The next morning, Blanche woke up before her maid had entered the room. She stayed in bed for a while and only stood up when her stomach complained.
Almost in the same second, a knock came from the door, and Stella came inside with the breakfast. When she saw that her mistress was awake already, she smiled. “Good morning, my Lady. Did you sleep well?”
Surprisingly, Blanche had been able to fully rest this time, in contrast to the last three nights. She was thankful for that since she could do without another traumatic dream. “Yes, I did. How about you, Stella?”
The servant nodded and talked about some confusing dream while she began setting the table. After putting down all the plates, she lifted the coverings and found the scrambled eggs which made her freeze.
Blanche sat down at the table and turned to the maid. “This is your favorite meal, isn't it?”
Stella nodded, and a soft smile spread across her lips. “Yes. But I only mentioned it once. I'm surprised that you remembered that.”
The concubine grinned at her in return. “Of course. How bad do you think my memory is?”
Stella quickly made a refuting hand gesture. “Oh no, I didn't mean it like that! It's just...” Even if it wasn't necessary anymore, she still made a great effort to avoid insulting Blanche. It was sweet to see how considerate the maid was.
“I know what you meant. You don't have to overthink everything you say. How about you sit down and eat with me before the scrambled eggs get cold?” The concubine pointed at the empty chair at her side while she spoke.
Instantly, Stella's eyes widened, and she took a step backward. “I don't dare to do that, My Lady! Even if you are incredibly kind to me, I am still only a servant. I can't simply sit with you and eat your food.”
Blanche waved her hand around and frowned. “Nonsense, why shouldn't you? I explicitly gave you my consent to join me at the table. As long as I allow that, no one can complain, right? And there aren't any other people here either, so who would say anything in the first place? When I felt bad after my nightmare, you sat with me too and didn't worry.”
Stella grasped the hem of her skirt and bit her lip. “That was completely different. I still-” She was interrupted before she could finish.
“If you are fine with eating with me, please do. It would be much more pleasant than sitting here alone. Also, there are always leftovers. More than enough to fill another person's stomach, to be exact. We can't keep sending this back to the kitchen. And look. I even requested your favorite dish for you.” Blanche lifted the plate with the scrambled eggs for a moment before carefully lowering it onto the table again.
Stella still hesitated “You requested it? You went into the kitchen yesterday to ask for scrambled eggs?”
A nod by her mistress answered the question.
“My Lady... Thank you.” The maid stared at the food another second before continuing. “Do you really want me to eat with you?”
Blanche happily nodded and patted the chair next to her. “Naturally. Why else would I ask you to? Come on, sit with me.”
Stella sat down very slowly before staring at the food in front of her. “If you change your mind, no matter when, please tell me. Then I'll stop immediately.”
“I won't change my mind. I like you, Stella. So, I won't get tired of spending time with you.” Blanche began eating the delicious meal and watched how the other woman took a while to adapt to her new situation. At some point, Stella finally grabbed a little portion of the dishes. Though the small amount wouldn't be enough to satiate the maid for sure. “You don't need to be shy. You can eat more, or you will still be hungry afterward.”
Stella shook her head while giving her mistress an apologetic look. “That's not it. I already ate with the other servants. We always meet really early in the morning before going to work.”
Blanche's lips formed a small ‘Oh’. She felt a bit stupid for not realizing that the maid could have had breakfast earlier. After all, she had never seen Stella eat, so the woman logically had to have done that while she wasn't with her mistress.
Stella gave her a bright smile. “It's alright though. We usually don't have much time and hurry to swallow our food, so I don't get as much as I'd like. Besides, the food you have is way tastier. So, while I would like to continue eating with the others, I can also join you.” That was relieving.
Blanche replied immediately. “Thank the gods. I would rather eat with you, but I won't make you do it against your will. I'm glad you agreed.” She wasn't really sure why seeing how Stella ate nothing had made her uncomfortable, but now it was definitely better. Each time her maid swallowed something, Blanche felt a bit more satisfied.
For the rest of the meal, the women talked about different subjects, and the relaxed atmosphere already made the whole thing better. Blanche didn't feel alone at the table anymore and could speak more to the maid and get to know her.
After being asked, Stella explained that she didn't know anything about her real parents except that they had died and that someone had brought her to the palace. She had been raised here by the previous head maid, though most of the adult servants had assisted her. So, she had spent most of her childhood helping the other maids. Thus, she had learned how to take care of the palace quite early and was efficient in getting her tasks done.
When Blanche had moved into the palace, Stella had been the only female servant of a similar age that had finished her training. For that reason, she had gotten assigned to the concubine. Ever since then she had had less to do since all of her tasks consisted of what her mistress decided on. For the most part, Blanche had only given her easy chores like delivering an item, so the maid had been quite content. Stella didn't mention how unfairly she had been treated though.
The more Blanche talked to her maid, the more she questioned her original behavior. Why had she only noticed what a terrible person she had been when she had received the novel's memories and found out that she was the villain? When she heard about her actions now, she always felt bad. Being mean to the friendly maid didn't make any sense. By provoking nobles she could maybe have gained the satisfaction of fighting someone with a higher rank and winning anyway, but insulting a servant didn't offer her advantages. But whether she understood that or not, it had definitely been mentioned in the novel, so she had to accept it as a fact. She couldn't complain about that. Her only choice was to treat the people around her better to make up for it.
After both women finished eating, they left the table. Stella brought the cart back into the kitchen before brushing her mistress' hair and helping her dress. For the rest of the day, they walked around the garden and continued their conversation.
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The following week was uneventful. It rained for three days in a row which forced Blanche and Stella to stay inside unless they wanted to dirty their shoes.
Theodore still had to sign contracts regarding the trading route and was busy arguing with the opposing nobles. Aside from this, he also had to prepare for the upcoming ball and thus, didn't have time to see Blanche. Sometimes, he sent short notes and lightened up her mood with his sweet words which made her miss him a little.
But in the end, his absence proved to be beneficial to Blanche as the ball quickly approached and she needed to figure out how she would act. Being distracted by the overwhelming emotions she felt around her lover would only keep her from reaching a conclusion, so it was good that she was alone with Stella.
Blanche went through every imaginable scenario inside her mind and laid out a plan on how to behave to avoid conflicts and refrain from harming her already damaged reputation. She mainly focused on interactions with the empress and Marquess Sefare, the two people who posed the biggest threat to her right now. This would hopefully prepare her for emergencies and also prevented her thoughts from wandering to Theodore.
In addition, the concubine wrote a short letter to Sefare. In that note, she explained that she thanked him for saving her life but didn't wish any contact with him in the future because she wasn't ready to do anything that might hurt her lover. Giving the marquess this would be faster and less suspicious than her talking to one of the emperor's enemies in private. Since Sefare couldn't tell the emperor about her role in the intrigues without giving away that he was involved himself, giving him that letter shouldn't be a problem.
Still, no one else should see it.
While writing her note, Blanche took great care that Stella didn't even catch a glimpse of it. She wanted to make sure even though this was probably unnecessary since the maid had been the one to deliver her mistress' letters for the past year. Previously, the concubine had sent Sefare a summary of the events inside the palace every month, so Stella was aware that Blanche was in contact with someone from the capital. Still, the maid didn't need to find out how deeply her mistress was involved in the political intrigues which was why Blanche tried to keep as much hidden as she could.
Like this, the days passed by.
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Blanche should have felt better after preparing everything, but she became more and more nervous every hour. The day of the ball arrived way faster than she would have liked it. After getting up, she ate with Stella like they had done it during the last days already. The festivities would only begin in the evening, so they took their time. Still, they began preparing her attire in the morning already.
It wasn't even noon, and the concubine was in the middle of deciding on the accessories that would fit the dress she had chosen while trying to create an attire that was rather inconspicuous. She didn't get far. A knock on the door interrupted her. Blanche held back a sigh and exchanged a confused look with Stella before raising her voice. “Yes? You may enter.”
Seconds later, a gray-haired elderly woman came in. Her face, which was covered in wrinkles, showed a serious expression and mirrored that she didn't think highly of the emperor's mistress. This person here was Gloria, the current head maid of the royal palace. She managed most of the servants' affairs, made sure that they did their work properly and distributed their payment. Gloria had taken over the position a few years before Blanche had arrived and was quite skillful, so she would definitely keep it for at least another decade.
Blanche was a bit uncertain why this woman was here, but she greeted her with a little fake smile anyway. “I wish you a nice day, Gloria. What led you here?”
Gloria bowed down and then spoke. “Good morning, Lady Blanche. I hope that you had an undisturbed night so that you are well rested for the upcoming event.” She raised her head again and continued. “His Majesty has sent me to hand over this gift to you.” She spoke while showing the other woman a small box, which was made out of dark wood with golden ornaments.
Blanche had nearly forgotten about the present Theodore had promised her. She had been pondering about enough other things in the past days, so she hadn't anticipated the surprise at all. She carefully took the box and put it on the table to avoid dropping it. She opened it slowly despite her growing curiosity.
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The inside of the box was coated with purple velvet, which was meant to protect the actual gift. A golden necklace with a masterly implemented sapphire was lying on top of the fabric.
With a gasp, Blanche lifted the accessory and observed it in the daylight that was coming from the window. She stared at the exemplary craftsmanship in awe and slowly turned the necklace to see it from every angle. Once again, it seemed like Theodore had managed to find the perfect present. The accessory was beautiful, and she adored it already as he had promised.
However, this wasn't what made her speechless. The reason for that was the gift's color scheme. She held the necklace even closer to the window to make sure that she hadn't mistaken the colors. But her first impression had been right. The chain itself was golden, while the sapphire was tinted in a dark blue.
Everyone in the country would recognize this combination as the colors of the royal family.
For decades, if not centuries, the rulers of Artias had been represented by an emblem consisting of gold and navy. Family members that were closely related to the emperor often wore attires in these colors to underline their status and remind others of their heirloom. Except for the royal couple, all members of royalty tended to add another color to this combination to differentiate between the ranks within the royal family. The more powerful the person was, the more of their clothes were in the royal colors.
Thus, attires that were fully colored in navy and gold were reserved for the emperor and the empress alone. While it wasn't forbidden for other nobles to wear clothes with this color combination, it was considered to be highly inappropriate. After all, it would hint that the person had the same power as the royal family, and that would inevitably be seen as an insult towards the emperor.
Of course, anyone was free to wear small accessories made out of gold and sapphires despite that, and it wasn't frowned upon to do so.
Still, giving this necklace to Blanche and asking her to wear it in public would draw attention to her. People were already talking about the emperor's lover striving for power, and her wearing a necklace with the royal colors would fuel those rumors. Nobles might assume that she was slowly trying to take over privileges of the empress to eventually claim that title. After all, showing up in gold and navy would display her wish to be regarded as a member of royalty. To avoid accidentally causing a scandal, the concubine would definitely not choose an accessory like that on her own.
But she hadn't made this decision. The necklace had been a gift from Theodore.
The fact that Theodore gave this to Blanche and encouraged her to wear it at the ball meant that he wanted her to show her connection to him. At first, she was worried about the reactions that this would evoke, but she quickly pushed away that thought. Since her dress was in a different color, the necklace wouldn't offend the empress and only give a subtle hint that Blanche was somehow affiliated with the royal family.
Blanche didn't know whether her lover had decided to do this to ease her worries after the last week, in which she had voiced the fear of being left by him. Maybe that was it. He also could have gifted her this to stop the aristocrats from talking badly about her. But either way, he introduced her as a person that was close to him and proved that he was on her side. And he would manage to do all of this without revealing the true nature of their relationship or destroying his previous efforts to keep their affair a secret. It was perfect.
Blanche's cheeks burned up, and her heart hammered in her chest while felt a slight tingle in her stomach. She couldn't contain her emotions and began to grin.
Stella took a step towards her mistress, who showed her the necklace. After observing the accessory with an open mouth, the maid began smiling too. “It's beautiful!”
Blanche nodded vigorously. “It really is, isn't it? Theo found the most incredible gift again.” She turned around and faced the dress that she had picked. It was a light green ballgown with soft tulle and lace ornaments. The necklace would match the dress perfectly if she chose fitting accessories. She was about to decide which ones to use when she noticed that she hadn't acknowledged the head maid's help yet.
As she turned back to the older woman, she found Gloria staring at her with narrowed eyes. Blanche spoke anyway but wondered if she had done something to upset the other party. “I nearly forgot to thank you for bringing this here. I am grateful for your efforts.”
The head maid's expression didn't soften but rather got even colder. “There is no need to thank me. I was merely following His Majesty's order.” It sounded like she pointed out that she wouldn't have brought the concubine anything if Theodore hadn't requested it. That she had said that in a voice that was laced with poison hadn't helped either.
For a moment, Blanche was taken aback because of Gloria's glare, but she quickly remembered why the other woman was so upset.
The head maid had been one of Seraphina's allies in the novel and had always expressed a strong dislike for the concubine. She had never acted in a way that would support either party, but whom her favor belonged to was definitely obvious due to the way that she acted.
As much as Blanche would prefer it if Gloria's impression of her improved, she doubted that that would be achievable. The more the villainess in the novel had talked, the more annoyed the older woman had gotten. So, she wouldn't try to improve their relationship, but rather treat Gloria politely and distantly. She faced Stella before speaking up. “I believe that the necklace should fit together with the dress nicely. What do you think?”
Stella walked towards the dresser while looking over her shoulder. “Yes, I agree. If we exchange the other accessories it will match without a doubt. Oh, My Lady! How about these earrings? They should be perfect. Wait, I will get them out for you.” Stella retrieved the concerned jewelry from one of the drawers and presented it to her mistress, only to be interrupted.
Gloria cleared her throat before opening her mouth. “It certainly is a pleasant surprise to see that you get along well with Lady Blanche. However, you should still remember the true nature of your relationship, Stella. There are limits to how carefree a servant can speak to their mistress.”
Stella frowned and tried to refute those words, but she was cut off by Gloria.
“If you had paid attention to your words just now, you would have noticed that you attempted to make a decision for your mistress which isn't your responsibility. You are supposed to wait for orders and then execute them, not assume what the other party wants.”
Stella lowered her gaze to the floor upon being scolded while Blanche frowned. Clearly, Gloria was exaggerating. Most people would think that Stella's conduct had been slightly indecent at most, but it wasn't bad enough for anyone to raise their voice. Making a fuss out of this only served to reprimand the maid for a triviality. But Blanche could guess why Gloria did this.
Just a week ago, all staff members had despised the concubine for her treatment of the servants and her general arrogant behavior. Most likely, the head maid was bothered by seeing how friendly Stella was with her mistress. Gloria herself hated Blanche and thus, didn't want others to like the concubine either. And at the same time, this gave the head maid an opportunity to berate someone close to Blanche despite not being able to rebuke the mistress herself. It was perfect for Gloria.
The only problem was that the head maid didn't have the right to complain here.
Blanche chimed in to defend her maid. “That's not a problem at all. I actually allowed Stella to talk with me as freely as possible, so it's fine.”
Still, Gloria shook her head. “As the head maid, it is my task to ensure that all inhabitants of the royal palace will be treated with the required respect, so I must insist on the formalities.”
Inwardly, Blanche let out a groan but answered with a calm smile. “I appreciate your efforts to secure the servants' proper conduct. But as long as I, as Stella's mistress, confirm that she can talk to me like this, you can be sure that I don't see anything she says as disrespectful. If I should feel like she crossed a line, which I doubt will ever happen, I will deal with it myself.”
Gloria's lips twitched for a second before she forced herself to keep her expression motionless. “Of course, Lady Blanche. I did not wish to offend you.”
The concubine quickly refuted this. “You haven't. I am sure that you only had the best intentions.” She turned back to Stella, who formed a quiet ‘Thank you’ with her lips, and her smile dropped.
Blanche tried to focus on her gift again, but that was hard since she could feel Gloria's stare on her back the whole time. When the head maid showed no intention of leaving even after a few seconds passed, the concubine began a conversation with Stella. She hoped that Gloria would get the message if she was being annoying on purpose. “I believe that this is the prettiest necklace Theo has given me yet. It is gorgeous and eye-catching but still elegant at the same time.” While Blanche truly couldn't help gushing about presents, especially jewelry and dresses that she adored, she also knew that Gloria hated how materialistic she was. Maybe she could get the head maid to exit the room if she talked about this a bit more.
Stella answered as enthusiastically as her mistress had addressed her. “You're right! This will fit My Lady perfectly. His Majesty must have chosen this gift with your preferences in mind. He is such a considerate person! As always, it's perfect. This only shows how much he dotes on you.” That was something a person that was close to the empress certainly did not want to hear.
Blanche saw how Gloria gritted her teeth from the corner of her eyes and feared that the other woman would criticize how Stella had spoken about the emperor.
But Gloria addressed another topic in a calm, yet somewhat mocking, tone. “I agree that this piece of jewelry is quite a sight. Considering the excellent craftsmanship, it surely must have cost a fortune. Though in comparison to the gift for Her Majesty...it might be rather cheap.” Gloria's face didn't budge as she looked into the concubine's eyes, most likely while awaiting anger, which she would have also gotten a week ago.
But now, Blanche wasn't impressed. That woman used such an old trick that she wouldn't fall for it.
When no reaction on the mistress' side came, Gloria continued. “But that's only natural. Her Majesty didn't only receive a necklace after all. She obtained the presents from His Majesty yesterday already so that she would have enough time to prepare for the ball. I had the honor to be allowed to watch her inspect the gifts. She received a stunning dress in the royal colors accompanied by a set of jewelry consisting of earrings, a necklace, bracelets, rings and a tiara. Her Majesty tried everything on and looked as gorgeous as a goddess. She will certainly be the highlight of the ball, but that is only to be expected. She is the most powerful woman in this nation after all. That means that all eyes will be on her.”
Previously, Blanche hadn't had much of an impression of the head maid, but that woman seemed to be an unpleasant person. Just a few days ago, those words would have led to the concubine being rather upset.
Why did Gloria want to create trouble when she wouldn't gain anything from it? That question was easy to answer. Gloria herself wouldn't have an advantage if the concubine threw a tantrum but Seraphina would. In the novel, Gloria had been one of the most loyal followers of the empress and supported her in any way possible. Thus, her mistress' husband having a lover bothered her, especially since that woman showed a terrible attitude.
Most likely, Gloria was being this petty right now because she hated the fact that the concubine had received a necklace in the royal colors and wanted to intervene now. By provoking one of Blanche's less kind moments, Gloria tried to make Theodore witness how his concubine truly acted and probably hoped to make him restrict Blanche more.
The fact that this obvious scheme might have worked in the past annoyed Blanche. It also irritated her that Gloria tried to separate her from Theodore as if the novel's plot wouldn't drive a wedge between them soon enough already. And even though she knew all of that, she still felt a small pang of jealousy in her heart, which she quickly ignored.
Objectively, it was only logical that the empress would receive more gifts because of her status. As the wife of the emperor, she was required to wear a new dress during every event and always got one from her husband for such occasions.
Blanche, on the other hand, like all the other nobles, didn't have to show up in a completely new attire as long as she wore different clothes in between. Despite this, Theodore had always given her new dresses so that she had never appeared in the same one twice. Usually, a tailor came into the palace every three months, and Blanche had often liked so many attires that Theodore had bought enough for a whole year. Thus, she still had many unworn outfits in her wardrobe. She had more than she actually needed and didn't require an alternative for the ball.
Seraphina, however, had disliked being lavish with money from the very beginning and had asked for fewer dresses than Blanche. So, naturally, she still needed to buy something new before every other event.
Besides, the emperor giving his concubine a bigger number of gifts than he gave his own wife would definitely start rumors among the nobles if they somehow noticed. Especially Seraphina's father, the Duke of Duremont, who was the most important supporter of the emperor, wouldn't be fond of the idea that another woman was more favored than his daughter.
In addition, a tiara, which had been a part of the present too, was only to be worn by the emperor's wives or the dowager empress. Of course, only Seraphina would get one.
All of that made sense.
And yet, Blanche hated the thought of that woman getting anything from Theodore. That was mostly because of the novel though, so she allowed herself that much.
Still, Blanche didn't want Gloria to notice that these words had struck a nerve with her. So, when she faced the head maid, she showed the older woman a sweet smile. “That is not surprising at all. As you said, she is the empress. Naturally, she would receive more gifts than me. And surely, Her Majesty will be the center of attention. Her beauty is well known among the nobles, and the attire Theo picked will only emphasize it. I look forward to seeing her wearing the dress you mentioned. I'm sure she will be enchanting.” She underlined her words with an exaggerated sugary tone and couldn't help but grin when her endeavors had the desired effect on the head maid.
Gloria's eyes narrowed. She looked like she had to restrain herself from showing her anger but failed anyhow. “I'm glad that Lady Blanche agrees with me. I will take my leave now as I still have to aid in preparing the venue. I hope that you have a pleasant evening. Just make sure that you pay attention to the proper etiquette on such an important day.” Gloria turned on her heel and rushed out of the room, most likely to return to the empress' side.
As soon as the door slammed shut, Stella approached her mistress with a worried expression. “I have never seen her act like this. She is usually so composed, and many servants see her as a role model. I could have never imagined that she would be a person that would deliberately try to make others angry.”
The concubine stopped smiling and waved her hand around. “Don't worry about that. She probably argued with Theo about him giving me this gift and was upset because he didn't listen to her. You can't see the real personality of most humans unless they feel strong emotions. Gloria simply dislikes me, and that's fine.”
To her, the fact that people revealed who they really were under pressure held even more true than for others. In the novel, Blanche's true character had also been revealed because of her jealousy. Just like how Theodore had only shown how cold he could be after he had started to despise her.
Images of her dream returned to Blanche's mind, and she unwillingly pictured her own execution. She shuddered in fear and tried to avoid those thoughts. Thankfully, Stella's voice kept her from imagining how the axe fell down on her neck while the man she loved watched.
“That makes sense. But still... You behave differently than before. Shouldn't she give you another chance? Furthermore, it can't be alright that Gloria shows her dislike so obviously. After all, you have much more influence than her. I mean, while she may be the head maid, she is a servant. You are the emperor's beloved and inhabitant of the palace and a baroness. How can she try to upset you?” Stella sounded like she couldn't even comprehend how someone could wish to trouble anyone else at all.
Blanche sat down on her bed before she explained her theory. “Well, I happen to know that Gloria is quite close to the empress. Of course, I don't know for sure, but I would guess that she wants me to anger Theo. If I lost his favor, his wife would be the one to receive more attention. Most likely, she hopes for that.” In the case that the story progressed like it was intended to, the head maid would get what she wanted. That was a depressing thought. “Or she was really upset about the thing with the necklace. I don't know. But no matter what we think about her objective, we cannot change it. We shouldn't concern ourselves with problems that have no chance of being solved. Rather than worrying about her, we need to prepare for the ball. I still need to eat lunch, bathe, get ready and then put on my dress and the accessories.”
Stella remained quiet for a short moment before she nodded. “We took a long time to decide on your dress, so it's noon already. And we haven't even started to style your hair yet! We should continue at a faster pace, or we won't make it.”
True to the maid's words, they didn't move as slowly as before. Stella had quickly retrieved a small meal from the kitchen, which was only meant to saturate until the ball, during which a mouthwatering buffet awaited the guests.
After eating the dishes, Blanche asked her maid to prepare a bath and cleansed herself before Stella helped her dress. Then she sat on the stool by the dresser and watched as the maid did her hair.