Contract Marriage Rewritten
Chapter 44
Chapter 44
- Sitting Together
“His Majesty’s whereabouts are unknown? What is the meaning of this!”
At Laniakea’s sharp rebuke, the imperial knight bowed his head.
Yet she saw it clearly: just before lowering his gaze, his face had twisted with an irritated sneer, as if dealing with a nuisance.
Even so, she could not demand that he look up again.
That expression would have already vanished, and in the eyes of onlookers, she would merely seem to be venting her personal grievances on a knight in the middle of a crisis.
“Recount the situation again, in detail. Twenty knights accompanied His Majesty. Half of them, moreover, are seasoned veterans who have been by his side since the border. Does it make any sense that such men lost track of the Emperor?”
“The thing is… we were ambushed while passing through Feren Forest on our way from the Academy to the capital.”
“Ah!”
“An ambush?”
At the knight’s words, cries of shock erupted from the crowd gathered in the lobby of the Emperor’s palace.
An attack on the Emperor? It was something unthinkable in the Empire for decades.
Of course, that was partly because the previous emperor disliked stepping outside the Imperial Palace, rarely doing so except for major events like hunting festivals.
Furthermore, whenever he ventured out, hundreds of Imperial Knights escorted him. Above all, there had been no faction in the Empire daring enough to target the Emperor.
Though a few noble houses lined their pockets under the former Empress’s grip while certain regions were exploited, the Empire had, on the whole, enjoyed an exceptionally peaceful era.
Yet an ambush had occurred as soon as the new Emperor ascended the throne.
“Ha.”
Laniakea let out a sigh at the sheer gravity of the situation.
Even if she had been nothing more than a quiet Crown Princess confined to the detached palace, she could see clearly how much of an insult this incident was to imperial authority.
Pinching the bridge of her nose for a moment, Laniakea questioned the knight.
“How many assailants were there?”
“Pardon?”
“I am asking how many attacked His Majesty, and from where and how they ambushed you. Answer properly.”
“Ah, yes. The attackers appeared to be about twenty in number, and they were dressed in the garb of commoners.”
Even as he answered, the knight looked at Laniakea with flustered eyes.
Everyone knew she was an incompetent Empress from a small nation.
Had they not all snickered and whispered that the Empress’s palace only began running properly after she finally assembled a retinue of maids?
Naturally, in everyone’s minds, the Empress was nothing more than a pretty doll the Emperor chose to keep by his side for the time being.
Yet here she was, showing not a single trace of agitation in a crisis that would fluster even high-ranking ministers, calmly assessing the facts.
“So you failed to determine their exact numbers.”
At Laniakea’s low, even voice, the knight dropped his head.
Quickly and accurately assessing the enemy in any circumstance was one of a knight’s fundamental duties.
Yet not only had the knights guarding the Emperor lost track of the very person they were sworn to protect, but they had also failed to even accurately gauge the number of attackers.
Realizing this, the onlookers cast cold, disapproving glares at the bowed knight.
“Very well. Is Sir Signo at the Emperor’s palace?”
“He is missing along with His Majesty.”
Laniakea’s expression hardened even further. Signo was the person Hyperion trusted most.
‘With the position of Minister of State still vacant, I needed to handle this alongside Signo…’
The names of those currently running the Imperial Palace flashed through Laniakea’s mind.
While none of them belonged to the Old Aristocrat Faction, neither could they be unconditionally trusted.
In the end, the only person who had to take control of everything in this situation was herself—the Empress.
“Hilde, issue an order to assemble the Imperial Knights. I will proceed to the main palace.”
The Empress looked neither terrified nor anxious. Her voice was composed, yet weighted with the gravity of one who fully comprehended the severity of the matter.
“Move quickly, everyone. His Majesty must be returned to his rightful place before nightfall.”
At Laniakea’s steady voice, those who had been clamoring in panic just moments ago fell silent.
When the Empress—who had the greatest right to be shocked—remained so poised, they could hardly continue their undignified fuss.
The chaotic lobby settled into silence in an instant. Laniakea surveyed the crowd before calling out the name of someone watching her nervously.
“Chelsea.”
“Y-Yes!”
Standing a short distance away, Chelsea flinched in surprise and hurriedly answered.
“Convey the summons to all ministers to gather at the main palace. Prepare the council chamber as well, and leave an empty room ready beside it. And…”
Laniakea whispered one more command to Chelsea. Chelsea’s face stiffened, but she soon nodded.
“Understood.”
Though briefly taken aback, Chelsea gave a courteous reply and headed toward the main palace first. In the meantime, Laniakea addressed each person by name, delegating their respective duties with precision.
Then, she spoke with quiet emphasis once more.
“When His Majesty returns, he will surely say we made a fuss over nothing.”
She even forced a deliberate smile. As she did, Laniakea swiftly scanned their gazes.
Those who were intrigued, those filled with admiration, those wearing displeased scowls, and those still frozen in fear.
Laniakea quickly committed their expressions to memory.
For their reactions now would serve as clear evidence revealing who they truly were.
“I will gather my thoughts for a moment before proceeding to the main palace. No one is to follow me.”
Laniakea called for Lucy. With that alone, Lucy seemed to understand what she intended to do and stepped forward to lead the way to the rear garden.
Feeling the weight of countless stares on her back, Laniakea hurried to a secluded corner of the rear garden.
As if thoroughly accustomed to such moments by now, Lucy checked to ensure no one else was nearby and made sure Laniakea could not be seen from the direction of the Empress’s palace.
Once Lucy signaled that the coast was clear, Laniakea immediately called out to Mole.
“Mole, can you hear me?”
A flurry of dirt scattered, and as if sensing Laniakea’s urgency, Mole appeared far more swiftly than usual.
Yet Mole looked a bit different from before.
While the spirit had always possessed a distinct, solid form, today it was translucent, much like Crow-tit.
‘It must be because it stayed too long last time.’
Because Hyperion had been so welcoming and delighted by Mole’s presence, Mole had remained in the human realm far longer than usual.
It was not a severe problem, as Mole would recover after sufficient rest. In the meantime, the only drawback was that its power and domain were weakened.
Thus, she had never considered it an issue until now—but at this very moment, it was.
“His Majesty has gone missing.”
[What? The Emperor?]
“It seems his trail was lost on his way back from the Academy… Is there any way you can find where he is right now?”
The reason Laniakea had managed to remain relatively composed despite the Emperor’s disappearance earlier was that she had placed her faith in Mole.
Yet she knew all too well that Mole could not solve everything.
As a lowest-ranking spirit, Mole could inspect natural terrain like earth or rock.
However, even if made of stone, it could not sense anything happening upon roads paved and shaped by human hands.
[I’ll look for traces. But in this state…]
Mole dejectedly stared at its translucent front paws, looking apologetic.
To find Hyperion’s traces, it needed to ask the spirits of that area for help right away. However, spirits were creatures intrinsically bound by the laws of nature.
If a newcomer who suddenly appeared asking for help was weaker than them, they would rarely grant the request.
“Anything is fine. Finding His Majesty’s exact location would be ideal, but if that proves too difficult, I just want to know from where to where his trail led.”
[All right.]
Seeing Laniakea’s tense expression for the first time, Mole patted the ground vigorously with its front paws.
[I’ll definitely find him! I liked that human too!]
At Mole’s spirited reply, a hint of color finally returned to Laniakea’s face.
“Thank you. But don’t push yourself so hard that you disperse. Understood?”
[Okay!]
As soon as it answered, Mole vanished into the ground.
Laniakea swept away all traces of Mole’s summoning and set off for the main palace.
Though Lucy always guarded Laniakea with ironclad vigilance, the aura she exuded now was sharper than ever.
The Emperor was missing. That meant until he returned, the Empress would exercise all imperial authority in this place.
When Laniakea arrived at the main palace and stepped into the council chamber, the seated ministers turned their eyes toward her.
A few stood immediately, but others rose sluggishly, dragging their feet.
Laniakea looked at them and spoke coldly:
“It seems quite a few of you find your bodies rather heavy today.”
Those who had expected a weeping Empress pleading with them for what to do quickly straightened their posture.
Noticing their lingering gazes—still viewing her not as the Empress, but merely as a woman the Emperor fancied and kept beside him—Laniakea gritted her teeth.
She could not blame their perception. After all, she had been the first to wish to step down from the Empress’s seat.
Yet even if only for a single year, she had ultimately resolved to remain as Empress by Hyperion’s side.
If so, she had to do what an Empress was meant to do.