“Her Majesty, the dowager empress and His Royal Highness the second prince.” It seemed that it was time.

Blanche tensed and made eye contact with her lover, who stepped towards her.

Theodore leaned down to her ear and whispered. “Don't bow to them and keep your distance. I'll protect you.” He straightened his back again but stayed next to her so that he was closer to her than to his wife.

Normally, Blanche would complain, but right now, she was thankful. Her stomach was churning at the thought of meeting those people, and her legs threatened to give out. Why was she so scared of them? They wouldn't be able to do anything to her in front of all of those guests.

The massive doors swung open painstakingly slow and revealed a woman that looked like she was about forty and a young man. Both had blue hair that was a lighter shade of Theodore's hair color, which made the relation visible. But more than that, their aura proved that they were part of the royal family. They were as authoritarian as the emperor and had the same presence that made others want to bow down. They looked exactly like Blanche had envisioned them.

The dowager empress was a beautiful woman. She moved as gracefully as Seraphina always did, and the look in her eyes was just as stoic but with much more icy resentment. The long navy dress she was wearing just underlined her power even more along with her golden tiara. The only thing that gave away that she wasn't the empress herself was the existence of the graceful white patterns on her attire, but that didn't take away from her appearance. Her hair was pulled up in a bun with a few perfectly wavy strands hanging down at the sides of her face, which made her seem strict and elegant at the same time. That almost caused her to have a similar aura to the empress, with the only difference being that she was full of more unjustified resentment and greed.

In contrast to her, her son was beaming at the group in front of him. The second prince's appearance was basically exactly like Blanche had imagined it to be. He looked like Theodore with a bit softer features and lighter hair color. Blanche would never mix them up, but the blood relation was painfully obvious, especially when he wore the royal colors as well. Why hadn't she guessed that earlier? Just as she thought that, the prince's gaze snapped to her. She almost took a step back as he made eye contact with her and gave her a bright smile.

At this moment, her mind and her body were giving her contradicting information. The prince looked friendly, and his smile seemed too genuine to be faked, so she understood why people trusted him. Harris had been right about him being an excellent actor. But she wouldn't have thought about talking to him for longer than necessary even if she didn't know what kind of person he was.

For some reason, that man made her hairs stand on end. She felt like she was about to throw up, and she didn't know why. She wasn't really scared of him, was she? It was hard to define, but she was more fearful about having to interact with him. Her stomach churned even while her chest hurt. That was something she had never truly felt.

Normally, people intimidated her, and then she wanted to run away. But the prince didn't scare her. He even seemed like he had a soothing presence. Not that she truly believed that, but he looked like he was kind. She felt like he would be a good friend if this whole matter wouldn't make him the emperor's enemy. Still, seeing him walking towards her made her wish to turn away. Looking at him was painful.

But she didn't want to run.

She wanted to cling to her lover and show him that she was on his side. She wanted to prove that she would never-

“Blanche.” Theodore had leaned down to her, and his whisper made her snap out of it.

She whipped her head around and froze upon seeing his expression. He was even more uncomfortable with this than she was. She replied while having to restrain herself from grabbing his hand. “I hate him. I've never... But I hate him being here. I don't want to talk to him. I never met him, but...”

Her lover just showed her a little smile. “So, you didn't meet.”

Blanche furrowed her brows in confusion. Why would her lover need to point that out? “Of course not. When would I have done so? I had no idea how that person...” Though, she had had a general idea of what Cedar would look like despite never meeting him. She was quiet for a moment and went through her memories. “He was never at events, was he? Or did I seriously not notice him?” She couldn't imagine that. After all, Theodore would have told her if his brother was at a ball. She couldn't have ignored the second prince either. She would have been forced to greet him properly, but she didn't remember ever doing so. Since he looked a lot like her lover, she would definitely be irritated at seeing him.

The emperor's face lit up at that, and he beamed at her. This radiant smile was odd at that moment, and this impression was underlined by him muttering. “Thank the gods... Don't worry about anything. We will win together.” He was acting a bit strange, wasn't he? Why did he feel the need to point that out again?

Blanche began to worry about him. “Of course. Theo, are you alright? I would understand if you are nervous because of them.” She whispered so that no one else would hear them.

Yet, her lover replied in a normal volume so that the Duremonts had to have overheard too. “I've never been better, now that you are with me. We'll meet those arrogant people and get it over with quickly. Remember, don't bow to them.”

The concubine had heard him the first time that he had said that, but this time, she actually processed what he was saying and was taken aback by his words. She leaned slightly closer to him. “But they are members of the royal family.”

Theodore glanced over at her with a smirk. “Who's going to deal out a punishment? The emperor? I don't think so. I'm officially giving you permission to disrespect them as much as you want to. I want them to be fuming by the end of this banquet. We are on a good way though. She's already annoyed.”

Blanche turned to the entrance again.

The dowager empress and the prince were only a few steps away from them. Theodore definitely had been right about her being upset. She probably didn't react kindly to them chatting while she was making her dramatic entrance.

The concubine couldn't care any less. She had been glared at by other people that were way more intimidating in the past. The thing that bothered her more was that the second prince was still staring right into her eyes, and it felt like he was piercing her soul. She would have liked to prevent turning away since that felt like giving up, but she couldn't fight the urge to look at her lover.

Theodore was facing her too with a beautiful smile on his lips. He mouthed an ‘I love you’, which she quickly returned.

By then, the two people that were approaching them had reached the group.

The Duremonts bowed to show their respect for the royal family, and the prince did the same to greet the emperor. Merely the royal couple and the dowager empress didn't need to bow to anyone, with Blanche awkwardly standing next to them. Refusing to show the Estien family courtesy as a baroness was close to asking for her title to be removed. Committing such a grave offense hadn't been part of her plan for the afternoon, but now she was stuck here.

Everyone in the room appeared to have noticed that too, and it felt like all eyes were on her right now. She could basically feel how Henry was attempting to murder her with his gaze. She was circled by people that were against her, with only her lover on her side.

One look at the dowager empress and the prince quickly proved that they were the much greater evil here though. The dowager empress' expression wasn't as furious as Duke Duremont's, but she carried herself with so much grace that made it obvious that she felt superior to the ones around her. The prince continued to grin in a way that looked too friendly to be faked, but at the same time, his presence was nauseating.

Blanche wanted to hide behind Theodore and cling to him, but unfortunately, she couldn't do that in front of the whole room.

The dowager empress' eyes slowly wandered over the group in front of her until they stopped on the concubine.

That was enough to make Blanche want to bow just so that she wouldn't offend that horrible woman during their first meeting. She knew how this person reacted to small things like this. She didn't dare to avert her eyes and just whispered. “Theo.”

Her lover seemed to be aware of what she was referring to as his response came immediately. “No.” That settled it then. She would have to wait until the emperor finally broke through the unsettling silence.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Theodore purposefully stayed quiet for a few seconds before opening his mouth. “Good evening. I am pleased to see that you did manage to arrive here after all. I already feared that you might miss the banquet. After all, the other guests were here much earlier.” He had immediately emphasized that those two were only guests and not hosts, even though they normally would be counted as such since they were part of the royal family

The dowager empress' freezing expression didn't change as she made eye contact with her son. “We would never miss the first opportunity to meet with old friends after six years of no chance to see anyone but the servants in our mansion. I would like to point out that the carriage that you sent might be part of the reason why we arrived a bit later than we had planned.” Her voice was as cold as her eyes, and hatred was oozing out of her tone. She was even more unpleasant than the concubine had remembered her to be.

Before anyone else could respond, the second prince chimed in. “Please do not phrase it like that, Mother. This makes it sound like His Majesty would send us a broken carriage on purpose.” He gave the emperor a wide smile. “Unfortunately, the carriage's wheels gave in a few minutes after we began moving. So, we were forced to walk for the rest of the way. It was not very far anymore, but Mother's legs are weak after staying inside for so long. Thus, we came a bit later. I hope that you do not mind, Brother.” Normally, no one would address their siblings with such an overly sweet tone. In this case, it just seemed like the prince was giving his best to provoke the emperor.

Theodore didn't show his disgust for the other two though. He mirrored his brother's smile and replied in a carefree tone. “How could I mind? It's been too long since we last had the chance to meet at an event. You, my dear brother, came to visit me a few times already, but I haven't had the honor of welcoming the dowager empress in the palace until now.” If one listened closely, one could hear that there was mockery dripping out of his voice. It was probably physically paining him to address his family like this, but to frustrate them, he was forcing himself to suffer as well. Still, he outright refused to call the dowager empress his mother anyway.

Blanche would have liked to grab his hand right now. It was the only thing that could help him a bit, but she wasn't even allowed to do that.

The dowager empress' eyes narrowed as she looked at her first son with obvious disgust. “I can assure you that leaving my true home has not been my decision. If justice prevailed, I would not be living in a run-down mansion within the estate either but in the palace.”

Theodore's expression fell, and he put on a dejected look. “Since the trial is still going on, there is nothing I can do about it. I apologize. As soon as the decision is made, you won't have to live there anymore.” If everything went right, they wouldn't be outside of prison anymore at all.

The prince continued to smile with a little sadness, which looked real but was definitely fake as well, in his eyes. “We are aware that you never meant any harm. We should not spend this joyous occasion speaking about depressing topics though.” His grin became lighter again. “How about you introduce us to the guests? I believe that there is a person that we still need to greet and another person that we never had the pleasure of meeting.” He looked at the empress before turning to the concubine.

Blanche had to struggle with herself not to take a step back or to grimace at him. Luckily, she would still have a few seconds to collect herself before she would have to speak. After all, Seraphina had the right to begin.

The empress bowed her head slightly in the most graceful manner imaginable before lifting it again. “I am elated to see you, Your Majesty. It has been long overdue, but this wonderful event seems to be a fitting chance to be able to meet you again. We have not had the pleasure of seeing each other for the last six years, so you, unfortunately, were not able to be present during a very important event last year. I had the honor of becoming the empress of Artias at His Majesty's side. I would like to use my position in the royal family to formally greet you. We have awaited your arrival in anticipation, so I am very glad that you did come in the end.” She gave them a soft smile that once again made Blanche question why everyone aside from her seemed to be good at acting. During their conversation in the summer residence, it had become obvious that the empress actually despised people that considered having power more important than the nation's well-being.

The dowager empress returned the smile, probably because she hoped to win Seraphina as her ally, but her eyes stayed freezing. “It is an honor to have such a courteous and beautiful young lady in our family. I haven't met anyone this welcoming in a long time. It is refreshing to see how different you are in comparison to your husband. From what I heard, you seem to be the person that balances him out, and I can already affirm that you truly deserve to be in such an influential position. I already said that when you were a child, but now I can be sure.”

Seraphina continued to show her perfect smile. “You flatter me too much, Your Majesty. I am the one that is pleased to have you speak such kind words about me. I remember how flawless your appearances in public were, so it is an honor to be praised by you. Apart from the impression I, as an uneducated child, had back then, I also heard many things about you that prove that you are truly a paragon of royalty, so I am happy to be a member of the same family.” If she was referring to all the remarks that the concubine had made, this was more of an insult, but Camille appeared to be content. The empress turned to the prince after this. “Of course, I am overjoyed to have the pleasure of meeting you again as well, Your Royal Highness. You have grown up to be a fine young man if you allow me to say so. If I remember correctly, you should be twenty-one now. Is that correct? Please feel free to ignore my question if it somehow causes you to feel unwell though.”

The prince gave her a blinding smile and bowed again. “You are right, Your Majesty. But there is no need to be so cautious or formal around me at all. You are my older brother's wife, so you are part of our family. I am glad to answer all of your questions.” For someone who had barely become an adult, he was an awfully good actor.

If Blanche hadn't been aware of his position, she might have been fooled by his kind demeanor and believed that her instinct was being unreasonable. She wasn't about to throw up anymore, but she still hated standing in front of him. She just wanted to take Theodore's hand in hers and pull her lover away from those horrible people. But she wouldn't have the chance.

Apparently, the Duremonts had retreated to give the Estiens a chance to speak alone.

After all, the dowager empress didn't address any relative of the duke but turned to the concubine instead. “This leaves one person here whom I do not recognize. Would you be willing to introduce yourself?” Her tone was freezing.

Blanche was ready to curtsy and reply, but Theodore spoke up before she managed to move.

“I know you are curious, but it is impolite to ask for the other person's name before giving yours. After all, she has no idea who you might be.” Theodore grinned when his mother clenched her jaw and glared at him.

The dowager empress slowly faced the concubine again before speaking up again. “It seems that I was hasty. I am not used to people that do not recognize me, but as you appear to be very young and not from the noble families of our capital, this makes sense. We have never met each other, have we? I am Camille Estien, the wife of the esteemed previous emperor, who unfortunately left this world too early. This makes me the dowager empress and His Majesty's mother.”

Blanche felt her throat dry and swallowed as she glanced at her lover, who was shaking his head. Not bowing now was even more audacious, but she certainly wouldn't go against whatever Theodore's plan was. So, she took a deep breath and forced herself to smile. She imitated Seraphina's slight nod and made eye contact with Camille while telling herself that everything was fine. “I am delighted to make your acquaintance, Your Majesty. It is true that we never had the pleasure of meeting each other, so I am happy to make up for that now. My name is Blanche. I am a baroness that is currently residing in the royal palace as a guest of-”

Theodore cut her off before she could finish. “It's almost been two years. You've been here for longer than the empress, so calling you a guest would be strange.” It was pretty obvious that he also hadn't wanted her to address him with his title and stopped her despite Blanche not even attempting to use it. Still, his statement was rather dangerous when Seraphina was standing directly next to him.

The empress didn't say anything though.

Blanche inhaled deeply again before continuing. “Well, then I will finish by saying that I am living in the royal palace. I am very pleased to meet you, Your Majesty.”

Camille stayed silent for a moment before replying. “Did I misunderstand, or did you not state your last name?”

The concubine forced herself to maintain her smile. “No, you heard the correct words. At this point in time, I am unable to use my last name. Since this is not a matter that should be discussed in public, I would request for you to be gracious enough to postpone it. If you do wish for me to tell you more about this, I will gladly do so after the party. Though, I doubt that I would be of interest to Your Majesty.”

The dowager empress remained quiet for an even longer time than before. The temperature around her seemed to drop as she narrowed her eyes. “Then it appears that I did not misinterpret anything. If that is the case, then you also stated that you are a baroness. Isn't that correct?”

Blanche nodded while hiding her balled fists behind the puffy skirt of her dress. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

Camille's expression turned even sourer. Her voice was full of freezing anger when she spoke. “And even now you still do not understand why I feel the need to bring this up. How can any noble within Artias, especially a lowly baroness, dare to keep her head high while greeting the dowager empress and the second prince?”

The concubine couldn't keep herself from stepping a bit closer to her lover at that. She replied before she could force herself to stay silent. “Theo told me not to bow to you.”

It hadn't seemed like it would be possible, but Camille's glare became even more intimidating. “Theo?” She looked like she was about to let the other woman be executed, and her voice trembled with anger. She turned to Theodore, who was still smiling, before looking at the concubine again. “If you are brazen enough to call him by that name, I assume that you have his permission.”

Theodore chimed in at that. “Of course she does. She's the only person that can address me like that. I dislike it when she uses my title, so I forbid her from saying it. Please don't pay too much attention to that.” His mother opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off. “You shouldn't think about her not bowing to you either.” He put on a downcast expression. “I only asked her not to do it because you always hated Althea bowing to you. So, I thought that you didn't like it when inhabitants of the palace treat you so distantly. It appears that I misread your emotions. It won't happen again. I don't understand what about this is different to back then though.”

The dowager empress' face scrunched up. “You-”

The second prince chimed in with a light tone. “Mother.” He beamed at Camille and leaned over to her without saying anything. Whatever he was doing, it worked.

The dowager empress calmed down a bit at that and just kept quiet.

The prince took that chance to speak up himself. “I apologize that we misunderstood your intentions, Theodore. It is fine even though this might seem very odd to an outsider. We cannot risk people believing that it is alright for an aristocrat to ignore the royal family. But we will discuss this later in a more private setting. For now, it is time to introduce myself.” He turned his head to the concubine and gave her a warm smile that only made her sick. “It is my pleasure to finally meet the famous Lady Blanche. I heard a lot about you and made myself an image of you in my head, but it can't compare to you in any way. The picture in my brother's office didn't lie about your beauty, but even that pales in comparison to seeing you in reality. Though, you do seem to glow as many people stated. It's very fitting for you to wear a sun in your hair.”

Blanche found the words eerily familiar, maybe except for the last parts about the portrait and the sun. She felt a shiver run down her spine.

The prince kept putting on the perfect act of being friendly as he resumed flawlessly. “Since we will both stay in the royal estate, we will have many chances to interact, so I would like to see how many of the rumors are true for myself. I hope that we get along well from now on. But allow me to introduce myself first. I am His Majesty's younger brother by five years, and that makes me the second prince of Artias. My name is Cedar Estien. It is wonderful to be able to make your acquaintance.”

It was good that he didn't talk anymore after that since Blanche wouldn't have been capable of listening. At the moment that he had stated his name, she froze. The last name was obviously Theodore's, but she knew that first name too. Where had she heard it?

She took a few seconds before a vague memory of Harris sitting in front of her cell and mentioning Cedar gave her the solution.

That name had appeared in her nightmare. In that dream, Harris had said that Cedar would get her out of captivity with his financial support. Why would she dream about something like this? She had no relation to the second prince, so her mind knowing his name was impossible. Had that just been a coincidence? It had to have been one.

Cedar?

How did she know him? She was almost sure that she knew him and Camille, but she had never met them. This didn't make sense. Her chest just hurt more than before.