Blanche's instinct kicked in immediately. She had often held one of her twins while her mother had taken care of the other and still remembered exactly how she had done it back then. Grace safely landed in her arms, and she looked down at her, only to freeze. She had been prepared for a cute child, but Grace was so adorable that her heart melted even though the baby was just lying there with closed eyes. “She is beautiful.”
Sophia moved even closer and leaned her head over her baby. “Yes, she is. And she is as graceful as her name promised.” She continued in a higher voice. “Look, Grace, this is Lady Blanche. She lives in the palace along with aunt Seraphina.” She paused for a moment before turning to the concubine and resuming normally. “I still can't believe that she is finally here no matter how long I admire her. My husband is the same. He didn't want to take part in the hunt at all since he would have to spend two hours without her.”
Blanche definitely understood that. She wouldn't want to let go of her child either. But she actually didn't want to think about that at all for multiple reasons. Holding Grace not only reminded her that she wasn't sure whether she could become pregnant even after fighting for her future at Theodore's side. It also woke up unwanted memories of her siblings.
She still loved Noel and Nelly. Even if almost four years had passed since their death, she teared up anytime that she thought of them. During her everyday life, it was easy to bury the sorrow underneath a mountain of other worries, like her survival despite her fated doom. But now holding a baby like she had held her twins made Blanche want to cry. Her bottom lips trembled, and she barely managed to compose herself. She hadn't even listened to Sophia, who kept babbling in the background, anymore. At some point, Blanche shook her head to remind herself that she was in the present at the hunting festival and not in her sibling's bedroom in her family's old home.
Maybe that motion had irritated Grace, who was slowly opening her eyes just a little bit before reaching up with her tiny hand.
Sophia let out a noise of realization at that. “Watch out, she'll-”
Before she could finish, the baby's fingers raked through a curl of Blanche's hair that was hanging above her and were stuck there.
Immediately, Sophia tried to direct her daughter's arm away gently. “I'm sorry, she tends to do that often. I should have warned you.” Then she continued in a high-pitched voice. “Is our Grace a troublemaker? You like soft things, don't you? But you have to let go, or you will mess up Lady Blanche's hair.”
The concubine, however, wasn't concerned with anything like that. She just stared at the little girl, who was lying in her arms with half-opened eyes and seemed like an angel without even doing anything. “It's fine.” As long as her ornament didn't fall, she couldn't care less about her hair.
Sophia still wanted to prevent even more disturbances. She managed to loosen Grace's fingers, and the girl's little hand sank down before the baby closed her eyes again. Then Sophia slowly took her daughter back into her arms. “She fell asleep again. This event is probably very tiring to her, so I'm glad that she is so calm.” She held her daughter for a while before talking to her maid, who took the baby to bring her back into the tent. Sophia spoke up to explain her actions a moment later. “It's quieter inside. I hope she can sleep there.”
Blanche barely paid attention to that. She had to remind herself that she was currently sitting at the table with the empress and couldn't just doze off. But that wasn't so simple when her mind was swimming with thoughts of how much she wanted to be a mother too. Would the gods be gracious enough to grant her that wish, or would they laugh at her misery and force her to be executed like in the novel? She couldn't know that until the very end.
Just as she thought that, Sophia grinned at the concubine and addressed her. “Grace must have liked you a lot if she immediately reached for you.”
Blanche snapped out of it and hurriedly replied. “This surely wasn't about me. I think my hair was more important to her than anything else.” She said that with a soft smile while reaching up to her head to make sure that the butterfly clasp was still fastened tightly. The ornament hadn't moved at all, so she could let her arm sink again in relief and focused on the conversation.
Sophia beamed at her and took a sip from her cup of tea before responding. “No, Grace usually only does that when she is around my husband and me. She trusts you enough to be courageous enough to do something like that. That must mean that she likes you. Seemingly, you are very good at handling children. You didn't have any problems holding her like you feared either.”
Blanche made a rejecting movement with her hand. “Well, it appears that my motherly instincts took over, so it's nothing special. That's rather calming. I'm happy if Grace doesn't dislike me too. That's the thing I always worry about the most when I interact with children. Now I can be calmed and don't need to be too uncertain in the future if I have to hold a baby again.”
For some reason, the other women only stared at her in response, which caused Blanche to wonder whether she had said something wrong. Had she been too informal with her speech? She had just replied to Sophia in a similar tone, but it was possible that this bothered them.
Luckily, a maid came out of the tent just in time to interrupt the unnerving silence. She put down a cup of tea in front of Blanche and frowned when the other woman thanked her before stepping away to give the ladies at the table privacy.
The concubine scanned her cup skeptically. Surely, the maids wouldn't have put anything weird in there because they hated her, right? They wouldn't be stupid enough to do that in front of the empress. Still, she wasn't happy about drinking this now. The tea would probably be as bitter as the one at the tea party. Though, refusing to drink it would be extremely disrespectful too, so she didn't have much of a choice. She braced herself for a revolting taste as she lifted the cup to her lips and took one careful sip.
To Blanche's surprise, apple flavor washed over her tongue. She paused for a moment in disbelief before drinking a bit more. This was definitely the sweet apple tea that she sometimes had in the palace, and she was more than grateful for that. Now she couldn't just finish a cup and be polite without having to force herself, but she could also enjoy the tea. She closed her eyes for a few seconds and relished in the wonderful taste before she opened her eyes again, only to find the other women still staring at her. Quickly, she put the cup down. “This tea mouth-watering. Thank you for letting me try some of it, Your Majesty.”
Seraphina just nodded at her but stayed quiet while seeming like she tried to take the other's expression apart, which made the whole interaction even more unpleasant.
Blanche held back a sigh and glanced to the side to see whether something special had happened, but everything was still calm. The nobles were happily chatting while waiting for the return of the hunters, so she couldn't even distract herself. When she turned back to the table, she met Evelyn's gaze, and the other's fake grin immediately proved that this woman was up to no good. Blanche hurried to grab her cup and drank to have an excuse to look away, but that didn't help.
Not more than five seconds passed before Evelyn spoke up in her exaggerated polite tone. “This silence is only going to continue like this if we postpone addressing the issue. Lady Blanche, every person here is curious about something. There was a rumor regarding you recently, and I believe that we should address it. While this is about a private matter, it would greatly influence all of us at the same time, so please forgive me for asking so carelessly.”
Elaine spoke up to stop her, but it was too late. “No, you will not-”
Evelyn finished with a malicious grin. “Could there be the possibility of you being pregnant?”
As soon as these words had left her mouth, all the other women called out in outrage at the same time.
“Aunt!”
“Evelyn!”
The concerned person just shrugged with a smile and sipped her tea. “I merely voiced what every single one of us was thinking.”
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
The empress scolded her for addressing such matters, and Elaine was very clear about her anger at such insolence too. But the damage had already been done.
The question barely reached Blanche, and she already choked on her tea. She began coughing so much that Sophia even began patting her back.
Sophia turned to Evelyn with a frown. “Aunt, you can't say things like that. We can't pressure Lady Blanche into speaking about private issues. It's her choice when to reveal important matters like this.” That almost sounded like it was a fact that the concubine would admit to being pregnant. The others' prying gazes only seemed to underline that, but this didn't make any sense.
Blanche just had to deny that baseless assumption, and everything would be fine. The only problem was that she was too shocked to come up with a coherent sentence and still hadn't been able to stop coughing. When Sophia handed her the cup of tea, Blanche drank half of the liquid and managed to soothe her throat a bit. That didn't mean that her mind was calm though.
Why had Evelyn asked her something like this, and why weren't the other women surprised about that question? All of them seemed extremely interested in the response. What kind of rumor had spread so far during her ignorance?
Blanche felt how the blood drained from her face as she alternated between looking at the four others, who were staring at her expectantly. She turned to Seraphina and began stuttering. “I...don't...” There was nothing that she could say with her mind being completely blank even though she only had to state that she wasn't pregnant. She hadn't even begun explaining, and the heroine already cut her off.
“I apologize for this inexcusable faux-pas.” The empress glanced at Evelyn, who struggled to hide a malicious grin behind her hand, before continuing. “Lady Lemares should have known better than to address private issues in such an insolent way. Naturally, I expect her to apologize as well.”
The concubine was about to breathe out in relief since this unnerving exchange would end soon, but the empress wasn't finished.
Seraphina looked back at Blanche and resumed. “However, I would like to ask you to be honest as this matter would certainly influence the royal family greatly. Sooner or later, we will find out about it in one way or another, so it would be better for you to speak freely now.”
Blanche's face fell she as gazed at the empress' serious expression in pure disbelief. One glance at both Sophia and Elaine proved that they were waiting for her to answer too. Did they truly think she was pregnant? “Why are...” She just sat there in shock and didn't know what to say. She turned to Seraphina, whose gaze was glued onto her, and opened her mouth a few times before closing it without saying anything. What was she supposed to respond with? Such a question wouldn't just come out of nowhere. Had she done something that could have been misunderstood? Slowly but surely, she began to panic while the logical part of her brain was screaming at her to just deny that ridiculous assumption. Unfortunately, Blanche's brain refused to work correctly, which put even more pressure on her. The longer she didn't reply, the more the others would assume that she was hiding something. “I...” She helplessly made eye contact with the empress, who finally ended the quiet that was only filled with Blanche's occasional stammering.
The empress spoke in an emphasized calm tone, and even her expression was less cold than normal. “Either way, I can assure you that I will not be angry. Be honest.”
The concubine felt her heart skip a beat at that. Seraphina was definitely convinced that the other woman was pregnant. Blanche finally managed to silence the uproar in her head enough to shake her head and speak a few words. “No, no! I'm not... I'm not pregnant.” In the end, she was grateful that her voice didn't come out as loudly as she had intended it to. Otherwise, most of the other guests would have heard her as well.
As soon she had said that, the women around her relaxed. Elaine seemed to be pleased, which was the only normal reaction the mother of the empress should have when the emperor's mistress was not carrying a child.
The others' reactions were the abnormal ones.
Sophia just nodded at that before stirring her tea. But since she had the best relationship with Blanche and said that she would be a good mother, it would make sense that she didn't fear her pregnancy.
Evelyn's slight frustration at that was somewhat understandable as well. The concubine having a child before the empress would be the ultimate humiliation for Seraphina. Evelyn hated her sister's children, so she had probably hoped for that scenario.
Only the empress' reaction was the one that absolutely had no logical reasoning behind it. To others, her facial expression might have looked stoic, but Blanche had seen the little flash in Seraphina's eyes that almost looked like a bit of disappointment. Obviously, the concubine had to have seen that wrong. After all, the empress wasn't stupid. If the emperor's lover had a child, it would only lead to problems. For her, for the royal family and the Duremonts and even for the whole nation. Naturally, this would reveal that Blanche was in fact Theodore's lover and not just a guest or acquaintance too. Due to the concubine's lowly background, this would be a huge insult to Seraphina.
Being offended was one thing, but then having to deal with the consequences of the birth of a child out of an affair was even worse. The baby would have the right to be the heir to the throne unless the emperor had any other descendants in the future. However, Theodore couldn't make that child the crown prince or princess without ridiculing the Duremont household and all the other nobles by putting the descendant of a commoner on top of them.
No matter how one looked at it, there would only be problems if Blanche got pregnant. So, shouldn't the empress be beaming now because she wouldn't have to face those issues?
The silence began to become oppressive when no one spoke up. Most likely, all women were still a bit embarrassed for assuming something that wasn't true in the slightest, and the concubine would have liked to drop the topic as well. However, judging by the way that the women had been convinced that she would admit to carrying a child, they had to have had a reason.
Blanche pressed her lips together for a moment and gathered the courage before clearing her throat and speaking up. “That...was an oddly specific question. If I may ask, what made you think that?”
The others didn't reply and just lowered their gazes except for Seraphina, who didn't seem to mind responding. “I would once again like to apologize for Lady Lemares' rash actions. My aunt should not have spoken carelessly. You must be confused now. Thus, I will naturally explain why that rumor arose. You do not have to fear that it spread far since only my family is aware of most of those things.”
The concubine let out an inward sigh at that. She could only thank the gods for that. If the other noble families had already begun gossiping about her alleged pregnancy, she would have gone insane. Being cornered so that she had no choice but to reveal her relationship to Theodore and destroying his political bonds wasn't her goal. Despite being relieved, she still wondered what had made them believe in that rumor though.
So, it was fortunate that the empress resumed speaking without needing to be asked again. “There are a few things that seemed to have been adding up to create that assumption. First of all, the herbs that you brought me, which were supposed to help you sleep more calmly. You said that you had used them too. I'm not sure if you are aware of that, but the mixture you brought me consists out of many plants that are usually given to pregnant women. It is supposed to raise the chances of the baby being healthy and makes it easier for the mother to sleep. Both the Duchess of Duremont and Lady Ravillot saw them in my room and were able to identify them immediately since they had taken them themselves during their pregnancies.”
Blanche quickly shook her head as she felt how the blood finally came back to her face. Though, she would have liked to postpone that a bit more since she felt how her cheeks became flushed now. She hurried to deny the heroine's words. “I didn't know that! The royal doctor prescribed them to me after my maid couldn't wake me up from my nightmare while I was sleeping. I told him that this was the fifth one in a few months, so he gave me those herbs to calm my sleep.”
Seraphina nodded at that. “Well, as a person who hasn't dealt with many mothers, you would not be able to know. I am also not condoning you for using them. If they help pregnant women, it doesn't seem too strange to assume that they would help you sleep in general. The doctor handed them to you, and I fully trust him, so they definitely have some positive effect on your health. Now that I am already talking about him, I can also add that the doctor was one of the other reasons that some people assumed that this rumor might have been true. During the last few weeks, you have visited him extremely often, and he came to your room almost every day too. The events at my birthday ball also led me to believe that you might have a condition that is a little more severe than a cold. You collapsed without a warning after being nauseous for the whole evening. I believed that you wouldn't have come if you had been sick. So, I guessed that it might be something chronic that would restrict your free movement for a long time if you stayed in your room until it was gone.”
Blanche felt a bit embarrassed to admit that she had been stupid enough to attend the ball while being ill, but she recounted her view on the things anyway. “During, or rather before, Your Majesty's birthday I was sick and had barely recovered when the ball came. However, I had bought a gift already and wished to hand it over personally. So, I went to the event thinking that it would be fine. Unfortunately, I felt dizzy then and my fever got worse, which is why I fainted. The doctor examined me a few times after that to make sure that I was completely fine. A little later, I had this nightmare and couldn't wake up for a few minutes despite being called and shaken by my maid. Since the doctor couldn't find any sickness and couldn't explain why that happened, he insisted on repeating the examination a few times to make sure that everything was alright. After the...incident on the day of Duke Lamont's banquet, Theo went to the doctor many times as well, and I was there too... Sometimes.” She only realized that the others might not have wanted to know that when she had finished that sentence. So, Blanche jumped back to the older subject to distract them before they could get angry. “I don't believe that I voiced my regret about being careless at the last ball yet. I sincerely wish to apologize for not being aware of the severity of my condition and collapsing in public like that. I did not mean to ruin the party.”
Luckily, the empress didn't get angry. “You were not at fault. Though, that had also been one of the main causes for that rumor. Ever since the ball, and beginning on that evening, His Majesty had the tendency to...” Seraphina paused and scanned the concubine's expression with her cold eyes before continuing. “Stay very close to you, even more so than before. I assumed that that might have been connected to you passing out and him fearing that it might happen again. All the things I named, as well as the fact that you have been behaving strangely in the last four months, made the conclusion that you might be pregnant seem likely. Still, I will apologize for making assumptions without relying on any facts. This is not something a courteous lady should do.” Yet, Seraphina tended to act based on guesses like this, which wasn't always good. In this case, it at least hadn't done any severe damage except for evoking the concubine's embarrassment.
Blanche could somewhat understand how the others had concluded that she was pregnant, especially because of the herbs that seemed to often be used by expecting mothers. However, all the other things were so ambiguous that she didn't know why this had been enough to convince them. Luckily, she didn't have to respond though.
Seraphina already turned to her aunt and spoke up. “Lady Lemares, I believe that I haven't heard an apology yet.”
Evelyn's dismay at that was painfully obvious, but she covered it up with a fake polite smile. “Naturally, Your Majesty.” She turned to the concubine with a glint of hatred in her eyes that made clear that she despised every single person at this table. “I sincerely apologize, Lady Blanche. My mouth merely reacted before my mind did, and I have to admit that all of us were too curious to keep quiet. I hope you do not hold any grudge because of that.”
Blanche bit her tongue to not curse Evelyn out loud. Now that she had met Grace in person, she would do anything in her power to save the baby from her grandmother's envious sister. Having seen the adorable little girl had only made the concubine resent Evelyn even more, even though she hadn't believed that to be possible. She would have liked to just accuse that woman of treason so that this witch could rot away in prison. But that was, unfortunately, impossible.
No matter how much she hated it, Blanche would have to be polite in return now. Even if that was enough to make her feel like a bitter taste clung to her tongue.