I Possessed The Immoral Empress

Chapter 24

‘Aaaaaahhh! Why did I say that?!’

A secret? A secret!!

There were so many better reasons he could have given for keeping the trial preparations confidential!

‘Am I crazy? Am I out of my mind? Are you even a lawyer?’

He felt utterly embarrassed. He had gone through the trouble of visiting to share information about the trial preparations, and then, in his panic, he ended up blurting out something as ridiculous as “It’s a secret.”

“Aaaaaah!”

While the servants in the palace passed by, casting fleeting glances at Felio, who was tearing at his hair with silent screams, the man himself seemed oblivious to the surrounding gazes.

‘Why did I do that? What on earth was there to be flustered about in front of that witch? Ughhhh!!’

Felio’s silent screams continued until he left the palace and returned to his residence.

Meanwhile, in Ermedeline’s bedroom, where Felio had hastily exited.

“W-What, what was that?”

It took a while before Rooney and Ermedeline finally found their voices.

“That’s right. What was that just now?”

“Is it because the trial preparation process is supposed to be a secret?”

“Well, for now, yes... but didn’t he seem a bit off?”

“Yes. He seemed a bit insane, didn’t he?”

Insane. There was no better word to describe his state just a moment ago.

“That’s right. He didn’t seem in his right mind... We should ask him to visit again once he calms down.”

“Hmph. I knew something like this would happen someday.”

“Huh? How did you know something like this would happen?”

“That guy! Always with that stern expression and actions. And how mismatched are his clothes? He must have some grudges piled up, not just one or two places. I’m sure he’s been cursed with a lack of sanity by someone!”

“What?”

Ermedeline found it hard to entirely dismiss Rooney’s exaggerations, even though they were quite absurd and made her burst into laughter.

“He’s definitely not the easiest personality...”

“But he does help me a lot with my work. In a courtyard where even the maids avoid me, Duke Felio is actually quite a helpful person.”

“Empress, Your Majesty! Were you always so accommodating? That guy isn’t helping you out of the goodness of his heart!”

“Well, that could be true too...”

Honestly, as someone who knows the original story, Ermedeline found it hard to completely trust Felio.

In the original story, Felio was one of the most active participants in dethroning Ermedeline and subjecting her to a trial by fire.

Thinking back to Felio’s stern gaze when they first met, Ermedeline inwardly sighed.

‘I’ll accept the help for now, but don’t trust him too much!’

Ermedeline managed a strained smile in response to Rooney’s determined words.

“I know, I know... But there’s really no one else to trust right now.”

After saying those words, she felt an unexpected surge of emotions. There was a bitter taste in her mouth.

“Why wouldn’t there be!!”

Rooney boldly opened her eyes wide and brought her face close to Ermedeline’s.

“I may not be as rich or noble as the lady-in-waiting, and I may not be as smart as the duke, but you can absolutely trust me! I mean it!”

She seemed to be trying to convey her determination, even clenching her lips tightly.

With a sigh, Henry reluctantly approached Valliere and offered her a glass of water.

“What do I have to hide? It’s just that I can’t casually disclose information about a case that’s under preparation according to the imperial law. Please don’t be upset,” he reassured her.

Henry was a ruler who didn’t tolerate even the slightest gap in his own personality due to his meticulous nature, despite his sincere feelings for his lover. Valliere eventually had to give up on hearing a response from him.

Although she wished they would never meet again, today happened to be the day they had scheduled to meet with the contractors for the construction of the orphanage and discuss building materials.

So, with a heavy heart, Valliere decided to abandon any thoughts of hearing Henri’s reply.

Meanwhile, Felio was on his way to the planned orphanage construction site. He had considered faking illness after drinking a weak curse potion to avoid facing Ermedeline, but duty-bound within the empire with no one else to challenge, he couldn’t execute his plan. Thus, he ended up arriving at the orphanage site, despite not wanting to see Ermedeline the next day.

As he looked around, he saw no other carriages except for the one he had arrived in. He had arrived first.

‘This works out perfectly. Let’s get to work.’

The planned construction site was already filled with piles to be used for construction, and Felio was eager to inspect them now.

If she intended to use the orphanage as a new testing ground for curse magic, she might even install hidden runes on the ground to make them inconspicuous.

While Felio was typically known as a scholar and lawyer studying the law, his true identity was that of a wizard. Despite his nickname as the “Ice Prince,” he was a fire mage. Due to his personality, he was deeply involved in research on runes and potion crafting.

The influence of this mysterious power that had been passed down through generations in the Batistian Dukedom, which had once been a small noble house but had grown to establish its own nation and become a founding hero of the Trivian Empire, played a significant role.

Although the immense magical power that had once allowed them to govern a small principality had mostly been lost over the generations, making large-scale magic impossible, the presence of a mage on the battlefield was still invaluable.

Despite their weakened state, their magic remained potent, and as a result, they still enjoyed the right to rule their territory like kings.

‘Hmm, doesn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary. Is she really building the orphanage for purely altruistic reasons?’

As Felio leaned down, almost touching the ground with his face, he was suddenly startled by the appearance of someone’s face right in front of him.

“Did you find any interesting bugs?”

“Eeek!”

Ermedeline’s sudden appearance made Felio emit a strange scream and jump backward in surprise.

“Why are you so startled? I knew everyone was afraid of me, but even the duke? Are your guts smaller than I thought?”

Ermedeline had experienced Felio’s outwardly gruff demeanor, but in reality, he was straightforward and not very good at hiding his emotions. In other words, he enjoyed teasing people.

Even though it was all in good fun, Ermedeline felt a slight pang of guilt when she saw Felio sitting on the ground with a bewildered expression and his bottom firmly planted.

‘Did I startle you that much? For a grown man, you’re quite a coward.’

Ermedeline approached Felio, who still seemed unable to get up, and extended her hand to help him up.

“Grab my hand and get up. Your white coat will get dirty.”

Despite feeling guilty for startling him, Ermedeline extended her hand with the kindest smile she could manage. However, Felio just stared at her with a puzzled expression, his eyes narrowing.

“No. I knocked you down, so I should help you get up...”

“Oh, I see.”

Only then did Felio seem to realize the situation and reluctantly reached out his hand.

‘What’ is this?’ he wondered.

His slender, long, and delicate hand was trembling slightly.

“I won’t use any curses, so you can hold on without worry,” Ermedeline assured him.

Felio hesitated for a moment but eventually reached out and grasped her hand. There was an intense trembling sensation where their hands met.

“Stop trembling so much! I told you I won’t curse you!”

Ermedeline exerted some force to help him stand, but once Felio was on his feet, he started swaying unsteadily once again, appearing weak.

“Is there something hurting? Your face is so red. Did you catch a cold?”

Ermedeline unconsciously reached out toward his face, as if to take his temperature. It wasn’t the most appropriate action for an empress, but it was a habit from her time spent with the younger orphans.

Felio, taken aback, instinctively swatted her hand away, and he did so quite forcefully.