As if it had been scripted, the Bellfaux family appeared at that very moment. They approached the Duremonts and began chatting with them.

Blanche jumped up immediately. “Theo, we need to leave. Not leave but rather stand around the corner so that we can reach the fountain quickly.”

To her surprise, her lover stood up without hesitation and took her arm to escort her. While doing that, he leaned down and whispered to her. “We can stand by the staircase and watch, or we can go to the hedges over there.” He gestured to a group of bushes near the fountain.

The decision was too easy to make. She needed to be able to jump into action immediately if something happened, and to do that, she would have to be as close as possible. “The hedges. Come on.” Blanche pulled Theodore forward and steered him toward their destination. While she walked, she occasionally glanced at the Duremonts and saw how they were standing up.

Apparently, Elaine, Henry and Allen wanted to leave with the Bellfaux family. Seraphina also rose to her feet and joined them. Sophia remained seated on the edge of the fountain a bit longer. She glanced at her sister and husband while speaking to them with an unusually serious expression. She only stood up after discussing for a moment and carefully put Grace in the cradle, which stood on the edge of the fountain for some careless reason. Then she spoke to the person she should trust least.

Evelyn had a fake grin on her face and gave her best to seem as sweet as possible. She put her hand on the cradle and probably talked about how cautious she would be.

That sight was enough to make Blanche ball her fists. She was fuming already and was glad when they reached the hedges. She pulled her lover behind the bushes and waited for a few seconds before leaning to the side. Like this, she could look through a gap between the hedges and a wall, so there was no way that Evelyn would see her here. It was perfect. They were only a few steps away from the fountain, which was definitely an advantage. She was sure that she could reach her destination within a couple of seconds if she ran. She signaled Theodore to be silent before focusing all of her attention on the families.

Sophia spoke with her aunt for a while longer before leaving with an expression that revealed that she was extremely uncomfortable. Maybe the concubine's repeated warning had made her suspicious of her aunt. Good. Because that would make it easier for her to believe the truth when it came out.

Of course, it would be better for the Duremonts to witness this themselves, but that might not be possible. After all, they were currently walking in the opposite direction.

Blanche bit her tongue at that. She had told everyone how vile Evelyn was numerous times. Maybe her warnings had been enough to prepare them for this so that they could trust the truth even when Blanche didn't pull them behind the hedges to watch themselves. Hopefully, Theodore's and her words would be enough to convince the people around them. She tensed as she watched how the families disappeared behind another hedge.

Her lover put a hand on her shoulder and whispered into her ear. “Don't worry. No matter what happens, there will be enough royal guards to help us. I increased the security measures after you said that something might happen.”

Blanche wanted to hug him for that and tell him that she loved him, but she couldn't risk turning away for too long. So, she just smiled at him for a second before immediately concentrating on the woman by the fountain again.

For a while, Evelyn didn't move. She just stared into the distance with a blank expression. But then, slowly but surely, she became upset. Even though nothing was happening, she just gritted her teeth and glared into the nothingness. Then suddenly she whipped her head around to the cradle and stared at the baby with so much hatred that it seemed unreal. She began whispering. One didn't need to hear her to know that she was cursing at that innocent child.

Grace didn't react much. She just stayed in her cradle and moved her hands around a bit.

For some reason, that was enough to upset Evelyn. She narrowed her eyes and spoke again, looking at the baby like she was watching a piece of dirt. She only moved a bit when another few seconds passed. Pulling Grace out of the cradle, she put her down on the edge of the fountain, where the baby just lay for a moment. Evelyn scanned her carefully and only seemed more disgusted with every second. Then she lifted the child again.

Grace didn't like that at all. She began sniffling quietly. What should have earned her pity just made Evelyn shush her harshly. Naturally, this didn't work and just scared the baby more. She began crying a bit louder as Evelyn kept reminding her to be quiet.

From then on, it just got worse.

It went on for a bit like this, and with every second, Evelyn became angrier until she looked like the personification of wrath. She grabbed Grace without the caution she had previously promised Sophia to lift her and shake her a bit. She wasn't gentle at all, so the baby began sobbing loudly enough to alert someone. That didn't keep Evelyn from talking to the girl with an expression of pure rage. She continued to do that until Grace was wailing and then suddenly jumped up as she pressed a hand to the baby's mouth, which was the point at which Blanche couldn't take it anymore and slowly moved out of the bushes. Evelyn didn't notice. She almost yelled at the baby and stepped closer to the fountain.

Evelyn bumped against the stone with her foot and looked down as if she had just discovered that there was water there. Without skipping a beat, she held the baby over the fountain.

Blanche wasn't sure whether this was enough to convince the Duremonts, but she had enough.

The concubine stormed forward without thinking about it more and ran to the fountain. It felt like everything was slowed down as she saw how the baby would fall in front of her inner eye. She could still help the infant if that happened, but she wouldn't test Grace's fate. She would interfere as quickly as possible. For once, she was thankful for Evelyn's mental state since the woman kept yelling at the baby and didn't pay attention to anything around her.

Blanche managed to finish two thirds of the way before Evelyn loosened her hold on Grace. She could only think about saving that girl from plunging into the cold water that suddenly seemed like the greatest ocean in the world in comparison to that tiny baby.

She would only need two more seconds, and she would be there in time. She needed to be there in time.

There were only three more steps. Grace was wailing loudly like she knew what would happen.

Only two more steps. Evelyn had retracted one of her hands and surely would take away the other hand too.

It was just one more step, and then Blanche felt herself colliding with the edge of the fountain while she pushed Lady Lemares away with enough force to make her trip. Blanche didn't pay attention to her. She leaned forward and held her arms in the right direction in the desperate hope of catching something.

She was lucky.

Blanche made contact with the bundle of blankets, which were wrapped around Grace. She didn't have any time to think and just put her arms around the baby and pulled it to her chest.

And she managed to do it. Grace was in her arms and wouldn't fall. That didn't mean that the concubine herself was balanced though.

Right now, she was leaning forward over the edge of the fountain after having run here at full speed and had no way to support herself. Her hands were full, and she certainly wouldn't let go. So, she could only hold her breath as she was falling forward and prepared to hurriedly stand up again.

And just like Grace, she was saved too.

A pair of arms was wrapped around her waist, and she was pulled back. Blanche stumbled against another person and didn't have any doubt that this was her lover. She would love to embrace him and scream in victory about being able to save Grace, but that wasn't important right now. What was important was that the little girl was alright.

The concubine looked down and hurried to reposition her arms so that she wasn't putting too much pressure on the baby.

Of course, Grace was crying, but she was breathing. She was fine and well enough to wail so loudly that it had to echo through the entire garden.

It didn't take long for Blanche to let out a breath in relief when she saw the bundle in her arms. The little girl had made it. The storyline had been changed once again. It was possible to trick fate even when it came to living beings that were supposed to have died. The concubine didn't have much time to process this though. She barely focused on calming the baby, and seconds later, someone was already yelling.

“Grace!” Sophia reached them with a face that was as white as a sheet of paper. She was covered in tears and extended her arms toward her daughter in a manner that would break anyone's heart.

Blanche hurried to hand the little girl over, and her heart almost broke after she saw how the mother clung to her child.

Sophia's husband was just as distraught and pulled his wife and daughter in his arms while crying. It seemed like there were more people here that were sobbing than those who weren't.

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The concubine was just glad that she had managed to do it in time. Apparently, she had also secured enough witnesses. She whipped her head around to her lover and pressed herself into his embrace.

Theodore was prepared to comfort her and stroke over her hair while whispering to her. She was so immersed in her thoughts that she didn't even notice what was happening around them until he spoke up in a louder voice. “I, as the emperor of Artias, hereby order Evelyn Lemares to be arrested for attempted murder this instant. Due to the great number of witnesses, not much other evidence will be required, but an investigation will be held immediately.”

Blanche looked up at that and froze when she saw that they were surrounded by even more people.

Most of them were guards, but aside from them, the Duremont and the Bellfaux family stood there too with expressions of terror or pure hatred. They had merely been a few steps away. They had seen. There was no way that Evelyn would be able to avoid her punishment, even though it had occurred differently than in the novel.

The concubine finally relaxed at that. Her legs gave in, and she needed to rely on her lover to hold her. She had changed the future. This was one more step towards a happy ending for everyone. The perpetrator would be sentenced, Grace was safe, and Sophia wouldn't fall into despair. She barely managed to breathe properly. “Thank the gods.” That was all she could say while slouching against Theodore.

Evelyn was kneeling on the floor with guards surrounding her. They were all aiming their weapons at her and showed her the same disgust any normal person would express when faced with a woman that wanted to kill a child. Still, she was acting like she was the victim and stared at all the people around her with wide eyes. “What...what are you doing?” She took a moment to find her voice, and after she did, she began yelling. “Why are you attacking me? She is the one that tried to harm that girl!” She pointed at the concubine as if she truly believed that. “You all saw that she pushed me away while I was holding Grace. Why are you-”

Theodore cut her off. “Shut up.” His voice was filled with so much rage that it immediately silenced everyone, including the woman that was barely clinging to sanity. “If you dare to say that one more time, I will put you on trial for slandering royalty.” His expression was terrifying.

Even Blanche had to admit that. It was as horrible as the gaze he had given her in her nightmares. No, it was even worse than that. Much worse. And still, she wasn't scared. She stayed in his arms and let him protect her. Naturally, she was the only one that wasn't intimidated by this.

Everyone else seemed to flinch.

Except for the one person that wasn't sane to begin with. Evelyn tried to stand up, only to be kept in place by the swords of the royal knights. “What are you saying? I didn't-”

Once again, Theodore didn't let her finish and interrupted her in a tone that would make glaciers seem warm in comparison. “You actually dare to go against my testimony? It isn't enough that all the people here and your family saw? You also question the emperor's word after committing a grave crime right in front of my eyes and accusing my lover. Do you have a death wish?”

Evelyn began shaking at that. “You're mistaken. I... Family?” As if she had just noticed, she slowly turned her head to the side and made eye contact with the Duremonts that were standing not too far away from them. “No, this isn't...how it's supposed to...” As if that would help her, she muttered to herself for a moment before the realization truly set in. Her eyes widened, and she crawled toward her family, only to be held back by the guards that grabbed her rather roughly. Still, she ignored that and desperately cried out. “No, this is wrong! I didn't do anything! Don't believe them, Henry!” Of course, that was all she cared about. Her mind was too far gone. She only wanted the man she had been obsessing over since her childhood to see her as innocent. The rest was unimportant.

Even when Henry glared at her with nothing but resentment while Sophia cradled her child, Allen had to be held back by Seraphina and Elaine looked like her heart had been broken.

The duke currently looked like he was about to murder Evelyn himself. He could barely bring himself to reply while shaking with rage and stepping forward a bit until his wife stopped him. “The fact that you dare to speak to me after trying to drown our little angel tells me that you must be even more insane than I could imagine. You vile beast.”

Evelyn tried to fight against the knights but was overpowered without any issues. “No, you need to believe me! It's me, Evy! You remember that, right? You have to!”

Elaine, who clung to Henry while shaking so much that she could barely keep her teeth from clattering together, spoke up with a mix of shock and fury painting her normally composed expression. “Eve...lyn...” She could barely even say her sister's name. “We saw it with our own eyes. You... Nothing you do will change that.”

Evelyn wasn't able to think logically anymore though. She yelled back while squinting her eyes, which effectively made her seem even madder. “You saw nothing! I didn't do anything, I did nothing. You're all lying!”

Elaine pressed her lips into a thin line. The hurt in her eyes was undeniable. She had to be in pain after seeing the sister she had welcomed into her family like that. She began speaking at a low volume, and still, her voice trembled. “To think that I trusted you. I always believe that you cared about our children as much as we did. We loved you, Evelyn. How could you do this?” She let out a single sob. But vulnerability only showed for a moment. Then her expression hardened as she got louder. “How was I so blind? To not have seen it when Seraphina told us over and over again. You're a monster. I never wanted to believe it, but...” She couldn't finish that sentence and turned to her eldest daughter instead. “I'm sorry for not believing you.” She began crying at that.

Seraphina put her hand on her mother's back and pulled her into her arms. “I don't blame you. This was even beyond my expectations.” She glared at her aunt with more wrath than the concubine had ever received. “Bring her away. No one here wants to see her any longer.”

Blanche hoped that it would be over too, but she knew better. From the novel, she had a basic understanding of how Evelyn's final breakdown would go. This would take a while longer, and it wouldn't be pretty. But this would be an issue the Duremonts would have to deal with. Blanche would stay out of this as much as she could.

The knights were about to follow the empress' order to drag that monster away, but Evelyn still fought back. She struggled so much that she had already scratched her body across the floor so that there were small injuries across every visible part of her skin. “You can't do that!” Her scream was so high-pitched that it hurt to hear. And it sounded like she would continue with the exact lines from the book. “How can you dare to touch me? I'm the Duchess of Duremont! I will crush all of you! Let go!”

A murmur went through the crowd that had gathered around them by now. At this point, everyone knew that Evelyn was twisted, but it would only get worse.

Like in the book, Seraphina raised her hand to stop the guards and frowned at her aunt. “What did you just say? You cannot seriously believe that.” She took a few steps toward the raging woman but stopped at a safe distance. “My mother, Elaine Duremont, is Henry Duremont's lawful wife. Thus, she is the duchess. You aren't her, if I see that correctly. What makes you believe that this title could belong to you?”

Evelyn was allowed to sit up as she panted and glared at her niece through the strands of her brown hair that had come loose from her bun. Even as she was asked so directly, she was stuck in her imaginations. “She's a fake. She took my rightful place by seducing Henry. But he loves me and will remember that soon. He will marry me and give me what rightfully belongs to me. Then all of you will beg me for forgiveness.”

So much delusion hurt to watch. If that woman cared to look around, she would notice that no one was on her side or would be swayed by such words. Allen was still speechless, much like Elaine. Both of them stared at the person they had known as the slightly strange but kind Evelyn. Seraphina was the one watching her aunt with a freezing gaze.

But the one that was the angriest was Henry himself. He almost hurled himself forward and was just stopped by his wife as he screamed from the top of his lungs. “What are you saying? I love Elaine. I always loved her. You and I never even had any romantic relationship. What is wrong with your head?”

Evelyn let out a sob at that and tried to crawl forward again. “Of course, you can't remember! Because that witch manipulated you! She is sick. She was so full of jealousy that she enchanted you with black magic and made you forget about me. But we were always in love with each other! That is why you brought me with you each time when we went out. That is why I visited you so often. Because you will eventually be freed through our love and show that disgusting parasite that she messed with the wrong people!”

The duke looked like he was about to walk over and hit her, but Elaine raised her hand to stop him. She moved closer and stopped next to the empress to gaze down at her sister as she tried to reason with her. “Evelyn, I don't know if you can hear me in your state right now. Please wake up. You're making everything worse. You are talking about crazy things. You visited us so often because you are my sister. Henry and I married because we love each other. We have been childhood sweethearts. You attended our wedding, right? So, you should-”

Evelyn attempted to jump forward and was restrained to the floor after that. She raised her head and glared at her sister with wide, blood-shot eyes. “You took that away from me! Henry proposed to me when we were children! Under the oak tree by the lake under the noon sun. He told me that we would stay together forever. He loves me. You're nothing but-”

Henry stepped forward at that. He was barely kept in place by Elaine and Seraphina as he yelled at the woman on the floor. “What is wrong with you? I proposed to Elaine like that! She is the person I love, and I married her because of that. You're insulting my wife the whole time because of nothing! I never saw you as more than her sister. I ignored your fake acting and your attempts to approach me because I thought that you were just lonely. But you're completely insane!”

Evelyn began struggling again with more force than before. “I'm not! Henry, you have to believe me. We love each other, we do! You just need to remember.” The guards held her down without any care for her injuries, but she continued to move around, and her head was slammed onto the ground in the process. Still, she yelled the whole time until her sister cut her off.

Elaine narrowed her eyes at the woman in front of her and balled her hands into fists. “Stop it. I don't want to remember you like this. No one does. You don't have a chance to fight against them. Please give up. Maybe you can get help and recover with medicine or the help of a doctor. At least maintain some dignity. No, that isn't right. You threw all of that away at the moment that you considered hurting a child. Give up before you become even uglier.”

Seeing Evelyn struggle for naught was painful, even for Blanche. The concubine just wanted this to end, but she knew that it wasn't done yet.

In the novel, the sisters' past had been discussed as well along with Evelyn blaming Seraphina for a whole dialogue. It was obvious that at least something similar would follow.

Even if Blanche cuddled against Theodore, who continued to whisper that everything was alright, she couldn't compose herself. It wasn't over yet. And unfortunately, the concubine was right.

It seemed like a switch was flipped at that. Evelyn sat completely still and stared at Elaine with nothing but pure hatred. “Ugly? You have no idea how often I've been called that just because of your disgusting face and your despicable eyes. Ever since you were born. I hoped that you would die as a baby so much. But no matter how many times I dropped you and gave you small rings to choke on, you kept smiling at me with that arrogant smirk. Everything always revolves around you, and no one else is allowed to gain even the slightest bit of attention. You're disgusting. What is so great about you anyway? Blond hair? A completely empty head? A fake grin as you pity anyone around you? I'm sick of you. Everything would have been better if Mother miscarried, but you just had to survive. Just to take away everything from me.”

It was obvious that no one here knew how to react at that. Elaine began crying quietly as she saw her only sister have a mental breakdown and turned away to hide her face. This had to be worse for her than for anyone else here.

Allen, who barely processed this himself, consoled his mother and put his hand on her back while Seraphina whispered something to her.

Henry looked like he wanted to help his wife too, but he was filled with too much anger to calm someone else. Instead, he just glared at Evelyn like she was nothing more but a useless parasite. But he didn't have a chance to speak up and voice his resentment.

Instead, a person that had previously been silent opened her mouth. “How dare you? How can you wish death upon the people that did nothing but show you kindness for the past years?” Sophia sniffled a little before slowly lifting her head. The expression she wore seemed so out of place on such a gentle person's face, especially while she was cradling her daughter. Sophia had never looked this angry before. “Ever since I've been born, I saw how nice all of us were to you. We never even hinted that we didn't care for you. Mama did everything to make you feel at home even when you spent more time with us than in your own house. We trusted you and treated you like family. Not only do you attempt to harm an innocent little child, our angel, who is your niece...” She let out a sob before continuing. “You also blame it on everyone else. It's your fault. No one forced you to be such a vile and despicable person. You alone are at fault and will get the punishment you deserve. You're a monster. No, you're worse than that. I don't ever want to see you again.”

It was sickening to see how Sophia, who believed in second chances and was gladly helping anyone around her even when those people had treated her badly, reached her breaking point like this. It wasn't surprising since her daughter had been in danger. Still, it was a horrible sight and only made Blanche despise Evelyn even more.

It was obvious that Sophia would have never gotten over Grace's death if it had happened. So, in a way, it was calming to see her like this too. After all, the countess was holding her daughter and felt an emotion apart from dreadful despair. Sophia wasn't the only one that was filled with anger though.

All the guests that had gathered by now had murmured to each other about what had occurred so that everyone knew already. Their gazes were filled with disgust and fury while others only stared at the situation in shock.

And despite all of that, Evelyn still somehow felt like she was the victim. She glared at Sophia and began screaming again. “I don't care about you. You are just like your mother! All of you, you should never have been born! Because of you, Henry is blinded by that wretched woman's games. You should be ashamed of yourself. You took away everything I lived for!”

It seemed like she wouldn't calm down in the slightest. Blanche became nauseous just by looking at it.