The concubine came to the terrace half an hour before Sophia would even arrive to avoid being late. Unsurprisingly, she wasn't alone there.

Seraphina was already instructing the servants to prepare the table and inspected the dishes that the kitchen staff brought.

Blanche considered waiting on top of the stairs to put some distance between herself and the empress, but her intentions would be extremely obvious. So, she sighed and lifted the hem of her skirt to climb down her stairs while Stella trailed after her with the gifts in her arms. She walked to the table and waited for Seraphina to turn around before curtsying.

The empress greeted her immediately. “Good afternoon, Lady Blanche. I am pleased to see that you chose to attend this party. My sister will be happy to see you here.” Her expression was as cold as always, but she didn't appear to be angry. Somehow, she still seemed to be tenser than usual, as if she was a bit nervous. Hopefully, this wasn't because she disliked letting her sister meet the concubine.

Blanche straightened her posture and gave her best to greet the other woman with a little smile. “Of course, I would attend. It is an honor to be invited by you.” Just at that moment, she remembered that Sophia was the one that had asked for her presence. “Uhm, I mean...by Lady Ravillot. But I am still very grateful that Your Majesty allowed me to be here. Good afternoon.”

Seraphina scanned the concubine before eyeing Stella. “I assume that those are gifts for my sister?” Blanche nodded after unnecessarily turning around to glance at the colorful boxes, which made the empress gesture to a smaller table that stood a few steps away from the main one. “Then please put them there. My mother, Lady Bellfaux and Lady Lemares will bring some presents too.”

“Naturally.”

The empress immediately spun around and began speaking to one of the servants again to instruct them on what dishes she wanted to present later. Seemingly, she was eager to make this party perfect for her sister. That was to be expected. After all, Seraphina always wanted the best for her beloved ones and wouldn't settle for anything less.

Blanche could understand that in some way. She wanted her lover to be happy too and would do anything for that. A little smile appeared on her lips as she walked over to the smaller table. But after a few seconds, that grin already faded.

A familiar servant took care of sorting the gifts that the empress had placed on the table, and that person coincidentally had to be Harris. When he noticed the concubine, he stepped aside to make way for her and bowed.

Blanche considered not greeting him at all, but as she was about to pass by, something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. She lowered her gaze to the servant's hand and stopped. A bandage was wrapped around his right arm and covered his skin from his fingertips to his elbow. This definitely had nothing to do with her, but she couldn't help worrying a little. “What happened?” She gestured to his hand.

Harris moved his arm as if he wanted to hide it behind his back but gave up at the last moment as he realized that it had been too late. “An accident.” He averted his eyes and was quiet for a few seconds before adding the rest. “With a mirror.”

Stella walked by without looking at him and carefully put down the gifts on the table before turning around. She crossed her arms and glared at the other servant, but her gaze had less resentment than in the past. “So, you were stupid enough to drop a mirror and then pick up the shards with your bare hand?” She was much harsher than necessary.

Harris ignored that. He turned to the table and began rearranging the boxes so that the view was aesthetically pleasing. “Yes.” The response was curt, and he didn't look back again after that. He didn't like talking about how he had gotten hurt, did he? That reminded Blanche of someone else too.

Stella frowned and opened her mouth but cut herself off. She shook her head and raised her palms upwards. “Well, then. Seems that we won't talk to him any longer. Not that that would be a loss for us.”

Blanche shrugged and swallowed the thoughts of comparing Harris to someone that could act even better than him. Neither of the two should concern her. She turned back to the main table, where Seraphina was still describing what she wanted to a servant. The young maid looked like she was about to cry, probably because she was scared of not being able to meet the empress' expectations. The concubine stepped closer to her own servant and whispered, more to distract herself than to do anything else. “I understand how that girl feels. I would cry too if I would be held accountable in the case something went wrong.”

Stella leaned her head to her mistress and replied in a just as low volume. “I'd cry as soon as she looked at me like that.”

Blanche raised an eyebrow. “That's not true. You're always awfully confident around the empress. I'm more intimidated than you.”

“That's only because you're with me. I know that no matter what, you are His Majesty's beloved. So, even the empress can't do anything to you. And since I'm your maid, I have some kind of protection too.” Stella beamed at her before turning her head. “And apparently, we are even safer now.”

The concubine followed her gaze and gave the person in front of them a grin. “Good afternoon, Sir Aldis.” Noah raised his index finger, which reminded her of his offer last time. “Ah, I mean, Noah. How are you?”

Noah returned a bright smile before speaking up. “Good afternoon, Lady Blanche. I'm doing well. Nothing special happened.”

“That is comforting to hear.” After all, it meant that no one had tried to harm the empress, which had been one of Blanche's worries as well. If the emperor had been attacked, it wouldn't be strange to assume that his wife would be targeted too. But fortunately, it seemed like this wasn't the case. “Will you stay here during the party?”

Noah gestured to a chair that was positioned close to the table with the gifts. “Apparently, I am allowed to sit over there.”

Blanche frowned as she eyed the distance between the guests' seats and his one. “That a bit far away to talk, isn't it? Are you really going to be there all alone?”

“How could a knight sit at a table with noble ladies? That would be unheard of. It is kind enough of Her Majesty to offer me a chair. Normally, staff members have to stand the whole time.”

Blanche was aware. When they were alone, Seraphina didn't care about such rules either, but when her family visited, they would have to abide by those conventions. In general, it was normal for servants to stand behind their masters while waiting for an order, so Blanche rarely paid attention to it, but she imagined that that wasn't pleasant for the others. “You're right. Still. Standing for a few hours at a time is exhausting, isn't it? My legs always hurt after a ball, but you are forced to run around for so much longer. That isn't very pleasant.” She glanced at the knight and her maid, who both shrugged.

Stella made a rejecting gesture with her hand. “You get used to it. There is a difference between us and you, My Lady. We did this for years already, and it isn't necessary for you to move around too much. The walks you take are perfectly fine, and you stand while baking too. As long as you can still go through a ball without collapsing...” She cleared her throat to stress those words. “It should be fine. To be honest, I sit much more often than any other maid because you allow me to sit with you. Others would never think about that. If you let me, I could chat with Sir Aldis a bit during the party so that he isn't so alone. Of course, I won't run away or forget-” Stella was about to say something else when her gaze fell onto the staircase. “Oh. Other servants are coming. I assume that they will announce that the guests have arrived.”

Blanche confirmed this with a short glance before turning to Noah. “Then we should join the empress. She'll definitely welcome her sister and mother at the gate.” With that, she walked towards the table, where the heroine was finally leaving the poor servants alone.

Seraphina talked to the man that had come from the stairs for a moment before turning to Noah. “We will greet our guests by the entrance. Lady Blanche, you may stay here or join us. That is your decision.”

The concubine didn't need to interrupt a family reunion, but she had to be polite. “I will accompany you, Your Majesty.”

“I understand.” The empress raised her voice to address Harris, who was still sorting the gifts. “Ensure that no one touches the presents.” The servant nodded without saying anything, so Seraphina spun around. “Then let us leave.” With that, she hurried away.

It seemed like the heroine was truly eager to meet her family since she was rather quick.

Blanche had to speed up not to fall behind and was a bit out of breath when they reached the main gate. She sighed to herself and stroked her hand over her hair to straighten any locks that might have become tangled during their walk here, but she didn't have much time for that.

The carriage with the guests was already there. One after the other, the Duchess Duremont, Lady Lemares, Lady Bellfaux and Count Ravillot climbed out. The only man in the group stopped to help his wife and took Grace into his arms so that Sophia could come out as well. Everyone was a bit reserved to see Blanche here, except for Evelyn, who was hiding her anger behind a fragile mask of exaggerated sweetness.

Only Sophia was genuinely happy. She beamed at the two women that welcomed them and stepped forward to meet them “I'm so glad that the both of you managed to take some time for us. It's wonderful to see you.” She moved to Seraphina first and was greeted with a warm hug. The sisters smiled at each other, and the empress' tension seemed like it had disappeared into thin air. They stayed like this for a moment before separating.

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To Blanche's surprise, she was embraced too. She stiffened for a moment before slowly returning the greeting. “Good afternoon, Lady Ravillot. You seem to have been well.”

Sophia nodded with a bright grin. “Yes, I have. Ever since our sweet angel has been with us, we haven't had a bad day anymore. We were very happy before, but now everything is perfect. By the way, there is no need to be so formal. You can call me by my first name.”

The concubine blinked at that but couldn't even begin thinking about her reply when complaints already sounded.

Evelyn was the first one to speak up. “That is inappropriate. You may allow members of your family to address you like this, but permitting a stranger is-”

Sophia cut her off with a slightly dimmed smile. “But Lady Blanche isn't a stranger. I only invited the people that I like to spend time with most to this party. I haven't had a chance to see Lady Blanche in a while, but that doesn't mean that I'm not glad to be her friend.”

The concubine was still bedazzled by so much sudden friendliness. Surely, she should have expected that since Sophia was without a doubt the kindest person around here, but she was a bit overwhelmed. They weren't that close at all. Was it so easy to win Sophia's trust? Though, Blanche didn't get to say anything anyway.

Elaine was the one that commented on the issue before the concubine could speak. “Sophia, I understand what you are saying, but we are in Her Majesty's presence. We cannot just ignore the social norms.”

The corners of Sophia's lips sank even more. “But we always act like this when we are at a family event.”

Elaine looked like she was stifling a sigh. “Yes, but right now...” She glanced at the concubine, who felt even more out of place than before.

Sophia turned to her sister. “But you don't mind if we skip all the formal greetings, do you? If you agree, we don't have to act this distantly.”

Seraphina was silent for a moment, which made Blanche believe that she would definitely refuse and comment on her sister's disregard for the required etiquette. But the empress replied differently. “It would already be too late for us to begin the greeting normally since you already started. But as this is your party, you will be the one to decide.”

Immediately, Sophia's grin returned. “Thank you! Then that means that we will speak less formally from now on. I mean, I can't forbid you from insisting on the typical greetings, but I would favor it if we were free to address each other normally.” She turned to the concubine. “So, you can address me without any title.” With that, she hurried back to her husband and checked on her daughter with a soft beam before focusing back on the others. “She is still sleeping, so we can go to our table already. I would like to have her lie down properly.”

Just as Blanche asked herself how that would be possible, she saw that a servant was bringing a small cradle with fluffy blankets from the coach. Seemingly, the young mother was prepared for everything and would pamper her baby for as long as she could, without knowing that the biggest threat to her daughter was right here.

While the group began moving, the concubine glared at Evelyn's back and reminded herself that she would pay attention to keep that woman away from Grace on her lover's birthday. It should be easy to move around freely during the festivities, so she didn't doubt that she could do it. That thought almost made her stop as something else came to her mind. She still had to get a gift for Theodore too. Seemingly, the next months would be a bit stressful for her. Wasn't there a banquet scheduled as well? Of course, saving Grace from drowning was the most important thing, but everything else would have to be taken care of too. Hopefully, the dowager empress and the second prince would stay away during that time.

Blanche let out a sigh and stared at the floor.

“Is something wrong?” A voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

Blanche sighed again and responded. “I still need to buy a gift for Theo's birthday. I have no idea what to get though. And the banquet will be exhausting as well. We definitely need to-” She lifted her gaze and cut herself off when she made eye contact with Madeleine. She glanced over her shoulder and realized that Stella wasn't walking next to her but behind her now. She turned back to the woman next to her and felt how blood was rushing to her cheeks. “I'm sorry... I thought that my maid...” She didn't even finish that sentence and swallowed the rest of the words.

Madeleine had never liked her, and now Blanche that had addressed the emperor with his nickname in front of her, the other woman would probably get angry.

But surprisingly, Madeleine just shook her head. “It's alright. I should have warned you.” She was silent for a moment before resuming in a lower volume. “Say, about my training here... Could you possibly not mention that?”

Blanche was taken aback by that question and the other woman's weak voice. Seemingly, this matter was really important to Madeline. “If you don't want that, I won't speak about it. Are your friends... I mean... Are Her Majesty and Lady Ravillot not aware of that?”

“No, they know. Along with my sister and His Majesty, they are the only ones. But Her Grace and Lady Lemares aren't aware of it. And I would like to keep it this way.” Madeleine began kneading her fingers. “Those two are rather...conservative, so they will probably be upset if they find out. They would tell me to stop and might even inform my father. So, would you please...”

Blanche gave her a soothing smile. “Don't worry. My lips are sealed shut.”

Madeleine seemed to be startled by that. She voiced a quiet “Thank you” before averting her eyes. This might have been the first time that they had truly talked about something aside from Seraphina, and it had been going well. That was a good sign, wasn't it?

They just finished that conversation just in time before reaching the terrace.

As everyone arrived, Seraphina gestured to the table, which was full of steaming pots and plates with countless small snacks. “Please take a seat. I took the liberty to store the gifts over there. If you wish to hand over yours later, feel free to place them on that table too.”

The women nodded and instructed their servants to put down the boxes there before sitting down. Sophia sat next to her husband and asked a maid to place the cradle between them so that they could lay Grace down. All other women took a seat too so that only one chair was left for Blanche.

The concubine didn't know whether to be content with this place or not. On the one hand, she was next to Sophia, but at the same time, she would sit next to the empress as well. It wasn't like she had a choice though. She sat down while paying attention to not bump into the table and not scrape her chair across the floor. When she looked around once again after, she decided that her spot wasn't the best for sure. While she didn't have to see Seraphina's aloof expression constantly, she was forced to look into Evelyn's face, which made her nauseous enough. But she would have to endure that for the time being.

To be honest, Sophia's husband looked much more uncomfortable than the concubine felt. To him, it was probably strange to not only sit at a table with six women that had quite complicated relationships but also to know that one of them was the empress, who had invited her husband's mistress for some reason.

Blanche couldn't blame him for that. She felt a bit bad for him, but there was nothing she could do when she had to focus on herself. For now, she would just drink some tea and speak when spoken to. That shouldn't be an issue, even when she sometimes felt like Seraphina was watching her a bit too closely. What was so interesting when Blanche just tried to be graceful? Was she doing such a bad job? She wasn't sure, but she hoped that she could show that she would stay in line during the whole party.

The first few minutes were rather quiet with only Sophia trying to keep up a conversation, but slowly, the others began to chime in. The concubine gave her best to ignore that Evelyn's voice made her want to gag. She just nibbled on a cookie while trying to estimate whether it would be bad for her to take one or two, or three for that matter, more of those. They were delicious.

At that moment, Sophia addressed her, which made Blanche hurry to choke down the crumbs in her mouth.

Sophia didn't notice and just continued as her expression become a bit grimmer. “We didn't hear much about it, but there were some rumors about an attack on His Majesty. Seraphina wasn't told anything either. She said that you were present thought. Would you mind telling us what happened?”

It was pretty weird that the empress hadn't been informed properly. Wasn't she one of the most likely goals? She should know everything to help her keep her guard up.

Blanche lowered her hand and put her cookie onto a plate as she fought to keep the unpleasant feeling in her stomach from showing on her face. She didn't want to be reminded of that event. It had been a little over two weeks, and she was finally able to ban thoughts of her lover being in serious danger from her mind. But whenever she remembered that day, the image of that man being killed right in front of her appeared in front of her inner eye. Even though she didn't have any sympathy for that person, she still hadn't liked seeing a corpse. But not replying now would make her feel bad. So, she would try to keep it as vague as possible.

The concubine swallowed before replying. “We had a picnic in the forest, and suddenly, the knights were quiet. Then a few unknown men appeared and attacked us. Some guards were knocked out, but aside from that, nobody was hurt on our side. The attackers were rendered immobile immediately. I could be a bit more specific, but I doubt that this would be appropriate for this party. It would only dampen the mood, and one isn't supposed to talk about unpleasant matters during a baby party, right?” A saying in Artias stated that inviting death to an event that was celebrating a new life was dangerous, and Blanche wouldn't evoke anything by ignoring that.

Sophia looked downcast at that. “Right. That this happened is horrible.” She was silent for a moment. “I apologize for bringing it up. I should not have reminded you of that. I should have thought about-” She stopped in the middle of her sentence when a small sob sounded from under the table. She moved her chair back to bow down to the cradle and picked her daughter up. “Look, our little angel woke up.” Her husband propped a few pillows on her lap so that she could sit her baby on top of it.

Grace immediately stopped crying. Apparently, she was content being close to her mother and watched the people around her with wide eyes. Blanche couldn't help grinning at that adorable display. The little girl didn't have to do anything to be cute enough to make her heart melt.

Sophia immediately noticed what the other woman was thinking and turned to the concubine with an expectant look in her eyes. “Do you want to hold her again? She's much bigger now, but she is still a gentle, little baby. She likes to meet new people, and seemingly, she enjoys the attention too.”

Blanche was about to refuse as soon as the countess began. After all, it would be strange for her to be allowed to take Grace into her arms before anyone from Sophia's family did it. But she didn't dare to do that. One look at the little girl, who watched the concubine with an open mouth and wide eyes, was enough to make her waver. Babies were always so curious, and seeing that made it impossible for Blanche not to want to hold this adorable creature. “Alright. She is about four months old now, isn't she? She can keep up her head by herself, right?”

Sophia nodded happily and carefully raised her daughter into the air. “She is such a cute and clever girl. Sometimes, I feel like she is more of an angel than a human.” She paused for a few seconds and continued with a high-pitched voice. “It's because you're so adorable that Mama and Papa can't deny any of your wishes. You'll end up being spoiled by us.” She moved the baby to her face and pressed a kiss onto the girl's forehead.

This made Grace smile, and when her mother planted two more kisses on her chubby cheeks, she began giggling.

Blanche thought that her heart might not be able to take any more cuteness after that. But then Sophia lifted the girl over to her, and she carefully took the baby into her arms.

Grace's expression became one of curiosity again. She didn't listen to her mother's explanation of this being a person she had met a long time ago and just stared at the stranger that was holding her.

This made Blanche a bit nervous. Hopefully, the baby wouldn't begin to cry now, or she would feel bad for the next few weeks. She had used to be good at taking care of toddlers, but her siblings' birth had been over fourteen years ago. She pushed that thought away to avoid ruining her mood and focused on the baby. “Hello, Grace. It's nice to meet you. You've truly grown a lot in four months.”

It took about five seconds before the girl reacted, which caused the concubine to be on edge. But obviously, Grace hadn't listened to the unknown woman. Her hand lunged forward, and she grabbed a strand of Blanche's hair before pulling it. While she still wasn't strong, she used significantly more energy in contrast to last time so that the concubine actually felt the tug with a little sting.

“Grace, no!” Sophia immediately reached over to free the lock from her daughter's grasp, but the girl was surprisingly insistent. “Please, let go. My sweet angel. You are going to hurt Lady Blanche. You already did this last time, but you weren't so strong then. Come on, be good for Mama.”

The baby just stared at the curl of her in her hand as if it was the most serious aspect of her life and refused to loosen her hold, even when her mother asked to do so multiple times. Instead of obeying, she brought the strand to her face, and it disappeared in her mouth with a pop.

That made a few people giggle while some others were a bit more uneasy with it. Blanche herself wasn't too upset because of this though.