“Theo, do you have a suspect already?”

“Claude Vasquez.”

Blanche whipped her head around to Theodore, only to become dizzy because of this. She swayed a bit, which made her lover stabilize her.

Theodore looked at her with a frown and spoke when she had managed to regain her balance. “Don't move so quickly. You need to give your body time.”

She knew that, but right now, she was too startled by him already having a clue about whom the perpetrator might be. “How did you know that?”

Theodore's frown stayed on his face. He was quiet for a moment too long before he replied. “We interrogated that maid for a very long time. After some...encouragement, she told us that the person handing her the letter was a specific servant. I knew that man since he sometimes rode in the carriage with Duke Vasquez. Along with the fact that Duke Vasquez insulted you and holds a grudge against you now, this might be enough of a clue to find out that he is responsible. None of that will be enough to show in front of a court though. He would just pin all the blame on the servant and act like the victim. So, we decided to keep this a secret for now.” The emperor's expression darkened as he took her hand and planted a kiss on it. “But I won't let him get away with this. Believe me. I will crush him. Until now, I thought that he would still hold back as long as I am the emperor, but it seems like I underestimated his recklessness. He should know that I won't forgive him and won't rest until he gets his punishment.”

The way that he said this didn't leave any doubts about his sincerity. He was definitely full of anger and would be happy to make Duke Vasquez pay. But the fact that they both shared the understanding of who was responsible relieved Blanche a bit. Now she didn't have to argue with him to convince him that that family might be a threat.

Still, one thing baffled her. “I might not know a lot about politics and intrigues...but isn't this really sloppy?” She turned her body around to her lover and barely managed to do that until he helped her. “I mean, he used his own servant. Everyone knows that he might be connected to the crime then. And why did he do it anyway? Killing me might satisfy his grudge, but it won't get him any other advantage. If I got seriously hurt, you surely wouldn't just drop the trial and let him get away. I don't understand his reasoning.” Poisoning someone so directly was far too obvious anyway. Wouldn't a real schemer hide this more?

Theodore put his hand against her cheek and met her gaze with a completely serious expression. “I am already angry enough. If you had suffered any more than this, I would already have burned down his house with him still being inside. I didn't believe that he would get this self-assured just because the dowager empress is back, but he seems to forget that I can play dirty too. I won't use as lax instruments as last time. There will be a real trial by the end of this, and if that happens, there will be enough evidence to get rid of all of them. No matter whether they offer that to me or whether I have to make sure that it exists. I'm sick of acting nice while they try to hurt the person that I love.” He stroked over her skin and held her hand with his other one. He intertwined their fingers and stared into her eyes as if he could read her mind. “I don't want to use violence, but the point where I change my stance is getting awfully close. I won't be able to take revenge now without making myself known as a dictator, but I promise you that this will not remain without consequences. Have a little patience, and I will pay it back to them tenfold.” She didn't doubt him for one second.

Blanche gently stroked her thumb over his skin. “But don't focus on that. I'd rather have you keep your reputation clean instead of them calling you a tyrant. Our safety is more important than revenge. We need to make sure that they won't find a way of getting to us ever again after this.”

“Don't worry about this. I already increased the security measures regarding the ones controlling our servants' loyalty. In addition, I also took some steps to prevent anything that we don't like in our food. From now on, your meals and drinks will be treated like mine. Only a very limited amount of people may prepare them, and they may never lose sight of your plates and cup. There will be taste testers and specific examinations to make sure that there won't be any poison inside too.”

Blanche blinked at that. It was a logical way to prevent anything from happening to her, but at the same time, it was an awfully brazen step. After all, this meant that her meals would be treated with the same care as the ones of a member of the royal family. There was no chance that this wouldn't cause rumors. But to be honest, she couldn't bring herself to care.

This gossip couldn't kill her, directly at least, but poison surely could. And she didn't want to die.

Before this, she had thought that she wouldn't be targeted so directly in front of Theodore, but now there had already been two incidents in which she had been threatened in some way. She wouldn't continue to believe that she was relatively safe. As long as she was by Theodore's side, she would be his enemies' opponent. She had to expect that they would try to harm her, even if they only wanted to signal her to stay out of this. Of course, she had no intention of complying with their demands. She would support her lover until the very end. So, she was in danger and needed to accept a few rumors if that saved her life.

“Good. Is there anything that I need to pay special attention to?”

“No, the kitchen staff will take care of everything. The only thing that you have to keep in mind is that others might offer you food too, but you have to decline. People with bad intentions can't just win by asking you to try a piece of salmon.”

Blanche nodded to herself. “I might forget about that sometimes, but I will be careful.” In reality, she doubted that she would forget this. The shock of realizing that there was poison in her tea still made her shiver whenever she thought about it. She would probably never be able to drink violet liquids again. The smell and taste of that tea and poison mixture still filled her mouth when she imagined its appearance, which caused her to almost gag.

No, she wouldn't consume anything remotely similar to that drink ever again. Hopefully, Stella wouldn't prepare her something that would remind her of that tea.

This thought made Blanche lift her gaze to her lover again. “Wait... Can Stella still make meals for me? I just asked her to boil some tea. I don't want her to do that for no reason.”

Theodore gently ran his fingers through her hair and massaged her scalp in a way that made her forget about the sticky poison in her throat. “She can. I didn't trust her in the beginning, but she proved that she is loyal a few times now. Whenever you were in danger or sick, she showed how worried she was. She can't be such a good actress, I would have noticed. While you were unconscious, she even asked me to punish her because she allowed that maid to help her. Apparently, she had a bad feeling and ignored it because the other woman was nice. She felt awful for that.”

The concubine immediately tensed at that. “You didn't punish her with anything, did you? It wasn't Stella's fault.” For some reason, she already imagined the worst thing when it came to Stella. She didn't doubt that her maid could become depressed if she was ever blamed for something that had happened to her mistress.

Her lover stroked over her hair in a manner that calmed her down a bit so that she allowed herself to relax again. He spoke up in a soft voice. “She insisted on a punishment, so I gave her one. I asked her to devote her full loyalty to you, no matter what happens. She will need to give her best to serve you in the future and do whatever that demands of her.”

Blanche had already begun to panic at those first words and slowly calmed down as she heard the rest. That wasn't truly a punishment, but it might be enough to keep Stella from blaming herself for this. Her maid was really too kind. Still, Blanche's stomach churned with unease as she imagined her maid's tearful expression while she said that. “She agreed immediately, didn't she?”

“Of course, she did. She swore on her life before I could even finish my instructions. I added another paragraph, but she didn't mind that at all. This time, there is no way that her word will be-” A knock sounded from the door, and Theodore grabbed the blanket to wrap it around his lover's body. “This will be our breakfast. We should cover you up for that. No one here deserves to see you in your nightgown.”

Blanche nodded and leaned against him as she tried to ban her worries about Stella to the back of her mind. Her maid was fine now, so she didn't have to be so on edge. “I'm hungry, so this is good. Hopefully, someone accidentally brought salmon.”

Her lover chuckled and ran his fingers through her hair to straighten it. “Don't rely on that. That might happen for dinner, but there is no way that you will eat greasy fish upon having an empty stomach. You will have to consume some other food first.” She knew that he was right, so she didn't complain and just looked forward to her salmon in the evening.

The emperor allowed the servants to come in, and they placed many dishes on small trays on a cart, which they left next to the bed. The concubine might have been disappointed about not getting fish but in the end, this food was heavenly too. As always, the chefs had outdone themselves, and since she was hungry after not eating for two days, she devoured plate after plate.

The only one forcing her to slow down was Theodore. But this only caused her to eat slower and not less. By the time she was finished, it was noon. Normally, she would feel bad about that, but she was sick, so she didn't care much.

The rest of the day would consist of her staying in bed and cuddling with her lover anyway. So, she definitely didn't have to hurry. She didn't put in the effort of dressing herself and just stayed in her nightgown. The only thing she did was brush her teeth, comb her hair and wash a bit. However, she did none of that herself, and Theodore was the one taking care of it for her.

Blanche allowed herself to be completely lazy for once and let him pamper her. Especially having him brush her hair was wonderful. Since she had writhed in bed for the last days, her strands were full of knots, so he had to use at least an hour to untangle everything. But he was as gentle as always and pressed kisses onto her neck while massaging her scalp until her skin felt tingly. It was a heavenly feeling, and she almost fell asleep during that.

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Aside from enjoying how her lover took care of her, she only waited for the doctor to examine her and chatted with Stella and told her that she wasn't angry at least a thousand times. The maid cried a lot and promised to rely on her instinct more from now on while swearing that she would protect her mistress in the future.

Blanche was thankful for so much loyalty but also relieved when Stella finally stopped sobbing. She still took her time to cheer her up for much longer, just to get that downcast expression that made Blanche way too tense off Stella's face. She was already thinking about a way to distract her maid while also doing something with Theodore when she remembered that she hadn't played chess in a long time. Just when she opened her mouth to propose this, someone knocked on the door. The concubine turned her head to her lover and looked at him with a questioning gaze. “Are you expecting anyone?”

The emperor stared at the door and shook his head. “I don't remember anyone that-” His expression darkened. “Oh, there might be a person that wants to speak to you. I don't think that I will let them in though.” Before she could ask whom he was referring to, he raised his voice. “Owen, you can come in.”

The door opened, and the knight stepped inside. Owen closed the door behind his body and bowed. “Her Majesty is here with Lady Ravillot. They wish to see Lady Blanche.”

The concubine's eyes widened as she glanced at Theodore, who seemed completely unaffected by the news. She watched him for a moment before voicing her thoughts. “You don't appear to be surprised.”

Her lover shook his head. He leaned against the head part of the bed and gently put his hand on top of hers. “I expected her to show up. That she would bring her guest with her is more surprising, but Lady Ravillot is surely the more pleasant person of the two of them. I would favor sending them away, but I assume that you want to let them in, right?”

“Of course. Sophia is really nice, and I can't ignore the empress. Besides, you're here. Nothing bad can happen. I don't have to be scared, so why would I ignore them?”

Theodore gave her a soft smile. “It's your decision. I won't complain. But I won't move away only because they enter.”

Blanche scanned his posture and inwardly asked herself whether this was a good decision. After all, Theodore was sitting in her bed, and they were obviously cuddling with each other. Letting his wife in now was definitely not the wisest or most considerate choice. Blanche bit her lips and pondered about this for a moment but didn't come to a conclusion. Maybe she would just leave that decision to her guests. “Owen, you can tell them that they may come. But right now, I am not in the most presentable state, so if they wish to enter anyway, I would ask them to be kind enough to ignore it. After all, I'm still sick.”

Owen nodded and instantly left the room. It only took a few seconds before the door opened again.

Seraphina and Sophia came inside and approached the bed. The empress' forehead was wrinkled with a deep frown while her sister looked at Blanche with obvious worry.

Only now, the concubine considered that she might not have the same appearance as always. It might be very obvious that she was sick. After all, she felt exhausted, and thus, it was likely that this was visible from the outside as well. Blanche tried to hide this at least a little and bowed her head to the empress when Sophia curtsied to Theodore. But she didn't get far.

Her lover immediately stopped her. “Don't. You still need to rest. Don't over-exhaust your sense of balance, or you might get dizzy again.” She doubted that it was that bad, but she listened to him anyway.

Seraphina spoke up before the concubine could think about voicing an apology for the state she was in. “It is alright. There is no need for formalities when you are confined to the bed. How are you feeling?”

Blanche gave her best to show a convincing smile. “Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I am well if you consider the circumstances. I'm a bit dizzy sometimes if I move too quickly, and I'm weak. I can barely lift my arms by myself, but aside from that, I can't complain. Are you in good health?”

The empress' frown only deepened. “I doubt that it is necessary for you to worry about others when you are the one that was harmed.” She turned to Theodore. “Will there be any lasting damages, or will she be fine after a few days of recovery?”

The emperor replied with a grim expression. “She will recover fully. But only because she noticed what was happening and got rid of the poison in time.”

The empress faced Blanche again. She clenched her jaw. Her usually stoic facade was barely existent and revealed the bitterness she was feeling at this moment. For a few seconds, everyone was silent before Seraphina slowly lowered her head. The concubine stared at that in irritation while the other woman began to speak. “I apologize. You specifically warned me about that person, but I was too self-assured to believe you. I thought that I had known her for too long to misjudge her. But in the end, I was wrong, and the one that suffered from the consequences was you. I sincerely apologize from the bottom of my heart.”

That much was obvious from Seraphina's pained expression and her voice. Despite her usual aloof mask, the heroine wasn't a heartless person. This had been more clear in the novel in which she had even faced the villainess in prison to give her an explanation of her reasoning after all that had happened, even if she hadn't been apologetic then at all. In general, she was more than capable of acknowledging her mistakes and apologizing if she deemed it to be necessary. If.

This display of her regret was definitely genuine at the moment. The only problem with that, apart from her not being at fault for not believing the baseless accusations of a person that had troubled her for a whole year, was that she was the empress. The most powerful woman in the nation apologizing was conflicting already, but her bowing her head to anyone else was just plain wrong.

Blanche almost frowned as she gave her best to hide how she had tensed. How was she supposed to react to this? Somehow, this apology didn't help her much. The issue had happened already anyway, and in this case, the empress' judgment had actually made sense. Blanche was a bit lost. “Your Majesty, that's not necessary. Your maid was the one that poisoned me, so she is to blame.” As long as the real perpetrator was punished, Blanche didn't mind.

Thankfully, the empress raised her head again and locked her gaze with the concubine's. “But I ignored well-meant advice. If this had caused damage to me, I could have told myself that it was my own fault and moved on. But since another person suffered because of my misjudgment, it is only appropriate for me to apologize. Unfortunately, even this will not undo what happened. I may not be able to make up for ignoring your words, but I can promise that I will remember the other names you mentioned. But more importantly, I will support this investigation with everything that is in my power. While that maid was already punished, there is no doubt that she was only hired by someone with more influence. No one dares to plot an assassination within the royal palace and gets away with it. The responsible ones will be held accountable.”

This sounded like Seraphina hadn't pleaded for her maid to get exiled instead of killed in this version of events. That was only logical since she could forgive someone for hurting her, but since another person was involved, she couldn't just be generous.

Not that Theodore would have changed his mind either way.

Blanche didn't know what she was supposed to say about that. She was thankful if the empress would listen to advice since this could protect all of them. But aside from that, she still didn't like being apologized to. In fact, it somehow upset her a little, maybe because she had been accused of lying so often despite telling the truth to Seraphina. She hurriedly spoke again while doing her best not to sound too icy. “I am grateful for your words, Your Majesty. But you truly do not have to feel responsible. You had no way of knowing that my instinct would coincidentally be right. So, you don't have to-”

The empress interrupted her. “No, I insist. You should trust your instinct more since it seems to be right about a lot of people. Still, we can't neglect a proper investigation.” She turned her head to the emperor. “Have you already found out which poison was used? We might be able to confirm where this substance came from.” She was overestimating herself again, wasn't she? As intelligent as the empress was, she couldn't see through all intrigues. She should know that the emperor already tried his best, so hiring more people wouldn't help.

Theodore, who probably wouldn't ever consider involving Seraphina in this investigation anyway, shook his head and narrowed his eyes. “It was a bluish liquid with a sweet smell, but we have not been able to learn anything apart from that.”

Blanche chimed in at that. “It tasted sweet too. A bit like honey but much stronger. And it stuck to my throat like that as well.” The thought of that made her want to gag. She barely managed to choke that sensation down and pressed her hand against her mouth. She definitely shouldn't remind herself of that flavor.

Her lover immediately noticed what she was doing and grabbed the glass from the nightstand. “Here. Drink a few sips. It will help you with your dizziness.” Once again, he was the one holding the container for her so that she could swallow the water and gently wiped her lips when she was done.

Now the nausea was gone, but Blanche was a bit worried. She had shown Seraphina more of her closeness to Theodore than she had intended to again. But she couldn't really help it right now. If she tried to hold the glass on her own, she would only drop it. And Theodore was her lover, so this should be fine as long as the empress didn't complain too much. One careful glance at the empress proved that Blanche worried for naught.

The heroine was lost in thought and probably thought about whether she knew about a poison that was similar to this one.

Sophia was standing next to her and just watched her sister with concern.

Only now, Blanche realized that the countess was the only one that was paying attention to the proper rules and wasn't speaking since the emperor hadn't addressed her yet. The concubine quickly nudged her lover with her elbow. She feared that she had used too much strength at first, only to realize that she had barely brushed over his side. This damn poison had definitely taken away the biggest part of her energy.

What kind of medicine did something like this? It was obvious that Duke Vasquez would use this when it was so effective.

Theodore turned to her despite her limp movement, and she nodded towards Sophia. Her lover gave her a soft smile and lifted his hand to push away one of the strands of her hair and tucked it behind her ear. He remained in that position for a moment and only addressed the guest after a few seconds had passed. “Lady Ravillot, feel free to talk as well. There is no need for you to be silent the whole time.”

Sophia made a curtsy before finally opening her mouth. “Thank you, Your Majesty. I was uncertain whether it was appropriate for me to show up so suddenly, but I was too worried.” She met the concubine's gaze with a downcast one. “I'm overjoyed that you awoke again, Lady Blanche. I was scared that something bad might happen, so I am relieved that you are feeling well again. I mean...acceptable at least.” She lowered her eyes to the floor and closed her mouth, so it seemed like she was finished. But a moment later, she lifted her head again and resumed. “Have you figured out why that maid would do such a thing?”

Theodore's expression became more serious again. “She was given money by a servant of the dukedom of Vasquez. Since the duke is rather upset with us, especially Blanche, at the current time, I don't need other clues to suspect him. Naturally, this won't help us in a trial. So, we need to gather as much information as possible to use it later when there is more evidence that we can present.”

Sophia's eyes widened at that. “How horrible. That is... For such an influential person to use such horrible instruments... And he only wished to get revenge for a fight? Our father told us about what happened after the meeting with the ministers. Did this happen because of that?”

The emperor was silent for a few seconds. “It might be the thing that spurred him to do this. But there is definitely something else behind it. We will investigate to the best of our ability. I can assure you that I won't forget this matter.”

Sophia nodded with emphasis. “Of course, you would not do that, Your Majesty. I fully believe that you will be able to lead a proper investigation, and I have no doubts that you will be much more successful than we could be. Still, I would like to offer our help if you need anything. Surely, there is something that the Duremont family can do.”

Blanche was taken aback by that offer. It should be obvious that Henry wasn't keen on helping the concubine in any way, so his daughter offering assistance in this case would frustrate him. Not only because of his own feelings but because of the rumors that might surface too. If the Duremont household got involved because Blanche was hurt, it would seem like they had a good relationship with her. This would indicate that they were accepting her position, which Duke Duremont would never do. So, Sophia's words weren't harmless in this situation.

Especially since Blanche hated the thought of that family getting involved anywhere in such a trial.

Theodore scanned the countess for a while before replying. “I doubt that your father would be fond of that. You shouldn't offer your household's help without asking the head of the family for permission as he will certainly complain to you. I thank you despite that, but you do not need to help in that regard. There is a small thing you personally could do outside the trial though.”

Sophia's expression turned dejected before quickly becoming determined. “I will do anything in my power, Your Majesty.”

The emperor put on a fake smile as he replied. “Then please tell your father to stay quiet for a few weeks. I have enough problems without his constant nagging, so I would greatly appreciate it if he left me alone. Only today, two letters arrived, and I can imagine what he complained about. I didn't read them yet, and I feel like I would be better off burning them before they sour my mood even more.” Oh, no.

Apparently, something unpleasant was happening at the moment. Theodore seemingly hadn't taken it well while worrying about his lover. That didn't promise a nice reaction.