Chapter 13

"How much will it amount to if the debts in the count's household are settled...."

No matter how much Pellio complained, the money coming into his hands would soon become his lifeline.

Ermedillin was not at all concerned about his irreverent attitude.

"How extravagant is the Count? If you sell just a few paintings hanging on the wall, the debt can be solved quickly."

Ermedillin, who had naturally expected the Count's household to be impoverished due to enormous debt, made an effort to hide her surprise.

'Turn the daughter into a beggar, and indulge themselves in luxury with that money?'

Anyway, it's fortunate that an enormous fortune has been created thanks to their extravagance.

"Did you know that His Majesty is protecting Ferdinand?"

"It was originally the child that Duke François had; I rescued him."

"You did?"

"Yes. After all, it's not a child that has anything to do with adults' affairs, is it?"

'What does he look like? How old is he? Looking for his mother?'

Suddenly, the questions poured into her head all at once.

"But why would His Majesty...."

"His Majesty is not an easy person. Of course, he knew beforehand how I or the Empress would act. Legally, His Majesty is the Empress's husband, so he is also the child's guardian. I could not refuse the request to hand over the child's trust."

"Ah… I see. Thank you. I'll pay the retainer fee right now...."

"No. I have already received it from His Majesty."

"From His Majesty?"

Surprised by the unexpected answer, Pellio recalled the conversation he had with Anri last night.

"The child's biological mother is not the Empress, right? It's right to hand over the child to the biological mother."

At Pellio's firm response, Anri chuckled as if he had expected it.

"The biological mother? Do you know how much that woman loves young children?"

"Yes?"

"The younger they are, the purer their blood, making them good material for curses."

"Of course, I know there's such a rumor, but isn't it her child?"

"Hmm. Shall we bet? Whether that woman really loves her child or not?"

"A bet?"

"Yes. If she tries to give up the trial for the child during the trial, I'll take the side of the Empress. I'll even pay the retainer fee. But if the Empress ignores the child's safety and hurries the trial, don't accept the retainer fee. And you'll work in the palace for me, following your father. How's that?"

Pellio did not want to bet on an innocent child, but he accepted the bet to get a firm answer from the inscrutable Anri that the child would not be harmed.

"Fine. But if I win, I have one more request. Actually, I'm more concerned about the child than the Empress. If I win, promise me that you will never harm that child."

"Ha ha. What will I do with the child? Just for the purpose of monitoring the Empress."

He couldn't give the child back to the biological mother, but this much was somewhere?

Pellio believed that he had made the best choice in a situation where he had no confidence that Ermedillin would be a good mother.

'What if that witch really tries to give up the count's property for her child? I'm looking forward to what choice the Empress will make in court tomorrow.'

"Yes. His Majesty has already paid, so the Empress doesn't have to worry."

"Ah, is that so? But why would His Majesty...."

'Didn't he hate me?'

"It's because the Empress is human."

"What?"

"Not a witch. Because she's human. That's why he paid the retainer fee."

"What are you talking about...."

In fact, even as he made a bet with Henri yesterday, Pellio didn't know that Ermedillin would really try to stop the trial for her child.

He simply harbored a very small hope for the sake of that little child in the Emperor's clutches.

But this witch, no, the Empress really intended to give up the Count's estate for her child.

Pellio's belief that Ermedillin deserved to die as a witch began to crack little by little.

Startled by his heart that had begun to waver, Pellio left the palace without any further explanation, leaving a stupefied Ermedillin behind.

After Pellio left, Henri approached Ermedillin.

His icy blue eyes stared at Ermedillin's purple pupils for a moment.

It was just an instant, but Ermedillin felt like he was scanning the depths of her soul.

"You are human too?"

"Yes?"

Ermedillin looked at Henri with a puzzled face as he suddenly came close, looked down at her with an incomprehensible look in his eyes, and said the same thing as Pellio.

"You were human too."

Valliere was staring with eyes cold enough to freeze at any moment, but Henri didn't care and gently brushed a strand of Ermedillin's hair behind her ear.

Looking up from below, Ermedillin was breathless at Henri's divine beauty, but she realized what he meant in an instant.

Because she was not a witch but a human, because she was a human who was swayed by blood, he helped her.

A human who's caught in a weakness is easy to use.

'Well, that's the way it is. There's no way he helped me without any ulterior motive.'

For a moment, Ermedillin was overwhelmed by the urge to run to Valliere, who was looking at her with full of sorrow, and shout at him to take this kind of man away.

The man who was born to be the Emperor seemed to distinguish everyone around him only by whether they had value to use or not.

She even doubted whether he really loved the lover standing behind him, burning with jealousy.

'What do I care if they really love each other or not. I just need to quickly get a divorce and escape from the barbeque life.'

Ermedillin's mind was urgent, just thinking about using the estate that had finally come into her hands to raise her reputation and peacefully divorce.

Romance is just a luxury to someone who has a barbecue planned.

Ermedillin forced a smile on her unwilling lips.

Even standing in front of the tremendously handsome man who was receiving the adoration of the entire empire, it was very difficult to even smile naturally.

"I'm just… grateful for your gracious treatment."

Anyway, the effort did not betray her, and Ermedillin succeeded in smiling at her husband.

And that sight was beautiful enough to feel like a holy flame to those around them.

The brilliant Henri, who was the sun of Trivian itself, shining bright enough to dazzle the eyes even in the light of day, and Ermedillin, who was like the moon itself shining high and alone in the black night sky, looked more than plausible from the outside, enough to represent the royal authority.

Though the two parties involved were harboring different feelings inwardly, at that moment the Emperor and Empress were the most beautiful couple in the world.

Valliere was drained.

He didn't even realize his mood was off; he was so listless that he just had to feel jealous.

앙리 disliked going beyond her limits and found no appeal in jealousy, yet she subtly chided others for these traits.

Velia clenched her body with tension and frowned, when Henri slowly approached her and wrapped his hand around her waist.

"Wouldn't the empire be at peace only when the Emperor and Empress's authority stand firm?"

Though it was an excuse, Velia wished only for Henri to distance himself from her body.

And Henri quickly noticed Velia's subtle mood. It wasn't as if they had only been together superficially for over a decade.

"Are you still not feeling well?"

At Henri's question, Velia weakly nodded her head.

If there was any comfort, it was that Henri was not the type to casually touch someone's body against their will.

Though standing at the peak of power as an Emperor, Henri had never been intimate with any woman other than Velia.

At times, she doubted if this man truly loved her, but seeing him obediently withdraw his hand and gaze at her with worried eyes, she felt his sincerity.

"I must pray at my personal shrine for you to recover quickly."

After the trial ended and the tension was released, Ermedillin locked herself in her bedroom for the rest of the day, meeting no one.

She had come into a vast sum of money, the value of which she could hardly estimate, but she wasn't exactly pleased.

She had resolved to indulge in luxuries once she became wealthy, but for now, she had no desire to spend the money.

She was simply worried about Ferdant, the child that Henri was caring for.

Though she had only seen a small picture of him in a pendant, and had no memories of giving birth or raising him, the realization that he was her child filled her with longing and sadness.

'Never even married… and now I'm a mother with a child?'

She was more heartbroken now than when she was on trial, fearful of her impending execution.

'I must work. Yes, work! Do good deeds! As the Empress, do some good and cleanly divorce! Organize my situation and provide a proper nurturing environment for my child as a mother!'

With this thought, Ermedillin began to plan how she would use her newfound wealth.

'Right. First and foremost, the orphanage… Ah, it's called a nursery nowadays, isn't it? But there's no concept of childcare here.'

It was undoubtedly a vast amount of money to manage.

Moreover, to avoid execution, she couldn't waste a single penny.

Having never dealt with such large sums, Ermedillin realized she needed professional help.

But the only person she knew who didn't despise her was her lawyer.

With other issues to verify, she had no choice but to summon Pellio.

'That guy may be tight- lipped, but at least he seems like a sensible person.'

She worried about what to do if he didn't come, but Pellio responded promptly to Ermedillin's call.

"What is the matter?"

"I called you because I have a favor to ask."

"What would you like me to do?"

"Before that, there's something I want to ask...."

As Ermedillin hesitated to speak, Pellio guessed the answer.

"Is it about Helen?"

"Oh! Yes! I was curious about what happened...."

Ermedillin, who was surprised by Pellio, who saw through her heart at once, answered him and then frowned at Pellio, who was even more surprised at his own reaction.

"Is this something to be surprised at?"

"I did ask, just in case, but I didn't think Her Majesty the Empress would really care about a maidservant."

'Ah, here it comes again. Snide.'

Ermedillin barely held back her rising anger.

'Whack! If only I could punch him once, I would have no regrets.'

"It's not a child who worked under me anyway. Do you know what happened?"

Ermedillin did not want to prolong the conversation, so she ended it with a question.

"That child is said to have stolen some rings and valuables that represent the ducal family and run away."

"Run away?"

"The plot was maintained, but all that was left to the Duke were a few possessions and symbols of his family, and he's been ranting about having been robbed of the ring by a maidservant. The Duke is claiming that Her Majesty the Empress gave it to him, you know?"

"Huh. So that's what happened."

Ermedillin thought of Helen, who had tearfully confessed to being a spy.

'Ha, do I still have no eye for people?'

"So what favor will you ask of me?"

Pellio, too, seemed not to want to linger long and tried to get straight to the point.

"Ah, I've come into some money this time. I don't love spending it."

With the feeling of letting him taste it too, Ermedillin spoke with a touch of mockery in her tone.

"That's right. You must be very pleased."

"Yes, I'm very pleased, so I'm thinking of doing a good deed."

"A good deed?"

"I'm thinking of establishing an orphanage to care for children who will lose their parents due to the epidemic that broke out in the capital recently?"

It was not something that should come from the mouth of a great villain, so Ermedillin somehow felt self- conscious as she spoke.

'Just believe that I've turned over a new leaf. Please.'

Sure enough, Pellio stood frozen on the spot, as if he had witnessed the advent of a deity.

He seemed to have no idea how to react.

"There's no need to be so surprised. Isn't everyone pointing at me as the mastermind behind the epidemic? I just want to restore my reputation."

She thought she had given a plausible reason, but Pellio seemed even more surprised at the mention of reputation.

"Reputation? Her Majesty the Empress? You cared about reputation?"

"No, that's, well, I'm going to start caring about it now."

"Reputation?"

'No. But why is he so surprised? This is actually really annoying.'

"Yes, reputation! I care about reputation too!"

"Huh?"

Pellio seemed to lose his energy and slumped into a nearby chair.

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This novel has been translated up to chapter 96.

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