I Possessed The Immoral Empress

“What is that… supposed to mean…?”

Valliere, unable to grasp the words she had just heard, shook her head in disbelief and let out a dry sigh.

“Exactly as I said. I intend to strip you of your title and banish you from the palace.”

Just when she thought the maids who deceived her would finally be dealt with, she was blindsided by the threat of title revocation and banishment?

Even after Henry’s confirmation, Valliere still couldn’t believe this was reality.

Then, the thought suddenly occurred to her: could she finally take the place of Ermedeline, whose reputation had been plummeting since Ermond turned to the enemy?

“If I am no longer a duchess, does that mean I am to become the Empress? Preparing for that by leaving the palace…”

“What?”

Henry couldn’t help but scoff at her delusion, shaking his head in disbelief.

“I know you handed over documents related to the orphanage to the Duke of Francoise. And that you hid the earrings in the maids’ room.”

“What?”

Valliere was puzzled, especially at the sudden mention of the Duke of Francoise, who had been dead for months.

“The Duke of Francoise… What does he have to do with me…?”

“Right. You would say that, especially after you even asked to take care of the maid who delivered the note. But I have evidence. The note you sent to the Duke is now in my possession.”

Henry showed her the note, smirking bitterly.

“I’ve already compared your handwriting. It’s evidence admissible in court. There are witnesses who saw you hide the earrings.”

“Gasp… Gasp…”

Valliere, suddenly gasping for air as if being strangled, slumped onto a nearby chair, trying to catch her breath.

“If it goes to trial, the earring issue might end with you compensating the maids for their troubles. But the allegations related to the Duke of Francoise are another matter. You’re accused of instigating regicide, at worst, that’s the death penalty. Even in the best case, you’d be exiled. You’re not some naïve boy unaware of the consequences, so don’t expect any sympathy.”

“Ha, haha, ahahahaha!!”

At the end of Henry’s words, Valliere burst into hysterical laughter.

Henry quietly waited for her bizarre laughter to stop.

“So, you knew all along and had the note in your possession. Were you just amusing yourself with me, watching as I panicked, committed murder, and hid earrings in the maids’ room?”

Finally, stopping her laughter, Valliere glared at Henry with eyes full of resentment and hatred.

No trace of affection for Henry could be found in her once tender hazel eyes.

After all, Henry’s true love was never here.

“Amusing myself, you say. I’ve given you nothing but opportunities, but if that’s how you see it, then so be it.”

Henry, seemingly uninterested in further argument, didn’t even bother with a plausible excuse.

And at that, Valliere lost her composure entirely.

“What? Just like that? You think you have the right to say that to me? After you confined me, never even bothering to check on me once despite me losing your child? And now what? You gave me opportunities? You say you gave me chances? When? When did you? What kind of opportunities did you give me?!”

Valliere screamed in rage, her voice echoing through the hall. Henry stopped the guards from intervening with a gesture.

“Yes. I do regret that aspect. That’s why I’m trying to make this go over quietly, without a formal trial. To avoid further damage to my reputation. I will continue to provide for your housing and a pension for your living. This is the last bit of consideration I can offer you.”

Despite Valliere pouring all her emotions into her scream, Henry remained calm.

His indifference stemmed from having let go of any lingering attachments, leaving his heart filled with nothing but the ashes of what once was.

Valliere realized this was truly the end as she saw Henry’s detached demeanor, even as he uttered such cruel words.

But she didn’t want their relationship to end this way.

Worn out by his continuous neglect, she had indulged in foolish fantasies, but he was her first love, the first man she ever fell in love with.

Valliere was conflicted for a moment, considering begging for forgiveness and pleading to stay by his side, title or no title, Empress or not.

However, her deliberation was brief.

To Valliere, her pride was more valuable than any other emotion.

Lee Yerim, a heiress who had never bowed her head to anyone in her life, chose her pride over this newly awakened love, a sentiment that had sustained her identity throughout her life.

Tears streamed down Valliere’s face, clear and thick.

She took a deep breath, gazing at her first love with a distant look in her eyes, but ultimately, she did not beg.

Valliere preserved her last shred of dignity.

“So, you’re going as far as to care for the livelihood of a mistress you’re tired of. How very considerate of you. Since you’ve gone to such lengths to accommodate me, I too will make sure to leave the palace as soon as possible.”

Valliere gathered her strength, not allowing herself to tremble as she made her way out of Henry’s reception room.

As soon as she turned the corner at the end of the hallway, her strength gave out, and Valliere collapsed right there.

Though there were maids by her side and guards in the corridor, no one came to her aid.

Even if she was once hailed as the Saintess of Trivian, wielding more influence than the Empress, a mistress is still a mistress.

Now stripped of her title and the Emperor’s affection, no helping hand was extended to a woman so thoroughly abandoned.

Especially since Valliere’s reputation had hit rock bottom in the palace after her maids died from a contagious disease, this was to be expected.

Valliere, standing up alone with the support of the corridor wall, came to terms with her situation once again.

She was truly alone in this strange world now, with not a single ally in this unfamiliar place, forced to survive on her own.

In a way, her situation mirrored that of Ermedeline at the beginning.

At least, Valliere wasn’t threatened with murder or completely penniless like Ermedeline, so perhaps her situation was somewhat better.

With the allowance Henry promised and the expensive gifts she had received, she could slowly start planning for a new future.

But Valliere did not give up.

The moment her departure from the palace was confirmed, she began plotting how to sway Leopold to her side.

Valliere held her head high.

Then, with a dignified stride, she walked back to her quarters through the corridors.

Click.

She then opened a drawer and looked down at a pearl necklace she had received from Leopold’s servant not long ago.

“Yes. That man, who doesn’t suit the imperial throne at all, is a far better option. What’s the point of becoming the empress to an emperor who’s going to be dethroned anyway?”

As Valliere was firming up her resolve, her maids came to inform her of Countess Brienta’s visit.

Quickly wiping away the traces of tears from her eyes, Valliere greeted her with a bright smile.

“You’ve come at the perfect time! I was just about to look for a new place to live.”

“What?”

Countess Brienta was surprised to hear Valliere talk about finding a new place to live.

“I am completely done with His Majesty the Emperor. Now that I am no longer a marchioness, I suppose I should speak to you more formally.”

Despite the gravity of her statement, Valliere’s expression was so bright that it darkened Countess Brienta’s face even more upon hearing it.

“There’s no need for formalities. You once carried the title of nobility, did you not?”

“Is that so? Well, thanks for saying so.”

Valliere replied with a gentle smile, draping a cloak around her shoulders.

“Everything has its beginning and its end. It’s wiser to move forward even one step than to dwell on the past for the sake of the future.”

Countess Brienta cautiously expressed her thoughts, and Valliere nodded in agreement.

“That’s why I plan to move forward.”

Valliere whispered into Countess Brienta’s ear as she walked up to her.

“I’m thinking of looking for a place near Prince Leopold’s mansion.”

Hearing this, Countess Brienta gave Valliere a meaningful smile, praising her decision.

“A wise choice indeed.”

Countess Brienta could easily see through the forced smile of a woman who had not yet recovered from the wounds of a broken heart.

A festering wound, oozing pus and emanating a foul smell, could not be concealed with a bright facade of false laughter.

Recovering from a broken heart requires time to overcome the loss.

Yet, this naive lady is willingly plunging into her own downfall.

She’s about to pour saltwater on her unhealed wounds.

‘It’s a bit sudden, but this could work out. It might just coincide with the curse of Prince Ermond.’

As Valliere exited her quarters with an exaggeratedly brisk step, a fleeting shade of violet passed through Countess Brienta’s ashen eyes before disappearing.

***

Perhaps Henry was harboring a small hope all along.

Despite deciding on such extreme punishments as stripping her of her title and expelling her from the palace, believing it was truly over, he momentarily hoped for something else when his eyes met Valliere’s, who was looking at him tearfully and with longing.

He hoped that Valliere would cling to him, saying she couldn’t adapt to the palace life, that she would return to her old self and beg for just one more chance.

Deep down, he hoped for such a scenario even as he wished she would silently accept her punishment.

The woman he had loved for more than half of his life.

He knew that if she were to cry and plead, his shallow heart might give her another chance.

But his hope was shattered.

Whether fortunately or not, Valliere showed no signs of attachment and left the reception room, sarcastically criticising Henry until the end.

Watching Valliere walk through the door with dignity, Henry briefly wished for death.

There was a time when he thought even a lifetime together would be too short.

He detested the thought that only death could part them.

He was certain that even if their physical lives ended, his soul would love her eternally.

This moment was scarier than death for him.

The moment his first love truly ended.

But Henry, exhausted to his core, shed no tears.

Though his eyes briefly moistened, that was all. He just looked emptily at the space she had left.

Love, once seemingly the entirety of one’s world, indispensable, and absolute, turns out to be so empty in the end.

The heart, devoid of shape, scent, or color, as if it never existed, leaves no trace as it crosses the river of oblivion and disappears.

Catching his breath, Henry lifted his vacant blue eyes and called for Count Hallstein.

“Report on the situation regarding the Frianton border area.”

Count Hallstein, trying to maintain a neutral tone in his voice, reported on the somewhat grim situation at the border to his lord, who had just suffered a heartbreak.

Henry listened to Count Hallstein’s report without any emotional disturbance, his gaze cold and detached.

Henry had become the iron monarch he once longed to be, devoid of heart and soul.