I Possessed The Immoral Empress

Upon returning to the palace, Ermedeline briefly reported to Henry and then headed straight to her bedroom.

Her original intent was to peruse the notebook she had discovered at the bottom of her wardrobe.

The handwriting was tiny and densely packed, making it difficult to read in the dimness of the cellar, but Ermedeline didn’t want to read the records in the brightness of her bedroom either.

“It seems keeping detailed records was part of her inherent nature.”

The notebook turned out to be the diary of the original Ermedeline, astonishingly enough.

It was a thick tome chronicling the transformation of an ordinary girl into the worst witch of the empire.

Riding back, Ermedeline was anxious about Felio noticing the bulky notebook she had hidden under her cloak.

“Wow, Yoon Hyeyoung actually read such a thick book with tiny print.”

Ermedeline wasn’t particularly averse to reading in her past life, but she wasn’t a bookworm who would buy and read such an unappealing book either.

However, the diary before her might be the only link to understanding the original Ermedeline.

She started to read through her history, a narrative that might keep her awake for nights on end.

The beginning was tedious.

Rather than being boring, it was initially a series of horrific and cruel events, but as the narrative repeated itself, it somehow became monotonous.

Every day’s entry was about what experiment she endured, where she was hurt, how much she bled, or how much pain she felt.

While Ermond was flying kites joyfully with their father, Ermedeline was locked inside the castle, suffering from high fever and secretly watching them, a content full of sorrow and heartache.

Ermedeline wanted to skip the monotonously repeating story, but she held back her impatience, wanting to understand more about the girl she once was during those ordinary times.

Young Ermedeline indeed seemed to be a girl who, suffering from discrimination and contempt, lacked confidence and showed signs of depression.

But she didn’t seem like a child with terrible malice towards anyone.

On her birthday, when her parents threw a grand banquet for Ermond and merely let Ermedeline’s pass quietly, she did write resentful entries about her parents, but that was a common complaint for children, nothing more, nothing less.

“She doesn’t seem like a demon or a witch. My goodness, these people were truly despicable. The orphanage was a hundred times better. How is this different from abuse? They tortured their young daughter physically and mentally. Did this lead to her losing her mind?”

But to say that young Ermedeline was just that – it didn’t seem right.

The diary began to contain entries about self-harm and increasing self-loathing, which pained Ermedeline as she read it, but considering the abuse she endured, it was tragically understandable.

While Ermedeline sympathized with the original her and read through the diary, the name Leopold finally appeared.

“Here it is! Finally!”

But by the time Leopold’s name appeared, dawn was almost breaking, and the day was about to start.

Moreover, unfamiliar with horseback riding, her body was exhausted.

Ermedeline forcibly kept her eyelids open, determined to confirm just one thing.

With immense patience, fighting off sleep, she searched for one particular detail – the relationship between Ermedeline and Leopold.

“Ah, it seems they were indeed in love.”

After Leopold’s appearance, the tone of Ermedeline’s stiff diary entries gradually became gentler.

The cliché content of a shy girl denying her own feelings was an added bonus.

“They really must have been in love.”

Having resolved her major curiosity, Ermedeline closed the diary for now.

“I’ll have to read more thoroughly tomorrow. The love story of a witch called a demon, that’s going to be really interesting.”

Despite the life-and-death urgency of the situation, Ermedeline’s personal curiosity was piqued, and she reluctantly left the cellar, her steps heavy with reluctance.

‘Oh no!’

Ermedeline couldn’t believe she was repeating her past life’s habit of staying up all night reading romance novels. The sun was already fully up, a stark contrast to her plan of catching a little sleep.

‘It can’t be! I need to sleep! Even if it’s just a little, so I can continue reading tonight!’

Just then, she sensed movement outside her bedroom door. Temporarily flustered, Ermedeline quickly lay down and started to fake a cough.

“Hmm? Your Majesty the Empress, are you ill?”

Hearing Ermedeline’s cough, Rooney’s expression instantly turned grave. Internally, Ermedeline felt guilty for worrying Rooney with her act but continued to feign illness with a pained voice.

“Well, I went home yesterday, got a bit excited, and roamed around without my cloak. Now I feel a bit like I’m catching a cold.”

“Oh no. Are you very ill? Should I call Priestess Louise?”

“No, no!”

Ermedeline’s voice turned urgent. If the priestess came now, her feigned illness would be exposed.

“No, just a little more rest should do it.”

“Really? For sure?”

“Yep. That’s right. Cough, cough.”

Ermedeline half-buried her face under the blanket, but Rooney still looked worriedly down at her.

“No, I should call the priestess. It could be the plague.”

‘What?’

The plague that had ended several weeks ago was suddenly mentioned, and Ermedeline was caught off guard and panicked. She felt guilty for inadvertently suggesting it was a contagious disease and was grateful that Rooney had come to her side without hesitation.

She no longer wanted to lie to Rooney.

“Ah.”

With a sound that was part sigh, part stretch, Ermedeline pulled the blanket from her face and sat up on the bed.

“I had some things to ponder over last night, so I couldn’t sleep well. That’s why I wanted to sleep more and lied. I’m sorry.”

“What?”

Rooney was taken aback by Ermedeline’s sudden apology, but the sight of her lying just to sleep in was enough to color Rooney’s face with a different kind of perplexity.

“Can I sleep a little more? I don’t need breakfast…”

Her voice was drowsy, now laced with a hint of charm.

Rooney, looking at Ermedeline who was half-asleep and petulantly acting like a child, couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

“If that’s the case, you could have just said so. You really scared me.”

“Yeah, you must have been. I’m sorry.”

As Ermedeline continued to apologize, Rooney kindly tucked her back into bed, making sure the blankets were snug around her.

“Right. My heart skips a beat whenever you say you’re sick, Your Majesty. Next time, just be honest with me.”

“Mm-hmm. I will.”

Ermedeline’s eyes finally closed completely as she lay back in bed.

“I’ll prepare some light snacks for breakfast for you.”

However, this time, Ermedeline didn’t respond. She had fallen asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

“Hehe, you even have a childlike side when you’re sleepy.”

After making sure Ermedeline was comfortably asleep, Rooney delicately closed the bedroom door and left.

Ermedeline didn’t wake up until around noon.

Rooney would have preferred to let her sleep more, but she had to wake Ermedeline up since the maids and Felio were scheduled to visit in the afternoon.

‘Ugh, I feel like I’ve been beaten up.’

Ermedeline, though she had slept soundly for a short while, woke up feeling surprisingly refreshed. However, the moment she stretched, she realized her condition.

‘I’ve always felt this body was a bit weak, but this much?’

Just a few hours of horseback riding, and merely sitting behind Felio at that, had left her feeling as if she had been pummeled.

Ermedeline, who had never had the chance to engage in expensive sports like horseback riding in her past life, had naively underestimated the full-body workout that riding entailed.

She had no idea that just keeping balance on a horse used so many muscles.

“Ah…”

Every movement brought pain, and Ermedeline barely suppressed a scream as she got out of bed.

‘Ah, my legs.’

But the pain she felt in bed was nothing compared to the agony of walking, with every step causing a fierce ache in her inner thighs.

Trying her best not to show it, Ermedeline awkwardly fixed her posture as she washed up and dressed.

Finally, managing her trembling body, she went to the living room, where she saw Arvian sitting with his arms crossed, looking slightly annoyed.

“Ah, you’re here?”

Ermedeline forced herself to gather strength in her body and sat down in a chair without collapsing.

Arvian, who had been quietly observing her, now openly sneered and said,

“You seem quite frail.”

“What?”

Ermedeline turned her head, ensuring no maids were around, and muttered in a low voice,

“This isn’t my real body, you know. I was very sturdy in my original body. I could easily win in a fight against someone like you.”

“What?”

“You, skinny and short like that? You wouldn’t stand a chance. I’ve done all sorts of things in my life, you know.”

Arvian, unwilling to be outdone by Ermedeline’s bravado, contorted his handsome face and growled,

“Do you think I was raised delicately? I also have done everything there is to do.”

“Yeah, you’re great. Very. Ah, damn.”

The pain with each movement made Ermedeline inadvertently curse. The fact that the only person around was the disagreeable Arvian was a small mercy.

“So, are you going to make it to the meeting later? You look like you’re about to collapse,” Arvian teased.

Ermedeline glared at him and clenched her fists.

“I can do it. Mind over matter. Don’t you know? But of course, you wouldn’t understand.”

In her previous life, she couldn’t afford to take a day off for mere muscle soreness. Even with high fever and dizziness, the immediate need for food and rent forced her to go to work. Not born tough, but her environment made her so.

But Ermedeline, though she endured torture, lived a life far removed from physical labor, making her body incredibly fragile.

‘Ah, how I wish I had a muscle relaxant or even a simple pain-relief patch.’

Yet, Ermedeline didn’t want to be defeated by something as trivial as muscle pain.

“Huh? Really? Mind over matter? I was going to make it easier for you. But I guess you don’t need it?”

“What? Easier, how?”

“Yeah. Your muscles are just knotted up. I’m a priestess, after all. I can treat knotted muscles.”

“Ah!”

Realizing the incredible offer Arvian had made, Ermedeline’s eyes widened. She leaned forward and pleaded,

“Please do it. Heal me.”

Seeing Ermedeline’s desperate expression, Arvian couldn’t help but sneer.

“What happened to ‘mind over matter’?”

“No, it doesn’t work. Not at all. I’m really in pain. Please heal me. Quickly. I beg you.”

She hadn’t realized that a living muscle relaxant was right in front of her.

Ermedeline bowed her head and this time, presented her neatly joined hands to Arvian.

Arvian, amused by her gesture, gave a slight chuckle and then took her hand, beginning to channel his divine power.

“Oh, it’s working, it’s working!”

Feeling the warm energy flow through her and the comfort it brought, Ermedeline looked at Arvian with eyes full of admiration.

Arvian, slightly lifting his chin, accepted her admiration with a satisfied gaze.

And just at that moment, the door to the living room opened, and Felio walked in.