“Do as you wish.”

Henry replied casually, as if it didn’t matter, and then headed straight to his office without any further comment.

At the moment Ermedeline also tried to return to her quarters, Valliere stopped her.

“Your Majesty.”

Her amber-colored eyes revealed an inscrutable intention.

“What’s going on?”

“You truly are magnificent. To set an example during such turbulent times.”

“And?”

Ermedeline maintained a neutral expression, not wanting to reveal any intentions, and responded with an even-toned voice devoid of fluctuation.

“You never know, by accommodating His Majesty in this manner, perhaps someday he might grant us an audience.”

Valliere’s smile was radiant as if she genuinely hoped for such an outcome. However, it wouldn’t be difficult for anyone other than a fool to discern the bitter intent hidden behind her sweet voice.

‘Was the female lead always like this? She seemed to have a personality overflowing with naivety and a sense of justice to the point of being foolish.’

Watching Valliere, who smiled innocently while stabbing a dagger into Ermedeline’s heart, made her momentarily doubt whether she had misunderstood the novel she had read.

‘No, that can’t be. After all, this is the only romance fantasy novel I’ve ever read.’

Ermedeline, forcibly erasing an unknown anxiety, spoke with an elegant, queenly voice.

“That’s right. When that day comes, even the heir that the entire empire has been waiting for may be born through me first.”

In her previous life, she had started working in society forcibly at a young age, even before becoming an adult, leaving the orphanage to make a living on her own. It was Yoon Hyeyoung, the wicked villainess, who had persevered through dirty and perilous jobs each time she faced them because of her vulnerability.

Valliere’s level of humiliation did not leave any mark on her soul. As if realizing that her provocation was falling on deaf ears, Valliere still wore a bright smile, but her eyes grew colder.

Although Ermedeline’s reaction was different from what Valliere had expected, she remained composed and unruffled.

‘Hmm, perhaps not as purely innocent as described in the novel?’

Ermedeline and Valliere stood there for a moment, staring at each other intently. It was a very brief moment, but they evaluated each other, even scrutinizing each other’s expressions and breaths.

As Valliere left, leaving behind a meaningful glance, Ermedeline couldn’t help but wonder if the original description in the novel was accurate.

‘Right. There’s something called the ‘protagonist buff,’ isn’t there? Even if she had a personality like this in reality, the novel might have portrayed her with only the words and actions befitting the protagonist. In that case, could Ermedeline have received the ‘villain buff’? There might be some backstory that wasn’t depicted in the original.’

The mood soured.

No matter what, she wasn’t the Empress, right?

Even if she enjoyed the Emperor’s favor, openly provoking like that… And she herself, having endured such provocations, only responded verbally.

‘Ermedeline! Couldn’t you have lived better?! Couldn’t you have lived better?!’

The irritation that had been piling up exploded completely when she looked at her personal account.

In the novel, it was depicted as if she flaunted her wealth and indulged extravagantly, so she thought she was rich, but her personal balance was close to zero.

‘No, you mean to tell me that there’s no accumulated wealth despite receiving bribes like that?’

Ermedeline let out a bitter laugh filled with disappointment.

She had just made a big fuss about solving the epidemic immediately, but now she was told there was no money.

She needed to regain her reputation as soon as possible, smoothly divorce, and avoid becoming a barbecue, but she had no money.

In the tight spot she found herself in, a faint line appeared on Ermedeline’s delicate forehead.

The maids dared not make a sound as they watched Ermedeline closely, as the situation seemed to weigh heavily on her.

“Jewels, bring all my jewels here. I’m going to sell them all for money.”

In response to Ermedeline’s words, the maids bit their lips in obvious discomfort and lowered their heads.

“Can’t you hear me? I must have valuable jewels and treasures. Bring them to me.”

Ermedeline tried her best to speak with the softest tone possible, but her voice inevitably carried a sense of despair.

One of the maids, with reluctance, went to Ermedeline’s wardrobe and returned a moment later. In her hand, she held a very small box.

Inside the box were just a single necklace, two pairs of earrings, and one bracelet. Oh, and two rings worn on the fingers.

The rings symbolizing the imperial family and her family were not something that could be sold, so having them wouldn’t be of any help.

“Is this all of it?”

The maids nodded their heads, trembling with fear.

Even though they knew she had an unhealthy obsession with shiny minerals and had embezzled from the national treasury, there was neither cash nor precious metals to be found.

“Why is this all?”

For a brief moment, a suspicious thought crossed Ermedeline’s mind, but she quickly dismissed it. These maids were trembling like leaves; they wouldn’t dare touch Ermedeline’s belongings.

‘Besides, one shouldn’t easily suspect others. You know how unfair it feels, right?’

In her previous life, when she worked part-time at a convenience store due to being an orphan, she was the first to be suspected whenever her balance was a few hundred won short.

No matter how upright her behavior was, there was always someone predetermined to be the first to be suspected.

Endless suspicion taught her more sorrow than anger.

In response to Ermedeline’s question, the maids knelt down and bowed their heads so low it seemed like they might touch the floor.

“Not long ago, you sold the jewels that were left, saying you needed money urgently. We only kept what was left. We never touched Her Majesty’s jewelry box. Please spare us.”

She hadn’t even voiced her suspicion, but seeing the maids burst into tears so suddenly left her feeling perplexed.

‘Oh, really, how terrible was this woman’s personality?’

Ermedeline let out a small sigh and then knelt down in front of the weeping maids.

“Sob!”

She raised her hand on their shoulders to comfort them, but it only elicited gasps for breath.

“Huhuhuhuk!! P-please, spare us!! I swear I didn’t touch anything!!”

As Ermedeline examined the maid’s face, she realized she was probably in her late teens, maybe in her late teens. The other two maids looked to be of a similar age.

‘In the novel, curses were her specialty. Especially the curse of decay, which was famous for rotting upon contact.’

Having understood the situation, Ermedeline withdrew her hand and returned to her seat.

“It’s not that I doubted you. I just thought there would be more left than this… I wanted to make sure.”

While Ermedeline spoke, holding her forehead with one hand as if sighing, the maids began to sob.

Everyone had expected either the Empress’s tantrum or her wrathful curse, but the tension dissipated due to the unexpected reaction.

‘What do I do with this? Ermedeline’s maids changed frequently. It was either they died or ran away.’

Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed unlikely that the maids would be of any help. Even if they were long-serving maids, it was impossible to openly inquire about their own identities.

The novel was written entirely from the perspective of the protagonist, Valliere, so there was no way to know anything about the Empress’s financial situation.

‘But why leave these jewels when you sold everything else? Is there a special reason?’

Ermedeline fingered the necklace, which had a beautiful black pearl with a large, deep blue sapphire pendant attached to it.

As the pearl fell, it made a pleasant, tinkling sound.

‘Hmm. A sapphire of this size should fetch quite a sum. Should I sell this at least?’

Ermedeline, with a frustrated expression, carefully examined the necklace. It was at that moment she noticed a small loop behind the pendant.

‘I wonder if this can be opened?’

With a hint of curiosity, she tried to open it by gripping the loop, but the pendant didn’t budge.

The slightly convex structure suggested that there was something inside, but for now, she decided to leave it be.

After thoroughly searching the bedroom in hopes of finding something that could serve as a clue, Ermedeline came across a thick diary hidden deep within a drawer.

‘Huh? Could this be?’

It was the diary that had once served as damning evidence against Ermedeline in the novel, detailing all the wicked deeds she had committed over the years, ultimately leading to her death sentence.

‘Wait. How did I open this?’

Unlike the relatively detailed descriptions of the protagonist Valliere, who was portrayed as the virtuous heroine in the novel, Ermedeline’s actions were only elaborated upon when she committed evil deeds.

She racked her brain, trying to recall how to open it, relying on the scant information she had.

‘Blood! I always used my own blood to seal it, right? And later, when I used powerful curses, I even used the blood of newborns, and that’s when I got caught.’

She vaguely remembered reading explanations about how bloodline as a mage was crucial for using magic.

Ermedeline had been a witch who maximized the use of her bloodline in that regard, be it her own blood or others’, for the sake of casting curses.

She looked around the desk and spotted a sharp fountain pen.

“Ugh.”

No matter how sharp it was, it wasn’t easy to draw blood with a pen.

After piercing her skin as if digging into flesh, she managed to draw a bit of blood onto her fingertip. In her haste, she smeared the blood onto the diary’s thick cover, finally opening it.

‘Phew, thank goodness. Just a tiny bit is enough.’

As she read through the diary, she understood why the Empress, Ermedeline, was in such a financial state. Most of her earnings were flowing into the coffers of her family, House de Françoise.

‘But why at home? In the story, her family was wealthier than the royal family, right?’

Regardless of the reason, the diary, or rather the ledger, meticulously recorded the dates and amounts of money she had borrowed from her father.

‘But is this really enough evidence? It’s just a financial ledger. There doesn’t seem to be any other significant information.’

Despite rummaging through the diary in the hopes of finding some other content, there was nothing substantial.

It seemed like all she had was the staggering amount of money she had borrowed from her family.

‘But surely, a diary with just debt-related information wouldn’t be considered as evidence. There must be another diary with crucial content…’

After much contemplation, she even entertained the thought that the Duke de Françoise, who didn’t want to repay the money, might have had a hand in her daughter’s downfall.

‘Regardless of the truth, I need money right now. It might be better to think that there’s no such thing as a family when it comes to borrowing money like this and staying silent when your daughter is sentenced to death.’

For now, escaping her destitute situation was of utmost importance. She needed money to do anything, after all.

“Can you send a message home? Ask them to visit the palace.”

Ermedeline decided that she would at least try to collect some of the borrowed money.

“Home? You mean… the House de Françoise?”

“Of course, to the Duke de Françoise.”

“R-right now?”

Despite merely requesting a message to be sent to her father, the maids began to tremble once again.

“Yes, right now. Why, is that a problem?”

She had intended to inquire whether there was any specific reason for the maids’ apprehension, but even Ermedeline’s minor question seemed to be perceived as a threat to them.

“No, not at all! We’ll contact them immediately.”

If her memory served her right, both the Duke’s residence and the palace were equipped with dedicated magical communication circles. If nothing went wrong, they should be able to visit in an hour or two.

As she sat in the unfamiliar surroundings of the Empress’s chamber, her mind suddenly drifted back to the pendant she had seen earlier.

‘Oh, could it be that the pendant requires my blood to open too?’

Although the thought of poking her already sore skin made her cringe, she had no other choice.

Fortunately, blood quickly welled up on her still-healing fingertips.

With a soft click, the pendant opened as expected, revealing a small picture inside.

A tiny infant’s face was delicately drawn. The baby was so young that it was impossible to determine its gender, but it had jet-black hair and purple eyes, much like Ermedeline herself, almost as if it were a miniature version of her.

‘What is this? Is it a depiction of me as a child? Why would they seal and keep something like this?’

As Ermedeline pondered the identity of the baby within the pendant, a maid arrived to inform her of the Duke’s visit.

“The Duke has arrived.”

His proud and haughty entrance, with his chin held high and a disdainful demeanor, didn’t resemble the manner in which someone would visit an Empress.

The maids, upon the Duke de Françoise’s arrival, immediately bent at a ninety-degree angle and trembled while looking at the ground.

Ermedeline observed the Duke and the maids closely, sensing that something unusual was happening.

“Have you come, Father?”

Regardless of the money he had lent her, her primary goal now was to secure the funds.

‘Hmm. It’s my first time doing this, even though I’ve been pressed to repay debts before.’

For now, she put on a kind smile as she prepared to welcome the man who was now her father.

“Father, have you come?”

However, the Duke’s reaction to his daughter’s greeting was far from welcoming.

“Smiling? Are you laughing right now?”