My Contract Husband Resembles the Male Protagonist - Chapter 30
I proudly patted my chest.
“I kept prodding the Imperial Court.”
“…!”
The Emperor must not rest even a bit.
Absolutely.
He had to be kept too busy with an urgent schedule to even think of searching for me.
Of course, he mustn’t die from overworking either.
If he died, the Hexagon Ducal House and its allies would rise like zombies to seize the imperial court.
Then our family would be outnumbered and doomed.
‘No. A total annihilation ending for both sides is worse. It’s much better for the Emperor to stay alive.’
So, the Emperor had to work non-stop, just enough not to die.
So he couldn’t even think about me!
So he couldn’t pay attention to trivial matters!
Knowing the original story, I noted down the major episodes of the villains and started searching for clues.
‘I planted everything I found into the imperial court.’
Very discreetly.
Through someone.
So, the Emperor would have been constantly bombarded with work.
His successful and prompt handling of all the corruption brought to him has made people forget the infamy of a blood-stained throne.
Now, he is loved by most of the empire, praised as a stern but just ruler, and acknowledged as one of the greatest Emperors ever, charismatic and formidable.
It was a cruel process, I admit, but the result was beneficial for him too.
“Good idea, right? The Emperor likes to work, and I get to keep him occupied.”
“….”
“Dale? What’s wrong?”
“Good… idea….”
He struggled to finish the sentence.
“…Indeed.”
“Right?”
The Emperor was terrifyingly quick and accurate in handling everything I reported to him.
Almost enough for me to feel a sense of camaraderie.
‘If it weren’t for the fate of sending me the Imperial edict to become Empress, we might have made good partners.’
The Emperor now didn’t seem like the mad ruler he would become. But that was also true in the original story.
Safety first.
Let’s not forget.
The secret letters I sent to the Emperor were mostly about very important matters that also appeared in the original story.
Especially about the Hexagon Ducal House.
The Hexagon Ducal House was once called the Angel of All People.
Uncharacteristically for nobles, they devoted themselves to aiding the poor and became a model for everyone. The empire generally lacked good soil for cultivating herbs.
Therefore, the price of herbs was high, and receiving treatment meant paying a hefty price.
One day, the Hexagon family appeared and distributed a special medicine.
A medicine that took away all pain with just one dose.
Everyone thanked and praised the Hexagon Duke, consuming it for over a decade, but in truth, it was a dark medicine that should never have been consumed.
It didn’t cure all diseases but numbed the sense of pain.
It was highly addictive and impossible to stop taking.
The Hexagon Duke thus gained control over the poor and powerless, creating followers who revered Hexagon.
The previous Emperor had tolerated this.
‘The end of the Hexagon Duke was house arrest.’
The current Hexagon Duke was confined in a mansion in the north.
The dark experiments they had been conducting for a long time meant that when the current Emperor seized power, there was insufficient evidence to eliminate Hexagon.
But it was still a significant achievement to have restrained the Hexagon Duke, who had more influence than the Emperor.
No one had thought the current Emperor could dethrone the previous one.
Hexagon fell with the previous Emperor.
‘And then, as I had seen in the original story, I secretly prodded the Hexagon’s underlings a little at a time.’
Hexagon was not one to sit still even when confined.
They continued to manipulate the outside world through their subordinates, and I, remembering who Hexagon’s underlings were, anonymously prodded the Emperor about them.
“It seems like the Emperor is really good at his job.”
“…..”
As Hexagon crumbled, the residents of Hexagon’s domains fled like a receding tide to other domains.
The Emperor offered tax relief to domains that accommodated these people.
Nearby domains, receiving the Emperor’s favor, took in the immigrants and settled them, and most of the neighboring domains that had depended on Hexagon turned their backs on the ducal house.
Thus, Hexagon became geographically isolated and lost power even more rapidly.
“It’s tax collection season at the Imperial Court now, so it must be busy… Ah! But there should be some breathing room before the knightly order’s winter training, so it’s time to insert more tasks.”
I pulled out a notepad with a smile.
“Thank you! Now that I think of it, I should write it down in advance.”
Thump.
A large hand covered the notepad.
Without realizing it, I scratched Dale’s hand with my pen.
“Dale! Are you okay? Clean it quickly.”
I vigorously wiped his hand with a wet handkerchief.
“The ink won’t come off easily. Does it sting? What should we do?”
“I see…”
Dale’s sigh filled the room.
“It was you all along.”
