The concubine straightened her posture again as a content smile appeared on her lips. She had been able to guess what Clark had been thinking and had managed to get him to do what he secretly wanted. This was definitely a great success for her.
But her smile was quickly wiped off her face when she moved back and bumped into someone. To her surprise, the maids were standing directly behind her, so she had run into them without any warning. Thankfully, both of them didn't fall over and stabilized her as well.
Darlene was the first to speak up. “You knew that he wanted to go inside to see Harris, didn't you? That's why you wanted us to leave quickly.”
Blanche nodded and gave the other woman a bright smile. “It seems like I'm somewhat good at reading people. At least I think so.”
Darlene averted her eyes and scanned the sofa, where Clark had just sat. “You really are. I've stood next to him for the last twenty minutes and couldn't figure out why he wouldn't leave. He should have just told me, and I wouldn't have complained at all.”
“He probably didn't worry about that. He just feared that you would question why he would check on Harris despite them officially hating each other right now. I think he is scared of admitting that he does care for that person even if all they do is fight. Don't worry. It will be fine. The doctor's assistant said that Harris will recover in a few days with sleep and medicine. You heard that, right? When Harris is up and well, Clark will feel better too.”
Darlene was silent for a while before mirroring the smile. “Thank you. I'll leave him alone for now then. I have a feeling that he will stay there a bit. I will tell Gloria that he needs a day off and pick him up when I finish my duties.”
Blanche grinned at her. “That's a good idea. But what are you thanking me for?”
Darlene was still smiling, and it seemed like she lit up the whole room with that. “For everything. I'm just happy that you're here. Well, not just you. All of us. But I'm very glad that we became friends with you. I hope that everything can stay like this for a while longer.”
The concubine was speechless at that and just stared at the other woman, which made the maid giggle and speak up again.
“I need to leave now. Goodbye! Until later.” With that, Darlene rushed off and ran down the hallway while waving.
Stella formed a cone with her hands and yelled after her colleague. “Don't trip! Look where you are going! The floor is slippery.”
The other maid just laughed and continued to move backward. “Only idiots trip on even floor. See? I'm fine.”
Stella replied with a louder voice. “That's exactly why I'm warning you. I trust that you will manage to run into someone.” Thankfully, everything went well though.
Blanche could just watch the maids yelling at each other through the corridor and smile. “I'm happy too. It would be nice if everything stays like this.”
Stella had finished talking to Darlene and turned back to her mistress. “What?”
The concubine gave her a soft grin. “I said that it would be nice if everything stays like this. Let's go to the tailor now. If I don't arrive there on time, Theo will take the palace apart and send a troop of knights to search for me.” That probably wasn't even an exaggeration, so it was good that they weren't too far away from their destination.
----------------------------------------
The women only took a few minutes to get to the hallway with the tailor's room. As soon as Blanche opened the door and stepped inside, she was greeted with a warm embrace.
“There you are!” Her lover pulled her against his chest and began planting countless kisses on her forehead. “I missed you.”
Blanche tried to put on a serious expression but failed miserably. “We were only apart for maybe twenty minutes. Are you becoming as clingy as I am now? That wouldn't be good. We can't spend every second of our lives cuddling.”
Theodore grinned down at her. “Maybe we can. I've always been clingy. I just hid it well. But I have no desire to do that anymore. You won't be able to get rid of me.”
“Believe me. That was not my intention.” In fact, she was struggling against the novel to do the exact opposite.
A quiet noise made her look to the side, and she turned around to find Madame Charture standing there with a bright smile. The tailor had always adored the couple and was now gushing about them again. She didn't even need to say anything, and it was clear what she was thinking.
Blanche tilted her head to make eye contact with the other woman without being obstructed by her lover's arm. “Good afternoon, Madame Charture. How was your journey here?”
The tailor immediately began talking in a voice that revealed that she was truly excited. “It was wonderful! Right now, I'm very creative. I came up with countless new designs for you during the carriage ride. So many that I didn't make a single one for my store. I already prepared everything, so you will swim in new dresses in a quarter year. This time, I already had so many ideas, and next time, there will be even more clothes. I'm very happy with how both stacks came out. You are free to look around. Take your time to choose which ones you want to take with you already. His Majesty asked me to stay in the palace for a while longer so that I can make sure that all the dresses fit you perfectly.” The woman sounded so happy that Blanche couldn't bring herself to tell her that she didn't want too many clothes.
The concubine still had to be modest, and the longer she looked at beautiful clothes, the harder it was to fight against her want to wear them. So, she wouldn't be able to look around for very long. “I'm mainly here to try on the dress for the banquet, right? It should be fine if I do that first. Afterward, I can choose a few other ones.” She already knew that she would have to force herself to hold back again, so she didn't look forward to that part.
But the tailor just beamed at her. “Oh, His Majesty didn't tell you yet? He dotes on you so much, and you don't even notice it. Ah, to be young and in love. How wonderful.”
Oh, no.
The concubine didn't know what she should think about that comment. “I know that he indulges me way too much.” She narrowed her eyes at her lover playfully before turning back to the other woman. “But what exactly are you referring to?” Something dawned upon her, and she didn't like it.
Madame Charture made an exaggerated motion with her hand and gestured to the room. “His Majesty didn't want to make you choose, so he already bought all the dresses.”
Blanche was pretty sure that she heard a clink as if something inside her broke. She still showed the tailor her polite smile and let out a nervous laugh. “Pardon me. Would you mind repeating that?”
Madame Charture was definitely too happy at that and excitedly began explaining. “His Majesty bought all the items I brought with me. The dresses, shoes, accessories, everything! I have many things that you will surely adore, so I am eager to show them to you. I will stay the whole week, so we have enough time though.” Ah.
“I see. Please excuse us for a moment.” Blanche slowly turned to her lover and looked up at him, her lips forming a fake smile. “Theo. Tell me that she's exaggerating.”
Theodore beamed at her as if he had done the most innocent thing imaginable. “No. I bought everything she brought just a minute ago. I looked around for a bit and knew that everything here would look beautiful on you. So, I couldn't help but buy all of it. After all, I saw that you were struggling to pick a few ones the last time, even though I told you that you could have as much as you wanted to. You can't use the excuse of not having enough space now either. You own two dressing rooms. The one in our chambers and the one in your old ones. That should be enough to store most things for a while. And if that isn't enough, we'll use the other empty guest rooms next to your chambers. There are at least twenty that never get used in that corridor, so you'll never fill up all of those.”
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Blanche was speechless again. What had gotten into her lover? Was it not obvious that this was going too far? She didn't want to know how much money he had used up because of this. He couldn't just waste his own funds like that. Surely, he had more than enough and never used that unless he bought gifts for her, but still. There was nothing she could say about this except for one thing. “But this is too much. I mean...you showered me in gifts before the vacation, and I still have way too many unworn dresses because of that. So, buying this many is...” She looked around the room. From her position, she could see only a portion of the items, but she was already sweating. Most of the things she was able to inspect were gorgeous, so she felt the need to try them on and twirl around in the beautiful dresses. But at the same time, her mind was screaming at her to think logically. She couldn't accept a gift like that. Besides, Theodore would usually never do something so extreme. Something was off. “Theo, it makes no sense for you to do this. I can't-”
It seemed like her lover wouldn't let her refuse though. He shushed her before she even said anything about this. “You can. This is a present from me to you. See it as compensation for me not getting you gifts ever since we went on vacation.” That wasn't true at all. He had bought countless things for her in Ibela. But she didn't manage to point that out since he already resumed. “I used my own private funds for this. You know, the ones that continuously grow because of my early investing while I never touch it so that there is too much for me to spend? I have full ownership of that money, so I can use it how I see fit.” His smirk widened as he slowly spun around and pulled her with him. “I already signed the contract because I knew that you would react like that. Taking my word back now would be illegal and make Madame Charture very unhappy. So, I can't do that. I will just give you all the things I bought. If you like it better, I can hand you one item every day so that you don't receive everything at once. But of course, it would be easier to put them into your dressing rooms and leave them there until you are interested in wearing them. You need to try them on within the next weeks anyway. I assume that they will fit, but I want to be sure. Alright?” He bowed to her as if he was asking for a dance and pressed his lips onto the back of her hand.
The concubine knew that she was probably getting red by now. After all, her emotions were battling against each other. On the one hand, her lover was right. She wouldn't harm anyone by accepting his gift and making him happy. But then she would also be the opposite of modest. In her nightmare, Theodore had told her that she was greedy, and that didn't disappear from her mind, no matter how much she tried to push it away. Plus, she didn't know why he was suddenly doing this. Did he want to apologize for something? “Theo, I-” She didn't know what to say. She didn't want to refuse him, but making him think that she was materialistic would hurt him and her a lot. This situation didn't have any good choices.
Her lover stepped forward so that he was directly in front of her. He cupped her face and gently tilted her head back to kiss her. His lips felt soft on top of hers, and she allowed herself to be swept away by his gentleness.
When Theodore pulled back, he stroked over her cheeks and stared right into her eyes. “You don't need to feel bad if you take what I offer to you. I'm being selfish here. Because I want to see you smile, I will shower you with gifts. I like it when you wear things I bought for you and beam at me while you turn around to show me how beautiful you are. And I have the money. So, I will give you everything you can dream of for as long as I live. This means that you have to get used to me being selfish. I won't let go of you, and I will do everything to make you happy. Let me be greedy for your attention. Allow me to pamper you. This makes me happy too.”
Blanche pressed her lips together for a moment before responding. “How unfair. You say all the things that I can't argue against. If this makes you happy, there is no way that I can say no.” She was selfish in that regard too.
Seeing Theodore smile made her heart jump and filled her with unrivaled bliss. So, how could she refuse when he pushed those things onto her? It would be illogical for him to argue with her until she accepted his gifts and then say that she was greedy, so she should be safe in that regard. When it came to her having to avoid acting like the villainess, she should have already moved past the point at which taking gifts from her lover would harm her.
Hopefully.
But her decision was just affirmed when Theodore beamed at her. He kissed her again with more energy this time, and when he was finished, he planted a few kisses next to her lips. “Thank you. I'm sure that you won't regret it. I personally looked at some items and can assure you that you will adore them. They are beautiful and skillfully crafted, and each one is perfect for you. But I believe that the dress for the banquet will surprise you even more.” He began leading her into the middle of the room.
Madame Charture happily followed them behind the paravent.
The emperor covered his lover's eyes as he led her forward and stopped at some point to whisper in her ear. “It's in a color you rarely wear. But I've wanted to see you in this dress ever since I caught a glimpse of the first design. I'm convinced that you'll adore it as much as I do. Guess what color it is.”
A smile grew on Blanche's lips. “How am I supposed to do that with this little information? You have to give me another hint. That it's a color I rarely wear doesn't help me much.” This probably meant that it wasn't violet, but aside from that, she had no idea. To her, it felt like her wardrobe had at least one attire in each imaginable shade of every color.
Theodore chuckled, which made her stomach tingle pleasantly. “It's the color of love.”
The concubine's grin widened. “That makes it too easy. It's red.” This was great. Red wasn't similar to navy in the slightest, so she didn't have to worry about others thinking that she was imitating the empress.
“You're right. My clever girl.” Her lover pressed a kiss onto the side of her neck. “Then you can open your eyes in a moment.” He stepped next to her and made her wait for a few seconds before taking away his hands.
The dress was easy to spot.
The red color made it so that Blanche's eyes were immediately drawn to the attire, which was displayed in the center of the room. Within a second, two emotions began battling inside her as she struggled to hide her uncertainty. Maybe she had been too happy about the dress not being blue too quickly.
The color was a vibrant red, which certainly wouldn't be confused with the royal colors, so that wasn't an issue. However, this also served to make the gown stand out more than anything. The fabric was covered in tulle with flowery ornaments, but they were simple enough to make the attire look elegant. Along with the golden accessories that were positioned on the dress holder, this made it quite obvious that this would look gorgeous.
A bit too gorgeous, to be exact.
Blanche had given her best to choose less flashy outfits during the last balls except when Theodore had given her something to wear. This attire was the opposite of being modest and inconspicuous. There was no way that people wouldn't stare at her when she showed up in such a glowing dress with tulle and many golden accessories. This was definitely fancier than anything that the empress would ever wear, so appearing with these clothes would make it seem like the concubine was trying to attract attention again.
But against her better judgment, she couldn't help but gawk at the dress with shining eyes. “It's beautiful.” Undoubtedly, too beautiful for a banquet with the Duremonts, during which she would have to stay silent and give her best not to make anyone look at her. Blanche turned her head and helplessly gazed up at her lover. “But, Theo... That's too...”
Theodore gave her a radiant beam. “It's the exact kind of dress that you favor. So, you will wear it. You won't let your worries about what others think take away your joy upon seeing such dresses, right?” He seemed to know what she was thinking.
She looked at the attire again and bit the inner side of her cheek. There was no way for her to decline without making her lover feel bad. And this was one of the most wonderful dresses she had seen in a while. To be honest, it was almost like it was calling her name. The longer she saw it, the smaller her will to restrain herself grew. She couldn't just refuse the emperor's present, right?
But then she imagined the faces of the guest when she would enter in such a dress. That made her want to crawl under a table and hide there. In her current situation, it would be better to be quiet and not attract any attention, so this dress would do the opposite of what she wanted it to. Every rational reason about the Duremonts' relationship with her and her need to behave differently than the villainess told her to decline.
Yet, she couldn't. Not when Theodore was watching her with an expectant smile and when her heart was aching to try that gown on.
At the moment that Blanche opened her mouth, something else caught her attention. The dress was way too striking in itself, and the golden accessories didn't help to change anything about that. But the biggest issue about this was the tiara sitting on top of the mannequin's head. “Theo. Why is that there?” She pointed at the golden head ornament with rubies and narrowed her eyes at her lover. There was no way that he wanted her to have that, right? “That's a tiara.” The one accessory that was forbidden for anyone that didn't belong to the royal family. “I can't wear that. That's for the empress, isn't it?”
Theodore snorted and wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her against his side. “Why would I get anything for her and put it next to your gifts? No, it's for you. This isn't a tiara but a diadem. So, it's fine.”
She looked at him in disbelief. “What are you talking about? No one cares about that difference. It's a little crown, and you know what that means.”
“Exactly. It means nothing. No law forbids anyone from wearing jewelry. I would know. I read the whole constitution about three hundred times in its entirety.”
Blanche felt how the color drained from her face as she freed herself from Theodore's hold to step in front of him. She dug her fingers into his clothes and stood up on her tiptoes to make eye contact with him. “Theo, are you insane? It's not forbidden, but you know that this indicates an affiliation with the royal family. There is no way that anyone except for the emperor's wife can wear this, especially not me. You remember what happened at the last banquet, don't you? I can't do anything to infuriate them again. So, I will have to be as quiet and inauspicious as possible.” Especially after Theodore's decision to treat this poisoning incident like a member of royalty had been affected. If he added a stupid tiara now, Duke Duremont wouldn't even have to read between the lines to see the indication anymore.
Her lover cupped her cheeks and pressed a kiss onto her forehead as he began to talk in a soothing voice. “You don't have to wear it at the banquet if you don't want to. But it's a gift from me to you, and you can show up with this whenever and wherever you want to. It belongs to the set of the other accessories and perfectly matches the dress, so it would look beautiful with the rest of the attire. But as I said, you don't have to put it on. And just for your information, the last banquet isn't important. All of us behaved strangely that day. I still have to apologize for that too.” By the gods. It just got worse.
Blanche calmed down a bit after hearing the first half of his words. It was good if he didn't insist on her wearing the tiara, or diadem, as he called it. This meant he still understood that she couldn't do something so audacious under any circumstances. It was bad enough that he gifted her something like this, but at least she wouldn't have to argue with him about that. But then his next words followed and startled her again. She was the only one that had behaved awfully at that banquet. What was he talking about? “I'm not quite sure what you-”
Theodore cut her off by laying his lips on top of hers and pulling her in for a kiss. She wanted to push him away first, but every thought about that was lost when his hand found the back of her head, and he tangled his fingers into her hair. Theodore definitely wasn't playing fair. She couldn't help but wait until he pulled away and smirked down at her.
“You're mean.”
Her lover gently poked her cheek. “Don't say such awful things about me. You're the one that wanted to run away from my kiss.”
Blanche rolled her eyes as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “You know why. I wanted to ask what you were referring to. I don't think we are on the same page regarding the banquet. After all, I feel like you forgot a few crucial details. Regarding me being the one that caused a big fight and enraged the Duremont family and the empress for no reason? Of course, you remember that. And now tell me again that anyone else did something just as awful.”
“I did.” Theodore tightened his hold on her and leaned his forehead against hers as he put on a completely serious expression. “I didn't take your side even when I should do that without any exception.” He was insane. Absolutely insane.
Blanche couldn't help laughing in shock as she tried to come up with a response. She didn't even know where to begin.