I Possessed The Immoral Empress

Ermedeline, with a faint smile, nudged Felio with her toe, who appeared dazed.

“I’m sorry for always tripping you. It must be tough serving such a violent superior.”

As she wobbled slightly, lips puckered, Felio also smiled faintly.

“That’s true. But a knight owes loyalty to those who trust in him, doesn’t he?”

‘Uh? Where have I heard that before? Wasn’t it that a scholar dies for those who recognize him?’

Ermedeline mused that this line must be one of those things the author had picked from reality, tilting her head in thought. Meanwhile, Felio adjusted his attire and offered a farewell to Ermedeline.

“I will continue to serve Your Majesty the Empress as I see fit, being the smartest and most capable person in the empire.”

After such a crisp and polite farewell, such an audacious statement.

Ermedeline chuckled to herself, thinking she might have been fooled if she hadn’t been alert.

“I will take my leave now.”

As Felio left the alley with a swish of his cape, only Ermedeline and Arvian remained.

“Don’t worry too much. It really wasn’t a big deal.”

“Really?”

Arvian quietly approached Ermedeline, who seemed half out of her wits from emotional exhaustion.

“Yeah. I don’t know why, but that prince with the leopard, he didn’t have bad intentions. It seemed like he was genuinely worried about you?”

“Yeah. I guess so.”

Ermedeline didn’t need Arvian to confirm; she no longer doubted Leopold’s sincerity. Who could consider the overflowing emotion in his desperate eyes anything but genuine?

“Let’s return to the palace. Rooney will be out for my blood if anything happens to you.”

“Heh, indeed. Rooney could probably take you down in a hit.”

“What? That little one, really…”

Ignoring Arvian’s indignant response, Ermedeline finally stepped out of the alley. Though they had only been there for about five minutes, the events felt overwhelmingly draining.

Throughout the return to the palace, Ermedeline remained silent.

Even when Rooney fussed over any injuries, Ermedeline only offered a weak smile.

Once alone in her chamber, she climbed onto her bed, pulled her knees up, and crouched down. The sun had completely dipped, casting a golden sunset through the large window, filling the room with its glow.

In that golden light, Ermedeline was overwhelmed by an immense sense of guilt.

‘Yes, you… I was worried about you…’

The trembling word he uttered, brimming with emotion, was his complete sincerity.

Always sharp and radiant, his golden eyes were rippling with torment at that moment. There was no hint of deceit or hypocrisy in his gaze.

‘What am I doing?’

Even after reading through their detailed love stories written in tiny letters, and the letters that were worn out from how much she had read them, Ermedeline hadn’t taken Leopold seriously. Or rather, she had considered him seriously, but only as an unintended obstacle in her plans—recently, even considering him as a guardian for Ferdant should anything happen to her.

Truly, Ermedeline had no interest in the human Leopold.

No matter how intense the love had been, it was all just a memory of a soul now gone, not the flesh.

Moreover, Ermedeline, still struggling to overcome the heartbreak of a seven-year relationship, was confused by another burgeoning sentiment.

It was difficult for Leopold’s existence to feel authentic to her.

But today, she had inadvertently looked into those eyes.

Those human eyes, filled with longing and concern, that she simply could not ignore.

This man truly loved her.

It wasn’t just a fleeting passion that had fizzled out with youth.

Even after seven years, he still loved her with all his soul.

And so, despite having been cruelly abandoned, as soon as he heard his son was alive, he returned to his dangerous homeland.

Ermedeline was a lonely woman whose family even sought her life.

A witch feared by everyone she met, either for fear of curses or out of hatred.

In the original novel, Leopold wasn’t even mentioned, so Ermedeline did not know.

She didn’t know that even for this witch, there was someone who genuinely longed for her.

Now Ermedeline understood clearly.

Leopold, not mentioned in the original work, had returned to the country risking his life, driven by his cause for her.

He wasn’t after the throne for power.

He wanted to become emperor only for the love of his woman and Ferdant.

Her actions had once again altered someone else’s story.

Ermedeline had no interest in who held the throne, but having seen his desperate eyes, she was troubled by the thought of Leopold undertaking a reckless rebellion for a lover who no longer existed in this world.

Even if Leopold were to seize the throne of Trivia at the end of this reckless rebellion, she thought he needed to know that he could not have Ermedeline.

‘I just needed to live and escape the palace. Why has the story become so twisted?’

Ermedeline clenched her jet-black hair in frustration, unable to find an answer.

Meanwhile, Leopold, having parted from Ermedeline, became gloomy as he recalled the moment she had blocked Felio with a fierce look.

In his memories, Ermedeline was not a woman who easily let others close.

He himself had spent months trying to win her heart.

Even before Ermedeline had gained the terrible reputation of a witch, her demeanor had shown no hesitation when she confronted Langen with a sword and Rio baring his teeth, as if it was the most natural thing for her to do.

***

‘Damn it!’

Clang!

The wine glass in his hand collided with the opposite wall, shattering into pieces with a crisp sound. Leopold was angry not only because Ermedeline had acquired the infamy of a witch during his absence, or because she had nearly been assassinated several times, but most of all, he was infuriated that he hadn’t been there to endure those times with her.

He felt pathetic for having been deceived by mere words, holding a grudge against her, yet unable to truly hate her, wandering abroad instead.

During his absence, people she had opened up to had appeared by her side—those white priests, the maids, and most irritatingly, that prince.

While he was away, people who trusted her and whom she trusted had emerged by her side.

When Leopold heard that Ermedeline had become the Empress of Trivia while he was in a foreign land, he felt little emotion because he knew it was a political marriage with Henry for the sake of securing her position.

At that time, Leopold was convinced that if she had closed her heart even in their relationship, she would still be alone, even as an empress.

He believed that the cruel woman who had threatened to kill her own child would lead a thoroughly lonely life.

During the time they were apart, Leopold found himself unable to hate her, nor could he simply long for her, possibly feeling some pride deep down that he was the only one she had truly opened her heart to.

‘The most trusted person, that boring-looking guy?’

That someone so different from him, who pursued freedom and wanderlust, could take his place beside Ermedeline was frustrating.

‘Ermedeline loves to travel, you know. Do you know how much she enjoys hearing about foreign landscapes?’

In fact, Leopold knew that the likelihood of that man being involved in the assassination plan against Ermedeline was almost nil since he was present at the orphanage’s inauguration. 

However, when he found the name Batistian among the many behind the assassination plans, he wanted to find an excuse to remove him from her side.

‘I really am shallow.’

While his concern for Ermedeline’s life was genuine, his attack on Felio in the alley was an ugly result of jealousy.

And Ermedeline had caught him in that act.

Leaning against the wall, Leopold was tormented, hitting the back of his head against it when Rio approached, sensing his master’s displeasure.

“No! Don’t come! There’s broken glass; it’s dangerous! Langen! Isn’t there anyone there?”

But his gloom didn’t last long.

Soon he was transformed into a cat dad, frantically trying to ensure Rio didn’t step on the broken wine glass shards.

“Stop! Don’t come! You’ll get hurt!”

While Leopold was fussing over protecting Rio’s plush fur, Langen appeared with the maids to clean up the shattered glass.

“Why do you keep throwing glasses? If you’re not going to clean it up yourself, do you have any idea how much the maids complain?”

An older maid, backing away after cleaning up the glass, waved her hands dismissively at Langen’s remarks.

“Everyone gets upset sometimes. Where else would you find a better place to work? Why would we speak ill of the prince?”

Langen, frustrated that the maid didn’t support his point, deliberately slammed the reception room door loud enough to be heard.

“Ha! See? That’s why everyone likes me more than you.”

Leopold laughed openly, hugging Rio and scratching his neck as if he was thoroughly enjoying the moment.

“It must be nice to be so popular with the servants, Your Highness.”

“Yes, it’s nice. But why aren’t you leaving, and why are you standing there with such a grim expression?”

At Leopold’s question, Langen sighed shortly and then spoke with a serious tone.

“Henry is officially starting the selection process for the next empress.”

“Officially? Haven’t there been rumors circulating about bringing in a new empress for a while now?”

“Yes, that’s true. But this time, it seems he has officially sent documents to prominent families.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

Leopold knew Henry was trying to use families with eligible daughters to counterbalance him, but he had assumed that talk of a next empress was just idle gossip.

“Marchioness Belian is about to be stripped of her title and expelled from the palace. She’s currently looking for a new house.”

“So, he’s really going to discard her.”

“It seems so.”

“But how can he start selecting a new empress while there’s still a reigning empress?”

“Yes. Fortunately, or not, no family has responded yet.”

“Of course not. It’s no joke; there’s already an empress, and now a selection? What kind of situation is this?”

“The situation at the border is chaotic, and there’s also the food shortage… He seems to be planning to blame all these issues on Her Majesty the Empress to the nobility.”

“What?”

Leopold’s golden eyes began to lose their warmth rapidly upon hearing Langen’s explanation.

“So you’re saying he’s going to use Ermedeline to the end and then discard her?”

At Leopold’s gesture, Langen prepared to take down his words.