Chapter 3

Count François plopped down in his seat without a greeting, babbling away informally.

"You?"

Ermedillin, surprised by the Count's tone, frowned and glared at him.

"What, you glare at me? You seem to have forgotten your place?"

'You? Even if he is my father, to use such language with a daughter who is an empress?'

The Count's attitude was excessively inappropriate, even for an ordinary father.

Now he even looked at the young maids with malicious eyes, scanning them with a disgusting expression.

Ermedillin's beauty was inherited from her father, so the Count also had good looks, but the expression he wore was unbearably unpleasant.

'Wow, even a handsome face can look that nasty. Such an expression would spoil my appetite even if my favorite grandfather came.'

"Are these the new ones that came in? This time they are a bit higher level than last time."

'What's he talking about? This crazy old man.'

Though she wanted to chase him away immediately, she had to put out the urgent fire first.

"Um, Father. Something to tell you…"

"That one."

Suddenly, the Count pointed with his finger at a maid with thick golden hair.

The maid who was pointed at barely lifted her head and sent a desperate look to Ermedillin.

Tears were already falling from her eyes.

"Why that maid? Did she commit some rudeness?"

Ermedillin asked with a stern expression.

The Count then glared at Ermedillin, putting strength in his eyes.

"Are you insane? That blonde. I'm taking her. This time send her back with her life attached."

"Your Majesty…"

It seemed like she might burst into incredulous laughter, but the maid's desperate face, chosen by the Count, was too vivid.

Ermedillin stood between her father and the maid.

"Why are you borrowing my person, your Grace? May I ask the reason?"

The Count's expression, which had been wearing an unpleasant smile while looking at the maid, turned fierce for a moment.

"Today, why are you like this? Have you really gone mad? Fer…"

The Count almost mentioned someone's name but stopped.

"I don't want to argue in front of these creatures. Take her with you when you leave…"

"No."

Before the Count could finish his words, Ermedillin expressed her refusal sharply.

"What?"

"I said no. Why would you arbitrarily borrow my person? First, repay the money you borrowed from me."

The Count's eyes seemed to bulge out at Ermedillin's words.

A face like he'd seen a ghost.

"Everyone, get out."

Grinding his teeth and driving out the maids, the Count was trembling with rage.

The maids left, and he abruptly stood up and grabbed Ermedillin by the scruff.

"This crazy, have you really gone mad? Do you not care if Ferdinand dies?"

'Ferdinand? Who is that?'

A name that had never been mentioned in the novel.

Why should I care what happens to someone I don't even know, who must not be an important character?

"I have to get my money first no matter what happens to Ferdinand. Repay the money?"

Holding Ermedillin by the scruff of her neck, Count François was captivated by a strange sensation as he looked at his daughter's confident eyes.

'Am I dreaming right now? Is this woman really the Ermedillin I knew?'

However, the only clear eyes in the empire.

The privilege of being able to use dark magic, her purple pupils made it impossible to deny that the alien woman in front of him was his daughter.

The Count released the grip on her neck and asked in a low voice.

"Why do you suddenly need money?"

"I have a personal use for it."

"Personal? You have a personal need for money? If you're so desperate, do as you were. Either make illegal drugs or beg from your lovers."

François the Grand Duke looked at Ermedillin with eyes as if he was looking at not a daughter but waste and trash.

"You've borrowed so much money, why would you do such a thing? It's tiring. Just give it back."

"What? Have you gone mad? Do you really want to see Ferdinand die?"

'Ah, so who is that?'

"Do as you please. I need to get the money. It's recorded in detail, so if it goes to court…."

Before Ermedillin's words were finished, the Grand Duke grabbed her hair.

He then drew his dagger and pressed it to Ermedillin's throat.

Startled, Ermedillin writhed, and a small wound appeared on her snow- white neck.

"Ahh!!"

"Don't whine. Just call the cleric to heal it. I'd like to kill you right now, but I'll hold back this time. You must be under a lot of pressure too. And send the money right away. Use whatever means you have to make up the amount. Got it?"

The sensation of metal at her neck was so vivid that Ermedillin couldn't respond at all.

She was just biting her teeth hard not to cry.

The Grand Duke grabbed Ermedillin's hair and threw her hard against the wall, then left with loud footsteps, kicking the door open.

Thud! Ermedillin's head hit the wall with a loud noise.

As soon as the Grand Duke left, the maids who rushed in screamed at Ermedillin's condition.

"Kyah!! Your Majesty, the Empress!!"

"Quick!! Call the cleric!!"

One of the maids rushed out to call the cleric who was residing in the palace.

"Your Majesty, are you alright?"

The maid who had stood in front of Ermedillin earlier was shedding tears, using her apron to wrap Ermedillin's neck.

"The cleric will be here soon. Please bear with me. It's my fault that there's a wound on your neck..."

"Why is it your fault?"

At Ermedillin's question, the maid's eyes poured out even more tears.

"You protected me. The maids who were taken to the Count earlier became carriers, and some even died."

'Heavens. This man, dare he take the Empress's maid and even kill them?'

A man who would unhesitatingly brandish a knife at his daughter, the Empress, wouldn't treat the maids kindly, either.

'What has he done with these young girls in their late teens who haven't even lost their milk teeth yet? A perverted wretch.'

The more she thought, the angrier she became, to the point where she almost couldn't feel the pain in her neck.

Ermedillin raised her hand to wipe the maid's tears.

"Don't blame yourself for something that's not your fault. In life, there will be times when things go wrong because of your real mistakes, but you don't need to blame yourself for things you haven't done."

Soon, the footsteps of the cleric were heard.

A good- looking middle- aged woman, who seemed quite old.

The cleric, forcibly brought by another maid, saw the blood- covered Ermedillin and screamed.

"Hiieek!! What is this??"

She immediately ran over and began to carefully examine Ermedillin's neck.

"Could it be a knife…"

"Yes."

The cleric didn't question further and healed Ermedillin's neck.

From the warm- faced cleric's body, a warm and brilliant light erupted, and Ermedillin's pain stopped.

"Your Majesty, the Empress."

The cleric called Ermedillin with a serious voice.

"??"

"You know that I do not like the fact that you, Your Majesty, the Empress, use dark magic, don't you?"

'Ah, that's right. In the novel, the Empress and the altar were openly hostile.'

Nodding.

"Even if I dislike Her Majesty the Empress, this is not it. How can a father handle his daughter's body so recklessly?"

Seeing the upset expression on the face of the clergyman, who was on bad terms, as if he himself had suffered the misfortune, it seems that this was not the first time this had happened.

'Even though he's the family of a villain, did I know it would be this outrageous?'

"Is there any way to legally punish this?"

'This damned pervert. I won't let him be!'

"How can you call that speech? He dared to put a knife to the body of the royalty. He should have gone to court earlier, but wasn't Her Majesty the Empress the one who kept fighting until now?"

"I did?"

The words that should have been thought to oneself slipped out without knowing it.

"Yes. Her Majesty the Empress. But what is the reason you are suddenly considering punishment?"

The clergyman's honey- colored eyes were full of distrust and vigilance.

"The reason, if there is one, is that I can't bear it any longer, isn't it?"

A subtle expression crossed the clergyman's face at Ermedillin's answer.

That expression seemed worried, and also appeared to be mocking.

"If Your Majesty plans to officially make this an issue, I will testify personally in court."

"Really?"

"Yes. Of course, it's not out of sympathy for Her Majesty the Empress. The royalty must be at the center and peak of the Trivebian Empire. Whoever it is, if they have wounded the body of the royalty, they must be punished according to the stringent national laws."

"It's reassuring to hear you say that. Thank you for the treatment as well… Thank you."

The clergyman's face started to fluctuate sharply at what was simply a courteous remark that any human should make.

"You just said thank you??"

"Indeed?"

The clergyman furrowed his brows for a moment and then tilted his head.

"I understand for now. But I am a disciple of the deity and only did what is natural. There is no need to thank me."

How bad must one's character be to be surprised by a simple greeting? Ermedillin's head began to ache, wondering how much common sense she must maintain not to arouse suspicion.

"Your Majesty. Are you okay?"

After the clergyman left, the maids rushed to check on Ermedillin's condition.

"Yeah. Uh- huh. I'm fine now. It doesn't hurt."

When Ermedillin slightly lifted her chin to show her clean neck, the maids heaved a huge sigh of relief.

"Have I ever asked your names?"

They were, after all, the closest attendants.

The damned Empress had not had a single maid visit her chamber.

'It won't be bad to know their names at least.'

The blonde- haired, brown- eyed, pretty girl Ermedillin had blocked answered.

"No, Your Majesty. You never asked for our names."

"Really? I didn't even ask for your names? Can you tell me?"

At Ermedillin's request, the maids happily revealed their names in turn.

The pretty girl with blonde hair and brown eyes was named Loony.

The chubby girl with dark brown hair and green eyes was named Mago.

The very skinny freckled girl with red hair and wall eyes standing shivering in the back was named Helen.

"How long have you all been serving me? I want to remember exactly."

19- year- old Loony had been serving for 6 months, 18- year- old Mago for 4 months, and 17- year- old Helen for just 2 weeks.

For the Empress's maids, they were unusually young and had short periods of service.

'Is it a blessing that they have spent a short time enduring a malicious Empress? I need to win them over to my side, starting with these girls.'

------------------------------

This novel has been translated up to chapter 96.

To read ahead, join my Patreon, it's totally free.

Find my Patreon in the synopsis of this novel.