Contract Marriage Rewritten
Chapter 16
Chapter 16
Laniakea searched her memory for everything she knew on the subject.
Back in Priatra, she had received a basic sex education. That was when she learned what a man and a woman had to do together to create a child.
Yet that knowledge had been rudimentary at best. The bulk of what she knew about the marriage bed had been picked up in banquet lounges after arriving in the Empire.
Laniakea had never been fond of attending banquets. She was always plagued by the worry that she might damage the clothes and jewelry she had borrowed from the Empress.
On top of that, there were people who pestered her with conversation to the point of annoyance.
Had noble ladies approached her, she would have been grateful. But in an Imperial Palace ruled by the Empress, few were brave enough to associate with Laniakea.
Instead, it was men who hovered around her.
“I hear Lord Hyperion is absent from this banquet as well. If you happen to need a partner…”
“Would you care to attend our family’s evening banquet? Many young men would be overjoyed if Her Highness the Consort were to grace us with her presence.”
Their words were polite enough, but the gazes sweeping over Laniakea were murky with unvarnished lust.
She politely deflected the invitations of men who licked their lips as they imagined the curves beneath her dress, then retreated into the lounge.
Once tucked away in the farthest corner, she would invariably overhear the hushed gossip of noblewomen seated nearby.
“You all know Count Sherin was exceptionally picky about choosing a husband, right?”
“Of course I heard. They say she even held private interviews, being terribly particular about the build of the man who would be her husband.”
“After picking him with such care, they’re already sleeping in separate rooms.”
“Oh my? Whatever for?”
“Well… she married him because she liked his physique, but apparently that’s precisely what made things so difficult. He was rather clumsy, too, so it was nothing but an ordeal in bed.”
“My, my, good heavens. And then what happened?”
Laniakea had pricked up her ears at their conversation. After all, curiosity is only natural when it comes to such intimate matters.
Besides, she had assumed she would never experience such things in her entire life, which made her all the more curious.
Thanks to that, Laniakea was treated to vivid, unvarnished stories far beyond anything taught in her lessons.
Stories of couples who conceived a child after a single night together, versus couples who barely managed after years of effort.
Stories of couples who enjoyed every single night, versus those who felt only pain each time and never shared a bed again once a child was born.
Or candid tales of women distressed over their partner’s perverse tastes.
“Mm…”
Recalling the tidbits she had gleaned through eavesdropping, Laniakea’s expression darkened.
“It will probably… be big… right?”
She had never seen a man’s member in person. Thus, she could only guess at its size and shape from statues.
She had heard that a large body didn’t necessarily mean a large size down there, but wouldn’t it naturally match his build?
If something like that goes inside me, it’s going to hurt.
Laniakea couldn’t begin to fathom how painful it might be.
Some women had laughed while speaking of that pain, while others grimaced as though they couldn’t bear to even imagine it.
One thing was certain: a larger partner made things harder. So sharing a bed with Hyperion would likely be quite difficult.
“Haa…”
A long sigh escaped her lips. She felt pathetic for fretting over such things at this point.
Many women around her age already had children. The Second Prince’s Consort, who was the same age as her, already had two.
To be worrying like this about something so many had already experienced—something that was, in fact, her duty.
Let’s do my best.
Laniakea clenched her fists tightly. Effort might not guarantee success in everything, but surely she would grow used to it if she tried hard enough. Or perhaps she would conceive before she even had time to get used to it.
He did say one child would be enough.
All Hyperion wanted from her was a single heir. Generally, people believed the more heirs there were, the better.
So when she had asked if just one was truly enough, he had answered with a cold expression.
“People must have realized by now that having many heirs is actually a poison.”
Considering how they had kept each other in check only to end up dead together, it made sense that people would think that way.
“Raising one well is more than enough. There is not more than one throne to sit upon.”
Perhaps he had been speaking of his own experience.
In any case, Hyperion did not seem likely to demand more than one child from her. He wouldn’t want to subject his heir to the same circumstances he had endured.
That’s a relief for me.
Laniakea pushed herself up and walked over to the headboard of the bed. Several drawers were built into the antique design of the headboard. Whoever had first used this bed must have been someone who liked keeping many belongings close at hand.
Laniakea placed her hand on the uppermost drawer. With a soft glide, the drawer popped open slightly.
“No matter how often I see it, magic is truly fascinating.”
Though most of its power had been lost to time, items commissioned from magicians by past emperors still remained within the Imperial Palace. This bed was one such piece.
Laniakea touched the drawer once more. With a smooth slide, the drawer receded back into place.
She had been told that only the master of the Imperial Palace could open and close this drawer. The masters recognized by the bed were the Emperor and the Empress.
She had wondered if some magical ritual before the bed was required for recognition, but the moment Laniakea touched it, the drawer had slid open effortlessly.
Miraculously, the bed had acknowledged Laniakea as its new master the very moment the former Empress departed the Imperial Palace.
Filled with wonder, Laniakea opened and closed the drawer a few more times before taking out what was stored inside.
It was a single sheet of paper. The thick, high-quality parchment was the kind reserved for official imperial documents.
“Still, is it really all right for me to accept this?”
This was something Hyperion had suddenly brought and given to her two days ago.
* * *
At first, she had wondered what kind of paper it was, but she soon realized it was a special rider to be added to their marriage contract.
The terms of the rider were straightforward.
1. Both parties promise to do their utmost for one year to produce an imperial heir.
2. Once an heir is conceived, the Emperor will fulfill all promised support for the Empress to the very end.
The promised support was as follows:
1) The Empress may freely travel and reside anywhere within the Empire, including the Imperial Palace, and may possess up to 2 10 residences of her choice.
2) In addition to a basic living allowance to maintain the dignity of the Empress, an additional monthly budget of 100 10,000 gold will be provided. Beginning from the date of coronation, this will be paid for 10 years a lifetime.
3) In addition, should further support be required, the Emperor promises to treat the Empress’s requests with the highest priority under any circumstances, provided they do not infringe upon imperial authority.
Laniakea stared at the struck-through numbers for a long while.
When Hyperion first brought the document, she had examined it multiple times, thinking it was drawn up entirely too favorably in her favor.
He had pointed to the blank spaces and told Laniakea to write whatever she wished without hesitation. The terms were already skewed entirely to her advantage, and yet he was telling her to fill in the numbers freely, as she pleased.
Is this really fine?
When he made things this favorable for her, it actually made her uneasy.
Still, there was no reason to unnecessarily diminish what was offered. After hesitating for a long while, Laniakea had written terms that felt a bit excessive even to her.
Two houses of her choice and 100 gold per month.
This alone would allow her to enjoy the kind of life she wanted for the rest of her days. Furthermore, it even stated that additional support would be provided if anything fell short.
So she had written down the numbers with full ambition and handed the paper back to Hyperion, only for his brow to twitch. Then, in a low, questioning voice, he had challenged her.
“These are your terms? Are you serious?”
“Pardon? No, is it truly too much? Then I can just make it one mansion…”
Startled and frightened, Laniakea had hurriedly moved to adjust the number, but Hyperion picked up the pen, struck heavy lines through the numbers she had written, and jotted down new ones.
Ten mansions of her choice, and a monthly stipend of 10,000 gold.
Laniakea took the paper he handed back and blinked in disbelief. Her eyesight seemed perfectly fine, so why were the numbers looking so strange?
“Ten residences? Even two felt like too many…”
“You must have separate vacation villas for summer and winter, a mansion in the capital, and places to stay in at least four different provinces, wouldn’t you say?”
“I… see?”
His tone was so calm, as if stating the most obvious fact in the world, that Laniakea found herself nodding along without realizing it.
“Still, the monthly stipend feels far too excessive.”
Ten thousand gold. If she lived outside the Imperial Palace, that was more than enough money for an entire year’s living expenses. And he was offering to pay that every month?
An image of herself swimming in a mountain of gold coins flashed through her mind.
Such luxury and vanity. Was this truly acceptable?
To her, who looked utterly flustered at the inflated figures, Hyperion said again in an unbothered tone,
“That amount is not even a tenth of the Empress’s budget. Perhaps I should raise it further—”
“No! No! It is quite enough!”
When she hurriedly caught his hand as he reached for the pen again—
“…!”
Hyperion recoiled, pulling his hand away in shock as if he had touched fire.
