Contract Marriage Rewritten
Chapter 43
When Laniakea returned to the Empress’s Palace, the maids’ excitement had still not subsided.
“Your Majesty? Back so soon? Did you not go to the Main Palace?”
Hilde, who had promised to follow shortly behind, was pacing the Empress’s Palace lobby with the most excited look on her face.
Seeing Laniakea return earlier than expected, she looked bewildered.
Hilde hastily inspected Laniakea’s appearance.
Seeing only a bit of soil on the hem of her dress and no other signs of dishevelment, a fleeting look of disappointment crossed her face.
It seemed Hilde was even more eager for the imperial couple to share a bed than they were.
“I told you I was only going for a moment.”
“Still… but… His Majesty rushed over like that…”
“He saw the letter I sent to the Detached Palace, misunderstood it, and was startled. More importantly, let us get back. There is still much work to do.”
“Understood. But was there any problem with the Detached Palace? Among the documents I reviewed, the only matter regarding it was an inquiry about its future disposal.”
“I have just decided what to do with it.”
Laniakea briefly summarized her conversation with Hyperion for Hilde. At that, a smile returned to Hilde’s face.
“So you plan to make it a retreat for the two of you.”
“No, it’s not like that…”
I was planning to farm!
But trying to explain the vegetable patch felt overwhelming, and she certainly could not speak of the spirit.
‘Come to think of it, he did say he would drop by often.’
On the way back, Hyperion had gazed admiringly at the plump ears of corn before remarking casually in passing.
“I look forward to seeing what the Mole will give me next time I visit.”
It was far more likely just an idle remark.
No matter how delicious the Mole’s harvest was, the imperial kitchens could hardly lack ingredients of equal quality.
Besides, with the Empire’s finest chefs preparing delicacies for him every day, there was no reason for him to go out of his way just for tasty fruits and vegetables.
‘Still, just in case…’
Before she knew it, pictures of how to decorate the Detached Palace began to form in Laniakea’s mind.
It was a place she had treasured dearly. Had the budget been more generous, there were so many spots she would have loved to make prettier and tidier.
She wanted to lay carpets over the marble floors and hang tapestries on the bare walls. She wished to hang landscape paintings in the rooms and place lamps with pretty shades all around so it wouldn’t be too dark at night.
She also wanted to bring in trendy furniture crafted from solid wood to give it a more rustic, pastoral feel…
She had thought of herself as someone with few worldly desires, but evidently she was mistaken.
Thinking that she could decorate as she pleased without being constrained by a budget, why were there so endlessly many things she wanted to buy?
Besides, if she didn’t spend it, the unused portion of the budget would return to the former Empress.
‘I don’t want that.’
Rather than let it go to her, it was far better that I spend every bit of it myself.
She wouldn’t spend an exorbitant sum, but having received permission anyway, there were things she definitely wanted to buy.
‘I must definitely plant fruit trees.’
Now she could expand the vegetable patch.
Then, she could plant as much as she wanted of all the things she hadn’t been able to plant before because she couldn’t touch the Detached Palace’s gardens without leave.
‘Apples, pomegranates, figs, grapes…’
She would choose the finest varieties, the hardiest saplings.
If raised together with the Mole, they would bear fruit so delicious that anyone taking a single bite would hear bells ringing in their ears.
In that moment, an image of Hyperion eating an apple grown by her and the Mole flashed through Laniakea’s mind.
‘Huh?’
Until now, whenever she had imagined such things, it had always been only herself and the spirits in her thoughts.
Yet why was Hyperion now standing naturally among them?
Truth be told, in terms of intimacy, Lucy was much closer.
She was the one who had stayed by Laniakea’s side the longest while in the Imperial Palace. Though she knew Lucy was a warrior of the Lupin tribe, Laniakea had always felt as if Lucy were her own dongsaeng.
But why…
Laniakea shook her head and picked up the next document she needed to review.
There was still a mountain of work left to do.
Lessons on imperial etiquette continued today, and matters to decide regarding the banquet remained piled high.
Regular duties to be handled in the Empress’s Palace would come flooding in. So she ought to put thoughts of the Detached Palace out of her mind now.
Laniakea looked down at her hands. Traces of blueberry she hadn’t managed to wipe away were still visible.
The image of Hyperion picking only the plumpest, sweetest-looking berries to hand to her refused to fade from her mind.
Two days later, Laniakea was meeting with Gemma, who had come to visit early in the morning.
As if it were the most natural thing in the world, Gemma wore the insignia of the Chief Imperial Physician on her chest.
“Chief Imperial Physician. The backlash from the existing imperial physicians must have been formidable—it is truly impressive.”
Laniakea admired her in earnest.
The former Chief Imperial Physician had stepped down because the Emperor had succumbed to illness.
Old age had certainly played a part, but under imperial law, there was no escaping the responsibility for an Emperor’s death by illness.
In addition, everyone who had worked alongside the former Chief Imperial Physician had to leave as well.
It was only natural, then, that the remaining imperial physicians engaged in fierce political maneuvering over the next chief position.
Yet out of nowhere, Gemma, an outsider, had taken the chief position with absolute ease.
Nor had Hyperion simply appointed her. She had settled the matter directly with the imperial physicians through sheer medical knowledge and skill to claim the post.
“Whether theory or practice, I am confident in both. Naturally, my husband has also taken charge of the Apothecary.”
Gemma puffed out her chest with even greater pride.
Deciding she had boasted enough for now, she stepped forward toward Laniakea.
“Now then, I shall begin the examination. May I loosen Your Majesty’s clothes?”
“Do as you see fit.”
Even if they were both women, exposing her body was still embarrassing.
However, the weekly regular checkup was one of the Empress’s duties.
In truth, had it been a regular medical examination, she would not have minded much.
But Gemma’s examination had another purpose beyond checking her state of health.
“Goodness, the bruising at the base of your neck is still so dark. I believe marks were left here last time as well…”
Gemma furrowed her brows as she inspected the base of Laniakea’s neck.
At her murmur, Laniakea’s face flushed hot.
The mark was, of course, left by Hyperion.
Ever since Laniakea had fainted, Gemma examined everything concerning the production of an heir, in addition to her general health.
“Your Majesty’s skin is rather delicate, so if marks continue to be left in the same spot, they could become permanent. You must be careful…”
Seeing Laniakea’s reddened face and flustered expression, Gemma nodded briefly as if understanding.
“I shall speak to His Majesty.”
Why, though, was she clenching her fists as she said that?
“It just so happens that today is the day you two stay at the Main Palace, so I shall pay a visit as soon as he returns.”
As Gemma said, today was the day to go to the Main Palace again.
However, Hyperion was not in the Imperial Palace right now. Since dawn, he had been visiting the Academy located near the Capital.
That, too, was one of the duties of a newly crowned Emperor.
‘Key figures of the Academy support His Majesty, so he will finish early and return.’
When the former Empress sent Hyperion to the monastery, the professors of the Academy had fiercely opposed it.
It was not because they were particularly fond of Hyperion. They had simply objected because there was no precedent for sending a member of the imperial family to a monastery.
But afterward, the Empress found fault with everything the Academy did and subjected them to persecution.
She had thought that, like other nobles, they would swiftly bow their heads to her.
‘A grave miscalculation.’
Professors were people whose pride pierced the sky.
Claiming the Empress did not even know imperial court etiquette, they had sent letters of mockery disguised in polite prose straight to the Empress’s Palace.
The confrontation between the Empress and the Academy, sparked in such a manner, only came to an end after Hyperion’s ascension.
‘Since they will receive full support from now on, the meeting will end quickly.’
Which meant tonight’s schedule would proceed as planned.
Once Gemma’s examination concluded, Laniakea returned to the Empress’s Palace and finished the day’s schedule as planned. When evening arrived and she made her way to the Main Palace, the Chief Attendant of the Main Palace greeted her.
“Where is His Majesty?”
“He has not yet arrived.”
“Is that so?”
Contrary to expectations, his schedule at the Academy seemed to be running long. Laniakea washed up first and entered the bedchamber to wait for him.
She had not come empty-handed today either. Though there were documents the maids had brought over, Laniakea was not waiting for him merely to seek advice on paperwork.
‘I must ask him to choose his chair.’
For the past three years, his room had contained only the furniture that had been there from the start.
Not knowing what he liked, she had intended to ask before buying, but because he rarely visited and never stayed a single night, in the end, nothing had been prepared especially for him.
‘This time, I can finally ask and place something there for him.’
To think that something belonging to Hyperion would be placed in a space that had held only the few belongings of herself, Lucy, and the other servants.
‘Ah, I should also ask what kind of fruit he likes.’
When she bought the new trees, she would plant his favorite first.
Imagining how she would decorate the Detached Palace, Laniakea waited for him.
And a few hours later, when the sky grew darker and the stars of deep night emerged, word arrived at the Imperial Palace.
“His Majesty’s whereabouts are unknown? What is the meaning of this?!”
Laniakea cried out in shock at the messenger’s report upon his arrival at the Main Palace.
It was the news that Hyperion’s party had vanished after departing the Academy.