Two days passed in quiet before a letter addressed to Blanche arrived. She lifted the envelope up against the light from the window in an attempt to look inside, but she couldn't see anything. The only visible lines on the white paper were the elegant letters that spelled out her name as the addressee and Luciano Vasquez's as the sender.
Blanche didn't like that. “What does he want now? He never wrote me a letter in the past.” Fortunately. “And it arrived here with a normal messenger?”
Normally, the Vasquez's friend, Sefare, had been the one sending letters to her by either making her maid pick them up outside or placing them in Blanche's room without her knowledge. Seemingly, Luciano was less creepy about it. Still, Theodore looked like he would like to tear up the letter, and she shared that sentiment. She didn't trust the Vasquez household one bit.
Her lover glared at the paper in her hand and tapped onto the table with his fingertips. “Yes. It came this afternoon. I didn't want to accept it first, but I would rather have any information about what those people are planning now.”
Blanche skeptically eyed the envelope. “Did you read it already?”
The emperor's silence was enough of a reply.
She reached over to him and placed her hand on his. “It's alright. I'm not mad. If you already checked, I can be sure that it's safe.”
Her lover turned his palm upwards and intertwined their fingers. “I'm sorry. I thought that there might be some harmful substance inside, so I made sure that there wasn't anything but paper. To be sure, I'll burn this after you read it though.”
She lowered her gaze onto the letter again and waved it through the air while holding it between two fingers. “Please. I don't want to have this lying around either.” Reluctantly, she let go of Theodore to open the envelope. As soon as she had pulled the sheet of paper out, she returned her hand onto his and began reading.
The overly friendly and partly sugary tone of the writing made it hard to keep a straight face.
Blanche gave up after a few lines and grimaced until the very end. Then she put the letter onto the table and shoved it away from her. “That's...uhm. Unsettling. If others are nice, it makes you happy. If he is nice, it sounds like he will stab your back the very next second. He didn't really expect me to accept that he apologized for his father, did he?”
The emperor's expression darkened. “I clearly stated that that bastard has to bow to you and wait for your reply. Sending his son to protect his fragile ego won't change a thing. I'm just glad that I didn't hand over the dismissal certificate yet. I can do that now to show them that I'm serious about my orders. I'm not going to withdraw them just because some arrogant duke asks his infuriating heir to write a revolting letter.” Seemingly, he truly didn't like the much too friendly undertone that Luciano's text had had.
In fact, Blanche hated it too. “I'm pretty sure that Lord Vasquez does this purposefully. He said something about making you jealous at the empress' birthday ball and that being amusing.” She couldn't quite mention that this was supposed to make Theodore act rashly so that he would lose the Duremonts' support and get divorced by Seraphina too though.
But the general idea was enough to make Theodore furrow his brows. “I know. He always liked trying that. The only issue is that I care this time. I should have been even more direct about telling him to keep his hands off you. Some people are stupid enough not to understand everything that isn't a physical warning.”
Blanche gave him a questioning look. “When did you tell him that? And when did you see him touching me? I'm pretty sure that I didn't like letting that person anywhere near me.”
Her lover clenched his jaw and stroked his thumb over her hand. “He danced with you at the ball. And the guard I sent to protect you during the hunting festival said that you even slapped away that man's hand once because he came too close to you. I only exchanged a few words with him after I returned from hunting, but I thought that I was vocal about him better not approaching you again. I seemingly need to practice threatening people. There are too many that don't get that I'm serious.”
Blanche doubted that. She had seen his expression when he was angry often enough to know that he was terrifying when he intimidated someone. It was awful when he spoke to other people, but when he had threatened her in her nightmare, she had almost had a heart attack out of fear. “No, that can't be it. You're horrifying when you are mad. Anyone who doesn't cower in fear when you yell is suicidal, insane or too full of themselves.”
Theodore's frown deepened at that. “I...don't scare you, do I?” He sounded a bit dejected while saying that.
She let out a deep breath before guiding his hand to her cheek. “If you did, I wouldn't be this relaxed around you. I wouldn't let you touch me or hug me without tensing. I wouldn't allow you to kiss me and wouldn't melt in your arms. I wouldn't let you in my bed either. I proved that I trust you with my life often, didn't I? You can be scary when you're angry, but you haven't been mad at me for the last seven months.”
Slowly, his expression softened. “Good. I won't be angry with you in the future either. No matter what happens.” He caressed her cheek and gave her a gentle smile.
Blanche felt her heart flutter at that and rubbed her face against him. It would be wonderful if their harmonious relationship could stay like this even if they had to deal with awful people. She didn't know whether she would be able to stand seeing her lover glaring at her with as much hatred as he had in her dreams. No. In reality, she was sure. She couldn't endure that again. Her chest already ached at the thought of him gazing at her with resentment and no traces of remaining affection.
There was no way that she could allow him to find out about her true reason for coming here. If he ever learned that Sefare, a follower of the dowager empress, had used her as a pawn, he would definitely hate her for betraying him. If she was lucky, he would let her explain herself and understand that she had never intended to hurt him. But even then, he would never look at her the same as he did before. She didn't even want to consider the option of him not believing her and throwing her away immediately. The villainess had experienced that already, and she didn't need it to happen again.
Though...
She swallowed.
Maybe she should tell him. She still had the chance to speak with him in private, and then Sefare would lose his one advantage over her. She would finally be able to stop having any secrets, apart from the novel's existence, from her lover. Right now, their conversation was calm, so the odds of him listening to her were much higher than if they were in a hectic.
Theodore had just promised that he wouldn't be upset with her. So, maybe she should be honest now. Slowly, she lifted her head and opened her mouth.
At the very moment that she saw Theodore's expression full of affection, a memory from the novel flashed in front of her inner eye. Theodore couldn't look at her with disgust, or she would break. She closed her mouth again. He would never gaze at her like now again that if she told him.
She couldn't do it.
The only people knowing about her backstory were their enemies, who would give themselves away by revealing that they had wished to use her to harm the emperor. They wouldn't speak up. At least not now. So, she didn't have to say anything either.
Theodore had to have seen her expression since he pulled her out of her thoughts. “Blanche? It's alright. I'm here.” He moved his chair closer to hers and put his hands onto the back of her head before guiding her towards him. He covered her lips with his as he slowly let his fingers wander down to her back to pull her closer.
Blanche clung onto him like she had no other anchor that kept her on the ground and gratefully fell into his arms. She wanted to stay with him like this forever. That was her only wish. And she could only pray for the gods to be gracious with her just this once. Even though she was the villainess that was fated to be doomed.
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Theodore hadn't addressed it, but apparently, Blanche had shown much more of her distress than she had hoped for.
After all, they never left the garden around the palace, and thus, it was very surprising when he suddenly proposed to go into the forest. He claimed that they needed to relax once in a while, which probably meant that she had been unable to hide her fear during their conversation two days ago.
But in all honesty, Blanche was content with him paying attention to how she was feeling. Going out for the first time after their vacation excited her.
So, she was already done dressing despite knowing that her lover would still take a few minutes in the office. She used that time to stroll around the building and look at a few areas that she rarely saw. She didn't stray too far away from the office so that she could still keep an eye on the door, which Theodore would have to use to come out, but even the rooms by the corridor she regularly visited were a surprise for her whenever she opened the door.
Most were guest rooms, but she found a few ones that made it impossible to pinpoint their exact use. None of the guards ever stopped her or questioned why she was looking into every room before leaving again. So, Blanche didn't bother waiting after knocking each time since all the rooms were empty anyway. At least she had thought that that was the case until she pulled open a door and only stood two steps in front of Seraphina.
The concubine almost had a heart attack at that, and her very first instinct was to slam the door shut. Luckily, she was able to keep herself from doing that and settled for blinking at the other woman, who looked at her with just as wide eyes.
The empress slowly lowered her extended arm. That made it seem like she had wanted to open the door too, only for it to have been pulled away from her grasp.
Blanche was just glad that this door hadn't been built in a way that would force her to push it open. Then she would have hit the heroine with the door like she had done it with Clark. Which would be a bad idea, needless to say. She took a few seconds to calm her rapidly beating heart and scanned the people inside the room. Aside from Seraphina, her maids and Noah were present too. The knight had already freed his sword from the sheath and put it back when he recognized the person that had worried him. The concubine had definitely been lucky that he hadn't acted too quickly, or that sword would have impaled her by now. Her neck just hurt at that very thought.
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Blanche only remembered that she had to greet the empress after a moment of silence. She hurried to curtsy and bowed her head. “Good afternoon, Your Majesty. I apologize for opening the door like that without knocking.” Just when she finished, she realized that she actually wasn't allowed to speak up first. She held back a noise of dejection that threatened to escape her and quickly lowered her head even more. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to talk first.”
“It's alright. You may rise. Good afternoon, Lady Blanche.”
Most likely, the concubine's voice had been filled with regret as she apologized. Otherwise, it wouldn't have made sense for Seraphina to greet her with a neutral expression instead of a glare. It was a pleasant surprise to see that the heroine didn't seem to be full of frustration because of the emperor's inconsiderate actions at the party a week ago.
Instead, the empress just calmly scanned the other woman before speaking up. “Are you going out?”
Blanche looked down to view her attire before remembering that she was wearing clothes that were made for outings. “Yes, Your Majesty. I will visit the forest with...uhm. I will visit the forest.” It might not be a good idea to mention that she was leaving with the other woman's husband, even if it was probably obvious.
The empress eyed her for another moment before replying. “I see. It's fortunate that we ran into each other. I would like to ask you something if you aren't pressured to be on time.”
The concubine tensed at that. This didn't sound like it would be a pleasant subject. “I still have a few minutes, so it's fine. What do you wish to talk about, Your Majesty?”
The empress was as calm as always while she spoke, which calmed the other woman a bit. She wasn't too angry, so it shouldn't be too bad. “It has come to my ears that there was some sort of issue with His Grace, the Duke of Vasquez. My father told me that that man acted quite unmannerly. Unfortunately, I didn't hear the whole story since my father wasn't present in the beginning. Would you tell me what exactly happened? I would like to be aware of the happenings within the palace before someone asks me about it.”
Blanche fiddled with her hands as she thought about how to explain the situation shortly without being too honest about what Claude had said to make her angry. After all, Seraphina wouldn't like to hear how a duke proposed that the concubine could become empress. “There was a meeting with the ministers, and His Grace was waiting outside when I met him. He voiced some very impudent things, and when I addressed this, he got angry.”
Seraphina chimed in before she could finish. “I am aware of what happened after that. I want to know what he said to you. For a few months now, you have proven that you learned how to hold back in front of influential nobles. What did he state to make you feel the need to scold a duke?” So, she wanted to know about the unpleasant part.
Blanche honestly wanted to avoid that. She truly didn't have any intentions of claiming the empress' position, so being accused of that would frustrate her a lot. More importantly, she might get in serious trouble with Seraphina if the heroine was convinced that the concubine plotted against her. However, she didn't truly have a choice here. If she tried to distract the empress, it would be obvious that she didn't like speaking about this topic, which would rather cause a misunderstanding than just telling the truth. So, Blanche began explaining while choosing the most careful words that appeared in her mind. “He was talking about the new law that Theo introduced. The one that granted the ministers more power.”
Seraphina nodded. “My father informed me about that. It seems that you are the one that came up with this idea.” Oh, if only she knew.
Blanche interlocked her fingers and tapped her fingertips onto her hands in an attempt to calm down. “Well, not quite. I voiced the original thought, and Theo was the one that made it into a law. But that is not very important. His Grace just happened to emphasize this for some time. He was talking about how...” While speaking, she stopped herself. There was no subtle way to convey that Claude had hinted that she was as powerful as the emperor's wife. Repeating this would definitely make the heroine angry, so the concubine would much rather keep quiet.
Unfortunately, it seemed like Seraphina had different plans. She scanned the other woman's hesitant expression for a moment before speaking up. “Why would I be upset upon hearing you repeat the words of a person whom I know isn't on our side? I can imagine that his remarks weren't kind, but I asked you to tell me. After all, my father was too furious to explain anything despite his friend apparently listening to the conversation. So, please tell me what His Grace told you. Stick to the original phrases he used too.”
Blanche took a deep breath to calm her pounding heart. Hopefully, the heroine would keep her word. “He listed the duties of the empress of Artias. Then he stressed that proposing laws was one of them. He claimed that this would mean that I had the same amount of power as Your Majesty.” She averted her eyes. “At that point, I told him that it was enough, but he kept talking. He stated that I have been here long enough to deserve to be a wife or....even, well. Your Majesty can imagine what he was referring to. He insisted that the position of the empress was temporary. Then I got a bit upset and told him that he was being insolent, to which he replied that he was only stating the truth. So, I asked whether he was still drunk from the ball, which he declined. I questioned whether he would like to say that to Your Majesty or His Grace the Duke of Duremont then. At that moment, another minister came closer, so he changed his strategy.”
The empress just listened. She didn't say anything.
As Blanche continued, she felt anger boiling up inside and gave her best to suppress this. She didn't need to show how upset she truly was. “He pretended to be shocked after I said something insolent to him. To be honest, I lost my temper there. In hindsight, I should just have turned away, but I asked him whether he was getting senile and said that he should go home if it was this bad. He got really mad at that, so it was fortunate that Theo came out of the office. But Duke Vasquez was so enraged that he even ignored the emperor's warnings to calm down and was removed from the palace. Theo dismissed him and forbid him from entering the royal estate unless he apologizes to me.” She continued to play with her nails even when she finished and avoided looking at the other women.
Surely, Seraphina and her maids would be furious, and if everything went wrong, the concubine might end up being blamed. Blanche could really go without such a situation. Hopefully, Theodore would be done soon so that she could leave with an excuse.
The empress kept quiet for a while, which made the concubine's stomach churn, before opening her mouth. “As expected. He wishes to use us two against each other. Doing that is the easiest and cleanest way to worsen the relationship between my father and His Majesty. Originally, this would seem like a good plan, but why would Duke Vasquez risk destroying his efforts by exploding like this? Now everyone will have lost their faith in him, so he won't gain power either, especially since His Majesty is beyond furious. In general, it worries me that he had this little self-control. He wasn't always this sensitive, was he? You did not even say anything too hurtful.”
Blanche lifted her head in confusion. The heroine's thoughtful expression irritated her even more. Could it be that Seraphina truly wasn't angry? That would be heavenly. The other woman's attendants had reacted as expected and were gritting their teeth, but the empress was perfectly calm.
The concubine blinked a few times. She didn't say anything until Seraphina made eye contact for a moment without speaking herself. When the silence became unbearable, she quickly gave in though. “I, uhm...don't think that I was that hostile either. In comparison to the things Theo and he said to each other, I was rather lax.”
The empress nodded to herself as she stared into the distance. “I would have been much harsher. You know that his words could be understood as a direct incitement of treason. He could have been put in jail for that. So, pointing out his error instead of just letting guards drag him away for a trial was being lenient. This kind of impudent behavior would justify anyone asking him whether he was thinking clearly. It shouldn't even matter if a baroness does so. I'm a bit concerned why he reacted this sensitively to you.” She lifted her gaze to the concubine. “Did you ever have a problem with him before that day? I remember him being strangely upset at the party too, but I thought that was because of His Majesty's disrespect. It seems like this is more about...”
Seraphina's voice trailed off as a deep frown formed on her forehead. She stared into nothingness again and stayed quiet for at least a minute before beginning to mutter to herself. “I doubt that...” She covered her mouth as she began to scan Blanche's whole body. She whipped her head to the side and addressed one of her attendants. “Please go to the library and prepare the books about the aristocratic families in the capital. No matter how distant the relation is, I need books about every single member. Put them onto the desk.”
The maid seemed surprised at that but was quick to move. “Of course, Your Majesty. Which ones?”
“Every single one that you can find. I need to check something.”
The concubine just watch that exchange in confusion and stepped aside as the attendant rushed out of the room. Apparently, the unfair advantage of the heroine's intelligence had allowed Seraphina to have thought that no one else had before. Hopefully, this would help Theodore in some way and not their enemies.
The empress slowly returned to the present and looked at Blanche with a serious expression. For a few seconds, it was like her eyes were tearing down the other's facade until nothing remained. The silence got oppressing before Seraphina spoke, still while watching Blanche with a bit too much care. “Naturally, I am unable to read that man's mind, but I feel like he is too ambitious for his and our good. In any case, he wished to use us as pawns in some way, so we need to be careful not to let that happen. I would encourage you to be cautious from now on. I doubt that Duke Vasquez is someone to easily forget.”
Blanche nodded as she thought about the face Claude had shown her while he was being brought away. That man definitely wouldn't forgive her even though she hadn't done anything wrong. At the moment, it seemed like the empress was on edge too though, so she might have to fear multiple parties. Great. Blanche tried to prove her loyalty as well as she could. “I will keep that in mind, Your Majesty. Please be careful too. Ever since the dowager empress came back, Duke Vasquez has been full of himself and believes that he is untouchable. So, he might try something we haven't considered yet.”
Seraphina's eyes stayed cold as she pressed her lips into a thin line for a moment before replying. “Unfortunately, this possibility isn't too absurd. I will take care of myself. You mentioned that you will go on an outing now? I don't wish to keep you from departing on time. Have a nice day. The weather is beautiful, so enjoy the sun.”
The concubine was taken aback by that polite goodbye despite the empress' far too piercing gaze and took a few seconds before responding. “I hope that you will have a wonderful afternoon too, Your Majesty.” Then she stepped aside to let the empress and her entourage pass.
Noah gave her a smile that didn't hide his concerned expression well, but she returned it nonetheless and watched as the group moved towards the corridor in which the door to the library was. Seemingly, Seraphina was eager to find out more about her suspicion.
Blanche gazed after them for a moment before turning to her maid, whose face was completely scrunched up. It appeared like Stella had found a new person that she despised more than anyone else, so even mentioning Duke Vasquez made the maid angry. The concubine considered saying something to calm the other woman down, but there was nothing she could voice to change the situation. She hated Claude as well, and his actions had been insane, so she couldn't even defend him even if she attempted to do it, which she wouldn't.
So, distraction was the only possible option.
After all, Blanche didn't want to ruin her afternoon with her lover just by remembering that awful duke. “Well, then. Let's go back to the office. I don't want to make Theo wait.” She took a step out of the door, and immediately, an arm was wrapped around her waist, and she was pulled against another person.
Blanche let out a yelp and reflexively tried to brace herself for someone that might try to hurt her, maybe a knight that wanted to arrest her, only to relax when she recognized Theodore. She had been in his embrace too often not to be able to find out that it was him based on his movements.
Theodore spun her around so that she was facing him and gave her a cheeky smile. “You didn't make me wait. I just finished a minute ago, and a guard told me where you were. Did you do something special?”
Blanche was torn between pretending to sulk for a moment because he had scared her like this and acting normally, but his grin won her over. She still glared at him while replying to his question. “I didn't want to stand around until you were done. So, I looked around a bit. There are rooms here that I've never seen. If you don't want me to do that, you just have to tell me. You don't have to give me a heart attack.”
Theodore chuckled as she put her arms around his neck. “I couldn't resist. I was looking forward to our picnic, so I was too excited. Forgive me. And obviously, I don't mind you getting to know the building. This is your home after all. I told you that you could enter every room that you wished to see at any time. No one will stop you.”
Blanche let out a sigh. “You still shouldn't do this whenever you are excited.” She turned to Owen, who was standing a few steps away from them with his usual stoic expression. “You could have warned me about him being behind me, you know? If you saw him coming, you should just have let me know.”
Owen bowed his head. “I apologize. I did not wish to interrupt your conversation with Her Majesty.”
The concubine was taken aback by that. She tilted her head back to give her lover a questioning look. “You've been here that long? I assumed that you arrived after we finished. I didn't notice you at all. You surely improved your sneaking ability.”
Theodore hummed in approval and gave her a wide grin. “I need to be prepared for everything, don't I? I saw you standing by the door from afar and wanted to hug you from behind like I did just now. I almost did it without noticing that you were in the middle of a conversation.”
Blanche could only thank the goods that he had stopped in time, or she would have been met with at least four murderous gazes.
Her lover didn't seem to be aware of him almost causing a catastrophe though. “I should have done so anyway, but I wanted to hear what the empress would say. I didn't expect her to stay calm, so I was prepared to intervene, but fortunately, I could avoid interacting with her completely.” His smile had faded a bit so that he seemed to be extremely serious. Apparently, the empress and he were currently fighting more often than his lover noticed. After all, the emperor was constantly annoyed when his wife opened her mouth, which made it appear like there were a couple of discussions that Blanche hadn't heard about.
Seraphina had enough reasons to be angry due to her husband's unthoughtful actions regarding his concubine in public, so it wasn't even surprising. The only thing that was a little confusing was that Theodore barely spent an hour per day in his office at the current moment, so he wouldn't have a lot of time to spare for arguing with anyone. Especially not with the empress, whom he was so keen on avoiding.
Though, Blanche wouldn't complain if her lover spend more time with her and less with the heroine. She leaned her head against his chest and hid her small grin that had appeared as soon as she was reminded of the fact that she had gone against the original storyline. Right now, the hero favored the villainess, and she would do her best to let it continue like this.