Contract Marriage Rewritten
Chapter 28
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“Your Majesty, a mosquito bite?”
Lucy looked at Laniakea, who was scratching the back of her hand, with concern.
“This? I don’t think it’s a mosquito…”
Laniakea trailed off as she answered. The center of the back of her hand was faintly flushed red.
‘What happened yesterday?’
She remembered growing exhausted in an instant because she had kept Minnow summoned for far too long.
Normally, she wouldn’t have tired so quickly, but after finally making headway on a matter she had wrestled with for so long, she had also spent hours chatting and having dinner with Hyperion.
With everything piling up, she had fallen into a sleep so deep it bordered on passing out.
What she did remember was casually placing her hand in his when Hyperion asked for it right before she drifted off.
Even if she hadn’t been in her right mind half-asleep, looking back on it, she had offered him her hand with remarkable ease.
Even if Lucy had asked for her hand, she likely wouldn’t have handed it over quite so readily.
Truthfully, she was baffled at herself for falling asleep like that.
She didn’t have a particularly high-strung personality, but neither was she so carefree as to doze off easily in front of other people.
Moreover, it had been Hyperion.
The Emperor of the Empire before he was her husband.
To fall asleep in front of such a man just because she was tired! And after making such an embarrassing scene before him only a few days ago, how could she…!
“Agh!”
The moment that memory resurfaced, Laniakea buried her face in both hands.
‘We took off our clothes. And held hands, and…’
In a flash, the memory of that night returned with vivid clarity: the weight pressing down against her atop the bed, along with what she had felt touching her below.
Heat rushed up the nape of her neck, scorching her ears. She grabbed the first document within reach and fanned herself frantically, but this wasn’t the kind of heat that cooled so easily.
What made Laniakea even more mortified was that, while thinking of that moment made her head spin, it wasn’t as though she had hated it.
Had she been scared? She thought so. It was something she had never done in her life, and having heard that it was difficult and painful, it would have been strange not to be frightened.
If they were to do it again, she would have to brace herself.
‘Still… I don’t think I’d be as afraid as the first time.’
Laniakea’s neck flushed an even deeper crimson. She began to worry whether she was some sort of pervert for dwelling on it so much.
‘No, but still, I mean…!’
Desperately trying to turn her thoughts elsewhere, Laniakea’s eyes fell on the reddened patch on the back of her hand.
Tracing the red mark with her fingertips, Laniakea pondered what could have caused it.
There was no need to think too deeply on it. Hyperion was the one who had held her hand before she fell asleep, so it must have come from him.
Yet she couldn’t fathom what he could have done to leave a mark like this. It wasn’t as if he had struck her.
‘I think he was holding and touching my hand, but…’
Would simply touching someone’s hand leave a mark like this? Since it didn’t hurt, it wasn’t a problem, but the mystery of how it had come to be remained unsolved.
‘Would he tell me if I asked?’
Then she could just ask him tonight—
“Ah.”
The moment the thought crossed her mind, Laniakea realized a crucial fact: she wouldn’t be going to the Main Palace today, since she had seen him yesterday.
Mr. and Mrs. Ency had advised that the two of them meet only once every few days from now on.
When relaying this, Gemma had carefully watched Laniakea’s reaction.
She seemed concerned that Laniakea might find it uncomfortable. Yet contrary to Gemma’s worries, Laniakea found herself feeling disappointed by the decision.
‘I still have more to ask him, too.’
Laniakea shifted her gaze down to her desk.
Thanks to Hyperion’s help, she had been able to review and return all the documents she had urgently carried over to the Main Palace yesterday morning.
With the backlog of urgent matters resolved, the faces of the temporary clerks standing nearby brightened visibly.
They were personnel temporarily dispatched to the Empress’s Palace from the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Naturally, they would want this place to stabilize as quickly as possible so they could return to their own departments.
If she could have it her way, Laniakea wanted to send them back as soon as possible too.
The Empress’s Palace was unsettled not just because a new master had arrived recently, but also because it was currently staffed by people who were destined to leave.
‘People who will leave.’
As she watched the clerks working with awkward expressions, Laniakea’s face subdued.
Like a splash of cold water, the lingering heat from moments ago vanished in an instant, leaving her head cool and clear.
Her resolve remained unchanged.
‘One year.’
If she had a child, that period might be prolonged, but even so, she would still leave this place.
Had the Spirits been beside her, they would have questioned her in confusion.
Why was she so intent on leaving?
Contrary to her expectations, Hyperion had held onto her. On top of that, he had been treating her with immense care.
Though she did not know why, he clearly cherished Laniakea. Had that not been the case, he would have insisted on fulfilling his duty as Emperor on their first night together, regardless of whether she lost consciousness or not.
Yet he had stepped back, watched over her, and worried for her.
However.
‘For now, he has no choice because he needs me.’
In the end, an Empress was someone who not only shared the governance of state affairs alongside the Emperor in different domains, but also ruled over the inner workings of the Imperial Palace.
While she had managed to handle the matters smoothly this time with Hyperion’s help, she couldn’t ask him to assist her with everything.
Laniakea’s eyes turned toward the clerks diligently absorbed in their work. They were longing to return as quickly as possible. To the place where they rightfully belonged.
Just as they did, Laniakea wanted to go to a place that suited her.
After watching the clerks for a while longer, Laniakea pulled another document in front of her.
Even though they were destined to leave, everyone was giving their all. She needed to work just as hard as them—no, harder than anyone—right until the very end.
She wanted to organize the Empress’s Palace’s affairs as much as possible so that whoever came after her could take over more easily and quickly to support Hyperion.
It was just as Laniakea took up her pen and began signing the reviewed documents.
“Your Majesty, the maid candidates have all gathered.”
“Have them come in.”
Laniakea had contacted all those residing in the Capital among those who had applied for the position of maid or had been recommended as suitable candidates.
Among them were those already working within the Imperial Palace, as well as those staying with their families.
Having finally received a response after the Imperial Palace’s summons had been delayed, they had rushed over immediately. Now, all of them had arrived.
Shortly after the maid exited, the doors opened, and twenty women filed inside.
Watching them walk in, Laniakea swallowed an exclamation of admiration.
As if to prove they were thoroughly prepared, from the way they walked to the manner in which they halted before her and paid their respects, not a single movement was flawed.
“Step closer.”
At Laniakea’s words, the candidates kept their heads bowed and stepped lightly forward two paces.
“You may all raise your heads. And beginning with you, state your name.”
Laniakea addressed the tall woman standing on the far left.
“My name is Livia Lesron. I am with the Imperial Palace’s Ministry of Finance, and I seek the honor of serving as Your Majesty’s pen.”
Hearing her name, Laniakea pulled out Livia’s dossier from the stack set aside and looked it over.
The Lesron Family had produced numerous Ministers of Finance and still held many key posts within the Ministry of Finance.
‘Mm, this one must be the talent the Ministry of Finance wants to place here.’
Each department in the Imperial Palace wished to place their own people in every palace. That way, they could maximize advantages for their respective departments when drafting budgets or planning major undertakings.
“I am Haran Sdirenbesa. Currently affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I aspire to become Your Majesty’s distant eyes and ears.”
With that, Haran added that she was fluent in no fewer than twelve foreign languages and was responsible for drafting official documents at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Listening to the explanation, Laniakea thought to herself:
‘Passed. Absolutely passed.’
Following that, the others enthusiastically introduced their names, affiliations, and how they could be of service.
By the time more than ten candidates had spoken, Laniakea paused as she turned a page of the dossiers.
“I am Chelsea Livingston. It is an honor to be in Your Majesty’s presence once again.”
The woman who invoked their prior acquaintance rather than a palace department affiliation was someone Laniakea already knew.
Chelsea Livingston. She was the queen of high society, widely rumored not only to be a master of etiquette, but also to facilitate and broker various deals among the nobility.
She was also extraordinarily beautiful, and had been recommended simultaneously by multiple families.
And one look at her eyes was enough to tell: she hadn’t volunteered to be a maid to serve the Empress, but for a far greater purpose.
Chelsea looked directly at Laniakea, as if to say that the position she truly desired was that very seat.
Just then, a knock sounded from outside, accompanied by a voice announcing the arrival of the Emperor’s messenger.
When Laniakea granted permission to enter at the urgent tone, the doors swung open, and maids filed in carrying something completely unexpected.
Cradled in their arms were bouquets so massive it looked as though an entire flower garden had been transplanted into them.