I Possessed The Immoral Empress

“Deposed? Did you just say you want to be deposed?”

A strange, indescribable smile appeared on Henry’s face at Ermedeline’s words.

“Yes. What qualifications do I have to be empress when my brother has defected to the enemy? Please depose me.”

Ermedeline bowed her head in front of Henry with as much politeness and humility as she could muster.

“You’ve been unqualified to be the empress for more than a day or two. And now, you suddenly ask to be deposed at this point…”

Henry recalled the subtle exchange of glances between Ermedeline and Felio during the audience on the day the end of the epidemic was announced.

“What, have you really found a lover you wish to marry?”

Henry, who rarely lost his composure, asked with an unusually overt sarcasm this time.

“That’s not it. How could I, the empress, entertain the thought of having a lover? I truly believed I was unqualified.”

“Hmm.”

Ermedeline tried to sound as sincere as possible, but her counterpart was not someone to be fooled by poor acting.

“How can I trust you and let you go? Collaborating with Ermond, casting a curse on Trivian far worse than any epidemic. What if you do?”

‘It seems he won’t let me go that easily.’

“I will leave for any country you designate. You may place me under surveillance until I arrive there. Moreover, I will donate all my possessions, except what is necessary for Ferdant and me to live, including the rights and title of the Francoise dukedom, to the royal family.”

It was a condition Ermedeline put forth, hoping against hope.

However, Henry’s face showed clear mockery upon hearing her proposal.

“Money, yes, that’s good. I was in need of it. But you see, there’s something I need more than money.”

Ermedeline tensed, fearing Henry would demand something she hadn’t considered, but his next words drove her to despair.

“Ermond. The one ruining Brunnian, Trivian’s breadbasket. Use any means necessary. Capture him and bring him before me. If his own words can prove the empress’s innocence, then I shall have no reason to doubt the sincerity of an empress discussing her own deposition.”

Frianton was a clear enemy.

A nation that had been at war with the border even during the previous emperor’s reign.

Ermond, being a fallen duke’s son, might have easily crossed the border, but as the empress, she couldn’t move as freely.

Moreover, capturing such a powerful magician, even if he was only half of what he used to be, was an absurd task.

Even if by some chance she managed to capture him, it was unlikely he would testify favorably, given his intent to kill her.

Ermedeline understood.

Henry had no intention of letting her go.

Seeing his wife’s face contort with despair, Henry smiled inwardly with satisfaction.

‘Did she really think she could leave the palace alive? How naïve.’

“Your Majesty! The military supplies have run out. At this rate, we’ll have more deserters than casualties.”

“Your Majesty! The Nivelan region has been seized by rioters due to the food crisis. The lord has been executed by the rioters and displayed at the gates of the castle.”

Reports that disturbed Henry’s peace of mind kept coming through communication magic circles and messengers.

The end of the epidemic only to be followed by civil unrest.

During his father’s reign, the national treasury was sufficient to manage such turmoil, but now the situation was different. The treasury was empty, largely because his father, the previous emperor, had squandered the royal finances on his numerous lovers.

‘Leopold is enviable. Maybe I should ask him to lend me some real money?’

The biggest beneficiary of the previous emperor’s extravagant love affairs was Henry’s mother, Linette. If she had managed the endless wealth wisely, it could have been of great help to her son. Instead, she quickly squandered the vast fortune as soon as her son became the heir and then turned to him with empty coffers, demanding money.

Even the reason for the squandering was plausible. As soon as the previous emperor’s attention shifted to a younger lover, she began freely engaging in her own affairs. The wealth from the emperor was thus spent on her lovers, luxurious parties, travels, and investments in her lovers’ ventures, all disappearing.

At the beginning of his tenure as heir, Henry was well aware that his position was not secure. He had become the crown prince and then emperor through a technicality, not by birthright. He did not want to create any more scandals that could undermine his precarious position.

Having already lost much of his dignity by collaborating with a witch, he initially paid off his mother’s debts a few times. However, this only worsened the situation, leading to rumors that Henry, in addition to having a witch as a fiancée, also had a profligate mother. Eventually, Henry exiled his mother, Linette, from Trivian permanently as soon as he became emperor.

What about Leopold, though? Both women bore illegitimate children to that mere figurehead, but their attitudes towards their sons were vastly different.

Henry knew that Leopold’s inexhaustible wealth came not only from his trade ventures but also from his mother, the only princess of the Ballius Empire.

‘Damn it. Should I have just borrowed the money when he offered?’

But then a sneer formed on Henry’s face. He did not even want to imagine what borrowing money would entail.

‘Where is that woman now? Is she still alive?’

After being exiled, Linette sent letters to her son for a while, informing him of her miserable life and begging for mercy. But once she realized her son had truly abandoned her, they ceased to care for each other’s existence, living as if they were worse than strangers.

‘Well, if she still looks presentable, she’s probably hooked some foolish man and is living well.’

At that time, Henry had no idea that his mother, potentially his greatest weakness, was in the hands of his greatest adversary.

***

“Depose? Your Majesty!”

Ermedeline openly shared her decision with Felio and the maids. She believed it was her duty to inform them, given their joint business ventures.

“Your Majesty’s innocence can be vouched for by me and Bellest! Did we not nearly die during the attack at the Francoise Castle?”

Felio vehemently shook his head in disbelief, gasping for breath.

“Yes. But how many will truly believe that Ermond and I have no connection whatsoever?”

While Felio and Bellest may serve as witnesses, they are merely children of nobility without titles or significant standing. Another potential witness, Arvian, is merely a candidate for priesthood, not a priest himself.

“Is it right for His Majesty to demand you prove your own innocence after seeing you beaten and bruised?” Rooney expressed his indignation, finding the situation unjust.

“Yet, what choice do I have? It’s only right that I prove my innocence.”

“It’s absurd! Does it mean you’ll be deposed if you can’t prove your innocence?”

The situation was dire enough without the threat of deposition. Ermedeline couldn’t bring herself to reveal that her predetermined fate was to be burned at the stake, biting her lip in frustration as Arvian sighed heavily, gazing out the large window.

“But was it necessary to bring up deposition yourself? Couldn’t this have been resolved by capturing Ermond before the public opinion worsened?” Rooney questioned, unaware of Ermedeline’s actual goal.

“Wouldn’t a divorced empress be preferable to one accused of treason?”

Ermedeline’s actions, driven by a plan for revenge under the guise of seeking justice in the original story, involved committing heinous acts. The reason it took years to execute the universally despised witch was precisely because of her royal status, which afforded her certain immunities to common crimes. Treason, however, is a grave offense incomparable to minor misdeeds.

“And why did you have to confess everything to His Majesty? No one knew about the corruption spreading through Brunnian.”

Rooney’s statement, risky for a loyal citizen of Trivian to make, highlighted the desperation of the situation.

“Let’s say we hid it. How much longer could we have concealed such widespread corruption?”

Both Ermedeline and Felio knew it was impossible to keep Ermond’s treason a secret indefinitely. Felio had hoped to keep it hidden just until Ermond could be captured.

“How can we ignore it when dozens of citizens are disappearing daily? Do you also think I made a foolish choice?”

Ermedeline was questioning her own decision, wondering if it was indeed foolish. After all, this was a world from a book, a strange place she had inhabited for only a few months, filled with people she had never met. Could their tragedy truly weigh more than her own life, especially when faced with the prospect of being burned at the stake?

In the original novel, Ermedeline was burned at the stake in a large square in front of the palace, a place open on all sides, making it impossible for her to die quickly from smoke inhalation. The description vividly depicted Ermedeline screaming in agony and cursing Trivian until her last breath.

Ermedeline wanted to hear from others that her decision was the right one, not through her own justification but through the voices of those around her. At times, she longed for confirmation that there are things more important than her own well-being, recognized through the perspectives of others.

As Rooney struggled to offer her usual brave response upon seeing Ermedeline’s solemn expression, Felio’s low voice filled the serene drawing room with his support.

“We do not judge the Empress’s choices. We simply aim to fulfill her decisions to the best of our abilities.”

A typical response from a soldier. Ermedeline found Felio’s answer fitting and turned to him, only to be met with his somewhat cheeky smile.

“Besides, how could the person I trust make the wrong choice?”

Despite his sometimes infuriating demeanor, Ermedeline couldn’t help but frown slightly at Felio, whose face remained shamelessly amused.

“Exactly. It’s truly undesirable for the Empress to be unfairly accused, but the Empress I know would not ignore her people.”

Rooney, though still visibly unsatisfied, nodded in agreement with Felio’s statement.

“Do you remember what you said, Your Highness?”

“Uh?”

The conversation took a sudden turn.

“The day after Marquess Belian threw a book at the maids.”

“What?”

With so many events having occurred since then, Ermedeline couldn’t immediately recall her own words.

“You said that respect must be earned, didn’t you?”

“Ah.”

Though she had spoken eloquently, that evening, feeling an uncharacteristic rush of heroism, she had made remarks that later embarrassed her to the point of kicking her blankets in discomfort.

That Rooney, not even the main party involved in the incident, remembered such a statement was beyond Ermedeline’s expectation.

Embarrassed by her own cringeworthy comments, Ermedeline blushed and looked away, feeling the heat of the day intensify.

“You’ve managed to clear yourself of baseless accusations with your own strength up to now! You’ll surely be able to do so this time as well!”

Seeing Rooney’s eyes filled with determination, Ermedeline was enveloped in an overwhelming sense of hope that her words could become reality.

But hope is just that, hope. For the sake of these people, she knew she had to prepare for a realistic future.

“Indeed. Coming from you, I already feel as if I’ve been acquitted of all charges.”