Contract Marriage: Rewritten - Chapter 12
Chapter 12
Translator: Yonnee
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The only notable weaknesses of the Lupin people were their sensitivity to cold and their difficulty in mastering the imperial language.
Thanks to their physical abilities, the Lupin tribe had a tradition of sending one warrior from their clan to serve the imperial family in the palace.
That warrior was Lucy.
However, warriors only held value during times of war or when the imperial palace was in extreme turmoil.
To the powerful empress, Lucy was far too rough and unsuited to be used as a lady-in-waiting. Lucy had been trained in combat, not servitude.
Yet, sending Lucy to serve another imperial prince was out of the question.
In the imperial palace, where the second, third, and fourth imperial princes were vying for the throne, assigning Lucy, a warrior, to one of them could be interpreted as supporting that prince’s faction.
On the other hand, keeping Lucy in the empress’s palace posed its own challenges.
Perhaps because of her overwhelming strength, Lucy frequently broke the beautiful and precious items in the empress’s quarters.
Additionally, the noble-born ladies-in-waiting were highly averse to Lucy, who could barely form a complete sentence and only uttered simple words. They dismissed her as uncultured and unworthy of their company.
As a result, the empress sent Lucy to Laniakea. There was no one foolish enough to think that the empress was trying to support the first imperial prince by doing so.
Not long after Lucy arrived, the other ladies-in-waiting left Laniakea’s palace, citing reasons like marriage or other excuses.
There was no benefit for them to stay in a place like this.
Technically, Laniakea could have replenished her staff, but she didn’t.
It wasn’t just the ladies-in-waiting. Laniakea also reduced the number of maids to a bare minimum, allowing the rest to transfer to other palaces.
As a result, only a handful of elderly maids and attendants who were not welcomed in other palaces remained in Laniakea’s residence.
That was exactly how Laniakea wanted it.
Including the energetic Lucy, everyone in her palace diligently carried out their duties. None of them paid much attention to external matters, nor were they involved in the palace’s political intrigue.
Spending her days with such people was incredibly peaceful.
Laniakea’s daily routine was extremely simple.
She woke up early, had breakfast, and read. Then she had lunch, strolled through the garden, returned to her room, and drank tea.
She spent the rest of the day reading until dinner, after which she read some more before going to bed.
To some, it might seem like a terribly dull life, but for Laniakea, it was a fulfilling day.
‘This is the life I’ve always wanted.’
A quiet, leisurely life, away from the gaze of others.
‘But my time in the imperial palace won’t last much longer.’
In the past three years, the emperor had fallen gravely ill, and his condition was worsening.
Everyone whispered that the emperor wouldn’t make it past this year.
The struggle for the throne was intensifying, and at the last banquet Laniakea had attended, the second, third, and fourth princes were openly wary of one another.
The empress did not openly support any one of them. Their abilities were all similar, as were the powers of their respective consorts.
Perhaps the empress felt at ease knowing that, no matter who won, the next emperor would still be one of her sons.
‘In any case, once someone ascends to the throne, I’ll have to leave the palace.’
According to imperial custom, the emperor’s siblings were required to leave the palace upon the ascension of a new ruler. Naturally, Laniakea would also have to leave when the next emperor took the throne.
‘The first imperial prince does hold a viscountcy, doesn’t he?’
Laniakea recalled the viscountcy granted to the first imperial prince.
It was a remote territory. She remembered hearing that it only had a small house.
When the next emperor ascended, she would likely have to move there.
And, just as now, she would probably live a life where the first imperial prince never came home.
‘I’ve been saving money to prepare for that.’
Typically, when leaving the palace, one would take their household staff with them.
Since the older staff would likely wish to retire, she had set aside money for their retirement pay and had been frugal to save for living expenses in the viscountcy.
By keeping only one lady-in-waiting and avoiding banquets, she had managed to save more money than expected.
‘Lucy will likely stay in the palace, right?’
The next emperor or empress might decide to keep her as a bodyguard.
Leaving Lucy behind was the only regret Laniakea had about leaving the palace.
After their leisurely tea time ended, Lucy quickly cleaned up the cups and teapot.
“Cleanup complete.”
“Alright, Lucy. You should rest until dinner.”
“But garden, weeds— must destroy.”
It seemed Lucy preferred helping the gardener with weeding over resting.
As Lucy energetically pushed the tea cart out of the room, Laniakea picked up the book she had set aside that morning.
As always, she expected the peaceful afternoon to pass uneventfully.
Or so she thought.
“Imperial Consort Highness! Big problem!”
Lucy, who had gone out to put away the teacups, suddenly burst through the door without knocking and shouted.
“Second, Third, and Fourth Princes— all dead!”
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