The concubine lowered her gaze to the floor and only lifted it when they rounded another corner to not run into the hedges. The situation with the Duremonts was truly horrible.
And yet, so satisfying. There was no way that Theodore would be with Seraphina with all that was going on.
Of course, that still didn't make any of this better.
Blanche still had to give her best to prevent the empress from resenting her and the emperor even more, or other problems would arise. “I can imagine that the conversation wasn't very pleasant. But I am sure that Theo is just acting like this because he is tense because of his family's appearance. It would be hard for him to ignore that, but he can't hurt them, so he is probably a bit...desperate at this point.”
Seraphina turned her head to the concubine for a moment before gazing forward again. “You do not need to make excuses for him. He has been acting like this for a while now, and it is getting worse with every passing week. I can only hope that the matter with his opponents is resolved quickly. Even though I doubt that this would influence his actions in the slightest. He will still be as stubborn as ever and refuse to hear anyone else's opinions. And he will continue to be furious in an argument, even though he is the one making the mistakes.”
There was a lot of frustration hidden in those words so that Blanche couldn't help but realize that the fight, or the royal couple's recent interactions in general, had to have been very hostile. She was, once again, thankful for the fact that Theodore didn't ever argue with her. If he did, she would probably cry non-stop. After all, her lover could be scary when he was angry.
The banquet had proven that once again, and along with the thought of his expression during the attack in the forest, that was enough to make her shudder. If he looked at her like that, she might even faint out of fear. The emperor was an intimidating man, so it was impressive that the heroine had no issue discussing with him and keeping her stance no matter how angry he got. Blanche scanned the other woman from the corner of her eyes until Seraphina noticed that and turned to her.
“If there is something you wish to say, speak up.”
The concubine was a bit embarrassed upon being caught staring. She would have liked to keep silent about her thoughts, but it was too late now. “I apologize if that question is nosy, Your Majesty. Do you and Theo fight more often than in the past? I felt like you were not just referring to this discussion today. I previously thought that you were arguing less than you used to, but...”
The empress let out an unamused huff and kept her eyes trained on something in front of her. “That is only because we barely interact with each other anymore. His Majesty gives his best to avoid me whenever possible. I have to say that I am thankful for that though. In the rare cases that we do meet, we either argue, or he does something that irritates me without an exception. In the past, we had countless discussions about you or political issues. But now he manages the affairs of the state with the help of his minister, and every plan that he proposes is flawless so that I cannot voice a single complaint.” She scanned the concubine for a moment before turning back and stepping through the rose arch into the center of the labyrinth with the fountain. “Since you stayed calm during the past months, there were very few occasions on which I had to ask him for a conversation, and I even gave that up ever since the vacation. In the past, he always defended your impudent actions while trying to pacify me. But now he tends to find ways to revert my own arguments and uses them against me until it sounds like I was the one that made a mistake. I do not feel the need to engage in such conversations. In summary, we argue less, but the few discussions we have are much harsher instead.”
That didn't sound good at all. If the royal spouses fought less but more heatedly, that didn't mean anything favorable for the emperor's relationship with the Duremonts. Especially if the arguments had been about the concubine, whom Theodore definitely favored over his wife.
Blanche wasn't sure whether these words about her doing something wrong had been an accusation of some sort, so she would apologize just in case. “If I made any errors recently that I was not aware of, please do tell me so that I won't repeat them.” She was pretty sure that she had been too nervous to do anything overly disrespectful, but she couldn't be fully certain. She might have unknowingly disregarded some kind of rule that didn't make sense to her.
Seraphina stopped and sat down on the edge of the fountain. She looked a bit too perfect while sitting in front of the gently swaying water that reflected her golden hair. She sparkled in the sunlight, and her graceful motions only underlined how unfairly impressive the heroine's aura was. She was silent for a moment before responding. “I am surprised by your change too. In the past, you would refuse to acknowledge any of your mistakes and insist on being innocent. Even if there were countless witnesses, even when your lies were obvious. Being impudent and brazen were the main aspects of your personality. You were always happy about me and His Majesty fighting. What made you change this much that you would be more concerned about his political stance than glad that he defends you from me and gives you more power than anyone here approves of?”
It sounded like that statement had been supposed to be provoking, but Blanche didn't mind much. After all, it wasn't a lie. She still felt a bit uncomfortable while standing in front of the empress without being able to move to cover her uncertainty. “I know that I didn't show it well in the past, but I do love Theo. More than anything else. That is why I would rather have him safe than me gaining anything. I also don't want him to give me any power, I just want to stay by his side. And that is the same with the children that we might have in the future. I never wanted a child because I hoped that it would become the royal heir. I only wished to be a mother and raise our child with Theodore.” Blanche pushed away the small voice in her head reminding her that the villainess wouldn't be blessed with a pregnancy any time soon.
Not that getting pregnant would erase all issues with how unlucky the villainess was. The safety of her baby would be another issue. Blanche knew that women and infants were fragile during pregnancies, so she worried about a possible child's health too.
Seraphina didn't have any idea what Blanche was thinking about. She scanned the other woman again, her eyes almost seeming to read the concubine's every mood as she replied. “And even so, you asked for much more than that a while ago. I believe that you also began some discussions just to spite me, so hearing this does surprise me.”
Blanche cringed at her own past behavior and quickly tried to explain it as well as she could. “In the past, I was only content to see you fight with Theo because I knew that he defended me, even when the second most powerful person in the nation pointed out my errors. As stupid and naive as that was... I saw it as proof of his love and hoped that it...would show that he wouldn't send me away either.” To be honest, she had worried a lot about her position in the palace when Seraphina had originally moved in. A part of her had worried about Theodore asking her to live elsewhere to avoid conflict, and when he had protected her and had been on her side no matter what, that had calmed her down immensely.
The empress rested her palms on the fountain's edge and scanned the woman standing in front of her. “And that change truly happened because of a dream?”
Blanche froze at that. The blood in her veins seemed to become icy as she stared at the heroine. Why did Seraphina know about that? No one should have heard that excuse except for Theodore and the concubine's closest friends. “How...”
Her expression had to have revealed how shocked she was as Seraphina quickly explained. “You happened to tell that story to a servant while Gloria was there. She gave me a summary of what you said that day, and to be honest, I was very skeptical. I was wondering about how a mere nightmare about being executed could change a person's character this drastically.”
Right.
It was true that Blanche had given Clark a short narration of her nightmare after he had admitted to being the one that had triggered her allergy. She had just mentioned the part about her being beheaded while a crowd cheered, so it shouldn't be a problem even if Gloria had eavesdropped. “Ah. Yes, that is true. I understand why that seems weird to you, but I can assure you that it was the truth. I saw myself from an outsider's perspective and wanted to improve my behavior because of that.”
Seraphina watched her until she finished speaking before immediately replying. “I wasn't finished. I was skeptical at first. But then I thought about some things in the past and paid a bit more attention to some of your actions that had confused me in the past. I had always believed that your life in the palace was easy, but it seems like you had more trouble gaining the staff's respect than I could ever have imagined. After all, hearing that one of them purposefully put an ingredient that you are allergic to into your food because you rightfully scolded a maid before made me rethink. Especially since you chose to forgive that person without asking questions. I wouldn't have been so merciful if I had been the harmed person, and His Majesty would have thrown the perpetrator out already if he had heard as well. You remember that incident, don't you?” It made sense that the empress knew about that too when Gloria had told her about the other half.
It wasn't surprising that she would react quite harshly either. After all, Clark's error had been severe. The fact that the concubine hadn't scolded him for that much didn't have anything to do with kindness or lenience though.
Now the empress probably interpreted this wrong while thinking that the staff had troubled the concubine first. She wouldn't suddenly like the other woman because of that and would still view her as an enemy, but Blanche wouldn't correct her, if just to gain a hint of sympathy.
Blanche nodded slightly and hid her hands behind her back so that she could fiddle with them to distract herself a bit. She didn't know why Seraphina remembered such specific things after months, but she would try to ensure that Clark got out of this without losing his job. “I do remember. There were a few issues with me coming here in the beginning, but now everyone is nice to me. There is no need to focus on anything before that.”
Seraphina's expression looked as unaffected as always while she spoke up. “You might have changed the view that the people within the palace have on you, as proven by the different nature of the rumors about you, but that does not apply to everyone outside. I won't address the more complex story of what His Majesty will do in the future since you seem to be unknowing in that regard. But I would like to explain why he acted so inappropriately yesterday. He wishes to protect you.” She averted her eyes for a moment, and slight annoyance appeared on her features. “He obviously overdid it that day, but he made his intentions clear. I assume that this was his main goal, so he was successful. Unfortunately, he was also successful in making my father wrathful. I cannot imagine this going well for long if he keeps up such behavior.” She paused for a moment and massaged her temples before making eye contact with the concubine.
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Blanche nodded dejectedly. “I'm really worried about that. That is why I am grateful that you stayed calm and didn't support His Grace's anger.”
Seraphina eyed the other woman before speaking up. “There is no need to thank me. I did not do any of that to help you or His Majesty. I merely thought of the best for Artias. That is obviously the current emperor reigning and not His Royal Highness. Though, I have to admit that I was only able to collect myself because I was already aware of his plans before. Otherwise, I might have been less calm.”
The concubine picked at her fingernails and interlocked her fingers behind herself. “By plans, you mean...”
“The part about your children becoming part of the royal family and possibly ruling the nation.”
Blanche didn't know how to speak about that without upsetting the empress, but she couldn't help being curious. “I would understand if that made you really furious. It would have been logical for you to approach Theodore and demand an explanation as soon as you found out. But you seem to have chosen to stay quiet. You even told Lord Duremont and Lady Ravillot without showing any anger. Why? Your brother even said that you were fine with it. I can barely imagine that.” For a moment, she thought that she had gone too far with that question.
Seraphina was silent and just stared at the concubine. But then she opened her mouth and spoke in an aloof tone. “Do not misunderstand. I have my doubts about making the children of a woman without any political backing the royal heir. But His Majesty needs a successor no matter what. The alternative is much more ridiculous, so the choice to have your children take over is logical. I assume that you can imagine that it would be unpleasant for people that dislike each other to share a bed just to have a descendant. More so, that child would grow up in a family in which the parents do not hold any sympathy for each other while the father favors another woman. Along with all the rumors that would appear around them, something like this might break a child. I, myself, grew up with my parents loving one another deeply, and I am very thankful for that. That is why I believe that this would be more pleasant for other children as well. Still, this is not a favorable arrangement. There will be issues in the future.”
If someone like Seraphina, who knew a lot about the political forces in Artias, said this, Blanche believed her. Even without the empress' words, it had been obvious that heirs that were descendants of a commoner, and illegitimate children from an affair would not be recognized by all nobles. That wouldn't keep the concerned person from becoming the future ruler of the nation, but they would have to fight hard to earn the aristocrats' trust and would probably always have to face unfavorable rumors. So, all of this was a very risky plan.
But there wasn't another choice that would make any of them happy. Theodore didn't want to be close to the empress, and it seemed like Seraphina shared that sentiment in regard to him. Obviously, Theodore wanted to have a child with Blanche, and the concubine wished to be a mother too. She had longed for a family with her lover for what felt like an eternity, and now he had told her that they would have a chance without him needing to lay with another woman first.
Of course, Blanche was overjoyed because of that. She knew that she was demanding a lot right now. But she wanted this kind of future and would fight for it with all she had. Even if she had no idea what to do. “I am aware of that, Your Majesty. I do not know a lot about politics, but I will give my best to create a world in which all of us can be happy. I can't do that on my own, and I can't influence the nobles either, but I deeply wish for my children and Theo to live the best life they can.”
The empress leaned back slightly so that the concubine was afraid that she would fall into the fountain. But obviously, Seraphina stayed as elegant as ever and sat upright without swaying once. “It would be much easier if you had some relation to one of the noble houses in the capital or even in the rest of the nation. Being from an aristocratic family could change many people's minds in this regard, even if you are merely some distant cousin or an illegitimate child. Not a lot is known about your background, but it seems like you, unfortunately, are not from a noble bloodline. If you happened to be, this would be the perfect moment to speak up.” Somehow, her gaze seemed a bit too intrusive while she said that. She should know the truth already, simply because Theodore had needed to give Blanche her own title, but she still asked this.
Blanche would have been overjoyed to nod in affirmation and to reveal that she had an ace up her sleeve, which could make all of this much easier for Theodore. But unfortunately, she was a commoner. Blanche knew that both of her parents had been born in the capital and that she had lived in the house her maternal grandparents had bought. Her father had been a merchant, and his wife had dealt with the accounting, which revealed that they hadn't been nobles. There was not a single drop of aristocratic blood in her. That usually wouldn't bother her, but when it came to the future of her children...
Blanche dejectedly shook her head. “We would already have revealed something like that, Your Majesty. We are sure that I am not related to any nobles here.”
Seraphina wasn't surprised. “I see. I believed that too since there was no record of any woman with your age and name being born in the noble families during the past two decades.” She closed her eyes for a moment and just seemed to enjoy the fresh air but probably thought about it carefully before she looked at Blanche and spoke again. “Then you will have to work hard for the sake of your children. There are a few things you can already do to grant your future heirs an easier life despite these unfitting circumstances.”
Blanche felt her heart skip a beat at that. “I can?” If so, she needed to do everything in her power. She would do anything that could help her future children and her lover. “What can I do?”
“You already started with the first part. You gave your best to appear dignified in public. You need to work on controlling your facial expressions and radiate a bit more confidence if you want to stand by His Majesty's side and be known as his partner. That will be necessary if you wish for your children to become members of the royal family. So, focus on improving others' opinions of you and learn more about etiquette. You should have enough time to do that. You are doing fine, but you need to become perfect. Even that will not erase the unfortunate impression you made on others in the past, but it will slowly become better over the years. A bit of political knowledge could not hurt either. Just enough so that you can join discussions without showing that you are uneducated in that field. But the second part is much more complicated.”
Blanche had already begun taking mental notes and realized that this would mean that her goal didn't change too much from her original one of trying to prevent becoming a villainess. That wouldn't be impossible. But as soon as she heard the last sentence, she began to doubt that it would truly be as easy as the first half had made it sound. “I see. I will give my best to do that. And what is the more troublesome part?”
Seraphina slowly stood up without staggering once. She folded her hands in front of her body and met the other woman's gaze with a serious expression. “The rulers of Artias need political backing no matter what. You need to pave the way for them by gaining the support of influential people. The first thing I mention is part of this, but you need to specifically appeal to certain households in an attempt to gain their backing. His Grace, the Duke of Lamont would probably be eager to become more powerful by helping the emperor, so he will be the easiest one to win over. You will simply have to be polite and avoid troubling him. Angering him would almost be impossible anyway since His Grace is a very gentle and quiet man, so that shouldn't be a problem. Reigning with only the backing of one of the three dukedoms is possible. However, it will be more problematic.”
Blanche felt like all of that was true, so she nodded along even when Theodore had told her that it was a bit different.
The empress paused for a few seconds to make sure that the concubine was listening Then she just added more. “You do have the support of some people already. It is quite obvious that His Majesty will help his own children, and his closest allies like Lord Astame will be on your side. Since the nation will work best with a ruler that does not engage in political struggles, I will back your children too. But there are limitations. I will only do so as long as they are competent and treat others with human decency, which would make them a wise ruler. And only as long as their parents do not believe that they can take away my power.”
The accusation in her words was easy to discern this time, but Blanche didn't think about interrupting. She just listened and waited for the main argument, even though she had a good idea of what that could be.
“Still, additional assistance is needed. After all, the other half of the Estien family consisting of Her Majesty, the dowager empress and His Royal Highness will oppose the heir no matter what. Naturally, the Vasquez household will not be your future ally, so there is only one other family left. The Duremonts belong to the second most influential bloodline in Artias, right after the royal family. Gaining their favor is the most intelligent move you could plan. After all, that would encourage our household's allies, including the powerful marquess Bellfaux, to be on your side as well. But as you can imagine, my father does not like the idea of you becoming the mother of His Majesty's children very much.”
Blanche nodded slowly as her confidence faded away. That sounded much different from what her lover always said regarding the emperor being untouchable. She wanted to believe Theodore more, but Seraphina was probably giving her the harsh truth. She had to listen to this and accept an unpleasant fact. There was no way that Henry would support the child that was born to the mistress of his daughter's husband. “If you allow me to be honest, I cannot imagine His Grace changing his mind in that regard. So-”
Seraphina narrowed her eyes at the other woman. “Giving up quickly will gain you nothing amid this political chaos. Do you not believe that I know my father better than you do? Why would I propose something impossible?” That was right too.
The concubine felt that her shoulders were slouching and forced herself to straighten her posture. “I apologize. Please go on.”
The empress nodded and did as she was asked. “My father is very loyal to Artias. He would sacrifice a lot to protect our nation. But he would throw all of that away if I asked him to do it. Naturally, I would never be tempted to do so and will rather encourage him to support His Majesty's heir so that our country will be stable in the future. This alone will not erase all of his anger and resentment for you and His Majesty, but he will not do anything rash. Now. If not only I but also the rest of my family would tell him to help the future ruler, he will decide to follow that advice. You already have won over my sister, so she will be on your side. I will do what is best for the country even if I am forced to accept unfavorable situations because of this. Meaning, that you will only need to convince my brother and mother.”
That sounded like it wouldn't be easy to accomplish. After all, Blanche wasn't good at manipulating people like Seraphina was. How would she even be able to be alone with those people to chat with them for a while? She couldn't just invite them for tea, especially not after the empress had threatened her for meeting Sophia last time. But she didn't voice her worries and merely let Seraphina speak.
“My mother will be a little harder to influence, but she just wants the best for our family. If you can prove that you do not wish to harm me or our household and even hope for Artias' well-being, she will not hesitate to appeal to my father. My brother is mostly on my side, but he will not forget what happened in the past. That means that you have to convince him that you do not intend to harm me anymore. Making him sympathize with you is beneficial since he will be the future head of the family as well. I believe that this will be easy as long as I tell him that it is fine. In the end, getting on the good side of both would help convince my father to ignore his grudge for the best of the country. It should be possible to do this with some time. You should still have at least a year, if not more. If you are lucky, the conflict within the royal family will be resolved until then, and you can take your time even after the child is born. But since royalty can only be executed with a very good reason, I doubt that that will be the case.” Seraphina gave that whole speech without even stuttering once and then just paused once at the end. “You are probably wondering why I am telling you so much about this matter when I should truly not care. Can you understand my reasoning?”
Blanche was taken aback by that, but she gave her best not to show it on her face. “I suspect that it is because you wish for the nation to be stable under a ruler that will not have to struggle for approval with each new decision.”
“That is part of the reason. But there is also something else.” Seraphina stepped forward so that she stood directly in front of the concubine, who had to look up to meet her gaze. Suddenly, the empress' face was colder than it had been before with her aura being as authoritarian as ever. “There is something that I need to prevent under any circumstance. Right now, it seems like this will not be an issue, but things can change quickly. I want to make you understand one thing. If you want to stay in the palace, live comfortably and grant your children an unproblematic ascent to the throne, you need my goodwill. So, I expect that you do not return to your old behavior and keep showing me the respect that I deserve as the one and only empress of Artias. Did you understand that, or do I need to repeat it for you?”
For some reason, this sounded less like a threat than many things that Seraphina had said in the past.
Blanche didn't feel like this was supposed to intimidate her but truly just secure that she would accept the empress' boundaries. Since she didn't intend on trying anything bad, this didn't have to scare her at all. “No, you do not need to repeat it. I understand you well, and I promise that I do not plan on ever causing you trouble. I am so thankful that you allow us to think about having children that can be recognized as Theodore's in public that I can't even express it properly. So, I would never-” She cut herself off when she heard loud footsteps from behind the hedge.
Was someone running here? At the moment, that she turned her head to the rose arch, she already spotted the responsible one.
This would be unpleasant, and she was sure of that especially when she saw her lover's expression.