When all the bowls were empty, the emperor rose to his feet and gave the group a polite smile. “It seems like we are at the end of our dinner. I hope that you enjoyed the delicious meal by the royal chefs despite the heavy topics we discussed. As I previously stated, I will be pleased to welcome His and Her Grace for a calm conversation. If you feel the wish to speak to me respectfully, write a letter. For now, I will bid goodbye to you though. May all of you arrive safely at home.”
Everyone waited until he finished before standing up.
Blanche would like to run out of the room as soon as possible, and it took all of her self-control to keep herself from doing that. She wouldn't leave her lover's side, or Duke Duremont might turn her into minced meat.
To her dismay, Theodore didn't seem to be content with the chaos he had caused though. He linked his arm with hers and began leading her to the entrance without waiting for the empress.
For a moment, Blanche considered reminding him of that fact, but she had the suspicion that he was well aware of what he was doing. So, she refrained from struggling to not make this look even more impolite and just let him bring her out of the dining room.
As soon as they came to a halt after rounding the corner, Blanche stepped in front of him and hissed at him. “Theo, what were you thinking? That was horrible! You warned me, but that was worse than I ever could have imagined it to be. You can't enrage the most important duke in the nation like that. What now? What if you lose his support? You can't afford to do that! And he might kill me if things go on like this. Did you see how angry he was?” She had wanted to sound furious, but in the end, she was just whining. She was barely able to keep herself from starting to sob. Her bottom lip was already trembling, and she had unknowingly grabbed her lover's shirt.
Naturally, this didn't seem very convincing to Theodore. Instead of getting him to rethink, she had only encouraged him to pull her against his chest. He gently stroked across her head and allowed her to lean her head on his body. “It's alright. I'm here. I'll protect you from those people. They won't dare to hurt you.”
Now she was really getting upset. “Theo...” She was whispering his name while clinging to him as her head was filled with all the horrible things that might happen. This was awful. So very awful. “What if your brother...” She couldn't even finish that sentence since she didn't want to say that Cedar could become emperor. “If the dowager empress gains power and you lose, all of us will be hurt. This is horrible. Why did you do that?”
Theodore rubbed small circles into her back while speaking to her in a soft voice that almost made her forget about her worries. “I hate how they treat you. That's why I needed to show that you are more important to me than anything else. I love you, and I won't let anyone disregard you. I won't have children with anyone but you. So, it's better to make that clear now. It would be much more stressful to reveal it when you are pregnant. And believe me, this won't benefit my brother. I don't have an issue ruling without Duke Duremont's backing. Duke Lamont can help me, but I don't even need him. I...proved that just putting down my foot is more than enough to rule, even when everyone thinks I'm insane. No one ever tried to resist even when the nation fell apart under an emperor that had lost his mind, so rest assured. I will make our life as wonderful as possible. This means that I won't hide you anymore. I gave them time to understand, and if they didn't, that is their fault. Everything will be fine. Trust me.”
She wanted to, but that was hard when she had seen the Duremonts' reaction. Henry had shown his anger openly, but everyone else, aside from Sophia, had been boiling with rage too. The whole family would despise Theodore now. There was no way that the emperor could simply ignore that.
“Your Majesty.” A freezing voice chimed in.
Blanche turned her head to see Seraphina, who had just come out from the dining room.
The empress walked closer to the couple and gazed at them with the most obvious resentment in her eyes. “I would like to discuss this with you in private. Alone.”
Theodore sighed and glanced at his wife while pulling his lover closer. “I won't get out of this one, will I? Yes, sure. But not today. It's very late, and I can imagine that this will take a while longer. So, let us delay that until tomorrow. Come to my office after lunch. For now, you probably want to bring the guests to their carriages. Feel free to take care of that.”
Seraphina nodded stiffly before spinning around on her heel.
Blanche opened her mouth to voice an apology, but she cut herself off and just watched how the other woman walked over to the dining room again.
Even now, the heroine managed to walk as gracefully as an angel, and only her balled fists gave away her anger.
The concubine scolded herself for not being brave enough to say something, but she feared that speaking now would only attract the empress' anger. So, she didn't dare to make a single noise until she was sure that Seraphina was gone. Immediately, she turned to her lover again. “Theodore... This will be awful. I don't want you to lose power because of me.”
The emperor shushed her and gently laid his lips on her forehead. “You could never make me lose anything. Because I am only capable of winning when you are here. Remember this. If everything goes wrong, we'll move to a house by the western coast of Travuan. I secretly bought it years ago, and we will simply go there. No one would find us, and we could live comfortably with all of my personal funds. That is only the last resort, of course. I don't want to hand over Artias to the dowager empress, so I won't do it unless it's the only way to secure our life together. I am in control at the moment and don't feel like this will change soon. So, relax a bit and leave all the worries to me.” He ran his fingers through her hair and cupped her chin to make her look at him. “I will make sure that everything is alright. I don't need anyone but you for that. So, I don't regret upsetting the Duremonts today in the slightest. In fact, it was a bit relieving to finally speak openly without being careful about hurting their fragile feelings after all that happened.”
“You certainly weren't careful at all.” Blanche pulled on her lover's sleeve. “Let's leave. I don't want them to use the wrong exit and run into us.” In reality, that was only part of the reason. She also wanted to fall into her bed and cuddle with Theodore until she fell asleep in hopes of the next day being better. She could barely wait to cover herself with the blanket and push away all the worries flying around in her head.
Luckily, the emperor didn't seem to disagree with her. “Alright. Let's go upstairs.” He put his hand on her back and led her to the staircase with slow steps.
It felt like the servants were staring at them for much longer than normal, but Blanche couldn't bring herself to pay attention to them. As soon as they arrived at Theodore's room, she dismissed Stella and said goodnight to Owen before closing the door behind her lover. Finally being alone with him felt strange when they had been surrounded by people until now. But it was soothing too.
The emperor called for a servant to make them a bath, and after the maid left, it was clear that the couple would be alone for the whole night. Theodore helped his lover undress and carefully put the gown into the dressing room before bringing her into the bathroom.
They climbed into the bathtub together, and Blanche sat in front of him so that she could lean against him. She was lazy right now and let him wash her. She only closed her eyes and enjoyed him carefully massaging her scalp as he applied the shampoo to her hair. Such a calm evening was exactly what she needed today.
Theodore hummed to her before giving her a small warning and beginning to wash the shampoo off again.
When he finished, her head was tingling, and she barely wanted to move at all, so she limply lay on his chest and stared into the distance. To be honest, she was already fighting against her exhaustion, which made her eyelids heavier with every passing second.
Theodore smiled down at her and hugged her before speaking up at a low volume. “You are really tired, aren't you? I feel like you will plummet into the water if I don't hold you up.” That could definitely happen.
Blanche's head had already lowered without her wanting to do that a few times. “Maybe. It was really exhausting.”
Her lover started to caress her head again, and she let out a sigh of bliss when the tingling began again. He carefully ran his fingertips across her scalp while keeping his other arm wrapped around her waist. “I'm sorry. I know that all of this was a bit much today. I would have liked to keep you out of this, I really did. But that wasn't possible. I didn't want to announce anything about our future without you. I should have asked you about whether you were fine with it first though, so I apologize for not doing that.”
Blanche forced herself to open her eyes and stared at the soap bar that was lying on the edge of the bathtub. “It's fine. You didn't say anything that you didn't tell me before. Well, except for you giving me a new noble title, but that was just a joke anyway.”
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Her lover's response came immediately. “It wasn't. I don't see the need for this, but if it will increase the number of aristocrats accepting you, I will do it. For now, I won't try anything, but in a few months, I might begin working on that depending on how the situation at that time looks. But you don't have to get used to that new title when you receive it. It will only be temporary.”
The concubine had no idea what he was referring to, or rather she didn't dare think that he might be serious about such nonsense. Either way, she didn't like how confident he sounded. He wouldn't grant her a noble title and then take it away when suspicions about it being legally correct arose, right? That didn't sound like it would boost his reputation. “Please be careful with that. I don't really want any other title. If it helps our children later, I would obviously accept it. That doesn't mean that I need more power though. I don't want anyone to think that I am only using you.”
Theodore placed his hand on her chin and tilted her head backward to have her look at him. “As long as I know that that isn't true, it's fine, right? I will never doubt your commitment, so these rumors don't matter to me. Of course, I'll fight against anyone that dares to disrespect you, but I won't ever believe that gossip is true.”
Blanche's heart skipped a beat when she heard that. She began to draw patterns onto her lover's arm and leaned her head back onto his chest. “I am thankful for that, but don't overdo it. Don't do something like during the banquet regularly.”
Theodore was silent for a moment before replying in a soft voice. “There are at least two more things that I need to break to them like this. And it's...important that I do it like this. I know that you'd rather want me to be diplomatic, but... I need to be seen in a specific way if I want this to work. It's for different reasons, but I dislike it too. Yet, I can't avoid that no matter what. Even if it's just to protect you and to make our enemies think I'm weak. Just until we won. Then I can be a bit more careful again. But I'm sorry if that worries you. I will prepare you better the next time.”
The concubine sighed inwardly and let her head roll to the side. “If you do this regularly, I feel like our peaceful days will be over soon. I would like to live comfortably for a while longer without you starting a war with the Duremonts or the empress.”
“You don't need to fear either one of them. You are in a much more powerful position than they are. But please never stay quiet if anything about them seems weird to you. Even if I feel like no one in that family would move aside from...” He paused for a moment before changing his mind. “If we are lucky, even that won't happen. I would rather be overly cautious than negligent.”
She nodded her head slowly. “Alright. I need you to protect me from Duke Duremont's glare after all.”
Theodore moved into an upright position and forced her to sit up with that too. “Don't worry. I will shield you from everything. That man doesn't have any real power anyway. He won't withdraw his support for me when my brother is the other choice. So, I can do whatever I want unless I hurt his family, which I don't intend on doing for now. Unless they threaten us first.” It shouldn't be easy for him to voice such threats in such an indifferent tone. “Anyway. I fear that I need to tell you something unpleasant now. The water is getting cold, so we will have to get out.”
Blanche slouched against her lover and relaxed all of her muscles. “I don't want to. I won't move.”
Theodore chuckled quietly but didn't give in and kept her upright. “Unfortunately, I have to insist. After all, we don't want you to get a cold, so we will have to get out in a few minutes. And the longer we wait, the more unpleasant it will get. So, I'll be the mean one and make you climb out. Or...” He paused and pressed a kiss onto her shoulder before resuming. “I could carry you out.”
The concubine didn't need much persuasion and remained still. “Yes, please. Pick me up.”
Her lover laughed again while the water splashed around him as he got onto his knees. “Your wish is my command.” It wasn't easy for him to stand up without forcing her to sit on her own first, but somehow, he managed to do that anyway. He lifted her and stepped out of the bathtub before placing her on top of a cushioned stool. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her head so that it would dry her hair a bit. Then he took a second one and began gently rubbing it across her skin.
While he did this, he took his time to plant kisses on every part of her body. Still, he was finished soon and dried himself in the process too. Then he replaced the towel on her head with a new one and picked her up again to bring her to the bed.
The warm and soft blankets felt even more wonderful than normal, and Blanche simply allowed herself to enjoy that for a while until her eyelids became heavy again. She used her last bit of strength to extend her arms to her lover, which encouraged him to pull her into an embrace.
Theodore insisted on dressing her in her nightgown first though and made sure that her hair was covered fully by the towel before joining her. Then he finally wrapped his arms around her and gave her even more warmth than the blankets alone did.
Blanche was more than content with that and fell asleep within a few seconds.
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Even after a wonderful morning, Blanche's mood deteriorated as soon as Theodore left after lunch. She knew that he would have a long and exhausting argument with the empress now, so she made sure to give him a big kiss before he disappeared. Then she sat down on the window sill with Stella. She told the other woman about the banquet in great detail.
In the beginning, Blanche had only intended to give a summary, but the more she talked, the more she remembered things she wanted to tell someone. So, they ended up sitting there and talking for an eternity. In retrospect, it had been a bad idea to recount most of the things Henry had accused the concubine of since this infuriated the maid enormously.
“He said what? How dare he? I'm glad that His Majesty told him to shut his mouth. If I had been in the room, I would have thrown something at him. That arrogant old man.” Stella puffed out her chest and crossed her arms while glaring at the invisible offender.
Blanche didn't know whether to laugh about that or whether to be seriously worried. “As amusing and encouraging you defending me is, I would rather not tell you that you are on a good track. After all, I am a bit scared that you are serious and will get in trouble for insulting a duke in a few weeks.”
The maid made a rejecting gesture with her hand. “Don't worry about it. I'm not that courageous.”
“That surely looked different when you confronted Lady Lemares during the party. You were so angry back then that I thought that you would hit the table.”
Stella pouted at that and leaned her head against the wall behind her. “I almost did. I'm glad that I managed to stop myself though. That was only because of His Majesty's presence. If I hadn't known that he was there to defend you, I might have poured tea over her head.”
Blanche had to chuckle. “That is exactly what I believed you to be thinking about back then. I'm happy that you didn't do it. A maid purposefully pouring boiling tea over a marquess' daughter? That would have...” She cut herself off as a movement from the corner of her eyes caught her attention. She turned her head to the window and looked down.
A figure that could be no one else but the empress that was running towards the labyrinth. Three people, her remaining attendants and Noah, followed her, but only the knight went inside while the other two waited by the entrance. That didn't look good. Seemingly, the discussion with the emperor hadn't gone well.
Blanche felt a shiver run down her spine as she imagined Seraphina's freezing anger being directed at her. The other woman was still the heroine, so it wasn't clever to infuriate her. In fact, the concubine should give her best to convince the empress not to be upset. After all, being hated by the most powerful woman in the nation wasn't something beneficial.
Blanche stared at the labyrinth for a moment as she held her hand to her neck before turning to Stella. “I should apologize to the empress, shouldn't I? She was in a really uncomfortable situation because of us yesterday.” That question was completely useless when she both knew how her servant would respond and what the honest reply was. She should gather her courage and explain to Seraphina that she didn't want to be her enemy despite this whole predicament. Especially the part about the concubine giving birth to the royal heirs would cause problems if the heroine believed her to be power-hungry.
Stella just gazed out of the window with indifference. “I don't think so. You didn't do anything, right? And His Majesty only told them the truth, so there is nothing anyone needs to apologize for. Except for that duke and Lady Lemares. They should be the ones begging for forgiveness.”
It was still astonishing how much the story had changed. Normally, the maid should have been Seraphina's attendant for a long time now and should listen to her new mistress' every whim. Still, she was here and listened to the concubine's issues and defended her no matter what. She seemed content with that too. She wasn't depressed nor did she barely eat because something bothered her. No, this change had actually been good for her.
Blanche slipped off the window sill and smiled at the other woman but shook her head. “That's not entirely true. I want to live peacefully in the future. So, I have to create a neutral relationship with the empress. I'll go apologize quickly. That can only make it better.” Or it might make Seraphina hate her even more, but she refused to think about that. “We don't even need to change. We'll just hurry to the labyrinth and go back immediately before Theo returns. Come on.” She steered towards the door without waiting for her maid's response.
Stella's footsteps quickly sounded behind her as the servant complained loudly about this being unnecessary.
Still, the concubine didn't give in. She left the room and met Owen's gaze with a smile. “Good afternoon. How are you? Did something special happen?”
The head knight didn't move a muscle and kept his stone-faced expression. “Good afternoon, Lady Blanche. As always, there are no special occurrences to be named. Where do you want to go?”
“I would like to visit the labyrinth for a moment. The empress is there, and I want to apologize for the banquet.”
Owen turned his head to check the hallways before replying. “His Majesty won't be pleased if he hears about that. I believe that he does not see a reason for you to apologize no matter the situation.”
Blanche waved her hand around in the air. “He won't notice at all. I'll be back in a few minutes. Let's go.”
True to her words, she hurried to reach her destination and almost jumped off the stairs even when her two followers kept reminding her that she had to be careful. She only stopped when Owen told her that he would carry her if she continued to be this reckless only a week after being poisoned. She absolutely had no idea whether he was joking or not, so she forced herself to go slowly.
They reached the ballroom soon after that, and she was about to walk to the terrace when she heard chatter. It sounded like a group of servants was talking outside in one of the corners that weren't visible from inside. The concubine didn't actually have any time to listen to them, but when she heard her name, she stopped behind the door frame and signaled the other two to be quiet.
The first one that spoke again was a girl with a high-pitched voice. “No way! Is that really true? His Majesty just said that to his wife's face? While everyone else was present?”
The maid that had mentioned Blanche's name before replied. “I was there and heard everything with my own ears. It was exactly like I narrated it. Can you imagine how that poor woman must have felt while hearing him say that?”
The concubine had almost forgotten about that. During the banquet, a group of servants and some knights had stood inside the room the whole time. This meant that every word that had been spoken would be spread among the servants now. Obviously, fresh rumors like the Duremonts and Theodore fighting would spread like a wildfire. But the most worrisome part was that this proved that others knew about the emperor's plans to make a commoner's child the next ruler now.
A male servant chimed in at that. “Seriously. What was he thinking? There is no way he could just voice something like that without any consequences.”
The girl from the beginning spoke again. “This will definitely have consequences. I can't imagine them working together after that anymore. Well, that might be for the better. Maybe they would understand that they can't be this arrogant the entire time then. And everything surely happened exactly like that?” She paused for a moment. “Really? Then I feel bad for her. I mean, being treated this coldly by such an influential man is scary. How horrible. Doesn't he have any respect for the mother of the future emperor at all? Doesn't that make her the future dowager empress too? He should be careful not to make her angry, or she might get revenge in the future.”
That had been another surprise.