Read Rewriting the Marriage Contract Novel Translation Chapter 6
(다시 쓰는 결혼 계약서)
Original: 백설홍 (White Snow) | Translation: Genie
#josei #drama #romance #contract-marriage #mature #fantasy
“As agreed, I’ll see you later, Madam.”
The moment Hypherion signed his name, he turned on his heel and left without a second glance.
Their first meeting ended just like that.
Afterward, while Laniakea stayed in the guest palace and prepared for the wedding, Hypherion never returned to the imperial palace.
“Will he even show up for the wedding at this rate?”
According to imperial law, once a marriage contract was properly signed, the union was legally recognised immediately. Technically, there was no obligation to hold a ceremony.
Laniakea wondered if Hypherion might use that as an excuse to skip the formalities.
But contrary to her expectations, Hypherion did attend the wedding—albeit arriving on the morning of the ceremony itself.
He arrived dressed in blood-stained clothes, and once the wedding concluded, he left just as swiftly as he had after the contract signing.
Following the ceremony, Laniakea found herself alone, her new residence the imperial palace’s secluded annex.
“It’s the most beautiful of the annexes, with sprawling forests and a lovely garden,” the Empress had said.
Laniakea responded with a bright smile. “It’s a marvellous place that reminds me of home. Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Your Majesty.”
The Empress regarded her with a look of approval, like someone fondly admiring a puppy performing a charming trick.
Thus began Laniakea’s peaceful life.
For the first few months, the Empress brought Laniakea to various banquets, showcasing how attentively she was caring for the First Prince’s wife. But that effort only lasted about six months. The Empress was a busy woman, with many other people and matters requiring her attention.
Soon, what had started as weekly banquet appearances dwindled to fortnightly, and then to monthly.
Three years passed in this manner.
2. Nothing Goes According to Plan
Laniakea stared at the document delivered from the main palace.
Once a month, the imperial palace sent schedules to the heads of the various annexes, detailing the events they were required to attend.
The “heads” were, of course, the Emperor’s four sons and their wives.
Some months ago, Laniakea had accidentally glimpsed another annex’s schedule. The stack of papers had been thick, bursting with engagements. In contrast, the schedule in front of her was a single, flimsy sheet.
It was no surprise, though.
“Nothing on the agenda this month either.”
While other princesses-in-law tackled two or three engagements daily, sometimes as many as ten, Laniakea’s calendar was perpetually empty.
Unbothered, she calmly tucked the paper into a drawer.
At that moment, a knock sounded at her door, followed by a cheerful voice.
“Your Highness! May I enter?”
“Lucy? Come in.”
At Laniakea’s reply, the door burst open, and a girl in a maid’s uniform strode in energetically.
Though maids of the imperial palace were typically adults, Lucy’s youthful appearance made her look more like a girl than a woman.
Pushing a cart with a teapot on it, Lucy approached Laniakea.
“New tea leaves. Very good.”
With those simple words, she lifted the teapot and poured tea into a cup.
Normally, this would produce a delicate trickling sound.
SPLASH!
Instead, the sound was a loud, forceful gush as tea splattered onto the cart.
Laniakea simply watched the scene with serene indifference. By now, such incidents were routine.
Lucy, unperturbed, wiped the spilled tea with a clean cloth and placed the cup before Laniakea. Her movements, brimming with strength, caused the tea to slosh over the rim once more.
“…Sorry.”
“It’s fine, Lucy. It’s just your overflowing energy. Besides, these new leaves really do smell wonderful. Why don’t you have some too?”
“Thank you.”
Lucy bowed deeply, then grabbed the teapot and began drinking straight from it, despite the liquid’s scalding temperature.
Watching this, Laniakea couldn’t help but think: The Lupine way is always so exuberant…
Despite wearing a maid’s uniform, Lucy was not a maid. She was, in fact, Laniakea’s sole remaining lady-in-waiting.
When Laniakea had first moved to the annex after her wedding, the Empress had assigned her five ladies-in-waiting. Lucy had been one of them.
Though calling them “ladies-in-waiting” was generous—they were more like troublemakers the Empress wanted rid of.
Lucy belonged to the Lupine tribe, a small minority group from the farthest edges of the Empire.
With their bronze-toned skin and extraordinary physical abilities, Lupines were easily distinguishable. They possessed exceptional strength, stamina, and endurance, and it was said they could even emerge unscathed from raging fires.
Lucy’s only real weaknesses were her poor tolerance for cold and her struggles with mastering the imperial language.
Thanks to their remarkable physical traits, the Lupine tribe traditionally sent one warrior to the imperial palace to serve the royal family. Lucy was that warrior.
A warrior’s value lay in times of war or during periods of severe unrest within the palace.
For the powerful Empress, Lucy was far too unrefined to serve as a proper lady-in-waiting. After all, Lucy had trained in combat, not in the art of service.
Sending Lucy to one of the other princes was also out of the question. In a palace embroiled in power struggles between the second, third, and fourth princes over the throne, assigning Lucy to any of them might have been seen as a declaration of support.
Keeping Lucy in the Empress’s palace, however, was equally troublesome. Perhaps due to her overwhelming strength, Lucy had destroyed countless valuable and delicate items in the Empress’s quarters.
Moreover, the noble-born ladies-in-waiting were uncomfortable around Lucy, who could barely form complete sentences and spoke only in simple phrases. They deemed her uncultured to the point of being unworthy of their company.
Thus, the Empress sent Lucy to Laniakea. After all, no one would mistakenly believe that this act signified support for the First Prince.
Not long after Lucy’s arrival, the other ladies-in-waiting found various excuses—marriage, family obligations, or the like—to leave Laniakea’s palace. Staying there offered them no real advantages.
Though custom dictated that Laniakea should have replenished her attendants, she did not. Not just for her ladies-in-waiting—she reduced the number of maids as well, allowing all but a minimal number to transfer to other palaces.
As a result, the only people left in her annex were a handful of elderly maids and servants who were unwelcome elsewhere.
This was exactly how Laniakea wanted it.
Everyone in her service, including the ever-energetic Lucy, was hardworking, uninterested in palace gossip, and uninvolved in the complex web of court intrigue.
Life with such people was blissfully peaceful.
Laniakea’s days were remarkably simple. She would rise early, have breakfast, and spend her morning reading. After a quiet lunch, she would stroll through the garden, return to her chambers for tea, and read until dinner. Following another session of reading, she would retire for the night.
While others might consider such a life unbearably dull, to Laniakea, it was deeply fulfilling.
This is exactly what I wanted.
A life free from scrutiny, spent quietly and at her leisure.
But this life in the palace won’t last much longer.
Over the past three years, the Emperor’s health had worsened, and now he was bedridden. Whispers in the palace suggested he would not survive the year.
The struggle for the throne had become increasingly fierce. At the last banquet Laniakea attended, the second, third, and fourth princes had eyed each other with palpable hostility.
The Empress had refrained from openly supporting any one prince. Their abilities and influence were evenly matched, as were the power bases of their wives.
Perhaps the Empress found comfort in knowing that no matter who ascended the throne, they would still be her son.
Once a new emperor is crowned, I’ll have to leave the annex.
When a new emperor took the throne, it was customary for their siblings to vacate the palace. Laniakea would be no exception.
The First Prince does hold a viscountcy.
She recalled the estate assigned to Hypherion. It was a remote territory with a modest house.
When the new emperor ascended, Laniakea would likely move there and continue her solitary life in much the same manner.
I’ve been saving money for that day.
It was customary to bring one’s staff when leaving the palace, but many of her elderly servants would likely wish to retire. Laniakea had set aside funds for their pensions and to cover her future expenses at the viscounty.
By minimising her staff and avoiding lavish events, she had managed to accumulate a significant amount of savings.
Lucy will probably stay in the palace, though.
The new emperor or empress would likely reassign her as a bodyguard. That was the only part of leaving the palace that gave Laniakea pause.
As their leisurely tea time ended, Lucy briskly cleared the cups and teapot.
“Mission complete.”
“Good work, Lucy. Take some time to rest before dinner.”
“Garden. Weeds. Exterminate.”
Lucy seemed more interested in helping the gardeners clear weeds than in taking a break. With a spirited shove, she pushed the tea cart out of the room, leaving Laniakea to retrieve the book she had set aside earlier in the morning.
Another peaceful afternoon, just like always, she thought.
But then—
“Your Highness! Emergency!”
Lucy burst through the door, slamming it open without knocking. Her voice was urgent and uncharacteristically loud.
“The second, third, and fourth princes have passed!
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