I Possessed The Immoral Empress

“Huh! Your Majesty! What on earth is this gift…”

Bellest who was about to tell her not to worry about Valliere’s matter since she was just his mistress, suddenly fell silent at Ermedeline’s unexpected tears.

‘I don’t cry easily. I’m not someone who normally cries. This is strange.’

It had been nearly a year since she cried after parting ways with Kyungsoo before the possession. Since then, she rarely cried over trivial matters. However, strangely enough, tears welled up more often here.

“What should we do about our Empress… Ugh…?”

Suddenly, as Rooney burst into tears and clung to one of her arms, Ermedeline managed to regain her composure.

As she wiped away her tears and looked around, the eyes directed at her were filled with sympathy.

‘Oh, could it be that they all think I’m crying because of Lady Valliere?’

Ermedeline, who didn’t care about that woman at all, heaved a sigh and spoke with determination.

“It seems like everyone believes I’m crying because of Marchioness Bellian, but it’s not true. So please, put away those sly glances.”

“What?”

Ermedeline’s firm voice surprised the maids and servants, making their eyes widen. But only Felio wore a meaningful smile.

“S-So, you see, my family… My father… and my brother… they’re not…”

But as Ermedeline attempted to make a feeble excuse, her tongue got twisted.

‘I thought I was quite adept at lying…’

“Anyway, when I received the title, I felt somewhat uneasy because of those circumstances. But with all of you celebrating like this, my heart warmed, and tears just came out without me realizing.”

‘Did it work? Please believe me.’

Though the story was clumsily fabricated, the fact that her father had passed away and her brother had gone missing, leaving her to uphold the family name, did make her feel uneasy.

After all, a good lie should contain a certain amount of truth.

Gradually, as Ermedeline began to sense that everyone might have fallen for her fabricated story, their eyes now appeared to be filled with genuine emotion.

‘Whew, it looks like they bought it.’

“Your Majesty! I’ll be your family! Well, not that someone like me could be part of the royal family…”

Suddenly shouting, Rooney rushed into her embrace, and Ermedeline interrupted her.

“Enough. Don’t speak like that about yourself in front of me ever again. Even if you’re not part of the royal family, you’re precious to me.”

As Ermedeline gently patted her on the back, Rooney began to cry even more intensely. Comforting Rooney allowed Ermedeline’s own tears to subside, thankfully.

“Now that you’ve become the head of the family, can you use the magic circle? Are you thinking of going to Francoise Duchy’s castle?” Liena asked in a cheerful tone as if she were trying to lighten the mood, carefully observing Felio’s expression.

“The magic circle?”

“That’s right. Indeed. The Duke of Francoise used the magic circle to access the palace. It’s said to be installed in only a few prestigious noble houses.”

“I suppose I should visit at least once, don’t you think? Well, they must have sold nearly everything that could bring in money, but there might not be much left.”

Only the most influential nobles with close ties to the royal family can install a magic circle that leads to the palace. The only ones allowed to use it are the Emperor and those granted authority by the Emperor, along with the head of the family. Even then, for the safety of the royal family, the surroundings of the magic circle in the outer palace are always heavily guarded, and the maximum number of people allowed to use it at once is three.

Henry had never engaged in any actions like confiscating Francoise Duchy’s assets, but that didn’t mean he had ever granted Ermedeline the authority to visit his castle.

However, now that Ermedeline had become the head of the family, she had the privilege to use the magic circle.

Of course, she would have to report to Henry about it.

“I want to go too!”

Suddenly, Bellest’s amber eyes sparkled as she raised her right hand.

“I’m curious about the Brunnian region and Francoise Duchy’s castle, which is said to be the oldest in the empire!”

She looked like an exemplary student who had firmly resolved to be chosen by the teacher.

Despite knowing that she was an older woman who had already been married, Ermedeline found her demeanor endearing.

“Shouldn’t I go too?” Felio’s voice suddenly emerged from behind, where he had been quietly standing.

“L-Lord… Uh… Haha.”

When she turned her head, Felio had both arms raised and his silver eyes were gleaming.

‘Is this one… also adorable?’

“I’m a mage, aren’t I? I must accompany you to Francoise Duchy’s castle because the magic circle there might not be as strictly guarded as before!” Felio declared, raising his chin and sporting a confident expression. A subtitle for his audacity might read: “You guys don’t have this, do you?”

Ermedeline found his audacious attitude simultaneously pitiable and cute, but Bellest did not share the sentiment, growling as she glared at Felio.

“Don’t you remember how you cried and begged for mercy when I beat you to a pulp in the academy’s swordsmanship class?”

“W-What?”

Bellest’s words left Felio flustered, and his face displayed a mix of embarrassment.

“That’s right! About twelve years ago, wasn’t it? You got beaten to a pulp by Bellest and then came to my brother, begging for revenge.”

Liena chimed in, and Felio’s memory finally seemed to return, causing his face to flush and contort in embarrassment.

However, even amidst this, Bellest and Felio continued to glare at each other, and to Ermedeline, their interaction appeared downright cute.

“Calm down, both of you. First, lower your hands! Raising your hands won’t get you a spot on this trip!”

Ermedeline had always been the mediator when minor disputes arose among her younger siblings in the orphanage from her previous life. While the two men and women glaring at each other in front of her weren’t exactly her younger siblings, she felt a familiar sense that made her forget all the troublesome thoughts that had swirled in her mind just a short while ago.

“That’s not behavior befitting of adults, isn’t it? Both of you, relax a little,” Ermedeline bluntly commented, finally making Felio and Bellest aware of their actions, and they lowered their hands with embarrassed expressions.

“Actually, I haven’t thought about when we’ll visit the castle. I’ll decide on the accompanying party after careful consideration. For today, let’s calm down and return.”

While the tension had dissipated, Bellest and Felio still didn’t seem particularly fond of each other, their lips pursed as they glared at one another.

Ermedeline observed their childish behavior and couldn’t help but smile with satisfaction. In her previous life, where she had lived so fiercely, and in her current life, where she had to fight deep loneliness once again, moments like these didn’t come often.

To an outsider, she might appear childish, but Ermedeline found these small moments of banter genuinely enjoyable and precious.

***
Once everyone had left, Ermedeline was left alone, and the pleasant feeling from a moment ago vanished as quickly as it had come, replaced by self-loathing.

The image of Felio, who had acted so innocently in front of the woman who might have killed his mother, flooded her mind, and an immense pain gnawed at her heart.

‘I wonder what Felio felt every time he saw me?’

She had created the potion, but it wasn’t her who had administered it. It felt awkward to make excuses.

In any case, Ermedeline had created a potion with a curse meant to kill Felio’s father.

‘Why did the gods let me possess this cursed woman’s body? Wait, are there even gods? If they exist, at least Ermedeline’s soul would be sent to the deepest part of hell, right?’

As her sadness deepened, Ermedeline’s resentment towards the gods, who seemed absent or indifferent, began to grow.

Ermedeline’s face was suddenly shrouded in a dark shadow.

“Uh… Empress.”

Just as she was about to plunge deeper into the abyss of despair, a faint voice like a ray of light reached her from outside the bedroom.

“What’s the matter?”

“I, I also…?”

“Hmm?”

In the shyly offered hand of Rooney, Ermedeline found a simple package wrapped in a small piece of paper.

“You’re giving this to me?”

“Yes. It’s modest, but…”

“Give it to me!”

Ermedeline snatched the package before Rooney could finish her sentence.

Inside the package was a beautiful silver ribbon, which, when tied to a hat they had purchased together earlier, would look remarkably lovely. At a glance, it was clear that the expensive ribbon was made of silk, and it bore delicate embroidery with the words “Ermedeline, Duchess of Francoise Duchy of Brunnian.”

“Cancel what I said to Lord Felio earlier! This is the best gift I’ve ever received! This is the absolute best!”

Ermedeline considered scolding Rooney for spending so much, but she quickly changed her mind and lovingly cradled the ribbon in her arms.

After all, this item had intricate embroidery and was unlikely to be refundable.

Therefore, the proper etiquette was to graciously accept it. She could handle the financial compensation discreetly in the future so that Rooney wouldn’t notice.

“Really?”

“Of course! It’d be a waste to return it. It must have been challenging to embroider on such soft fabric… It took a while, didn’t it?”

Ermedeline’s appreciation for her effort made Rooney blush, her fair cheeks tinged with a soft pink. She didn’t even know English and had initially found herself in a foreign world surrounded by strangers. She couldn’t express how grateful she was for these new people who had prepared her a gift to celebrate her happiness.

Valliere, the protagonist of this tale, said she received a mountain of precious gifts, but she swore that she didn’t envy a single one. She had something much more precious—the child of Henry.

Receiving gifts under the pretext of having Henry’s child? There was no reason to be envious. There were people here who were genuinely happy for her newfound status, from Rooney to the recent addition, Bellest.

Not a single person on her side came cheaply.

Despite being ignored and underestimated, Ermedeline hadn’t lost her sense of self. In just a few months, she had earned the trust of people who had once considered her a terrible villain. These precious people included the citizens who had cried alongside her in the streets, the artisans who had acknowledged her as Empress in a humble tavern, the countless people who had succumbed to the epidemic, and Helen, who had gazed up at her with a crumbling body, as well as the nameless woman who had met a bitter end in Valliere’s hands today.

Countless people passed through her mind.

‘My people. My allies. I have the connections I’ve made. I don’t need to be controlled by my past life! I will do what I can to help as many people as possible and prevent any more meaningless deaths. I will live my life authentically. Perhaps, by doing that, I may one day find a peaceful life with Ferdant.’

***

While gazing at the gifts that had even invaded her bedroom from the reception room, Valliere couldn’t contain her excitement.

For hours, the priests had been individually inspecting each gift to determine whether they were cursed or not, and Valliere had been unable to touch them even though they were right in front of her. Finally, after receiving the assurance that everything was safe, all the gifts were moved to Valliere’s residence.

Valliere immediately opened the large box that Leopold had prepared.

The box itself was a luxurious item, but its contents were far more valuable than anything else. Valliere, who had grown up surrounded by luxury, had an eye for recognizing quality items.

‘So he is a prince, and Henry’s stepbrother, what about the mother? Some sort of noble from Ballius, right? He did mention a special envoy from Ballius. It’s a name I’ve never encountered in the original work.’

Valliere was momentarily intrigued by the sudden appearance of the unfamiliar man but soon became captivated by a pendant with an emerald of such purity that it was a rarity even in her previous life.

‘How rich can the Ballius Empire be? These pure emeralds are hard to come by, even in my past life. If I were to sell just the items in this box, it would cover my living expenses for several decades. It’s quite impressive, compared to Henry.’

With the imperial treasury in a precarious position thanks to a spending spree, Henry is trying to cut back on spending as much as possible.

And what little money he does have goes to defense, to keep the borderlands safe and secure.

Leopold knows this and has purposely arranged this gift to flaunt the wealth of the BalliusEmpire to get under Henry’s skin, but Valliere’s spirits are rising higher and higher as she examines each item in the box.

When her spirits rose above the clouds after seeing a large yellow diamond, Henry visited her at her chamber.

“Ah,” he said, “I was just about to get rid of that box.”

“Dispose of it?”

“Yes. I’m giving it back to Leopold.”

“Why?”

“Why?”

Henry scrutinized Valliere with a look that seemed to express his disdain, then began to persuade her softly.

“Isn’t the gift too extravagant? Let’s just pick one appropriate item and return the rest.”

While Henry wanted to shout out in frustration that the courtyard had turned into a presentation event, she kept her composure and attempted to calm Valliere with an affectionate tone.

But after receiving attention after a long time and precious gifts to top it off, Valliere had no intention of heeding Henry’s words.

“This is a gift for me, isn’t it? I don’t want to return it. Can’t I accept a gift with a happy heart?”