I Possessed The Immoral Empress - Chapter 28

‘Could I end up bald at this rate?’

These days, whenever Félio met Ermedeline, he felt like tearing his hair out, so it wasn’t entirely impossible.

“Sir, why are you like this? Is the food not to your liking?” Ermedeline, who was concerned about Félio’s lack of appetite, asked.

“No, not at all. The food is excellent,” Félio replied. It was only then that he scooped up a small bite of the food and put it in his mouth.

Honestly, he had no idea what it tasted like.

“Even though we are supposed to talk about the orphanage, I can’t help but wonder how the trial preparations are going. I know it’s a secret, but can you tell me anything now?” Ermedeline began to anxiously fidget and lower her head as soon as she finished speaking.

It seemed like he would have to endure this jest for a while.

“It’s not a secret. The trial preparations are progressing thoroughly,” Félio replied. After a moment, a mischievous smile appeared on Ermedeline’s face as she raised her head.

“If my jest was too much, please let me know. I’ll stop immediately.”

Although they exchanged banter, the truth was that the two of them weren’t very comfortable around each other.

Ermedeline began to worry if she had gone too far.

“Of…”

Félio, who had intended to tell her to stop immediately, halted his words on his lips. At that moment, he wished that Ermedeline’s smile, still hanging on her face, wouldn’t disappear.

But contrary to his feelings, the words that came out of his lips were these:

“I’m not someone who cares about such trivial jests.”

Félio deliberately put on a gruff expression and shoved a thick slice of meat into his mouth.

‘Cute.’

But Ermedeline, who was facing Félio head-on, noticed his true feelings, which even Félio himself didn’t realize.

“There’s a subtly kind side to you. So, I’ll tease you like this from time to time in the future!”

***

“Tonight, I’ll have dinner separately.”

Unless they were exceptionally busy, they were always eating dinner together.

In truth, it wasn’t anything special. The reason they always woke up and went to sleep together in the same bedroom was simple. Rejecting blatant seduction and leaving the room was one thing, but if they were to dine separately, Valliere would undoubtedly be upset.

However, with his mind in such a complex state, Henry didn’t want to meet anyone, including Valliere.

He just wanted to sit quietly and organize his thoughts.

Henry had always considered Ermedeline as a convenient pawn. She was one of many pawns, a means to make him, a bastard child, Emperor, and something he could discard once she was no longer needed.

In fact, he had secretly pondered how to divorce this relentless woman. Still, he couldn’t help but feel grateful for her methodically building up her misdeeds for him.

He had planned to gather evidence and use the power of the Batistian House, which held a deep-seated grudge against Ermedeline, to strike her down once she was no longer needed. Henry had eagerly awaited the day when he could rid himself of that relentless woman and welcome Valliere as the Empress.

Recently, amidst the pandemic and while collecting evidence of her misdeeds, Ermedeline’s behavior had changed. The woman who had lived recklessly like an unruly foal suddenly seemed to be aware of her notorious reputation, even talking about building an orphanage.

A well-regarded Empress would be difficult to handle. Therefore, Henry had intended to dethrone the Empress right after ousting the House de Françoise, even if it meant using force.

He was even willing to kill if necessary. However, there was no need for such brutality, as a very favorable opportunity had fallen into his hands.

It was none other than her hidden son, Ferdant. That demon-like woman was willing to relinquish the House de Françoise’s assets for the safety of her son. At that moment, Henri felt like he had found inspiration to solve a difficult problem.

‘With this child alone, it will be easier to use the Empress to my heart’s content and then depose her.’

Of course, the child was currently being raised safely, but even he was just a pawn for Henri, a piece in the game he played to control the Empire.

Neither Ermedeline nor Ferdant held much personal significance to Henri.

But today, the witch wept.

The witch wept like a young child, unable to control her emotions, sobbing uncontrollably.

After crying for a while, she looked for her son. Henry remembered the transparent teardrops clinging to the corners of her innocent eyes.

“Sigh…”

His head was already on the verge of splitting due to the constant bandits crossing the border these days. Adding emotional concerns to the mix, Henri’s head was about to explode.

‘What? Seriously. What’s going on? Am I feeling bad? Feeling bad?’

Not only did Ermedeline’s pitiful appearance bother him, but he also momentarily became annoyed when he saw Félio in her bedroom.

Even though he knew it was a matter of public business and understood that Félio’s ultimate goal was to deal with Ermedeline, Henry still felt bad.

‘What does it matter to me who’s in that woman’s bedroom?’

She had met and mingled with handsome men all over the capital, and he didn’t even care. Yet, a simple change of emotions over a few tears baffled him.

‘I guess I really was a meaningless person.’

As he began to feel contempt for himself and started eating alone, he heard a commotion.

“Move aside.”

“No, you can’t. His Majesty has ordered that no one be allowed in.”

“Step aside. I have something to convey to His Majesty.”

“No, it’s not allowed. Please visit another time.”

“Do you know who I am?”

“Yes, I do. But even if Her Majesty the Empress is coming, we cannot defy his orders.”

From the voices he heard, Henry could make a rough guess about the situation outside.

‘It seems Valliere has come.’

He knew that Valliere, who had never been turned away before, would be taken aback, but he didn’t care. Henry continued to eat, pretending not to have heard anything.

“The Empress? Why on earth is the Empress being mentioned here all of a sudden? How dare these guards ignore me?”

*Bam!*

‘What on earth is going on?’

With a sense of curiosity and concern, Henry peered through the crack in the door. He could see Valliere’s hand rising again.

“Stop it!”

When he opened the door and stepped outside, one of the guards had a slightly reddened cheek.

“What is this nonsense?”

“Isn’t this man ignoring me?”

“Ignoring?”

“He blocked my way.”

“Didn’t you hear my command?”

“Yes, I did. But he blatantly ignored me, mentioning Her Majesty the Empress.”

Of course, people could feel a certain degree of inferiority.

However, Valliere had never expressed her feelings towards the Empress so openly before, not even once. Moreover, using a dagger-like gesture towards a servant was entirely uncharacteristic of her.

She was so gentle and kind that Henry sometimes had to keep the maids of Valiere in line.

But, still harboring feelings for his lover, he didn’t want to insult Valliere in front of the soldiers and maids.

“Why did you mention the Empress?”

“I merely stated that even Her Majesty the Empress cannot be disobeyed.”

“You could have just let me pass. Mentioning the Empress, wasn’t that to mock my lover?”

Henry’s forced words brought a knowing smile to Valliere’s face.

“Oh, no! I only wanted to convey the Emperor’s command…”

“That’s enough. No need for excuses. Insulting my lover is the same as insulting me.”

The guard was led away to the prison.

‘Should be enough to calm her anger.’

As Henry glanced at Valliere, he noticed that her complexion had brightened noticeably.

“That guard will receive an appropriate punishment.”

“What do you mean by an appropriate punishment?”

He had expected her to express gratitude first, but Valliere was more interested in the details of the soldier’s punishment.

Judging by her expression, it seemed she wanted to make the mocker pay a heavy price.

“I will cut out his tongue and banish him from the palace.”

Valliere’s face turned pale for a moment, but she quickly adopted a resigned expression.

“Oh, isn’t the punishment a bit too harsh?”

Of course, it was. Henry had no intention of doing such a thing to a soldier who had spoken out of turn. He simply planned to transfer the soldier to a place where Valliere wouldn’t notice.

No matter how much he loved his lover, Henry fundamentally wasn’t the type of Emperor to go overboard with punishments.

“No, insulting you is the same as insulting me. It’s by no means a severe punishment.”

“Thank you. However, Your Majesty, since I don’t have a title, don’t you think the guards might ignore me?”

“A title?”

Henry had considered bestowing a title upon Valliere in the past. He had done so because it bothered him when people referred to her as a mere viscount’s bastard child or a member of the king’s inner court. But at that time, Valliere had declined.

“I don’t need a title. As long as Your Majesty loves me, I don’t need anything else.”

So, why suddenly mention a title now?

“Do you know what people call me? They refer to me as a royal mistress, a bastard child.”

It was true that there were murmurs and derogatory remarks about Valliere circulating among the people, given her status as a member of the king’s inner court. Ermedeline, being the heinous villain she was, had taken much of the blame, but the king’s inner court typically bore the brunt of criticism directed at the royal family.

However, the original Valliere had never cared about others’ opinions. Even when she was treated as a non-entity in her own home, she was perfectly content to have found someone who loved her unconditionally.

Henry gazed into Valliere’s amber eyes, which were always brimming with love, but now, instead of love, they held a hint of sadness and inferiority.

‘It seems I’ve been too self-indulgent.’

Valliere was no longer the quiet girl who lived in seclusion in a remote estate. She was now the lover of the Emperor, living in the grand capital of the mighty empire, the most splendid of all places.

‘Yeah. I guess wanting you not to change is selfish.’

“Alright, I understand. I’ll let it go. About the title I wanted to bestow…”

“What about the estate?”

“Hmm?”

“If I have a title, doesn’t it come with an estate?”

Henry had been trying his best to remain calm, but now he found himself stumbling over his words. While bestowing a marquess’s title upon a viscount’s bastard child was already a bold move, an estate?

The marquess’s title was merely a way to change Valliere’s honorifics. He had no intention of granting her any form of actual power. It was not about being unwilling to share power; it was because he knew that Valliere would eventually become the Empress and would share power with him.

“An estate? What do you mean by that? Why would you need an estate? Do you even know how difficult it is to manage an estate?”

“It must be challenging, of course. There will be many responsibilities to attend to.”

“Moreover, you haven’t learned anything about managing an estate…”

“I can start learning now. I’m not that foolish. If you provide me with a good teacher, I’ll study diligently.”

Valliere’s eyes, filled with confidence this time, sparkled as she gently tilted her chin.

‘Is it better to indulge her like this rather than plotting behind her back?’

“Very well. I understand your intention. Granting titles and granting estates are different matters. I will consult with my advisors and make a decision.”

“Really? Thank you so much!”

Watching Valliere laugh brightly and bounce around the room, so carefree that even her gums were visible, Henry felt like he had reconnected with his lover after a long time. Her girlish behavior hadn’t changed, and it was a sight that made Henry’s heart warm.

He reached out and gently brushed Valliere’s rosy cheek.

“…”

Again.

That ominous look had returned.

Henry had only lightly touched her cheek, yet Valliere reacted as if she had witnessed something stomach-churning.

Valliere quickly covered up her reaction by offering a bright smile, making her eyes crinkle at the corners. However, Henry couldn’t forget the look in her eyes from just moments ago.

In the four years they had been together, that kind of look was never something that had appeared between them.

‘Could it be… Has her heart changed?’