Two days passed within the blink of an eye.
During that time, Blanche hadn't left her lover's side at all. To Leon's frustration, she was glued to Theodore without an exception. The couple slept together and cuddled the whole day while being even more touch-starved than usual. That they hadn't seen each other for a month was just part of the reason for that. In reality, both of them were nervous because of the banquet.
At least the concubine could admit that she was increasingly getting more unwell with the thought of having to face the dowager empress and the second prince. She doubted that she would attract a lot of attention when the emperor would have to stay with his wife to show off his close connection to the Duremont family. Still, she wouldn't stray too far away from him so that he could intervene if she got too close to some unpleasant people. Theoretically, she should be safe, but she got more uncertain with each passing hour.
Even if she was sure that she hated those people, she was also extremely worried about being forced to meet their polite facades. She could guess what type of behavior they would display and already didn't like that one bit. They were members of the royal family and very influential. She couldn't just offend them and hope for her lover to protect her. She would need to be even more careful than around the Vasquez family.
Among all the dukedoms and members of royalty, Blanche was terribly out of place, so she would have to be as quiet as possible. Since the emperor wanted her to be there, the nobles could only complain behind his back, but they would still eye the baroness with dismay. This knowledge made her shakier as the party approached.
Theodore also seemed like he was unhappy about her going, even though he had been the one inviting her. He reminded her of his family's manipulation multiple times and asked her to stay close to him despite that being almost impossible. She couldn't just trail behind the royal couple after all. She might be able to stay in his field of view, but everything more than that would only pull attention to her.
All of this just served to make Blanche even more worried about the party. When that afternoon eventually arrived, she almost felt nauseous as she was sitting on her bed and getting ready. For the first time since her return, she wasn't with Theodore since he had to prepare to enter with the empress, and she didn't like that one bit.
For some reason, she wanted to make sure that he was always looking at her while they had to meet the dowager empress and the second prince.
Blanche let out a sigh as she dangled her feet over the edge of the mattress.
This caught Stella's attention, and the maid came over to her mistress. “My Lady, don't you want to start dressing now? You haven't even looked at His Majesty's gifts yet, and you keep sighing.”
Blanche straightened her posture and fought the urge to lie down again. “I know. I'll begin in one minute. I just...don't know why I'm this nervous. Most likely, I won't be threatened by the people I meet there since Theo is their main goal. I can't tell you why, but I want to avoid them as much as possible. It's not just because I hate them. And I'm not only scared either. It's...weird.” It was almost like one would feel upon meeting an old acquaintance one had grown to hate.
Stella sat down next to her. “I think that that's normal when you meet people that won't hesitate to kill for power. It's better not to think about it when you can't prevent it anyway.”
The concubine breathed in deeply before forcing herself to stand up. She balled her fists and put on a determined expression. “You're right. I need to get ready to support Theo. He is the one that is threatened most by this, and it's my job to help him. I'll be his anchor for the evening.” She walked over to the table and opened the big box.
There was more jewelry inside than she had expected. There were a necklace, a clasp, bracelets and earrings. All of them were golden and looked rather expensive and lavish.
Blanche carefully spread them out on the table and took the small note that was inside too. “He asked me to wear my ring as well. Since everything is gold and the ring is too, it should match, right?”
Stella scanned the items for a moment. “Well, it fits, but it will still stick out. So, it might be the most eye-catching accessory here along with that clasp.”
The concubine took the hair ornament into her hands and scanned it. The clasp was very big, so it was certainly the most striking one of the pieces of jewelry. It was formed like a sun with some small golden pearls on thin strings hanging from it. This was way too flashy for anything that Blanche had planned on wearing any time soon, but she had to admit that this was exactly what she liked. Before realizing that she was the villainess, she had adored wearing showy accessories like this. Luckily, she didn't have to bargain with herself about whether her personal taste or her need to become less materialistic and to seem modest were more important. Theodore had told her to wear everything, so she would do that. Since only the dukes and members of the royal family would meet here, it was very fitting anyway.
Blanche lifted the clasp. She moved over to the dress and noted that the flowers on the tulle looked a bit like the long rays of the sun ornament. So, her lover had truly planned everything before even showing her one part of his present. A smile formed on her lips, and she wanted to put the clasp back onto the table when she froze. She held the ornament next to the dress again. She hesitated for a few seconds before speaking up. “Stella, the accessories are golden, right?” She turned around to meet the other woman's gaze.
The maid frowned slightly as she examined the necklace in her hands before putting it down again. “Yes. I'm pretty sure that they are made out of gold too.”
Blanche pressed her mouth into a thin line as she turned back to her gown. “And, no matter how you look at it, this dress is blue.”
Stella understood what her mistress was referring to at this. She let out an “Oh” before stepping closer to inspect the fabric. “Well, it's light blue, so this shouldn't count. The royal family's colors are gold and navy, a very dark blue, after all.”
The concubine paused as she stared at the gown. “I know... But normally, I wouldn't risk this. In the past, I always combined blue with silver, and Theo said that this was safer as well. But now, he gifted all of this to me and told me to wear it.” She kept quiet for a moment before letting out a drawn-out groan. Maybe this was supposed to show whom she was loyal to, but it was still risky. “If this goes wrong, I'll blame him.” Even though saying that the emperor was the one telling her to put on things that might make it seem like she was imitating the royal family wasn't a good idea.
Blanche's stomach was churning as she got dressed with her maid's help but didn't complain. Even if she was wearing blue, it was a very light one, so no one should be able to criticize her. Not when they had much bigger issues. While Stella did her hair, she repeated that everything was going to be fine over and over in her head. No matter what happened, it couldn't be worse than the last ball. As long as Theodore didn't carry her out of the room because she fainted again, this would be better.
Stella was humming as she fastened her mistress' hair into a loosely braided bun at the right side of the back of her head and left a few strands hanging freely. Her singing was mostly supposed to calm the concubine, but it was obvious that the servant was nervous as well. Still, she did a good job. When they finished, the maid put the sun ornament onto the bun, and they prepared to leave.
The hallways were as busy as always during an event. Blanche ignored the staff members that were obviously staring at her and whispering while she passed by. The party would be held in the ballroom, so she had to go to the smaller side entrance by the kitchen again, which only meant that she would wait even longer before seeing Theodore. She could prepare there for everything though.
The concubine relaxed a little bit when they arrived in the dining room in which she would stay until a servant told her that it was alright to enter. She didn't seem to be too late.
Right now, no one was watching her, so Blanche could get some rest until there would be eyes on her for the rest of the day. She leaned against the table and looked into the mirror on the wall in front of her. “Theo really chose the perfect things, but you also did an incredibly good job. You could become a hairdresser.”
Stella beamed at that. “Thank you, My Lady. I'm glad if you like it. Being able to help you look even more beautiful is an honor in itself.”
Before Blanche could roll her eyes, the door opened, and the women's gazes snapped to the person that entered. A male servant with familiar brown hair was balancing a tray on his arm and closed the door with the other one. He turned around and froze in place.
Immediately, Stella crossed her arms. “What are you doing here?”
Harris clenched his jaw as he bowed his head while being careful not to tip over the glasses. “I'm bringing this inside to the buffet. I need to go through the kitchen, and the other entrance was blocked, so I wanted to enter through the dining room.” He raised his head again and lightly gestured to the third door in the room. “I do not want to be disrespectful, but may I ask why you are here?”
Blanche didn't bother to straighten her posture and eyed the servant with confusion. Even though she didn't need to explain anything to this man, the response left her mouth quickly. “I need to enter the ballroom. I always go in from here. Haven't you noticed?”
Harris rearranged some of the glasses that had begun to move around on his tray while replying. “Of course. It's just that His Majesty asked for you to enter with him.”
The concubine was taken aback by that. She pushed herself away from the table and frowned. Was this one of Harris' hoaxes? He seemed like the type to enjoy sarcasm, but she wasn't sure. This wrong moment anyway. “If you think joking about something like this will make me embarrass myself, you are wrong. I know that I can't go in with the royal couple. This is a very sensitive matter to make a joke about, you know?”
Harris, who usually seemed to be the one knowing more about noble conventions, shook his head. He genuinely didn't seem like he wished to trouble her as he replied. “No, I wouldn't dare to lie to you, Lady Blanche. You can ask Gloria. She's searching for you right now and went to your room. She will probably arrive here in a few minutes.”
Blanche put her hands on her hips as her frown deepened. Harris was a difficult person, but he wasn't stupid. If he knew that she would speak to another servant that could reveal his lie, he had no reason to continue a farce. But if he was truly speaking the truth, that would mean that Theodore had lost his mind. The emperor couldn't just let a baroness, whom he officially had no relation with, enter along with his wife. Maybe he could let her use the main entrance a few minutes before or after he had gone inside, but she couldn't join him. Her lover surely wasn't irritated enough to propose something like this, right? “Then I will wait here until Gloria comes. You may leave.”
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Harris nodded and moved towards the door that led to the kitchen. When he passed by the women, he suddenly stopped and turned to them. “I...” He paused for a few seconds before gathering his courage and making eye contact. “May I say something?”
Stella looked like she was ready to shove him away, but Blanche replied first. “Go ahead, but make it quick.”
Harris immediately began. “I know that you hate me and have no reason to believe me, but there is something I would like to warn you about. I had the displeasure of being chosen to bring goods to the house in which Her Majesty, the dowager empress and His Royal Highness, the second prince were staying.” His expression darkened. “I'm a good actor, and that means that I also notice when other people are acting. The prince is definitely an actor. A very good one. All of you should be careful around him. Mainly you, Lady Blanche, but also the servants. Goodbye.” He left the room before any of the women could reply.
Stella was still crossing her arms, but her face wasn't showing anger anymore but confusion. “He just said something unnecessary, didn't he? We know that the person that wishes to take His Majesty's place isn't to be trusted.”
The concubine felt how the unease in her stomach grew. “No, I think it was good to hear this.” Theodore had warned her too, but this could confirm one of her greatest worries. “If Harris, who is a phenomenal actor, tells us that the prince is good at fooling others, that should tell us to be extra careful. I don't want anyone to be used by those people. We should remind the others the next time we meet them.”
Stella didn't argue against that, and she didn't have time either.
Gloria entered the room mere seconds later. She bowed to the concubine before raising her head and revealing the dismay on her face.
Blanche's heart skipped her beat. This meant something bad, and she could only hope that it wasn't the worst thing she expected now. “Good afternoon, Gloria.”
“Lady Blanche.” Gloria tried her best to act polite, but it was hard for her at the moment. “His Majesty asked me to bring you to the main entrance. The guests already arrived, so the royal couple will enter now, and he wished for you to accompany them.” Even her voice was dripping with discontent.
Blanche definitely understood why. Her lover had truly lost his mind, but she had no choice now that the emperor had voiced an order. “I see. Thank you for informing me. Please guide me to him.” Then she would have to give Theo a piece of her mind.
Gloria nodded and opened the door as the other two women followed her.
While they walked to the other side of the ballroom, Blanche just prayed that she wouldn't trip while entering. If she went in with the royal couple, everyone would look at her, and her plan of gaining as little attention as possible would fail. The least she could do was not embarrass herself. After talking to Theodore and complaining about his idea, of course.
Blanche saw her lover from afar and almost had to evade her eyes because he glowed so much in the candlelight. He was dressed up with more medals on his sash than usual and wore the original royal crown that was the heirloom of the Estiens, the heaviest crown that he usually hated to wear. It seemed like he would have to display his power in front of his family.
Seraphina was just as showy with her gorgeous navy gown and the golden pearl chain that was wrapped around her whole torso, but the concubine didn't focus on her now both out of fear of seeing anger and out of the desire to scold her lover.
Blanche came closer, and her lover greeted her with a smile. She returned it and curtsied. She hadn't been sure whether she would have to wait for him to address her or whether he didn't see the need to greet her formally so that the empress would have to speak first. But in the end, it didn't matter.
Theodore immediately walked a few steps forward and stopped directly in front of her. He grabbed her hands as soon as she stood upright again and lifted them to her mouth to kiss her knuckles softly. “You look beautiful, no, heavenly. I don't think there is a word to describe how wonderful you are.”
And Blanche's desire to scold him faded away again. She almost forgave him immediately and only held back at the last second. She quickly shook her head to wake herself up. This might have been a nice conversation if they weren't standing in front of his wife. “Thank you... But doing this here is...”
The emperor gave her a slight smile. “I see. Considerate as always. You don't have to do that. We'll go inside now, and I can't touch you much there, or my so-called family will target you. So, I need to use my chance now.” The corners of his lips sank again while he scanned her expression. “I feel bad about reminding you again, but these people are dangerous. Keep that in mind.”
Blanche's determination wavered, and she intertwined her fingers with her lover's while hoping that his back hid this from Seraphina. “I know. Did you tell the empress?”
“Yes. She appeared to have been aware of this already, and I was very clear about me better not suspecting her to be a traitor. She said that you told her about the fact that her circumstances are similar to the dowager empress.”
The concubine had explained that to the other woman to prevent Seraphina from working with their enemies. Now she felt guilty about it though. “I'm sorry for telling her. I wanted to make sure that the dowager empress wouldn't use this against you. I had to mention your childhood and Althea in the process. I'm really sorry.”
Theodore removed one of his hands from hers and put it onto her cheek. He gave her a soft smile while stroking his thumb over her skin. “It's fine. You wanted to protect me again. I don't mind. You didn't have a chance to talk about this with me before. From now on, we'll stay together so that we can discuss this before telling others.”
Blanche hurriedly nodded and wanted to apologize again.
Her lover didn't allow her to cut him off though. “We'll have to go into the lion's den now. I think that they aren't inside yet because they want to make a great entrance, but let's see. Are you ready?”
In reality, Blanche was barely able to keep herself from shaking, and her mind kept telling her that she didn't want to meet these two that were their greatest enemies. But she forced herself to smile. “I don't want to, but we can't help it. Let's get this over with. Though, I should probably take the side entrance.”
Theodore's response came immediately. “No. I want everyone to see that you belong with me. There won't be any doubts about you being on my side.” He was strangely insistent on this. But along with the conviction, there was also a hint of fear in his voice.
That was enough to make Blanche push everything else aside. She wouldn't leave him alone when he was constantly on edge because of his mother and brother. Just because he hid it well, that didn't mean that this situation didn't take its toll on his mental health. “Alright. Then let's go in.” She took his hand from her cheek and guided it to her mouth to kiss his fingertips. If he wanted to have her with him, she would do her best to calm him while they weren't being watched by everyone. “I'm directly behind you. I will stay in your field of view for the event. Take care of yourself.” She would have liked to pat his head, but the crown made that impossible, so she settled for imitating this gesture.
The emperor relaxed a bit when she reached up to caress his cheek as well. “Thank you. As long as you're fine, it's alright. So, care for yourself first. We'll go in now.” He took a deep breath before reluctantly letting go of her.
She stroked over his face one last time before lowering her hands. She followed him when he led her to the empress, who was greeting her with an expression that Blanche hadn't wanted to see.
“Lady Blanche.” Even though Seraphina's face didn't show her anger, her eyes did. Even her gorgeous wide ballgown and the golden bead chain that was wrapped around her torso and reflected the light that met her couldn't make her pretty enough to hide how venomous her thoughts had to be.
The concubine almost flinched and quickly curtsied. “Good afternoon, Your Majesty.” That this afternoon would seem good to anyone was questionable, but she was giving her best to be polite.
The empress nodded before turning her icy gaze to the door.
Theodore let out a noise that sounded like he was letting out a puff of air with annoyance, but when Blanche looked at him, he had already neutralized his expression. He walked over to Seraphina while paying attention to his lover following him. Only when the concubine stopped behind him, he gestured to the servant by the door.
The young man immediately opened the door a little bit to tell one of the guards to announce the royal couple's presence. A few seconds passed before a loud and powerful voice spoke up. “His and Her Majesty, the emperor and the empress of Artias. Lady Blanche.”
The concubine cringed at the obvious difference in status between her and the spouses. Their titles were enough to make it clear that they shouldn't appear together at all, but the choice had already been made. The massive double door was opened by two servants, and for a moment, the inside of the ballroom was full of chatter that quietly died down when the royal couple became visible.
Blanche quickly focused on straightening her posture and walking forward in a somewhat graceful manner, even though she would never reach the empress' level of self-control. She desperately tried not to show how her heart was pounding in her chest as she followed her lover. The only advantage of staying behind Theodore had been that she wouldn't be seen immediately, but since her name had been announced, this advantage was useless too. She was used to being observed, but right now, it was worse than usual.
Fewer people than usual were here, the party was at a smaller scale after all, but that didn't help much. Everyone seemed to stare at the concubine no matter how much she tried to be inauspicious. She risked glancing at Henry, who was currently grinding his teeth and glaring at her like she had killed his whole family. The only person that held Duke Duremont back from storming towards the emperor was his wife, who was pressing a hand against his chest and speaking to him calmly.
The concubine sighed under her breath and looked away.
This would cause problems later. Hopefully, Duke Duremont would be kind enough not to do this in front of all the guests. Allen looked like he was mad too, but he wouldn't dare to criticize the ruler of Artias, so they were safe in that regard.
Blanche glanced at the other two dukes' families for a moment and immediately looked away again. Fiona and her father, Duke Lamont, appeared surprised, but they were the least threatening people of a dukedom here. The whole Vasquez family, however, was grinning at the concubine in a manner that revealed that they were currently plotting against the emperor and were sure that they would be victorious. This didn't look good. Now that the duchess' sister was freed, they would probably feel much safer and act more recklessly when attacking Theodore.
The emperor began speaking to the guests, but Blanche didn't pay attention to that.
She felt unwell. It was almost as bad as during the last ball, but she wasn't dizzy. It was more like her body was screaming at her to leave, to avoid whoever would come now. No matter how horrible this felt, there was nothing she could do except for waiting. There wasn't a face here that she didn't recognize, which meant that the dowager empress and the second prince had yet to arrive.
They surely wouldn't be so modest to enter through the side entrance, so they would probably appear by the main one, right behind her. Unwillingly, she turned around, but the door was closed, and there was no one to be seen.
Blanche shivered but kept herself still as much as she could before turning around again. She distracted herself by looking around the room. The venue was decorated in warm colors, and the candles in the candelabra that were surrounding the room underlined that cozy impression. Multiple long tables had been pushed together and were covered with a white sheet to form the table for the buffet. Even from afar, she could see that countless delicious dishes were standing there, and she would have favored going there and eating to keep herself calm. But in her state, she probably wouldn't keep much of the food in her stomach.
Theodore seemed to have finished his small speech and turned around before taking a few steps in his lover's direction. He was definitely too close to her right now, but he needed to do this to be able to whisper to her. “They aren't here yet. They'll come in two minutes or so then. For now, we'll have to deal with Duke Duremont and use the newly arrived guests as an excuse to end the conversation.” He backed away a bit and smiled at her. Almost as if Theodore had foreseen what the other man would do, he turned around just in time to make eye contact with Henry. “Good afternoon, Your Grace. Did you like the party until now? If there is anything not to your liking, please don't hesitate to inform the servants. I would feel awful if you did not enjoy the event.”
Duke Duremont was fuming. The way he trembled made it seem like he was barely holding back from yelling at the emperor, and Theodore's carefree tone didn't make this any better.
Elaine rushed to her husband's side and whispered to him before nodding to the group.
The emperor was kind enough to address her so that she was free to talk. “It is pleasant to meet you here, Your Grace. How was the carriage ride? It seems like it might have been a bit stressful. Would you like someone to bring some alcohol to His Grace?”
Elaine paused for a second before curtsying. “It is an honor to be invited to this banquet, Your Majesty. Please excuse my husband. It is possible that he drank too much already, so he might be a bit unrestrained now.” She patted Henry's hand, which was probably the only thing keeping him from insulting the emperor for bringing his mistress into the room with him. Judging by the way that he was glaring at the other man, it was even thinkable that he would lose control of himself and raise his hand against Theodore.
Blanche glanced to the side to make sure that Owen was accompanying them. Noah was standing there too with only a few steps of a distance, so he could intervene as well. The two guards were more than capable of stopping a middle-aged duke. So, even if anything went wrong, Henry wouldn't be able to harm the emperor. He would just be put on trial for offending royalty and, in the worst-case, treason. Hopefully, someone would calm him down before that happened though.
As if Seraphina had heard the concubine's thoughts, she stepped forward. “Good afternoon, Your Graces.” She nodded at her parents. “I am pleased that you took the long way to come here upon yourselves and delight us with your presence. If you do not mind, I would like to discuss something with you in a quiet minute.”
That was enough to make Henry take a deep breath. He was still furious, but he seemed to be a bit more composed now so that he wouldn't risk attacking a member of the royal family. “Of course, Your Majesty. How have you been?”
The empress began responding as politely as always when they were interrupted by the guard speaking up loudly.
“Her Majesty, the dowager empress and His Royal Highness the second prince.”
And here they came.
Blanche felt like the blood in her veins froze as she turned around and prepared to face Theodore's greatest enemies. Her heart pounded so quickly that it almost hurt. Her chest felt hollow. She wasn't sure whether she only felt fear at the moment, but she hated it so much that everything else faded away.