As always, the concubine seemed to be unlucky. Upon reaching the entrance hall, she had barely met her lover and already saw people bowing. There was only one person that would have to be greeted like that when the emperor was already present.

Blanche wanted to spin around to face the other woman, which was stopped by her lover keeping her hand in his. She narrowed her eyes at him before quickly looking over her shoulder. Her premonition was proven to be true when she saw Seraphina on the staircase.

The empress climbed down the stairs with an unrivaled amount of grace. Even her rather simple traveling clothes were gorgeous, so she was certainly worthy of the praise her husband had given her in the novel. For once, she didn't even have an icy expression on her face but only a neutral one. That might change quickly though.

Blanche squeezed Theodore's hand two times, which still didn't make him look back, so she muttered to him. “Theo! The empress is there.”

Theodore only turned around when she said that but took her with him so that she walked a few steps around him before coming to a halt while facing the heroine.

Blanche attempted to let go of her lover's hand and make a curtsy, which was prevented by him tightening his hold on her. Curtsying while interlocking the emperor's hand with hers would probably look like she was trying to provoke Seraphina on purpose, but she couldn't just ignore the empress' presence. So, she began to lower her upper body, only to be stopped by her lover lifting her hand and pressing a kiss on it. Her face fell as she met his calm gaze. “What are you doing?”

Theodore looked directly into her eyes, and it felt like he was piercing her soul with that as well. “You don't have to bow when she hasn't even acknowledged you yet. Especially not when she just arrived and already ruins everyone's day with her sour mood.” Hopefully, that wasn't true.

Blanche focused on the empress again, and unfortunately, her lover had been right.

Seraphina's expression had changed from neutral to the usual frosty gaze that she always had when she was close to the concubine. But this time, it might have been Theodore's fault for showing his mistress affection while they were directly in front of his wife.

Blanche felt an icy shiver run down her spine and gave her best to keep her face emotionless to not make the heroine think that a polite smile was supposed to mock her.

The emperor waited until Seraphina had reached the bottom of the staircase before addressing her. “Good morning. I take that you prepared everything for the departure?”

The concubine had to refrain from showing her confusion at that cold greeting. In the novel, Theodore had complimented his wife for her beautiful attire, but seemingly, the fact that they weren't close was enough made him completely disregard that. Upon realizing that, Blanche almost grinned in joy about her lover's distance from the other woman. She tried to hold back. She wasn't sure whether she had succeeded since the empress' maids were glaring at her, but they didn't necessarily need a reason to do that anyway.

Seraphina replied with a nod of her head. “Good morning, Your Majesty. I have finished all my preparations. Are there any complications with the departure?”

Theodore looked through the entrance hall before shaking his head. “No one complained until now, so I believe that everything is fine. The servants said that they only need a few minutes before we could leave.” He paused for a moment before resuming. “We thought about departing a bit earlier so that we can arrive earlier too. Would there be a problem with that?”

The empress glanced at the last pieces of baggage that had to belong to her and turned back to her husband again. “I do not think that there is any reason to delay our journey in that case. Have you already informed the servants of your plan?”

“No, not yet. There is actually one more thing that I would like to discuss with you before we leave.”

Seraphina's expression didn't budge as she replied. “What is it, Your Majesty?”

Theodore leaned over to his lover and lifted their interlocked hands before she could object. “Blanche and I naturally want to share a carriage. It might be uncomfortable for you to sit with us too, so I would offer you a separate one.”

The concubine whipped her head to the side to look at the emperor. Had he lost his mind? How could he propose something like that? That she wanted to be with him was true, but then they would be the ones in the wrong because she couldn't just sit in the carriage with the royal couple. So, if someone had to enter a different vehicle, it would be the two of them. Right now, Theodore was basically telling the empress to make way for his mistress, which would definitely offend Seraphina.

However, against the concubine's expectations, Seraphina's expression remained neutral. “I would appreciate that, Your Majesty.”

That left the concubine even more bewildered than she had already been. Had the empress just agreed to that? Obviously, Seraphina wouldn't like to be trapped in a small vehicle with the woman she hated most and her unfaithful husband. But still, it was surprising that the empress hadn't insisted on her right to travel in the royal carriage.

Theodore seemed to have anticipated that response though. He gave his wife a little polite smile. “Good. If you want to, your maids can also enter the same carriage as you.”

Seraphina considered her options as she glanced at her attendants before nodding. “I will accept your offer. Will you instruct the servants, or should I speak to them?”

Theodore looked around the room. “I will do that in a few minutes when everything is a bit emptier in here. You should make sure that all of your baggage is ready in the meantime. The servants might have forgotten something.” Hadn't he just indirectly told Seraphina to go away?

Seemingly, the empress didn't mind though. “I will check one more time.” Her face still didn't budge as she turned to the concubine. “Lady Blanche. I wish you a nice day.”

Blanche felt like this day wouldn't be nice at all when the empress was already being provoked so much, but she gave her best to save the situation. “I wish you a wonderful day as well, Your Majesty. May your journey be relaxing.” She made a tiny curtsy to avoid upsetting the empress.

The empress didn't react much and just gave a slight nod. Then she passed by the couple and steered towards the entrance door while looking like she wasn't bothered by any of this. Her maids' faces, on the other hand, were quite expressive as they stared at the concubine with a mix of shock and anger before hurrying to follow their mistress.

Blanche immediately turned to her lover. “You must be out-” She couldn't even voice her extremely insolent comment before Theodore replied.

“Don't be so tense. She can't do anything against my decisions, and as you can see, she has no desire to do so unless she unnecessarily feels threatened. Just to calm you, we won't ride in the royal carriage either. Due to the two recent assassination attempts, I decided that it would be better to lead possible attackers astray by not marking their goal. The carriage with the many ornaments will be completely empty so that they can't accidentally hurt someone else, even in the unlikely event of an ambush.”

The concubine's nervousness decreased at that. So, she wouldn't offend the empress by staying by Theodore's side and could simply enjoy spending more time with him. Aside from that, knowing that security measures were taken made her feel better too. She might have the novel's memories and didn't remember anything happening during the trip to Ibela, but last time, she hadn't been able to foresee the attack either. So, it definitely calmed her to be sure that her lover wasn't careless.

“That's very clever. Did you come up with that plan?”

Theodore showed her a grin at that. “Will you reward me if I was the one that did that?”

Blanche glanced to the side, and upon seeing that Seraphina wasn't in sight, she stepped closer to him and hugged him. “I'm going to reward you even if you do nothing. I love you after all.”

Theodore seemed to be momentarily stunned by that before returning the embrace. “Can I choose what kind of reward I will get then?”

“Maybe. That depends on how much you pamper me before. You said that this would be our vacation, right? You promised that you would observe my reaction when I first see the ocean and teach me how to swim. You said that the city there is wonderful too. And you mentioned an old tree on the estate. I want you to show me all of that, and then I might be generous.” The concubine didn't mind using this to get him to spend all of his time during the vacation with her. In fact, she would still have to convince him to sleep in her room every day so that she could be sure that he wasn't visiting Seraphina. This meant that she had to use every resource that she had to be certain that he didn't suddenly change his mind for some reason.

Theodore appeared to be happy to play along with her game. “Of course. I always indulge you and shower you with affection, don't I? Now that I don't have to work, I will cling to you all day and night. I intend to keep all of my promises, so you don't have to worry about me concerning myself with anything but you. I might have to instruct the servants a bit about where to put some things, but they should already know. After all, we've been on vacation each year since I can remember. The only exception was last year because the ambassadors from Travuan and Clatos came at that time, and I needed to mediate between them. But I won't accept any hindrances this year. We will finally bring you to the coast so that you can admire the sea while I admire you.”

Just when she was about to respond, she heard a sigh next to her and looked at Leon, who was massaging his temples. The secretary was already complaining again. “I can't believe it. Owen, didn't I just tell them not to ignore me, and they do it again?”

Owen just shrugged at that. “I doubt that we have the authority to make decisions regarding His Majesty's and Lady Blanche's actions. You may have to get used to that or meet other people so that you can do the same as them.” Hearing the man that always looked emotionless joke was rather strange, but it was pleasant too. After all, it seemed like he was less reserved in front of Blanche. Ever since she had given her best to improve her behavior, he had spoken a few sentences more, which made a great difference for someone that barely talked.

Theodore wasn't surprised. He disregarded his secretary's complaints and waved toward the steward, who was currently marking something on a list, without letting go of his lover.

The other man rushed over to him and bowed. “Your Majesty, is there anything I can assist you with?”

“Yes. I would like to depart as soon as possible. Nothing should be missing by now, correct? Please tell everyone to make the last preparations.”

The steward nodded and immediately hurried to instruct the members of the staff.

Blanche looked up at her lover and raised her eyebrow. “Shouldn't you also inform him about the carriages? About us riding together and the empress staying with her maids?”

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Theodore gave her a small smile. “I have to confess something. I already told them to do that since I knew that she would agree. There is no way that the empress would voluntarily sit in front of us for two days while we are cuddling. Her response was obvious, so I didn't even wait for it.”

Blanche began frowning. “What would you have done if she had declined? Then you would have problems hiding that the baggage was stored in the wrong carriage.”

“Not really. I knew that she couldn't go against my expectations. But in the unlikely case that she had done that, I would have pretended that her carriage was the one that we were supposed to sit in and told her that I would accompany you. Then she would have been happy about defending her place and kept quiet. So, there never was a dilemma here in the first place. It's better that she listens to my reasoning though. That way, we won't have to deal with her at all and can leave without any issues.” Theodore ended the hug and grabbed her hand instead before slowly guiding her to the entrance. “Let's see whether everyone is done with their preparations.”

The entrance hall was emptier than it had been at first, which made it seem like the members of the staff were outside already. The few servants that still stood inside stepped away so that the emperor could pass by. Like this, the couple quickly managed to leave the palace.

The square in front of the building was full of carriages that were being loaded or were already being brought to the main gate of the royal estate. Dozens of knights accompanied the convoy on their horses. That sight made it obvious how much planning had to go into the yearly summer vacation, in which hundreds of people had to transport all of their baggage through the country while also paying attention to the security. The troop couldn't be vulnerable at any moment, so the guards had to circle the vehicles and look out for danger at all times.

In contrast to that, sitting in the carriage was relaxing. In fact, it would rather be boring, or at least Blanche had thought that that would be the case. After all, she had believed that her lover would travel with the empress, as he had done in the novel, but he was staying with her. This meant that they could use the next two days to cuddle and talk to each other without any interruptions. They had done so for the past month, but now Theodore wouldn't have to work, so it was even more pleasant.

But the most important thing was that Blanche could keep an eye on him and control whether he began to act strangely because of the novel. Knowing that she had him for herself for the duration of the carriage ride made her grin while they approached the vehicle. Still, she didn't let that distract her from the last few stair steps that she would have to climb down and slowed her pace to get to the ground safely. When she finished that, her grin widened.

She had been able to prevent getting hurt and leaving too tardy, so she had already changed the novel's version of the journey. If everything went according to her previous meddling, the next two months would prove that she would be fine despite the original plot.

Theodore observed her confident grinning with a smile before turning to Leon. “It seems like we can depart now. Take care of yourself. I leave the nation to you.”

Leonard returned the smile. “So, you decided to acknowledge my presence anyway. You probably just want to feel better about forcing me to deal with all of your duties while you are gone. If I overwork myself, you are to blame.” He paused for a short moment before continuing in a more serious tone. “Be careful. We don't know what they might have planned.” He turned to the concubine. “You too. Stay close to Theodore or any of the guards that seem familiar. Don't trust anyone you don't know.”

Blanche was taken aback by that but quickly nodded at him. “Of course. I'll keep my guard up.”

Leonard showed her a smile. “Good. After all, we need to return to our lessons when you come back. We neglected that in the past month, even though I had free time.” Now that he mentioned it, it actually had been a while since he had taught her something new. But that might have been better.

“It's alright. My mind was focused on other things, so that was very fitting. Let's resume again once I return. Stay safe. We'll see each other in two months.”

Leon gave his best to imitate a stern expression, but the corners of his lips twitched and showed that he was holding back a grin. “Don't forget the basic things in the meantime. I fear that your lover's influence might turn you into a little brat.” Hearing him joke with the concubine surprised her too. She had always believed that the secretary still had some reservations about her, but now that seemed to get much better.

Blanche gave him a bright smile. “I'll give my best. But if I'm worse than before, you have an excuse to make Theo do some work by himself while you teach me.”

Theodore chimed in at that. “Don't give him ideas. I won't give up any second of my free time that I can spend with my lovely angel.” He gently nudged her cheek before turning to Leon again. “I'm sure that you can deal with everything on your own. The next two months should be relaxed, and after that, we'll do what I proposed and quarter our workload. But I'll still give you the same advice that you gave us. Be on guard. Especially with the people from my lists. And don't forget to write down every little thing that might become an issue later.”

Leonard nodded. “Of course. I'm not careless. I'll send you letters about our situation every week. Regarding Ocrea, even though that should be calmer now, and everything else.” He leaned to the side to glance over Theodore's shoulder to the carriages. “It seems like Owen got his horse, and the coachman is ready. I will pray for good weather at the coast.”

Theodore turned around to confirm that before replying. “Thank you. We will leave then.” He made a small pause. “Goodbye, Leon. Don't do anything stupid.”

Leonard rolled his eyes. “I would never dream of doing something like that, Your Majesty.” His voice was laced with sarcasm, but the other man was content nevertheless.

Theodore smiled at his friend once more before offering Blanche his hand and leading her to the carriage. She climbed inside with his help and plopped down on one of the cushioned benches before moving to the side to make space for her lover, who promptly followed her inside. To her surprise, Stella also came in and sat down on the bench across from them. Apparently, the emperor had given the maid permission to join them, even if the concubine doubted that watching the couple's interaction would be fun for a long time. But Stella was used to that, so it would be fine. Blanche didn't hold back and immediately rested her head on her lover's shoulder.

The carriage drove off a few seconds later, and they joined the vehicles that were already waiting in front of the main gate. The rest of the coaches followed soon so that the convoy was ready to leave. The golden gate was opened, and they began moving towards their destination, which was enough to make Blanche's stomach churn.

She was this close before being able to believe in a future with Theodore. That thought unwillingly made her dig her fingers into his clothes while her mind only focused on hoping that she would be able to beat the novel.

That was her only chance for happiness.

Of course, Blanche didn't reveal any of those depressing thoughts. She just tried to act as if she was without a care as she leaned her head against her lover. She was quickly distracted though.

Theodore had been quiet for a moment, but now he suddenly moved back a bit so that he could meet her gaze and addressed her in a tone that was a bit too serious for her taste. “We will only reach our midway stop in the evening. We should have enough time to talk a bit now.” The fact that he said it like that already revealed that he had something specific in mind. Theodore seemed really uncertain though. He looked away for a few seconds before swallowing and beginning in a lowered voice. “There is something I would like to apologize for regarding what...happened last week.” He meant the day they had met in the middle of the night while he was discussing the treatment of a criminal.

Blanche only needed to remember how scared her lover had been about her judgment back then, so she didn't hesitate before looking him right in the eyes while giving her honest response. “You don't have to apologize for anything. I don't mind it at all when traitors get what they deserve.” At least when it wasn't about her since she had never wanted to betray her lover. “He committed treason, and you need to ensure that he talks about his connections, right? There is no discussion necessary in that case. I will trust you fully.” She could tell that this view meant that she was morally gray, but she didn't care. The emperor's enemies tried to murder him, so Theodore wouldn't win by softly scolding anyone that attacked him. As long as the concerned people were truly guilty, Blanche didn't care enough to get angry no matter what.

Theodore somehow still didn't seem comfortable with the topic, even though her opinion should have been obvious. “It's still...a difficult subject.” He barely dared to meet her gaze.

Blanche couldn't deny what he had said either, but this didn't change her reply. “I fully agree. But you only ordered someone to be harsher with that criminal because you wish to keep away more harm, correct? Because you saw this as the best option?”

Theodore hesitated for just a second as if he hadn't expected the question but knew exactly what he would respond with. “Yes.” That settled it.

“Then you are sure that this is the right way, and I won't argue with that. You don't have to worry about my personal judgment either. I will never view you with anything but love. I already saw all sides of you, so you couldn't push me away with anything no matter what.”

That comment should have made Theodore happy, but he didn't seem enthusiastic. Instead, he seemed almost sad as he closed his eyes. “I know.” He was silent for a moment in which Blanche already wanted to speak up, but he began again while slowly opening his eyes to gaze at her. “I don't like methods like this either. I just resolved to...threatening him because the man we arrested was connected to a bigger scheme we will slowly unveil now. He was merely a messenger, so he didn't steer anything, but we will have to find the one that controlled him.” That was awfully vague, at least more vague than most things Theodore told his lover.

Blanche knew that this meant that he had a reason to keep quiet. For some reason, she didn't even feel the need to ask what this was about. Yet, simply ending the conversation here would feel strange, so she forced herself to ask it just a single time and already swore to give up after. “You can't tell me what this is about now?”

It was silent for a few seconds before Theodore began. “You don't know him, but that man is...” It almost sounded like he would reply, but then a mix of uncertainty and something like hurt flashed on his face. He changed his mind. “I'm sorry. It's... I can't tell you yet. It would...make you...” Theodore forced himself to meet Blanche's gaze as he slowly moved his arms around her body again and pulled her closer. “Just know that I am working hard for our future and for the entire nation. I will tell you as soon as I can, but I need a bit more time. When I fully figure out what is going on, I will explain everything. But the fact that I stopped this intrigue before it really began is truly wonderful. Anything else would have been catastrophic.”

Blanche had expected that. She was still not sure what this was about, but she knew that Theodore would masterly deal with any dangers within the time frame of the first novel. She probably wouldn't need to worry. Blanche shifted around a bit to sit more comfortably and hugged Theodore back while she leaned against him and reached up to stroke over his cheek. “It's good that you avoided that. You always do your best with things like this. I'm proud of you.” She smiled at him for a moment before closing her eyes and leaning her head against his chest. “Tell me what this problem was whenever you're ready. No matter what it is about, I'm always on your side.”

Theodore's hold on her tightened. “I know.” He was more than unwilling to end the hug and just pulled her closer and closer while he rested his chin on her head and muttered the rest in a barely audible volume. “I know, I know. And I swear that I will always be on yours too.”

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Traveling was as exhausting as Blanche had imagined it. Sitting the entire day was frustrating, even though it had to have been worse for Stella. After all, the concubine and her lover sometimes rested their heads on the other's lap so that they could lie down with tucked-up legs while the maid had to sit upright the whole time. In general, the couple's constant cuddling had to be infuriating, but Stella didn't complain once.

Aside from chatting with Theodore and hugging him, there wasn't much to do. Blanche was glad about that since it meant that there weren't any occurrences that could put them in danger. It was a bit boring, but the evening came eventually, even if it felt like it took a bit longer than usual. Naturally, all of them were relieved when they arrived at a mansion that would serve as their stop along the way and were able to stretch their legs.

The carriage ride of the next day was just as uneventful, but for some reason, it passed faster. That might have been the case because Blanche had slept for a few hours in between since she had spent her time at the mansion looking around in the luxurious garden rather than sleeping. Her lover didn't seem to mind resting only for some hours, but she had to catch up on the lost sleep. She did so by making herself comfortable with a blanket, a few pillows and Theodore's lap. Even though the carriage couldn't cushion all the bumps of the road, she had no problem sleeping there.

Blanche only woke up when her lover began pressing kisses onto her face. At first, she groaned a bit and tried to turn around to make him stop, but he continued until she opened one of her eyes slightly. “Good morning. Are we there yet?” She mumbled her greeting in a drowsy voice while looking up at her lover.

Theodore's radiant smile greeted her, and that was so beautiful that she thought about whether she was dreaming right now, but the emperor's hand that was stroking over her face felt real enough to convince her that this was reality. He let out a chuckle when she intertwined their fingers. “It's not morning, Sleepyhead. It's almost evening. But we will arrive soon, so I thought it would be good to wake you up. There is something you can't miss after all.” He gestured towards the window, which made her stomach tingle with anticipation.

“Is it the sea?” Blanche sat up in an instant and quickly rubbed her eyes before moving to the window.

Her lover followed her and hugged her from behind. “Yes. We'll reach a road that is on top of a cliff any moment, and you will be able to look at the ocean from there. The sun isn't setting yet, so we will have to postpone seeing it when it's tinted red, but it might be better to get a picture of how it normally looks first anyway.”

Blanche glanced over her shoulder to observe Theodore's gentle smile and then hurriedly turned to the window while waiting for the carriage to arrive at the spot he had described. Slowly, the trees that surrounded them became fewer and fewer, which gave her an unobstructed view of the broad acres that were lining the street. Then suddenly, the landscape began to lower itself so that she had to look down to see the fresh grass, and without a warning, the ocean came into sight.

She couldn't refrain from putting her hands against the glass of the window as she stared at the waving mass of deep blue in awe. It was beautiful and exactly like what she had imagined to the point at which she could swear that she might have seen it already before. But that was probably because she couldn't help but be reminded of something that she had already seen hundreds of times.

The soft waves drew little lines onto the otherwise even water, on which the glistering rays of the sun were being reflected. The image looked so simple, and yet, it appeared to be richly adorned by all the shallow movements of the sea. The longer she observed it, the more it pulled her in and made her want to dive into the soft blue. There was no doubt that this was something that no skilled craftsmanship could create but only nature. Yet, Blanche would say that the color made a completely different image much more perfect.

She turned back to her lover. “It looks like your eyes.”

Theodore blinked at that before his bedazzlement faded and his radiant beam returned. “You think so? I wouldn't mind seeing you look at me with such admiration.”

“I do that every time I meet your gaze. No matter how often I see you, I still can't believe that I'm lucky enough to have you in my life.” Blanche put her arms upon his, which were hugging her waist. “Maybe it's not that obvious, but I'm always in awe when I am with you. I can't help but be completely smitten with you.”

Theodore didn't give her a chance to prepare herself when his mouth landed on hers, and he kissed her with so much passion that she thought she was going to faint any moment. When he finally gave her a minute to catch her breath, she turned around fully and threw her arms around him. Her lover returned the embrace for a while until the concubine noticed that she was missing the opportunity to look at the sea a little longer.

After some tugging, Blanche managed to turn around in his arms so that she could enjoy both the view and Theodore's closeness. To her pleasure, he began planting small kisses onto the upper part of her neck while telling her how much he loved her, to which she always responded by assuring that she was even more devoted to him. That had to have been awful for Stella, but Blanche didn't care, not when she was filled with so much euphoria that she wanted to run around and take on the world.

They were here on vacation, and right now, she had the role of the heroine.