Contract Marriage Rewritten
Chapter 36
Around the same time.
The Emperor’s palace was just as crowded with people bustling back and forth, yet it lacked even the slightest hint of the warm atmosphere found in the Empress’s palace.
That was because the knights from the border, who had guarded Hyperion since the funerals of the late Emperor and the princes, stood watch with sharp, vigilant eyes.
At even the slightest loud noise, their heads would snap toward it, casting chilling glares.
So murderous were those gazes that the ministers and clerks entering and leaving the Emperor’s palace couldn’t help flinching and shutting their mouths.
Yet it wasn’t solely the knights’ scrutiny that made them tread so carefully.
“Good grief, it feels like sitting on a bed of thorns.”
One minister remarked to a colleague walking in alongside him. The other nodded in agreement before lowering his voice.
“Well, these are times when we have no choice but to keep our heads down.”
The people moving through the Emperor’s palace could be broadly divided into two factions.
The New Aristocrat Faction, who had aided Hyperion’s swift accession to the throne, and the Old Aristocrat Faction, who had maintained close ties with the former Empress.
The reason they were not simply categorized as pro-Emperor and anti-Emperor was that positions varied wildly even within their own ranks.
While most of the New Aristocrat Faction could be considered pro-Emperor, labeling the Old Aristocrat Faction strictly anti-Emperor was ambiguous. Though they had treated Hyperion coldly in the past, they were now desperately scrambling to earn his favor by any means necessary.
Yet they could not approach the Emperor thoughtlessly. After all, not a single one among them had stepped forward to intervene when the former Empress made every excuse to drive the young prince out to the desolate frontier.
Everyone had thought it unavoidable back then. There was nothing to gain from siding with a powerless young prince in front of an Empress consumed by an ambition to seize absolute power.
Who could have known that the very prince they had turned a blind eye to would suddenly become the Emperor after the other three princes died on the exact same day?
“Still, it is fortunate His Majesty the Emperor recognizes our loyalty and capabilities.”
At those words, the other minister’s expression brightened slightly.
When Hyperion first ascended the throne, they had all been terrified, assuming they were as good as dead, but he hadn’t enacted any retribution against them.
Of course, that wasn’t to say nothing had happened. Every minister from the former Empress’s family had been purged completely.
But they weren’t dismissed simply for belonging to her faction.
Relying on their kinship with the former Empress, they had engaged in rampant corruption that even made other ministers scowl in disgust.
Flouting the law was a given, and manipulating records to evade taxes was a routine affair. The wealth they had amassed in such a manner was staggering.
Hyperion had culled them first.
Never expecting the new Emperor to strike them without the slightest hesitation, they were left utterly helpless before the knights storming in with orders bearing the imperial seal.
Yet that was where it ended. After purging those most heavily entangled with the former Empress, Hyperion punished no one else.
The vacancies left by those who voluntarily departed the Imperial Palace were filled by members of the New Aristocrat Faction, but even that hadn’t been done haphazardly.
“It is likely because His Majesty values competence above all else.”
The newcomers were all individuals who had proven their capabilities.
Thanks to this, everyone in the Emperor’s palace, just like in the Empress’s, was giving their absolute all to prove their usefulness.
As the ministers walked deeper inside and drew closer to the Emperor’s office, their words grew sparse.
When Hyperion first appointed them, they hadn’t been able to conceal their smiles.
‘We thought a greenhorn who just became Emperor would be easy to manipulate.’
What could someone who had spent almost his entire life outside the palace possibly know? Faced with the piling state affairs, he would ultimately have no choice but to beg the ministers for help.
…Or so they had thought.
‘Anyone watching him would think he’d been eyeing the throne since childhood.’
Even the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Princes, the former Empress’s sons, hadn’t possessed the ability to oversee state affairs the way Hyperion did now.
Finding that strange, someone had once asked Hyperion indirectly.
“Despite having been so far away, Your Majesty handles state affairs remarkably well. When did you learn all this?”
Looking at the minister as if wondering why he was asking something so obvious, he had replied:
“Is it not the principle that all princes and princesses must never neglect their studies so they may participate in state affairs at any time? Thus, I continued to study.”
As if anyone didn’t know the principle. The question was how he had managed to learn it in such a harsh environment where he could have died at any moment.
Yet no one was so tactless or possessed a heart of iron to probe any further.
At the same time, everyone remembered that before he departed the Imperial Palace, his tutors had praised Hyperion endlessly, calling him an exceptionally brilliant prince.
‘Come to think of it, even without imperial support, he maintained the Knight Order while fostering good relations with the northern lords.’
That alone was proof of the 1st Prince’s brilliance and resourcefulness.
But they couldn’t simply nod along and remain idle.
Why were they remaining loyal to the new Emperor despite suffering like this?
They wished to enjoy wealth and glory beside a new, powerful ruler who would reign for decades to come.
But if dealing with the Emperor proved difficult, there was only one answer.
‘We must target the Empress.’
How ill-suited the current Empress was for the Empire.
However, there were two reasons they had not yet moved against her.
First, the Emperor cared for the Empress far more than they had anticipated.
Not only did he unfailingly stay with her in the Main Palace, but rumors had also spread that he sent flowers to the Empress’s palace every day.
In such a situation, nothing good would come of openly showing their intention to keep the Empress in check, drive her out, and replace her with a woman of their choosing.
‘He might be infatuated with the Empress for now. It didn’t seem like he kept any women in the North, so it’s only natural he’d lose his head over the first person he shared a bed with.’
Moreover, the Empress, being of the Fairy Tribe, was undeniably beautiful even in their eyes.
So it stood to reason that the Emperor was all the more captivated. Touching her the wrong way right now would only put themselves in danger.
‘Beauty is fleeting anyway, and in the end, political choices must be made.’
He might be blinded by that beauty and enjoy it for the moment, but that too was temporary.
This was the second reason they had not attacked.
As time passed, the Empress was bound to reveal her true shortcomings. Everyone knew the former Empress had taught the current Empress nothing at all.
If mistakes and incompetence piled up, the Emperor would eventually realize it. And he would tire of her.
Therefore, their only option for now was to bide their time in silence.
‘The Coronation is soon anyway.’
No matter how many new maids-in-waiting were recruited to handle the preparations, it would be difficult for the celebratory banquet of the Coronation to conclude flawlessly.
Demanding perfection from such a colossal event was absurd in the first place.
Even in the days of the former Empress, various unexpected issues had surfaced during banquets.
The reason they could still appear flawless was that people, though aware of the flaws, tacitly overlooked them.
But at this banquet, there was no way everyone would stay silent for the current Empress’s sake.
While they might not embarrass her openly, they wouldn’t cover for her either. And the moment they found something to nitpick, they would whisper incessantly.
After a few banquets like that, the Empress would have mistake after mistake pointed out. Naturally, that would directly affect the Emperor’s authority, so he too would eventually come to view her with disdain.
‘In the end, it’s only a matter of time.’
“…Is likely what they’re thinking.”
Hearing Hyperion’s irritated mutter, Signo broke into a cold sweat.
Truth be told, Hyperion could have slaughtered them all before his accession if he had wished.
His Knight Order consisted of men who would die without hesitation if Hyperion commanded it.
Moreover, the Imperial Palace knights, who had spent their entire lives in peace thanks to their sacrifices, lacked the skill to even cross blades properly with Hyperion’s Knight Order.
‘So I thought he would sweep them clean before taking the throne.’
Yet Hyperion hadn’t done that. Bafflingly moderate, he had only purged those that were utterly rotten before ascending the throne.
Signo, knowing Hyperion’s true nature, was simply dumbfounded.
‘It must all be thanks to Her Majesty the Empress.’
He had likely held back because he didn’t want her to see bloodshed—so why were the ministers, completely oblivious, constantly trying to test her?
Just as Signo was about to let out another deep sigh, Hyperion asked:
“More importantly, what of the former Empress?”
At the mention of the former Empress, Signo replied with a tense expression.
“It seems she has finally regained her senses. We have confirmed that she is gathering her family members at her estate.”
Gauging Hyperion’s mood, Signo continued.
“However, strangely enough, she is said to be showing hostility toward Her Majesty the Empress rather than Your Majesty.”