I Possessed The Immoral Empress

“Indeed. The prime candidate for the Grand Priest has sided with the Empress.”

“I couldn’t believe it when I heard it from a cousin who works in the palace, but it’s true.”

“Has the Grand Priest, that senile old man, gone mad?”

Hidden in the bushes, glaring at Ermedeline’s carriage with venomous eyes, was an elderly nobleman who had lost his grandson during the civil war of illegitimate children. Although his estate was in a rural area and he had stepped back from central politics, his family was of deep historical significance.

“It’s still confined within the palace, but if it gets out that the Grand Priest really supports the Empress, public opinion might actually change.”

“Foolish commoners are always easily swayed, aren’t they?”

“But the nobility is problematic too. Who would dare openly oppose the Grand Temple? Even if dethronement is possible, execution might become difficult.”

The old nobleman’s forehead veins bulged as he listened quietly. The witch had joined hands with the bastard who became the emperor, and the woman who cursed his grandson to death now attempted to play the people’s mother.

The old nobleman had given up on the useless nobles of the capital, planning to assassinate the witch if Henry fulfilled his promise to burn her at the stake.

But Ermedeline was increasingly gaining support, while the central nobles were distracted by Leopold’s schemes and failing to keep her in check.

Being a nobleman from a distant region, he had little interest in who played the emperor in the capital. To him, whether a native or a foreigner, anyone not his grandchild was just another stranger.

He couldn’t stand idly by any longer. The witch had somehow bewitched the emperor’s faction and top nobility, now even winning over the Grand Priest.

Quietly, he prepared to put his long-standing plan into action.

* * *

Two days later, chaos erupted in the Trivian Empire’s imperial palace. An assassination attempt on a royal member within the palace had occurred.

It had been a hectic morning since Ermedeline was scheduled to meet the carefully selected tutors chosen by Bellest and Liena. Carriages had been coming and going since dawn at the palace.

Although the tutors’ backgrounds were thoroughly vetted and guards vigilantly monitored Ermedeline’s surroundings, unexpected events have a way of happening. No one anticipated that a well-respected tutor, who had taught the offspring of prestigious families, would attempt to assassinate the Empress.

An elderly man with streaks of white in his hair, he had seemed very courteous and thoughtful. Unlike other interviewees who were visibly nervous before Ermedeline, he remained composed throughout, answering her questions with ease.

The experienced educator, clear in his principles, appeared capable of imparting not only education but also proper values to the orphans.

Ermedeline was impressed by him and approached to shake his hand.

That’s when the incident happened.

“Aaaaah!”

The blood-curdling screams of two maids and blood splattering in all directions.

Ermedeline, unable to believe what was happening, realized she had been stabbed when she saw the dagger in her abdomen. The man before her was the assassin.

The dagger must have been cursed because as soon as the curse hit Ermedeline, the man vomited blood and collapsed forward.

As the elderly assassin lay dying in a pool of his own blood, he still sent a look of satisfaction towards Ermedeline.

The assassin was said to be an ordinary commoner, unmarried, with no apparent reason to bear any grudge against the Empress. However, Ermedeline realized the hidden meaning in their conversation during the interview.

“My students are like my own children. There’s nothing more joyous than seeing them grow into fine gentlemen and ladies after years of nurturing them with passion and love.”

Given his extensive career across numerous noble families, it wouldn’t be surprising if one of the children he had taught was among those sacrificed by Ermedeline.

‘Four more to go, huh?’

Realizing the truth, Ermedeline tried to remain calm. She knew that most curses wouldn’t bring her to death. But this time, the sensation was alarmingly different. The curse was unfamiliar, not one of the Francoise Duchy’s curse magic. Though the Duchy was known for producing powerful curse mages, there were many mages across the continent.

The strange curse on Ermedeline was powerful enough to instantly kill someone without resistance to poison or curses, but Ermedeline, having been exposed to various toxins and curses since a young age, barely escaped immediate death.

“H-Heugh, ugh…”

Overwhelmed by intense pain, she collapsed to her knees and vomited blood.

“This isn’t a Francoise Duchy curse!”

Realizing the nature of the curse, Felio shouted, looking for Arvian.

“Find Arvian! Call Louise too!”

At Felio’s command, Rooney and Margo staggered off to find the priests.

“Ahahaa! What do we do, Your Majesty…”

Bellest and Liena, feeling as if they themselves were stabbed, tried to support Ermedeline but hesitated, seeing her in extreme agony.

“Where is Arvian loitering around? He’s always there when not needed, but now…”

Fortunately, Arvian, who wasn’t far away, arrived at the Empress’s drawing room before Felio could finish complaining.

“What happened…”

Sensing the curse’s presence, Arvian rushed in and immediately invoked his divine power next to Ermedeline, who writhed in pain on the floor.

“Damn it! What is this…”

The curse was incredibly powerful. It was fueled not just by the caster’s blood but likely required a living sacrifice.

“Who would cast such a vile spell…”

Realizing the curse wouldn’t be easily lifted, Arvian concentrated his full attention, but the assassin was bold enough to attempt a direct assassination in the palace, clearly well-prepared.

“Damn it!”

Arvian shouted, exerting all his strength in a desperate attempt, as maids brought Louise to the scene.

“Oh no!”

Louise immediately joined Arvian, adding her divine power to his efforts. Despite the presence of two of the empire’s highest priests, lifting the curse was not easy. Only after a seemingly endless struggle did Ermedeline finally stop screaming in agony.

“Is she alive?”

Arriving at the Empress’s drawing room, Henry asked the priests, visibly shaken.

“Yes. She’s just unconscious now, but the curse has been completely purified. There will be some aftereffects, though.”

Louise, panting heavily, barely managed to respond to the emperor. Arvian, completely exhausted, collapsed beside Ermedeline, paying no mind to the emperor’s presence. Neither Henry nor Count Hallstein, standing behind him drenched in sweat and nearly fainting from exhaustion, could blame the priests.

“Take good care of the Empress.”

Without pressing the priests any further, Henry left the Empress’s drawing room. He immediately ordered an investigation into the carriage used by the assassin and all the noble families he had been associated with.

“This is an assassination attempt on a royal member within the palace. Whoever is behind this must be thoroughly exposed.”

* * *

Still suffering from the residual effects of the curse, Ermedeline sweated profusely. Rooney and Margo tended to her, changing her clothes and wiping her sweat. Louise also stayed in Ermedeline’s bedroom to aid her recovery.

The palace was immediately placed under lockdown. Bellest and Liena, who had screened the tutors, were detained, and Felio was summoned by Henry to explain the situation.

During the half-day Ermedeline was unconscious, the palace was like a storm had passed through it. She finally awoke in the late afternoon, still feeling the day’s heat.

“Your Majesty? Are you awake?”

“The Empress has opened her eyes!”

Startled by Rooney and Margo’s loud exclamations, Ermedeline grimaced and tried to sit up.

“Ugh.”

The pain in her abdomen persisted. Although the priests had healed any bruises, the effects of the curse still lingered.

Louise, Arvian, and Felio, who had been waiting outside, rushed into the bedroom at once. The room, though spacious, felt crowded as several people entered simultaneously.

Having been alone since her independence, Ermedeline, used to nursing her pain in a lonely room, found the concern of those around her more overwhelming than the pain in her abdomen.

She was happy that people were concerned about her, a feeling she wanted to remember for a long time. She began to look at them with a tender gaze.

“Where are Bellest and Liena? Have they already left the palace?”

Ermedeline’s question about the two she had seen before losing consciousness darkened everyone’s faces. As they hesitated to answer, Felio spoke in a deeply subdued voice.

“They are currently in the interrogation room.”

“What? Interrogation? Why…”

A hoarse voice escaped Ermedeline’s cracked lips.

“They were responsible for hiring the tutors. It was ordered by His Majesty.”

“Ah.”

Caught off guard by the unexpected development, Ermedeline closed her eyes tightly. She remembered the horrified faces of Bellest and Liena, looking more terrified than she had felt when stabbed.

“Please inform His Majesty that I have awoken.”

But before she could instruct anyone, the guards had already called for Henry. He arrived at Ermedeline’s bedroom in a matter of seconds.

Seeing Henry enter, Felio discreetly left the room, not wanting to give Ermedeline any reason for potential blame. Henry, looking at Ermedeline with an unexpectedly worried expression, inquired about her condition.

“How are you?”

“Thankfully, she’s recovering faster than expected. I thought she would be unconscious for at least two days,” Louise remarked, puzzled by the unusually rapid recovery.

Ermedeline, aware of the reason for her swift recovery, could only grimace internally.

‘That insane duke’s experiment turned out to be helpful in this situation.’

The vivid pain she had experienced when she first arrived at the Francoise Castle, which she had thought would be her end, ironically saved her life. Life is truly unpredictable.

Ermedeline gently brushed away the hands of Louise and Arvian, indicating she was alright, and raised her head to look firmly at Henry. With a voice devoid of any inflection but full of conviction, she said,

“Please send in my ladies-in-waitings.”