The Empress' Scandalous Paramour (5 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 12
“How dare a lowly concubine speak of etiquette!”
Duke Achilo erupted in fury, and Mrs. Bertolt nodded in agreement with his sentiment.
But my thoughts differed slightly.
‘Perfect. This is a chance to get a proper read on Helene.’
If I had summoned Helene myself, it would have been the perfect setup for rumors like “The Empress is persecuting the Saintess” to spread.
Yet, holding a formal audience to speak with her was impossible—Enrique was always glued to her side, making private conversation difficult.
But now that she’s come to me like this, how could I not be grateful?
I gave a faint smile and crossed my legs, shifting into a haughty posture.
“Speak up. You must first hear what I have to say.”
“There’s no need for that, my lady. What purpose would that serve?”
“Calm down, Father. Given what just happened, the Saintess surely has something to say, doesn’t she?”
It seemed Duke Achilo dearly cherished his daughter.
Then again, that must be why he’d allowed only his trusted aides to staff the Empress’s palace.
“Hello!”
Helene soon entered the reception room and cheerfully greeted me.
I had wisely ordered Duke Achilo moved to another room and the teacups cleared away beforehand—seeing this scene would have surely made him collapse, clutching his chest.
Helene waddled in, arms full of something, failing to properly bend her knees in greeting and omitting all honorifics.
Her actions blatantly declared that, as someone not belonging to the imperial palace, she had no obligation to abide by its customs.
“Oh! Now that I think of it, this must be the first time I’ve come to visit you myself. I’m usually quite shy, so I’ve kept my distance until now… but I think we should start visiting each other’s quarters and become close friends! Like peers!”
Without even being invited to sit, Helene took a seat for herself—not across from me, but right beside me.
At that, Mrs. Bertolt, who had just entered pushing a trolley with a teapot and fruit, stumbled ever so slightly.
Pretending not to notice, I finally turned my gaze toward Helene.
“Had I known you possessed such a bright disposition, I would have spent more time with you.”
“Hehe, thank you for the compliment.”
Mrs. Bertolt’s pupils visibly trembled, utterly shocked by Helene’s shameless lack of decorum and utter disregard for protocol in seating herself.
Yet, true to her role as Head Maid, she concealed her feelings and silently poured tea like a shadow.
The peach-scented oolong tea, releasing its fragrant aroma, was my favorite. The honey-glazed peaches served alongside were something I certainly didn’t wish to share with someone like Helene.
But if she didn’t eat at least this, I’d find it hard not to vomit just looking at her feigned innocence.
Elegantly lifting my teacup, I gave a slight nod.
“Very well. But your name is?”
“You don’t know my name…?”
Helene’s eyes widened in surprise—clearly, she hadn’t expected such a question.
She looked as if she wanted to throw a punch right then and there.
“One must be introduced to be known. You entered without offering your name.”
Gently chiding her, Helene blinked dumbly for a few seconds before barely regaining her composure.
“I’m Helene. Please feel free to call me Helene.”
“I’m glad you said that, Helene.”
“Yes! Then what should I call you?”
“Your Majesty, the Empress.”
“……”
At my crisp reply, Helene was once again left speechless.
As Mrs. Bertolt quietly wheeled the trolley out of the reception room, her shoulders trembled faintly. Seeing her struggle to suppress laughter, I smirked inwardly.
In that brief moment, Helene and I had each landed a blow on the other.
She’d surely rush to share this story with the maids outside.
Setting down my teacup, I smiled with perfect sweetness.
“I trust you didn’t actually expect I’d address you by your given name. You’re not so naive as to lack such common sense, are you?”
“Ahh… yes.”
“Even His Imperial Majesty refers to me as Empress—surely you ought to do the same?”
“Of course, Your Majesty. I was being thoughtless.”
So, she wasn’t as easily cowed as she seemed.
Helene quickly regained her composure and responded deftly to every attack.
And that delighted me.
If she’d simply collapsed with a whimper under pressure, I wouldn’t have been able to torment her for long.
This was exactly how I wanted it.
“About the upcoming banquet, Your Majesty—you’ll surely do wonderfully! Still, I thought you might need some help, so I’ve brought along samples of items I ordered. Please feel free to use anything you like!”
Helene smiled brightly, then picked up a branch bearing red berries from the clutter she’d dumped on the table.
“Originally, I planned to decorate the banquet hall with holly to give it a wintry feel. As you know, holly symbolizes peace. And since the Desert Kingdom experiences summer year-round, they’re not very familiar with winter.”
“And so?”
“Holly’s berries are beautiful and carry the meaning of worshiping the divine—I think it’s an excellent choice.”
Ah, that’s a pity.
I should have just let Helene take full charge of the banquet preparations and watched her humiliate herself.
Watching her speak so confidently about holly, I could already imagine what would happen if she used it to decorate the hall.
‘People from the Desert Kingdom assume everything inside the banquet hall is edible. In their culture, it’s polite for guests to eat everything served without leaving a trace.’
It wasn’t as if their country bloomed with abundant flowers that would justify floral decorations. And while cacti were plentiful, decorating with cacti would be just as odd.
Thus, the Desert Kingdom traditionally adorned banquet halls with fruit or fruit-bearing trees.
That way, guests could enjoy fresh fruit whenever they pleased, and the space would feel lush and inviting—truly a flawless custom.
‘But the berries of our dear holly are poisonous.’
If consumed unknowingly, they’d cause vomiting and dehydration…
‘Hmm?’
Could she possibly be aware of that custom?
Was she planning to secretly poison everyone and then “heal” them with the Saintess’s divine power?
“Oh! And this is a list I made of things His… ahem, Your Majesty likes and dislikes in food.”
I had no idea what thoughts swirled inside that little head of hers, but her antics were growing increasingly intriguing.
Honestly, if this weren’t connected to me—and if Enrique weren’t involved—had we met back when I was still a demon rather than human… perhaps I might have even grown fond of Helene. Cunning people like her were always amusing.
Without even glancing at the paper, I gave a low chuckle.
“I can’t tell whether you’re a Saintess or a concubine. If you’re the latter, you deserve praise for your actions; if the former, you’d be better off using that time to care for even one more suffering commoner. Didn’t your almighty god tell you that?”
“Huh?”
“You may play at being both Saintess and concubine all you like, but it’s time you stopped playing at being Empress.”
I gently stroked Helene’s pink hair as I whispered softly. Her eyes widened again in startled confusion.
“P-p-playing? I’ve never done that! I truly just wanted to help… I’ve only been trying my best!”
Her voice trembled with wounded indignation.
Giggling like a young girl, I tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear.
“Oh dear, don’t take a joke so seriously.”
“!”
“Now then, would you like some peach? It’s quite a rare fruit for this season, isn’t it?”
I picked up a fork myself and pierced the tender flesh. On the polished convex surface of the silver fork, Helene’s lower lip briefly caught between her teeth was briefly reflected.
But when I offered her the peach, Helene quickly wiped away her frustration and put on an expression of perfect innocence.
Her cheeks flushed like ripe peaches, and her eyes shimmered as if ready to shed tears like peach nectar any moment.
A face utterly unlike my former demonic self—and vastly different from the current ‘Leonarda’ I now embodied.
I regarded Helene with fresh curiosity.
‘So Enrique loves those weaker than him.’
The rather unremarkable thought passed through my mind and vanished.
It held no real significance.
“Um, Your Majesty…”
After a few minutes of exchanging pointless chatter about whether peaches were sweet or not,
Helene suddenly set down her fork, having apparently devised something cutting to say, and spoke with solemn earnestness.
“I truly believe the Divine will watch over and protect Your Majesty.”
“Yes, that must be why I’m still alive to this day.”
I replied with deliberate indifference, driving a stake into the conversation. Undeterred, Helene clasped her hands tightly together—clearly preparing to unleash a major attack.
“And… I don’t want to compete or fight with you over Enri. He’s truly precious to me.”
Enri…
Now that she mentioned it, I always called Enrique “Nique”—short for “my victory and glory.”
Back when I was utterly consumed by war, victory and glory were my greatest treasures, so I’d given him that affectionate nickname.
‘But what good does it do to dwell on that now?’
I looked at Helene with indifferent eyes. Her expression was oddly flushed, and her petal-like lips parted slightly.
“So… I’ll be sure to tell Enri to sleep with Your Majesty soon! As your friend, of course.”
Male lead fell into her trap — and shattered when she walked away
This is also on my reread list!
This one is a slow burn, but when it burns, it burns hard.
Definitely worth a read, y’all!
The story follows a thousand-year-old seductive spirit who, on a bet, sets out to charm the male lead—a once-promising but unfortunate cultivator.
But just when she succeeds in making him fall for her, she heartlessly leaves, driving him to madness.
Determined to find her at all costs, he captures her, keeping her by his side no matter what, even if she hates him.
I love this kind of trope—I enjoy watching the male lead suffer in agony.
The ending drags a bit with unnecessary filler, but that’s fine.
As long as I enjoy the beginning, I’m good.
Intro
As an enchantress, Su Heng possesses captivating eyes and charming beauty, easily manipulating the joys and sorrows of living beings at her fingertips.
But to enchant a god, making him taste the bitterness of love’s separation, long-lasting resentment, unattainable desires, and inability to let go…
Do you dare?
Su Heng assists a divine lord in his cultivation, aiming to make him experience all the sufferings of love, so that he can attain the Great Dao.
Only after being chased down from the heavens by the divine lord, confined and completely possessed by him, does she realize how successful she has been.
The once gentle and polite youth has transformed into someone she no longer recognizes.
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Leonarda really said “I’m done” and meant it 💀 queen finally clocked in and chose violence. Enrique only interested now?? too late bro.
Meriem down BAD already and bro hasn’t even met her again 😭 meanwhile Leonarda fighting the whole empire solo… yeah this banquet bout to be chaos fr.
She really said “fix yourselves or I will” 😭🔥 empress about to run bootcamp fr, Valkyrie redemption arc loading…