“Has there ever been a moment in which you felt threatened by Her Majesty?”
Yes.
There was no denying that Blanche felt more than threatened by Seraphina, and yet, she froze upon hearing this. The question had startled her because she hadn't expected it, but at the same time, she didn't know how to reply. If she wanted to be honest, she would have to admit that she had believed that she would be executed because of Seraphina in the future. Obviously, saying that without being able to name a specific reason would seem extremely odd. Especially since she had never been scared of the empress during her first year of living in the palace. But lying might be unfavorable too since she wasn't sure about how much fear she had shown in front of the head knight. “I...uhm... I respect her a lot and know that she has a huge amount of power. But she is a reasonable person, so she wouldn't do anything to someone that doesn't deserve it.” At least if the empress wasn't convinced that this person deserved it.
Owen stopped at this, which made her come to a halt too, and pierced her with his gaze. “I apologize, Lady Blanche, but you did not answer my question.”
The concubine bit her tongue. She should have known that the emperor's guard would be good at reading people and that he would notice that she had attempted to avoid giving a response. She stammered a bit while trying to come up with a way that would allow her to change the topic, but all of that would be too obvious. She gave in with a silent sigh. “Maybe a little. I don't cause problems anymore, but the empress voiced that she doesn't trust me multiple times. She wouldn't hesitate to fight back if I did something that makes her think that I would harm her. Naturally, I don't have any intentions like that, but I worry about misunderstandings. She already got mad at me a couple of times, even though the situation hadn't been my fault. So, I wouldn't say that I'm scared...” She was. “But I'm...careful around her.”
Owen kept staring at her while she spoke as if he wanted to catch every slight movement of her face. When she finished, he was quiet for a moment before responding in a very calm voice. “You do not need to worry about ambiguous situations. If you are not guilty of a severe crime, His Majesty will defend you no matter what. Even Her Majesty would not be able to fight against him in that regard. Of course, she is to be respected as she is the empress of Artias, however, she cannot use her power to act based on her personal feelings. If you are forced to meet her, you should simply be polite, and otherwise, you can avoid her. Then nothing will ever happen.”
At least it seemed like that. If Seraphina saw the concubine as a threat to the royal family, it would be much different though. Yet, Owen's words had definitely been supposed to make the concubine a bit more comfortable.
Blanche blinked at him a few times. She hadn't expected the stoic head knight to try to cheer her up. So, she was pleasantly surprised that he was doing this. “Thank you, Owen. That's exactly what I'm attempting to do right now. I refrain from eating in the dining room to avoid meeting her, and whenever I run into her, I greet her properly and want to leave. I only stay when it would be disrespectful to ignore her or when she asks me to stay because she wants to discuss something. But she does that rarely since the both of us do not get along very well. Her attendants avoid me too, so we generally only interact at events.”
Owen nodded. “I believe that it would be good to keep that up. There is no need to speak to someone who does not act friendly towards you.”
Blanche let out a quiet laugh. “Believe me, it was my intention to continue like this. The atmosphere when we are in the same room has always been tense, so I have no desire to approach her. It's the same the other way around.” At least she said that with full conviction on that day.
Thus, she was rather surprised when her statement was proven to be wrong just a few days later.
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A knock on the door had startled both Blanche and Stella, who were in the middle of baking a cake in the kitchen in the master bedroom. It was rare that anyone came to her chambers, so the concubine followed her maid into the main room and watched how the other woman opened the door.
Stella froze as soon as she saw the person outside. She blinked a few times before her surprise slowly turned to irritation. She narrowed her eyes at whoever stood there. “Yes?” Her voice was dripping with impatience, which made her mistress curious. Who could Stella hate so much that she would react like this?
Blanche sneaked to the entrance and leaned into the doorway.
Just at that second, the voice that had begun to ask for the concubine to come was cut off. One of the empress' maids was standing in front of the room, with nervousness clearly being written onto her features. “Good day, Lady Blanche. I apologize for the intrusion. I hope that I did not interrupt you.” She bowed down and remained in that position for a moment before slowly straightening her posture again. “I am here due to Her Majesty's order. She has a request.”
The concubine was taken aback by that. It was new for Seraphina to approach her, so she wasn't very confident that this was something harmless. It would be impudent to reject the empress' demands, but depending on what it was, she would have to take that risk. But listening first in hopes of it being a triviality wouldn't do any harm. “You didn't disturb us in any way. What does Her Majesty wish to ask of me?”
The maid folded her hands and met the concubine's gaze with an expression that made it obvious that she was embarrassed to ask this. “There is a...trip that Her Majesty would like to have tomorrow. She read a book about Ibela in the library and wishes to visit the city now. However, there is no one among the servants who knows the region enough to be able to guide her. Hiring some stranger would not be safe, so we need a person from the royal palace. We heard that Lady Blanche has been in Ibela a few weeks ago, so Her Majesty hoped that you would agree to show the haven to her. Of course, she would reward you with gold coins to make up for the lost time.”
The longer she spoke, the more confused Blanche got. The maid's intention had been obvious after the first sentences, but even the few seconds of silence that followed after she stopped didn't make this any less unbelievable.
Stella let out a confused “What?” as she stared at the other woman.
This made Blanche snap out of her thoughts, and she hesitantly spoke up. “Please excuse me for being so frank, but I have a hard time believing that Her Majesty would ask me to guide her. That would result in us spending the entire day together. I don't mean to say that I do not believe you, but...” She paused momentarily to find words that didn't sound too offending. “Are you sure that you didn't mishear what she said?”
The maid shifted her weight from one leg to the other as she shook her head. “I can assure you that this was what Her Majesty voiced. I asked her to repeat herself numerous times to be certain, but the words remained the same. She even gave me this as a down payment to convince Lady Blanche if you happened not to believe me.” She pulled out a medium-sized sack from behind her back and opened it to show the two women the big amount of gold coins inside while looking like she wished to disappear.
The concubine almost took a step back upon seeing the stack of money and lifted a hand to reject that. “Oh, no. That is a lot of money. I didn't do anything for that, and even for working a whole day, this would be way too much.” She remembered how the old man that had brought her to the capital with his cart had reacted when she had handed him five gold coins. Receiving a hundred or so as a down payment was definitely too high, no matter what she would give in return. To be honest, he wouldn't even accept copper coins since she had no need for money when Theodore gifted her everything she wanted and a small stash was hidden in her wardrobe in the palace.
Especially since Blanche didn't trust the fact that she suddenly got so much money in the slightest. What intentions did the empress have? Was this supposed to bribe the other woman?
The maid bowed and closed the sack again but continued to hold it in the concubine's direction. “Her Majesty purposefully gave me so many because she wished to make sure that you would accept. She would also be willing to bargain over the full payment in the end.” Just how greedy did the empress believe the concubine to be?
Blanche backed away a little bit. She definitely didn't want to take Seraphina's money. That would leave some kind of bitter taste in her mouth.
The maid saw her movement and bowed even deeper. “Her Majesty really wants to visit the city, but she isn't allowed to if there is no one with her that knows at least a bit of the area. Please reconsider-”
Blanche cut her off. “Wait, wait. I never said that I would reject her offer.”
The maid's head shot up, and she looked at the concubine with genuine surprise on her face. “Really?”
“Yes.” Blanche nodded. “I wouldn't reject Her Majesty's request without a good reason. I liked the city, so I don't mind going there again. I don't know a lot about Ibela and can only show her the parts that Theo visited with me. But I can accompany her if she wishes for me to do so. I just won't take any money for it. I don't need it, and I would feel bad about taking any reward for helping her. There is nothing that-” She interrupted herself as a thought came into her mind. “Say, could I request a different reward? Aside from taking my guard and maid with me...” Whom he would always keep at her side when interacting with Seraphina. “I would like to go to a restaurant that I visited last time again. I won't take long and just eat a bit there while we are in the city. That should be fine, right?”
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
The maid appeared to be taken aback by that. “I, I...do not know. I assume that this wouldn't be a problem as long as Her Majesty gets to see Ibela.”
Blanche congratulated herself for getting another chance to taste the delicious salmon in her favorite store, and she couldn't keep herself from looking forward to that a bit. “Good. Then I don't have any complaints. You said that she wishes to go tomorrow? When will the carriage depart?”
“Her Majesty intended to look around for as long as possible. So, she planned on leaving as soon as the sun rises.”
The concubine's satisfaction faded again, and she hung her head for a moment. “I see.” During vacation, she had always stayed in bed for very long, which meant that she would be extremely tired tomorrow. She held back a sigh and looked up again. “Alright. Then we'll be by the entrance a few minutes before that, correct?”
The maid eyed her with slight skepticism before nodding. “That would be very kind of you.”
A part of Blanche asked herself why she was even doing this. She would probably be a walking corpse tomorrow and then spend the whole day with Seraphina in the city while being watched by at least twenty guards. That would attract so much attention that they wouldn't even be able to get an image of the haven like it was normal. All the people there would gawk at them.
That reminded her to speak up. “Ah, I just remembered. It might be better to be a bit more inconspicuous while going out. To not be too flashy among all the commoners, everyone should wear clothes that aren't as elegant or lavish as normally. Last time, I pretended to be a viscountess, and that worked well. It should be fine if we dress in attires that would make it believable that we are nobles from the countryside. Maybe the guards could wear normal clothes too instead of their usual uniform. That way, they could blend in and follow us with some distance so that we don't give away that Her Majesty is running through the city.”
The maid was silent for a moment as the gears in her head seemed to turn. “I will propose that to her. Her Majesty will make the final decision, but I assume that she will agree. She wishes to see how the city is for a normal person after all.”
Of course, that was the case. The fact that Seraphina had used the secret passageway to go to the capital had proven the same. She sometimes just wanted to be a young woman and fulfill her own desires without needing to shoulder the burden of having to be the perfect empress the whole time. So, this would be good for her and the concubine too. After all, being gawked at by everyone in a busy city would be very unpleasant.
Blanche gave the maid a smile. “Naturally, the choice will be hers. Is there anything else I need to prepare?”
“No, Her Majesty already took care of everything.”
So, the only thing that could have ruined the trip now was the concubine refusing. It was a bit strange for them to wait that long instead of asking her earlier, but maybe this had been embarrassing for Seraphina as well. After all, requesting her greatest nemesis to accompany her on a trip certainly took some willpower.
“Very well. Then we'll get ready in time. Have a good day.”
The maid bowed again, most likely to hide the confusion on her face, which Blanche had barely caught a glimpse of. “You too. Thank you for agreeing. Until tomorrow.” With that, she lifted her head and rushed down the hallway.
The concubine looked after her for a few seconds before closing the door behind her. She was met with Stella's pout and already knew what the maid would say before she spoke up.
“My Lady, you should have made her ask a few more times. That was the girl that fought with me in the kitchen and tampered with the clock to make His Majesty arrive too late. You had the perfect opportunity to tease her a bit. Sometimes, I think that you became too kind. A bit of your previous boldness would be appropriate occasionally.” Stella looked like she was truly disappointed that her mistress hadn't simply refused or at least pretended to deny.
Blanche rolled her eyes and glanced at her maid to reply. “How would that help us? She would only dislike me even more after that. Not that her opinion matters, but I would like to maintain a neutral relationship with the staff. And since she will definitely tell the empress everything I said, I would risk infuriating her too. In the end, I would have agreed anyway, even if it had just been to make the empress like me a tiny bit more and to get another bite of that heavenly salmon. But we'll have to sacrifice our sleep for that. We should finish the cake, eat and then go to bed early so that we can walk upright tomorrow.” Just as Blanche turned to walk to the kitchen, her gaze landed on Owen. She froze in her movement. “Oh. I forgot to ask you whether it would be alright for us to go out. The city is a bit more dangerous than the estate, but I didn't think about that at all. I'm sorry.”
The head knight remained as stoic as always. “There is no need to apologize, Lady Blanche. I am merely a guard that is supposed to guarantee your safety, which makes you my superior in some way. You do not have to justify your decisions in front of me. As long as you aren't ordering me to leave, which would contradict His Majesty's request, I will comply without asking questions.”
The concubine felt like it sounded a bit weird that she was the one making decisions for someone else, but she was also relieved that the knight wasn't angry. “Alright. Then we'll go to Ibela tomorrow. The empress will be with us too, so we need to be extremely careful.”
“Naturally. I already instructed the other guards and will remind them of their duty as soon as you go to sleep again.”
Blanche raised an eyebrow at that. “You already knew? Don't tell me the empress told you of her plans. Well, it would make sense. You're the leader of the royal knights after all.”
Owen nodded. “Her Majesty ordered a handful of guards to accompany her, and they informed me since I am their superior. I was aware of this for a few days, but I did not expect her to ask you to join. Will you be able to maintain peace for an entire day?”
Blanche put a hand on her hip as she replied with amusement in her voice. “Why wouldn't we? Are you saying that I'm unable to get along with the empress for ten hours or so?”
Owen's eyes wandered to Stella. “I wasn't referring to you and Her Majesty. I would be more worried about other people.”
Stella let out a noise of indignation at that, but she was grinning. “What is that supposed to mean? I get along with anyone.”
Blanche's lips quickly formed a smile as well. “Says the person that just proposed to let the empress' attendant beg for a while before giving in. That sounds like someone holds a grudge against her.”
Stella shrugged. “Possibly. But I wouldn't be reckless enough to cause trouble in front of Her Majesty. I want to keep my position after all. So, I just have to stick to My Lady's side and be silent while faking a smile.”
Blanche eyed her with an exaggerated skeptic expression. “I wouldn't be so sure about that. I would bet that one word of that maid is enough to make you roll your eyes.”
“You caught me. But as long as I hide that, it won't be a problem, right?”
Hopefully, Stella would really be able to pull herself together. Mediating a fight in public wasn't part of Blanche's plan for the next day.
“We'll see. Prove that you won't trouble the other maids tomorrow. For now, let's take a look at our cake. I don't want it to accidentally burn.”
It seemed like Blanche was lucky this time. They had come back at the perfect time so that the dough was thoroughly baked and as fluffy as it was supposed to be. However, that was the last bit of luck that they would have for the night.
Blanche had planned on sleeping early so that she wouldn't collapse in the morning, but as evening approached, she wasn't tired at all. She was busy talking to Stella and Owen, so she forgot to keep an eye on the clock and went to bed at the usual time. That was way too late if she was forced to stand up before the sun rose. Still, her body didn't seem to understand that, and she lay under her blanket without being able to sleep for a couple of hours. When she finally drifted away into unconsciousness, it was almost like she was ripped out of her dreams before even getting a little rest.
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The morning was horrible. Blanche barely managed to open her eyes and just buried her face in her pillow until Stella pulled away the covers. After that, she forced herself to get ready, even though she didn't do much herself. Her maid was the one that braided her hair while her mistress' was nodding off every few seconds. The only thing that she remembered to do was to put on Theodore's ring before going back to her barely conscious state.
It remained a mystery to the concubine how Stella managed to bring her mistress downstairs without her tripping on the stairs. Still, they arrived by the entrance without breaking any bones. There, they were already greeted by four servants and a bunch of knights in attires that looked like they could belong to commoners. Apparently, the empress had accepted Blanche's advice, but it was hard to be happy about that while the concubine's eyes kept closing on their own.
Stella was already telling her that she would be able to sleep a bit in the carriage for the hundredth time, but that didn't help much.
Fortunately, they didn't have to wait long until Seraphina arrived.
Blanche quickly made a curtsy that was without a doubt one of the least graceful ones she had ever done. So, she straightened her posture again without waiting for long and just watched the woman approaching her.
The empress stopped right in front of them, and even though the sun was barely rising, she looked like she was fully awake. Her skin was glowing, and her golden hair, which was pinned up and framed her face like a halo, glittered in the first rays of sun that were reaching her. Her natural beauty was only underlined by the simple but elegant purple dress. “Good morning, Lady Blanche. I'm very glad that you agreed to join us today.”
At this moment, Blanche just noted that she was wearing the same navy dress that she had put on last time, which might upset the empress, but she wouldn't address that topic now. “Of course, I wouldn't reject Your Majesty's offer to go out to such a wonderful city. Good morning.” She barely managed to finish that before she had to yawn and quickly turned to the side and covered her mouth.
Seraphina gave her time to neutralize her expression again before speaking up. “You seem tired. I hope that waking up this early was not too inconvenient for you.”
Blanche made a rejecting gesture with her hand, but another yawn forced her to wait a few seconds before replying. “No, it's alright. I'm not used to rising this early, but I will have to leave the bed a bit earlier from now on anyway. I will simply sleep during the carriage ride for another hour.” She glanced at the street and froze when she only saw two coaches, and one was obviously for the servants. Did this mean that she would sit in the same vehicle as Seraphina? In that case, she could forget sleeping. There was no way that she could close her eyes and ignore the empress even if she was almost drifting off just by standing here. The concubine was too tired to be worrying about the uncomfortable silence that might follow if they sat there together and was only disappointed at not being able to sleep. “Unless Your Majesty will be in the same carriage, of course. Then I would naturally not be that disrespectful.”
Seraphina scanned her expression for a moment. “We will share a carriage, but there is no need for you to force yourself to stay awake. It would be better for you to sleep so that you are a bit more awake when we arrive in Ibela.”
Immediately, Blanche's spirits were lifted. “Thank you, Your Majesty.” She couldn't have imagined that she would ever be so happy about being able to close her eyes during a coach ride on a bumpy road while being right next to her nemesis, but here she was.
The women climbed into the carriage, with the empress entering first and the concubine following. They took a seat on the benches across from each other. Stella and one of the heroine's attendants came in too, as well as Owen and Noah, which surprised Blanche. Apparently, Seraphina was so cautious that she wouldn't give any attacker a chance to get close to them even if that meant taking the guards into the same carriage, which wasn't usual.
The concubine was a bit interested in how the conversation would develop, but seconds after they began moving, her eyelids became even heavier than before. She gave up quickly, and her head rolled against her backrest while she closed her eyes. She lost consciousness immediately.