I Possessed The Immoral Empress

“Your Majesty, you are more mischievous than I thought. But I’m confident in my body, so if you want to touch it, touch my body, not the brooch. I will sacrifice this one body for Your Majesty the Empress!”

With a solemn face, Felio slowly pulled Ermedeline’s wrist to the nape of his neck.

“Ouch, you touched the brooch!”

Ermedeline blushed and pulled her wrist out of Felio’s grasp.

“Not only you’re so proud of your intelligence and good looks, but now you’re showing off your body as well?”

Flushed to the ears, but not wanting to be seen blushing, Ermedeline turned her head quickly and spoke in a deliberately grumpy voice.

‘I prefer you better when you’re cold!’

Ermedeline, feeling awkward, muttered words she didn’t really mean and cast a sidelong glance at Felio.

“If the opportunity arises, there are still many things I can boast about.”

“Sigh, I guess I should really stop talking…”

Ermedeline, who was still not completely composed, picked up a glass of water that happened to be nearby and took a sip.

“Phew.”

Ermedeline remained cautious in her actions, afraid of revealing her true feelings. But Felio’s state wasn’t much different from hers.

Ermedeline didn’t extend her hand to Felio’s brooch intentionally, and in the same way, when he held her wrist, it wasn’t entirely his choice.

Though Ermedeline turned her head first, taken aback, she didn’t see it. However, Felio’s face was as red as a ripe persimmon, about to burst, much like Ermedeline’s, due to her earlier mishap.

If Ermedeline had been in her right mind, she might have noticed that Felio’s voice, as he attempted to cover her mistake with a self-centered jest, was trembling.

Just as Ermedeline was pondering whether the room was too hot and needed some ventilation, Rooney, who had been cleaning the corridor outside the reception room, informed them of the ladies-in-waiting presence.

Ermedeline dismissed the thought that she was starting to feel more delighted by the ladies-in-waiting presence these days, attributing it to just a fleeting mood, and greeted them.

“Indeed, Your Majesty! It would be wonderful if the people could have some entertainment to commemorate the end of the epidemic!”

Bellest, upon hearing Ermedeline’s opinion, nodded vigorously in agreement.

“But, as you all know, I’m not exactly the most sociable person, am I? I’m pondering what we could do to all enjoy together. Sir Felio keeps suggesting strange ideas…”

Felio, whose head wasn’t quite in order just before the ladies-in-waiting arrived, proposed involving the guards in some sort of changing of the guard ceremony, like a performance.

“Wow, that’s a truly unique idea coming from you. But, Your Majesty, don’t you want an event where the people can participate, rather than just watching?” Bellest asked, and Ermedeline nodded while glancing at Felio.

“Well…”

At that moment, Rooney, who had been standing a bit further back, spoke in a soft voice.

“Why? Is there something going on?”

“Not at all… May I say something?”

Ermedeline, in response to Rooney’s cautious question, gave her a bright smile and took her wrist, guiding her closer to the table.

“Of course, please go ahead!”

“I’d like to attend the ball too. I’ve only heard about it; I’ve never actually been to one. And I’m sure others are also longing to experience it…”

“Exactly! Why don’t we host a ball ourselves? There’s no rule that says only nobles can dress up and dance, is there?” Bellest agreed with Rooney’s idea, lightly patting her on the back.

“That’s right! We can decorate the square in front of the palace like a ballroom! We can use light magic to create lanterns, and even recruit vendors to provide food and drinks, just like in the royal garden!”

“Indeed, that’s a wonderful idea. Thank you.”

In response to Ermedeline’s praise, Rooney’s lips curled upward, and her cheeks swelled with delight.

Ermedeline playfully poked her cheek with a finger, finding it cute, and then let her be.

With the Empress’s approval, the four ladies-in-waiting were bustling with excitement as they shared their fantasies of the dream-like ball they all had in mind. 

***

“What? He’s basically saying that he’s going to keep his eye on me!”

Henry appointed Valliere as the organizer of the ball held at the palace. However, under the pretext of assisting Countess Hallstein and another influential noblewoman from the Imperial faction, Valliere was assigned a monitoring role.

Valliere could voice her opinions, but without the consent of the two noblewomen, she had no discretion over spending a single penny.

“That’s true. Even I am here, and yet he blatantly chooses only the nobles from the imperial faction,” Countess Elion complained, her lips pursed in dissatisfaction.

“On the National Wedding Anniversary, why did he have to mention the dead woman’s body? I’ve been keeping quiet about it all this time. How can he treat me like this?” The moment when the woman’s breath was cut off still haunted Valliere’s dreams. Several weeks had passed, but she still appeared in her dreams as herself, drenched in the woman’s blood, standing motionless in the middle of the square, trembling.

In reality, Valliere acted as if the incident had never occurred. She felt a subconscious understanding that if she carried the weight of what had happened along with her existing anxiety, it would be impossible to keep her sanity.

There was no inherent guilt, and she had completely disregarded the shock of having killed a person with her own hands.

The palace’s servants, who witnessed Valliere’s inhumane reactions and her simultaneous efforts to avoid disturbing her own mind, felt a mix of contempt and fear. While they tried to accommodate her emotions in her presence, they criticized her for behaving so nonchalantly outside.

Even some noblewomen who had come to her, previously trembling and fawning to gain her favor, eventually ceased visiting her. Not that they cared much about the dead woman’s fate, but the continued decline of her morale made them halt their visits to Valliere.

There’s no way Henry going to entrust the event to her given it was the ball intended for the nobles.

Valliere, living in her own secluded world, had no idea how things were unfolding.

“After all, once a successor is born, everything can be redeemed, right? If you just lower yourself as the Emperor wishes for a while, you’ll be able to get what you want.”

“Hmm, but what if this child is a girl…? What if it’s a girl?”

“What does it matter? My first child was a daughter, too, but my disappointment was short-lived. Do you know how lovable a child’s growth is, regardless of gender? A child forms a powerful bond between parents. Once your relationship with the Emperor is restored, you can have as many pregnancies as you like.”

“Is that so?”

“Of course! For now, let’s prove our capabilities by successfully organizing this ball! If the planning is excellent, the ladies won’t be able to refuse to pay.”

Valliere considered this ball to be her last opportunity to prove her worth. Therefore, she had acquired all the books that could help with the event, down to the last one. She spent her days decorating the gardens, interviewing the staff who would provide food and music, and overseeing every detail.

She had always been meticulous. In her previous life, she was a diligent student who even took medicine to study better.

Valliere meticulously and thoroughly managed every aspect of the preparations. She did it to the extent that Countess Hallstein, who had been trying to find fault, found herself at a loss for words.

“Did they spread such rumors? It seems that Henry is anxious.”

Leopold, upon hearing the rumors about the future Empress and Henry’s plans, casually responded while tugging on the pendant hanging from his necklace.

“If they really get divorced, won’t things become easier? Just take the dethroned Empress with you when you leave…”

“Tsk. Do you think the Emperor will let her go easily? The rumor was probably spread to restrain me. And haven’t you heard? Henry’s plan is to dethrone Ermedeline and have her executed by fire.”

Among those who had already lost their patience with Henry due to the curse of Francoise Duchy’s magic, some nobles were weighing their options between Leopold and Henry.

In the midst of this, Leopold heard a certain rumor, one that suggested that Henry had used Ermedeline to kill his half-brothers and would, in the end, dethrone her and have her executed to prevent the truth from leaking out.

“To use and discard people like that is unforgivable, but did you not see how Ermedeline was treated during the National Wedding Anniversary procession and at the court? She’s being so thoroughly ignored. Using Ermedeline, ignoring her throughout the marriage, and then cruelly discarding her… I don’t even want to see him die easily! If Henry and his government don’t pay a fitting price, I might not be able to contain my anger.”

“I didn’t suggest starting a rebellion. Of course, you should carry out the plan you devised. I only meant that since the Emperor still believes that Ferdant’s father was the dead stableman, it might be easier to confirm the identities of both of them… That’s all I wanted to say.”

“Right. But until the safety of Ermedeline and Ferdant is assured, no one should know about our relationship. No one… No one! What on earth is that brooch? Have you investigated this nobleman named Felio?”

Leopold expressed his frustration while recalling the subtle glances between Ermedeline and Felio that he had seen at Ahn-Hyeon Shrine.

“Yes. He’s the son of Batistian, a prominent member of the Imperial faction. He’s been assisting Empress Ermedeline these days.”

“The Imperial faction?”

“Yes, he’s a staunch member of the Imperial faction, and personally, he harbors a grudge against Empress Ermedeline, so it’s unlikely they have that kind of relationship.”

“How do you know about matters between a man and a woman? Their exchanged glances were quite suspicious! Moreover, didn’t they say that during the recent attack, he threw himself to protect Ermedeline? Suspicious! It’s suspicious!”

Leopold was torn between jealousy of his proximity to Ermedeline and the fact that he had saved her in a dangerous situation.

“I should have! I should have protected her! I wouldn’t mind if my stomach had a few holes in it if it were for Ermedeline!”

Frustrated and clenching his fists as if in mourning, the owner of the statement, Langen, let out a sigh and averted his gaze as if he couldn’t bear to see his master in such a state.

“Do you know who sent the assassins?”

“I haven’t been able to find out that much. People are curious about what exactly happened at the Francoise Castle, but it seems like only the people involved know.”

“It’s treated as classified… Then the culprit is almost confirmed, right?”

“It’s probably Duke Ermond.”

“Right. That scoundrel. He must have used some tricks. I can’t just let this slide. Isn’t there a way to find out on their end?”

“We’ve continued sending spies to prepare for any contingencies, but we haven’t discovered anything unusual. However…”

Langen wore a serious expression and let his sentence trail off.

“However?”

“Many of the Brunnian soldiers who crossed over to Frianton have gone missing. They’ve disappeared so completely that there’s no trace of them in Frianton either.”

“What in the world is Henry doing? Why haven’t the soldiers returned? Aren’t they supposed to come back, or have they defected to the enemy? Capable, they said. A capable emperor? But now that we’re in the thick of it, he’s not getting anything done properly.”

Langen nodded in agreement with Leopold’s words.

“Maintaining the emperor’s position isn’t something you can achieve through hard work and diligence alone. He was born a bastard, not to mention he became emperor through devious means, shedding his brothers’ blood. It was all planned from the beginning.”

“I won’t do it like that. When I become emperor, I’ll make everyone kneel before me and beg for my favor. I’ll secure the sworn loyalty of all the nobles and ascend to the throne legitimately. I won’t resort to such dirty tactics.”

With a self-assured smile, Leopold gazed toward the palace, his ambition as a conqueror evident.

Langen briefly watched his master with a contented expression and then bowed his head.

“Yes, you’ll be able to do that once everything is done.”

“After everything is finished, I’ll have the grandest wedding with Ermedeline. We’ll be dressed in exquisite outfits, and I’ll get the most precious and splendid wedding ring in the world. The wedding venue will be filled with so much flower pollen that you won’t be able to see the front! And, we’ll make Ferdant the flower boy. How adorable it would be?”

However, Leopold’s seriousness faded away within seconds, as if he had stepped into a dream. He became like a young boy in love, his eyes shining as he imagined his wedding with Ermedeline. Langen didn’t think his master’s behavior was all that bad. He was a capable individual who could turn his ambitions into reality, but his motivation was always as pure and limitless as a child’s.