Harris' words weren't necessarily bad, but they were still worrisome. “Lady Blanche, His Majesty requested your presence in his office.”

The concubine almost dropped her knife at that. It had been a while since Theodore had sent someone to get her, so this had to be because of a special reason. Before she could force herself to keep calm, she had already begun to panic. “Did something bad happen?”

Harris seemed a bit taken aback by that and just glanced to the side. “No? I do not think so. Nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary.”

Even though Blanche wasn't sure whether she could trust that servant, she immediately relaxed upon hearing that statement. She carefully put down the knife on the edge of the plate and washed her hands before drying them with a towel. She addressed her friends while putting away the apron she had been wearing. “I don't know how long this will take. You can continue, and if I'm not back in an hour, I want three pieces reserved for Theo, Stella and me. You can have the rest.” She could basically see how Darlene immediately began to count how many fruit rolls she could steal for herself and held back a smile at that. “I might come back, but in case that I don't, I'll wish you a good night already.”

The others returned the greeting and waved while the concubine and Stella followed Harris out of the room. As soon as they were on their own, the strained relationship between them became more and more obvious. None of them spoke up while the women trailed behind him. Stella was glaring at Harris' back the whole time, which was somehow amusing but also unhelpful. Blanche focused on something else though.

Harris seemed to walk extremely slowly. The women weren't even hurrying purposefully, but they had already caught up to him when they reached the end of the first hallway despite him having left a few seconds before them. When he realized that, he glanced over at them for a moment and immediately turned away when he made eye contact. After that, he walked a bit faster but still looked like he was mentally absent the entire time. The reason was obvious. One glimpse at his face from up close had sufficed to see the dark circles around his eyes. Seemingly, there was something more to him not bothering the others than just him lulling them into a false sense of security.

Blanche was about to open her mouth to ask whether he was worried about something but held herself back at the last second. Harris wasn't a person that she should care about. He was awful and only troubled her friends at every opportunity. Aside from that, she also didn't have anything to do with him at all, so she didn't have the right to get involved. He was popular enough among the staff, so one of his colleagues would help him with whatever was busying him. Just because he had tried to help her in her nightmare, she shouldn't want to return the favor.

The group arrived at Theodore's office, and Blanche turned to Harris to thank him but stopped midway. Should she even say something like that when he had only done what the emperor asked of him? But at the moment that she faced him properly, she froze. She had seen that Harris was exhausted before, but since she was standing right in front of him, it was even more visible now. This time, she wasn't able to convince herself to stay quiet. “I know that it doesn't concern me in any way, but... You look awfully tired. You should really get some sleep.”

Harris' lips formed a small smile that didn't reach his emotionless eyes at all, which seemed so unlike the perfect actor. “Ah, is it that obvious? Thank you for your concern. Good night, Lady Blanche.” He left without saying anything else and disappeared at the end of the corridor.

Stella was already crossing her arms and complaining loudly when the concubine focused on her again. “How insolent can a person be? You were worried even though he is such a horrible person, and he just runs away without waiting for you to dismiss him. I knew that he was spiteful, but he didn't even try to be polite to people with a higher rank than him today! Then he says ‘good night’. It's only a little after four o'clock. How could it be evening already? Has he really taken leave of all his senses? He-”

Blanche cut her off by shaking her head. “Don't waste your time pondering about him. He's not worth it. Though, I would also argue that we are rather harsh considering that he looks like a walking corpse. Maybe he just had an awful day. Who knows? In any case, we shouldn't get involved with that. As long as he doesn't bother us, I don't care about him.”

Stella nodded after a few seconds of thinking, which ended the short dialogue.

Blanche knocked on the door of the emperor's office, and seconds later, her lover let her in. She was startled upon seeing his face directly in front of hers and took a step back when he opened the door. “Theo, you scared me again! I didn't expect that at all.”

Theodore laughed at that. “This time, it wasn't my intention to scare you. I'm sorry.” He gestured for her to enter, and she followed him into the room. He closed the door behind her and pulled her into a tight embrace without hesitating for a single second. “It's only been a short while, and I still missed you in that time.”

“Then it's good that I'm here now. What did you want to tell me?” She lifted herself up onto her tiptoes and put her arms around his neck.

Her lover let out a sigh. “Unfortunately, I have bad news. It's nothing horrible, but it is a little inconvenient for now. It will have massive advantages for the future though.”

Blanche pressed a kiss onto his neck. “Don't draw it out this much. I'm getting worried.”

“It's not that serious, for you at least.” Theodore loosened his hold on her to make eye contact. “I won't be able to join you for dinner this evening or go to sleep with you tonight. An important guest is coming here, and we have to prepare a warm welcome for them so that they'll remember what it means to provoke Artias.” That didn't sound very pleasant or warm in the slightest.

“Is it someone I know?” Blanche would rather be prepared in case that anyone in the palace was dangerous.

But the emperor shook his head. “You might have heard their title a few times, but other than that, you shouldn't have a clue. You haven't met them, and if everything goes according to plan, it will also stay like this. It seems that I was a bit hasty to call them an ‘important guest’. That person isn't really important, just their duties are crucial for our nation. But after today, someone else will take care of that.” He gave a playful smirk that made it more than obvious that whomever he was talking about wouldn't be happy about losing their position.

Blanche stretched herself to put a little kiss onto her lover's nose before replying. “If you need to deal with this that business today, there is nothing we can do about it. You already spend so much time with me, and I will be grateful for all eternity for that, so there is no way that I'll complain about you doing your work. You'll see me for breakfast tomorrow, right?”

Theodore nodded. “Of course. If I'm lucky, I might be able to slip into bed before you wake up too. How could I bear to be apart from you for longer than one day? Just losing these few hours is torture.”

They wanted to kiss again when a third voice chimed in. “Alright, Owen might be kind, but I was quiet for long enough. Do you always act like that when you are together, or are you just doing that to frustrate us? You don't have any shame, do you?” The couple turned around to see Leon, who was giving them a glare that was half annoyed and half amused.

Theodore shrugged and demonstratively looked around. “I mean, this is still my office. You can ask for permission to leave if your jealousy is eating away at your cold, dead soul.” He made eye contact with his lover and showed her a knowing grin. “After all, he still doesn't have a fiancé or wife. If it continues like this, he will grow old alone.”

Leonard rolled his eyes at that. “You know, that's not as awful as it might be for you two love birds. Not everyone's life has enough space for a significant other.”

All of a sudden, Theodore became serious. His smile faded, and he spoke without a hint of delight. “I'm not deciding how you live your life, but I am aware that your free will might not be the thing that keeps you from doing some things that you would enjoy. Leon, it's been over six years. You shouldn't let that burden your mind anymore.”

Leonard's face fell, but he turned around before Blanche could see the full extent of his bitterness. “I'm fine, Theodore. If I have problems with my past, I will tell you on my own.” All people in the room were silent for a while until Leon faced them again with a neutral expression. “You still didn't let go of each other, did you? Should I make vomiting sounds to give a hint that you understand?” That was enough to ease the previous tension of the situation.

Theodore let out a half-loud chuckle before pulling his lover tightly against his chest. “You can make as many comments as you want to, but that won't separate us.” He made his voice sound exaggeratedly heroic while saying that.

Blanche giggled a bit and wrapped her arms around his torso. She pressed her face into Theodore as she breathed in deeply and relished in the feeling of utter bliss. She only loosened her grip on him when he spoke up.

“I know that it's been there for a while. But whenever I see our portrait, I'm happy.” Theodore's gaze was firmly directed at an object a few steps away as he said that.

Blanche turned her head to take a look at the painting of her lover and her that was still hanging on the wall next to the desk. “I said it back then, and I'll say it again. Erneis is a genius. I can barely believe that he finished such a masterpiece so quickly. It was a good idea to smuggle more pay into his baggage than he actually wanted to have.”

Theodore stared at the portrait, and a little smile appeared on his lips while his eyes held a certain sadness. “That was made shortly after your first nightmare, right? The one that made you act completely different?” Why did he suddenly address that?

Blanche ignored her confusion to put her hand onto his cheek and gently tilted his head so that he looked at her. “I think it was in the first week after my dream. But even though my behavior has changed a little, I'm still the same person. I'm only more considerate of others and the rules that you have to follow.”

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Theodore leaned forward to bring his face directly in front of hers. “I know. But you don't always have to hold yourself back. If others don't feel the need to show you some consideration, you don't owe them anything. You don't have to worry about my position either. Let that be my concern. Actually, that could be extended to everything else too. I will take care of anything without an exception.” He lifted her hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss onto it. “Trust me.”

If it only was that easy.

Blanche had many more problems than her lover could imagine. He didn't know anything about Sefare and her indirect connection to a scheme by the dowager empress that was supposed to eliminate him. If no unseen incidents came up, it would stay like that too. To protect himself, Sefare had to keep quiet, and Blanche would definitely not say anything either. So, she just replied while trying her best not to think about that issue. “I can attempt to worry less, but it would be unfair to leave everything to you. Aren't all of your problems mine too?”

Theodore interlocked their fingers and made sure that she looked into his eyes before continuing. “In some way, they are, but I can protect you from much more than you can imagine. Every danger that you are aware of might be even bigger than you know, but I will defeat all of them. I'll make sure that you're never truly threatened.”

The concubine fought the urge to disagree with his statement about her knowing less about the dangers around them and simply nodded. After all, she couldn't just explain that she had a greater overview of the plots against him since she had somehow gained memories that shouldn't be hers. She had some information about the future, which was certainly more than Theodore had. But going along with his comments would calm him a bit, so she didn't mind keeping quiet about the fact that she would continue to worry and give her best to ensure that they could have a happy end together. “I know that you'll always protect me.”

Theodore seemed to be content with her response and gave her a warm smile. “I swear on my life that I will keep you safe.”

She couldn't help but grin at that. She was very much aware of how important security measures were to him. He wouldn't even trust people from within the palace if he hadn't spoken to them personally. That reminded her of the story Clark had told her. Her smirk widened as she looked up at her lover. “As I heard, you're already working hard on that. You interrogated my friends, didn't you?”

Immediately, Theodore's smile faded. “I apologize for doing that secretly. I just had to be certain-”

“It's fine, I'm not angry. I know why you did that. But you could just have asked me.” Blanche wanted to stop here while saying that she trusted her friends a lot, but for a second, an image of another servant flashed in front of her inner eye. It made no sense since Blanche was absolutely certain that Harris wasn't a direct threat in this current situation, but somehow, she didn't like the idea of him getting closer to Theodore. She didn't like it at all. Her mouth opened before she could stop herself. “I would have been able to point out a person among the staff that isn't very pleasant.”

Her lover's caution became obvious the very moment that she finished. “Who is it?”

Blanche squeezed his hand and stepped a bit back to be able to meet his eyes without hurting her neck. She gave her best to voice a warning that wouldn't endanger Harris but would still ensure that Theodore kept an eye on him. “First of all, he isn't a criminal or anything like that. But he likes to gain his superior's favor and even tried to make me like him, but luckily, his acting skills didn't have any effect since I knew about him already. He often troubled my friends by insulting them and lying to the head maid about them making mistakes. Right now, he appears to be calm, but he is an extremely unsympathetic person.” At least when it came to Clark and his friends.

Theodore's eyes narrowed at that. “I see. Can you give me a name? I can't necessarily punish him for just that, but I could tell Gloria to keep an eye on him.”

The concubine couldn't help grinning a bit at that. It would be good if the head maid didn't believe everything Harris told her anymore, which would certainly keep that servant from being alone with the emperor too. “That would be perfect. It's Harris. I don't know his last name, but he's the servant that you sent to get me. Short brown hair. A bit smaller than the average man and rather thin. Don't let him get too close to you, especially when you lowered your guard. Please.”

Theodore froze for a moment. “Him?” His voice was laced with doubt, which unsettled her a bit. Had Harris manipulated her lover too? She could barely imagine that.

Blanche somehow truly hated the option of Harris being called to help the emperor with anything, so the response almost broke out of her mouth. “Yes. I don't want you to throw him out, not at all. Just keep an eye on him please, and don't be alone with him. Never. Harris might be a phenomenal actor, but he isn't a good person. He is...” She had wanted to say that he was awful, but for some reason, she didn't want to phrase it like that. “He did some stupid things that caused problems for others. I didn't speak to him very often, but that was enough to show me how manipulative that...man is. Is that so surprising? I'm not lying.”

Theodore blinked a few times before responding with obvious confusion. “No, of course, you're not lying. I just thought that... Never mind. So, you didn't interact much with him and don't even have his last name?” She nodded, which made him stare into the distance before resuming. “That's good. I just didn't expect you to notice that. I actually warned Gloria about him already, so she should pay more attention when he is involved even if it doesn't look like he is doing something special.”

Blanche was taken aback by that. “You knew about Harris?”

“Well, I don't have any specific crime that I could link to him. To my knowledge, he didn't do anything illegal, but I definitely won't allow him to come close. I don't see him often, but I always felt like his personality seemed very fake, so I didn't let my guard down around him.” Yes. That was perfect.

Blanche immediately nodded at that.“Please continue to do that. It's good that you can sense something like this even though he was acting in front of you.”

Theodore gave her a little smile. “I grew up being unsure whether I could trust anyone except for the two people that raised me. It's obvious that I needed to be able to read people.” That was enough to make Blanche sad, but before she could say anything, Theodore pressed a small kiss onto her forehead. “I'm fine now though. I have a few people around me that I trust more than anything else, with you being the number one.”

Leon spoke up at that. “See, Owen? Saving his life multiple times over the course of seven years isn't worth anything. Maybe we should search for a different position. One which gives us a bit more recognition.”

Theodore let out a laugh and continued the sentence. “And less pay and a home that surely won't be as luxurious as the palace. That much should be obvious, right? You keep complaining the whole time, so I would like to give you the evening off, but that's impossible since we have to welcome our guest. But maybe you could take a short vacation once ours is over?”

Leonard rolled his eyes and closed the last book he had skimmed through. “You just want me to be gone so that I don't control whether you come to your office. If I'm somewhere else, you won't work a single minute and spend all of your time like this.” He gestured to the couple that was still hugging each other.

“Maybe.” Theodore grinned at him before glancing at the clock. Immediately, his expression became serious. “Our guest will be here soon. We need to prepare everything.”

Both Owen and Leon stood up from their chairs and put on their jackets to get ready to leave.

Theodore turned to his lover and resumed. “I said it already, but I'm sorry about not being able to stay with you today. I have to go now to make sure that that person gets exactly what they deserve for committing treason.” That sounded like a threat, but it was voiced with far less hatred than the emperor was capable of.

Blanche stood on her tiptoes to meet him halfway when he leaned down to kiss her. They pressed their lips together for a while before slowly letting go. She gave him a bright smile. “I'll just repeat myself too. It's fine. Do your work, and then I'll bring you to bed early tomorrow to make up for the lost sleep. Good luck, even though you probably won't need it.” Even though the concubine had said that, she actually felt a bit lonely when her lover left and waved at her while he walked down the corridor. She had the feeling that Theodore would have to do something unpleasant tonight, and she didn't like that thought when it somehow reminded her of some time that she could only remember vaguely. She stood in front of the office for another moment before motivating herself to go back to the kitchen.

Apparently, her friends hadn't expected her to return that day. They had finished the fruit rolls and were in the middle of devouring them before the hour the concubine had determined was even over. Blanche put her hands onto her hips and pretended to scold them for a few seconds before sitting down with them and Stella to eat the rest. After that, they talked about different things for a few hours, and the time passed without them noticing it. In the end, she returned to her room when it was already completely dark, but she still wasn't tired.

One glance out of her window was enough to convince Blanche of another idea. She spun around to face Stella, and a bright grin appeared on her face. “Stella, how about we go stargazing again? It's been a while.”

Her maid looked up from the cups she was currently setting onto a tray and frowned. “Aren't you at least a bit tired?” Blanche shook her head, which made the servant sigh. “Fine. But we'll need our coats and some thicker clothes. I'll pick something fitting from your dressing room for you.”

The women didn't take long to get ready and go to the first floor. The guards gave them some weird looks, but none of them attempted to stop the two. When they stepped outside, the concubine realized that it was even colder than she had expected. She shivered a bit and hugged her coat tighter before raising her head. The sky was completely clear today, so it was a perfect day to stargaze. The only thing bothering her was the freezing wind that caused her cheeks to feel like they would turn to ice in a few minutes.

This made Blanche come up with an idea. “How about we go into the winter garden and look outside from there? It's warmer inside, and there won't be any wind either. I don't think that there were any locks on the door, so it should be fine.”

Stella was already trembling like a leaf and hurriedly nodded. “That would be good. I don't think that I would be able to move my fingers if we stay out here for any longer.”

Blanche led her servant onto the path that went around the labyrinth. “It's odd that it's this cold so close before summer. Theo said that it will be extremely hot the next week, but I can barely imagine that. After all, it's only the beginning of summer, and it usually takes a while until the temperature rises that much. Though, it would be good if the weather is warm enough to allow us to go swimming during our vacation.”

Stella made a dismissive motion with her hand before quickly pulling her sleeve back over her hand. “It's not that cold right now. The wind only makes it seem like it's freezing. But no matter what, the coast has a rather mild climate. The ocean is always pretty warm, so you won't have any problems.”

The women reached the winter garden, and Blanche carefully pressed against the door. To her delight, it opened with barely any resistance, and they could step inside. As soon as they were in the winter garden, they let out sighs of relief.

Stella held the lantern up to steer them to the table in the center without accidentally stepping onto any flower bed. “It's so pleasant to be in here instead of standing out there in the cold. I just hope that none of the knights see the light and think that an intruder is inside.”

Blanche let out a chuckle at that. “Only a stupid intruder would light a lantern to sneak into the palace, right? Everyone would see that, and if I wanted to be secretive, that wouldn't make much sense.”

“People aren't always intelligent, My Lady. Besides, you would break your bones without light because you would trip over some flowers. That would be a shame since the gardeners worked so hard to plant all of them.” Stella set down the lantern on the table and began walking around a bit. “I haven't seen everything yet since His Majesty always locks us out to eat with you. But it's even more gorgeous from the inside.”

Blanche nodded happily. “Didn't I tell you? It's perfect. This gift gives us a chance to sit together in a warm and dry environment that resembles the garden, even if there is a storm outside. Theo got the ideal present. He's simply too good at picking the things that I love. I don't think that he ever got something wrong. He even instructed the gardeners to choose the flowers that I like. Should I show you my favorites?” She didn't wait for her maid to nod before she already followed a small path, which was half obstructed by leaves of the bushes that were planted around it.

Stella followed her with some reluctance. “It's rather dark here. Shouldn't I get the lantern?”

“No, it's fine. We're there in a few steps.” Blanche rounded the corner and crouched down behind a little hedge with countless violet flowers. “These are from the south. I don't know what they are called though. Theo told me the name, but it was a bit too exotic for me. I think it was something like-” She was cut off by the sound of the door opening. In shock, she looked up at Stella, who immediately crouched down too, and whispered to her. “Who's that?”

The maid shook her head and replied just as quietly. “I don't know, but they were alone.”

That was a problem. The royal guards never moved around on their own. They had been instructed to always stay in groups of at least two people. So, this wasn't one of the few people that would have a reason to move around within the palace this late. Stella's cheeks slowly lost all of their color as footsteps began to echo through the otherwise silent room, and the concubine was sure that she looked just as terrified. The women held their breath and met each other's gaze. It was obvious that they were thinking the same thing. This couldn't be an intruder, right? Surely, they had joked about that just now, but the odds that a person from outside would come to the winter garden at the exact same moment were low. Was that someone of Sefare's people? Did the marquess want to kill Blanche, now that she had made it clear that she wouldn't help him and his allies anymore?

The footsteps stopped, which made them tense even more. Then a few seconds passed in silence until a voice broke through the quiet.

“Lady Blanche? Are you here?”

Blanche knew that voice. Her fear was replaced with slight annoyance at being scared for nothing as she jumped up to greet the only royal guard that had actually chosen to run around alone.