Blanche buried her face in her lover's clothes without any care for the powder and the tears she might stain him with. She clung to him like her life depended on it, and in some way, it did. Without him, her heart would shatter into a thousand fragments, and she would break.

She wasn't sure how long they stood there.

At some point, the empress arrived, but the concubine couldn't bother to let go of her lover to turn around.

Luckily, Seraphina didn't address her lack of respect and just acted as if the other woman wasn't there. She spoke right after the emperor had given her a curt greeting. “Good morning, Your Majesty. I see that you already have prepared for the departure.”

Theodore replied while stroking over Blanche's head. “Yes, it's best to leave as early as possible so that we don't need to hurry to reach our midway stop before it gets dark.”

“That is a wise decision. I wish you a pleasant and relaxing trip. The same holds true for your stay in the royal palace. Hopefully, there will be no unexpected events during the journey or after.”

Theodore nodded. “I hope so too. I assume that there won't be any problems here either, but if something happens, send a letter. Of course, only if it's an extremely important matter that requires my immediate attention since I'll be quite busy.” It felt odd to hear him say that when he had promised his concubine that he would read her letters every day, even though she wouldn't send any crucial information.

The empress couldn't know that though. “Naturally, Your Majesty. Please have a safe return.” After that, Seraphina didn't speak anymore, which indicated that she had probably stepped to the side. She couldn't leave the entrance area as she would have to bid farewell to the emperor until he was gone, but at least she didn't intervene anymore.

The time passed way too quickly anyway.

Even though Blanche was suffering during every second that they were standing here, she would rather remain in her lover's arms for much longer than let him depart. But she didn't have a choice.

A servant informed Theodore that they were finished, and the emperor stated that he would be there in a minute. This meant that their goodbye had come. She had known that this would happen since yesterday and had pondered about it the whole night, but she still wasn't ready. She wanted to hold him tighter and dig her fingers into his skin so that he wouldn't leave, but none of that would help.

So, Blanche forced herself to let go before she wouldn't be able to do so anymore. “You need to stay safe. No matter what. Promise me that.”

Her lover reached for her face to wipe away some of her tears. “I already did that yesterday, didn't I? But I don't mind repeating it. I promise that everything will be fine. You can trust the emperor's words.”

She wanted to do that so badly, but at the same time, her chest was already aching at the thought of him leaving. He couldn't be sure whether his mother wouldn't start another plot to kill him. He had no way of guaranteeing that he would emerge as the victor in this ruthless fight for the throne. How was he so confident?

Theodore had an easy time reading her expression since she had given up veiling her emotions long ago. “My enemies are merciless, but I know how to deal with them. I grew up with those two despising me after all. That's why I can promise you that I won't be harmed under any circumstances. So, will you promise me something else in return?”

Blanche choked out a quiet “Yes” and nodded. If she wasn't able to accompany him to help him fight his battle, she wanted to do everything in her power to make him happy in another way.

Theodore's request wasn't so easy to fulfill though. “Say goodbye to me with a smile. I don't want to see you sad while I leave, or it'll crush my heart. So, don't cry.”

The concubine swallowed at that. She wasn't sure whether she would be capable of forcing herself to do that. Her world was currently breaking down around her as her mind imagined the worst scenarios that she might have evoked by changing the storyline. And now she was supposed to smile? How could she smile at the prospect of her lover leaving her behind while he would face the people that wanted to see him dead?

But he would depart anyway.

No matter whether she cried and screamed or waved after him with a grin. The only aspect that would change was that she could make this goodbye a bit easier for him. If it was for Theodore, she might be able to betray her own emotions for a moment. It wasn't a first.

“Alright.” Blanche took a deep breath and focused on lifting the corners of her lips to mimic a smile. It was the closest she would get to looking happy now.

But apparently, that was enough for her lover. He leaned his forehead against hers and gave her a beam that was way more convincing than hers. “It'll be fine. When you come back, I will be waiting at the entrance so that you can fall into my arms. There won't be anything separating us anytime after that. Just give me a little bit of time to clean up the capital before you follow me. Take care of yourself. Can you do that for me?”

Blanche nodded. Even though she wasn't sure how she would be able to push back her terror for the next few weeks of uncertainty, she would definitely not tell him that. There was so much that she did want to say, but her voice wasn't working properly. She wouldn't be capable of maintaining a smile while speaking, and they didn't have more time. The servants were probably already wondering why the emperor hadn't given the signal to leave yet. So, she just said the most important thing. “I love you. Be careful and stay safe.”

“I will. Never forget that I love you with all of my heart. If you ever worry, remember our promise.” He grabbed her hand and stroked his thumb over the ring on her hand. “Until we meet again.” He pressed a small kiss onto her forehead. With that, he let go of her and took a step back. He was still beaming at her, and she forced herself to mirror that to the best of her ability.

Theodore turned around and walked a few steps before stopping to exchange a couple of words with Owen. He put his hand on the knight's shoulder and said one last thing before letting go and climbing into the carriage. When the door closed behind him, it felt even more final than his departure had before. Theodore leaned against the window from the inside and waved towards her, still with this smile, but now he wasn't able to cover the sadness that was hiding behind his facade anymore either.

Yet, the coachman pulled the bridle, and the horses began moving.

Blanche concentrated on her fake smile as she waved after her lover until she couldn't see him anymore. As soon as she wasn't able to make out his face anymore and just saw the carriage that became smaller and smaller in the distance, her smile died down. She was still waving, but round tears were rolling down her cheeks, and sobs escaped her throat. By now, she was just happy that she hadn't collapsed to the floor already. The main reason that she didn't was probably that she was desperately trying to prevent that from happening since someone from Theodore's coach could still see her. She didn't want to worry her lover when he already had much more to deal with than she did.

He was the one traveling back to the lion's den, to the woman that had wished to kill her own child for a taste of power. So, why was she the one being so weak? She shouldn't be crying when she wasn't in any danger, but knowing that he was endangering himself like this made her sick. She had been meddling with the novel's course, so she couldn't be sure that he would be victorious because he was the main character. No matter how one put it, she was responsible for altering the story this much so that his happy end might slip away.

At that moment, Blanche began praying. She didn't care whether gods truly existed or if there was some other force controlling this world. She just wanted Theodore to be safe so that she could fall into his arms soon.

Stella put her hands on her mistress' shoulders as she slowly rubbed small circles into the other woman's skin. “My Lady, let's go back inside. I'll make a tasty breakfast, and then we'll go into the kitchen to bake a cake after that, alright?”

The concubine didn't even nod and just threw her arms around her maid. She buried her face in the servant's neck and allowed herself to come undone. It felt like she was about to suffocate with all the sobs from her throat keeping her from breathing properly, so freeing herself from any contact might have been better, but she didn't care. Even though her heart was burning and sending pain that ran through her veins like acid, she didn't want to let go. If she was all alone now, she would break down.

Luckily, Stella didn't push her always but cradled her and allowed her mistress to use her as an anchor in this storm of emotions.

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Blanche didn't notice anything that happened around them. To her, it was like the world around them didn't exist. Only when someone else spoke to her, she lifted her head slightly.

Gloria was standing in front of them with a stern expression. “Lady Blanche, it would be better for you to go inside your room instead of appearing like in front of the staff. As a noble lady, you need to maintain some dignity under any circumstances. It isn't good for you to let your emotions take control of you like this, especially not when you are merely sad that His Majesty left. It is necessary for him to take care of the matters in the capital on his own. As the wise emperor of Artias, he will not have any problems with that task. You will see him again soon, so I would encourage you to pull yourself together.”

A surge of anger rushed through the concubine's veins at that. Didn't the head maid have any idea about Theodore having to face powerful political opponents? How could she claim that Blanche was only sad because he was going away? That played a role in her grief as well, but more than that, the concubine was terrified of him getting hurt because of the dowager empress' schemes. Being called selfish because she worried about her lover stung more than it should have.

Blanche gritted her teeth in an attempt to hold back the overly hateful response that was about to come out. She didn't want to insult Gloria, but right now, she wasn't thinking clearly, so she would end up saying awful things. To prevent that, she would have to keep quiet, but that was easier said than done. No one could know what connected her and Theodore. No one could know what they had gone through and how they were suffering when they were forcefully separated again. Before she could choke down all the words that were rushing through her mind, a bit came out of her mouth. “You don't know anything about-” She was cut off by someone else.

“Lady Blanche.” This voice didn't make it much better.

The concubine loosened her hold on Stella a little and turned her head to the person that was standing next to them. It was the empress. Hopefully, that woman wouldn't tell her even more things she didn't need to hear now.

Seraphina had kept her stoic expression despite the scene in front of her and faced the head maid first. “Gloria, even if you have good intentions, it would be better to allow Lady Blanche to deal with her emotions herself. After all, there is no way that we can forbid her from showing her sadness. I am aware of what you wished to express, however, it might have come across differently.” Then she turned towards the concubine, who was still sniffling.

Before Blanche could realize what was happening, the other woman held a handkerchief in her direction. She glanced at the cloth before looking up at the empress.

“Please take it.” Seraphina nodded towards her. “For now, I will lend it to you under the condition that you return it after it was cleaned.”

The concubine was still hesitant, but she slowly grabbed the handkerchief. She almost dropped it due to her shaky hands, but she managed to bring it to her face. She scanned it to make sure that nothing was wrong with it, but her sigh was blurred, so she gave up quickly and wiped away some of her tears with the handkerchief. That didn't help much since new ones were coming continuously, so she was worried that the cloth would be drenched by the time her tear ducts were empty. She muttered a half-whispered “Thank you” before quickly covering her nose with the handkerchief to hide that her crying wasn't pretty in the slightest.

Still, the empress didn't leave but stayed next to her for another moment. They were silent for a few seconds before Seraphina spoke up. “No matter who you are, there is no way that you can disregard His Majesty's orders. He told you not to cry, did he not? You need to respect the emperor's wishes even if they do not correspond to your feelings. I will take my leave now. Have a nice day, Lady Blanche.”

The concubine froze at that. Had Seraphina just been kind to her? Wasn't this the very same person that had despised her from the very beginning? The one that should have ordered the villainess' execution after putting her on trial? She was too startled to even reply.

The empress didn't seem to have expected a response in the first place though. She turned around and walked over to the main entrance of the mansion. Her maids and Gloria followed her, only her knight stayed behind a bit longer.

Noah gave the concubine a gentle smile. “Even if you worry about His Majesty, please do not neglect your own health. Everyone here is willing to help you if you ever have any problems, Lady Blanche. Do not hesitate to ask for support. I will give my best to be of your assistance. And do not worry. No one here is a threat to you.” He spun around as well and hurried to the empress, who had already turned around to wait for him.

The concubine was left behind in confusion at all the kind words and could just blink. This made her feel even more helpless than before. If even Seraphina was asking her to stop crying, Blanche had to have looked extremely pathetic. Of course, she did. She was just standing there with tears streaming down her face as she was unable to do anything but cry. How embarrassing.

Luckily, Stella was by her side and managed to guide her mistress back to the mansion. The maid carefully led her up the stairs as they ignored all the gazes that were directed at them.

The concubine almost tripped a few times due to her sight being obstructed by the tears in her eyes, but her friend always kept her upright. She didn't pay much attention to that, but Owen was right behind her as well, so he would have caught her even if she had slipped. That made her feel a tiny bit better, but she still needed a break.

When they reached the master bedroom, Blanche just gestured for the two to come inside with her. As soon as the door closed behind them, she collapsed onto the bed and crossed her arms over her eyes. Her tears were slowly drying up, but she wasn't sure whether that was because she had cried for so long or because her brain was once again setting up protective mechanisms to keep her from breaking down. Maybe that was why Theodore being gone felt so strange that she couldn't believe it.

For the last two years, she had never been so far away from her lover for an unknown period of time. It was horrible to be separated from him, and this feeling ripped her heart apart. But the worst thing about this was the uncertainty. She had no idea whether the emperor would stay safe or when she would be able to see him again. Those unanswered questions bothered her even more than anything else.

Would she have to stay in the summer residence for even longer than they had originally planned? Had her meddling with the story's course ruined everything? Did she really not deserve to be happy and did Theodore not deserve to have a happy end as long as she was by his side? Would he face political ruin now? Had the dowager empress gained so much influence that she could seriously harm the emperor? If so, could Theodore just come back for his lover and flee with her?

All of that couldn't be answered now. Blanche would have to wait until some time passed to get a response. For now, she wouldn't be able to do anything. So, she just lay on her bed, with Stella sitting next to her in silence and Owen standing by the doorway.

At this moment, it felt like she wouldn't recover from this, even though she knew that she had to. She had to be strong for Theodore so that she could greet him with a smile when they met each other again. She didn't want to make him worry after all. But all of that was easier said than done.

Even lying there without saying anything was exhausting since Blanche's mind wandered off to the horrible things that might happen to her lover. From blood to graves and duels, everything appeared in front of her inner eye, and she hated it. She should distract herself with something, or she would sulk for the rest of the vacation, which wouldn't do anything but trouble those around her. In the end, she couldn't bring herself to speak up though and remained in the same position for a while.

Blanche didn't know whether minutes or hours passed, but at some point, she dropped her arms onto the mattress and opened her eyes to stare at the ceiling. The other two were still staying with her without complaining once about her just making them stand around in her room. Sitting up took a lot more motivation than she had to offer, but she forced herself after a moment. She leaned her back against the pillows and looked around.

The chambers were the same ones she had been staying in for the last month, but they seemed so different, so empty, with all of her lover's things missing. The master bedroom was way too big for one person. That thought made Blanche frown. She slowly turned to alternate between looking at her maid, who appeared to be relieved upon seeing her mistress moving again, and the head knight. “Now that Theo isn't here... Why am I in the master bedroom? I just stayed here because of him, so it's a bit odd if I keep this room. Shouldn't I move to a guest room?”

Stella quickly shook her head. “His Majesty asked you to share this room with him, so no one can argue against you being here. If someone complains, you can just say that bringing all of your things to another room would be a hassle and that you were only refraining from inconveniencing the servants. If they keep protesting, you can write a letter to His Majesty, and he will shut them down!” She balled her fists and showed the concubine a serious expression that revealed that she was ready to defend her mistress at all times.

“That won't be necessary.” Owen spoke up, which made the two women turn to him. “No one here would dare to voice their dismay. The only people that might believe that they have the right to speak up are Her Majesty, her maids and Gloria, and even they do not have the authority to overrule His Majesty's decision.”

Blanche picked up a pillow from next to her and hugged it as she pulled her knees to her chest. “I wouldn't be so confident. Theo only said that he wanted me to be with him. Now that he isn't here, this room should belong to the master of the house, which would be the empress.”

Owen shook his head, which made her pause. “It is true that this room is for the master of the residence, and for that exact reason, you are entitled to stay here. The both of you were not downstairs when His Majesty made his announcement, so you would not know. He officially named you the master, or in this case rather mistress, of the manor.” That was ridiculous.

The concubine put the pillow next to her and jumped onto her knees. “What? He can't just do that! The empress should be the one gaining authority over the estate. How could I take that away from her? I don't have the qualification, the rank or need to be in charge!”

In contrast to her, Owen was completely calm. “There is no need for you to worry. Any matter that needs to be taken care of will be dealt with by the steward of this manor. Her Majesty is not affected by this either. She may be the empress of Artias, but that has nothing to do with being the master of a house. The owner of the building is the one making the decisions inside, and since His Majesty owns this mansion, it is his alone without a doubt but only because his grandfather paid for it and not because of his rank. In case that the master leaves, they will announce a person that will be in charge instead of them. They are free to choose whoever they want for that. That may be their wife, but it could also be a child, sibling, or a friend. Only because Her Majesty is the most powerful person inside the estate, she is not automatically the owner. Thus, there is no reason to question His Majesty's choice, and none of the servants or knights will do so either.”

Blanche was dumbfounded at that. Wasn't it still ridiculous for Theodore to make a decision like that? No one would grant an inexperienced baroness, who had been given that title by the emperor and officially only was an acquaintance, the full authority to manage the house while they were gone. This made it more than obvious that they were in a relationship. It might be fine since they were far away from the capital, but the empress could still be angry. The concubine couldn't be sure whether Seraphina had already heard about that after all.

She kept quiet for a moment before addressing the head knight. “Does the empress know about his decision?”

Owen shook his head. “My apologies. I cannot answer that question. Her Majesty arrived after the announcement like you did, so she might not have found out yet. If there aren't any problems, she also won't have to think about this matter at all. As long as every person here respects you, which they certainly will, you do not have to use your rights as the mistress of this house. Like I said, you do not need to worry. His Majesty asked me to remind you that he will back any of your decisions if it should be necessary, and if anyone questions you, you are free to use his name to defend yourself. Since his personal guard is with you, there should be no doubts about whether he trusts you.”

Blanche had forgotten about that. Of course, it would seem weird if the emperor's knight was suddenly following her around. Wouldn't that just serve as one more proof for Theodore's affair? The concubine let herself fall back on the bed and held back a groan. “Why did he do that? Why didn't he just take me along with him?” Then she would have much fewer worries.

That question had actually just been a rhetorical one, but Owen still answered. “His Majesty wishes to protect you. By naming you the mistress of the mansion, he also instructed the staff to follow your command over anyone else's. That means that the priority of all the knights is to defend you against any danger that might arise. Naturally, his wish to keep you safe is also what made him decide to let you stay here. After all, you may become a target for his enemies. I believe that he explained that yesterday, so you know that he plans on making sure that the capital isn't dangerous before you return. But in fact, there may be something else as well.”

Blanche froze at that. For a moment, she just lay there before she stiffly sat up again. “What are you talking about?” Was there another reason for Theodore to not want to take her along with him? If so, she had the right to hear about that, didn't she?