Contract Marriage Rewritten
Chapter 6
“Then I shall see you again later, Wife.”
The moment he finished signing, he turned on his heel and walked away.
That was the end of her meeting with the 1st Prince.
After that, while Laniakea stayed at the VIP Guest House preparing for the wedding, he did not return to the Imperial Palace.
‘Could it be that he won’t even show up for the wedding?’
According to the laws of the Empire, as long as the Marriage Contract was lawfully executed, it took effect immediately, legally recognizing them as husband and wife.
So he might choose to skip the troublesome affair of holding a ceremony altogether.
Contrary to her worries, however, Hyperion did attend the wedding.
Even if he only arrived on the morning of the ceremony.
Arriving in bloodstained attire, he departed the moment the ceremony concluded, just as he had done when signing the contract.
Left completely alone after the wedding, Laniakea took up residence in a Detached Palace within the Imperial Palace.
“It is the loveliest Detached Palace. A place with an expansive forest and a beautiful garden.”
At the Empress’s words, Laniakea replied with a bright smile.
“It is a wonderful place that reminds me of my homeland. Thank you for your thoughtful care, Your Majesty the Empress.”
At Laniakea’s response, the Empress looked upon her with fond approval, as though watching a newly adopted puppy perform a cute trick.
Afterward, Laniakea’s life unfolded peacefully.
For the first few months, the Empress brought Laniakea along to banquets. She seemed eager to show everyone how well she looked after the 1st Prince’s consort.
Yet that lasted only about half a year at most. The Empress was a busy woman with many others demanding her attention.
Consequently, banquets she once attended weekly dwindled to once every two weeks, and eventually down to once a month.
Three years passed in this manner.
- Nothing Goes According to Plan
Laniakea gazed down at the document sent from the Main Palace.
Once a month, the Main Palace delivered schedules to each Detached Palace detailing the events its master was required to attend.
The masters of these palaces naturally meant the Emperor’s four sons and their wives.
A few months ago, Laniakea had happened to catch a glimpse of an itinerary heading toward another Detached Palace.
That had been a notably thick stack of papers, yet the schedule resting before her now was merely a single sheet.
And for good reason…
“Nothing scheduled for this month either.”
While the other princes’ consorts handled two or three engagements a day—sometimes nearly ten when busy—Laniakea’s itinerary was completely bare.
Unfazed, Laniakea slipped the schedule into her drawer as if it were of no consequence.
Just then, a voice called out from beyond the door along with a knock.
“Her Highness the Consort. Entering.”
“Lucy? Come in.”
At Laniakea’s reply, the door swung open vigorously, and a woman dressed in maid’s attire walked in.
Though only of-age adults were permitted to serve as palace maids, Lucy had an appearance that, by all accounts, was best described as that of a young girl.
Pushing a tea cart laden with a teapot, she approached Laniakea’s side.
“New tea leaves. Delicious.”
Saying so, Lucy lifted the teapot and poured tea into a cup.
Normally, one would expect the delicate, gentle trickle of pouring tea.
A loud, rushing splash echoed as tea splattered across the cart.
Laniakea merely watched with a calm expression. This was an everyday occurrence by now.
Having dumped the tea, Lucy wiped up the spilled liquid with a clean cloth she had brought along. She then placed the teacup before Laniakea.
With her overflowing vigor, the cup clattered, causing the tea to slosh over once more.
“…Apologies.”
“It’s fine. It’s just because you’re full of energy, Lucy. More importantly, these new tea leaves really are wonderful. The aroma is so rich. You should have some too, Lucy.”
“Thanks.”
Bowing from the waist in gratitude, Lucy grabbed the teapot and poured the piping-hot tea straight down her throat.
Watching her, Laniakea thought to herself:
No matter how often I see it, the ways of the Lupin tribe truly are spirited…
In truth, though Lucy wore a maid’s uniform, she was no mere maid. She was currently the sole lady-in-waiting serving under Laniakea.
Of course, Lucy had not been Laniakea’s only lady-in-waiting from the start.
After the wedding, when Laniakea arrived at this Detached Palace, the Empress assigned five ladies-in-waiting to her. Lucy had been one of them.
‘She was sent under the title of lady-in-waiting, but in reality, they just foisted a troublemaker onto me.’
Lucy hailed from a minority tribe called the Lupin, situated in a remote corner of the Empire.
Easily recognizable by their bronze skin, the defining trait of the Lupin tribe was their extraordinary physical ability.
Not only were they immensely strong, but their endurance, muscle power, and various physical faculties were exceptional. It was said they would not even suffer serious burns amidst roaring flames.
Lucy’s only real weaknesses were her vulnerability to the cold and her struggle to master the imperial tongue.
In any case, by virtue of such physical prowess, the Lupin tribe traditionally sent one warrior from among their people to the Imperial Palace to serve the imperial family.
That warrior was Lucy.
However, a warrior only held value during times of war or when the Imperial Palace was in severe turmoil.
To an Empress wielding formidable authority, Lucy was far too crude to be utilized as a lady-in-waiting. What Lucy had mastered were combat techniques, not courtly service.
Yet the Empress could not send Lucy to the other princes.
In an Imperial Palace where the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Princes had begun a power struggle for the throne, sending them a warrior like Lucy could be interpreted as throwing support behind that prince.
Yet keeping Lucy in the Empress’s palace caused endless headaches.
Perhaps due to her excessive strength, countless beautiful and precious treasures in the Empress’s palace were shattered by Lucy’s hands.
Furthermore, the noble-born ladies-in-waiting despised Lucy, who could barely form complete sentences and spoke only in brief words. They claimed she was too uncouth and beneath their dignity to associate with.
Thus, the Empress sent Lucy to Laniakea. No one would ever make the foolish mistake of assuming the Empress was lending power to the 1st Prince by doing so.
In any event, shortly after Lucy’s arrival, the other ladies-in-waiting departed Laniakea’s palace under various pretexts, such as marriage.
Remaining here offered little benefit to their prospects.
Normally, one would recruit replacements, but Laniakea did not.
It was not just the ladies-in-waiting. She kept the maids to a bare minimum as well, allowing the rest to transfer to other palaces of their choosing.
As a result, the only people left in Laniakea’s Detached Palace were a dozen or so aging maids and servants whom the other palaces did not welcome.
It was precisely what Laniakea wanted.
Including the energetic Lucy, everyone diligently did their work. They had no particular interest in outside gossip and were utterly disconnected from the palace’s secret power struggles.
How peaceful it was to spend each day in the company of such people.
Laniakea’s days were exceedingly simple.
She rose early, ate breakfast, and read. Then she had lunch, took a stroll around the garden, returned to her room, and drank tea.
She passed the time reading once more, ate dinner, read a bit longer, and went to bed.
Someone might consider it a terribly dull existence, but to Laniakea, it was a deeply fulfilling day.
‘This is what I always wanted.’
A quiet, leisurely life away from the eyes of others.
‘Yet my life in the Imperial Palace won’t last much longer.’
Over the past three years, the Emperor had taken to his sickbed, his illness worsening with time.
Everyone whispered that the Emperor would hardly survive the year.
Because of this, the conflict over the throne grew fiercer by the day. At the last banquet she attended, the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Princes had been intensely wary of one another.
The Empress did not back any particular son. Their capabilities were evenly matched, and their consorts’ factions were of comparable strength.
Perhaps she was also at ease knowing that whichever son triumphed, he was still her own flesh and blood.
‘In any case, once someone becomes Emperor, I must leave the Detached Palace.’
By rule, upon the accession of a new Emperor, the imperial siblings were required to vacate the palace. Naturally, once a new Emperor took the throne, Laniakea would have to leave the Detached Palace as well.
‘His Highness the 1st Prince held a viscounty.’
Laniakea recalled the estate attached to the viscounty granted to the 1st Prince.
It was a border territory. She had heard there was a modest manor situated there.
When the next Emperor ascended, Laniakea would likely have to go there.
And in a home where the 1st Prince would still never visit, she would live a life not much different from the one she had now.
‘I’ve been saving money in preparation for that day, after all.’
Customarily, when leaving the palace, one took their retained servants along with them.
The older staff would likely wish to retire, so severance pay had to be set aside for them; and keeping in mind the funds needed once she moved to the viscounty, had she not lived frugally, saving as much of her allotted budget as possible?
Living with only a single lady-in-waiting and skipping social banquets allowed her to amass far more money than expected.
‘Lucy will probably have to remain in the Imperial Palace, won’t she?’
The next Emperor or Empress would likely keep her close at hand for protection.
That was the single regret she had about leaving the Imperial Palace.
Once their leisurely tea time came to an end, Lucy swiftly cleared away the cup and teapot.
“Cleanup complete.”
“Good. Take some rest until dinner, Lucy.”
“However. Garden. Weeds. Annihilation.”
Apparently, rather than resting, Lucy preferred to assist the gardener in exterminating the weeds.
As Lucy vigorously wheeled the cart out, Laniakea retrieved the book she had set aside that morning.
Today, just as always, another quiet afternoon would pass.
Or so she thought.
“Her Highness the Consort! Big trouble!”
Lucy, who had just stepped out to clear the teacups, burst through the door without knocking and cried out:
“2nd, 3rd, and 4th Princes dead!”
