I Possessed The Immoral Empress

Ermedeline’s loud voice, seldom heard in the alley, suddenly drew everyone’s startled gaze to her.

“Wow!”

Among them, Felio was so surprised that the blue flame fiercely burning in his hand vanished instantly.

“Yikes!”

During the brief moment when everyone was frozen in shock, Rio began to stride towards Ermedeline in a truly peculiar manner.

Startled, Ermedeline instinctively stepped back as Arvian whispered in a tiny voice.

“He seems to like you?”

“What?”

Arvian was not wrong; Rio began rubbing his cheek against Ermedeline’s dress just like a cat, even making a loud purring sound.

Ermedeline, initially frightened by the leopard showing affection, soon found herself captivated by his soft, round head.

She gathered her courage and gently stroked Rio’s head.

Then, the beautiful golden beast looked up with a contented expression and sent her a distant gaze.

‘So cute.’

Ermedeline suddenly thought of Cheese.

A small tabby cat she often fed and watered.

She had always wanted to adopt the small creature who followed her well, but the concept of forever being responsible for something was too frightening and vague for her, an orphan, so she ultimately had to give up.

‘I wonder if Cheese is doing well? Since he’s a good cat, maybe someone has adopted him?’

While Ermedeline was lost in thoughts of the furry creature, Felio scrambled up from the ground.

“That’s right! Your Grace!”

Ermedeline, snapping out of Rio’s magical influence, rushed toward Felio.

“Was it you?”

The thought that the previously cute Rio might have hurt Felio instantly filled her with resentment.

Moreover, a fierce-looking man stood next to him, holding a blood-stained dagger that appeared to belong to Felio.

Ermedeline’s face twisted with anger as she glared at Leopold.

“How dare you…”

At this moment, with blood flowing from Felio’s wrist and side, the fact that Leopold was Ferdant’s biological father was irrelevant to Ermedeline.

The man before her was simply someone who had hurt something precious that she wanted to protect at all costs.

Just then, Ermedeline’s soul flickered with a black hue, and Arvian firmly grasped her shoulder.

“Calm down. It’s hard to believe, but that man means no harm. Just calm down and listen.”

Suddenly, Ermedeline came to her senses at Arvian’s calm voice.

She trembled, shocked at herself for almost casting a curse spell unwittingly.

Had Arvian not intervened, a powerful curse spell, albeit unrefined but full of potent magic, might have been cast by one of the most dangerous sorcerers in the continent.

Felio’s gaze was fixed solely on Arvian’s right hand, which was calming Ermedeline.

“Explain yourself, Prince Leopold. What is the meaning of this?”

Frozen by Ermedeline’s icy gaze, Leopold could only stand still.

He had always imagined the moment of their reunion ever since he received the letter asking him to look after Ferdant, but he had never envisioned it happening under such circumstances, in such an atmosphere.

Noticing his master’s confusion, Langen quickly stepped in front of him and flashed a skillful smile.

“It seems Prince Leopold has some words he wishes to share with Her Majesty the Empress. Perhaps… this… misunderstanding might be resolved then?”

Unable to afford a slip in front of Felio and Arvian, Langen carefully chose his words while imploring Ermedeline with his eyes to understand.

Ermedeline read the meaning in his gaze.

“Please treat Felio.”

“Why should I? Why must I do it?”

Ermedeline, annoyed at Arvian’s petulant refusal, forcibly pushed him towards Felio and approached Leopold herself.

“What business do you have attacking Prince Felio, even employing that beast?”

Leopold, still unable to regain his composure, merely moved his lips without speaking.

Langen had to intervene again between the two.

“The Prince was only concerned for Her Majesty the Empress. Sir Felio was implicated in an assassination attempt…”

Langen stopped mid-sentence, realizing they might really be misunderstanding the situation, especially since Ermedeline’s expression had rapidly turned even colder than Felio’s had been earlier.

It seemed likely that any wrong words might provoke a loud outburst, so Ermedeline, clenching her fists and gritting her teeth, whispered fiercely.

“Lord Felio has nearly died three times because of me and has saved my life even more times. Even if everyone in this empire wants me dead, Sir Felio is the one person who has nothing to do with it.”

“Ah…”

Leopold moaned lowly, regretting his hasty attempt to test Felio.

Although he had been anxious upon witnessing the dire situation Ermedeline was in, now that he saw Felio’s blood, such excuses seemed futile to her.

Ermedeline no longer wanted to speak with Leopold.

Although she knew that as Ferdant’s biological father, a conversation was inevitable someday, it was impossible if he treated Felio this way.

Just as Ermedeline was about to turn away coldly, Leopold’s voice, as if on the verge of breaking, reached her.

“Yes, you… I was… worried about you…”

The man trembling as if about to collapse held his brilliant, sharp golden eyes full of moisture.

That pitiful man, looking like a helpless creature awaiting its creator’s word, was waiting for Ermedeline’s verdict.

Ermedeline could not turn away from those desperate eyes.

She did not want to end things this way, remembering her own eyes trembling while waiting for Park Kyungsoo’s decision, looking exactly like his now.

This time, without needing Arvian to tell her, she could see there was no deceit in his words.

“Understood. I will let today’s incident pass. Let us meet quietly next time to talk.”

After finishing her words, Ermedeline immediately turned around and rushed towards Felio and Arvian, but a smile of joy soon appeared on Leopold’s face.

“Next time… she said next time… Phew…”

Leopold, reassured by Ermedeline’s promise of a future meeting, breathed a sigh of relief and leaned against a wall.

Langen, watching his master relax, felt conflicted but quickly pushed him into a carriage before they drew too much attention.

Rio also kept glancing back at Ermedeline regretfully, but followed Leopold into the carriage without a word.

As soon as Leopold was out of sight, Ermedeline dashed over to Felio.

Fortunately, the bleeding had been less severe than expected, and Arvian had already finished treating him.

“Your Grace, are you alright?”

Arvian nudged Felio with his foot and responded in a sullen voice.

“He’s perfectly fine. That leopard only pretended to bite.”

“Is that so? Phew. I’m relieved there’s no serious injury.”

Ermedeline sighed in relief, her hand over her heart.

“But why did you clash with Prince Leopold? Why so suddenly?”

Ermedeline asked with a worried look, fearing that Leopold might have said something wrong.

“Well, I don’t really understand it myself. It seems he misunderstood that I was involved in an assassination attempt against Her Majesty the Empress… He didn’t seem to like that idea.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Well, it seems he dislikes unexpected complications in his political machinations.”

“Ah, I see. But since you’ve clearly stated that you have no involvement in that affair, there shouldn’t be a reason for him to cause trouble again.”

Ermedeline was relieved that Felio hadn’t caught on to Leopold’s true intentions and glanced slyly at Arvian, signaling that she wanted a moment alone with Felio.

Arvian, although visibly displeased, moved away to the end of the alley without further comment.

Felio, feeling uncomfortable being alone with Ermedeline, quickly tried to follow Arvian, but Ermedeline blocked his path even faster.

“Your Grace! Just a moment, let’s talk.”

Ermedeline looked at Felio with a pleading expression, but he awkwardly turned away, attempting to leave the alley in an unusual posture with both his feet and hands moving at the same time.

“Your Grace!”

Finally losing her patience, Ermedeline tripped the awkwardly moving Felio.

Staggering!

After stumbling a few times, Felio lost his balance and sat down on the spot.

Ermedeline felt a bit guilty for tripping Felio twice, but rationalized her actions, thinking that otherwise, she might never have had the chance to talk to him.

“Please, Your Grace, just listen to me. It will only take a moment.”

Ermedeline sat down in front of Felio, imploring him to listen, but Felio still avoided her gaze.

“I don’t want to.”

“What?”

“I do not wish to hear Her Majesty the Empress’s command. No matter what you say, I cannot follow such an order.”

Felio, untangling his twisted legs, rose with a firm tone in his voice.

“Ah, that’s… why I came here.”

“?”

Ermedeline quickly followed, rising to her feet and grabbing the hem of his cloak urgently.

“Forget what you heard. It was an unreasonable request. You don’t need to die or live for me. You don’t need to do anything for me.”

“What are you saying…”

“Ferdant is my child. My child. Whether he lives or dies, I will take responsibility. So you…”

“What are you saying? Are you implying that I don’t care what happens to Ferdant?”

“No, that’s not it…”

“How much I’ve risked my life to ensure that the child is safely returned to Her Majesty the Empress…”

Felio stopped speaking, sealing his lips.

He had wanted to collaborate with Leopold to oust Henry from the palace and divorce Ermedeline out of sheer desire, but considering Ferdant held captive by Henry, he had been cautiously preserving himself.

And there was also Ermond.

Felio wanted to eliminate that damned Ermond and prove Ermedeline’s innocence immediately, but again, because of Ferdant held by Henry, he could not move his troops privately.

He feared his actions might reveal him as a traitor.

Even though, by now, that seemed to matter little.

But was there any need for Ermedeline to know all this?

Felio simply wanted to protect what little human element remained in Ermedeline’s darkly tainted soul, her son Ferdant.

“Your Grace. It’s not like that. I know very well how much you care for me and my son.”

“Do you?”

“My intention wasn’t what you think. I came here to retract an unreasonable request I made to you. From now on, continue to act as you believe is right, whether or not it aligns with my wishes.”

What right did she have to demand life or death from him?

Ermedeline decided, as she always had, to trust in his decisions.

“You have never been wrong before.”