Blanche wasn't really certain whether ignoring the issue of the royal heir for now was fine, but her head already hurt. She wanted to deal with all of this later. She wiped over her face to wake herself up and forced herself to smile at her servant. “Thank you. You truly know exactly what to say. I still worry, but I won't wreck myself because of this. Let's focus on something else. Do you want to drink some tea with me?”
Stella gave her a gentle smile and nodded. “Of course, My Lady. I will go fetch something from the kitchen. Do you have a preference?”
“Surprise me. I'm open to something new as long as it's fruit tea.”
The maid stood up and moved towards the door, where she stopped and turned around once more. “I'll be back in a minute. Distract yourself in the meantime.”
Blanche smiled at her, but as soon as the door closed, her face fell. She buried her face in her hands and breathed out shakily. Why was her situation this complicated? There were two choices, but both were horrible and would make her and Theodore suffer or threaten his political power.
How was she supposed to make a decision? Either way, she would feel awful. She could take the easy way and say that this was the emperor's choice, but while that was true, it didn't free her from any responsibility. She was too indecisive. Just seconds before, she had made the conviction of not thinking about it, but she couldn't help herself. When she was alone, her mind wandered to this no matter what she did. Hopefully, Stella would be back soon.
The concubine pulled her knees to her chest and rested her forehead on her legs. This position was a little calming, but she still returned to her original one quickly. Her maid would immediately see that something was wrong otherwise. Blanche glanced at the clock and sighed upon noticing that it was three o'clock in the afternoon. There was still some time before Theodore would come back unless he surprised her by returning early. To be honest, she hoped for the second option. She needed his presence now. Her stomach made her feel sick, and all her brain could do was cause her to want to hide under her blanket to avoid reality. She had no desire to continue like this, and only her lover's hugs would allow her to feel better.
Time passed by so slowly that she almost wanted to close her eyes to skip until the moment at which Stella returned. Just when she was about to lie down on the sofa, the door opened.
Her maid stepped inside while balancing a tray and placed it on the table in front of her mistress. “I truly lost stamina because you stayed with His Majesty. At his place, I never need to carry anything and basically just stand around to attend to you. Now that I had to prepare something myself again, I was extremely taken aback by how hard it suddenly became.” Stella grinned at the other woman and gestured to the tea. “I had some help, but there it is. Seemingly, this was a new flavor that Her Majesty ordered from the south. She appears to be quite fond of it, but no one hesitated to give me a portion when I asked. As you can see, or rather hear, you are known to be His Majesty's favorite. No one will deny you anything if you ask for it. It has advantages being your maid. I get everything just by saying that it's for you. I bet I could order full-course meals for me without anyone noticing.”
Blanche greeted the servant with a smile. It wasn't as forced as she had thought that it might be, possibly due to her maid's happiness, which made her content as well. “You have my permission to try this if you'd like to. You already got two portions of the tea, right?”
Stella nodded and sat down next to her mistress. “I did. One of them is one of lesser quality and another flavor though. They were already worried about giving you one of Her Majesty's personal favorites, so they compensated me with something else. You can try a cup of this tea too if you want to. But I would recommend you start with the good one.” She picked up a cup and held it towards her mistress while being careful not to spill any of the liquid.
Blanche took it into her hands and looked into the container. She was pleasantly surprised by the beautiful violet tone of the tea. She sniffled when the steam hit her nose and let out a noise of awe. “It looks gorgeous, and it smells great too. Thank you for getting me this.”
Stella grinned and grabbed her own cup. “I was glad to do it. I will only get the best things for My Lady. Then let's find out whether Her Majesty has a taste that is similar to you. I would like to know. After all, she praised this tea, so it seems to be heavenly.”
Blanche eagerly nodded and lifted the cup to her face. She paused for a moment and stared at the liquid once more.
Somehow, it seemed familiar to her.
Not just the appearance but also the flowery smell. Still, she had no idea where she might have seen such a purplish tea. Maybe drinking it would help her memory a bit. She carefully took a sip of the liquid and enjoyed the sweet fruity flavor that ran down her throat and left a slight aftertaste. For some reason, it felt a bit sticky in the back of her mouth, so she assumed that there had been some honey inside to sweeten it. That wouldn't have been needed at all. The tea was already quite sweet. It was almost too sweet for Blanche, but she wouldn't admit that when her maid had probably just mistakenly put in too much honey.
“This is delicious, Stella. Your instinct is working perfectly again.” The concubine drank another sip of her tea before deciding to empty the whole cup.
Stella grinned at her and sipped her own drink before refilling her mistress' cup. “Hopefully not. Because I was uncertain whether I should truly take this tea the whole time. Luckily, it seems to have been the right decision though.”
Blanche made eye contact with her servant. “What do you mean?”
Stella frowned and responded with a quieter volume. “Well, I didn't like the tea at first. The longer I looked at it, the more delicious it smelled, so I couldn't help it. But at first, I wanted to take something else.”
The concubine chuckled and lowered her gaze to catch a glimpse of the violet liquid again. “It does have a strange color. But it's tasty, and that is all that matters.” She took another sip, and the sweetness filled her mouth again, but this time, the aftertaste was even stronger so that she had to cough. She couldn't hide it anymore after all. “It's very sweet though. Even for me, this is-” She interrupted herself as she said that and froze. Wait. That made no sense. “This is Her Majesty's favorite flavor?”
Stella nodded. “Yes. She only recently tried it, but she has it almost every day.”
That was all wrong.
Blanche was the one that adored sugary things but didn't like bitter ones. Seraphina, on the other hand, was fine with sweet flavors but favored ones that weren't as sugary. That was why unsweetened chamomile tea would be the best choice when it came to calming her down. If that was the case, then why would the empress like such overly sweet drinks? Didn't she like green tea the most? This drink was the polar opposite of that.
The concubine lowered her cup and stared at the liquid. Where had she seen a violet tea in the past? One that smelled sweet, tasted sugary and clung to her throat like honey? That something like this was supposed to be favored by Seraphina didn't seem normal. It was out of character for the heroine.
Like a switch had been flipped, the memories came flowing back to Blanche.
She knew that the empress had drunk something that had been described like this once. That had been a scene in the novel. Seraphina had refused to drink more of the tea because it was too sweet. Then she had stood up and wished to take a walk, only to feel dizzy. She had stumbled forward a few steps and then collapsed, at least her maids had described it that way.
The one who had brought the empress this tea was Kate. The maid that was later revealed to have put a strange liquid into the tea for money without knowing that she was used for an assassination attempt. The taste of the poison was described as overly sweet, and the medicine had been called sticky too. Apparently, it also tinted the liquid in a bluish tone so that a normally red tea would seem violet.
Oh.
The concubine had completely forgotten about Kate. That maid should only have tried to harm Seraphina, right? Why would she poison anyone else now?
Blanche put the cup onto the table with way too much force so that the tea ran over the sides, which made her servant flinch.
“No...”
“My Lady?”
“Stella, who helped you prepare this?” The concubine felt like even voicing this was hard, and her speech sounded like it was slightly slurred to her.
Her maid blinked at her a couple of times before hurriedly replying. “Her Majesty's maid. I forgot her name. The one that always looks uncomfortable and never glares at you.”
Blanche's stomach churned, and she didn't know whether it was out of fear or because of the liquid she had swallowed. Had Kate truly put this into her drink?
There was no way that someone had hired a maid for so much money to get rid of a powerless concubine.
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
Right?
But this tea was too similar to the one that had been in the book. This couldn't be a coincidence. Had someone truly poisoned her? Slowly but surely, the panic was setting in, and Blanche spoke up. “Get the royal doctor.”
Stella stared at her wide eyes. “What? What's wrong?”
Blanche moved her head to face her maid, and it felt like the world around her was spinning. This wasn't good. “Poison. Get the doctor now. Arrest Kate.” She barely managed to press this out before a wave of dizziness hit her. She swayed despite sitting on the sofa and touching the backrest with her hand.
Luckily, Stella had understood her. She jumped to her feet and let her own cup crash to the ground before sprinting out.
Barely a few seconds passed before a figure slipped into the room.
The concubine wasn't able to recognize them since her sight began to become blurry. What kind of poison could work this fast? She needed to get this out of her system immediately.
The other person keeled by her side and grabbed her shoulder. “Lady Blanche, can you hear me? Did you ingest poison in some way?” This was definitely Owen. That was good.
Even though Blanche hated asking this of him, he was better than a stranger. She tried to point to her mouth, but she barely managed to coordinate her movements, and her head slouched to the side. “Throw...up.” She didn't know whether he had been able to comprehend that, but she couldn't speak any clearer when her tongue was refusing to follow her instructions. “Get it out.” Hopefully, he would understand her intentions. If this poison stayed inside her body, it would only cause more damage. Seraphina had survived this attack but only because she had drunk one small sip. Blanche had consumed at least four times as much. She couldn't trust her luck as the heroine to have something save her. She needed to get rid of this poison. “Out...”
Luckily, Owen appeared to have understood. He cupped her chin to look into her face, but she barely managed to interpret what his expression meant. “I apologize for this, Lady Blanche. Please try to relax.” He quickly shifted her position so that it almost felt like he hugged her from behind while he lifted her body up.
She hadn't known what to expect, but she hadn't braced herself for a punch into her stomach.
Blanche had probably let out a very pathetic gurgle as soon as the pain set in, and she writhed and doubled over. She wasn't sure about anything else though. She believed that her plan had worked, but the world around her faded to black before she could confirm it.
The only thing on her mind when she fell forward was that she wanted to see Theodore again. Not only him but also her friends and people like Sophia or Noah. There was so much more that she wanted to do before her death, like seeing old friends again. This couldn't be it.
She couldn't leave her lover alone like this.
She needed to wake up again.
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The light was glaring and made her already bursting head pulsate. Her throat felt like she had drunken acid as well, and her stomach ached like she hadn't eaten for days. She still wanted to throw up. The world around her was spinning despite the platform below her not moving at all. Different parts of her body tingled while it became awfully hot around her.
All of this was horrible, but her headache was definitely the worst thing of all of this. It felt like someone was crushing her skull with unimaginable force and wouldn't stop until they succeeded.
Blanche let out a whimper. “It hurts...” She just wanted to take a knife and cut out whatever part of her brain was paining her like this. Was she going to die again? She didn't want to die. Everything hurt so much.
Why wasn't her lover here?
“Theo...”
What had happened to her? Why did her head hurt this much? She couldn't even distract herself to make it any better.
“Hurts...”
Only then, she realized that someone was talking to her. “I'm right here next to you. It will be fine. You only need to hold on a while longer. My angel, please relax.” This was Theodore.
Blanche still felt like she would be drawn into her inevitable death by this pain, but he made it a bit better. “Theo...”
She wanted him to hug her. Why wasn't he hugging her? He should hug her once more if she was about to die.
She whined again. “Theo...”
Before she could complain again, her lover moved and something changed. Her forehead wasn't hot anymore but icy and wet. Streaks of pain shot through her head, and she opened her mouth to let out another mewl. But just in time, the ache lessened and turned into a faded pounding that wasn't pleasant but manageable.
A hand grabbed hers tightly, and she felt a pair of lips kissing her prickly skin. “It's almost over. Please hold on for one more time. The doctor will make the pain go away.” Theodore sounded like he was crying.
That made her want to tear up too, but it was too late for that. Her whole face was already sticky with what she assumed to be the leftovers of her tears that had dried over the course of a few hours. It was better now, but she didn't want that pain to ever come back again.
Footsteps shuffled around the bed. There were at least three other people there as well. One of them touched her neck with two cold fingers that almost seemed too icy to belong to a healthy person. But she assumed that she was just way too warm to be able to make that difference.
Blanche got used to that feeling quickly, and everything around her seemed to fade away. Was she falling asleep? Hopefully, this would be over when she awoke the next time. She had to wake up again.
Those people next to her started speaking, but she was too lazy to listen to them, and their voices dampened in the distance. It was exhausting to fight to stay conscious, and she had no desire to try this, nor did she have the necessary energy.
Only when Theodore replied to them, she fought to listen. “Please open your mouth. You will get medicine against the pain.” He squeezed her hand, even though she didn't need any further encouragement. If it made that ache go away, she would swallow everything.
Moving her jaw was harder than she had thought it to be, but she managed to part her lips halfway.
Only then did Theodore pat her head. “Good. You can rest now.” He talked to her in a soft whisper that was enough to make her sleepy.
She was glad to be able to close her eyes now, but she was worried about her lover. He was upset because of her, right? He sounded so vulnerable and hurt. So different from her memories of her past death. When he tried to let go of her hand, she used her last bit of strength to squeeze back.
Immediately, he took her hand in between his and pressed kisses onto her skin.
She wanted to tell him that she loved him again since those were the words she wanted to leave behind more than anything else, but her energy wasn't sufficient for that. So, she just drifted away in a dark, inevitable sleep.
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Blanche was walking through the corridors of the palace. It didn't look quite right, her vision seeming to blur at the edges and sometimes shifting as if she had skipped a few seconds. Everything was almost colorless around her so that she barely even recognized the familiar locations. Not that her brain really allowed her to make out much. She seemed to be hazy most of the time, barely being able to keep her consciousness.
Yet, the thing that stood out most was her aching neck. It hurt so much that she felt like she had drunken acid. Cradling her neck didn't help much though. It just kept hurting.
Maybe that was why she automatically wandered around to find help. Her barely conscious state didn't allow her to consider any other option but to search for her lover. Her feet, which almost felt numb like the rest of her body aside from her neck, carried her forward. She didn't assume that anyone on her way would assist, and that held true. None of the servants and maids even addressed her or glanced in her direction. They just talked to one another, mostly seriously without a hint of the usual joy, as they moved around to do their thing.
Blanche passed by them without even trying to speak. She didn't pay attention to anyone, much like they didn't pay attention to her. She just walked toward her destination slowly. Her pace made it hard to be content, but she persistently resumed, so she had to arrive at her goal soon. And at some point, Blanche did. She reached the second floor and found the emperor's office. Her vision blurred again, and as she looked up, she was already in the room. She slowly let her gaze wander.
The room was like she remembered, the only difference being that it was almost empty. The only two people here were fully quiet and didn't move, so they barely seemed to fill the location. Blanche couldn't bring herself to focus on them, so she only recognized Leon, who sat at the emperor's desk and went through document after document, after a minute. He didn't look good. The bitter expression on his face and the dark rings under his eyes gave that away, especially as he opened a drawer, found a flask of some sort and just slammed the drawer shut again before cursing. Owen, who seemed to be the other man in the room, didn't respond. Instead, he merely continued to stare at the book in front of him as if he had trouble reading. A candle sat next to him and illuminated his face along with his glassy eye and the eye patch on the other side.
Blanche didn't talk to either of them. They didn't acknowledge her with even the slightest gesture either. She didn't want to see them anyway, so this was all she had needed to do. She turned without questioning it. She searched for her lover elsewhere.
This time, she blinked for a bit longer. When she looked around again, she found that she was outside. As she took in her surroundings, she could see trees all around her along with the meadow she stood on. This was a glade. She assumed that it was one that belonged to the royal estate, but that didn't even matter. Her numb feet carried her forward again.
Purple flowers were spread everywhere. As if those functioned as bait, dozens of purple butterflies flew all around them. She couldn't smell anything, but she assumed that the air had to be full of a sweet fragrance that lured in those butterflies. She found them pretty, but they didn't ease the pain of her neck.
Blanche still stepped forward. It was almost like her field of view was much smaller than normal since she didn't take in much until she stood directly in front of the center of the glade. She was greeted by a white stone with carefully engraved letters. She didn't bother reading what it said, but she could imagine.
This was a grave. The grave of a person that might not have been hated by all they had met.
The grave had numerous candles and flowers on it. Blanche could count at least four bouquets among some letters, random jewelry and a plate of macarons that was almost fully hidden by the flower garland that had been wrapped around the stone. The flowers seemed fresh, like they had just been replaced an hour ago. Maybe they had.
The grass right in front of the grave was damaged, barely existent to the point at which it was mostly just soil. Had someone stood there often? It wouldn't be surprising. This place was a good location to grieve. It was quiet and gave everyone the distance from others they would need in a weak moment.
The person that was here didn't seem to grieve though.
Blanche didn't know who it was. She couldn't look at her directly, maybe out of spite since she was once again not seen either. She only made out that it was a woman in a typical dress for a noble lady. This didn't tell her much, and it wasn't important enough for her to wonder.
That woman stood in front of the grave right now, but she didn't say her goodbyes. Instead, she yelled. She vented a lot of pent-up frustration, so Blanche wasn't even mad about her disrespecting a dead person. But even this woman's anger seemed to end at some point. “All of this is your fault. You committed treason. If it hadn't been for you, if you had just-” She froze in the middle of that sentence. She began sobbing a moment later and fell to her knees. She just cried after. Only a single sentence left her mouth anymore. “I'm sorry.”
Blanche still didn't look at the woman. She didn't care enough. Her neck hurt so much, and she wanted to see her lover. That was all she thought about. She didn't even have a sliver of sympathy for this woman who cried here. Still, she stayed right there next to the grave as if she was waiting for someone.
That someone came not too late after.
A person stepped onto the glade, but they didn't announce themselves. “What are you doing here?” The voice didn't match the previous atmosphere in the slightest. The woman had been furious before crying, but this person carried the coldness of a century of ice in them. Their words cut through the silence like a freshly sharpened sword that was meant to kill without resistance.
The woman stood up immediately, maybe out of a reflex. As she whirled around, her face was blurred, but she almost looked scared. She might have realized that she was at the wrong spot.
The someone that had arrived did not want her here.
Blanche turned her head to find out who this was, but at that very second, it was like the sun disappeared. Everything was painted black as she felt like the world faded around her. She fell without anything offering her protection. The only thing she could make out was the faint smell of grass that mixed with something metallic as her neck burned.