They were lost in each other's eyes for a moment as they let their partner drink from their glasses. The loud noises around them seemed to fade into the background, and it was like they were all alone.
Blanche was seconds away from kissing her lover when both of them woke up again. When she pulled her glass away, she almost did it too fast and was actually scared of spilling wine on him, but luckily, that didn't happen.
Theodore gave her a radiant smile before retracting his glass as well and sipping on the drink. When he finished the wine, he put the glass onto the table and looked around once. He let out a snort before making eye contact with her again. “I told you about my conversation. What happened to yours? I saw that you were quite popular.”
Blanche nodded and took another sip of her wine. “It seems like many people had some questions. Lady Lamont and Lady Valerian came to apologize for what happened at the hunting festival. You remember that, don't you? The latter one said something very careless to a group of people. I didn't care much, but Lord Duremont got furious. I think everything is fine now, but I'm not sure. In any case, that girl seems to be sorry.”
Theodore nodded to himself. “I see. Those two didn't cause you any trouble, did they?” He scanned her expression as if this was a truly serious topic.
Blanche was taken aback by that question. “No. Not really. Both of them were a bit...strange at the beginning. But now it seems that they have moved their interest to other topics.” Which was very convenient for her. After all, she wouldn't like anyone trying to impress her lover. Though, seeing that those women had their own issues was still a bit concerning.
The emperor nodded again. “That is good then. You told me what that idiotic brother of mine wanted before, but what about Lord Duremont and Lady Bellfaux?”
“Oh, there was nothing much. She just worried about her fiancé, and he came to chase Cedar away.” Blanche wanted to stop here, but upon speaking, she remembered that Allen had actually given her some valuable information that she needed to share. “Lord Duremont helped me drive away the idiot that you were just referring to. He told me about the things he found out about the poison while he was there. Apparently, it does exist but can't paralyze the victims for more than two weeks. It can cause lasting effects when it's administered regularly, but otherwise, it will just weaken you temporarily.”
Theodore took her glass when she emptied it with one last sip and handed it to a servant for her. “That matches with what Leon found out, so we can trust it.” He was lost in thought for a moment, which allowed her to speak up.
“I already assumed that you wouldn't leave investigating to another person. Did Leon read anything additional that might help us?”
Her lover glanced in the direction of the servant, who had disappeared behind a door to the kitchen by now, to secure that they were gone. Then he stepped a bit closer to his concubine and whispered to her. “At the first glance, it seems like there was something else mixed inside your drink. You had a headache and were nauseous, even though these shouldn't be effects the poison could cause. Based on the description, only weakness should occur after it's ingested, but that isn't fully true. The first time use causes people to have symptoms that develop due to some sort of allergic reaction and are similar to a very harsh cold. That was what you experienced too. One could keep that from showing if one gave the victim countless small doses to allow them to get used to the poison before giving a bigger amount. There were notes about this since half of the known cases were only revealed after the perpetrator had confessed to their crimes. That means that they successfully hid that anyone was being poisoned while the victims seemed to coincidentally get weaker each day. In other words, the person who used it on you knew that and still chose to take the most obvious approach. Whoever did this didn't intend on poisoning you for a long time in secret. They wanted us to know that you had been targeted.” That didn't sound like anyone would benefit from that.
Blanche put her hand to her chin as her mind raced through the possibilities of why someone would want to make it obvious that she had been poisoned. She froze when she remembered another similar situation. “Do you mean that this is like the attack in the forest? Did they just want to scare us again?”
“Naturally, I can't read their thoughts, but I assume that this is it. Maybe they also have used it because they thought that it would be funny to try to make you, and possibly the public, believe that I poisoned you. Because of all the proven previous cases being couples.” Theodore made a small pause and secured that she was looking into his eyes while continuing. “But actually, there are some incidents in which use hasn't been proven but only suspected. Some people had other relationships with their victims in those cases. So, it's not just something that people who state that they love someone use.”
Blanche gave him a little smile. “Of course not. I never believed that was the only option. It's just disheartening to hear that people use this on others they hold dear. It makes me wonder why they're that selfish. If you love someone, you wouldn't harm them like this.”
Theodore was silent for a moment. He stared at something in the distance before turning to her and showing her a faint smile as well. “They didn't love their partners. That's easy to see. I understand that they would hate being left by someone they care about, but if that is their solution, something is wrong with them. No matter what excuse you have, hurting your lover is never alright.” He paused for a moment and just looked at her. His lips still formed a smile, but his eyes were full of sadness.
Blanche felt her heart ache at that sight. She hurried to take her lover's hand in hers and gripped it tightly. “Of course not, but there are always misunderstandings or external circumstances. As long as you don't do it intentionally, it's fine. We are a perfect example of that, right? Whenever we accidentally do something that caused the other person to worry, it was always an accident. And then we talked about it, and it was fine. We never judged each other for that, and we are happy together now. I just know that you never hurt me on purpose and that you always give your best to protect me. So, you don't have to look so sad when you say things like that.” She just wanted him to stop showing this strange expression, or she might start to cry soon.
Theodore put his other hand on hers and pulled her close to him. He lifted her hands to his face and pressed a small kiss onto her skin. “I love you. More than anything in this whole world. Even if it's selfish, I can't let you go. I don't have the right to ask you to stay, but-”
She cut him off there. She didn't need to hear that now. “You're right. You don't have to ask anything of me. I will just stay here anyway. Because I love you, and being with you is my greatest happiness. Why don't you just trust that? We swore that we will be with each other forever, so don't start saying such weird things. You can't go back on your words.”
Her lover rested his lips on her hand for a moment before giving her a smile that was a bit more upbeat than before. “I don't intend on doing that. I will stay by your side, and we will have a wonderful future together. I trust you fully and vow on my life to never question you. That's why I will get rid of any external circumstances so that we can live without needing to pay attention to anyone else's wishes. This is just about us. Not just this day, every day from now on.” With every word, his expression lit up more, and in the end, he beamed at her. “You haven't forgotten that it's our anniversary yet, did you? I still need to show you my gifts. Are you excited?”
The sudden change was surprising, but Blanche wouldn't complain. As long as her lover was happy again, she would be overjoyed. “Of course, I am. I'm still a bit sulky about you getting me more than I asked of you despite it being your birthday, but I will accept them anyway. I'm interested in what you came up with. Your gifts are always perfect. And obviously, I didn't forget our anniversary either. We keep talking about it every few minutes.”
“Good.” Theodore looked around once more before intertwining their fingers. “Because I can barely wait for this ball to be over. Only two more hours. We'll just chat with a few people, and then we will slowly vanish. Then you will get your gifts, and after that, the surprise for us two will follow.” That sounded like he had something exciting planned.
Even though Blanche hadn't wanted him to put that much effort into her presents, she couldn't help but look forward to receiving them now too. Her lover adored it when she was smiling, so she would beam for him the whole time. This way, she could give him something back even when she was the one getting gifts. “You're making me more and more excited. I hope that you still have enough energy for such a stressful day though. You seem to want to use every single minute.”
Theodore slowly let go of her hands after pressing another kiss onto her skin. “Of course. I need to make the most out of this day. The surprise definitely has to be the highlight at the end, but it needs to be before midnight too. So, it will be a bit challenging to manage everything in time, but it will work out. You might need to postpone inspecting your gifts more closely though. There are a lot, so you will have to do that tomorrow, or rather the day after tomorrow. After all, the tea party comes first.” So, he hadn't just gifted her a few items either.
The concubine had the feeling that her dressing room would soon be full if he continued like this. She should be more insistent about him not getting her that much, but she couldn't help being happy whenever he handed her something beautiful. She replied with an inward sigh. “Tomorrow will be exhausting too, won't it?” Especially since she would have to protect Grace from being shoved into the fountain.
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Her lover shrugged. “It probably will. After all, we need to deal with the same people as today. You know that noble talk isn't very pleasant, so it's not surprising though. But as long as you are with me, it will be fine.”
Blanche was a bit relieved at him being with her since that would prevent others from addressing her insolence today, but at the same time, it could cause issues. She needed to take care of Evelyn while not showing him that she could predict the future. Still, the hardest part would be intervening. She had to find a way to reveal Evelyn's true nature while saving Grace. But maybe, just maybe, she could get her lover to help her with that. She gazed up at him and pondered about it for a moment before he gave her a questioning look. “I...think that something bad might happen tomorrow.”
Theodore's expression dimmed at that, so she hurried to continue.
“I have no idea, of course, but it feels like it might be the case. Tomorrow, the Ravillots will definitely bring their daughter. And while they speak with the guests, they might ask someone to take care of Grace. I'm a little, no, I'm very worried about Lady Lemares. After all, she gave Lady Ravillot gifts that could be harmful to children. You pointed that out too, remember? It could have been an accident, but since I talked to her a couple of times, I believe that I can confidently say that something is wrong with her. So, I would like to keep an eye on that woman tomorrow.” She didn't know what she expected. Maybe surprise or confusion and skepticism.
But Theodore didn't show her any of that. He just nodded. “Of course. It's better to be safe than sorry. We won't have anything to do but look around and chat with people anyway.”
Blanche was taken aback by that for a moment, but quickly, her gratefulness outweighed her surprise. “Thank you. I just want to make sure that nothing happens to that girl. She and her parents are very sweet.”
The emperor gave her a soft smile. “I know. It's good that you pay attention to things like that. We'll be careful. But that will only apply tomorrow, right? Or do we have to check now too?”
She shook her head. “No. We need to be careful around the fountain area.” Only after speaking, she noticed that she had messed up, so she hurried to change the topic. “I mean, we'll sit there, right? So, we need to be cautious then. But for now, we can continue as you planned. What will we do now?”
Luckily, her lover didn't seem to be bothered by her awfully specific warning. “We go to some nobles and talk to them. I feel like we need to approach less influential ones instead of the Duremonts though. The duke isn't in a good mood, and I am not interested in talking to him when he is like that. We'll just meet families that aren't from the capital with the excuse of barely seeing them.” He glanced at the guests. “It appears that they are getting impatient. Let us go.” He extended his hand towards her.
Blanche accepted his offer and linked her arm with his despite the obvious reaction this would cause. He had escorted her for the whole evening, so she wouldn't need to hide it now. She allowed him to lead her through the crowd without any complaints.
It seemed like her sweets would have to wait a bit longer than she had hoped for.
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The last two hours of the ball went by without any problems. The couple successfully avoided Theodore's family and the Duremonts and just talked to less intimidating people.
It was a bit surprising, but no one actually showed the slightest unwillingness to chat with the concubine, whom the emperor had brought along. No one glared at her or made backhanded comments like she had expected. No one made a remark about her attire, about how she had arrived here or her relationship with Theodore and the fact that she had dared to sit next to the royal couple either.
In fact, they even seemed to be overly kind to her. Many nobles suddenly addressed Blanche and began conversations with her. A few even commented on how she had previously interacted with Briana before consoling her, which they seemed to see as an opportunity to flatter her. Even Blanche could tell that this meant that they expected her to be powerful enough that they wished to be on her good side. She was taken aback by that in the beginning, but talking with them wasn't an issue since most were rather friendly and polite despite their obvious attempts to make her like them. For Blanche, this was odd but great at the same time. Seemingly, she wouldn't truly have to worry about those people even if she did keep in mind that Theodore wished to publicly announce her as his children's mother at some point. The nobles from outside the capital certainly seemed less like they would even dare to criticize the emperor in any way, which Blanche took as a victory in that regard. As Theodore had said, it seemed like merely the people in the capital played a big role here, so she could limit her worries to their reactions. That realization made her evening much better.
Another good thing about this was that her lover gave her some time in between to finally finish her delicious sweets and even shared some with her despite the murmur this caused.
While the evening was still exhausting because she needed to keep an upright posture and smile the whole time, it was slowly starting to become less nerve-wracking when she knew that no one would address her insolence. The only part that made her nervous was when she caught a glimpse of the prince, the dowager empress, or the Duremonts.
Henry glared at her whenever he could and had to be pulled back into the conversation by his wife each time while Cedar always smiled no matter whom he was talking to. Camille's gaze was icy too, and she looked like she was pondering about what Theodore had said earlier. All in all, seeing them made Blanche's heart skip a beat in fear each time. But she was fortunate enough that none of them ever approached her.
The only person that Blanche worried about apart from them was Seraphina, but the other woman didn't do anything either. She had glanced at the empress a couple of times but never made eye contact. The heroine just seemed to stay with her family while giving her best not to look in her husband's direction, which was probably a good idea.
The young girl, whom Cedar had identified as the daughter of Count Besseta, didn't seem to end up being important either. When Blanche pointed out that she was present, Theodore didn't seem very surprised. He mentioned that fallen nobles would often attend in hopes of gaining at least some powerful supporters. He also didn't complain about that lady not even greeting the host as he clearly understood how odd it would be for her to face him. That Cedar had mentioned that girl did concern Theodore a tiny bit, but he settled for sending a guard to watch what his brother was doing instead of trying anything else. He chose to warn Blanche about the dowager empress' puppets again though. She swiftly assured him that she wouldn't fall for anyone's trap since she couldn't afford to trust unknown people at the moment. This calmed Theodore, but he still started telling her a bit more about some of the dowager empress' less special people. Seemingly, he had already prepared most of their downfalls and just waited for a chance to tear those households down. Blanche had to admit that it was interesting to hear more about this, but she settled for the general summary to avoid anyone eavesdropping.
Yet, the biggest part of the evening was socializing with obedient nobles. Blanche still didn't love it, but she found herself comfortable enough after a while since she could be sure that no one would trouble her for the day. This eased her worries in regard to the future, where she would have to appear like this often, a little more.
At the end of the six hours, Blanche was more than relieved when Theodore announced that they would withdraw for a while. Most of the guests gossiped about them leaving without the empress, but she couldn't bring herself to care. Her muscles were complaining because she had been stiff the whole time, and when the doors shut behind them, it was the most refreshing thing imaginable.
With a little sigh, she allowed herself to relax after six hours of tension. This earned her a bright smile from her lover.
“It's finally over, isn't it? How are you doing? Do your feet hurt?”
She shook her head. “We sat half of the time, so it was fine. The last ball was worse.” She wanted to retract her arm, but Theodore didn't let go.
He continued to hold her and led her down the corridor. “Just say if there is an issue though. I can carry you again if it's needed. We need to go to the third floor after all.”
It was tempting to ask him to do that, but Blanche didn't need to bother him with that when her feet were fine. “Normally, I like you carrying me, but that could be a bit problematic with our attires. Last time, it was already complicated for you to hold me despite my puffy dress, and you almost dropped your crown a few times. We don't need an heirloom of the royal family to break because of my laziness.”
Theodore chuckled at that. “I wouldn't mind risking that if it's important. I can prove that I love you with that after all. But if you don't allow that, I will find other ways. Like giving you wonderful gifts on our anniversary.” He seemed to be even more eager to show her the presents than he revealed since he almost pulled her up the stairs.
As usual, he didn't mind climbing up in a hurry while she had problems following him. In the end, they made it to the third floor, and he seemed to insist on getting to their destination as soon as possible. He hurried to the hallway in which his chambers were located too.
Theodore led her to a room that was beside his and stopped in front of the door with a wide grin. “I put your gifts inside here so that they don't have to be transported too far. We can store them with the clothes you have in the dressing room here. Of course, you could bring them to the one in your room too, but then you would have to walk an unnecessarily long way. So, I propose leaving them here. But we should look at them before you decide. Let's go inside.”
Blanche couldn't help but beam when he was this excited. To be honest, she was on edge by now as well and wanted to see what he had come up with. She could live with him giving her a bit more than she had anticipated, as long as he hadn't overdone it. “Alright then. I will open the door.” She put her hand on the door handle as her stomach churned with excitement.
As she slowly pushed against the door, light came out from the small gap, which could only mean that servants had already prepared the candles. She took a step forward and moved inside the room with her lover.
The first thing she noticed was that the whole chamber was glowing.
There were candles and garlands everywhere. The mirrors, which revealed that this was another dressing room, reflected all of this light, so the whole room was illuminated, and the glittery objects everywhere only enhanced that effect.
Blanche was rendered completely speechless by the view in front of her. She could only freeze and let her eyes take in the interior while her mind tried to understand how Theodore didn't seem to understand what limits were. The wasn't a spot in the chamber that wasn't filled with gifts.
The sofa and the two armchairs as well as the tables that were standing around were covered with boxes, which were adorned with bright bows, and jewelry. The racks by the walls were full of dresses and other accessories like shoes and hats. The entirety of the room was decorated with countless candles, candelabras and garlands in blue and gold. One glimpse was enough to realize that the items inside this chamber had to have cost a fortune.
The concubine had to gasp for air but still couldn't tear her eyes away from the things in front of her. What was her lover thinking? It took her a while before she could turn her head to him. She wanted to say something, but her tongue wasn't working.
Theodore just beamed at her with so much love that all of her complaints would have been silenced if she had talked already. He lifted his hand to her cheek and stroked over her face. “Happy anniversary.”