Contract Marriage: Rewritten - Chapter 39
Chapter 39
Translator: Yonnee
—
The whisper in his voice carried both heat and a deep yearning that had been suppressed for a long time.
It was such a clear and vivid emotion that even Laniakea, who had never faced feelings like that before, could immediately recognize it.
Already overwhelmed and unsure of what to do, her mind went completely blank.
He waited for this night?
She couldn’t understand it. Wasn’t that something only said by someone who had long harbored affection and seen their partner often?
The number of times Laniakea and Hyperion had met could be counted on one hand.
And each time, hadn’t he always left in a hurry right after their meals?
Hyperion had always arrived in a disheveled state, and on one such occasion, the empress had watched him leave and remarked with a hint of regret.
“I apologize on the First Prince’s behalf for his rudeness. He so rarely comes to the palace, and yet he shows up in that state… I hope you’ll be generous enough to overlook it.”
The implication of the empress’s words had been easy to grasp.
She was saying Hyperion showed up in such a state because he didn’t care to see Laniakea in the first place.
The empress was adept at speaking kindly while leaving behind subtle wounds.
Laniakea had tried not to let those words stay with her, but that particular remark had lingered longer than she’d expected.
From the beginning, she had come here as a kind of escape. She knew better than anyone that there would be no one on her side, and no one with whom she could build real rapport.
She trusted Lucy and cared for her, but Lucy was also a person of the imperial household. Not truly hers, but someone Laniakea had to take responsibility for.
So she had never said it out loud, but on the days Hyperion returned, she had been glad to see him.
Because at the very least, he was someone tied to her, on paper if nothing else. Someone on the same side.
But had Hyperion seen her as the empress’s person? Each time he came to the palace, he looked a mess, his clothes and even his body often stained with blood.
During meals, he would sometimes look quietly at Laniakea. She could never figure out what he was thinking behind that gaze.
‘What is it? Is he curious how I’ll react to the bloodstains? Or is he blaming me for not managing the relief supplies better? Or maybe…’
In those moments, her hand would tremble as she held her utensils. She had no idea why he was looking at her.
With each meeting, his gaze grew sharper, and eventually, Laniakea found herself shrinking before him more and more.
He didn’t seem to hate her. Unlike others, there was no contempt in his eyes when he looked at her.
So she had assumed his wary attitude was simply because she was a puppet of the empress—someone to be cautious of.
But she thought it stopped there. That he didn’t hate her, but also had no fondness for her.
That’s why she had been confused when he asked her to remain as Empress.
Even if there was a reason behind it, was there really any need to keep her?
Yet he had not only readily accepted what felt like an unreasonable request, but even offered conditions that were far more generous than hers.
When she received the revised contract, Laniakea had felt happy.
Not because he gave her more, but because, contrary to what she had believed, it didn’t seem like he hated her after all.
And now, he was saying that he had waited for this moment for a long time.
As if he truly had been waiting for it…
Her body, which had been tense and rigid from nervousness, suddenly relaxed in response to the confession she hadn’t expected.
Perhaps noticing that, the thing pressing between her legs began urgently pushing inside.
“Nnh…!”
Startled, Laniakea’s body jerked violently.
“Ah, ah…”
It had only barely entered her.
But even that alone sent an unfamiliar, aching pressure spreading through her entire body.
Her hands, without thinking, grabbed the bedsheets tightly. If she didn’t hold on to something, she felt like she might scream.
As she trembled in panic, Hyperion pushed further between her legs. Her breath caught in her throat, and her vision swam.
It was only after a moment that Laniakea realized the overwhelming, dull pain she was feeling was something she had never experienced in her life.
“Uh… ngh…”
She had meant to ask him to wait, just for a moment—but the foreign pain robbed her of her voice.
Was this what it felt like to be split open by a massive club? The sensation of something entering her slowly, yet without stopping, made her mind go blank.
It was as if alarms were ringing in her head, her vision blurring, and hallucinations forming before her eyes.
By all appearances, this should have been like the first kiss scenes she had read about in books. But instead of paradise, why did it feel like she had been thrown into a battlefield?
Even as Laniakea’s mind fogged over, Hyperion didn’t stop.
“Keugh…”
A strained sound escaped through his clenched teeth—he didn’t seem comfortable either.
‘Why?’
Even in her dazed state, Laniakea felt a flicker of confusion.
She had heard that while women might struggle during this, men usually experienced great pleasure.
Wasn’t that why people said all men were obsessed with this act? Because of the immense pleasure they got from it?
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