I Possessed The Immoral Empress - Chapter 50

The procession in the morning and the current reception were distinctly different.

The people showered Valliere with constant cheers and blessings.

However, their warm welcome fell short of restoring Valliere’s shattered self-esteem.

All of their kindness was, after all, directed towards the beautiful and great young emperor, Henry.

‘Do I have to wear such a stuffy mask and receive congratulations? Do you have any idea how beautiful I look today? How much effort I put into dressing up, and I have to wear this stuffy mask!’

Today, Valliere, in her own eyes, was so stunning that it left her almost speechless.

When she dressed modestly, she might seem pitiable, but when she adorned herself extravagantly, she was equally lovable.

Moreover, she delicately raised the lace embroidered around her neck, and when she adorned herself with large rubies and pearls, she exuded the dignity and elegance befitting a marchioness.

“Do they think I’ve been up since dawn just to hide behind this mask?’

Though she felt that people’s attitudes, whether they be commoners or nobles, might change if they could see her beautiful face, she had to endure her dissatisfaction because everyone, including Henry, nobles, and commoners, was wearing a mask.

As she was about to make another round of the square and return to the temple, Valliere spotted two women on the terrace of one of the upscale buildings around the square. They were unmasking themselves and elegantly sipping their tea. It was none other than Bellest and Liena, who had humiliated Valliere yesterday.

Both of them had no good feelings toward Valliere, and they had no obligation to attend the coronation ceremony. Therefore, they were enjoying their tea at a nearby salon instead.

Even more so, the two of them did not even bother to look in Valliere’s direction, as they had no desire to witness her humiliation.

However, their sight, the image of the two women unmasking and conversing without even glancing at her, stirred Valliere’s pride.

At that moment, Valliere removed the stuffy mask. As her beautiful face, concealed beneath the mask, was revealed, the people gathered in the square cheered and began to remove their own masks in response.

“What’s this?”

Henry looked at Valliere with strongly reprimanding eyes, but Valliere, with a confident demeanor, completed another circuit of the square without the mask and then finally returned to the temple.

“What are you doing?!”

As soon as they returned to the temple and were alone, Henry erupted in anger towards Valliere.

“It’s my coronation ceremony. Can’t I at least show my face as I please?”

“You know it’s because of the epidemic!”

“It was outdoors. Outdoors. Taking it off for a moment won’t cause any harm. Besides, there’s no one who got injured, right?”

Valliere’s soft-spoken words left Henry at a loss for words.

Even though it was outdoors, the crowd density was high, creating a situation where infection could occur. The virus also had an incubation period, making it impossible to confirm infection immediately.

However, Henry lacked knowledge about this, and because, as Valliere had mentioned, there were no visible accidents in the square, he decided to cease his anger, hoping that Valliere’s actions wouldn’t escalate the situation.

Finally, the orphanage dedication ceremony was about to begin. As Ermedeline awaited her turn with a tense expression, she noticed Felio slowly approaching.

Though he was just silently walking, there was something about his demeanor that made Felio appear exceptionally solemn to Ermedeline, stirring some unease within her.

“Why are you so late?”

“There was more to handle than I anticipated.”

“Still, thank you for coming before the ceremony.”

“No, it’s only natural that I attend.”

Although Felio intentionally spoke softly, he gave a formal response while looking straight ahead.

“Was there something unpleasant?”

Just as Ermedeline was about to inquire further, Henry arrived.

“Your Majesty, have you arrived?”

Ermedeline quickly corrected her posture and bowed her head to Henry.

“I came here on time. But are you planning to keep wearing the mask?”

Even though the orphans were the supposed protagonists, everyone knew the real reason for attending this event. It was to witness the rare sight of Empress Ermedeline, who had a notorious reputation, doing a good deed.

“Yes, I will keep wearing it. We should be prepared just in case.”

“I see.”

Henry nodded silently without much reaction.

Finally, the opening ceremony began, and the imperial couple ascended the platform in front of the orphanage grounds.

The well-dressed orphans stood in a row before the imperial couple, awaiting their turn to receive words of blessing. They were clearly delighted to be out for an outing and standing in a place where they received attention, and their faces were filled with smiles.

The cute little clown that had popped up was a bit disappointing since their faces were obscured by masks.

Henry, in a very imperial manner, delivered words of blessing to the children. It seemed to be something along the lines of, “You should grow up with gratitude for the greatness of the Trivian Empire and the mercy of the gods and the royal family, and become loyal citizens of the nation.”

After Henry finished his turn, it was Ermedeline’s time to deliver her words of blessing.

“Hmm.”

In truth, Ermedeline had prepared a plausible speech for the occasion. However, as she stood on the platform, gazing at the children, her mind went blank.

No matter how cheerful they may appear, no matter how well-dressed they were, there was a fundamental loneliness lurking in the children’s eyes. Perhaps it was the loneliness etched into their souls, a burden they would carry for a lifetime.

As they grew older and their perspectives widened, that mark would become even more vivid, seen objectively.

The lonely faces hidden behind their sunny smiles—the faces of the children, Ermedeline knew them well.

Her own bitter past was encountered unexpectedly in an unforeseen place.

Ermedeline decided to set aside the speech she had prepared as an empress.

Then, she carefully descended from the platform and knelt in front of the children. She looked into each of their eyes and said:

“You are not alone. I will never allow you to be like that.”

Ermedeline’s words were met with enthusiastic “Yes!” from the younger children, who seemed to enjoy being whispered to by the pretty lady. The older ones nodded quietly, tears welling up in their eyes.

Finally, it was time to break the ground. The children, realizing they were involved in such an event, put extra effort into their steps as they moved forward. Some even extended their hands and feet simultaneously. Watching this from a distance, Ermedeline found it endearing and let out a small laugh.

The children, with scissors in hand, took turns holding shovels and stood on the orphanage grounds. They put strength into their fingers, raising the shovels in response to the chant.

And at that moment, from the nearby thicket, a horrifying scream that seemed otherworldly echoed.

“Aaaaahhh!”

***

Meanwhile, at a different location around the same time, Valliere was quietly sipping her tea at a coffee house near the orphanage.

Now that she had become a marchioness, Valliere had considered visiting an upscale salon. However, her eagerness to hear the news of the orphanage dedication ceremony led her to choose the coffee house nearby as her first stop.

Valliere, sipping her tea with an elegant posture, had a radiant expression on her face. Finally becoming a marchioness, and soon receiving the news she had been eagerly awaiting, she was filled with excitement.

Time seemed to pass agonizingly slowly, but she had decided to savor this thrilling moment when the confirmed victory was just before her eyes.

“Marchioness! Something big has happened!”

And there it was—a servant, so excited that it seemed her eyes might roll backward, rushed towards Valliere and shouted.

“What’s with the commotion? Can’t you walk calmly?” Valliere responded, a hint of irritation in her voice.

Though she was scolding the servant with her words, a slow smile began to spread across Valliere’s lips.

‘Well, well! What’s this? At the orphanage opening ceremony… Oh… Oh my…’

The servant had rushed so urgently that she struggled to catch her breath, rendering her unable to complete her sentence.

However, in her jubilant mood, Valliere decided not to press the servant further.

“That… At the opening ceremony or something like that… that Duke… the father of Empress, you say…”

“Duke de Françoise?”

“Yes! That duke has died!! In a terribly gruesome manner!”

“What?”

 

At that moment, the teacup at Valliere’s fingertips slipped from her grasp and fell to the ground, staining her elaborate dress with a dark blot.

***

‘What?’

The agonizing scream sent shivers down the spines of everyone who had attended the dedication ceremony.

Turning towards the source of the noise, they saw a man emerging from the thicket, constantly vomiting dark red blood.

While his demeanor seemed composed, his entire body was covered in mud, as if he had been digging in a pile of dirt somewhere.

“Aaaahhh!! No!! It can’t be!!”

The man, barely holding himself together, stumbled towards someone.

It was his own daughter, Ermedeline, who was nearby.

“What’s happening…”

Ermedeline recognized Duke de Françoise and quickly turned to look at Felio.

However, even in the face of this horrifying scene, Felio’s expression remained unchanged. He simply stared at Duke de Françoise.

“You, how dare you!!”

The Duke seemed to want to say something more, but the relentless curse quickly corrupted his lungs and vocal cords, leaving him to wither into a handful of decomposed matter.

“Aaaahhhhh!!!”

As the duke collapsed, there was a brief frozen moment, and then the orphans and the surrounding crowd, who had gathered for the dedication ceremony, began to scream and scatter in all directions.

Of course, Henry and Ermedeline also took precautions and evacuated in case of any unforeseen accidents.

Initially, Henry tried to ask Ermedeline what had happened, but her expression had truly gone blank, so he refrained from questioning.

As soon as they arrived at the palace, Henry ordered the chamberlain to investigate what had occurred.

Ermedeline returned to her quarters without uttering a word, her expression as stiff as a doll. When she entered the empress’s chambers, she noticed that Felio was waiting for her.

“Leave.”

“Pardon?”

“Get out, all of you.”

Sensing that something was amiss in Ermedeline’s voice, Rooney and Margo immediately exited the sitting room.

“What do you think happened? Your Grace might have known something.”

Ermedeline sank into a nearby chair, not even glancing in Felio’s direction.

“Yes, I knew it.”

“He used the opening ceremony to show us this?” 

Ermedeline bit her lower lip and let out a bitter laugh.

“I witnessed the duke leaving his blood on the orphanage grounds. To ensure a successful curse, he needed to use his own blood…”

“So, you’ve been gathering information about Duke de Françoise all this time?”

“Yes, I’ve been tracking him since his return to the capital.”

“He poured the contaminated soil from the orphanage grounds over him?” 

“Yes, it happened the moment he triggered the curse. We had already purified the orphanage grounds in case of such an eventuality.”

Ermedeline let out another bitter laugh, her voice icy.

She had known that someday she would have to confront Duke de Françoise, but she hadn’t expected it to happen like this. She didn’t want to rely on someone else’s help, especially not on Felio, who clearly had a moral aversion to such actions.

“Thanks to Your Grace, we managed to avoid a major disaster for now.”

“No, I just did what needed to be done,” Felio replied.

“But why didn’t you tell me beforehand? Why did you proceed without my knowledge?” Ermedeline asked, sounding disappointed.

Felio remained silent, his face impassive, as if he had no answer to her question.