I Possessed The Immoral Empress

Leopold’s letters spread covertly and swiftly to neighboring countries through spies.

Even after witnessing Ermedeline’s brutal near-assassination, he still tried to avoid military conflicts as much as possible.

He was gathering troops, but only as a precaution, intending to move them secretly beyond Henry’s surveillance.

However, now that Henry had openly declared his intent to kill Ermedeline, Leopold could no longer just consider the possibilities.

After all, if he failed, it was a gamble that could cost him everything, even his life.

With Ermedeline’s life hanging in the balance, Leopold had nothing left to fear.

The mercenaries who received his letters gradually began moving toward the borders of the Trivian Empire.

Valliere finally bought a mansion very close to Leopold’s estate.

Since Henry paid the price without any confirmation, Valliere could now focus solely on preparing to move.

Valliere wanted to decorate her new home as lavishly as possible.

The mistress’s quarters in the palace were too plain.

They reflected the original Valliere’s tastes, giving even the bedrooms of ordinary noble young ladies a more modest feel.

Of course, the current Valliere tried to change things according to her taste, but financially constrained, she inevitably had to compromise with reality.

But Valliere did not want to do so in her new home.

Soon, if her title was revoked, she would revert to being the illegitimate daughter of a noble family, and she would no longer be the emperor’s mistress.

This was the situation she had most feared after taking over the body.

She was no longer the protagonist of the story.

However, Valliere did not want to give up here.

If even the male protagonist changed, what did it matter now that the original plot had significantly altered?

She dreamed of asserting her presence and captivating Leopold, to become the empress of Trivian as he ruled as emperor.

For that, she could not live in a shabby house.

Regardless of how much the plot changed, she needed to demonstrate the solid position of a strong female protagonist.

After all, isn’t the female protagonist the subject of a romance novel?

Valliere needed money to solidify her crumbling position.

“Again? Why?”

Leopold frowned as if annoyed, turning his gaze away.

“Who knows. She said she bought a house to move into near here, so maybe she’s planning to make a proper confession?”

“What?”

The thought alone was unpleasant, but Leopold was curious to see what would become of the woman Henry had discarded.

“We’ll see when we meet.”

Contrary to Langen’s prediction, Valliere did not make a confession.

Surprisingly, she brought a box filled with jewels that Leopold had presented during a previous audience.

“Why this?”

Leopold was taken aback, having no desire to take back the gift he had given, and he had never expected her to return a present.

“I’m not sure if you know, but I have moved to a new residence.”

“Yes, I am aware.”

Leopold responded nonchalantly, seemingly at ease with how Valliere was handling the situation.

“I managed to secure a house, but there are many places that need attention.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Because of that, I urgently need money, but I don’t have anywhere to get it immediately.”

“I see.”

Valliere hoped that Leopold would offer the money himself at this point, but he remained impassive, merely nodding.

“So… I am really sorry, but could you possibly lend me some money using these as collateral?”

“Ah…”

Leopold doubted his ears for a moment. All these jewels laid out were gifts he had given her. And now she was asking to borrow money using them as collateral?

‘Truly a shameless woman.’

Leopold wanted to immediately dismiss Valliere as absurd, but considering that his mercenaries would soon be crossing the border, having Valliere stirring up trouble near the palace with money that came for free might perfectly divert Henry’s attention.

Although they had split, she had been his lover for over ten years; it wasn’t something that could just be shrugged off like a flake of dust.

Moreover, a mistress abandoned by the emperor would make a very entertaining spectacle. Typically, they either moved to the provinces or entered a temple.

Yet, had not Henry allowed her to buy a house near the palace, even close to his own residence?

Even if their official relationship was severed, he hadn’t completely let go of his lingering attachments to her.

In this situation, for the abandoned mistress to willingly make herself a spectacle, Leopold found no reason to refuse Valliere’s request.

“That is fine. However, you don’t need collateral. Those jewels will shine best when worn by the Marchioness Belian. And weren’t you once a guardian to my nephew? I will gladly lend you the funds to make a graceful new start.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Whenever you feel like repaying, do so. I have urgent matters to attend to, so I must leave now. You can get the check from my steward.”

Leopold rose with a generous smile and whispered something to Langen, who was standing by the doorway.

Langen nodded briefly and soon wrote a check for Valliere.

“The Prince has instructed this to be given to Marchioness Belian.”

“Ah…!!”

Valliere’s eyes sparkled upon seeing the amount on the check.

With this sum, she could afford not only luxurious interior decorations but also a lavish ball.

“Is this amount correct?”

“Yes. It is exactly as the Prince stated.”

Langen, though his stern demeanor didn’t suit it, forced a smile confirming the amount was correct.

***

“Indeed, the Prince is…!”

Valliere glanced back when she heard the voice of Countess Brienta, who was peeking over her shoulder at the check’s amount. Countess Brienta nodded towards Valliere with a sly smile.

“Just as you said, madam.”

Valliere, beaming like a young girl who had just received a Christmas gift, clutched the check close to her chest as she exited Leopold’s mansion.

***

“What have you all been doing until it got this serious?”

Henry, after flinging the report he had just received into the air, sat back down and clenched his fists. If he left his hands free, he was sure he would smash whatever he could grab. It had been months since soldiers began deserting at the border.

During that time, the capital’s epidemic had finally been contained, but now a food crisis had erupted in the Brunnian region due to corruption.

With already lax discipline and insufficient military supplies, the morale of the Trivian soldiers had hit rock bottom. It was in this worst-case scenario that Frianton finally began to act.

“What about the curse that Ermont is supposedly planning?”

“There has been nothing special reported yet.”

“So, it’s just military provocations?”

“Yes.”

Henry sighed heavily. He wouldn’t have been so angry if it were just typical military provocations, but each time Frianton’s soldiers crossed the border, Trivian soldiers were disappearing.

“How can an entire unit desert like this? What was the commander doing?”

“The soldiers killed their commander and deserted.”

Desertion and the killing of a superior during wartime was an unprecedented act of insubordination.

Henry, with a pained expression, clasped his face and ordered,

“Conscript more private soldiers.”

Count Hallstein hesitated, unable to respond immediately.

“Why?”

“Have we not already conscripted private soldiers twice? If we conscript again in this situation, the nobles will…”

“Rebel?”

Henry didn’t even look at Count Hallstein, his gaze fixed on the map hanging in the office. The map displayed the borders established by the previous emperor, once hailed as the young lion of the empire.

“So, what? Should we just sit and watch as Trivian’s borders are redrawn?”

“That should certainly not happen…”

“Why don’t you all just speak frankly?”

Henry raised his head, his blue eyes sharply and clearly piercing as he looked at the key ministers seated in the office.

“Are you suggesting that I, the Emperor of the grand Trivian Empire, should go and bow my head to the King of Frianton, begging forgiveness for my father’s mistakes? Do you all want to see that? Me, kneeling before a mere regional warlord?”

Henry’s statement instantly froze the atmosphere in the reception room.

This was because, although no one voiced it aloud, they were internally blaming the former emperor, who had been obsessively fixated on Frianton after being defeated once.

The young emperor was ambitious.

His uncontrollable ambition had not only expanded the borders but had also led him through a string of new lovers.

Among those unfortunate women ensnared by the charismatic young emperor was a princess from a hostile nation right across the border.

Throughout the war, the former emperor had used her to siphon off military intelligence and abandoned her on the day Frianton was defeated.

In front of her brother, the crown prince, and her father, she had committed suicide by self-immolation.

The personal vendetta of the King of Frianton, who had mobilized the national treasury to the brink of collapse in preparation for war, was rooted in this personal grievance.

During an assassination attempt on the empress at the palace, Duke Ilyenian, who had been compromised, reluctantly stood and made a disingenuous declaration of loyalty.

“Would that be fitting? Your Majesty’s prestige is synonymous with Trivian’s authority, isn’t it? I will bring this matter to the noble council and do my best to gather as many conscripts as possible.”

Henry knew that there was no sincerity in his statement but nodded reluctantly.

After the ministers had left the reception room, Henry inquired about the whereabouts of an absent figure.

“When is Duke Batistian returning?”

“He has many matters to resolve in his domain. He said he’s also recruiting soldiers personally, so let’s just wait a little longer.”

“Is he sending reports?”

“Yes, the reports are arriving punctually.”

While there was no reason to object to the empire’s greatest mage and knight personally recruiting soldiers in these tough times, Henry was inexplicably troubled by his movements.

“What about the incident at the orphanage’s completion ceremony?”

“There is no evidence. Too many influential families are involved…”

“Yes, that meticulous man wouldn’t leave any evidence.”

“But with Duke Batistian leading the emperor’s faction, the nobles are putting considerable effort into recruiting…”

“So, they’re trying to bypass this issue…”

Normally, whether there was evidence or not, Henry would have called Duke Batistian to account for daring to attempt an assassination on the royal family and undermining the imperial authority.

But now, in this dire situation where even that shaken authority might completely vanish, Henry decided to wait desperately for the conscripts sent by Duke Batistian and the emperor’s faction nobles, burying the issue for the time being.