I Possessed The Immoral Empress

“There’s going to be a ball! A ball!”

Roonie, who had been quite disappointed by the cancellation of the National Wedding Anniversary ball, playfully stomped her feet with a girlish, lovely expression on her face.

“Yes, indeed. I’m happy too, as it’s a celebration of the end of the pandemic.”

Indeed, it was. Ermedeline was overwhelmed with a feeling of joy that words couldn’t express. In the original story, thousands, even tens of thousands of people would have had to sacrifice themselves, but now, the sacrifices could end much sooner than in the original.

The main reason for the end of the pandemic was the absence of the original Ermedeline, who would have enhanced the weakening curse magic. However, the current Ermedeline was unaware of this fact.

Still, it was a fact that the end of the pandemic had been moved up by several months due to the policies she had implemented, saving many lives in the process.

“I’m so excited! The weather has warmed up quite a bit! They say the garden will be filled with flowers. How elegant it will be!”

“That’s right. They’re even planning to hang lanterns made of light magic.”

The Spring Welcome Ball, originally held indoors because it took place in early April, had its schedule confirmed only in mid-April this time, due to various reasons. As a result, they decided to hold the ball in the central garden of the palace, considering the late April weather.

“Do you think Your Majesty the Empress can prepare for this event?”

Ermedeline, who had been lost in a dream, thinking of scenes from foreign romance movies she had seen, quickly returned to reality at Roonie’s words.

“Oh, do I have to prepare for it? It’s such a hassle.”

“Hassle? How can you say that? This is a highly important event! It’s a celebration of the end of a pandemic, after all.”

“I’m just not suited for organizing such events, and to be honest, it’s the people who suffered more from the pandemic. We should think about events for them, not just balls.”

Roonie froze as if she had been hit on the head with a hammer by Ermedeline’s entirely sensible words.

“Why? Did I say something strange?”

“Oh, no. It’s not that.”

“Then?”

Ermedeline urged Roonie, who seemed hesitant, with her gaze.

“It’s just that you’re such a good person, and I can’t understand why people accuse you of being a witch or a demon. It’s so unfair.”

Roonie’s words brought a bittersweet smile to Ermedeline’s face. Despite the lack of decisive evidence at the beginning of the novel due to her possession, doing a few good deeds wouldn’t erase all of her past misdeeds.

Roonie had probably only heard rumors about Ermedeline, but those who knew that Francoise Duchy’s curse magic was involved in the deaths of her relatives might clutch their throats and fall over when they heard Roonie’s statements.

With no bias from having known the previous Ermedeline for long, Roonie trusted the human Yoon Hyeyoung inside Ermedeline. Margo still maintained a guarded demeanor, but Roonie had faith in the person ‘Yoon Hyeyoung’ within Ermedeline.

Ermedeline took a deep breath to prevent tears from flowing and gently stroked Roonie’s head.

“It’s okay. You know me. You know who I am, what kind of person I am. That’s all that matters.”

‘Yeah. I’ll just do what I can do!’

Thinking about how bothersome it was wouldn’t change anything. One had to find what they could do and take action.

With a change of heart, Ermedeline made her way to Henry’s office.

“What’s going on?”

“I came to discuss matters concerning the ball.”

“The Ball?”

Henry, who had been sitting at his desk, looked at Ermedeline with a guarded expression.

‘Right. You’ve been patient for long enough. You want to show off your accomplishments openly on Foundation Day at the end.’

“Yes. Since it’s going to happen anyway, I wanted to add a few suggestions.”

“Go ahead.”

Henry slowly raised his head, and his posture was as arrogant and beautiful as ever.

Ermedeline swallowed a small sigh at his inhuman beauty and then opened her lips.

“I heard that the Foundation Day celebration was quite splendid. I’d like Marchioness Belian to handle the palace’s ball.”

“Hmm. Even if it wasn’t your suggestion, this event has traditionally been organized by Valliere. Why did you feel the need to mention it?”

Henry’s initial intention had been to assign Ermedeline the task of preparing the ball, considering the ominous public sentiment. But his mood quickly froze.

“Yes, but the person who has been in charge is likely to prepare it better. I only came to express my desire to prepare an event for the people, as they have suffered enough from the pandemic.”

Ermedeline, not yet accustomed to taking the initiative, finished her statement and then bit her lip as she slightly lowered her head.

The content of her words was important, but it was her face, her expression, that seemed strangely familiar to Henry, and for a moment, his mind went blank.

As Henry continued to stare at her in silence, without saying a word, Ermedeline misunderstood his silence as a polite rejection.

“Seems like I overstepped my bounds. Pretend you didn’t hear anything…”

“No! No, it’s not that!”

As Ermedeline tried to leave after making her statement, Henry suddenly stood up and grabbed her.

“It’s not like that. I was just… I mean… I’ve been thinking about what kind of event would be appropriate.”

“Then, can I take charge of it? Honestly, how suffocating must the people have felt all this time? I just want to give them a day to set aside the weight of their lives and enjoy some freedom.”

Even this time, Ermedeline’s words felt strange to herself, and she tried to hide her embarrassment by forcing a smile onto her face.

As a result, her face displayed a somewhat comical expression.

At that moment, Henry remembered where he had seen this face before.

His first love, the one he had loved so dearly. Whenever she felt embarrassed, she used to make this exact smile.

Whether he complimented her on her beauty or her kindness, she always masked her embarrassment with this peculiar expression.

Suddenly, it felt like tears were about to burst forth, and Henry hurriedly ushered Ermedeline out of his office.

She was the woman he had loved for over half of his lifetime, his only source of support during that long period.

Hence, the inescapable connection, even when he knew she had become a completely different person.

The pent-up longing and emotions exploded, and tears streamed down his face. 

Henry, despite being an emperor who was revered and respected by all, knew the truth. No one liked the human Henry.

To others, the human Henry was just a ruthless murderer, who killed his stepbrother and even abandoned his own mother to become the husband of a witch.

That’s why Valliere was precious to him.

She was precious to him because she knew the true nature of the human Henry, before he was completely engulfed by the abyss of sin, and had loved him when no one else did.

Once the tears started, they seemed unstoppable. The tremendous fear that no one remained to love the boy who had been scared of when he would die, who had ultimately attempted suicide, rushed over him.

“Was it the same for you? Inside the witch’s shell was a mother who cared about her son, a girl who could empathize with someone’s pain, and then you met me and became a witch?

Before Francoise Duchy made a pact with Henry, Ermedeline, while not having a personality quite like her current one, was an ordinary girl with dark and sinister aspects. However, after she joins forces with Henry and decides to eliminate his stepbrothers, she opens her eyes to serious wrongdoings.

Evil becomes more and more numb with each act. Initially, the tainted parts of one’s soul due to sin might be apparent, and they could be tormented by guilt. However, in the end, the entire soul becomes tainted, reaching a point where they can’t even distinguish whether it’s evil or not.

Henry knew this better than anyone. As his stepbrothers died one by one, the pain he felt diminished with each occurrence. Towards the end, he even attempted to rationalize their deaths as noble sacrifices for the empire.

But Henry had Valliere by his side. She knew him in the days before he became entangled in evil.

That’s how, after becoming the emperor, Henry was gradually able to break free from the horrific abyss of evil.

‘But you weren’t there. Your son was held hostage, and your father mistreated you… When you were completely immersed in sin and struggling, there was no one to reach out and save you.’

Even though Ermedeline didn’t stop her evil deeds after becoming Empress, Henry was secretly thankful. She always found ways to create excuses and offer herself up as a sacrifice.

But now, Henry realized it intensely. Just because he had stepped back, it didn’t mean he was not a co-conspirator. Even if the whole world pointed fingers at her and called her a witch, he had no right to do so.

He had been trying to ignore it, but the guilt that had been eating away at his subconscious finally surfaced. Henry repeatedly hit his chest until it turned purple and bit his lips hard.

He barely held back the urge to scream. To blame a woman for all his wrongdoings, even his own sins.

Because of that, he couldn’t keep embracing her. He had to let her go someday.

But if she had decided to become a human, and if her true self from before the taint of sin remained, he had to treat her as a human, at least as much as he could.

Until he could be certain if her transformation was genuine or just a well-acted performance, Henry decided to stop treating her like a witch.

After wiping away his tears and composing his emotions, Henry called for Count Hallstein.

“It seems the Empress wanted to host the spring ball.”

Count Hallstein’s face bore the same sneering expression as Henry’s from a moment ago.

“That’s not what you think. The nobles will attend the palace ball, and Valliere will handle that. She mentioned preparing an event for the commoners.”

“The commoners?”

“Yes. They have suffered the most from the epidemic, so she wants to do something for them.”

Count Hallstein paused, looking bewildered.

“Well, it’s natural to doubt her sincerity, I suppose. But don’t you agree with the idea? She said she would use her personal funds, but I’d like to see the event held in the name of the royal family. So, allocate a budget for it.”

“Yes, it should be held in the name of the royal family if it needs to be.”

“And make sure the nobles contribute. Encourage them to donate. Let them show some generosity for the commoners.”

“Yes, understood.”

Count Hallstein still had an unpleasant expression, but he refrained from opposing the idea further, as it could lead to unfavorable consequences.

***

“Did you start another task?”

Felio couldn’t resist a sly comment when he heard that Ermedeline was in charge of an event for the commoners.

“Heh. I don’t need help, and I’ll plan everything with the ladies-in-waiting!”

“Do you think the plan will proceed well without me? You said you trusted me, right?”

Felio proudly lifted his chin and gave a sidelong glance, which brought a smile to Ermedeline’s face. However, this smile was slightly different from before.

Thinking about what emotions Felio might be harboring as he looked at her made her heart ache a little.

He might be someone willing to stand against his father and even risk his life for a woman who might be an enemy. Ermedeline absentmindedly stroked the brooch on Felio’s shoulder, which emitted a brilliant blue light.

“No, it’s not… I mean, I wasn’t trying to touch that… I…”

Startled by her own actions, Ermedeline quickly withdrew her hand, but Felio reached out and gently held her wrist.