The empress spoke up at the very moment the concubine had begun to hope for silence. “Well, then. Father, Mother, how was the carriage ride here? I heard that there was some rain today. Did you have any issues with the mud because of that? I remember there being some problems regarding the wheels occasionally.” Her question had been posed in a manner that allowed both her father and her mother to answer.

But obviously, Henry was too busy fuming to respond, so Elaine replied. “Thankfully not, Your Majesty. There must have been so little rain that we did not notice at all. It was a bit cool, but other than that, we were not affected by the weather. One of the horses had a bad day and refused to move for the first few minutes, but that was resolved quickly too. How were the past weeks in the palace? Were there any occurrences?” Her expression fell at the moment that those words left her mouth as if she had just remembered. The assassination attempt on the concubine was worth being called an occurrence, but the duchess probably hadn't thought about that while speaking.

Now Seraphina was the one needing to figure out how to react to that. After all, she couldn't just reply to a casual question by saying that someone almost had died. But denying that something happened was also false. Though, the empress had no issues keeping a straight face while responding. “There were some unfortunate incidents, but I do not believe that talking about them during dinner is a wise decision. Let us focus on pleasant topics. Lady Ravillot, how is your daughter?”

It was obvious that Sophia was the last solution to keep the conversation going. Maybe she would raise the mood with her eagerness a bit. She seemed to be aware that she was the one that needed to distract everyone now and showed them a nervous smile. “Grace is well. Thank you for asking, Your Majesty. She enjoyed your gifts, all of your gifts, very much. She keeps laughing whenever we hand her something new, and it's the most adorable thing I can imagine.”

Elaine gave her daughter a gentle smile as she chimed in. “Now you can see how we felt when all of you were born. We were so happy that we couldn't help grinning the whole time. Grace is a wonderful child, and she will only become even more beautiful when she grows up. Believe me. She is very similar to you. I'm overjoyed to be a grandmother this early. After all, I can help you take care of Grace without any restrictions at this point. We will visit you regularly.”

Sophia nodded happily. She seemed to have lost most of her uncertainty already, which only proved that thinking about Grace would always raise her mood. “Thank you. I would be overjoyed to welcome you often. While I am euphoric to have our sweet angel with me, it is a bit exhausting sometimes. But I would argue that she is a very calm child. She never cries unless she is hungry.”

Blanche followed the conversation while gazing at the speaking person from the corner of her eye. It was cute to see how well the Duremonts got along, but she felt out of place here. Especially since Allen occasionally stared at her with a deep frown while Evelyn just watched the three people on the short side of the table with mixed emotions.

Lady Lemares seemed to be conflicted about whether she should be happy about Seraphina being troubled or angry at the emperor treating a baroness better than her, who was a marquess' daughter. But the longer the conversation about children went on, the more content she looked, which only served to make the concubine worry. Evelyn loved to gossip about the missing heirs of the royal family. Hopefully, she wouldn't do that during the banquet, but theoretically, her previous actions made it seem like she would be polite around Henry.

Blanche didn't understand what about that scary man was supposed to be attractive, but the heroine's aunt was obsessed with him to the point that she despised her sister. Surely, Evelyn had envied Elaine ever since their childhood and was angry that the other woman had married the man she loved, but that wasn't a reason to hurt her own relatives, especially the innocent Grace. But no matter how depraved Evelyn was, she wouldn't snap in front of Henry until the moment that all of her deeds were exposed. That meant that she should stay silent today.

Still, the concubine tensed when Lady Lemares opened her mouth to speak up. “Now that we are talking about babies, I also remembered something. I heard that Her Grace, the Duchess of Vasquez gave birth a few days ago. Isn't that a wonderful occasion? Will the royal couple visit them to congratulate them? After all, the child will be His Majesty's cousin.”

Theodore grimaced at that. He didn't even hide how little interest he had in speaking to that family. Of course, he wouldn't be happy to know that his mother's faction gained another member that could possibly trouble him later. “I fear that I might not have enough time for that during the next weeks. So, it would be better for Cedar to do that. I am very sure that he is eager to greet our cousin. Unfortunately, I still have to deal with other issues that are connected to the Vasquez household. I do not wish to come to greet their child to give them bad news immediately after that.”

That made everyone curious.

Elaine was the first one that asked. “Are you able to tell us about that, Your Majesty? Or is it a private matter?”

The emperor paused for a moment before responding. “I have to reply with no for both of those questions. It's not private, but I also can't talk about it now. As long as there isn't any evidence, I can't accuse them of anything.” By saying that, he hadn't revealed a lot, but he had hinted that the Vasquez family was involved in a crime. So, everyone present would probably be even more eager to know about it now. But this had been a clever step by Theodore. He hadn't said anything wrong or something that would harm the Vasquez household's reputation and still told the others what he intended to convey.

As if someone had been waiting for this moment, the door to the room opened at that second, and the servants brought the first course inside. There were eight people present, so eight soups were brought and placed in front of each of them. Then the staff members left again without uttering a single word.

Blanche used that opportunity to avoid eye contact by scanning the soup as if there was something special about it. In fact, she was a bit surprised too. She hadn't expected to find her favorite appetizer here. A salty and spicy soup with mushroom, egg, small beef pieces and a lot of other vegetables. She was very content with that and glanced at her lover, who her a soft smile. So, he had done this purposefully. It didn't make up for him causing so much trouble, but she was happy to have her favorite soup.

This would allow her to distract herself from the chaos around her for a while. If she ate slowly, she would be able to busy herself until the next dish was brought, which was her goal. Then she would have an excuse not to look at anyone and didn't need to talk.

Theodore cleared his throat and spoke up at a louder volume. “It seems like our meal has arrived. Let us all eat with eagerness and enjoy the masterly skills of the royal cooks in each other's presence. First, I would ask you to toast with me though.” He lifted his wine glass, and everyone mirrored him.

Blanche hurried to do the same but forced herself to slow down to avoid spilling the contents of her glass on the table cloth.

When Theodore saw that everyone had raised their glasses, he resumed. “May Artias continue to develop and increase its prosperity while maintaining peace. I pray for the safety of everyone that is on my side in this troubling time. May we remain strong in the face of others trying to claim power that isn't theirs and harming others in the process.” With that, he drank, and everyone else did the same.

Blanche gave her best to drink without letting any wine fall, and it seemed like she almost managed to do that. A small drop was running down the side of the glass, but aside from that, she had done well. She quickly put her napkin next to the glass to prevent the wine from reaching the white table cloth before focusing on the conversation again.

The emperor picked up his spoon before announcing that everyone could start eating now. He took the first spoonful of soup in his mouth, which allowed the others to begin too.

The concubine did the same while struggling to pay attention to everything that Leon had taught her. How was she supposed to hold the spoon again? Right now, it felt like her mind was blank. She glanced at her lover and imitated his posture before lifting a spoonful of steaming soup to her face. She carefully blew on it for longer than she would have needed to. Instead of taking any risks of burning herself, she would rather eat slower.

When the delicious soup reached her mouth, she could have sighed in bliss at the taste that was slowly filling her mouth. This dish was heavenly. Theodore was an angel for getting her this. She had to hold back to keep herself from devouring the contents of the small bowl in front of her and only managed to do that because she had the will to spend her time eating for as long as possible.

Others were more talkative than her though. The empress began another conversation with her relatives while doing everything she could to keep the subjects lighthearted. “Lord Duremont, have you continued your studies in the matter that I mentioned last time? You appear to have gained interest in medicine and read many books about that.”

Allen nodded and lowered his spoon to respond. “I accidentally found tomes about herbs in our library and decided to study them out of boredom. There are some interesting facts inside that might be beneficial in case of an emergency, so I have been researching in my free time. The forest behind our mansion has many plants that I started to examine. With the notes I took, I have been able to determine quite a few of them.”

Elaine chimed in with a worried expression. “He has been staying outside until it gets dark sometimes, so we have been concerned about his safety. Especially since he refuses to take more than one servant with him each time.”

Allen averted his eyes at that but didn't add anything. It was easy to imagine why he had spent so much time in the forest. During his visit to the palace, he had been lost despite being used to seeing his sister regularly, which proved that he was horrible with directions. It was hard to believe that he would be able to find his way home in a dark forest. And since he might not be ready to admit that or take more people that would find out with him, this was probably the reason for him being late almost daily.

Blanche didn't feel the need to speak up though. She was just happy to have them ignore her and sipped her soup. With every bite, she calmed down a bit. Hopefully, this was all Theodore had planned for the day, and he would leave them alone for the rest of the banquet. But for some reason, she didn't believe that. So, she had to savor each second of silence and brace herself for more stress. Right now, she was content not having to see Henry's or Seraphina's expressions, which were without a doubt still filled with rage. She put another spoonful of soup in her mouth and relished in the taste when she saw that Theodore had turned to her.

He was only smiling at her, but that was enough to make her stomach churn.

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She swallowed the portion in her mouth and whispered to him while hiding her mouth behind her hand. “Is something wrong?”

Her lover shook his head and replied in a whisper. “No. You're just adorable.”

Blanche hurried to avert her eyes and reminded herself that she shouldn't react to that at all. If she got embarrassed now, everyone would see, and she didn't need that. So, she ignored her lover's grin and ate another spoonful of her soup. If things continued like this, she would finish too soon. But fortunately, it looked like most of the others were as quick as her since they didn't try to eat slow on purpose. Only the ones that were talking paused for a moment to speak before continuing to consume their soup.

The first course was done way too fast.

When she stared at her empty bowl, a part of Blanche considered asking for another portion of soup instead of the salad that would follow now. But she definitely wouldn't show her little preference during such an exhausting meal. She would rather keep quiet instead of revealing that she wanted to be treated like she was special.

The emperor addressed one of the maids in the corner. The woman stepped outside, and seconds later, servants came in and took away the bowls and replaced them with slightly bigger ones. Those were filled with salad and tomatoes as well as other sorts of vegetables that were dipped in a herb dressing. At least all the bowls of the others were filled with this dish.

Blanche had been the only one to receive another soup. She blinked at the food a few times before lifting her head and making eye contact with the maid, who had brought her the bowl. The woman gave her a little smile and nodded toward the emperor before leaving along with the other servants. The concubine turned to her lover, who was grinning while putting a bite of the salad in his mouth. He seemed to think that it was fine for her to continue eating like always even when all the guests received a different dish.

The concubine couldn't even bring herself to be annoyed at that when she now had another portion of her delicious soup. She just hoped that no one would notice, but she already felt the stares of the guests on her. She simply ignored that and settled for calmly taking a spoonful of her soup. This time, eating took a bit longer since she had gotten a bigger bowl, so she could eat without slowing herself down and still finished while all the others put down their utensils.

The next course went similarly to that. The following dish consisted of small bread pieces with different spreads covering them. While eating, the Duremont family, or rather everyone but Henry, had a lighthearted discussion about random topics. The duke only chimed in when he was directly addressed, which proved that he was still very upset. But despite that, he didn't begin another fight with the emperor.

Theodore was unusually quiet during the meal, which was a stark contrast to him normally steering the conversation during such events. It wasn't like he ever did anything but encourage small talk at a banquet, but this time, he barely spoke up. Blanche was a bit taken aback by that and gazed at him with worry, but he always returned a blinding smile. It was impressive that he managed to keep a straight face during this uncomfortable atmosphere. Seemingly, the emperor was simply better at doing this than anyone else. After all, he often had to deal with people that opposed him without losing his composure.

Still, it was relaxing when he began talking a bit more after the first main course arrived. This time, it was glazed ham with noodles and a cream sauce, which was another dish that the concubine adored.

Blanche stayed out of the conversation the whole time and was relieved that her lover didn't try to include her for now. But her luck didn't last forever. At some point, the conversation became more serious, and suddenly, the others were discussing the security measures of the palace.

“There is obviously room for improvement.” Henry deemed that topic worthy enough to speak despite his anger, most likely because he worried about Seraphina. “The attack a month ago happened in the forest that belongs to the royal property. So, if intruders managed to get inside, there must be some part of the border that isn't secure enough. For the safety of all inhabitants of the palace, it's crucial to find out how that could happen. Hasn't an incident like that startled you enough to encourage you to raise the security?”

Theodore gave him a calm smile. “You can rest assured that I am doing my best with the investigation, Your Grace. After all, Blanche and I were attacked in the middle of a picnic. I was definitely startled by strange men jumping out of the trees with swords.”

Sophia covered her mouth with her hand at that. “That sounds horrible. It's a good thing that no one got hurt. What happened to the attackers? Lady Blanche said that they were all...taken care of, so...” That question was unnecessary when she should know.

That question made the old images flash in front of the concubine's inner eye before she could prevent it. A shudder ran through her body, even though she gave her best to hide it.

Theodore was silent for a moment before responding calmly. “Yes. They were disposed of. We would have liked to avoid that, but they attacked us with weapons, swords and arrows. So, the knights needed to act quickly. To reply to Your Grace's question from before, this made us heighten the security. We have more guards now, and they are watching every single spot within the royal estate the whole time. I also assigned one of the most promising young knights to the empress as her personal guard. So, you do not need to worry. We can deal with issues like that.”

Henry shook his head. “From what I have heard and written in my letters...” He narrowed his eyes at the emperor. “It is clear that the incident last week did not make it appear like it is safe. I am not aware of what exactly happened, but I would like to know how something slipped by the palace's perfect security measures.”

After that, everything became quiet. One would have been able to hear a pin drop.

Blanche was probably the one that should respond since she had been the person that got hurt, but she had no intention of speaking out of turn. As long as no one addressed her, her mouth would stay shut so that she could focus on her bacon.

A few seconds passed before Theodore replied. “A maid was bribed by an unknown person to put a specific liquid into Blanche's drink. It was a poison that can knock any person out after a few minutes. We do not know which poison it is exactly, but it seems to be very serious, and the doctor claimed that it might be fatal if it isn't taken care of immediately.”

That silenced all the people at the table. For an uncomfortable moment, everyone seemed to be overwhelmed with this information. They probably hadn't believed that the situation had been that dire, which only proved that the emperor had made sure that everyone was tight-lipped. Except for Seraphina and Sophia, no one seemed to have been aware of the severity of the concubine's predicament last week.

Elaine broke the silence in a soft voice after a few seconds. “That is awful to hear. Have you fully recovered by now, Lady Blanche?” Of all the topics, of course, this one would have to be brought up.

The concubine lifted her head and set aside the utensils while trying to fight against the rising nervousness in her stomach. “Thanks to the help of the royal doctor, that wasn't an issue. I have no lasting damages and was merely a bit sick for a few days, that is all. But I am grateful for your concern.”

Theodore's expression darkened at that, and he spoke up to correct her. “If you had been ‘a bit sick’, you would not have lost consciousness for two days and taken half a week before being able to leave the bed again. You don't have to understate the events.”

Blanche didn't say anything about that and just nodded to signal her understanding. She was uncomfortable thinking about this matter and only wanted to forget about the poisoning as quickly as possible. After all, the taste still clung to her tongue whenever she made the mistake of reminiscing about the tea she had consumed that day, and it was nauseating. She quickly put a piece of bacon into her mouth to push away all thoughts of the sickening flavor to replace it with a pleasant one.

Allen spoke up after a short pause. “Could you describe the poison to me? As we previously mentioned, I recently started researching the effects of certain plants. Maybe I coincidentally read about something similar. Would it help to find out what kind of poison it was?”

The emperor nodded. “It would. We could narrow down the number of people that were able to bring it into their possession. I have a suspect but no evidence, as always.” He glanced at his lover, and she quickly understood.

Blanche was supposed to describe the poison to Allen. It would take all of her self-control not to gag while she recounted what she needed to say though. She swallowed and forced herself to concentrate on pleasant flavors while talking about that disgusting one. “Bluish. It tasted extremely sweet and was sticky, so it stuck to my throat. It smelled sickeningly sweet too, like flowers in some way.” She couldn't say any more than that and hurried to gulp down her wine to get rid of the faintest trace of the poison flavor on her tongue.

Theodore resumed when she didn't say anything else. “It made her faint within two minutes after she drank it. We got rid of most of it instantly, but she still fell asleep for two days and had a high fever and a strong headache. Her throat was affected too. She was hoarse when she eventually woke up and still very sleepy. She was barely able to move for the next few days as if she had lost all of her strength, and it only got better with time. But at first, she wasn't capable of even lifting her arm without exhausting herself. The doctor said that it might have been deadly if the biggest amount hadn't left her body.”

Allen pondered about that and held a hand to his chin. After a few seconds, he shook his head and replied with a deep frown. “No. I didn't find anything like that. That sounds like a really dangerous poison. If it's this strong, I wonder why it isn't well known. Was that truly it?”

Seraphina spoke up before anyone else could. “The only other information we have about it is that it seems to be a liquid. But we do not know whether it is an ingredient based on a plant or a mix of many different poisons. I attempted to research this matter too, and I was unsuccessful until now. Unfortunately, there isn't anything helpful in the tomes in the royal library. I ordered some books from the libraries in the capital, but they will not arrive within the next two weeks.”

Allen nodded to himself as he got lost in thoughts.

Henry chimed in at that. “I understand that the investigation is important, but improving the security is the priority. How could a servant that was being bribed freely roam in the palace and bring poison inside? It should not be possible to smuggle dangerous items inside the royal estate. Who was the one responsible for that maid? How could they not have controlled their subordinates?”

He looked like he had much more to say about that, but Seraphina cut him off. “She was my attendant.” Even the empress seemed to be dejected while saying that.

All of her relatives except for Sophia were startled at that and stared at her with widened eyes. Elaine was silent for a few seconds before beginning in a cautious tone. “That is what you wished to tell us last time, correct? Which one was it?”

The empress kept a stoic expression, but her voice revealed a bit of her frustration no matter how much she tried to hide it. “Kate. Apparently, money was more important to her than asking questions about why someone would ask her to put an unknown liquid into another person's tea.”

Allen scanned his sister's face before asking her something at a quieter volume. “And she was executed? Did she give testimony before that?”

The empress nodded, but Theodore responded. “Yes. I trust that this matter will be treated secretively by all of you.” He took his time to look every single person in the room in the eyes before resuming. “The man she described is one of Duke Vasquez's servants.”

A murmur went through the group. Henry narrowed his eyes and waited a moment before speaking. “I assume that this wasn't confirmed though, correct? That maid might have lied to avoid casting suspicion on the true perpetrator.”

The emperor met his gaze calmly. “No. As you heard, that maid wasn't truly loyal. She was definitely telling the truth in an attempt to save her life. The interrogation wasn't done in a lax manner. I can assure you that she did not consider lying at that point anymore.” That sounded awfully grim. If Blanche didn't love the man next to her, she would have been scared after that statement.

Duke Duremont eyed Theodore before speaking again. “I understand. And why exactly did you not insist on a trial?”

Sophia immediately chimed in. “Father, you promised. Right now, His Majesty is-”

“In a rather stable position, it seems.” Henry looked at his daughter for a moment before turning to the emperor. “I feel like he has enough energy left to respond to my question properly.”

Theodore leaned back on his chair and put down his utensils on the empty plate. “Of course, Your Grace. Do you know why I didn't have a trial? I'll be completely honest with you. Because I didn't have time. Blanche was unconscious at first and then unable to move, so I took care of her. During that, I would not have wanted to leave to visit the court. That is understandable, isn't it? Multiple witnesses saw the maid preparing the tea, and we found the empty vial in her possession. Along with her testimony, that is more than enough to convict her. A trial wasn't necessary, so we didn't have one.”

Duke Duremont clearly didn't hear the warning undertone in the other man's voice since he refused to drop the subject. “I see what you are referring to, Your Majesty. However, a proper trial would have been much more beneficial. The nobles would be calmer, and there wouldn't be any unfortunate rumors that could damage your reputation. There are enough servants in the royal palace to take care of a sick person, correct? You, as the emperor, need to put your duties, in this case, as the person leading the investigation, above-”

Theodore didn't let him finish.

Blanche could imagine what he would say before he even started.