I Possessed The Immoral Empress

Seeing Ermedeline looking up at him so resolutely, Henry was enveloped by a strange feeling. This wasn’t the same woman he had despised, the one with a clear and pure gaze was not the wife he remembered. Everyone in the capital knew of her obsession; people thought she was a witch hopelessly infatuated with the handsome emperor. But Henry always thought differently. Although he saw a certain madness in her calm, violet eyes, it was not one of affection, but perhaps hatred.

However, theirs was a marriage not bound by affection. Henry let people believe what they wanted, as it was more convenient for maintaining his honor. As long as people believed the wicked witch had herself killed the emperor’s half-brothers, he could at least pretend innocence.

But the recent Ermedeline had completely severed that infamous, erratic obsession, even the madness in her eyes had disappeared. She had become the most difficult and unpredictable opponent. However, Henry, who had survived the ruthless political arena from a young age, was no simple character.

He deduced that Ermedeline wasn’t genuinely concerned for her ladies-in-waiting. She had already secured Felio from the emperor’s faction and wouldn’t want to lose Bellest from the noble faction. Adding that annoying priest, she would become quite a formidable force to deal with.

In response, Henry, putting on a facade of a caring husband, leaned in and whispered something in Ermedeline’s ear, looking so saintly that anyone might have believed he was sincerely comforting his wife. However, Ermedeline, upon hearing his whisper, froze, unable to smile or frown.

After patting Ermedeline’s shoulder lightly, Henry left her bedroom without another word. Even after his departure, Ermedeline sat on the bed with a complex expression for a long time. Everyone was curious about what Henry had said, but Ermedeline remained expressionless and lay back down.

‘I will catch the culprit, so focus on recovering, Empress. You wouldn’t want to make Ferdant an orphan completely.’

Ermedeline pretended to sleep, pulling the blanket over her head. With countless thoughts racing through her mind, she didn’t want to talk to anyone. Moments ago, she was pleased by the concerned gazes, but now she longed for the times when she endured pain in solitude.

How fickle a human heart can be.

Noticing Ermedeline’s wish to be alone, Louise realized she wanted some privacy.

“Her Majesty the Empress has stabilized to some extent. Let’s give her some time to rest alone,” Louise suggested. Rooney and Margo looked at each other with worried expressions, but eventually left the bedroom with towels and water, following the stern look from the priest. However, Arvian, disregarding Louise’s suggestion, stubbornly remained until Felio forcibly removed him from the room.

Once everyone had left the bedroom, Ermedeline slowly got up. Her body screamed in protest at every movement, but enduring pain was something she had become accustomed to since her previous life.

‘It’s okay, Yoon Hyeyoung. Remember how you went to work just three days after an appendectomy? This is nothing compared to that.’

Drawing blood from her finger to open the door leading to the basement, Ermedeline grimaced as the heavy door opened, almost feeling like torture. Despite the pain, she managed to descend the stairs to the dark, damp space, resembling a path to a tomb.

Reaching her destination, she frantically searched for something. She pulled out a stack of papers hidden in a deep, possibly life-defining place, even deeper than the list of Ermedeline’s original clients from the novel.

In her shaky hands, under the dim light, she read the life records she had written to remind herself of who she was:

‘Yoon Hyeyoung. 27 years old. Pisces. Blood type B. ID Number ******-*******, Address: Seoul Special City ** District ##… Favorite color: beige. Favorite season: autumn. Favorite food: ice cream with cookies and soybean paste stew…’

‘** Orphanage, ** Elementary School, ** Middle School, ** Girls’ High School, 27 part-time jobs including ** convenience store, ## call center… Savings of 27 million won, 80 million won in lease deposit…’

Tears continuously streamed down her face as she read her own life’s documentation. Despite barely being able to see, she read and reread the words as if reciting a spell. And the last sentence:

‘An orphan without known parents.’

A bittersweet, sarcastic smile flickered across Ermedeline’s tear-streaked face and then vanished. For the first time, she possessed beauty, status, and immense wealth. Furthermore, by doing good deeds to survive, people she never could have approached in her previous life became precious relationships to her.

In her past life, living fiercely for herself, worrying about the next day’s meal or rent, she occasionally noticed an old lady selling greens on the streets or children wearing clothes too big or too small. But that was it. If she spent even a moment more caring about others, Hyeyoung of tomorrow would miss a meal, and Hyeyoung of next month would lose a place to sleep.

However, in this life, by just trying to survive, she built an orphanage and planned a sewer project, inadvertently forming valuable connections. Ermedeline found herself addicted to the kindness and trust sent her way.

Unlike her previous life, where even making a thousand-won donation call felt too much, she now had the means to give generously and people who appreciated her for it.

“How fortunate is this life?”

Ermedeline often wrote down her memories from her previous life to ensure she didn’t forget her circumstances. She did this to remind herself how fiercely she had lived and how desensitely she had become because of it.

‘What am I thinking? Snap out of it, Yoon Hyeyoung. You are Yoon Hyeyoung, not this Ermedeline. All these connections and wealth are not truly yours. You just need to survive and leave this place. Why should you care about others?’

But what was the use of all this? No matter how much she tried to convince herself, the faces of Bellest, Liena, and Ferdant inevitably haunted her.

‘Ah, damn it. These people have nothing to do with me, right? Their fate is not my business. I should focus on surviving first! Hey, gods above! I lived a miserable life, dying while saving someone else on the day I was dumped by my boyfriend! Can’t I live comfortably now, just for once?’

Ermedeline looked up as if blaming whoever put her in this situation, but there was no response. She leaned against the wall and cried for a long time. After crying, her head ached, but her heart felt strangely lighter.

She knew she couldn’t abandon anyone.

The people who willingly offered a piece of their hearts for her and the child who would become an orphan through no fault of his own. Maybe the Hyeyoung of her previous life was a cold and self-centered adult, but the Hyeyoung she remembered was not someone who easily let go of her connections. She couldn’t leave anyone behind.

Ermedeline, wiping her tears, stood up. The intense pain tormented her, but it couldn’t stop her determination. Returning to her bedroom, she called for Arvian.

* * *

“You okay? Looking like a dead body there…”

Alone with Ermedeline, Arvian’s words became more casual. He clicked his tongue in disapproval and gently grasped her wrist. Despite his grumpy expression, his divine power flowing into her wrist was warm, making Ermedeline smile softly.

“You’re really twisted, you know.”

“Yeah, I am. So what?”

Arvian, lifting his chin defiantly and quickly withdrawing his hand, looked amusingly adorable, causing Ermedeline to burst into laughter, despite the pain.

“Haha, ahah, agh!”

“No, why are you laughing amidst all this? You still have internal injuries!”

“Ouch… I know that, but your expression is just too funny. You look so saintly, yet you’re pulling such a crooked face. It’s a waste of good looks.”

Ermedeline’s compliment seemed to secretly please Arvian. Although he pursed his lips and looked away, he didn’t contradict her words.

“You and Priestess Louise saved my life. I would have definitely died without you. Thank you for your hard work.”

Ermedeline gently grasped Arvian’s hand, still trying to play it cool, and spoke in a soft voice.

“Hmph. Because of you, I’m the one who’s going to die first.”

“Oh, really? And to think there were so many people who wanted me dead.”

Ermedeline looked down and smiled bitterly, to which Arvian, feeling perhaps he had been too harsh, awkwardly tried to comfort her.

“It’s not you they hate.”

“That’s what makes it more frustrating. I haven’t done anything. Sigh.”

Ermedeline exhaled deeply and tapped the edge of her bed. Arvian sat down a bit farther away, looking puzzled. Ermedeline then shared a crucial piece of information.

“The truth is, when I possessed this body, I saw its future.”

“What?”

Unable to say this place was actually within a novel, Ermedeline made up a story. Luckily, it seemed Arvian believed her for the most part.

“This body was supposed to endure several assassination attempts, but ultimately, it was to be dethroned and burned at the stake.”

“What?”

“So, if you hadn’t been there today, I would have definitely died.”

“I wasn’t in the future you saw?”

“No, you weren’t. Or if you were, you weren’t on my side, or rather, her side.”

“Wow, foresight? Maybe the gods didn’t randomly choose to put you in that body.”

At Arvian’s remark, Ermedeline smiled bitterly and shook her head.

“But now, the future I saw is useless. You and others who have appeared in my life weren’t in the future I foresaw.”

“Hmm. So the predicted future has changed?”

“Yes. The Ermedeline I saw kept committing heinous acts that led to her being burned at the stake. The nobles didn’t panic like they do now. And there were no serious assassination attempts like today.”

“What? So, the more you try to avoid being burned at the stake, the more your infamous deeds turn into renown, the more desperate assassination attempts like today’s will increase?”