As soon as their enemies were a few steps away, Theodore turned around, and his fake smile disappeared to leave behind pure rage. “That bastard. Even though he doesn't know it, he's doing it again. No, he knows exactly what he is doing.”
Blanche moved to his side while being careful to be close enough to whisper and not close enough to create a scandal. “What do you mean?”
Her lover lifted his hands and spread his fingers as he looked onto his palms for a few seconds. Then his gaze snapped up to meet hers. “What do you think about Cedar?”
Blanche was irritated by that question at first, but the serious look in his eyes made her reply immediately. “I hate him. Talking to him is awful, his smile is infuriating, and when he looks at me, it feels like he will kill me as soon as I turn my back to him. He touched my hand, and that is enough to make me want to scrub it clean with water and a lot of soap.” She lifted her hand to show it to him and demonstratively rubbed over it until the skin reddened.
Her lover caught her before she could pull it away. “I'm very happy about that.” He engulfed her hand in his and held it to his face. He closed his eyes for a moment. “Cedar always wanted everything I cared about. He wanted my toys as a child, the affection my parents gave me, and he wants the nation all to himself. He'll want you too. If he truly tries to get close to you...”
Blanche's heart skipped a beat, and her stomach churned. She forgot that they were in the middle of a party and followed her desire to reply immediately. “I won't allow him to do that. I hate everything he stands for. I only ever loved you, so how could I wish to speak to someone who wants to assassinate you?”
Theodore opened his eyes and met her gaze with a cold expression that made the blood in her veins freeze as he continued his previous sentence. “I'll have to kill him.” She took a few seconds to process this. Her lover only continued to look at her for a moment before resuming. “If he wishes to harm you, in one way or the other, I'll kill him. I know that you are on my side no matter what. It's him that I will get rid of if he forces me to act no matter how much I want to keep him out of this. I already warned him, but it seems like I wasn't clear enough.” Both his voice and his face made it very clear that he wasn't joking.
Blanche moved her hand onto his and grabbed him. “Don't dirty your hands with the blood of a person like this. If you ever need to do something like this, you will have to find a way that can't be linked to you. Poison or assassins. Don't do it yourself.” Even though she guessed that her lover didn't want to solve it like this. He would have tried it already otherwise.
Theodore's expression relaxed at that. The coldness in his eyes disappeared, and a soft smile appeared on his lips. “You truly support me in whatever I do.”
“Of course.”
He let go of her hand to reach for her chin, but just before he made contact with her skin, Seraphina spoke up.
“Don't you think that this is enough, Your Majesty? We are in public. Everything until now could be justified with you being shocked upon facing the dowager empress and the second prince, who were freed despite ordering an assassination attempt on you. But if you do go any further, I can assure you it will not please me or my father.”
Theodore's annoyance came back instantly, but apart from clenching his jaw, he kept a straight face. He just narrowed his eyes slightly and eyed the empress from the side. “Ordering around the emperor, are we? It shouldn't be surprising since your father thinks that he can do so too. Impudence seems to run in your family's blood.” He slowly let go of his lover and turned to the empress. “I will let it slide today. I do not wish to ruin the mood, the day was awful enough. In addition, I'm still somewhat generous because you upset the dowager empress. What did you say? Her expression has been ugly ever since you talked to her.”
Seraphina's face scrunched up, but she quickly neutralized it so that only her icy anger remained. “She badmouthed Your Majesty for a very long time and kept comparing me to her. I tried to ignore it, but at some point, I had enough and told her that having an affair is not nearly as bad as attempting to murder your own children. Then I added that I did not wish to speak to someone who has differing opinions on this topic. She was quiet after that. I did not mention that she had actually tried to kill someone, so she will not be able to complain.”
Theodore's lips formed a smile at that. “I see. Good. She won't see you as your ally from now on, so you protected yourself from a lot of trouble.” He directed his gaze at the Duremont household. “Shall we greet the guests now?” He glanced at Blanche to get her affirmation instead of his wife's, which was another unnecessary provocation.
But the concubine just nodded so that they could leave.
The conversation with Seraphina's family was as unpleasant as she had imagined it to be.
When they arrived, Henry already glared at them. Duke Duremont only dropped the subject of the emperor touching his lover this openly after his daughter told him that she wanted to discuss this in private numerous times. Apart from him, no one voiced their complaints, even though Elaine and Allen looked angry too.
The atmosphere was so tense that Blanche constantly felt the need to leave and hide out of view. Unfortunately, Theodore didn't intend to leave any time soon, and when Henry asked him, he merely said that he wanted to make the Vasquez family wait. In general, the emperor was the only one that didn't seem to care about the mood. He smiled at the present people while keeping his concubine right by his side.
The situation was torture with Duke Duremont glaring at Blanche like she was a foreign body in the midst of his territory. The only good thing about him being furious was that he mostly glared at Theodore, who didn't mind that at all.
Blanche was relieved when they finally left. At least until she remembered that she would have to see the Vasquez household now. She trailed behind her lover, who made it very obvious that he was waiting for her, with unease, only to be stopped by Elaine.
“Excuse me. Lady Blanche, would you mind allowing me to speak to you for a minute?”
The concubine froze and stared at the other woman. The duchess was the last person she had expected to talk to. “Uhm... Of course.” She turned to her lover. “Will you...”
“Wait right here? Yes.”
That hadn't been what Blanche had meant to propose, but she didn't say anything and just quietly sighed at him before stepping aside with Elaine. The duchess didn't lead her far away, but they would be able to speak without the others hearing them here.
Still, Blanche didn't feel very intimidated. Not when she knew that Theodore watching her the whole time. So, she was only a bit tense and managed to open her mouth without letting out a trembling voice. “I was rather surprised by your inquiry. What does Your Grace wish to speak about?”
Elaine folded her hands in a manner that made her look as dignified as her daughter usually was. She kept her expression completely neutral, so it was hard to guess what she would say. “It will not take long, so please excuse my sudden request.” She breathed in slowly before revealing her intentions. “It is quite obvious that you and our family do not get along well. Still, I would like to make something clear, even if it might have become questionable due to my husband's behavior. We might oppose each other for now, but all of us wish for His Majesty's well-being, which makes his enemies the much bigger threat. Do you remember this saying? The enemy of your enemy is your friend. Please keep that in mind in this current situation.”
Blanche was aware of what this meant. For a moment, she considered simply nodding, but then she wouldn't be able to voice her thoughts, and she felt like this was important now. “Your Grace, I would ask of you to listen to me as well.”
The other woman remained silent, so the concubine could continue.
“I know that this...conflict exists because of my position. So, it might sound strange for me to say this, but I do not see you as my enemies. I understand that it might be impossible for you to believe me due to my previous behavior, for which sincerely apologize. But I do not wish your family harm in any way. I feel uncomfortable with the way things are right now too, and Theodore's enemies are by far more threatening. But I still want to promise that I will not strive to cause you any problems even when they are defeated. I just want to stay here in peace.”
Elaine was silent for a moment. When she eventually spoke up, her voice was gentler. “I am aware of that. All of us are, except maybe for Henry. But all of us can see what His Majesty intends to do now, and it is hard for us to accept something like this. Seraphina's reputation is stained enough due to the countless incidents in the past. My husband won't sit there quietly while His Majesty plans on trampling on our whole family's name. Fortunately, Henry hasn't caught on yet, but I have. And I can assure you that it will not be as easy as you imagine it to be.”
Blanche frowned at that. “What are you referring to? I have not done anything overly disrespectful in the last seven months, or have I?” Had Theodore had another fight with the Duremonts in which he had defended her? He hadn't told her about anything like that. Maybe the duchess was talking about the fact that the emperor had been much less subtle about his affection for his lover. It would make sense for Seraphina's family to worry about that. “If you are referring to Theo being very...well...strong-willed at the moment, I understand that this irritates you. I'm sure that he will be a bit calmer as soon as this situation is resolved. He has been stressed ever since the assassination attempt on Duke Lamont's birthday. So, please do not judge him too harshly for being...thoughtless sometimes.”
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Elaine stared at her as if she had grown wings. “He didn't-” She cut herself off and calmed down before beginning again. “It seems like he has either not told you yet, or I have misunderstood. I sincerely hope that the second options hold true due to multiple reasons.” She furrowed her brow before looking to the side in surprise. “Allen, what are you doing here?”
Blanche turned her head and was surprised to see Seraphina's brother standing next to them. Great. The conversation could just get better.
Allen was quiet for a few seconds before speaking up. “I apologize for interrupting. Father sent me away for the moment.”
The concubine glanced over Allen's shoulder. Duke Duremont was arguing with Theodore, whose expression didn't budge at all, while the empress attempted to calm her father down. Blanche immediately averted her eyes again and had to restrain herself from grimacing. The situation here wasn't pleasant either, but she could deal with silence much better than with Henry's anger.
Allen didn't let her wait for Theodore in peace though. Instead, he began a conversation. “You surely attract strange people. All from the same family nonetheless.”
Blanche looked at him in confusion. “I do? Would you mind telling me what you are referring to?”
Allen glanced over at the emperor, who was still busy listening to Duke Duremont, before responding. “His Majesty is a reasonable person, but both His Royal Highness and Lord Vasquez are particular.”
The both of them were unnerving and didn't seem to care about others' wish for distance from strangers. Blanche could say that she disliked Luciano with full conviction, and Cedar was even worse. Now that she compared those two, it seemed like they were rather similar. They were cousins since their mothers were sisters, so that made sense as well. They both smiled constantly and intimidated the concubine with their presence. They used the excuse of them being ‘family’ or ‘friends’ to ignore her attempts at keeping them away and her desire for personal space. Both of them had asked her for a dance despite her obvious reluctance and kissed her hand too. At that thought, she shuddered, which caught Allen's attention.
“Are they that unpleasant?”
Blanche raised an eyebrow as she glanced to the side. When she was sure that neither of the people she talked about was here, she resumed. “Have you ever talked to them? Their mere presence is distressing. The worst part is that they have a very high rank, so pushing them away is almost impossible unless Theo is watching. His Royal Highness has not been here for over six years, but you should have spoken with Lord Vasquez at some point. Did he not make you uncomfortable?”
Allen paused, and a deep frown appeared on his forehead. “He is a very unpleasant person. He began a fight with Seraphina after you collapsed at her birthday party and said-” He had started to become louder with growing anger but forced himself to stop and continued more quietly. “Lord Vasquez attempted to humiliate her, so I despise him personally aside from hating his whole family. It just surprises me that you think so too. I thought you were friends with both of the people I mentioned.”
Blanche mirrored his irritated expression. “What? Why would I? They are horrible. I know that you do not have the best impression of me, but this is going a bit far. I would never interact with the people that oppose Theo more than necessary, especially not when they wish to hurt him. It's true that the men you named act like we are acquainted, but that is not the case. I've always found one of them intimidating and met the other one today, only to find out that he is even worse. But as I said, telling them to leave me alone is difficult if you compare our ranks.”
The wrinkles on Allen's forehead deepened. “Really?” He mumbled something to himself before eventually reaching a volume she could understand again. “So, Lord Vasquez basically forced you to interact with him in public. Why would he do that? Does he gain anything from speaking to you?”
Blanche couldn't really explain that Luciano's family was trying to use her to kill Theodore, so she had no response. A little generalization would have to do. “I think he likes upsetting Theodore. The Vasquez family and the emperor aren't very close, so...”
That seemed to be enough to confuse Allen even more. He covered his mouth with his hand and frowned while he got lost in thoughts. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke up. “But you are acquainted with His Royal Highness, right? You visit him regularly.”
Blanche's face fell at that. What was Allen talking about? Was he insane? She felt fury welling up inside her and opened her mouth before she could hold back. “What is that supposed to mean? Apart from the fact that I only met him today, do you really think that I would betray Theodore like that? I would never consider interacting with the disgusting people that are trying to hurt him.” Her voice was trembling with anger, and she had to hold back from glaring at Seraphina's brother.
She could live with many insults, but if someone said that she was working against her lover, she didn't take it too well. Especially not since her heart clenched painfully at the very thought of letting Theodore believe that she wasn't on his side.
Allen appeared to be surprised about her reaction. “You never saw His Royal Highness before today?”
Blanche crossed her arms. “Of course not. What made you think that I had?”
Allen was quiet for a moment. He was staring onto the floor as he looked like he was arguing with himself in his mind. His shoulders dropped after a few seconds. “I apologize. I just...” His voice trailed off, and he continued in a hesitant tone. “Are you sure? Because once a week, you sat in a carriage and-”
“Allen, that's enough.” Elaine cut her son off and stepped closer to him. She put her hand on his arm and began talking to him in a calm whisper so that the concubine barely heard her. “You're confused again. That didn't happen either. Lady Blanche never leaves the palace except for a few rare occasions. Seraphina would know about that.” She covered her concerned expression with a smile and turned to the concubine. “I would like to apologize for my son again. We are aware that you would not harm His Majesty nor plot with his enemies. Allen is a bit tired today, so please ignore his inconsiderate words for now.”
Allen just stared at the floor in utter confusion. It didn't seem like he would get over this quickly.
Blanche scanned him with skepticism before replying to the duchess. “I see. I would ask him to stop voicing things like that though. I don't want anyone to tell Theo lies. His situation is horrible enough, so he doesn't need any rumors about me allegedly interacting with his traitorous family.”
Elaine nodded. “Of course. We would never spread baseless gossip. Do not worry about that. As I said, our family is backing His Majesty, so we would not trouble him for no reason.”
The concubine pressed her lips into a thin line. It might be better to drop the topic, but now that her initial anger had disappeared and left behind irritation. She was interested in why Allen had expected her to know Cedar. To be honest, she was a bit worried about her own reaction when it came to a man she had never met before, so finding out more could only help. “Say, Lord Duremont?” She waited until she was sure that she had his attention. “What made you think that I was meeting His Royal Highness? Since that never happened, there would not be anyone witnessing me going out either. Did someone start a rumor about this?” That would explain why her lover seemed to have believed that she already knew his brother too.
Allen averted his eyes and opened his mouth, but his mother was quicker. “Please excuse him, Lady Blanche. He doesn't know what he is talking about. He has been mentioning a couple of weird things lately, so do not worry about this incident too much.”
Allen furrowed his brows, and he spoke up despite Elaine's begging gaze. “It's not that bad. Recently, I've been having these-” He interrupted himself as his eyes trained onto something behind the concubine. He bowed his head, and his mother did the same.
That made it obvious that the person behind Blanche had to be a member of royalty. She just hoped that it was Theodore or Seraphina. Before she could turn around, that person put their hands onto her shoulders, and she immediately relaxed. There was no way that the dowager empress would touch her, and Cedar's touch had made her nauseous. Since her body wasn't screaming at her to run away, this was definitely her lover.
Theodore slowly pulled back before stepping next to her.
She looked up at him and gave him a smile, which he returned.
Then Theodore faced the two others. “I do not wish to interrupt, but there is a specific dukedom that appears to lose their composure.” His eyes flickered to the Vasquez family before he resumed. “Thus, we will have to excuse ourselves for now. I already told His Grace too, but please enjoy the party despite the unpleasant guests. The buffet is full of delicious meals, even if that is the only good thing today.”
Elaine hinted a curtsy. “Naturally, we are honored to be invited, Your Majesty. I assume that we'll meet again during the evening, but I wish you a relaxing afternoon nevertheless.”
“Thank you, Your Grace. I can only repeat those words. Have a nice evening.” The emperor turned to his lover. “We'll need to meet the second most arrogant people here now.” He slowly moved forwards while looking over at her, as if he hadn't made his concentration on her obvious enough already. When they were a few steps away from Allen and Elaine, he continued. “Since the dowager empress is here, the three here will be even more daring than before. Their insults won't be as veiled anymore. This also means that we don't have to be as careful with our words. You may say whatever you want.”
Blanche glanced up at him. “Oh, believe me. It would be better for me not to say what I want. I've had bad experiences with that whole family.”
Theodore let out a snort and grinned at her. “Then we are on the same page. Let's do our best to ignore their insolence.”
Out of nowhere, Seraphina appeared next to the emperor and began speaking too. “I feel like Your Majesty is a bit beside himself today too. It would be kind of you to wait for me before leaving to see the next family.” Her voice was strained as if she was holding back her anger.
The concubine scolded herself for not noticing that before. The empress had been way less formal in her speech ever since Theodore had upset her, and Blanche hadn't even paid attention to doing her part to keep the situation calm. But she didn't have a chance to speak up.
Her lover already replied without slowing his pace. “You are here now, aren't you? If I remember correctly, you often greet your family without me while I still have something to do. That isn't a problem, but when I walk two steps ahead of you, you get upset. Isn't your self-confidence a bit-”
The concubine bumped her elbow against him. “Theo.”
He was being too disrespectful again. Offending the Duremont family was the last thing he needed right now when his mother was undermining his power already. Wasn't he dependent on all support he could possibly get? So, he obviously shouldn't enrage Seraphina further.
Luckily, Theodore only shrugged and stayed silent. Still, his previous words had already been voiced.
The empress was gritting her teeth and stared at her husband with an icy gaze. She took a few seconds to calm herself before replying. “When I meet my family, that is something completely different. I-”
“How so?” The emperor stopped in his tracks and finally looked over at the empress. “It's the same thing. Whether you go to them earlier or whether I let you talk to them a while longer. There is no law forbidding the royal couple from speaking to guests separately. We did this regularly whenever you met your family. So, drop the subject. Or better yet, use your anger to insult the Vasquez family. Right now, we have bigger problems than your matter of feeling disadvantaged.” He was the one to see that.
Seraphina opened her mouth to respond but stopped herself before speaking. The gears were visibly turning in her head before she raised her voice. “Then we will refrain from talking about this now. I will not forget to discuss this later though.”
Theodore began to move forward again. “Do as you wish.” One would have been able to cut the tension with a knife.
Unfortunately, Blanche, the one person that wasn't directly involved in the fight, felt like she was the one being the most uncomfortable, which was rather irritating. Of course, two people with an intimidating aura wouldn't be as affected by the other one, but everyone else was probably holding their breath. The concubine didn't dare to turn around to confirm that though. Henry was most likely trying to murder the emperor with his glare again, and she didn't need to accidentally make eye contact with the duke. She just focused on walking without tripping over her own feet or bumping into anyone. Embarrassing herself in front of everyone present wasn't very beneficial if she wanted to keep a somewhat dignified appearance despite feeling horrible.
When she lifted her gaze to scan the area in front of her, she saw that the Vasquez family was already grinning at them. That made her want to spin around and run in the opposite direction immediately. However, she had no choice but to keep her head high and to walk forward to meet the duke, the duchess and their son. She stayed next to Theodore but paid more attention to not standing as close to him as Seraphina did.
When they stopped in front of the Vasquez family, it was obvious that they were opposing each other just from the atmosphere. Blanche sighed in her mind and braced herself for this very unpleasant conversation, which would follow without a doubt.