The Empress' Scandalous Paramour (5 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 3
“There’s no reason to refuse when she herself asked me to use her.”
It didn’t trouble my conscience that I was using her heart. A demon wouldn’t have such a thing anyway.
Besides, I needed to survive—and right now, I couldn’t afford to pass up anything I could possibly use.
I’d never lived as a human before, yet suddenly I had to live as one. That alone was a daunting challenge.
“At least my status isn’t bad, and I have loyal subordinates who care for this body. It’s not terrible for living—so long as no one finds out I’m a demon… But since I don’t have a magic core anyway, there’s no risk of exposure.”
Earlier, the shock of becoming human had left my mind foggy, but upon careful reflection, this human Empress seemed quite similar to me in temperament.
You could say everyone around her was used to hearing harsh words.
Moreover, even when I got angry, they didn’t fear me—in fact, they seemed to pity me.
“Of course.”
With this fragile, glasswork-like body, what harm could I possibly do? At most, my temper tantrums only made me seem pitiful.
In other words, I didn’t need to change my personality at all.
I could just live as I always had—it wasn’t a bad arrangement.
“But I can’t possibly survive in this ragged body. If I don’t somehow extend my lifespan and make it usable, I’ll die soon enough.”
Fortunately, I had a method. Whether it would work or not… was another matter.
“Hey, what’s my name?”
“Leonarda Nyx. You are the Empress of the Nix Empire.”
“Leonarda…”
Lost in thought, I rolled the unfamiliar name around in my mouth, then replied briskly.
“I don’t remember anything. Must have forgotten it all from the shock.”
I decided to brazen it out.
After all, falling from that high tower provided a perfectly plausible excuse for amnesia.
“So you’ll have to help me.”
I reached out and lifted the knight’s chin.
Where our skin touched, heat flared and seeped into me. That warmth coiled once around my heart before being swallowed into my soul.
It was power inherent to my soul—irrespective of whether I had a magic core or not.
“You’ll do it, won’t you?”
I smiled as demonically as possible.
There was no need to wait for an answer.
[This is the timeline separator]Leonarda Nyx.
Also known as the Empress of Nix, she was wed to the current Emperor for purely political reasons upon his ascension.
Her maiden house was Achilo.
The House of the Lion, which held its enemies’ hearts between its teeth and stood amidst pools of blood.
As the legitimate eldest daughter of Duke Achilo, she commanded not only the Eastern Noble Alliance but also held sway over elder nobles who had withdrawn from politics and moved into finance, alongside the capital’s aristocratic circles—making her a formidable political force.
By all appearances, Leonarda should have lived without fear in this world—arrogant and proud, reigning above all humanity.
Yet astonishingly, Leonarda was utterly powerless—a mere figurehead Empress.
There were two reasons for this.
First, the Emperor loved the Saintess, his childhood friend. Before their fated romance, Leonarda had no room to intervene.
Second, Leonarda had been so frail since childhood that she could barely manage a stroll.
Sharp-tongued and sensitive, yet deeply lonely, Leonarda frequently changed lovers.
At the same time, she harbored secret feelings for the Emperor and, hurt by his constant coldness, would cling to and whine pathetically to Derek, her royal guard, crossing all boundaries.
Yet it was hard to place all blame on Leonarda alone—the reactions of those around her played a part.
Her personal physician had declared since she was four that her lifespan would be short—likely not beyond thirty. Thus, everyone treated her like a precious jewel, shielding her obsessively.
Even Duke and Duchess Achilo never once scolded their daughter, no matter how willfully she behaved.
Once, in a fit of anger, Leonarda threw a vase that struck a maid, splitting her forehead open—but even then, the maid worried more about the young mistress collapsing from excitement than her own injury.
A noble, fragile doll destined not to live long.
A tyrant—fierce and fickle, yet too delicate to survive without constant care.
That was Leonarda.
Naturally, she couldn’t manage any imperial duties.
“How could she possibly command countless officials when a mere afternoon walk in the garden left her bedridden with fever?”
Of course, many nobles had argued it was wrong to make her Empress, citing her poor health.
Yet the Emperor willingly brought this fragile doll into the palace.
He never objected even when the Empress filled her quarters solely with attendants from her birth family.
It was a mutually beneficial arrangement.
The Emperor’s beloved wasn’t even a commoner—she was from a despised minority race. Though honored as the Saintess, she could never become Empress.
Thus, once installed in the Empress’s quarters, Leonarda granted her knight Derek the privilege of entering her chamber freely, just as she had done at her family estate.
Though utterly against palace etiquette, everyone turned a blind eye—after all, whenever the Empress had a hysterical episode, only Derek could calm her…
“…That’s the conclusion I reached after gathering and piecing together information over the past few days.”
I glanced at the very knight standing anxiously beside me and let out a sigh.
“Sir Noert, I already told you not to treat me like someone about to die imminently.”
“Your Majesty, how can you say such a thing?”
“I won’t do anything as foolish as jumping off a tower again.”
At the mention of “tower,” Derek’s face turned deathly pale.
Ignoring whatever thoughts raced through his mind, I stared intently at the hand mirror before me.
I already knew the rest of my face was pretty—no need to check. What mattered was my left eye.
There, the number “20” was clearly inscribed.
“At least I can read it—that’s a relief.”
Over the past few days, I’d meticulously tested what I “could do” versus what I “once could do but now cannot.”
Fortunately, I concluded I could still use two of my soul’s abilities—even without magic.
The first was the power to read lifespans.
“It was clearly only fifteen days when I first saw it.”
Meaning this vacant body, already devoid of its soul, would have wasted away for another half-month before the flesh itself expired.
“Thankfully, I absorbed some of that knight’s vital essence and converted it into lifespan.”
But even then, it barely reached twenty days.
“I need to find more vigorous men somewhere.”
I had to extend my precious, fragile lifespan before I could even think of revenge.
My second soul ability allowed me to convert others’ vital essence into my own lifespan.
My elder sisters had maintained their immortality through similar methods, but in my case, mere skin contact was enough.
Deeper, more intimate contact would be even better.
“But if I drain them too often or too greedily, they’ll wither into skeletons and die.”
Derek Noert was a rather useful knight, and in my current situation, I couldn’t afford to lose such a reliable source. Surely, no one else within the Empress’s quarters possessed vital essence as potent as his.
“But if I go for others instead of Derek… they’re all too weak. One sip, and they’d collapse and die.”
This was a headache. If men kept dying around the Empress, rumors of demonic possession would be unavoidable.
“I certainly don’t need to go out of my way to provoke encounters with priests or members of the Crusade in this unstable state.”
Thus, the best solution was to keep several healthy, youthful men close by and draw their vital essence in small amounts.
“Fortunately, as Empress, I should be able to manage that—especially since this body’s relationship with the Emperor seems thoroughly strained.”
Therefore, my immediate priorities were clear:
1. Acquire multiple men with strong vital essence and keep them close.
2. Absorb their essence to extend my lifespan, rescuing this wretched existence that’s worth less than a falling leaf.
3. In the meantime, investigate Enrique and exact my revenge!
Becoming human had one undeniable advantage:
Revenge.
I tapped the date on this morning’s news sheet.
“February 28th, 666.”
Five years had passed since I died by my husband’s hand.
Good—Enrique was still alive.
Sooner or later, I’d cross paths with him as Empress.
“Just tell me where you are, and I’ll make your revenge utterly brutal and cruel.”
I clenched my teeth with a grinding sound.
“But if I don’t accomplish step one first, I won’t even get near Enrique. My weakened soul might burn to ash at the mere touch of divine power.”
However strong I’d grown careless, Enrique possessed holy power potent enough to kill me—and he was skilled enough to conceal it completely.
A man drenched in the boundless grace of the divine.
Remembering the pure, chilling intensity of Enrique’s holy power sent shivers down my spine.
Honestly, I had no idea how much demonic power it would take to kill him.
“I must be careful. If they discover I’ve possessed the Empress of Nix, they’ll surely annihilate me for good this time.”
Just then—
“Your Imperial Majesty! That scheming Saintess has sent another man!”
Mrs. Bertolt, Head Maid of the Empress’s quarters, stormed in, brimming with fury.
Having served Leonarda since her family estate as a wet nurse, Mrs. Bertolt’s loyalty rivaled even Derek’s.
If someone like her was this enraged, it certainly boded ill for the Empress—but for me, it was thrilling news.
“A man?”
“Yes! This time, she claims he’s a physician! It’s utterly outrageous! She dares to tarnish Your Majesty’s reputation like this. Even strangling the Saintess won’t ease this affront!”
Ah, I see.
So publicly, the Empress was said to be bedridden with a fever—and they’d sent a physician…
“And by ‘physician,’ you mean a young, robust man, right?”
I had to struggle hard to suppress the grin tugging at my lips.
Found it—my ginseng!
Male lead says he’s pregnant — and it’s female lead’s child
Something seems a bit off about this world.
Wang Zhao thought as she watched a pregnant man walking towards her…
Intro
Female lead finds herself in a world where the men who possess the ability to bear children.
As she navigates this unfamiliar reality, she is caught off guard by the sudden appearance of her boyfriend, who reveals that he is pregnant.
Is this truly her boyfriend?
Why can’t she recall any details about their time together?
She begins to doubt whether the child her boyfriend is carrying is even hers.
Is there a hidden reason behind her amnesia, or could it be a side effect of her sudden arrival in this strange new world?
Just when it seems the protagonist’s life couldn’t become any more entangled, her ex-boyfriend makes an unexpected appearance, raising questions about the protagonist’s past.
__________
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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…