‘Why of all roles, did I have to be reincarnated into this one?’

It was a mundane life with no sign of even a small escape route.

A pitiful existence that continued day by day, unable to die.

At first, Hyeyoung was flustered by her situation, but soon she was delighted to discover that she had been reincarnated into what seemed like a dreamy romance fantasy novel.

However, that joy lasted no more than a few seconds.

It was because she realized that she had been reincarnated as the immoral villainess empress, thanks to the fearful calls of the trembling maids.

The source of all evil and truly the worst of villains with no room for excuses.

In the end, she was destined to meet a miserable fate at the hands of the heroine, just like a typical antagonist.

‘No way!! After reincarnating into a romance fantasy novel, am I supposed to receive nothing but insults and miserable death? Absolutely not!’

Hyeyoung made up her mind.

She was determined to rescue Ermedeline, the immoral empress and wicked witch she had been reincarnated as, from a tragic ending and live a comfortable life!

No matter how many times she looked at her, she never got tired of her beauty. Her long, flowing hair seemed to spread across the night sky, and her mysterious eyes looked like transparent crystals embedded in them. Add to that her flawless skin, slender height, and curvaceous figure, it was the kind of stunning beauty one might only see inside a TV screen.

‘No matter how strategic the marriage may be, who wouldn’t fall for a woman like this?’

She may have spoken that way, but in truth, it doesn’t like she didn’t understand Henry’s feelings in the original story.

In the original work, Ermedeline had an obsession with the position of empress and forced a strategic marriage with Henry. She even went as far as to torment and scheme against Valliere, Henry’s first love. Furthermore, didn’t she ultimately receive a death sentence due to the heinous crimes she committed using her cursed magical abilities, crimes too terrible to even mention? 

Just in the descriptions within the novel, she had caused a plague to ravage the capital, used curses to murder people, and inflicted curses of corruption that made people’s bodies decay on those she didn’t like, and so on. Her villainy had clearly crossed the line.

‘Indeed, I wouldn’t even want someone like her, no, someone like that, to brush past me.’

Even before becoming the empress, she had misused her position as a noblewoman and her witch’s powers to commit all sorts of suspicious deeds.

The crimes that would later be revealed after her death include embezzling state funds, having affairs with all the handsome men in the capital, and even sacrificing a human baby to ensure the success of her curse.

Why did she have to behave so extravagantly, even after becoming the empress, all because of her obsession with that position? The scale of her wrongdoing was immense, far beyond mere jealousy towards Valliere, who had taken Henry’s side.

At a glance, it felt like she wanted to sink the entire royal family, so to speak.

Hyeyoung looked at her long, pristine white hands with a bitter expression. Even on Ermedeline’s pure white fingers adorned with exquisite rubies and sapphires, it seemed like there were indelible bloodstains that had already set and couldn’t be wiped away.

‘She committed numerous crimes with these hands. Due to the countless pieces of evidence she left behind because she couldn’t control herself, she eventually ended up with a death sentence. It’s as if she lit the execution pyre with these lovely hands.’

However, Hyeyoung had no intention of dying because of crimes she hadn’t committed.

‘No. There’s still time to turn things around! Let’s compensate the victims as much as possible. Restore the reputation of the immoral empress. Once I’ve avoided the death sentence, let’s wish the heroine and hero a happy life and a clean divorce. Then let’s live our remaining years quietly and peacefully in a faraway foreign land!’

Fortunately, the part of the story that Hyeyoung had been reincarnated into was in the very early stages of the novel. They were just at the point where Ermedeline and the heroine Valliere were starting to become antagonistic.

In other words, it meant that the serious crimes that would leave solid evidence and hinder Ermedeline had not yet begun.

‘I can do it!! I’ll make the two of them live happily in the palace instead of dying! I, Yoon Hyeyoung, will cleanly divorce and escape from here!!’

***

“Y-You’re saying you’ll make a donation?”

The expressions of Ermedeline’s husband, Emperor Henry, as well as his prime minister Valliere, visibly hardened.

“Yes. I intend to use the remaining budget allocated to me this year to aid in the containment of the recent outbreak of the plague.”

Valliere’s normally rosy cheeks turned pale at Ermedelin’s declaration.

“Why the sudden change of heart?”

Judging from Henry and Valliere’s expressions, it was clear that this situation was indeed unfamiliar to them. Suspicion had been cast upon Ermedeline as the secret instigator of the epidemic, and now she was suddenly appearing, declaring her intention to use her finances for the relief of the people.

Regardless of their reaction, Ermedeline was in a hurry. She just wanted to restore her reputation as soon as possible and get away from the haunting execution scene from the original novel that kept coming back to her.

In the original novel, there was the infamous “Curse of the Empress” incident, where it was rumored that Ermedeline, using her curse, had spread the epidemic to pressure Henry. This tarnished the empress’s reputation significantly, but it was an event that occurred very early in the story, and it hadn’t caused any major problems until now. 

So far, it had only served as a reason for Henry and Valliere, who had been merely restraining Ermedeline, to become outright antagonistic towards her. Since there was no concrete evidence, it hadn’t been included in the charges that would lead to her execution later on.

Therefore, Ermedeline saw this situation as an opportunity to turn things around.

“I-Is that so? You said you’ll make a donation?”

For a moment, a look of bewilderment crossed Henry’s dignified face.

“Indeed. Isn’t it the natural duty of the newly crowned empress to aid the suffering people of the capital during this epidemic?”

Ermedeline thought to herself, ‘Yes, it’s only natural for him to be bewildered. After all, the Ermedelin you know isn’t a character like this.’

In the novel, Henry, the male protagonist whom the antagonist Ermedeline had been so obsessed with, was a man with a solemn yet delicate beauty reminiscent of a classic masterpiece. He had brilliant, shining golden blond hair that was beyond comparison with the illustrations in the novel. Underneath that bright golden hair lay a jawline so sharp it could cut glass.

The term “handsome blond with a jawline to die for” was a perfect fit for him. He was truly a prince charming, almost like a prince from a dream.

Even though it had already been three days since she was reincarnated into this novel, Hyeyoung, or rather, Ermedeline, still couldn’t help but be startled every time she faced him.

‘He’s really chillingly handsome. But that doesn’t excuse Ermedeline’s obsession with him.’

“Since when have you cared about fulfilling your role appropriately? Weren’t you solely interested in the privileges that come with that position?”

Henry’s voice carried a clear tone of mockery.

For a moment, Hyeyoung wanted to retort and give him a piece of her mind, but she quickly realized that she was within the notorious villainess Ermedeline. So she simply nodded her head meekly.

“Yes. You’re right. I do enjoy the wealth and honor that come with the position of empress. But that doesn’t mean there’s no law that says I shouldn’t fulfill my duties, does it?”

Despite answering with as much audacity and composure as possible, it was clear from Henry’s expression that he could see right through her.

‘Now you say that?’

Ermedeline had been empress for two years. The emperor who had a beloved lover from his youth never set foot in the empress’s bedroom.

The empress, who had coerced him into marriage, had indeed been obsessed with him, but she had no intention of catering to his whims. Ermedeline had too much pride to change her personality just because of her obsession with the position of empress.

As a result, she had been committing every possible wicked deed that an evil empress could do for the past two years.

Using her granted powers to their fullest extent and wielding her authority in the most negative ways possible, Ermedeline had used her abilities as a witch without restraint, tarnishing her own reputation and making enemies along the way.

No matter how much the emperor tried to stop her and occasionally sent looks of disdain her way, Ermedeline remained unfazed. She went so far as to turn everyone around her into enemies, and all her wicked deeds were exposed, leading to the sealing of her witch abilities.

In the end, even her own household, the prestigious House de Françoise, had abandoned her without hesitation.

‘I have to make sure not to surprise anyone with a sudden change in personality, just enough to salvage my reputation,’ Ermedelin thought with deliberate arrogance, lifting her chin slightly.

‘Am I doing well? I should have put on an arrogant expression at least once in my life.’

“I am the sovereign presence of the Trivian Empire, am I not? I can bestow a small favor upon the insignificant subjects.”

Sovereign presence. A title Ermedeline frequently used to refer to herself despite the clear presence of the emperor as the supreme ruler. In the novel, it was one of the devices that showcased her arrogance.

‘I hope this seems natural enough,’ Ermedelin thought to herself.

She slowly glanced at Henry, trying to gauge his reaction. Fortunately, it seemed her acting had worked, as his face only displayed discomfort, but nothing more.

“Your will is indeed…”

“No, it cannot be.”

“Huh?”

Suddenly, a voice came from behind Henry, his prime minister Valliere, who stood like a shadow.

“It cannot be?” 

Ermedeline couldn’t help but put on an expression of surprise, even though she didn’t intend to.

While Henry didn’t openly express his surprise like Ermedeline, he gave her a questioning look as if to ask, “What’s going on?”

Valliere, who felt the gazes of both of them, wore an extremely submissive and innocent smile on her face.

Valliere had light brown hair and similarly ordinary light brown eyes. At first glance, she had a plain appearance that didn’t seem to match the glamorous Ermedeline. Her face even had freckles scattered across it.

However, upon closer examination, anyone would have to admit that, despite her seemingly ordinary features, she was indeed quite beautiful. Her small facial features harmoniously complemented her petite face, making everything about her look well-placed.

Thanks to this, even the freckles that covered her face only served to enhance her charm.

On top of that, she had a dreamy, somewhat hazy gaze and a honey-like sweet voice, adding to her allure.

If Ermedeline possessed the kind of beauty that could captivate anyone’s gaze like a splendidly blooming rose in a well-tended garden, Valliere had a unique charm all her own.

Valliere had the kind of beauty that could be found casually along the roadside, yet the way it swayed in the wind was so pitiful and charming that it caught everyone’s attention. She possessed the type of beauty that Hyeyoung, now Ermedeline, had envied so much in her previous life.

‘Yes, that’s right. Men naturally prefer women they feel the need to protect.’

Valliere responded with a humble attitude, suggesting that the budget allocated to the Empress should be used to uphold her dignity. She emphasized that, especially in times of turmoil like the current state of the country, it was more important for the Empress to maintain her dignity.

Henry couldn’t help but be enchanted by Valliere’s modest demeanor.

‘Isn’t this just perfect?’

No matter how evil Ermedeline was portrayed as one of the most wicked women among villains and despite the fact that Henri was destined to be with Valliere, seeing a man nodding in agreement with his mistress’s stance in front of the wife does not seem normal.

Henry looked at Ermedeline’s stern face and smiled contentedly as if he were ready to rejoice in his wife’s small unhappiness.

‘Wow, they’re really a great couple. Living under the same roof with someone you despise to this extent must have its own hardships.’

“Dignity can be adequately maintained with my own resources. Since it’s a budget allocated to me, I will do as I please.”

Ermedeline stared at Valliere with an air of seriousness.

“But… what should we do?”

Valliere raised her shoulders and tilted her head slightly, as if trying to suppress laughter, and looked at Ermedelin with a sense of regret.

“Didn’t Empress already spend the entire budget allocated for this year on the first day of budget execution? Don’t you remember?”

‘Oh, I should have checked the ledger first.’

Ermedeline would usually resort to such measures.

After all, she had once resorted to producing illegal magic potions and secretly distributing them due to a shortage of funds from the Empress’s budget.

Henry, once again, watched Ermedeline’s flustered reaction with a pleased smile.

Of course, his blue eyes were filled with mockery.

“Then, I shall use my own private funds.”

Henry and Valliere didn’t respond, but their expressions mirrored each other.

‘You?’

Even if it was hard to believe, they had to consider it. Naturally, it would be difficult to trust her.

Ermedeline calmly nodded her head.

“Yes. I plan to try and become a more ethical Empress from now on.”