When the couple dressed to go outside, the rest of the people in the palace were already awake. They didn't care about that much, but Blanche was pretty hungry at this point, so she was happy to get her breakfast soon. She devoured the dishes while leaning against her lover so that they finished quickly. Even though the food had been prepared by the same cooks, it tasted so much better now that she was here with him. The fact that they were sitting in the place that they had met raised her spirits too so that she was overjoyed even when the day had barely begun. The rest continued as calm and cuddly as the morning had been.

Theodore didn't leave her side for one second, and she was glad that this was the case. She wouldn't have it any other way and also never allowed him to stop touching her. She would either intertwine their fingers, link their arms or sit on his lap at all times. Even though the political situation wasn't pleasant, being with her lover made her forget all of that until they visited the tailor in the afternoon.

As soon as Blanche was led inside by the emperor, she was greeted by Madame Charture, who grinned at them. “Welcome back, Lady Blanche! How was your vacation? My brother told me about meeting you two in Ibela. Did you like the city?”

The concubine glanced at Theodore, but he didn't seem to care about the tailor ignoring that she should wait until being greeted by the emperor either. So, she didn't bother to point that out and replied with a grin. “It's nice to see you again, Madame Charture. Ibela was wonderful. The city is beautiful, and the people there seem to be very kind. They offer heavenly salmon. If you ever go there, I would recommend you eat in a restaurant near the haven. It's a shame that there isn't a way to bring the fresh fish here without letting it get old.”

The tailor let out a loud laugh. “Ah, yes. It's been a long time since I visited my cousin in the north, but I remember the taste of the dishes there as if it had been yesterday. Though, I didn't expect you to visit that place. I was quite surprised when I heard that His Majesty and you moved around without a troop of guards.”

Theodore chimed in while he closed the door behind them. “As I told you already, we were accompanied by knights, so there is no need to worry. It seems that you have to tell your brother to keep quiet more often though.”

Madame Charture giggled again and made a rejecting movement with her hand. “He's always been eager to share his stories. If that is all he needs to be happy and support his ego, I won't interrupt him. Now that I get along with my sister again, she and I love to joke about that. The chamomile tea I borrowed from the palace worked like a charm. After all, it helps to relax and truly made her listen to me for once.”

Blanche vaguely remembered hearing the tailor mention that in the past already. But with the new information about this being a code name for the dowager empress, she was skeptical. She gave her lover a questioning look.

He appeared to know what she was referring to and shook his head. He meant to say that Madame Charture wasn't aware of that connection. So, Theodore let the tailor gossip about her family for a moment before speaking up. “Well, then. Is the dress ready for Blanche to try it on?”

Madame Charture immediately nodded. “Yes! I worked on it day and night ever since you ordered me to begin. I have to say that it is one of my favorites of all the gowns that I ever made. It will definitely look gorgeous on Lady Blanche. I used the measurements of our last meeting, but I will change everything necessary so that it fits her perfectly.” She turned to the other woman. “Would you follow me?”

The concubine reluctantly let go of her lover's hand, only for him to tighten his grip and press a kiss onto her knuckles before releasing her. She gave him a soft smile before trailing behind the happily chatting tailor. As soon as she stepped behind the paravent, she froze and stared at the dress that was displayed in front of her in awe.

It was beautiful.

The light blue ballgown was adorned with flowery patterns and tulle that flowed around the wide skirt. It was quite simple in its design but still heavenly while revealing her shoulders and emphasizing her waist with a sash that was wrapped around it with a bow.

Blanche fell in love in a second. She was glad that they bought this for one specific event so that she could justify wearing it soon. This was more lavish than anything she had appeared in ever since gaining the memories of the novel, but this time, it had to be alright. Since she had held back with her wishes for the last months, it should be fine to say that she wanted this dress with every fiber of her being. She had felt similarly about some other attires whenever the tailor had visited and received more than enough dresses from Theodore before the vacation, but she wouldn't argue about whether she needed it this time. She turned to Madame Charture with shining eyes. “This is it? It's perfect.”

The tailor began beaming at that. “Isn't it? I thought about Lady Blanche while designing it, and His Majesty gave me a lot of hints. I never thought that he would be interested in fashion, but if it's for you, he appears to be passionate.” She let out a faint laugh. “I might have allowed him to infect me with that excitement, so I apologize if I am a bit too eager to show it to you. I've finished the dress a week ago, and ever since then, I have only waited for you to arrive. I want to make sure that it looks as wonderful on you as I imagined it. Please try it on.” The tailor didn't only sound excited but also like she was speaking less formally than last time. If that meant that she was more comfortable around the concubine, this was good though.

Blanche happily nodded and looked at Stella.

Her maid was as enchanted by the gown as she was. Stella's eyes revealed that she was eager to see the dress on her mistress as well. “My Lady, you need to change now. Let me help you.”

The concubine thought about noting that she wouldn't have been able to do it by herself and that she needed assistance either way but kept quiet. She was extremely careful while her maid helped her put on the gown. The fabric was light and soft so that it felt like it could tear at any moment, and she didn't want to risk it. When she was ready, she turned to the huge mirror on one of the sides of the room and froze.

The dress was as beautiful as she had imagined it to look on a person, and it fit her perfectly. Even when she began moving around a little, it still felt comfortable. With every step, the blue tulle flowed down around the skirt so that it looked like the softly swaying sea, so Blanche kept moving to catch a glimpse of that mesmerizing sight. She began beaming and rushed out from behind the paravent while holding the hem of the dress up so that she wouldn't trip. “Theo! Look!”

Her lover was waiting directly in front of the room divider, and he gave her a soft smile as he saw her. “You look beautiful.”

The concubine nodded and let go of the skirt to spin around. “See how it moves around me? The fabric is so light and smooth. I don't want to change out of it at all. It would like to just run around with this dress for the whole day.”

Theodore stepped closer to her and grabbed her hands. “You could. It's yours, so you can wear it whenever you want.” Theoretically, that was true, but constantly appearing in more lavish clothes even when all other nobles, including the empress, had more simple attires for their free time would seem odd.

Blanche would definitely be seen as arrogant or greedy for expensive gifts, and she didn't need that at this point in time. “I don't think that that's a good idea. The dress is so beautiful, I don't want to accidentally dirty it.”

Her lover continued to stare into her eyes while he lifted her hands to his face and put his lips against her skin. “The dress is wonderful. But more than that, you are gorgeous. You always are, but when you smile at me like this, my heart beats so fast that I fear that it might give up soon.”

The concubine's heart immediately skipped a beat. “Thank you. I feel woozy when you're really sweet too.” She moved his hand to her cheek and nuzzled herself against his palm.

“That's good. This proves that our hearts don't belong to ourselves anymore.” Theodore stroked his thumb over her skin before lowering his gaze to her attire again. “Based on your reaction, I would assume that you want to keep it.”

She hurriedly nodded.

Her lover's grin widened. “That was to be expected. Madame Charture did a phenomenal job. It doesn't look like something needs to be changed at all. The dress fits you perfectly. Can you move around comfortably?”

“Yes, I already tried it. I can walk around a bit more to be sure, but it should be fine.”

Theodore lowered his hand and intertwined his fingers with hers before starting to guide her through the room. “It's better if you try it for a bit longer. Even though I don't doubt Madame Charture's skills, you need to prepare for a day of running away with me. I won't leave you alone with specific people after all, but I won't talk to them for longer than necessary either. Otherwise, I might do something I will regret later.”

Only now, Blanche remembered why they were actually having this banquet. She would meet the dowager empress and the second prince for the first time. She would face the people that had been pulling the strings throughout the first installment of “To Be Empress” despite never appearing in the palace. Now the storyline was messed up, and they were freed from their confinement, even though this should have only been possible after the end of the first book.

Maybe this would have originally happened in the second novel of the series, and Blanche had simply sped up the process with her actions. If that was the case, she wouldn't have to feel bad about ruining her lover's happy end. She was probably just clinging to that possibility because she felt awful though.

“Blanche?” Her lover's voice pulled her back into the present.

“Yes?”

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Theodore didn't stop their movements, but he slowed down to give her a concerned look. “I was just saying that you don't have to worry because I'll be with you the entire time. None of those people will have a chance to speak to you while you are alone. They won't be able to pressure you or anything like that just because they know that I care about you. That's why it's important that you don't leave my side for even a single second. I don't trust them.” He scanned her reaction while carefully maneuvering her around the sofa in the middle of the room.

Blanche didn't know why he would even have to ask that. “Of course. I have no desire to meet them, but it has to happen at some point. I obviously need to be polite and can't offend them, right? Is there anything else I have to pay attention to?”

Theodore's response came immediately. “Don't talk to my brother for longer than absolutely necessary.” He paused for a moment and averted his eyes as he gently pulled her into his arms. “No, that's wrong. It would be better if you keep that in mind while talking to anyone on their side. But the dowager empress and the prince are the worst of them. As I said that, that woman pretends to be mad at me for framing her for something she insists on not having done. So, she might be manipulative but not as much. She is still furious about me acting like I cared about her to get her to lower her guard. She won't treat me like family or attempt to gain my trust. My brother, on the other hand...”

He showed his lover a smile with no amusement. His eyes were trained onto something in the distance, and cold anger was reflected inside them. “As you can imagine, he will do what he always does. He smiles. That not only infuriates me so much that I want to push his face into the next puddle of mud, but it also fools unknowing people, even though he seems like he lost his own emotions to me. He doesn't approach anyone with good intentions. He only searches for connections to those that will give him benefits. More than anything else, he strives for power while forgetting anything he ever wanted himself. To claim the throne for himself, or rather his mother, he needs the nobles' and the citizens' support. So, he acts like he is such a kind person and pretends to care about me. As if we are a happy family.”

Blanche didn't even need to think about whether this facade held true, not that her lover's emotions alone hadn't given it away.

Theodore let out a bitter chuckle before his expression turned dark, and he looked at his lover again. “Despite that, I can assure you that he plans on helping his mother with killing me and taking the crown no matter what he says, just because that witch raised him to do it. But that is not everything. Ever since we were children, he always wanted to steal everything from me that made me happy. You don't have to ask who taught him that, so I can't blame him specifically, but it will be an issue. He will definitely try to influence you and bring you onto his side. Don't listen to a single word he says when he blabbers about what a good brother he is. He'll pretend to care before stabbing you in the back.” The bitterness in his voice pained Blanche. Her lover was talking as if he had experienced this already or as if he was genuinely worried about her falling into their opponent's trap.

Blanche reached up to cup his chin and stood up onto her tiptoes to get closer to his face. “I'll remember that. I know that that person was involved in trying to kill you, so I won't have even a little bit of sympathy for him. You mentioned that he keeps on smiling, so I can simply deal with that like I do with all other fake nobles. Though, you find his pretense especially annoying, which makes me wonder. Is he the one that you stole the constant smile from as a form to anger someone? You said that you were imitating someone you hated to infuriate Duke Duremont.”

Theodore's expression softened, and he moved his face closer to hers. “You remembered that? Yes, that was about him. I despise doing the same thing as him, but I fear that it's the most efficient way to get back at them. If I act like the apologetic older brother, people won't blame me if something goes wrong. Then I can just say that those two abused my trust and justify my reaction with that. I'm not really scared of them doing anything that would harm me in the next weeks since that would just make it obvious who the guilty one was, but I worry about them trying to attack you.” He put one of his hands onto her head and gently tangled her hair around his fingers as he guided her to meet his lips.

Blanche happily accepted it and leaned against him. She stayed in that position even when they ended the kiss.

Only now, a small noise made her remember that they weren't alone in the room. She glanced to the side and made eye contact with Stella, who was watching the scene with shining eyes. Next to the maid, Madame Charture scribbled something into her notebook while grinning from one ear to the others before showing it to the servant. Stella's mouth fell open, and she immediately nodded before whispering to the tailor, who began writing something again. Apparently, they hadn't listened to the conversation and just thought that the couple was adorable.

Blanche grinned at that before turning back to her lover and speaking in a low volume. “We already get distracted again. These two are already chatting about something random, so we shouldn't let them wait for too long. They might spread rumors otherwise. From what it sounds like, Madame Charture is happy to share her personal life with everyone around her, so I assume that she will gossip about this too.”

Theodore took a step back and grabbed her hand to lift her arm and gently make her pirouette. “How is that a problem? As long as she doesn't lie, it's fine. After all, I truly adore you with my whole heart and came here to let you try on a dress for the banquet.”

Blanche rolled her eyes but dropped the topic. She didn't want to argue about problems with Henry now that the dowager empress was a much bigger threat. That thought made her speak up. “Say, did you talk to Duke Duremont about this issue already? Maybe he can help.”

Her lover put one arm around her waist and began turning to imitate a waltz. She gave her best to follow his movements and let him guide her. He was silent for a moment before replying. “We had a conversation, but it wasn't helpful. He was angry about the hunting festival and used the same arguments as always. He threatens to withdraw his political support if I continue to act so intimately with you in front of others. Apparently, he doesn't know what that word means since we could be way closer at any time, but that isn't important. Something else is more crucial. I don't believe that he will make his threats come true. Even if he ever considered that, I only need two sentences to remind him of his position in this political mess.”

Blanche mirrored her lover's steps as they twirled through the room. After a few difficulties at the beginning, she managed to stay in tune with the imaginary music while listening to his explanation. As she looked up at him, he seemed a bit too calm to her. He couldn't risk losing Henry's influence, so he shouldn't take this matter this lightly. “Are you sure? Duke Duremont is very emotional. He is one of the few nobles that shows his emotions openly. I don't doubt that he is willing to act upon them either. After all, his daughter's honor is endangered.”

“You mean that he feels like that is the case. I never actually offended their family. If I did, they would notice.”

The concubine raised an eyebrow. “If I remember correctly, there was someone that didn't even greet the empress yesterday, even though she had been gone for a month. It was my fault too, but you were still very disrespectful.”

Theodore met her gaze with a serious expression. “How? I didn't appear there as the emperor but as a normal person. It is normal to greet your lover before a stranger. She ran away after a minute, so I wasn't able to say hello. That was better since I wouldn't have liked her to be present while we kissed, but in the end, it's her fault for leaving early. To be honest, I was pleasantly surprised by her not standing in front of our door by the evening and complaining loudly.” He sounded like he was more annoyed by Seraphina than anything else.

There had been moments in the past in which he had been like this already, mostly after fights between his wife and his lover. He had always supported Blanche, even she had been the one that had been in the wrong, which had obviously made the empress furious. Because of that, the royal couple had had many fights, and their differing political views in some areas had led to problems as well. In those situations, Theodore had been very frustrated and had avoided the empress.

The concubine had been content with that back then, and after gaining the novel's memories, hearing about their conflicts had also soothed her. After all, that had been the proof that her lover wouldn't be interested in the other woman. Even now, she had to admit that knowing that he surely wasn't thinking about Seraphina in a romantic way calmed her. Still, she was a bit confused too.

Did Theodore sound a bit too hateful, or was she just imagining it? The royal couple's last real fight had been after the hunting festival, and after that, the emperor had been the one acting in a manner that would provoke the heroine. So, why was he still annoyed? Hadn't this tension between the main characters normally been resolved after a few days at most?

Blanche scanned Theodore's face for a moment before opening her mouth. “Did something happen with Duke Duremont or the empress? You seem oddly annoyed with her. She didn't do anything special, and you made a mistake in public. You always apologized for something like that in the past.”

Her lover's expression was a bit too cold stayed silent for a few seconds before responding. “You know that that isn't true. Should I say it honestly or be nice?” He hummed as he forced himself to relax. “I'll be friendly for now.” He gave his concubine a bright smile. “I'm not going to apologize for showing you my affection anymore. In fact, I won't apologize to that family at all in the future. They made many mistakes and overreacted often enough, which caused unnecessary trouble. They never apologized and blamed everything on you and me. That is frustrating.” He paused, and his fake smile dropped to leave behind a slightly dejected expression. “If I'm being strict, the emperor shouldn't ever apologize to anyone since no one here deserves to demand justification for my actions. As long as I don't break the law, which I didn't do, and don't ruin the nation, which I also didn't do, I can't be forced to bow to anyone. Of course, you are an exception. I'll apologize to you a million times.”

Blanche didn't like that phrase, but she wasn't quick enough to talk back.

Her lover leaned forward to kiss her forehead before continuing. “But everyone else won't hear me being as apologetic again. Every time I said that I regretted what happened was me being kind. Since a lot of the dowager empress's followers and even the Duremont family don't give back the same kindness, I won't show them any weak side anymore. From now on, I won't ever let anyone tell me not to be with the person I love because others are watching. And about the empress...” He looked to the side with a slightly annoyed expression. “I'm sick of her getting upset about every little thing. I don't remember exactly how long she has been living here already, but from the first day onwards, she only troubled you. She regularly complains about feeling treated unfairly, but if you ask me, that is a joke.”

This time, Blanche could feel her caution rise inside her. She was certain that her lover seemed a bit too upset about something she didn't agree with. “But she... She is the empress. And I was the one that showed up here and ended up harming her influence a lot, so-”

Theodore didn't like it when she said that. His expression darkened. “When I met you, she wasn't married to me. You came here five months before the wedding. She was my fiancée at that time, but she could have broken off the engagement after hearing about the rumors from the palace. She could even have used the fact that I insisted on waiting so long to marry as a reason to end our relations without acknowledging the gossip. So, she would have had two reasons to keep herself from marrying a man that loves another woman. But she didn't do that. No, she wanted to be empress, so she didn't do anything and came here with the expectation of me suddenly changing my mind. And when I continued to be with you, she got angry about every little thing we did. I don't believe that she has the right to act like this.”

Blanche averted her eyes for a moment and collected her thoughts. She hadn't ever witnessed situations like that before, but she doubted that it was this easy. “Would she have had a chance to break off the engagement? I mean...it was decided when you were both children, and rejecting the royal family is...difficult.”

Theodore replied without hesitation. “If you don't have a good reason, that might be impossible. But as I said, she had two. My relationship with you, and me refusing to marry her at the age of twenty and waiting five years despite all other nobles marrying earlier. Besides, you know her father. He even offends me to make her happy, so he surely wouldn't have complained about fulfilling her wish.” He narrowed his eyes. “I wouldn't have minded either. Then all of this would be much easier now. I still have no problem getting what I want, but it will take longer.” Theodore slowed his movements until they stopped and pressed a kiss onto her head. “I'm preparing everything for our future right now. We still have to jump over some hurdles on the way, but we will manage. I have...an unfair advantage, so to say. So, don't worry about anything.”

Blanche would have liked to do that, but she had an unfair advantage herself. Her memories of the novel might not be of much help since the storyline wasn't accurate anymore, but she had some information that others didn't have. So, she wouldn't be able to stop worrying. “I will give my best, but it's hard when everyone seems to be against us.”

“There are more people on our side than you think. We just have to knock down the ones that oppose us. But let's not talk about that with Madame Charture and your maid watching. They'll be confused otherwise.”

Just when he said that, the tailor came rushing over to them and started blabbering. “How do you like the dress? It looks wonderful on you. Do I need to change something?”

Blanche shook her head. “Even while dancing, nothing was too tight. It's perfect. Thank you for your hard work. You are the best tailor the royal family could ever have. Your talent is unrivaled. We'll continue to buy everything from you.”

Madame Charture appeared to be touched at that and nodded happily before turning away and taking some more notes, possibly for future projects.

Theodore smiled at that but didn't say anything and just faced his lover. “I'll send you jewelry on the day of the banquet. I won't tell you anything specific, but it's beautiful and will match perfectly with the dress.”

The concubine smiled at him. “I'll leave it to you then. You always chose the best gifts, so I don't doubt that they'll be wonderful.”

“I'm honored. You have to promise me to put it on then. No exceptions. I want you to wear everything from the box.”

That made her a bit nervous, but she still replied. “Alright.” Normally, it was quite obvious that she would put on everything he gave her unless it didn't match with the outfit she had planned on appearing in. However, she had been using way less jewelry for the few last events to be modest. Was he referring to that? Even if she still wasn't keen on ruining the image that she had been attempting to build up in the last months, her dress was so beautiful that Theodore probably wouldn't give her too many accessories.

Hopefully.