, the Crow-tit blinked, then shrieked at the attacker:
[You fucking bastard!]
Bellowing its fury, the Crow-tit mercilessly pecked at the assailant’s eyes with its tiny, adorable beak.
