I Possessed The Immoral Empress

“What?”

Ermedeline woke from a three-day coma to hear some rather shocking news.

“We’ve checked multiple times! But it’s true! She will soon be stripped of her title and expelled from the palace as soon as she finds accommodation outside!”

Even Rooney, who usually openly disliked Valliere, had a complex expression while delivering this news.

“How can such a decision be made so suddenly?”

“Exactly. When the Duke of Francoise passed away, she was confined…”

Rooney quickly lowered her voice and looked around, wary of eavesdroppers. Neither Ermedeline nor Rooney knew about Valliere passing information about the orphanage to Duke Francoise, stealing earrings to frame the maids for their murder, or any of the intricate details of her downfall.

To those unaware of the full story, even considering Valliere’s recent instability, Henry’s actions seemed excessively cruel.

He not only confined the woman who lost his child but now decided to strip her of her title and expel her as if she never existed.

In the original story, the two were lifelong companions from childhood.

Despite Ermedeline’s body now housing a different person, which might have made things somewhat unfamiliar, this wasn’t a relationship to be discarded like an old rag.

Ermedeline also reflected on her own cruelly ended past love.

Like Henry and Valliere, she had a love that began in childhood and lasted as lovers for seven years, only to be ultimately abandoned.

Though Ermedeline didn’t feel much affinity towards Valliere anymore, she couldn’t help feeling sorry for her.

“If she’s leaving the palace to find a place to live, she must not be planning to return to her estate, then?”

“Yes. The Viscountcy of Louise has already severed ties with her after the miscarriage. At least His Majesty the Emperor is looking into a residence for her and will provide living expenses.”

“That’s good to hear, at least she will be taken care of.”

Ermedeline felt a sense of emptiness as the first love of the novel’s main characters ended in such a manner but thought that perhaps this was for the best for Valliere.

The palace was too complex and chaotic a place for someone as immature as her to handle.

‘I hope she finds some stability once she leaves the palace.’

***

The news of Valliere being abandoned by Henry spread quickly throughout the capital, riding on the wings of rumor.

Nobles who had been hesitant to move on the rumors of the search for a new empress now began to take the idea seriously.

Unfortunately for Henry, most of the capital’s influential nobles were not interested in offering their daughters as the next empress.

With the appearance of Leopold and the subsequent defection of most nobles who were opposed to Henry, now even the nobles within the Emperor’s faction were starting to show signs of division.

With the backing of the Amatheus Dukedom, which had supported the Emperor’s faction from behind, and now even the Batistian Dukedom, which had been the center of the capital’s central nobility, turning away from Henry, the situation became dire.

At this critical moment, Henry ordered Priestess Louise to heal Ermedeline instead of Felio.

Most of the nobles in the Emperor’s faction in the capital were implicated in the recent assassination plot.

Not only was Duke Batistian, who had nearly lost his son, outraged, but the rest of the Emperor’s faction nobles, who had attempted to execute the traitor in the name of justice instead of the Emperor, also harbored deep resentment towards Henry for prioritizing the Empress’s life.

Henry was too late.

He had finally become the Iron Monarch he always wanted to be, but it was far too late.

He should have either quickly executed Ermedeline, the accomplice in wrongdoing, or severed ties with Valliere, who continued to undermine the Emperor’s authority, before things escalated to this point. However, caught in his own indecision and misplaced confidence, he failed to make a decisive choice on either front.

Duke Batistian was furious.

He was enraged that the Emperor, who had promised to execute the witch responsible for nearly killing his son, had ordered the healing of the Empress instead.

The Duke had nearly lost his wife and then his son to the witch, yet it seemed the Emperor had no intention of executing her.

Everyone knew that the Francoise Dukedom was a dangerous family.

Duke Batistian had tried to take matters into his own hands and execute the traitor, hoping to replace the Emperor’s hesitance, but the Emperor trampled on his loyalty.

And his son.

Duke Batistian was already angry with his son.

Though he knew his son had exceptional knighthood and loyalty, he never expected those traits to override his desire for vengeance for his mother. He was bewildered by his son’s actions.

But ultimately, that great loyalty would be meaningless once there was no longer anyone worthy of it.

Duke Batistian was prepared to welcome his son back if Ermedeline died and his son sought forgiveness.

After all, he was the only heir to carry on the Batistian name.

But what was this?

How could his son alone try to absorb the magic aimed at the traitor?

As a magician as powerful as his son, Duke Batistian realized what his son had done the moment the magic was cast.

Fortunately, since it was not one of the Francoise Dukedom’s curse spells, it could be avoided, but his son had attempted to intercept an attack meant for the witch who killed his mother.

‘My son is dead to me.’

Aside from being furious with Henry for prioritizing the Empress’s healing over his son, Duke Batistian decided then that his son was as good as dead to him.

He resolved not to consider the beast, who wished to die for his mother’s enemy, as his son any longer.

He had nothing left.

There was no Emperor worthy of his loyalty, nor a son to inherit his name.

Despite having done nothing wrong, he found himself having lost everything, while that witch was still alive, flaunting her tenacity.

He grew to despise everything.

Trivian, Batistian, none of these names meant anything to him anymore.

He secretly returned to his study to pen down a very crucial letter.

This letter contained words potent enough to shatter the precarious balance that had been maintained.

The recipient of the letter was Ermond, located in the enemy territory of Frianton.

***

As soon as Felio was released from interrogation and custody, he headed straight for the Batistian mansion in the capital.

He was able to enter his father, Duke Batistian’s study without much hesitation upon learning that his father had just left for his estate.

The study was in a state unlike its usual impeccable order, as if a thief had rummaged through it.

The disappearance of several important magic books was one thing, but even the ink bottle was left open on the desk.

Felio, closing the ink bottle and organizing the still-wet quill, sensed something had happened to his father.

But now was not the time to worry about his father.

Even if it was his father, if he intended to kill Ermedeline, he was an enemy.

Felio needed leverage, something to shake him and bring about his downfall.

It wasn’t difficult for Felio to find his father’s secret compartment.

A hidden space between the desk drawers.

Until now, overpowered by his father’s authority, Felio had never dared to be curious about its contents. But today, he did not hesitate.

Naturally, the compartment was sealed with a magic lock, but Felio, familiar with the same sealing techniques, had no trouble breaking his father’s seal.

Click.

With a satisfying noise, the compartment under the drawer opened, dropping several faded pieces of paper.

Some were inconsequential love letters. Of course, the fact that they were between Felio’s mother, the Duchess of Batistian, and her friend Louise’s husband, Count La Vienta, didn’t particularly shock him.

He was well aware that his parents’ marriage was one of political convenience, lacking genuine affection.

Although he wasn’t thrilled about his mother’s infidelity, he was, after all, looking for his father’s weakness to protect the woman who had killed his mother.

He didn’t feel inclined to blame anyone.

However, the content of the last letter was not something he could simply overlook.

This sole letter, different from the others in its recipient, was addressed to Duke Batistian.

It was a will left by the Duchess of Batistian for her husband.

As Felio read each line of his mother’s final words, his fingertips began to tremble gradually.

In those moments, Felio faced a horrific past he never wished to know. Managing not to collapse, he leaned on the desk to finish reading the will, taking a moment to compose himself afterward.

With a calm look, he decided to erase these sinful traces where no one could claim innocence. He lit the letters in his hand on fire, watching the past turn into white ash and scatter into the air.

As the ashes fluttered, the memories of his parents inside him became entangled and started to crumble piece by piece. Scenes he had passed by without much thought in his childhood reassembled within him, breaking down and reforming his early years.

Yet, one fact remained unchanged: the curse that killed his mother was indeed crafted by Ermedeline.

But what did it matter now who the curse was for or who it killed? He had already chosen the path of the beast long ago.

As the past slowly disappeared without a trace, blown away by the wind, Felio watched with a cold and detached gaze.

***

Meanwhile, Duke Batistian had not returned to his estate. With only a couple of attendants, he quietly roamed the outskirts of the capital, waiting for Ermond’s response and assessing the flow of mana surrounding the capital.

To the eyes of a magician, even the most ordinary bush or valley appeared as an optimal location for setting up magical circles.

The Francoise Dukedom was known for its horrifically powerful magic, capable of corrupting the flesh of the living and consuming the minds of the alive, almost like divine powers.

With mass disappearances and even the unrelated Brunnian region suffering from the curse’s effects, Ermond’s preparation was undoubtedly a massive and devastating curse.

Though Ermond lacked the powerful cursing ability of Ermedeline or the previous Duke Francoise, owner of Merciful Eyes, the scale of any curse directly correlates to its lethality.

Should Ermond accept his proposal, not just the borders but the sacred land of Trivian’s capital would overflow with the sounds of despair.

And all sins would be borne by the witch Ermedeline, deemed worthy of death, while Henry, for neglecting such a witch, would lose everything and fall into the abyss.

Felio, who dared to die in place of his mother’s killer, would witness the witch being brutally executed by the enraged mobs.

Consumed by rage, Duke Batistian cared not for the fate of the land he had protected all his life, so long as he could witness that scene with his own eyes.