The travel to the capital passed without any issues. In fact, it was almost scary that they didn't need to stop to wait for other carriages to move past them once. It seemed like others always allowed them to go first, which was only another proof of the power of a simple crest. As soon as people knew that someone was from the royal palace, they suddenly gave their best to show as much respect as possible. That didn't keep them from gawking at the passengers though.
Obviously, Theodore had chosen a store in a district of the city that was filled to the brim with prosperous citizens and luxury shops. Countless knights were roaming through the streets so that it looked like there were more guards than normal people. Still, some nobles took strolls and visited the stores with the most lavish items displayed in the windows. But as soon as the carriage came into view, all the people directed their attention to the vehicle instead.
The coach came to a halt in front of a store that looked like it sold exceptionally expensive items, and Leon and Owen climbed out.
Blanche gave her best not to trip when the secretary helped her out and focused on keeping her head upright. She had to appear somewhat dignified in front of all of those people around her. A careful glance to the side proved that countless aristocrats and rich merchant families were frozen in place while watching them. They didn't even try to hide that they were staring at the concubine and gossiping about her.
She held back a sigh and immediately steered towards the store. Hopefully, it would be a bit emptier inside so that she wouldn't feel like others' gazes were piercing her and judging her actions the whole time. She eyed Leonard, who was walking sideways behind her and allowed herself to vent her frustration. “They really don't have anything better to do, have they? I understand that people from the palace are interesting, but we're not doing anything special. We just got out of a carriage and will enter a store now. There are plenty more interesting things to watch.”
Leon nodded to the attendants by the shop's entrance, who opened the door for them, before leading her inside. “They don't have anything better to do, believe me. That's why they come here to buy luxury goods so that they can brag to their so-called friends. Meeting a person that is related to the royal family is the most fascinating topic they can gossip about during the next tea party. Besides, this is more about symbolism. To what kind of conclusion do you think that they will come if they see you here with as many guards as the emperor usually has? They'll know that he dotes on you and will make sure not to offend you. I can imagine that some people will even try to curry favor with you. There they come.”
Blanche turned her head and was surprised to find three vendors immediately greeting them. The two men and the woman bowed to her and showed her blinding smiles that had to have been perfected over the course of years of working in such establishments. They were probably used to beaming at everyone and showering them in compliments. After all, many customers loved people showing them exaggerated respect and rushing to serve them.
One of the men spoke up first. “We are honored to receive such an esteemed guest in our modest establishment.”
The woman took over after that. “Welcome to our store. We will offer you the best service to ensure that you will find what you are searching for.”
Leon cut them off before the last person could speak. “Yes, thank you. We would like to look around by ourselves.”
Instantly, the vendors backed off. “Of course, dear customers. If you need help with anything, we are at your service. Please do not hesitate to ask us for anything. We can offer you freshly brewed tea and the most delicious cake of the famous confectioner in Esora.”
Leonard shook his head. “No, thank you.” His words were intoned with a slightly sharper edge now, and that caused the vendors to close their mouths. They merely stepped aside and gestured to the inside of the store.
Blanche had already felt overwhelmed with their fake kindness, and seeing the interior didn't make that any better. The palace was lavish. The jeweler's shop of the Vasquez family, which she had visited last time, was luxurious. But whatever this was seemed completely over the top. There were gems and shiny ornaments everywhere. Chandeliers with glass reflected the light of the countless candles and thus illuminated the whole chamber. Every corner of the room was adorned with some golden accessories as well as wine red curtains and furniture. The color scheme was pleasing to the eye, but there were way too many costly ornaments to make the establishment seem cozy. This place was definitely made for people who had so much money that they didn't know what to do with it and liked to brag.
The concubine was fairly certain that she wouldn't find anything for her lover here though. Why had he sent her to this store? “Leon.” She waited until the secretary turned to her before speaking up in a whisper. “I don't think that the things they offer will help me much. Calling this flashy is a huge understatement. My eyes hurt from so many blinking items.”
Leonard nodded with an annoyed expression. “I'm glad that you feel the same. The palace is full of gold, but it looks a bit more elegant there. Here, it just seems like someone is trying too hard. But you shouldn't worry. You didn't lose your trust in your lover, did you? He wouldn't bring you to such an overpriced store that offers nothing but lavish luxury goods. We will go to the other side of the store. Follow me. Maybe those people will stop staring when we finally get out of the main room.”
Blanche glanced over her shoulder to find the vendors beaming at them from afar. They certainly didn't give up quickly. But that didn't matter to her. She was just content knowing that there was another place here that could offer something she wanted to give to her lover. “It's not like they can stop us. Lead the way. I'm curious.”
Leon smiled at her. “That part is a bit more modest. I'm sure you will like it.” Just when he took the first step, bells chimed through the store.
The vendors immediately stormed to the entrance to greet the person that came inside. They welcomed the man with the same fake smile, only to be met with an expression of pure annoyance. That was the face that Allen often showed everyone that wasn't part of his beloved family, so it wasn't surprising. He managed to silence the vendors with a single word before simply moving forward. He truly had no intention of waiting for them to finish their introduction and steered in the same reaction as the concubine and the secretary. Only then, he noticed them and froze in place.
This eye contact was one of the strangest ones Blanche had ever experienced. There wasn't any anger or resentment but just uncertainty on how to act. At least for a few seconds.
Then Allen's and Leon's gaze met, and both of them narrowed their eyes. The concubine watched that for a moment and was completely lost. Did those two not like each other? She had no idea. After all, she hadn't ever seen them interact if she remembered correctly, and in the novel, they hadn't-
Blanche cut her own thoughts off when a vague memory of a fight at a ball months ago crossed her mind. Hadn't she troubled Seraphina again by clinging to Theodore's arm during the party? Her lover hadn't wanted to push her away, so he had endured it despite her ignoring his countless requests to stop. At some point, she had been forced to let go so that the empress and the emperor could dance though.
During that time, Allen had confronted Blanche and had been as harsh as always whenever his sister was connected to the conflict. Obviously, he was as scary as his father, so the concubine had had a hard time keeping herself from crying until she hadn't been able to hide it anymore.
Thankfully, Leon had stepped in at that moment and had told Allen to deal with those kinds of things in private. The response had been that Blanche had been the one to cause issues in public and that she would have to live with taking responsibility for that. The secretary had just told him that being close to the emperor with his permission as an important friend wasn't a crime, which had only served to infuriate Allen further.
They had discussed a long time, with the heroine's brother becoming furious and Leonard hiding his emotions fairly well. In the end, they had both accused each other of being the dog of the emperor and the empress respectively and had fought until the royal couple had noticed and intervened.
To Blanche, it had only mattered that Leon had been her hero that day and that she had thanked him over and over again. Back then, she had been convinced that the secretary disliked her and had been surprised by him helping her. But to be honest, she had almost forgotten about that since she had never seen these two men interacting for longer than the necessary greeting afterward. Seeing them glaring at each other was something new.
Normally, Leonard gave his best to be polite the whole time, but seemingly, he couldn't forgive some comments either. Well, at least the concubine wasn't the most disliked person here, so she could hold herself back if those people truly fought. Still, she hoped that they wouldn't. They were in public after all, and everyone was paying attention already.
Allen finally decided to approach them instead of just standing there. He stopped in front of the two of them and spoke without hiding the frustration dripping from his voice. “What a pleasant coincidence to meet you here. How are you, Lord Astame?”
Leonard kept a cold expression for a moment before putting on a fake smile. “Are you sure that was the right greeting? Well, it can't be helped. Good afternoon, Lord Duremont. I am doing well. It's a pleasure to meet you here. This has lit up my day already.” The sarcasm was so obvious that it didn't serve to ease the tense atmosphere. The secretary had managed to irritate Allen with that first ambiguous statement so that the other man's mood quickly soured even more.
“I am not aware of what you could have been referring to.” Allen turned to the concubine. “Good afternoon, Lady Blanche. I hope that you are doing well too. What leads you here?”
If Blanche was honest, she would have to say that she felt horrible while standing between two men that were clearly opposing each other. But naturally, she didn't voice that but forced herself to smile. “I cannot complain. I am here to buy a gift for Theo's birthday party. I'm pleasured to have run into you here, Lord Duremont.”
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Allen gave her a small smile that was probably only supposed to annoy Leon. “At least it wasn't as forceful as the last few times.” Was he joking about the incidents in which they had literally run into each other again?
Blanche didn't even know what to say about that. She laughed nervously before replying. “Well, I try my best to be more careful now. The number of people that I collided with significantly decreased because of that, so it seems to be effective.” Luckily, Luciano and Allen hadn't scared her again during the past months. Instead, Theodore tended to stand behind her and speak up suddenly, but she could live with that, even if her heart stopped for a moment each time.
After that, the three of them were silent, which only made the situation more uncomfortable.
Blanche forced herself to speak up after a few seconds passed without anything happening except for the men glaring at each other. “Well, then. We wouldn't want to keep you from doing what you came here for. We will bid our farewell now. Since we do not have much time...”
Leon chimed in at that. “Right. His Majesty told us to return by five o'clock. We need to hurry a bit. Goodbye, Lord Duremont.”
Allen nodded towards them. “Goodbye. Arrive home safely.”
“You too.”
It was obvious that the men were happy to end the conversation quickly, and it seemed like the problem was resolved. But after all of them took a step in the same direction, it became clear that this might be uncomfortable for a while longer.
Leon gave the other man a fake smile. “Could it be that Lord Duremont wishes to see the same jeweler that we are searching for? What a coincidence.”
Allen didn't bother to pretend that he was happy about it. “It seems like it. That can only be beneficial for the jeweler though. After all, he will make more sales this way. I need to buy a present for His Majesty's birthday as well. Is there a problem with that?”
Leonard's smile widened. “Actually-”
Blanche interrupted him there. She didn't need them to have some petty discussion now. “Of course not. It should be obvious that this jeweler will be visited by many people if he is capable. Let us go there. As Lord Astame said, we have barely any time left.” With that, she narrowed her eyes at the secretary for a second to show him that she really didn't want any trouble before steering in the direction he had shown her.
She didn't get far before Owen walked in front of her to pass through the hallway at the end of the salon first. He pushed the curtain away for her, and she thanked him before following him.
The doorway had truly been a portal to a completely different world. The room behind was clean too, and there were a lot of expensive-looking items displayed, but the interior was way more tasteful. Blanche relaxed a bit when she saw this and walked inside to look around.
An elderly man in a suit stood by the counter and greeted her with a smile that was still fake but not as sickening as one of the other vendors. “Good afternoon to our esteemed customers. Welcome to this part of the establishment. Is there anything special that you are wishing to acquire? If it is any sort of jewelry, we will be able to provide it for you and can also create custom items. Feel free to examine everything closely. We offer nothing but objects of the highest quality.”
Leonard replied for them. “Thank you very much. We will look around first.” After that, he turned to the concubine. “Maybe you'll get an idea of what you want to get. They should have everything you can imagine.”
Which meant that Blanche would have to fight against her desire to own the shiniest accessories again. She just hoped that it would be easier this time. She had received so many gifts from Theodore that she should be fine for now. If not, she would simply have to hide it well. Otherwise, the secretary might buy something for her again like the earrings last time.
That thought made her eyes widen, and Blanche turned to face Leon. “Now that we're visiting a jeweler again... I didn't thank you for buying me a gift before the empress' birthday party. Theo wrote that you saw me looking at them and got the earrings for me.”
Leon gave her a smile. “There is no need to thank me. After all, His Majesty was the one that paid for them. I was just thinking that it would be odd not to get you a gift when you finally put some effort into learning etiquette. See it as a reward for that.”
Blanche mirrored his expression. “Still. It really wasn't necessary, but I liked them very much. Thank you.”
“I said it's fine. That gift might become useful later too, but don't worry about that. Let's go look around now. We only have about forty minutes left before we have to return to the carriage, and if you don't know what to buy by then, you will have a hard time deciding.” He purposefully passed by Allen without saying anything and began inspecting the display stands.
To the concubine, it was obvious that she would order a custom item for Theodore instead of taking something that was already being sold. Since she didn't have a clue on what to get him though, she could only rely on getting ideas by looking around. She stepped to the closest stand and scanned the items.
Every object here was something that would be a fitting gift for a rather young lady but not an adult man and especially not her lover, who already owned everything imaginable. Blanche pouted at that thought. It would be almost impossible to find something he needed or longed for when the whole nation belonged to him.
She moved to the next stand with a sigh. There still wasn't anything but fancy necklaces and bracelets. The following stand did have pieces of jewelry Theodore actually wore like a pocket watch and some simple rings, but none of them caught her eye. So, she walked through the entire room while searching for something extremely specific but without knowing what that was.
Blanche had only four stands left and hadn't found anything by now, which made her slouch her shoulders. What if she really didn't find anything fitting? She wanted to buy something for Theodore, but she didn't intend on choosing a halfhearted present because nothing else was there. This stand didn't have any special items either.
The concubine was about to pass by when her eyes fell onto the display on the other side. She had taken a look at that one earlier, but she hadn't looked at one of the rings from this angle. Immediately, she rushed around the stands and bowed down to inspect the piece of jewelry.
The ring was completely gold with a few small diamonds on the sides. The top was adorned by a round plate with engraved patterns. It didn't take long for Blanche to realize that this was a stamp. This accessory was obviously made for a person with very thin fingers, but that didn't matter when she would ask the jeweler to recreate it anyway. She abruptly straightened her posture. “Leon!”
“Yes?”
The response came directly from next to her, which made Blanche jump back. Other people had to stop sneaking up on her, or she might really have a heart attack soon. “I didn't notice you. How can you walk so quietly? You can't startle me like that. Anyway, what do you think about ordering something like this?”
Leonard let out a snort and raised an eyebrow at her but leaned forward to inspect the item. “A ring?”
The concubine nodded happily. “Yes! It has a stamp on its top. We could ask the jeweler to make one with the royal crest. Doesn't Theo have trouble finding the stamp sometimes because he isn't sure whether it's in his office or his chambers? Right now, he can only leave it in either one of those rooms, so he has to ask someone to bring him the stamp whenever he decides to sign some contracts in the other one. If he had a ring, which isn't as massive as the stamp, he could take it with him to make sure that he always has a way to put the royal crest onto paper without running around. He could also just leave it in the bedroom and keep the bigger stamp in the office. Either way, he will have an easier time without needing to remember where that old stamp was.” At least she hoped that this could help him in some way.
Leonard's reaction made her doubt that though. He put his hand to his chin and stared at the piece of jewelry a bit longer before replying. “The idea itself is good. But there is one issue.” He stood up again and turned to her. “Recreating items with the royal crest is forbidden. It is only allowed in the case of a member of the royal family giving the order to do so. Which means that we would need His Majesty's signature to order this. And then he would know that you are planning to give him something with the crest on it.”
Blanche breathed out in annoyance and stared at the ring. She had been so proud of that idea, and now there was something that made it impossible again.
It had to have been really obvious that she was sulking since Leon spoke up again. “You know... There would be a way to do this. We could ask His Majesty to give us a document with his permission to buy any item in his name. That would technically be a gray area in the law, but since he agreed, there wouldn't be much of a problem.”
The concubine's face lit up again. “We can do that? Then we could just order now and let the jeweler create everything except for the top part. And when we come to retrieve the ring, we'll show the document and wait a few minutes until he is done polishing the stamp and can take it with us.”
The secretary laughed at that. “That's not how it works. You can't finish engraving a crest, especially a complicated one, in gold in a few minutes. Besides, I assume that His Majesty won't be too happy if you want to go out again after such a short time. He barely allowed it today, so I wouldn't test him too much. But I can hand over a document in a few days and come in a week to pick the present up. I'm sure that His Majesty won't mind me leaving the royal estate occasionally. We can do that.”
Blanche nodded at him as a beam spread across her face. That was perfect. She was overjoyed to just have found something that would be of some use to her lover. She had a gift now and didn't need to ponder about that any longer. “Then let us tell the vendor!” She didn't even wait for Leon's response and hurried over to the counter and greeted the man behind it with a bright grin. “Good afternoon. I would like to order a piece of custom jewelry.”
The vendor returned a flawless smile that showed his shiny teeth. “Of course, young lady. We will create any item that you can imagine so that it fits your description perfectly.”
Leonard caught up to her and spoke up despite her already opening her mouth to respond. “Unfortunately, we will not be able to order right now. We need something else before, but we could give you the instructions first and place the order in a few days. Would that be alright?”
The vendor nodded at him without letting his smile waver. “Naturally. I will write down whatever you want our jewelers to pay attention to. I can assure you that we won't disappoint. What kind of item do you wish for?”
Blanche realized that she should have thought about that earlier, but that man certainly wouldn't rush her if he wanted to sell something. “I still require some time, but I know that it will be a ring with an included stamp. It should be made of gold.”
Leon chimed in before she could pause to think. “I will bring a drawing of the crest you need to engrave in a few days, and that date will be when I will officially place the order too. It won't take longer than three days.”
The vendor grinned at them. “That is no issue for us. We are happy to fulfill your wishes. Unfortunately, we cannot start the process of creation before getting the order and signing a contract though.”
That was rather obvious, so Blanche just nodded. She was already lost in thoughts while imagining what an elegant ring might look like. It would be better if it didn't have many decorations. Theodore liked simpler things more unless he bought something for her. So, she should focus on coming up with a design that revealed that the ruler of Artias was the owner of this ring but also didn't overdo it. She didn't finish that thought process though.
The door beside the counter opened, and another elderly man walked out. He didn't look like a noble but had clothes that looked like they were cheap and an apron. This was definitely a commoner, and he might be one of the blacksmiths working for the store. He stopped next to the counter and addressed the vendor. “There is a little problem with the newest order. We don't-”
The vendor cut him off. “Wait.” He turned to the people by the counter. “Please excuse the interruption. I will be back in a minute. Feel free to take your time to ensure that we will have the description of an item that you will adore. You may even draw something if you have a specific image in mind.” With that, he turned to the blacksmith and pulled him to the side, most likely to scold the man for coming out while customers were present.
But that didn't happen anymore.
Blanche made eye contact with the smith, and she recognized him. Unfortunately, she didn't doubt that he would recognize her too. She had grown up a bit, but her face wasn't all that different. There was no way that a friend of her father would be so blind.
And she ended up being right.
“Blanche?”