Chapter 5

'What is this?'

Upon unfolding the crumpled paper, there were the names of cursed potions and the list of people who had ordered them.

"Ugh! What is this? This woman, she did record everything so meticulously!!"

From commoners to dukes, counts, and barons. A list of customers regardless of high or low status.

There's no confidentiality like this lack of confidentiality.

If this list is revealed, not only the one who made the potions but also the customers will be in danger.

'Is this what has been accepted as evidence? I won't use it right away, but if I have it, there will be a time when I'll need it.'

Reading the letters in unfamiliar darkness wasn't a simple tiring task, but Ermedillin immediately picked up the next book.

'Isn't there any useful magic?'

As she read, she realized that every curse potion basically required a drop of the maker's blood.

Considering the description that the Franshuar family was called dark magicians in the novel, the lineage of the maker seems quite important in completing the magic.

'Ah, I shouldn't have skimmed through the settings, I should have read them in detail.'

What's the use of regretting it now?

For now, there's no choice but to thoroughly read the clues in front of her.

'The more I read, the more outrageous it gets, really.'

As the book gets thicker, the contents of the curses become more serious.

Exhausted by the dreadful content, Ermedillin gave up detailed reading and decided to check only the last two spells of the thickest and most ominous- looking book.

'The curse of the lion? Summoning the soul of the dead and calling it into the body of a living person who harbors resentment. Ugh, there's really all sorts of things.'

It's a curse that possesses the soul of the deceased into the body of a person with deep resentment.

The content of the memo, seemingly written by Ermedillin, is impressive.

'I will offer my soul to complete the curse. I will definitely possess ### into your body!!'

'Ugh, fortunately, it looks like it hasn't been executed yet. What kind of magic is this nonsense?'

The last curse's name is 'Disturbance of Rest.'

Reading the last chapter with a hope that something useful might be there, Ermedillin's eyes began to shake violently.

'This… is this a complete zombie? What's going on… what was this woman thinking?'

Startled, she closed the book that had the research method for magic that revives only the flesh of the lion and makes it act according to the caster's will.

'There's nothing helpful at all!! What is this, really! I don't want to earn money by using these weird curse magics. I don't even know how to do it. I must definitely collect the borrowed money.'

Even after thoroughly searching the basement, there was no information that could help with finances right away.

Helplessly returning to the bedroom, Ermedillin discovered something unseen on the bed.

"What's this?"

Picking up the paper shining faintly in the moonlight, there was a simple sentence written in it.

'Are you really going to proceed with the lawsuit? You don't care if Ferdant dies?'

'Could the Count Franshuar have visited the basement?'

The name Ferdant appears again.

'It seems to be an important name. I don't know who it is. Could it be…'

With an unbelievable feeling, she opened the pendant she saw during the day, took out a picture of a child that looked just like her, and there, as expected, was the name Ferdant.

'Is this kid's name Ferdant? Considering the resemblance, it must be a relative. Ah, what do I do? Just ignore it?'

It's somewhat unsettling to just pass over it.

'How do I find out?'

Thinking about the name Ferdant and about to lie down on the bed, Ermedillin suddenly felt a chill all over her body.

"The only ones who know that I am going to proceed with the lawsuit are the maids, the priest, and Count Batistian. How did they find out and leave a threatening letter in my bedroom?"

This place is the Empress's palace, where most people hesitate to tread, deeming it ominous.

Within the isolated palace, where even the guards are minimally stationed.

Therefore, there can be only one possibility.

That there exists a spy.

It seems the priest who gave testimony is not the spy, and one of the three maids must be the spy, but considering Count François' behavior, the probability of having been threatened is also thick.

"In this situation, I have no choice but to be careful on my own."

Thus, Ermedillin dismissed all the maids the next day and left the palace alone in the carriage prepared by Count Batistian.

Loonie wanted to accompany her to the end, saying it was dangerous, but the guards seemed lucky not to have been pointed out and did not try to stop the Empress from going out alone.

"Yes. How much would everyone love it if this terrible Empress went out alone and something went wrong?"

While harboring bitter thoughts, the carriage moved out of the city into a quiet alley.

The destination was a small, shabby building.

Inside was Pellio, the son of Count Batistian, waiting for Ermedillin.

This finicky young man, who looked just like his father, Count Batistian, with a sharp appearance, had dark blue hair and silver eyes.

Furthermore, his emotionless expression matched very well with the nickname of an ice prince that Ermedillin could not charm until the very end in the novel.

"Please sit."

Without any ceremonial greeting, Pellio pointed to a chair already prepared with his chin.

"He seems to hate mingling."

It's not a pleasant thing to receive a feeling of "I hate you" from a stranger.

But since she had possessed the worst villain, she had to get used to it.

"Let's try to look good since he's my lawyer for now."

Not wanting to be a disappointment, Ermedillin sat down with a calm demeanor and a gentle smile.

"Thank you for taking on my defense."

She used the most polite tone she could, but the response was filled with cold, silver eyes, full of contempt as if looking at something filthy.

"You don't have to thank me. I just want to bring down your father, Count François."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. After dealing with the Count, it will be easier to bring down the Empress without support."

Ermedillin swallowed in tension at Pellio's direct remarks, not even trying to hide his true intentions.

The situation of joining hands with someone full of hatred towards her, ultimately leading her to be sentenced to death, was not just uncomfortable for Ermedillin.

In her previous life as Hye- young, she had faced daily neglect and indifference, but she had never lived to incur this much hatred.

On the contrary, if she harbored hatred for someone, she did.

'Ha… how did I come to be treated like this… Even though I lived by the principle of not bothering others, no matter how hard it was. What can I do? It's just a bad fate to be possessed by this body. Let's try to talk nicely since he's my lawyer.'

"I understand that you have very negative feelings towards me. In fact, not only you but everyone in the empire feels that way. In your eyes, I may look like an immoral witch, but it's quite hard to be treated like that even by my family."

"...."

"Even if you bring me to ruin someday, for now, I must escape from my father's abuse."

She tried to speak indifferently, but unknowingly became emotionally involved; Ermedillin's voice trembled slightly in the last sentence.

'Why couldn't they send me to a warm family if I'm going to be possessed? Do I have to live lonely as an orphan all my life? Can't I be happy even in a novel?'

She was about to cry out of resentment.

'What's this? Why are the tears coming? Don't cry in front of a stranger you've just met!'

Ermedillin tried hard to hide her tears and turned her head, but for a moment, Pellio's eyes softened.

'Does he feel compassion for Ermedillin, who has been abused by her father, even though he's known for his chivalry?'

"The enormous debt, taking maids at will, even murder. None of this is particularly unusual, but assault. Assaulting a member of the royal family. Is this true?"

Pellio's questioning tone was sharp as a blade.

"Yes. Priest Louise will testify."

Pellio examined the record of the wicked deeds of Duke François, as written by Ermedillin, with an emotionless face.

It is said that when you are possessed, memories etched on the body surface, but so far, she remembered nothing.

Luckily, the original Ermedillin had recorded not only the money she lent to her father but also the details of the abuse she suffered.

While reading, she felt nauseated by the severity of the beatings; it was surprising to see such things written down, but seeing the dates and names of the witnesses, it was clear that this body's original owner had intended to bring down her father at some point.

Of course, in the original novel, she failed, taking all the blame and disappearing in the smoke at the stake.

Pellio's expression, as he read the complaint casually, was cold, but his hand trembled slightly.

Certainly, the content was serious, not something to be looked at soberly.

Slashing the neck with a knife was among the lesser offenses.

There were times when she had been pinned to the wall by her hair until she fainted, and times when her legs had been broken with the hilt of a sword.

Once, her face had been scalded with boiling hot tea.

'Even when I was writing it, my hand was trembling, so how could it be different for the reader?'

The orphanage where Hye- young lived was not a place filled with love, but at least it was a place where legal protection could be received.

Violence consisted only of fighting among the children.

But even so, she had always envied classmates accompanied by their parents on sports days or picnics.

She wondered what it would feel like if she had a mother and father.

Thus, while transcribing her father's abusive acts, she felt both great anger as Ermedillin and great sorrow as Hye- young.

Anyone could see they were family, with their jet- black hair, purple eyes, and even similar facial features. And yet, this was family? Her ideal suddenly crumbled, and she felt a sense of loss.

Pellio, having read all the testimonies, carefully placed the paper on the table so as not to crumple it.

"If everything written here is true, then this is a serious matter indeed. No matter what, Ermedillin is not yet the empress, is she? How dare someone commit such an outrageous act against a member of the royal family. And for a trained knight to assault a woman, this is even lower than I thought. Your Majesty's father, that is."

'Being still unmarried, Prince Pellio certainly felt a different point of anger from his father, Count Batistian.'

Both the father and son regarded the assault on the royalty as a serious crime, but the Count felt personal resentment for the assault on his child, while the Prince felt personal resentment for the assault on a woman.

'Besides, as far as now, that is....'

As he said the words 'as far as now,' Pellio stared intently at Ermedillin.

It was a sort of warning that she would soon no longer be the Empress once this matter was resolved.

'Yeah. I don't want to be an Empress either. I just don't want to die! I just have to find my money, be dethroned, and leave this palace!'

Until then, she was prepared to endure any humiliation.

Having reincarnated, she could not die as the worst villain for something she didn't do.

"Will you take up the defense?"

"Of course. It's a sure win, and missing it would make me an incompetent lawyer."

"Can you recover the borrowed money?"

To Ermedillin, more urgent than punishing her father who assaulted her, is money.

What would happen if she were driven out of the imperial palace as a pauper?

If the rumor spread that the Empress, who already faced the hatred of the entire nation, was abandoned by her family and driven out like a beggar, it would be the end.

But Pellio's silver eyes, knowing nothing of this situation, turned cold enough to freeze everything around him.

A feeling that if he blinked, even his breath would come out cold.

"Money… yes. Her Majesty the Empress… really likes money, doesn't she?"

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This novel has been translated up to chapter 96.

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