Blanche might have gotten her lover to finally open up about what the issue no one wished to speak about was. She listened carefully.

Theodore gave her a forced smile, but that faded quickly. “Well. As I said, the public is aware of the fact that someone tried to kill you and that they executed for that. But I didn't have any time to hold a trial because I refused to leave your side. So, we didn't have one. Since the evidence is unambiguous, and we had a confession of that maid, which many witnesses heard, that isn't an issue in itself. The only problem is that it's unusual to do something like this. Theoretically, the emperor can pass judgment without a trial, but it's rarely done. The only exception is when...members of the royal family are hurt. If someone attempted to assassinate a member of royalty, then a trial is rarely held when the evidence is unambiguous unless there is a truly influential noble involved. And as you can imagine, some people purposefully pointed out this correlation.”

Blanche blinked at her lover as his words slowly seeped in. How was this a little issue? Duke Duremont would be furious about such rumors. There was no way that Henry would stay silent even if Sophia told him to hold back. His irritation was even understandable in this case. After all, gossip about the concubine belonging to the royal family would indicate that Theodore had made her his wife or at least fiancée. It was clear that Henry was upset. Just ignoring his letters wasn't a good way to deal with this.

Blanche's expression had to have shown how bedazzled she was because her lover continued before she could speak up.

“See? I told you that you would worry unnecessarily. There is no need to ponder about this. After all, we don't have to give our reasoning. I surely don't have to justify why I punished someone that tried to kill you. Besides, I never said anything that could hurt Duke Duremont's fragile ego. He took two unrelated things and tried to understand what I was thinking while doing something that he has no clue about. It's his fault if he misunderstood. It's not like he has the right to complain either way, but especially now, he should stay silent. I have no interest in dealing with him at the moment, so he will have to get over his childish tantrum himself.”

Blanche shook her head, more to wake herself up from her trance than to respond to anything. “But, Theo. Skipping trials in general is not seen with joy.” After all, it would make it even easier to frame an innocent person. Though, having a trial didn't necessarily make the result much fairer in all cases either. Blanche didn't focus on this. “I get that part though, but the rest is an issue. Duke Duremont's worries are logical. He won't be the only one that thought this. You need to make a statement to clarify the matter. That should fix everything.”

Her lover snorted. “Definitely not. First of all, these are private issues, which don't concern anyone else. I am not required to share personal details with the public. Secondly, I feel like Duke Duremont won't be calmed by me saying that I didn't have time for a trial because I was busy holding your hand and nursing you. That would make him angry because of the same reason again. I will just ignore the rumors like always. We are used to that gossip already, aren't we? In just a few weeks, they will have something more exciting to talk about, and then it will be fine.”

Surely, this wouldn't be the case. Normally, people lost interest in rumors quickly and moved on to another topic, but anything related to the emperor's affair seemed to be the most thrilling subject for most nobles in the capital. They talked about it for a long time, and whenever gossip got old, they only forget about it until the next rumors surfaced. Then they would remember what had happened before and add those things together, so these rumors were even worse than before. Just ignoring it wasn't the cleverest option.

Not when this was about people thinking that the emperor considered his lover a part of the royal family. However, like Theodore had said, speaking up wouldn't change much about that either. People would only speculate that he was lying to pacify the Duremont family. In summary, this meant that there was nothing they could do.

Blanche groaned and grasped his arm like some sort of stuffed animal and cuddled against him. “You're right. This is unfortunate. And you're just going to let them talk? I know that you can't do anything about it, but isn't this going to strain your relationship with the Duremonts?”

It didn't seem fitting since she had just said something unfavorable, but her lover smiled at her. He slowly pulled her up into a sitting position and wrapped his arms around her. “Which is exactly what I want.” He didn't give her time to react with the necessary shock and just resumed. “This only means that they'll be prepared for the banquet. In a week, we will still welcome them into the palace. We need to show that we're well after all. And then I have a little surprise for them. Because it seems like I have to make some things clear.”

This made Blanche swallow. “Theo, what are you planning? That doesn't sound like I'll like it. Are you sure that I should attend? After all, it should only be you and the Duremonts.”

“Oh, Lady Ravillot and Lady Lemares will come too. Seemingly, they didn't think that I was only referring to the people that are part of the main household, but I don't really care. I despise Lady Lemares, but this event will give me a chance to make her understand something as well. Their presence only means that I can bring you along even more easily. I would have taken you with me anyway, but now I have even more arguments against any possible complaints.”

To be honest, the concubine wasn't keen on attending that event. Not only was she so weak right now that imagining going through such a stressful experience in a week was impossible, but she would also have to go to a banquet. She hated banquets.

They consisted of sitting at a table with people that hated her, and she would have to stay right next to some of them for an entire evening. Since the guests were seated at the long sides while the royal couple sat together on one of the short sides, she had no way of being close to Theodore. After all, she would have to sit far away from him to avoid reminding people of the horrible conduct she had shown during the last banquet. During that banquet, she had attempted to claim Seraphina's seat.

That was another issue. Blanche would like to avoid banquets in general to not pull attention to her lacking etiquette training. She might not be as audacious to quarrel with the empress in front of everyone anymore, but she definitely wasn't able to eat as gracefully as most noble ladies. She would just embarrass herself by dropping something and dirtying her clothes or the table cloth. There had been enough occasions in which Blanche had noted how differently Theodore was using the utensils in comparison to her. She would only show everyone how clumsy she was.

In addition, her lover's announcement made it sound like there might be a fight between him and Henry. It was obvious how stressful a discussion between those two powerful and intimidating men would get, and the concubine had no desire to witness this in person. That evening would be awful. She already knew that without witnessing a single second of the banquet.

Blanche fought the urge to ask her lover whether she could stay in her room instead. But in the end, running away wasn't going to help her. She couldn't avoid all the banquets that would come up in the future. So, she at least had to prepare before going into the lion's den. “Could Leon give me a few lessons about table etiquette before that? I feel like I already forgot everything.”

Theodore gave her a smile. “Of course. Only when you're recovered though. Obviously, we won't go to the banquet if you are still sick.”

She didn't bother asking why he had included himself in that phrase and just pressed her face against his chest and allowed herself to whine a bit. “I hate banquets.”

Her lover stroked over her hair, which slowly began to make her skin feel tingly. “I know. But we can't just tell them that we won't come while they eat here.”

The concubine was fairly certain that no one in the Duremont household was keen on having her there during their family meal. She could probably make them happy by not showing up, but for the emperor, things were different. He had to attend and spend the evening with his wife's relatives. Whether he wanted to or not. So, it might be better for her to be there so that at least one of the people there wouldn't stress him. Still, she wasn't happy about it. “I can't eat as gracefully as you. I'm going to drop things.”

“The servants will clean afterward. I'll give them a small bonus pay for the efforts of that evening anyway, so don't worry.”

Blanche closed her eyes and relaxed all of her muscles as she lay in her lover's arms. “What if I lose my favorite part of the dish?”

Theodore chuckled quietly. “Then you can either ask the kitchen staff for more or go to them after the meal and take the mountain of leftovers with you. Or you could take it off my plate.”

She snorted without knowing whether this was really a joke. She hoped so. “Does that mean that I'll sit next to you?”

The emperor's voice betrayed that he was grinning. “Of course. I won't leave you alone with all of those people. You'll sit right by my side so that I can hear every word someone says to you.”

Blanche's eyelids became heavier as she slouched against him, but a small smile appeared on her lips. At least she would be with him then. As long as she didn't have to be next to Henry or Evelyn, it would be fine. The concubine would leave Seraphina's chair alone this time, and everything would be well with her lover's protection. “Good.” She had wanted to say something else, but her mind was slowly becoming blank. She couldn't stifle a yawn and realized that she would fall asleep soon. So, she used her last thoughts to speak one last time. “I love you.” She felt herself drifting into unconsciousness after that and was in a strange half-asleep state.

Theodore carefully lowered her down onto the mattress and lay down next to her before covering her in the blanket. He was whispering to her and probably didn't think that she heard him anymore. “I love you too, my angel. I won't lose you. I won't let go of you ever again.”

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She would have liked to tell him that that was good because she had no intention of letting go either. If they both clung to each other, no one should be able to tear them apart.

But of course, she was too tired to do that. Apparently, that poison was still affecting her more than she had believed before. It didn't take long before she slipped into a dreamless but peaceful sleep in her lover's tight embrace.

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The next few days were almost as stressful as getting poisoned had been. The couple had moved to the emperor's room, but that didn't change anything about Blanche being treated like she was severely ill.

Theodore didn't take his eyes off her and constantly reminded her not to overdo it. He insisted on her taking her medicine, and she had to beg for every little piece of salmon since greasy food still wasn't good for her stomach. Luckily, her symptoms disappeared quickly though.

She got stronger with each day and could leave the bed to move around and even go into the garden for a few walks. Of course, the emperor accompanied her the whole time to make sure that she wasn't forcing herself to go too far. So, taking care of herself wasn't an issue with him around. Theodore gladly helped with every little thing, even if she would certainly have been able to do that herself. He made it very clear that wasn't going to let her get hurt in any way and had no problem proving that over and over again.

While they were out and met staff members, many of them told Blanche that it was good that she had recovered, and she responded to them curtly each time. Even this made Theodore worry about her straining her vocal cords despite her already speaking normally again. Overdoing it was the least of her worries with her overprotective lover around.

The thought of the banquet made her way more uncomfortable.

Each lesson with Leon reminded Blanche of how clumsy she was. To be honest, the only good thing was her being able to eat all kinds of different food, but the rest was a catastrophe. Countless forks fell onto the floor, and she managed to smear some spoonfuls of dessert onto the table cloth. Naturally, knives were still her greatest nemesis. Cutting a piece of steak while trying to look somewhat graceful was probably the most exhausting thing she could imagine. She had wanted to give up and stab that steak countless times. Right now, she could still use the excuse of being weak because of the poison, but during the banquet, she couldn't blame the assassination attempt for her lacking motor skills.

Leonard and Theodore both told her that she was doing well, but when Blanche compared how they ate and what she was imitating, their different upbringing became painfully obvious. Frustration was the only thing that kept her motivated until the very end. She gave her best to stand the lessons so that she would be able to go through the banquet without reminding everyone of how uneducated she was in this area.

Even outside the lessons, Leonard sometimes came by to check on her and give some documents to the emperor. This was necessary since Theodore didn't leave her side at all during those first six days after she had woken up. Her lover was there to help her bathe, during the doctor's examination and while her friends visited to wish her a fast recovery. He refused to leave for more than a minute until the doctor gave them his promise that she was free to move around and could attend the banquet.

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Blanche was walking through the palace for the first time without her lover on the day before the event. It almost felt strange to be without him now that she had grown accustomed to him being with her. Of course, she still wasn't really alone with both Owen and Stella sticking to her no matter what, but without Theodore, it wasn't the same. Due to the two assassination attempts in a row and her return from the summer residence before that, he had basically been glued to her for the last weeks. She didn't complain about that, but her maid seemed to like making jokes about this.

Stella had been chatting the whole time ever since they had left the room, and it seemed like nothing could stop her. “Really... His Majesty can cling to you for hours if he wants to. You know, it's funny how some nobles still believe that you are just friends. I mean if they looked at you for one minute, they would see that you adore each other. You can't keep your hands off the other one. That he allowed you to leave alone for the first time now is just because he needs to do something in his office. And then he told you to meet him at the tailor's room in half an hour. He can't go more than thirty minutes without you.”

Blanche listened to that rant for a while with a grin and eventually replied. “You seem awfully discontent with that. Does he annoy you that much? Theo always says that people that complain about a couple are jealous.”

Stella abruptly shook her head. “I'm not complaining. I think you're adorable. Some might say different things, but I'm very happy to see that you are perfect for each other. Surely, it can be strange to see how you spend hours with cuddling and are touch-starved still, but that's just how you are.”

The concubine chuckled as they rounded a corner. It was true that some people had talked about them being unhealthy behind their backs, but she didn't care much. After all, she considered the loveless arranged marriages of nobles unhealthy and was way more content with her relationship. “I'm glad that we are like this. I wouldn't be this happy if Theodore didn't like to cuddle. We're just a perfect match with the same needs.” She was about to add something else to that when she lifted her gaze and glanced into the hallway they passed. Blanche stopped abruptly and pointed toward the group of people standing there. “Aren't that Clark and Darlene? What are they doing by the doctor's office?”

Stella came to a halt next to her and furrowed her brows as she saw the crowd. “Yes, it's them. They are talking to two of the assistants. You don't think that they need help, right?”

Blanche frowned at the scene in front of them as well. “Hopefully not. Let's go ask.” She didn't even wait for a response and steered towards the doctor's office.

When the assistants saw her, they bowed their heads, which made the servants turn around to the women. When Blanche made eye contact with her friends, she only began to worry more.

Darlene looked like she was both furious and concerned while Clark was gritting his teeth and balling his fists. Something had to have happened.

Stella spoke up before her mistress could begin. “Are you alright? Why did you come to the doctor?”

The concubine hurried to add her own words after that. “You aren't hurt, right? Or Angelica and George?”

Relief crashed over her when Darlene shook her head. The maid took a moment before responding and glanced at Clark before opening her mouth. “We're fine. It's...Harris. He fainted all of a sudden and fell down the stairs right in front of us.” She stared at her colleague, and when he still didn't chime in, she continued. “He and Clark had another fight. Then Harris got dizzy within one second and tried to leave. But he just...tipped over before reaching the bottom.” That didn't sound good.

Blanche could tell that fainting wasn't pleasant from experience, and doing so on top of a staircase surely didn't make it more fun. Just imagining all the sharp edges of the steps or the bruises that would develop upon landing on them made her shiver. She tried not to think about how painful it was to slam against that spot with your legs, which was so unpleasant that it would even hurt while sitting in a carriage. She was glad that she hadn't needed to experience that again during the summer vacation. “Is he hurt badly? If he hit his head or something like that...”

Darlene shook her head again. “He didn't...reach the floor. Clark caught him. But Harris is still unconscious. Apparently, he has a very high fever.”

Clark clenched his jaw for a few seconds, but then he finally spoke too. “Not just right now. He protected his disease. He had a normal cold and didn't rest. That's why he's had dark rings below his eyes for the last week. That...idiot...” He breathed out shakily and turned around to walk over to the sofa behind them. He plopped down and stared into the distance while fiddling with his hands.

Darlene watched him for a moment before turning back to the other women. She whispered while eyeing her colleague, who was running his hand through his hair. “He feels guilty. Because he noticed that something was wrong and didn't intervene. I tried telling him that he isn't responsible for Harris' carelessness, but he still believes that he should have done something.”

Stella watched Clark with worry and spoke up in a just as low volume. “But he did try to help. We saw him discussing with Harris a few times now. He addressed the fact that Harris wasn't feeling well on multiple occasions. Like when Clark found out that Harris had been drinking and because of the powder to cover his complexion. If that man doesn't accept advice, it's his own fault, isn't it?”

Blanche already knew that it wasn't that easy. “In theory, you would be correct. But this isn't about logic but about what Clark is feeling. You already pointed out that he still cares about Harris during their last fight. If someone you care about gets hurt, and you knew about that before, wouldn't you worry too? You would blame yourself because you think that you could have done more to prevent it or paid attention to small hints more.”

Just like she herself had blamed herself for not remembering the assassination attempt on Duke Lamont's birthday banquet. She had spent hours by her lover's bed and held his hand while asking herself why she had forgotten something so important. After all, Theodore had gotten injured, and she might have been able to prevent that from happening if she had just acted faster.

That thought appeared in her mind and sparked another realization before she could seriously think about it. The concubine opened her mouth to ask the others, but she stopped herself at the last moment. This wasn't something that she could spread without being sure that it was true and that Clark was fine with her talking about this. Of course, she wasn't certain and could be dreadfully wrong, but...

The relationship between those two servants might have been a little more intimate than she had believed before. That would explain why they were opposing each other now and why Clark still couldn't stop worrying about Harris, even though he claimed to hate the other man. Maybe she was right, maybe she wasn't. But in any case, she wouldn't tell anyone for now.

Blanche let the two women think for a moment before addressing the assistants. “Did the doctor already say when Harris will wake up again?”

One of the men shook his head. “His fever is quite high, so he will have to rest in bed for a while. He should wake up within two days, and if not, we have to make sure that he opens his eyes at least for a few minutes to drink and eat. But I wouldn't worry too much. That is the worst-case scenario, but while his symptoms are awful, it is still only a normal cold. He would have gotten over that already if he had just rested for a day or two. Now it's going to take much longer, but he will recover with sleep and some medicine.”

The concubine thanked him before stepping closer to the two maids and whispering. “Is someone inside to...you know...be there for Harris when he wakes up? A friend or colleague?”

Darlene pondered about this before shaking her head. “I don't think so. No one except for the doctor and his assistants entered ever since we brought him here.” That definitely wasn't good.

Blanche knew how she would have felt upon opening her eyes and lying in a bed alone in the doctor's office. She had greatly favored her lover being there. A friend would have been fine too, but staying on her own probably would have lowered her will to recover.

She glanced over at Clark and contemplated how to ask him to go inside. When she looked at him, it seemed like he was eager to check on Harris. He was impatiently tapping his foot and tried to do something with his hands to distract himself, but he was worried. That much was obvious. If that was the case, why wasn't he inside?

Blanche turned her head back to the maids and froze. Maybe Darlene was unknowingly at fault for that. After all, Clark didn't want to admit that he cared, so he might try to hide it in front of his friends. Blanche made a decision in an instant. She cleared her throat and addressed the maids. “We can't really do anything about that then. We'll leave now.”

Darlene nodded. “We should. Let's get Clark and-”

The concubine immediately cut her off when she heard that name. She waved her hands through the air in an attempt to emphasize her words. “No, no. Let him sit here. You can see that he needs some rest. Leave him alone for a few minutes. If he still sits there in half an hour, you can distract him. But for now, we should give him some time for himself.”

Darlene seemed to be taken aback by that, but she nodded after a few seconds. “You're right. We'll just say goodbye to him quickly.” The women did what she had said, but Clark barely responded.

He just wished them a good day without even looking up.

Blanche realized that he was probably only waiting for them to round the corner so that he could ask the assistants to let him inside the doctor's office. So, she ushered the maids down the corridor and made them step out of sight. She followed directly behind them and stopped. She counted until twenty before leaning against the wall and glancing around the corner.

Clark was already standing next to the other men and talking to them. Just like she had guessed, he argued with them for a minute before they stepped aside and let him into the doctor's office.