Contract Marriage Rewritten
Chapter 39
Afterward, Laniakea listened at length as the mole explained what it had discovered about the place she had asked it to look into.
Realizing how much time had passed, she sent the mole back and returned to the office with Lucy.
Just as expected. A fresh stack of documents was piled high, and the maids, led by Hilde, crept forward while nervously watching her reaction.
Naturally, their hands were full of matters requiring Laniakea’s decision.
The moment she took her seat, they swarmed her as if they had only been waiting for that cue.
As she worked through the tasks, she had intended to write a letter asking Hyperion about the Detached Palace before she forgot.
However, in all the chaos, she had trailed off mid-sentence, decided it didn’t sound right, and set it aside in a corner to rewrite later…
* * *
‘Did it somehow get mixed in with the documents?’
A headache throbbed at the mere thought of that possibility.
Honestly, the letter didn’t say much of anything. It wasn’t as if it contained confidential secrets. Besides, it had been cut off mid-thought, so he would clearly realize it had been slipped in by mistake.
‘Only the documents bound for the Emperor’s Palace were sent out, so His Majesty will surely be the first to open it…’
Since Laniakea had already signed off on them, only the Emperor’s final review remained. Thus, the chances of anyone else seeing it were slim.
‘At least that’s a relief.’
The thought had barely formed before Laniakea startled at herself.
‘Why on earth would that be a relief?’
Wouldn’t it be better for anyone other than the Emperor to see it?
Hyperion was one of the people she ought to find most daunting. The word “husband” still felt unfamiliar, and he was the absolute sovereign whom everyone—herself included—was bound to serve and obey.
‘Yet he doesn’t frighten me as much as he used to.’
Come to think of it, facing Hyperion hadn’t felt terrifying for quite some time now. In the past, she used to tense up just catching a distant glimpse of him, long before their eyes could even meet.
‘It really is turning out just as Mr. and Mrs. Ency said.’
They had said that frequent encounters and physical contact would ease the tension, that becoming accustomed to one another would eventually make his presence comfortable.
And Hyperion had treated Laniakea exactly as Mr. and Mrs. Ency had advised.
‘Though he progressed much faster than I ever expected.’
First he took her hand, and then he spent entire days nipping at her neck and ears.
‘It’s still rather embarrassing, though…’
Strangely, this slow, clinging intimacy was far more flustering and difficult to bear than when they had first shared a bed.
She knew the reason why. Wasn’t this the sort of affection reserved only for someone one truly cared for?
Around her, she had often seen and heard of people coupling out of sheer lust, even without a shred of affection.
Every now and then at outdoor summer banquets, some would slip away from prying eyes for a clandestine tryst.
The nobles gossiped about how frivolous and vulgar it was, yet she had seen those very same critics disappear into the bushes, hand in hand with a partner the moment one appeared.
Others had looked on with amused laughter.
Yet while everyone else watched the couples vanishing into the woods, Laniakea had sat in a lounge at the edge of the banquet hall, gazing at a nearby pair of chairs.
An elderly couple sat there.
Their hands were clasped tightly as they looked at one another.
The husband listened intently to his wife, laughing heartily time and again at whatever delightful tale she told.
Then, taking her hand, he brought it up against his cheek.
As if that still weren’t enough, he kissed the back of her hand repeatedly, cradling it gently between his palms over and over.
Meanwhile, those who had slipped into the woods returned with disheveled attire.
As if nothing had happened, they turned their backs and melted into the crowd, pretending to be strangers.
Through it all, the elderly couple remained seated, hands still entwined.
Laniakea had been unable to take her eyes off them until they finally rose to leave.
Just as she thought of heading back, struck by an inexplicable sense of emptiness, the chatter of nearby guests reached her ears.
“Count Dennes and his wife are as devoted as ever.”
“Indeed. It caused quite an uproar when they announced their marriage, didn’t it? They used to bicker every single day, only to suddenly announce they were wedding.”
“Everyone said it wouldn’t last… yet look at how fond of each other they still are.”
The gossiping onlookers watched the Dennes couple walk away.
Unlike the mocking glances cast at those who had disappeared into the woods, every face was filled with envy.
Laniakea, too, had watched them until they faded from view, unable to look away.
More precisely, at their hands, which had remained joined the entire time.
Throughout their time seated in the hall and all the way until their departure, the count and countess were always touching, save for moments when it was strictly unavoidable.
It was entirely unlike those who whispered words of love while hastily coupling, only to avoid touching each other in the presence of others.
Witnessing that, Laniakea had looked down at her own hands.
Thinking she would never have such a bond in her life.
Yet now, someone held her hand as naturally as breathing whenever they were together.
The moment she realized that, a tickling warmth fluttered in her chest.
In all her life, no one had ever treated her with such tenderness.
In Priatra, she had lived amidst the cold indifference of her parents and elder sisters; in the Empire, she had been forced to live in quiet solitude under the Empress’s watchful eye.
Even so, she had never felt entirely lonely thanks to the few beings who were always by her side.
The spirits she had summoned with utmost caution away from everyone’s gaze, and Lucy, who shielded her with her very life after arriving in the Empire.
She had thought that even if they were few, it was more than enough, and that living quietly with them would be all she ever needed…
Laniakea clenched and unclenched her hand for no particular reason.
Though quite some time had passed since Hyperion had left, the sensation of his firm, steady grip still seemed to linger against her skin.
At the same time, an emptiness crept back in—likely because a sensation once so foreign had become all too familiar in the meantime.
‘What should I do?’
The thought that she would never feel it again once the year was up filled her with premature dread.
At that moment, a whisper echoed from deep within her heart.
Couldn’t you just stay longer?
Though a term of one year had been stipulated, Hyperion had told her she was welcome to stay as long as she wished.
Yet Laniakea was already letting the clock inside her wind down.
‘Staying too long will only cause trouble.’
Even without others pointing it out, Laniakea understood her position and standing all too well.
For now, Hyperion needed her and treated her as his wife.
But could this truly last?
For the moment, everyone held their breath and walked on eggshells around Hyperion, but once time passed and stability took root, he would require other sources of power.
What he would need then was an alliance with the high nobility.
In such circumstances, Laniakea would become nothing more than a useless card.
‘I’ve had more than enough of those looks.’
Weren’t those the very same gazes directed at her in Priatra? If she remained here, she would inevitably face them once again.
She refused to endure that ever again.
Laniakea lightly shook her hand, as if trying to flick away the warmth lingering in her palm.
Pulling her chair closer, she looked back down at her desk.
There was so much work to be done. Reviewing these documents, going to the Main Palace to meet Hyperion—to Laniakea, these were all duties that needed doing.
Routine obligations devoid of personal feeling, so that once everything was finished, she could walk away from this place without a single regret…
Just as she took up her pen with that thought in mind—
Bang!
The office door suddenly flew open with a loud crash.
Who could possibly barge into a place where everyone else deliberately muffled their footsteps?
Not only Laniakea, but all the maids turned in astonishment toward the open doorway. A man stood there, his breath ragged.
“Your Majesty?”
A startled Laniakea sprang to her feet.
Unless her eyes were deceiving her, the one who had stormed into her office was Hyperion.
His gaze locked onto Laniakea, and in a few swift strides, he crossed the room and grasped her hand.
His warmth touched the very hand she had just tried to brush clean of lingering memories. In that instant, every trace of the night she thought she had discarded rushed back to life.
“Your Majesty, why all of a sudden…?”
Unable to comprehend why he had barged in so abruptly to seize her hand, Laniakea began to ask what was wrong, but Hyperion pulled her forward and spoke.
“Let us go to the Main Palace.”
The room instantly stirred with murmurs. From all around, the maids gasped, muttering “Oh my, oh my!” as they covered their mouths.