I Possessed The Immoral Empress

Ermedeline’s voice, firmer than ever before, finally made Felio release his grip.

In that moment, Ermedeline swiftly withdrew her hand from Felio’s grasp.

Her wrist, held so tightly, had swollen red.

Yet, Ermedeline did not entirely dislike the stinging pain and red marks.

It felt as if his desperate emotions were etching themselves onto her flesh.

However, Ermedeline did not wish to flee alone to the palace, abandoning this ominous aura filling the air.

If she were fated to die, as Arvian said, it would have happened already.

Having come this far, she wanted to see the condition of her domain with her own eyes.

“Your Grace, have you forgotten? I am the greatest sorcerer of the Trivian Empire. I am not someone who needs to be protected at all times,” she said.

The last time they were at the Francoise Castle, it was Ermedeline’s curse magic that ultimately saved both Felio and Bellest.

“I truly appreciate your concern, but I must fulfill my duties. So, Your Grace, you should fulfill yours as well,” Ermedeline stated, deliberately adopting a cold demeanor to prevent any further discussions, and turned away, heading out of the castle.

Arvian glanced at Felio, who stood dazed, as if facing imminent death, and then followed Ermedeline.

Felio wanted to obey Ermedeline’s command without protest, but he was genuinely terrified.

He hadn’t slept a wink last night.

The image of Ermedeline screaming and collapsing kept haunting him every time he closed his eyes.

The fear was so consuming, it felt like it could swallow his soul whole, causing his body to freeze and tremble uncontrollably.

He knew he should follow her, catch up to her before she was out of sight, but his feet wouldn’t move.

The mere thought of her death was excruciating. If he were to witness her die before his eyes, his heart might just burst on the spot.

Yet, Felio eventually managed to take a step.

He walked through the dark corridors of the castle that felt like death, following the path of Ermedeline, the master and destination of his life.

Fortunately, there were no assassins outside the castle, but Ermedeline kept running.

Arvian and Felio, sensing something, silently followed her.

Ermedeline stopped in front of a well outside the castle walls, in the village, and began to pull up the bucket with a grave expression.

“How long will it take at this rate?” Arvian, growing impatient, rolled up his sleeves and soon the bucket, carrying the well water, emerged.

“What is this?”

The well was a source of groundwater.

In modern-day South Korea, it’s clean enough to be used for daily life.

But the water in the bucket was utterly black and rotten, emitting a horrendous stench.

“What’s this? Why is the well… Is this a curse?” Arvian asked.

Ermedeline shook her head in uncertain gestures.

“It’s hard to outright call it a curse. I don’t feel anything from the well itself.”

“Then what is this? Why has the well suddenly become rotten?”

While Ermedeline and Arvian exchanged puzzled looks, Felio, as if struck by a thought, began to run towards the outskirts of the domain.

“Your Grace! Your Grace!”

Ermedeline tried to catch up, running after him, but it was in vain.

However, Felio returned shortly after purchasing two horses from a nearby farmhouse.

“Why the horses?”

“I need to check something.”

“Check?”

“Yes.”

Felio naturally handed one horse’s reins to Arvian and held the other himself.

“Huh? Why only two horses? What about Her Majesty the Empress?”

Prompted by Arvian’s question, Felio quietly observed Ermedeline.

After several marches, he had realized that Ermedeline was uncomfortable around horses.

In her previous life, where she couldn’t afford such an expensive hobby as horseback riding, Ermedeline naturally didn’t know how to ride.

In fact, she even found it difficult to stand near a horse.

“I can’t ride a horse.”

“Huh?”

Facing Arvian’s incredulous look, Ermedeline wanted to argue that horseback riding wasn’t a common hobby where she came from, but she held her tongue for Felio’s sake.

“It just turned out that way.”

“Ah, then why don’t you ride with me?”

Arvian, sensing there was a reason behind her reluctance, naturally offered to have Ermedeline ride with him on his horse.

At that moment, Felio stepped in front of Ermedeline.

“Her Majesty the Empress will ride with me.”

“What?”

“I am a knight. I’m probably better at riding than you, so it’s only right that I escort her.”

“Huh?”

Arvian, who in his wilder years had stolen horses to escape through rough terrains for hours, gave Felio a sidelong glance.

“I think I might handle horses better than a noble brought up so delicately.”

“Delicately brought up?”

Provoked by Arvian, a crease formed on Felio’s otherwise calm brow.

Arvian had made a similar comment before.

“Have you, a candidate for Grand Priest, ever been to battle? Have you ridden a horse in a march lasting over two days or in a fierce battle lasting over half a day?”

Ermedeline’s head began to ache at this renewed exchange of barbs in such a critical situation.

These two, when in good spirits, would speak informally but resorted to formal speech in their attempts to best each other.

‘This is twisted. Both are so stubbornly twisted.’

While it would make sense to ride with the lighter Arvian, considering the horse’s burden, Ermedeline couldn’t ignore the face of Felio she had seen in the castle just a moment ago.

His eyes, trembling in the face of overwhelming fear, seemed as if they would crumble to dust right then and there.

“Enough, both of you. We don’t have time. I will ride with Sir Felio.”

At Ermedeline’s words, Felio quickly flashed a carefree smile at Arvian, who, in turn, looked up at him with a sullen, disgruntled glare.

“Why? Why are you riding with him?”

Arvian’s expression was like that of a child throwing a tantrum, and Ermedeline decided to respond in a similarly childlike manner.

“Because I want to.”

Ultimately, Ermedeline’s choice was the right one.

Arvian might have boasted about his horseback riding skills, but indeed, a trained knight was unbeatable.

Although Arvian had ridden alone, he had barely managed to keep up with the horse carrying Felio and Ermedeline.

“Ugh, this is tough. Why is this horse… Phew… so wild… Huh… What the…”

It was his horse that ended up completely exhausted due to carrying an unskilled rider, but Arvian approached the riverbank, where Felio and Ermedeline stood, panting as if he had run the distance himself.

“Ugh! What is that smell?”

At the estuary of the river near the border, a foul stench, reminiscent of fish left to rot on a hot summer day, permeated the air.

Not only the river but also the surrounding land was utterly spoiled, having lost the natural color of healthy soil long ago.

“What on earth…”

Arvian joined Ermedeline, who stood bewildered, surveying the surroundings with a look of utter loss.

“Wasn’t this place originally a granary? Known for its fertile lands,” Arvian remarked, feigning knowledge while scrutinizing Ermedeline’s expression.

It was his way of showing consideration, thinking that Ermedeline, from another world, might not know this fact.

However, Ermedeline was already aware that her domain possessed fertile lands and that the wealth of the Francoise Duchy stemmed from there.

Despite holding a nominal title, she had been studying about the Brunnian Region ever since she agreed to receive the title.

The situation was grave; not only were people mysteriously disappearing, but now the land and water had utterly perished.

For the residents whose livelihood depended on agriculture, it was undoubtedly a life-threatening situation.

“How could no one have noticed this until now?”

“It doesn’t look this bad at first glance, does it? The officials probably couldn’t sense this aura, so they never thought to come here and check.”

“Do you think this is related to the disappearances?”

Instead of immediately answering Ermedeline’s question, Felio quietly sat down, placing his palm on the spoiled land, and concentrated.

Observing him, Arvian scoffed confidently.

“You don’t need to do that to know it’s a side effect of a curse.”

“Exactly.”

Felio dusted off his hands and stood up, gazing at Ermedeline with a bitter expression, not responding to her question.

Ermedeline, feeling troubled, closed her eyes and tried to sense the dark aura enveloping this place.

Concentrating, she faintly felt a familiar energy.

The same damp and eerie energy she had felt from the Duke of Francoise, from Ermond, and even within herself.

Realizing the truth, Ermedeline collapsed to the ground, looking up at Felio.

“Did you know about this, Sir?”

This place was on the border with Frianton, the Trivian Empire’s greatest enemy nation.

The familiar curse energy was unmistakably emanating from the enemy country beyond the border.

“Yes, I knew.”

Unable to hide it any longer in this situation, Felio calmly answered Ermedeline’s question.

“Ha…”

Her brother, who sought her death, had not only defected to the enemy nation but was also preparing a devastating curse capable of wreaking havoc on their homeland.

Ermedeline felt as if everything she had worked hard to rebuild her reputation, even if it meant bowing down humbly, was crumbling down at once.

Her brother, a capable sorcerer and the Empress’s brother, had defected to the enemy.

In one word, treason.

Confronted with this devastating revelation, Ermedeline felt utterly drained.

What was the point of all her efforts to escape a predetermined death, to perform good deeds, when it all led back to attempts on her life? As if hidden sons and first loves weren’t enough, now a traitorous brother had appeared.

All her struggles seemed futile.

Her heart, once buoyant with the anticipation of opening an orphanage, now felt as if doused with icy water, frozen solid.

For a moment, Ermedeline wanted to confront Felio about why he hadn’t shared this critical information, but she refrained. She didn’t need to hear it from him; she already knew why he had kept this grave fact hidden.

“Who else knows about this?” Ermedeline asked with a defeated tone.

“I’d like to believe it’s only me for now. The curse isn’t cast upon this land. The faint traces here are subtle enough that probably only Your Majesty would discern them accurately,” Felio responded, trying to maintain composure.

“I’m also aware,” Arvian interjected immediately after Felio’s statement.

“This means, apart from me, the Grand Priest, and Your Majesty, no one else is likely to be certain about this,” Arvian added.

“That’s correct. It’s unlikely many would connect these traces to Prince Ermond,” Felio affirmed.

Felio and Arvian meant to alleviate Ermedeline’s worries with their remarks. However, it provided little comfort to Ermedeline, who felt physically and emotionally drained by the continuous threats and betrayals from her family.

In her previous life, she had longed for a family, but now, she wondered if it would have been better not to have one at all. The thought made her situation feel pitiful.

‘Is this it? What did I expect? This is right. Family, what family.’

A miraculous second chance had come her way. But perhaps the chance to find true love and boldly carve her own path was only meant for others, not for her.

She had been thrilled to be part of a romance novel, but now, this reality, her reality, seemed more cruel and despairing than any story.

After a brief, stunned silence, Ermedeline stood up as if resolved.

“Let’s return quickly. Before it gets dark.”

As Ermedeline silently mounted the horse Felio held, countless thoughts flickered through her mind.

In that moment, Felio was merely bothered by the mud stains on Ermedeline’s hem.

Had he known beforehand that this faint energy was Ermond’s, he would never have brought Ermedeline here.

He regretted exposing her to this and wounding her spirit, but from Felio’s perspective, the situation hadn’t fundamentally changed.

Whether her brother had defected to the enemy or she had killed her mother, nothing altered his resolve.

As long as his life persisted, his vow to protect her would not waver.

So, Felio’s only regret was that he couldn’t brush the dirty mud off Ermedeline himself.

He didn’t want even a speck of dust to mar her.

Let the dirt and grime be his burden to bear.