Contract Marriage Rewritten
Chapter 29
Laniakea sprang to her feet in surprise.
Three maids grunted under the weight as they set an enormous bouquet down on her desk.
The bleak desk, buried under mountains of paperwork only moments before, transformed into a blooming garden in an instant.
Freshly cut, the intoxicating blend of sweet floral fragrance and the crisp scent of trimmed grass filled her office. It was a rich, vibrant aroma that brought a smile to one’s face with a single breath.
Nestled among the vibrant blossoms lay a small gold envelope.
Recognizing at once that it was a letter from the Emperor, Laniakea hurriedly picked it up and looked inside.
[Did you sleep well? It weighed on my mind that urgent matters pulled me away this morning before I could bid you farewell. Your clothes looked uncomfortable, so I changed you into something else. I send these flowers hoping you will forgive my presumption. I shall be waiting for our next night together.]
It was a brief letter without a single shameless word, yet Laniakea flushed crimson and hastily tucked it into a drawer.
‘His Majesty changed my clothes?’
When Laniakea opened her eyes that morning, she was lying in bed. Sensing no other presence, she had turned over to find the space beside her empty.
Reaching out to touch the sheets, she had felt no lingering warmth. It meant Hyperion had either not stayed or left very early.
That realization had left her with complicated feelings.
They were still awkward around each other, so relief should have been the proper response, yet an odd emotion—whether disappointment or lingering longing—had welled up unbidden.
Judging by the slight creases in the linen, he seemed to have been beside her at some point.
As she tried to recall when she had even made it to bed, she realized she was dressed in a nightgown.
‘When did I change?’
She had no memory of coming to bed, let alone changing clothes. She had assumed she must have fallen into a very deep sleep.
Yet it had not been her doing—Hyperion had dressed her himself.
Laniakea glanced toward the window.
Was it closed? Why was it suddenly so hot?
One might wonder what difference changing her clothes made between two people who had already shared their bodies, but strangely enough, this flustered her far more.
Just as her imagination began to paint a more vivid picture of that scene, she caught sight of the eyes fixed upon her.
To think she had been so lost in thought that she completely forgot all those watching eyes.
“Ahem.”
Laniakea set the letter down beside the bouquet and looked at the candidates as if nothing had happened.
“Forgive me. Let us continue with the introductions. Who is next?”
“Ah, I am…”
At Laniakea’s prompting, the woman standing next to Chelsea quickly began her introduction.
Under normal circumstances, the candidates would have listened intently to the introduction of someone who could become their rival or colleague, but right now, their attention was fixed not on the speaker, but on the bouquet atop the desk.
One of the questions currently consuming everyone in the Imperial Palace was the true nature of the relationship between the Emperor and the Empress.
As soon as the Emperor returned to the Imperial Palace, he had brought knights from the Border and filled the entire Imperial Guard with his own men.
Even those who had supported the former Empress could not dream of bringing him down for now, as Hyperion was the sole remaining heir.
The Empress, however, was a different story.
Even Hyperion’s own supporters were already pleading with him to divorce the current Empress and take a new one who could provide political advantage.
It was only natural, then, that the former Empress’s faction set their sights on the seat of the Empress.
Everyone knew all too well how much wealth numerous families had amassed over the years thanks to the former Empress.
Moreover, while the Emperor was currently focusing on putting the Imperial Palace in order shortly after his coronation, there was no doubt he would target the former Empress’s faction once the most pressing matters were settled.
He would surely seek to reclaim what they had embezzled in collusion with the former Empress over the past decades. Because of this, several were already attempting to smuggle their assets abroad.
Yet that was only feasible for those with trivial fortunes.
No nation on the continent was safer or wealthier than the Empire. In that case, rather than frantically liquidating their assets and smuggling them elsewhere, it was far better to find a way to preserve their past glory.
And naturally, their solution was the Empress.
Merely placing one ambitious, beautiful woman in that seat had once brought their families immense wealth and prestige.
If they could enjoy that once more, they could sink their roots even deeper and become the Empire itself.
Besides, the current Empress was completely powerless, was she not? Even after she became Empress, her homeland of Priatra had sent not a single envoy. It was as if she were no longer considered one of their own.
Now that she had become the Empress of the Empire, it would only be natural for a delegation to arrive to advance their national interests, yet they drew such a stark line.
Had Priatra severed ties early on, knowing she would not last long?
Whatever the reason, once they confirmed the Empress’s homeland would do nothing, there was only one thing left for them to verify.
The relationship between the Emperor and the Empress.
To their knowledge, nothing special had ever occurred between the two during their marriage. They had merely shared meals a few times a year. Each time, the Emperor had departed the Imperial Palace without lingering. Thus, there could hardly have been anything significant between them.
Therefore, they had all begun scouring their families for someone suitable to elevate to the Empress’s seat.
Yet right around that time, word came from their informants planted in the Imperial Palace: the Emperor and Empress had spent the night together in the Main Palace.
However, it was reported that someone had entered the Main Palace in a hurry late at night, and security had tightened so much afterward that no further details could be gathered.
At that news, the nobles of the former Empress’s faction grew grave.
To share a bed with an Empress who was thought to be powerless, distant from the current Emperor, and destined to be cast aside soon?
‘That will not do.’
No matter what, the Emperor’s first heir had to be borne by a woman they backed. That way, if worst came to worst, the advantage would be overwhelmingly theirs.
It was in the midst of this that the Empress had summoned candidates for her ladies-in-waiting.
Chelsea was the candidate they had dispatched under these circumstances. In truth, they did not expect her to become Empress.
Chelsea’s mission was strictly to stay by the current Empress’s side, gauge the depth of her relationship with the Emperor, and simultaneously identify the nobles making contact with her.
‘And if Chelsea happens to captivate the Emperor, all the better.’
That was why they had promised her support, telling her to try if she could. Naturally, Chelsea understood their intentions, which was why she entered the Imperial Palace with such confidence.
‘Wrapping a woman like her around my finger will be child’s play.’
Chelsea had spoken with Laniakea a few times back when she was Crown Princess.
Beautiful, yes, but nothing more. She knew little of high society in the Empire, nor did she hail from a wealthy homeland capable of purchasing novel luxuries.
Nor did she ever reach out to other imperial princesses or social luminaries like Chelsea.
‘Above all, the Empress began avoiding her intensely at some point.’
Because of that, no one else had spoken a word to her either. Laniakea had kept herself shut away in the Detached Palace, making her a woman with virtually no noble acquaintances.
There was no way such a woman could hold her own in a position as crucial as the Empress.
‘The Emperor can’t be blind to that either.’
Sharing a bed was nothing strange. With a face that beautiful, the Emperor would naturally want to sleep at least once with the woman who had been his wife for three years.
Yet after a few nights, he would ultimately keep the beauty around for casual pleasure and choose a woman who brought political benefit for the seat of the Empress.
She had not doubted that for a second, but the moment she entered, what met her eyes was a bouquet larger than any she had ever seen.
Just looking at it made it obvious—this was no casual, delegated order. The Emperor himself had likely given precise instructions for every detail.
‘I understood the Emperor was extraordinarily busy.’
Everyone knew the officials assigned directly under the Emperor were groaning under their burdens. With his coronation so recent, an overwhelming workload was only natural.
Yet Emperor Hyperion was a man who surpassed the limits ordinary people could fathom.
He dispatched crucial affairs at terrifying speed while driving those around him without mercy.
Those who had entered with hopes of pulling a few strings found themselves in despair.
In the tempest of non-stop work, far from concealing past corruption, they were handing over what they had buried directly to the Emperor with their own hands.
In any case, the Emperor’s palace had recently earned the title of the Imperial Palace’s lighthouse, its lights never going out.
And yet, word had arrived that the two had slept together in the Main Palace again last night.
She had wondered if there was some mistake, but seeing the Empress flush at the sight of the bouquet and letter on her desk made everything crystal clear.
The two of them were undeniably ablaze with passion!
Anxiety crept into Chelsea. It seemed she would have to act much faster.
“That concludes the introductions. Very well. I shall now ask you all a few questions.”
At Laniakea’s words, Chelsea straightened her posture. For now, she had to focus on being selected as a lady-in-waiting before worrying about the rest.