I Possessed The Immoral Empress - Chapter 154

Countess Brienta was pouring out her blood without hesitation.

Despite being a talented mage, her life was filled with regrets of not being able to live as one. Now, on the brink of completing the greatest magic circle of her life, all lingering attachments to life seemed meaningless.

Although Duke Batistian had added magic circles around the capital, the Francoise Duke had already secretly inscribed several magic circles throughout the city before his death to use against Henry.

Not a particularly good person, but an undisputedly powerful mage, the Francoise Duke’s magic circles held immense potential.

Countess Brienta felt an overwhelming sense of exhilaration as she watched her blood and Valliere’s curse activate the magic circles one by one.

What a magnificent thing!

A sensation that ordinary people could never experience in their lifetime.

There were countless humans in this land, but only a chosen few could feel the special mystery of magic flowing through their bodies.

Moreover, how insignificant human life was!

Those who hadn’t received the blessing of magic could be so easily extinguished by a spell crafted by a mage.

And a spell of this magnitude!

How many insignificant lives would be brought to their knees before the great mystery of curse magic?

Countess Brienta’s heart swelled with the thought of witnessing lives that didn’t appreciate the mystery of magic being helplessly extinguished.

The only regret was that her father, who had treated her as insignificant, would not see this spectacle.

‘If only you were alive now. You could see how great your daughter has become!’

After squeezing the last of the blood from her palm, Countess Brienta staggered aside.

Now, Valliere stood at the center of the magic circle, chanting the prescribed incantations with an expressionless face.

The magic circle flashed momentarily, absorbing Countess Brienta’s blood.

The ground returned to its normal appearance as if nothing had happened.

Valliere—Lee Yerim in her previous life—was a bright girl.

Although she never became the top student, she consistently ranked second in her highly competitive school district.

Seeing Countess Brienta grow paler, Valliere realized something important.

The Countess had said she only needed to provide hatred as the caster, but to activate a spell of this magnitude, the cost wouldn’t be that simple.

What was likely required was her blood, or even her life.

Yet, despite realizing this, Valliere wasn’t particularly angry.

Even as death seemed to draw nearer, Countess Brienta’s gray eyes only grew sharper with a fervent gleam.

Though Valliere couldn’t fully understand why the Countess was doing this, she understood the feeling of someone on the brink of destruction filled with exhilaration.

She felt the same way now—ready to sacrifice her life joyfully if it meant completing the magic.

A sacrifice.

A perfect sacrifice was necessary.

It would be great if her hatred and blood were enough, but Valliere couldn’t be satisfied with just that.

If she couldn’t be the protagonist of this world, she wanted to destroy it completely and thoroughly.

It was almost done.

Though progress had been slow due to the need for secrecy, the preparations for all the magic circles would soon be complete.

As Valliere moved toward the next magic circle, she thought of someone—a perfect sacrifice to bring an end to this worthless world.

***

“What, she fainted?”

Henry chuckled as he listened to Count Hallstein’s report.

A lock of his golden hair fell across his finely arched brow, casting a thin shadow.

“Yes, she fainted as soon as she stood on the battlefield on the first day.”

“Huh?”

Henry was well aware of how horrific the battlefield could be.

During the war of the bastards, when many illegitimate children aimed to gain favor with the Emperor by amassing private soldiers and heading to the border with Frianton, Henry, lacking sufficient private troops, had to prove his worth through sheer bravery. He personally fought on the front lines to catch the previous Emperor’s attention.

Now, sitting on the throne, performing duties like a soulless puppet, it was hard to imagine Henry as the ferocious beast leading armies on the front lines just 4 or 5 years ago. His leadership had attracted several nobles to his side.

Therefore, he understood that Ermedeline would be somewhat shocked by the battlefield.

Although she had killed people with curse magic, most of her involvement was limited to crafting spells, while the actual executions were carried out by spies with personal grudges planted close to Henry’s half-brothers.

However, despite knowing that Ermedeline was the most powerful witch in the Empire, it was surprising that she fainted after seeing the battlefield.

Henry knew that Ermedeline had no connection to Ermond’s treason and held a valuable card in Ferdant. He hoped she would be a strategic asset, but that was merely his hope.

“What’s the current status?”

“Thanks to the other mages stepping up, they managed to hold the front line.”

“I see. What about the priests?”

“The Grand Temple has sent all available priests to the front. The Central Temple, however, is refusing to help, claiming they cannot abandon the citizens of the capital during these complicated times.”

“Huh? Is that so?”

While defending the border was crucial, Henry couldn’t divert the capital’s forces either. For him, Trivian without him as Emperor was meaningless.

That’s why, despite the nobles’ opposition, he forcibly sent the mages to the front lines. Yet, the Central Temple’s refusal was infuriating.

“Tell Noctavinus that if he doesn’t respond, I will strip Arvian of his priesthood. Also, inform the Central Temple that if they refuse to cooperate in these dire times, I will cut off all support.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Henry’s two orders were swiftly conveyed to the concerned parties.

Unlike the extremely busy Noctavinus, the idle Central Temple could immediately review Henry’s command.

“What? Cutting off support?” 

Michaen, the high priest in charge of the Central Temple, reacted with disdain, his thick eyebrows twitching as if dealing with a spoiled child.

With all officially active mages sent to the front lines, only the high priests of the Central Temple could sense the increasingly thickening aura of curse magic around the capital.

He had intended to bide his time, reading the flow of events, and siding with the victor at the last moment. However, his lifelong role as a priest made it difficult to completely ignore this ominous energy.

Thus, he had been on the verge of sending high-ranking priests, capable of sensing the faint magic in the atmosphere, to investigate. But then Henry’s forced conscription order arrived.

‘The front lines? He wants us to go to the front lines?’

Michaen sneered coldly as he tore the decree into pieces.

“Summon all the priests. We’re heading to the border.”

“What?”

The priest, who had been waiting respectfully after delivering the order, looked up in disbelief.

“He insists we go to the border. So, we’ll take everyone.”

“But we were just about to investigate around the capital…”

“Oh? That? Let the Emperor handle the capital. He’s not even sending reinforcements to the border and has it tightly monitored…”

“But with no mages here…”

Michaen glared sharply at the assisting priest.

“Did you not understand my order?”

The priest, feeling the weight of Michaen’s threatening gaze, quickly bowed his head in submission.

“No, sir. I will gather everyone immediately.”

Henry was pleased when he received Michaen’s response agreeing to send support.

He believed that with the presence of priests and mages, the front lines would hold until the situation in the capital was stabilized.

Therefore, he issued free passage documents for the priests.

But he didn’t know.

He didn’t know that late at night, all the priests from the Central Temple would leave the capital at once.

“What?”

It wasn’t until the next morning that Henry heard the news, yelling at the soldier who reported it.

“All the priests left at dawn…”

“Why am I only hearing about this now?”

“That… with the passage documents issued by Your Majesty, we assumed it was a direct order from you…”

“Ha…”

Henry, taken aback by this unexpected setback, roughly pushed his hair back and let out a heavy sigh.

‘No, it’s okay. Leopold doesn’t have any priests on his side either, right? It’s unfortunate that regular soldiers won’t get treated, but Louise is in the palace. She can take care of the important commanders.’

Trying to look at the situation positively, Henry reached for the coffee cup beside him.

Now, the capital was left with only lower-tier holy power users not officially registered with the temple and a few priests, including Louise, who remained within the heavily fortified palace.

None of them could foresee the impending disaster that would soon engulf the capital.

As soon as the sun rose, Ermedeline sprang out of bed.

Despite her lingering fear, she was determined to be of use on the battlefield today.

With resolve, she tied her hair up high.

In her previous life, she often wore her hair in a short bob, but this was the first time she put it up completely in this world.

It was to show how serious she was.

She also discarded her cumbersome robe.

It was summer, and as long as her clothing covered her, it would suffice.

Ermedeline donned a specially requested riding outfit.

Since it was rare for women to wear pants here, the easiest and most practical attire she could find was a riding suit.

“Wow! Your Majesty, you look amazing in riding clothes! You’re tall and have long limbs, so it suits you well!”

Rooney, helping Ermedeline into her jacket, complimented her enthusiastically.

“Do I?”

While Rooney admired her outfit with sparkling eyes, Ermedeline herself wasn’t as pleased with her attire.

‘This isn’t as comfortable as I thought. The pants have no stretch, and why is the jacket so tight? I just want to wear loose shorts! I’ve been wearing these clothes for months!’

As Ermedeline looked at her reflection with a dissatisfied expression, Felio entered the tent to escort her.

“Ah, Lord Felio!”

“Huff! What the…”

Just as Ermedeline waved cheerfully to greet him, Felio, his face turning bright red, rushed out of the tent in a hurry.