“Did I come at an unfitting moment? If so, I apologize. I merely wished to ensure that you weren't bored while Theodore is talking to Mother.”

Blanche felt how frustration was bubbling up inside her. If Cedar was being like this, she wouldn't be careful either. Maybe she was a bit too petty right now, but she knew that he made jokes like that as well, so it would be fine. She lifted her index finger and waited for a moment before turning around. She took her time chewing on her macaron and swallowing it before facing him again. “You did indeed coincidentally arrive at a very unfitting point in time. Now I can talk though.” Even if she didn't really want to do that. She hated that person, and interacting with him disgusted her. Especially since this felt stupidly familiar.

The worst part was that Theodore wasn't here to protect her from any strange things his brother might try.

A few moments passed in silence before Blanche was fed up with the prince's smile and just decided to speak up instead of waiting. “And what exactly does Your Royal Highness want? You surely came here because you had something specific in mind.”

Cedar grinned at her for another few seconds before replying. “No. I just wanted to see you and busy you a bit. Because we barely had any time to speak earlier, I thought that we might be able to have a conversation in peace now that my brother isn't here.” What kind of response was this?

Blanche felt her head puckering from so much frustration, but she couldn't do anything but glare at him. If she opened her mouth now, she would definitely insult him, and she couldn't risk doing that in public. Even though calling him an arrogant bastard again was tempting. But she forced herself to stay silent for a moment to calm down. The prince would never waste his precious time during balls when he could use it to gain supporters, so he had to be here for a reason. She gave him a chance to reveal why now.

Cedar just saw that as a chance to provoke her even further. “What? Did my honesty make you embarrassed?”

The concubine didn't hold herself back this time. “You saw me, and we had a conversation. Is that all? If so, you are free to take care of more important matters. I have something to do.”

The prince scanned the plate that her maid was holding before showing her this infuriating smile again. “I see. Those delicious treats are surely very tempting, but you can take some time for me anyway, can't you? I'm more important to you than sweets, aren't I? But I agree that just standing here may seem strange. If that is the case, would you like to dance with me? Last time, you said that you get sick quickly, but you were fine after dancing with my brother, so it should be acceptable for us too.” He held his hand toward her while already smiling as if he knew that she would reject him.

Still, Blanche took a small step back. She hated touching him. There was no way that she would allow him to be close enough to dance with her. Plus, she was sure that Cedar planned something. He hated dancing, so why would he do this? A baroness refusing a prince's offer was about the only impudent thing she hadn't done today, but at this point, that didn't matter much. Blanche truly wasn't willing to do this, so she found an excuse. “I fear that I should not have danced in the first place. I am quite nauseous already, so dancing now will only risk me getting even sicker. I apologize, but I'm afraid that I have to decline.”

Cedar just grinned at her despite being pushed away with an obvious excuse. “Oh, what a shame. I would really love to dance with you, so tell me when you are feeling better.” He turned to Stella and continued with the same enraging beam. “You should be more careful when your mistress is feeling unwell. She shouldn't eat sweets when she is already nauseous.”

Blanche clenched her jaw at that and crossed her arms. “I am very much aware of what I can or cannot consume. Thank you for your consideration, but there is no need for you to intervene, let alone rebuke my maid.”

The prince leaned forward slightly and replied in a lower volume. “I'm afraid that I have to disagree. The one that is responsible for your poisoning was the attendant of Her Majesty, correct? It is necessary for servants to be kept in check in one way or another, or something like this may happen again. My brother seems to be very worried about this too. I mean...he went as far as to make his personal guard protect you. That only proves that he doesn't trust the staff of the royal palace too much. You know that it is because he is too lenient in some cases. Sometimes, harsher methods are required as well. As long as people are aware that betraying you will hurt them much more than it will gain them, they will stay loyal. It works like a charm.” Did he really think that, or was he just provoking her? She wasn't even sure anymore when most words that left Cedar's mouth weren't honest anyway.

It didn't matter though.

Blanche stepped back and turned a bit to create some distance between them and fought the urge to just leave. It made her sick to hear how this person spouted lies and accused others of random things by twisting their words. But her anger was overshadowed by her nausea that was evoked by having to stand this close to him. She had already managed to be a bit farther away, but just looking into his eyes made her consider turning around and asking for help. She hated that stupid smile on his face even more than usual right now, even though she wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because Cedar seemed to have worn that mask for so long that she wondered whether he could even take it off anymore.

Blanche couldn't show her uncertainty though. She raised her chin and spoke in a loud voice. “I do not know what your relationship with your servants is like, but we do not need fear to keep them on our side. We treat them with respect and remind them that their loyalty is what allows us to continue to do the best for the nation. I am friends with a couple of servants, and I am proud to state that I never needed to scare them to encourage them to like me.”

Cedar didn't come closer this time, but he still unsettled her as he just looked down at her with a confident smirk. “I would love to agree with you, but unfortunately, I witnessed too many examples of this strategy not working. Her Majesty's maid is one example. And I can show you another one right here.” He turned to face the same direction as Blanche and stood next to her. He pointed toward something in the distance with a subtle gesture and leaned over to whisper in her ear. “Do you see that girl over there?”

Blanche unwillingly covered her ear with her hand while suppressing a shudder. When Theodore did that it was breathtaking and made her knees weak. When Cedar did it, the same happened for a completely different reason even when he wasn't that close at all this time. She only wanted to push him away and run, but her curiosity had already won. “Who do you mean?”

The prince gestured to the same point again. “The girl by the corner. The one in the light orange dress with the pigtails. Does she seem familiar to you?”

The person he described was easy to spot. There wasn't anything special about that girl except for the fact that she hadn't introduced herself to the emperor earlier, which was rather brazen in itself. How could guests arrive at a birthday party without greeting the host?

The concubine scanned her for a while before replying. “No. Should I know her?”

Cedar shook his head. “It's rare for a member of her family to attend, so it would be surprising for you to recognize her. She did come with her mother this time, but they didn't dare to approach my brother. The fact that they even came is bad enough, and I'm surprised none of the nobles said anything about this yet. You see, the reason I named them while talking about traitors is that their last name might ring a bell with you. Maybe Theodore told you about them already. That is the youngest daughter of the Besseta family.”

Blanche froze when she heard that. The Count of Besseta had been the one taking the fall for the dowager empress, who had framed him for the assassination attempt on the emperor after his coronation. That was the family that still suffered because of that trial and the count's execution. The rest of the household had been pardoned, but they were about to lose their title due to their massive debt. Theodore had always felt guilty about condemning them, even though his mother hadn't given him another choice and even though the count had been involved in some other crimes.

The concubine felt anger bubbling in her stomach as she stiffly turned to the prince. Naming those people traitors because the dowager empress had framed them was horrible.

If Cedar noticed her anger, which he surely did due to her poor acting skills, he didn't care enough to pay attention to it. He just continued to beam at her while speaking. “So, you do know them. These are the people that wished for Theodore's death right after he became emperor. There was no hint of them ever betraying the nation, and then they suddenly hired assassins to kill him. Well, they committed many other crimes too, so the count's death was not a great loss Theodore did not order his execution for nothing. It was a shocking surprise anyway. Let this be an example for you, and keep an eye open for such people. That family especially. I wouldn't let them get close if I were you. You cannot trust everyone who states that they are loyal. And even if people are devoted to each other at one point, that can change quickly when a better person that offers them more comes along. It might be best to keep that in mind. Don't you agree?”

Blanche felt her patience crumbling away. He was not only insulting those poor people, who had suffered because of him and his mother, he also stated that her love was fleeting again. She had no idea why Cedar was here since he surely had a plan if he took the time to speak to someone else, and she didn't want to find out. She opened her mouth with the full intention of snapping at him when another voice chimed in from the side.

“Lady Blanche, please excuse the interruption, but I researched the matters you wished to talk about.” She turned her head and was surprised to find Allen next to her. He showed a slight hint of annoyance in his expression but kept a straight face apart from that.

Blanche could just stare at him in confusion for a moment. She hadn't asked him to research anything, had she? Why would she when she clearly didn't trust him enough for that and had Leon at her disposal? That didn't make much sense, so why was he lying about that? It took her a few seconds to realize that Allen was saving her. He was stepping in to get Cedar away. She didn't understand why he would do that, but she was relieved and hurried to respond. “Ah, yes. It has been a while, hasn't it? I would like to speak to you alone then.” Hopefully, her acting had been somewhat convincing, even though she doubted it. “Your Royal Highness, I fear that we need to interrupt this here.” She glanced at the prince to see whether he would take the bait or not and held her breath until he spoke.

Cedar didn't let his smile fade even now. “I see.” He glanced at something behind them for a moment before facing Allen. “It is good to see you, Lord Duremont. If you two have important matters to discuss, I will not disturb you any longer.” Was his goal not that important then? Blanche found that concerning too.

Allen nodded at him. “I apologize for chiming in like this, but it is urgent. I hope that Your Royal Highness understands.”

“Of course. I have to say that I'm interested in what you will be discussing, but I will stay out of things that do not concern me. Good evening, Lord Duremont. Lady Blanche.” While stressing her title, Cedar grinned at her again. The way that he said it now was even worse than leaving out the title and only made her want to throw up.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Allen voiced a curt “Goodbye” too, and Blanche just wanted to get it over with as well. “Have a nice evening, Your Royal Highness. Enjoy yourself.”

The prince had already taken a step forward and looked over his shoulder to face her. His beam seemed to widen even more at her words, which made him seem quite happy, but Blanche didn't trust that. “I will see what I can do. Depending on what my dear mother and brother are doing, it might be difficult.” With that, he began moving and walked toward the balcony.

The reason why was quite obvious.

Theodore already stood by the door to the ballroom and stopped when he saw his brother coming toward him. Apparently, he had intended to intervene in Cedar's conversation with Blanche and now relaxed when he saw that this wasn't necessary. He gave his lover a weak smile before turning back to the fuming dowager empress, who was certainly the bigger problem.

Cedar was quick to join her side. Even from afar, it was clear that he tried to calm her down as he put his hand on her shoulder and whispered to her. Camille looked like she yelled at him while he calmly talked back.

That just made Theodore get involved, which upset Camille more in return. All in all, that really didn't look like a happy family reunion.

The concubine weakly mirrored Theodore's smile, even though he couldn't see it anymore, and faced the man next to her. It didn't help to pity her lover, and maybe Cedar a bit, because they had to deal with the horrible dowager empress. Blanche should focus on something else. “Thank you, Lord Duremont. I think I would have made a big mistake if you hadn't shown up.”

Allen looked after the prince while responding. “I heard that people were betting about whether you would slap him or hit him with your closed fist. Some were also considering that you could pour a drink over him. I thought that neither of those would be good, so I chose to step in. There is no need to thank me.”

Blanche pressed her lips into a thin line. Had she truly looked that upset? And did others really still believe that she was completely unable to control herself? She was silent for a moment before speaking up. “Did I seem like I would actually do that? I wanted to insult him and nothing more.”

Allen gazed over at her with a slight frown. “That isn't much better. He is a member of the royal family. Just because His Majesty allows you everything, you can't just attack them. They will not accept you disrespecting them, and them getting angry won't be pretty. The dowager empress especially is known to be quite focused on rules. She has punished many for small issues. His Royal Highness has never actually punished people harshly, but who knows what he will do when it comes to His Majesty's allies?” So, he was actually worried about the concubine? Why else would he give her tips?

Blanche could barely believe that, but that didn't matter either. “Well, I already insulted him once, and he didn't do anything.”

“What did you say to him?” Allen seemed a bit worried to even ask.

The concubine felt a little embarrassed to repeat her obvious mistake since she knew that she would get scolded for it, but she couldn't keep quiet. “I called him an arrogant bastard.”

Allen was silent for a moment and covered his forehead with his hand. He took a few seconds to calm down before replying. “That isn't even something you could deny in hindsight. How can you say that to a member of royalty? I was just going to explain how you look much more reserved with your anger now and not like a bratty child anymore, but it seems that I was wrong about that. You can't just offend the second prince. Don't you have any manners?”

For some reason, she didn't feel attacked even though his words were rather harsh. From what Blanche had overheard from rumors and her own interactions, Allen spoke like this often and mostly only did it when he was worried about others. He wasn't good at showing his sincerity sometimes, and then remarks like this came out. Blanche wasn't arrogant enough to believe that he really cared about her, but it seemed like he at least wanted her to stay out of trouble so that the emperor would have fewer problems. He was right about that, but she didn't regret voicing that insult and felt the need to explain that too.

“I didn't say it for no reason though. He asked me to join his faction and repeatedly said that I wouldn't be loyal to Theo anyway. And he hinted that Theodore was the one that poisoned me. And it is accurate to call Cedar that.”

Allen was quiet again before sighing. “That may be true, but you should still hold back. Even if he purposefully said things to hurt you. It's good that you are loyal though. Just...try not to say his name like that. It will make people question things.” He turned his whole body to her now and paused. After a short moment, he stepped closer and continued at a lower volume. “I would like to thank you for your advice regarding the nightmares. It has only been a few days, but it feels like the medicine works.”

Blanche's lips formed a smile at that. It was good if he wasn't plagued by awful dreams anymore. “I'm glad to hear that. I did not do much though. The doctor is the one that had the idea of using this tea to fend off nightmares.”

Allen looked away again. “Still. I might not have trusted it if you hadn't said that it worked. Sera-” He interrupted himself. “Her Majesty used that tea for a while too and stopped, and she didn't have any problems anymore. So, I assumed that it was just a coincidence. But right now, I would rather do more than less against my issues. I thank you for your recommendation.”

“As I said, I'm happy to help. Hopefully, it will continue to work as it did for me.”

Allen nodded and muttered something about hoping that too before turning to her again. Seemingly, he still wasn't done. “There is something about the poisoning that I still wished to share with you too. If you do not mind, I would give you the summary now.”

Blanche immediately perked up. Hadn't the empress mentioned that her brother had done some research? After looking around and not seeing anyone approaching, except for Leon, who was still standing at the other end of the table, she moved a bit closer to him and whispered. “Yes, please. Her Majesty said that the poison is real. That is correct, right?”

“It is. I found few sources, but they are reliable. That poison was used four times in total, and it always seemed to have paralyzed the victims. It weakened them so much that some of them couldn't even leave the bed by themselves. The more of it was ingested, the longer and stronger the effect was.” That matched up with what Cedar had said

Blanche nodded to herself. “And after a specific amount, it will last forever, right?” She gave the man in front of her an expectant look, only to stare at him in shock when he shook his head.

“There was no indication of that being the case. Apparently, the person that was confined to their bed for the rest of their lives was fed a portion of that poison each day. But no matter what, the effect is only temporary. It seems like drinking a whole bottle may keep you almost unable to move for two weeks, but you would always recover.”

The concubine balled her fingers at that. “So, Cedar...” She noticed her mistake this time and quickly corrected herself. “His Royal Highness did lie. He said that a one-time-use could have that effect as well.” Maybe he had lied about other things as well then. “What did you find out about the relationship between the perpetrator and the victim in each case? What were the ambitions behind using such horrible methods?”

Allen was silent for a moment before replying. “The sources I could find stated that there were two husbands who used it because their wives intended to leave them. One of them had a guilty conscience after a while, during which he had taken care of his wife so that she fell in love with him again. He stopped drugging her, and she is fine now, which is the only reason why I can say that there are no lasting damages even after over five years for certain. The other two cases consisted of two people believing that their significant others were planning on leaving them. They worked together to get the poison and used it on their partners until the very end. When they were arrested, their weakened lovers were found by some servants. Those two are recovering right now. I can't say anything about their state though. Either that was a recent event or there were no follow-up reports, so I couldn't find anything no matter how hard I searched.”

So, that part had been right. It was dejecting to hear that someone would actually be cruel enough to try to chain someone they loved to themselves like this.

Blanche didn't even know what to say about that. She wanted to know more, but there were barely any questions that she could come up with. As soon as one appeared in her mind, she voiced it. “And those are surely the only cases of use?”

Allen shook his head. “These are the only proven cases. The report about this claimed that there are countless incidents in which the usage of that poison has been suspected. They named an example of a wife of a deceased duke that apparently kept her son confined in his room with this drug. The author of this report wrote that she hated the thought of him leaving his home to run away with a commoner girl he liked, so she needed to use it to keep him in check. There was also some count near the border to Northern Ocrea that wished to take over his cousin's household and somehow managed to win over that cousin's wife. So, he married her after her husband died and became the marquess of that region. People were speculating that the marchioness' sudden weakness isn't a coincidence, much like the original marquess' death. There was also a king that-”

He cut himself off at that. First, it seemed like he thought that he had said too much, but his eyes focused on someone in front of them as if he was waiting for them to come out.

Blanche followed his gaze with her eyes, only to find no one.

The guests all kept their distance from them, and she didn't see any important faces among the crowd. A few seconds had to pass before someone made their way through the people and stopped in front of them.

It was Briana. She was folding her hands to hide how she fiddled with her fingers and did her best to seem confident, but the way that she averted her eyes occasionally betrayed her. “Uhm... Good evening.” She stared at her fiancé for a moment before continuing. “It is nice to see you, Allen. And I'm honored to meet you too, Lady Blanche.” Her eyes wandered to the concubine and stayed focused on her for much longer.

Allen scanned the girl for a few seconds before responding. “Good evening. You forgot the curtsy and ignored the correct order but don't mind that now. Is there something you needed to talk about?”

Blanche almost rolled her eyes at the harsh greeting and chose to give a more heartfelt one. She showed the girl a soft smile and hinted a little curtsy. “I am pleased to meet you as well, Lady Bellfaux. How have you been lately?”

Briana's face betrayed her uncertainty. She wasn't well at all as the death of her mother still had to burden her even now. But she wouldn't say that out loud. She glanced at her fiancé before looking back to the concubine. “There haven't been any issues. I was doing alright...I mean...well. Thank you for your consideration. How have you been?” It was painfully obvious that she was scared to make a mistake and gave her best to stick to the correct etiquette to avoid being scolded by Allen, which made her quite stiff. Last time, during the hunting festival, he had been this harsh with her too.

Blanche would have liked to ask him why he was so mean, but that wasn't any of her business. If one asked her, she would just tell him to be honest and show it when he cared about others, but of course, no one wanted to hear her opinion. So, she would just be as polite as possible despite the tension between the other two. “It is good to hear that. I have been very well, so I will not complain either. Did you perhaps come here to enjoy the delicious treats of the buffet, or do you wish to speak to Lord Duremont? In that case, I can step away if you need privacy.”

Briana was quiet for a few seconds and lowered her gaze onto the floor. Her voice was weak and trembled while she spoke. “Actually, I wished to have a conversation with you, Lady Blanche.”

The concubine was taken aback by that. Aside from the required greeting at the beginning of the ball, she hadn't interacted with this girl at all after the hunting festival.

Before she could voice her confusion, Allen already chimed in though. “You should look at people while talking to them. What do you want to speak about with her?”

Briana unfolded her hands and settled for grabbing her dress instead. “I'm sorry. That is...uhm...a private matter.”

Allen looked like he would scold her again, so Blanche hurried to speak up. “I see. Then we should move aside for a moment. If you do not mind, Lord Duremont, we will excuse ourselves shortly.”

Allen was silent while frowning at them before eventually replying. “I do not mind.” He turned to his fiancée. “Do not talk about useless things though. You should not waste anyone's time unless it's important. Others may ask questions about that otherwise.” Which meant that he was just worried about Briana accidentally offending anyone that was extremely sensitive. He should have said it in a kinder tone though.

After all, it seemed like Briana misunderstood his intentions. She just nodded weakly before trailing after the concubine like a lost puppy.

Blanche glared at the back of Allen's head for a moment before leading Briana to a spot that was a few steps away from the man, just enough so that he couldn't hear. She passed Stella while doing that and caught a glimpse of her untouched plate, which almost made her sigh. It seemed like she was very approached by many people today. Hopefully, she would finally be able to eat a bit after this conversation. She arrived at a spot next to the table that seemed to be further away from most guests, aside from Owen, Leon and Stella, who were still following them at some distance.

Then Blanche turned to Briana, who was standing behind her with a dejected expression. One look was enough to tell her that she would need to encourage the girl, or she could wait for the chat to start for a few hours. “So, Lady Bellfaux, I do not know what you wish to speak about, but please be open with me. I will not be upset, no matter what.”

Briana nodded slowly but balled her fists and still kept silent for a while longer.

The concubine waited for a moment, and when nothing came, she spoke up again. “I promise that I-”

“Do you...hold feelings for Allen?” That came way too suddenly.

And if she was honest, this might upset Blanche a tiny bit after all.