I Possessed The Immoral Empress - Chapter 38

Ermedeline had been overflowing with enthusiasm for the past few days.

Even though the craftsmen’s material costs were deducted from her account directly she still enjoyed it.

After all, she didn’t have a desire to live extravagantly. She only needed enough money to live modestly for the rest of her life once she left the palace.

So, while she was the Empress, she wanted to do as much as possible.

When you have the power to change the world, you want to leave your mark.

And so, when the time came for her to step down from that position, she hoped her legacy would be a beautiful one.

Of course, in the end, she knew she might have to risk her life for all of this.

Ermedeline contemplated these thoughts while also planning for the canal and seawater relief projects.

“Shall we visit the orphanage construction site today? I’m curious about how much progress has been made,” Ermedeline said.

Roonie glanced at her and furrowed his brow slightly. “Just be honest and say you’re feeling stifled. Don’t make excuses every time you want to go out. You are the Empress, aren’t you? What if you can’t even go out as you please?”

In truth, according to protocol, Empress Ermedeline should have been busy with state affairs. However, Valliere was in charge of the Foundation Day preparations, and Emperor Henry didn’t even come to discuss political matters.

Henry had never even asked for her opinion on trivial matters. The only time he had sought her opinion was regarding Foundation Day, and even that had been approved according to Valliere’s plans.

Despite her overflowing enthusiasm, the reality was that there was quite a bit of spare time.

“No, still… And the security personnel need to move with me…” Ermedeline began.

“That’s what they’re paid for, isn’t it? Those who allow outsiders to have access to the Empress’s chambers are being lazy!” Roonie mentioned the incident with the Duke de Françoise, and his anger seemed to well up again as he let out a heavy sigh.

“Still, it’s not an easy task to guard someone when there are so many people who want to see her dead,” Ermedeline said, her lips quivering with bitterness, despite her determination.

When Ermedeline arrived at the orphanage construction site, she found Félio, who was supervising the site.

“Your Highness, are you here?” Félio asked.

With a warm heart, Ermedeline hurried over to greet him enthusiastically. “Since it’s something I decided to take on, I should do it thoroughly, shouldn’t I?”

In truth, Félio practically lived at the construction site, almost every day. If he couldn’t come himself, he made sure someone was there to monitor it. Of course, he told the hired workers that it was to monitor Empress Ermedeline, an immoral empress who could engage in any sort of mischief, but he had a different agenda.

He wanted to meet her by chance, even if he had to rely on coincidence, due to his dark, sinister desires. Yesterday, Félio had to endure three slaps from his father, Duke Batistian, as a result of it.

He had been convinced that the proposal was undoubtedly Ermedeline’s, driven solely by the pursuit of grandeur without consideration for the people. With a very light heart, he had cast his vote in favor of Valliere’s opinion.

He believed that if a pandemic were to break out during the chaotic Foundation Day, Ermedeline’s reputation would plummet even further. But as it turned out, it was Valliere’s proposal. Furthermore, didn’t his son say he was assisting Ermedeline with the mask production, which was part of the plan?

Normally, Félio would have immediately knelt and begged for forgiveness, but yesterday he hadn’t yielded to his father, even after receiving a slap. With his cheeks swollen and blood trickling from his lips, he stood tall, confronting his father.

“If a major epidemic outbreak were to happen again, it would be the people who would truly suffer. Do you want to be the kind of ruler who turns a blind eye to the people’s suffering for personal emotions?”

His bright, shining eyes gleamed with venom.

Duke Batistian was momentarily taken aback by his son’s demeanor, but regardless, he was the Prime Minister of the Trivian Empire, a key figure in the imperial faction responsible for running the state affairs.

With his son’s words, which had no room for error, he could no longer be angry.

That day, Félio stood up to his father and achieved victory for the first time. However, he didn’t feel particularly proud.

He knew very well the true reason he was assisting in the creation of Ermedeline’s masks.

“You’ve made the right choice by entrusting it to Your Grace. may have misunderstood your refusal when I asked you to introduce someone earlier. I thought you were becoming a bit arrogant, but you’ve truly proven yourself to be exceptionally talented! I apologize for taking up your busy schedule, but you’re the only one I trust… I suppose I’ll have to owe you for a while.”

‘You’re the only one I trust…’

Among the words he had heard recently, these were the most heartwarming. No, had there ever been words that left such a lasting impression in his heart throughout his life?

During Ermedeline’s second assassination attempt, Félio had felt as if his heart had literally frozen. Since then, he had naturally been constantly worried about Ermedeline’s safety.

But on the other hand, there was a part of him that found pleasure in the fact that everyone seemed to hate her. He wished that she would forever rely only on him, with nowhere else to turn for help.

‘Was I such an inconsistent person?’

While he was glad that people recognized Ermedeline’s worth, he also hoped that no one would ever truly know her real self.

“You don’t owe me anything. Am I not the most talented individual in the empire? This is a task I can easily handle as well.”

Félio intentionally gave a snarky response that didn’t even convince himself, but Ermedeline heard it and let out a small laugh.

“Oh my, Félio, why do you always choose the cutest words to say? Who would think it’s something an adult man would say?”

“Uh, what?”

“Since we parted ways earlier, I’ve been thinking a lot, Félio. Of course, I know that you’re a very smart person. But sometimes…”

“Sometimes what?”

“Do you ever act really childish?”

“What? Childish?”

“Hehehe, hehehehe, hehehehe.”

Not only did he find it uncomfortable to be called childish, but when Ermedeline suddenly burst into laughter right in front of him, his expression turned menacing.

“Ahahahaha. Look! Even now, see how are your lips portruding this far? Kkhuhuhuhuhuhu.”

“??”

Feeling puzzled, he quickly wiped his lips with his finger, and it seemed like his lower lip had protruded slightly.

Félio didn’t know how to respond to Ermedeline, who was now laughing as if her life depended on it. He had no desire to have a good relationship with his mother’s enemy.

This inexplicable feeling he harbored would remain hidden until someone took it upon themselves to kill Ermedeline in his place.

But on the other hand, he despised the idea of Ermedeline being another man’s wife and detested the thought of him being treated like a child, even if it were in jest.

From start to finish, there was not a single part that made any sense.

He couldn’t understand how he had ended up like this, not hating someone who was so inconsistent.

His mind was now filled with contradictions.

***

“This won’t do. We need grandeur, but this is too shabby! It should be grand but also dignified! Don’t they have any sense of aesthetics?”

Valliere was scheduled to receive her titles on Foundation Day.

While Henry wanted a simple ceremony at the palace, Valliere wanted to shed the annoying title of Mistress in a place where everyone’s attention would be focused.

As Valliere contemplated the pearl and emerald earrings in a muted shade, Henry paid her a visit.

“Are the preparations for Foundation Day going well?” Henry asked.

In response, Valliere immediately set aside the earrings and handed him a neatly organized stack of documents detailing the progress. It was a visually appealing and well-structured report that was easy to read.

“It looks like everything is going smoothly, and the progress is good,” Henry remarked, his tone professional.

“Yes, well, as a marchioness with no proper territory, I should at least excel in this,” Valliere replied, still harboring some resentment about the land issue.

Despite granting her request to publicly receive her titles at Foundation Day and allocating a separate budget for the extravagant ceremony, Valliere had been behaving lately as if she were never satisfied, much to Henry’s dismay.

First love had already died.

Time had passed since their initial meeting, and Henry acknowledged that the circumstances had changed significantly from that time. However, he couldn’t easily let go of his feelings, even if they had taken on a slightly different form.

He felt that giving up on these emotions would make even his former self disappear like an illusion. The young Emperor of the Trivian Empire was already entangled in a love affair with the ghost of his long-dead first love.

That afternoon, the palace received two pairs of extravagant and splendid masks. They were items specially ordered by Henry when the idea of wearing masks was first suggested.

The pristine white masks were adorned with intricate gold leafing and adorned with hundreds of small rubies. Even the mask strings were threaded with tiny carnelians sourced from a distant exotic land.

‘Perfect,’ Henry said with a satisfied smile as he examined the masks closely.

On Foundation Day, all eyes would be on the Empire, and Valliere would become the marchioness. Initially, he had found her proposal a bit excessive, but he soon changed his mind.

‘My lover. She is the lover of the Emperor, at the pinnacle of the Empire. It has to be this grand to uphold the imperial prestige.’

Deep down, Henry also had a subtle hope that by fulfilling Valliere’s extravagant desires all at once, it might bring her back to her original self, unburdened by the extravagance.

With the masks in hand, Henry headed straight to meet Valliere.

In Valliere’s receiving room, there were guests present at the moment. It was Princess Viella, Marchioness Grania, and Countess Elion, who had changed their course upon learning that Henry would be bestowing titles upon Valliere.

Seeing these three individuals in the Empress’s reception room, Henry couldn’t help but feel a strange discomfort.

While he had always intended to eventually place Valliere on the throne as Empress, something about this situation felt wrong.

“It seems that the Empress’s affairs have been concluded rather quickly. I suppose you are all here for a reason,” Henry remarked.

Upon Henry’s words, the three ladies-in-waiting turned their gaze towards Valliere in silence.

“These ladies aren’t here because of the Empress. I invited them. I thought they might have excellent taste and could offer some advice on the preparations for the event.”

“You invited them yourself?”

Henry’s fingers tightened around the box containing the masks.

The position of Empress was meant to be a gift for his beloved, something he presented to her. Valliere should fulfill the role of a humble lover and graciously accept the gift with gratitude.

She shouldn’t strive to become Empress on her own.

Henry now understood the source of the discomfort he had felt earlier: Valliere had crossed the line.

“I had intended to save the ladies-in-waiting once you become a marchioness. But it seems you won’t do. I believe those who disregard their duties are of no use,” Henry said deliberately emphasizing the “of no use” part.

The three ladies-in-waiting, having received the Emperor’s humiliation, stiffened their expressions, and Valliere’s face turned crimson with shame.

“We should leave now,” they said, indicating their intention to depart.

Sensing the tense atmosphere, Countess Elion quickly left Valliere’s reception room along with the other ladies-in-waiting.

As they waited for the footsteps of the ladies-in-waiting to fade away, Valliere couldn’t contain her emotions any longer.

“You find it amusing to humiliate me in front of the Empress’s ladies-in-waiting, don’t you?”

“What?”

“In the study, in the garden, and now in front of people, you keep humiliating me with your curtseys. Did you find it enjoyable?”

“What are you…”

Henry was momentarily taken aback by Valliere’s sharp reaction.

“So, that’s what it is. It is fair to point a finger at me and say that I’m a bastard. Who would respect a mistress that even the Emperor disregards?”

“You seem quite worked up. I wasn’t trying to ignore you. I was merely reproaching the three of you for not fulfilling your duties.”

“Exactly. I’m just a mistress, not the Empress herself, so I shouldn’t be ordering people around.”

Valliere, who had been needling Henry, now waited for his usual excuses.

“Right. You’re correct. Your words are valid. You’re not the Empress; you’re my mistress. So, behave accordingly.”

Henry’s response deviated from Valliere’s expectations.