I Possessed The Immoral Empress - Chapter 55

“Is there anything to gain by believing in her sincerity? Is it sincere to cancel the National Wedding Anniversary and allocate the budget to the areas affected by the outbreak of the epidemic?”

“Is that what you have in mind?”

The nobles’ eyes, instead of looking at Henry, were so cold that they could freeze.

For the Trivian Empire, which had only become an empire for the fourth generation, Henry couldn’t completely ignore the subjects who had made him the emperor.

“So, since the Empress’ words are all smoke and mirrors, we’ll just go ahead with the anniversary celebrations as is?”

“Just the parade through the streets. This time, Her Majesty the Empress will ride in the carriage alone.”

Originally, it was only natural for the married couple to ride in the same carriage for the National Wedding Anniversary parade. However, Henry had always ridden with Valliere, not out of sincerity, but to humiliate Ermedeline.

It seemed as if he wanted to say to the people that the Empress he intended to marry was Valliere, not Ermedeline.

But this year, during the Foundation Day parade, Henry rode in the carriage with Ermedeline. The nobles, who had been watching from behind with faces full of discontent, nodded one by one in agreement with Duke Batistian’s opinion.

“Very well, let’s proceed with just the parade. However, all attendees must wear masks.”

“Of course. Aren’t we making efforts to eradicate the epidemic that someone intentionally spread in the capital?”

Duke Batistian, emphasizing the word “someone,” slowly and deliberately in his voice, quickly lowered his head toward Henry with a courteous expression.

The silver eyes of the astute politician, who had stated his opinion and then immediately retreated, exuded a sinister aura.

***

The next day, Ermedeline and Félio visited the river basin where the sewers gathered.

The entrance to the canal was almost blocked with a pile of filth, and the rotten smell permeated the surroundings.

“No wonder epidemics break out,” Ermedeline mumbled to herself, involuntarily wrinkling her brow at the foul odor that modern individuals would rarely encounter.

Of course, the current epidemic was caused by the original Ermedeline, but in such an environment, the emergence of another zoonotic disease was only a matter of time.

“I must admit I’ve never seen such a spectacle before. There’s certainly a problem here.”

Félio gently retrieved a handkerchief from his pocket and offered it to Ermedeline, who had a distressed expression.

“?”

“Please, use it.”

“Oh, this is Your Grace’s handkerchief; it should be used by Your Grace.”

“I’ve smelled much worse on the battlefield. This odor won’t upset my stomach.”

Ermedeline found Félio’s effort to maintain a composed expression, even in such a situation, endearing. She accepted the handkerchief with a soft smile.

“Thank you. I’ll use it well.”

Ermedeline unfolded the handkerchief to cover her nose, and she noticed the delicate embroidery of Félio’s name on the white cloth.

“Wow, this embroidery is incredibly beautiful. Did you do it yourself?”

“No, it was a gift from my late mother.”

Ermedeline was so startled by Félio’s words that she almost dropped the handkerchief.

“I can’t use such a precious item to block the smell! I’ll use my fingers instead. Please take it back!”

Ermedeline, with a determined expression, held up her thumb and index finger as if to demonstrate, while with her other hand, she extended the handkerchief back to Félio.

Félio, with a somewhat complex expression, looked down at the white handkerchief held in Ermedeline’s hand. Made from the finest cotton and adorned with delicate lace, the handkerchief was already a valuable item. However, it was even more precious to Félio because it was the only thing his late mother had made with her own hands.

His mother was generally a kind woman but seemed to always have her mind elsewhere. She showed little interest in the affairs of the household, as if ready to leave the Batistian estate at any moment. The only thing she had ever taken an interest in was her one and only son, Félio, but even then, she was relatively aloof compared to the typical mother.

Most noblewomen would personally craft their sons’ clothing or at least embroider their names, but Félio’s mother had no interest in such matters.

A few months before his mother’s untimely death due to a curse, she had given him a small box on his birthday. Inside the box was this handkerchief.

“Please use it. I have no need for it anymore,” Félio said with a composed voice.

Ermedeline almost wiped away tears that threatened to flow as she saw the sadness in Félio’s face.

“You say you don’t need the item your mother gave you! Don’t talk nonsense and just accept…”

“I truly have no use for it now. You can discard it if you won’t use it.”

With a firm voice, Félio turned away and walked calmly towards the craftsmen who had come along.

‘Ah… he’s quite the unfilial…,’ Ermedeline started to furrow her brow as she glanced at him, but quickly stopped her reproach. She realized that if it was something his late mother had given him, it must be a precious item, and he had his reasons for speaking like this.

Félio was not the kind of person to make such statements without a good reason.

Ermedeline decided to keep the handkerchief she had received by chance, as she couldn’t bring herself to use it to cover her nose.

“When he’s in a good mood, I’ll sneak it back.”

***

A letter arrived addressed to Henry.

While it could have been one of the hundreds of letters that arrived every day, this particular letter found its way to Henry’s study due to its distinctive nature. It bore the seal of the de Françoise House, the family of the Empress.

The letter was sent by Ermond, the surviving son of the de Françoise Marquessate, and, in other words, Ermedeline’s older brother. Inside the envelope, there were two short notes, one detailing the time when Ermedeline would visit the orphanage grounds, and the other warning that the woman who delivered the notes should be killed immediately to eliminate any witnesses.

“Why would Ermond send a note like this?”

From Ermond’s perspective, it was a letter sent with the intention to clear his deceased father’s name and to involve Valliere as well.

However, there was one thing that Ermond had overlooked, and that was the handwriting.

Valliere’s original handwriting was not neatly uniform. She had a somewhat flowing script, and when it came to important documents, she always hired someone to transcribe them.

Fortunately, the planning document for the Foundation Day had been drafted by the person who had always transcribed Valliere’s documents, due to her current enthusiasm and her generation of an extensive amount of material. This oversight caused Henry to not notice anything unusual.

However, despite that, Henry was intimately familiar with his lover’s handwriting. If he had just seen Valliere’s current script once, he would have realized that her handwriting had completely changed.

During the time when Henry became Emperor and briefly separated from Valliere, they exchanged numerous love letters. Back then, Henry found solace in Valliere’s letters, given his anxiety and loneliness within the imperial palace.

Henry had read and reread the same letters dozens of times to the point where he had to copy the contents and store them separately as the paper had worn out.

Therefore, it was only natural that Henry, upon seeing the two notes, did not immediately think of Valliere. Her adorable, round handwriting made it impossible for him to connect it to Valliere.

After much contemplation with Henry, Count Hallstein cautiously spoke, “For now, it seems certain that these notes were sent by the one who passed information to Duke de Françoise about Her Majesty the Empress.”

“That makes sense. So, why did Ermond send this letter then? Is Ermond currently in the capital?”

“No, he’s not. I even made inquiries after verifying the seal, but it seems no one has seen him.”

“So, is Marquess Ashlan still at his estate?”

“No, that’s not the case either. He left the marquess’s residence two days ago.”

“Did his wife leave with him?”

Upon hearing that Ermond, who had nowhere else to go, had left his father-in-law’s estate, Henry felt a sense of foreboding.

“Yes, it seems he took his wife and children with him.”

“Hmm. To inherit a title, he needs my approval, but he didn’t even send a formal request?”

“No, he only sent this one letter.”

“What about the estate? How’s the Brunnian region?”

“In any case, we’ve been closely monitoring the area, and recently, we’ve observed some unusual movements.”

“Unusual movements?”

Henry, his furrowed brow indicating that his ominous premonitions had not been misplaced, waited for Count Hallstein to continue.

“Yes. The de Françoise estate has magical wards installed, right? That’s why the estate managers visit the region twice a week for patrol.”

“Right. Didn’t I instruct them to do so?”

“Yes, you did. However, the tax revenue from that region has been decreasing significantly recently.”

“Tax revenue? Suddenly? If anything, with Duke de Françoise gone, it should have increased rather than decreased, shouldn’t it?”

“That’s right. If the number of people living in the territory remains the same, the tax revenue should as well.”

“People? Why?”

“Most of those who followed Duke de Françoise have left. Even the people who had established roots in the region are abandoning it.”

Count Hallstein, while delivering the news of the departure of the de Françoise Dukedom territory residents, bit his lower lip as if troubled, and bowed his head.

“I see. So, it has come to this.”

With just the recently received notes causing him a headache, this unwelcome news had arrived. Annoyed by the tidings, Henry clenched the seal that had been attached to the envelope in his palm and crumpled it up.

“Do we have any troops to mobilize for the Brunnian region… No, do we have any available troops?”

“We have soldiers tied up at the border, and we don’t have many reserve forces.”

“With Leopold’s situation and Ermond’s actions… Everyone seems to be abandoning me. Maybe I’m not as great a ruler as I thought.”

Henry let out a self-deprecating laugh as he tightened his grip on the seal.

He had exerted so much force that his neatly manicured fingernails dug into his flesh.

“The Brunnian region was never an imperial territory, to begin with, was it?”

“That’s right! So, he was supposed to be grateful that we spared his life, quietly living out his days. Why is he causing trouble for us with revenge?”

In the end, Henry, feeling exasperated to his very core, pounded his desk with a clenched fist and used a tone he hadn’t used in a long time.

Brunnian, a region that was annexed upon Trivian’s ascension to empire four generations ago. Originally, the de Françoise Duchy was the ruling family in that region.

They played a significant role in elevating the king of the time to emperor with the help of their family’s magic. As a reward, they were granted the de Françoise castle, becoming part of the empire.

Brunnian was a region with vast plains and fertile land, but it was isolated due to its challenging terrain. As a result, the de Françoise Duchy and the region’s common people were conservative and insular.

They still regarded the de Françoise Duchy, who had ruled them for a longer time than the Trivian Empire’s imperial family, as their rulers.

Henry had refrained from completely eliminating the duchy and even taking away their titles due to the regional background. His leniency was partly a recognition of his own vulnerability, but mostly because he didn’t want to provoke Brunnian further.

However, now, all his efforts seemed to have been in vain. That cursed duchy could have peacefully resided in their castle and enjoyed their longevity. Yet, they chose revenge and consumed their own lifelines with their magic.

Henry took a deep breath and started to calmly consider his options in this situation.

‘In the end, even in my infancy when I had no one on my side, I survived and made it to this point without collapsing. If I’m about to crumble over something like this, then I should never have started in the first place.’

After much contemplation, Henry finally spoke.

“For now, that note. The handwriting may not be Valliere’s, but we can’t be certain. Examine the handwriting of Valliere’s maids and everyone who has frequented Valliere’s residence.”

“Yes, understood.”

“And… on the Anniversary of the National Wedding, appoint the Empress as the new Duchess of Françoise.”

“What?”

The count was taken aback by Henry’s shocking statement.

“I know, I know. But what can we do? Are we going to abandon the Brunnian region like this?”

“Impossible.”

“We have their heir and the powerful curse magic of the Françoise family, intact. We should make good use of them before considering throwing them away, don’t you think?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Your words are wise.”

“Exactly. I’m right. But why does your face seem so dissatisfied?”

“It’s not just me. Many supporters of the Emperor within the nobility were already concerned about the Empress’s actions. They fear that Your Majesty might be embracing the blood-soaked past instead of moving forward.”

“A blood-soaked past? Are the hands of the nobles so clean?”

The count’s mention of a “blood-soaked past” immediately stirred anger in Henry’s voice. Henry had indeed eliminated the contenders for the throne, but during the years of succession struggles, few noble families could claim complete innocence. It was an era marked by suspicion, jealousy, alliances, and betrayals.

“I might have spoken too hastily,” the court conceded.

However, the darkest aspect of that era was Henry himself, who had removed his own siblings, soaked in their own blood.

Feeling pathetic about his situation, Henry glared at Count Hallstein and took the venom out of his eyes.

“No, I was being presumptuous.”

Henry took a step back, a bitter smile on his face, and Count Hallstein couldn’t take it anymore.

“I’m the Emperor now, and I can’t play spiteful revenge games anymore. I will get rid of the Empress one day, as I promised, but my first priority is not to avenge myself or the lords. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir. I understand.”

Hearing the weariness in Henry’s voice, Count Hallstein bowed his head deeply in remorse and left Henry’s office.

He sighed heavily, as if he had made up his mind, and headed straight for Duke Batistian’s office.