Naturally, Prince Linden was a bit cautious since he had entered the territories of a country that had been his enemy for the last few decades. But he seemed open enough not to see Theodore as his opponent immediately. More than worried or angry, he appeared to be curious judging by the way he acted. Even if his expression didn't give much away, it wasn't intimidating. It just proved that he was calm, which would be excellent for political discussions. After all, Theodore liked conversations about politics most when the other party didn't yell at him or ignored his opinion.

Blanche had been mentally absent for a bit, so she almost jolted when she noticed that the prince was looking at her. Linden scanned her for a moment, but she couldn't speak up to greet him. Not when the empress hadn't opened her mouth yet. She wanted to turn around and search for Seraphina, but the prince was quicker than she was.

“You must be the empress then. I do not wish to be impolite, but may I ask for your name?”

The concubine almost wanted to sink into the ground at that. Naturally, he would believe that the woman, who coincidentally wore an attire that matched the ruler's, cuddling with the emperor would be the lawful wife. Everyone would have guessed that. She considered letting Theodore respond, but that wouldn't make the situation better. Her lover had expected this situation and possibly even risked evoking it on purpose, so he apparently didn't mind as much as she did. It would be more beneficial if she just quickly explained before Seraphina got offended.

“Unfortunately, this here is a little misunderstanding. I am not the empress. Her Majesty is...over there.” Blanche turned around and took a moment before spotting the empress on Theodore's other side. She gestured toward the other woman.

Linden was silent for a moment before turning to the empress. “I apologize sincerely. I never had the chance to see a portrait of you, so I made a careless mistake. Please forgive my rudeness.”

Seraphina met his gaze and put on her little polite smile, which was probably supposed to hide her growing irritation. “You needn't apologize. There was no way for you to have known. Most people might not have been able to identify me based on my face alone.” That was true. The greatest portion of the commoners had never seen the empress, so they might not know what she looked like. The only thing that identified her as the empress would be the crown, which Seraphina wasn't wearing right now, her attire in the royal colors and her presence at Theodore's side.

Most unknowing ones would assume that Blanche was the wife because she was the one clinging to the emperor. This situation was horrible. The concubine almost wanted to let go to avoid any more conflict, but it was too late now. Hopefully, Seraphina would have grudge against her because of this.

Luckily, it seemed like the empress was busy greeting the prince now though. “My name is Seraphina Estien. It is an unimaginable honor for me to be able to greet you as a guest. It is wonderful that we will have another chance to aid the strained relationship between our nations that developed because of countless misunderstandings. I believe that it is necessary for us to point out that we deeply apologize for our negligence that allowed someone to interfere with our letter exchange this easily. We are working hard on finding the perpetrators and punishing them accordingly. I thank you for your generosity and for giving us a second chance.”

Linden responded immediately. “There is no need to apologize for the involvement of vile people. We ourselves did not notice the inconsistency regarding the emperor's handwriting either when we clearly should have after his speech drastically changed. Naturally, we are offering our assistance and will help as much as possible to investigate whether there were perpetrators in Northern Ocrea. I am very pleased to be able to work with you as well. May our nations get along in harmony from now on.”

Only a few sentences were enough to see that these two were rather similar. Both in the way they acted, talked and moved as well as how they kept their expression calm at all times.

Blanche was almost a bit jealous to see so much dignity at once. She wasn't even able to keep herself from grimacing whenever Cedar showed up, which he hopefully wouldn't do today. She even had to force herself to keep a neutral expression when Linden turned to her again.

“I apologize for the previous confusion. Unfortunately, I am not aware of who you may be otherwise.”

Blanche had a feeling that this was probably more uncomfortable for him since he worried about not having done enough research. She knew how she would feel after making an error like this, so she hurried to release him. “I am honored to have a chance to get acquainted with you. My name is Blanche, and most people here address me as Lady Blanche.” That sounded way too impolite. She would need to add something else to her introduction. The prince obviously wanted to know why she was in the palace, so she would have to reply. “I am the emperor's...fiancée.” Saying this in front of Seraphina was worse than most other things she could have come up with. But maybe being honest and justifying why she was wearing the royal colors now was better than giving less information.

For a moment, Linden glanced to the side. He alternated between looking at the people in front of him and seemed like he wanted to find out what their relationship was. Maybe he didn't know about the emperor being allowed to have multiple wives and was irritated because of that. Or he wondered why Theodore was accompanying a woman who would be his secondary wife when the empress stood there. Fortunately, he was polite enough not to address the issue though. “I see. I apologize for not being aware of that. My research seems to have been lacking.” And that was her chance to bring up her greatest worry.

Blanche quickly spoke up again. “Oh, no. It just happened...” She almost froze when she remembered that it had almost been two months. How had time passed this quickly? “A little under two months ago. We have not revealed anything about this to the public yet. We are waiting for a more suitable point in time. That is why you naturally would be unable to hear anyone speaking about it. There are only a handful of people who know.”

The crown prince accepted this without much of a reaction. “Then I will remember not to mention it to anyone unnecessarily. Congratulations on your engagement. May your union bring joy into the world while you spend the rest of your lives together in happiness.” Apparently, that was the way that people from Ocrea congratulated an engagement. It was way sweeter than what the nobles always said to the emperor. They usually didn't wish him happiness or joy but only that it would do the best for the nation. Blanche liked this version much more.

Theodore showed the other man a smile before looking at his lover. “Thank you for your kind words. We are very happy already, and it can only get better from now on. We will make sure to cherish your wishes.” He lifted his free hand to push a strand of Blanche's hair behind her ear and gazed at her with affection before turning back to the prince. “I assume that the carriage ride was exhausting. We can either delay our first meeting and discuss everything starting from tomorrow while using this day to show you the palace. Or we can begin immediately if you prefer that.”

Linden glanced at the building before responding. “I am grateful for your consideration. It may be necessary for me to know my way around, so I would ask you to show the estate to me if it isn't too much of a bother.”

Theodore showed him the polite smile that he had perfected over the past years as the emperor. “Of course, it is not a bother. I would be happy to help. You will need to be able to roam around freely, so this is rather fitting. I would suggest taking a short walk in the garden before we show you the way to your chambers and all the most important rooms in the building. Naturally, the servants will always be happy to guide you to your destination too, so there is no need to memorize everything. I chose some of the best members of the staff to support you and your companions during your stay here.” The emperor gestured to the group of people that were waiting all around them. “You are free to use them or decline if you wish to rely on your own people instead. Due to the situation with my brother, which I mentioned in a past letter, the security measures are heightened though. This means that I would recommend that you permit the royal knights to accompany you when you leave the palace or ever plan on going to the capital. We will ensure that no one is injured, so the property is full of guards as well. Please do not misunderstand my intention by placing them there. They are only supposed to assist your people. Of course, your guards are allowed to keep their weapons.”

Linden was silent for a short moment before responding. “I thank you for your trust. I did not expect that you would give me permission to let my companions serve me here.”

“Naturally, I will do that. We are attempting to reconcile after all of those years. Encountering one another with distrust the whole time will do nothing but bring us apart. Artias never had the intention of waging war, and I strongly believe that Northern Ocrea did not either. War won't benefit anyone and only brings destruction, so I am happy that we have the same opinion on this matter. Otherwise, you would not risk coming here.”

Linden's expression budged for the first time. His eyes widened just slightly, but it was enough to show that he was surprised about receiving so much trust despite the previous conflicts. “Of course. I am here to deepen the trust between us, and I will not abuse it. It is calming to hear that your views are similar to mine. I will give my best to prove that Northern Ocrea never wished for anything but peace.”

Theodore smiled at him. “I can assure you that Artias has the same stance. We look forward to working with you from now on. But there is no need to discuss all of this outside. Would you allow me to lead you through the garden?”

The prince still seemed like he was a bit bedazzled by such a warm welcome, but he hurried to respond. “Gladly.”

“Very well then.” The emperor turned around and started walking toward the main path that led them around the palace. Still, he didn't show any signs of being ready to let go of his lover. He grinned from one ear to the other one and even leaned over to kiss her cheek.

Blanche was torn between being uncertain about whether it was intelligent to act like this in front of the empress and their future political allies and between being happy for her lover. In the end, both emotions were just as strong. She beamed at him but began whispering as well. “Is this really alright? We shouldn't act like this. What will-”

Theodore shushed her with another kiss on her cheek. “Don't mention that. I want him to know that you are the one I love. Maybe they'll bond when they feel left out.”

Blanche had no idea what he was referring to. She turned her head around and gazed at the prince and the empress, who were both trailing behind them. She looked at her lover again. “I don't think that you should ignore the person that came here to have political discussions with you. Him being here is the most important thing of all. So, you should rather cling to him instead of me. You need to win him over.”

“I already did. You can't believe how much effort I put into the letters. I wrote everything he wanted to hear. Don't worry. There is no way that he will be angry about this. From what I heard, his father loved his mother very much, so he won't complain about us showing affection for one another. In fact, it will probably please him to see that true love plays a role here. So, let us show him how much we love each.” He grinned at her and patted her arm.

The concubine sighed quietly before mirroring his smile. “If you insist. But hold back a little. The empress is here.”

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

Theodore raised an eyebrow at her. “And why would I care? She is very much aware of the difference between the two of you, and I will be happy to point it out as often as she needs to see it. She can approach a different target if she needs to fill her desire for love. The one by my side is you, and I won't ever pretend like something else is the case ever again.” He slowed his movements and pulled her closer to him.

Blanche had a vague idea of what he was planning to do. A small part of her wanted to give in, but that would probably be a horrible idea. So, she hurried to move forward again. She managed to get Theodore to follow her without allowing him to kiss her first. She was a bit disappointed that she wouldn't be able to see his radiant beam, but the other option was worse. They couldn't just cuddle in front of everyone present.

She only realized that dragging him away from the others wasn't a good idea after a few steps and slowed down again. She looked over her shoulder as she searched for the heroine and the prince, only to be scared by her lover.

Theodore put his hand on her chin and leaned in to kiss her. He held her head with the other hand and thus kept her in place. The decision was made with that already.

Blanche would never push away her lover. She reciprocated the kiss and closed her eyes to ignore the others while doing that. She needed to do that, or she might die out of embarrassment. No one would think that it was good when the emperor couldn't even hold himself back during a diplomatic meeting.

But Theodore's grin almost made up for that. He beamed at her and pulled her into his arms to pat her head. “I'm so happy. Everything is going great. We just need to push them over the edge, and everything will solve itself. And we will stand here victoriously without needing to spill any blood.”

The concubine didn't have the energy to tell him that showing his satisfaction like this might cause new problems. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed a small kiss on his cheek. “You're right. Everything will be fine. We just have to hold on a bit longer, and our enemies will have to give up.”

“I will make sure that they retreat and will regret ever facing us. I would be so much crueler if you didn't-” He cut himself off and cupped her face to bring her closer to him. “I will fix everything for us. I promise.”

Just when she wanted to tell him that his presence was more than enough to create the perfect ending for her, she heard footsteps approaching them. The empress and the crown prince had arrived at their side.

Theodore let go of her face after giving her a little kiss. He linked their arms again before turning to the others. “We will just walk around the palace once so that you can get an overview of the building. There are parts of the estate that you probably won't see since they are outside the walls. But if you are interested in them, you can always ask me to show them to you. There isn't much aside from some forests there though.” It was a bit impressive how calm he was. After what just happened, he should be a little embarrassed or uncertain, but there was nothing but confidence in his voice. Not many would act like this after showing their affair to their wives and the rulers of neighboring nations.

Linden let his gaze roam across their surroundings and took the view in. Then he turned back to the emperor. “Thank you for the offer. For now, I would like to focus on the main building since I will be spending my time here. I must say that the garden is beautiful.”

Theodore grinned at him. “The gardeners have worked hard to maintain them for years. It seems like their efforts have been worth it. I will inform them of your kind words. Now then. Shall we begin our walk?”

The group only rounded the palace once, but still, it took much longer than anticipated. Linden stopped every few steps and asked something about Artias and its customs. Theodore was happy to respond, but Seraphina was the person that explained most things. She was also the one that led around Linden, with the concubine and the emperor being busy cuddling the whole time. Blanche felt a bit bad, but since the empress and Linden seemed to be content chatting with each other whenever Theodore started hugging his lover again, it was fine.

The crown prince hadn't complained once and seemed to have no issue ignoring the couple's exaggerated intimacy. The heroine also never pointed out that they were being insolent, so there weren't any conflicts.

The emperor seemed to be more satisfied with each conversation, and by the end of the walk, he was beaming. When they reached the main entrance and were greeted by someone that had been waiting for them, his mood soured though. The corners of his mouth sank, and he addressed the crown prince while staring at Cedar in the distance. “It seems like our other guests have arrived. That is the brother I warned you about. I assume that he will not do any harm, but he will smile at you and tell you about how well you get along while pulling out a knife behind your back.”

Linden's expression became a bit colder when he heard that. “Do not worry. I have experience with people like him. I will not be swayed by lies and acting. The mother is not present?”

Theodore's smile returned again. “She is the true threat here, so we can be happy that she didn't arrive. It seems like the sudden breakdown of her carriage might have stopped her. Let us meet my brother to find out. Aside from the political one, I will also give you a personal warning. He is infuriating.”

Blanche leaned against her lover and let him pat her head as memories of the last meeting with Cedar resurfaced in her head. If this interaction was anything like that one, she would cry. She didn't know whether the prince mentioning her family or him threatening her had scared her more. Just when she thought about it, her cheeks were burning again, but the rage inside her was even more noticeable. And while she was angry, she was also scared. She tightened her hold on Theodore's arm and clenched her jaw in an attempt to keep herself from grimacing. Even though so many people were here now, she wasn't happy about any of this.

Her lover noticed quickly. He put his second hand on her arm and stroked over her skin. He slowly leaned his head to the side to whisper in her ear. “It's alright. I'm right here with you. I'll protect you. He won't ever touch you again.”

Blanche nodded, but it was more to encourage herself than to respond to him. “Thank you.” Hopefully, nothing bad would happen, but with Cedar, she could never be sure.

Theodore slowly led her to the building, and this time, she happily clung to him. He stopped in front of the stairs and emphasized how he put his arm around her. “Good afternoon. It looks like you finally arrived here too. You are a bit tardy. That is unlike you, I was quite worried.”

Blanche's gaze wandered to Cedar's hand immediately. Somehow, she wasn't surprised to find that he wasn't wearing a proper bandage. There was merely a single line of cloth wrapped around his hand, and this one happened to resemble his skin in color. It was almost like he did everything to hide the fact that he had been wounded. He probably wouldn't have put on anything if the cut hadn't been so visible. Did he want to hide the incident then? If his mother had found out, there would have been a huge problem, and maybe Cedar had prevented that. Blanche felt bad momentarily but reminded herself that it was his fault that he had been injured by Owen. There was no way that the prince had tried to keep them from harm with his silence.

Cedar didn't seem to focus on his wound at all. He was already waiting for the group with a bright smile. He didn't fail to seem as innocent and kind as ever despite his brother's obvious taunt. “I'm happy to see you, Theodore. Good afternoon. I greatly appreciate your worry, but you can rest assured. Nothing happened but a series of coincidental trivial issues. Unfortunately, countless servants became sick today. One locked the door to my bedroom, one forgot to prepare the horses and then the carriage broke down. The gods must be against us on such a joyful day. Mother could not come because we had no second coach, and she isn't in a state in which she could wander through the forest to come here. I sincerely apologize for that.” His tone was overly sweet, which almost made it sound like he was annoyed.

Theodore seemed like he was unsure how to act for a moment. He was probably torn between showing his brother the freezing rage he felt and using the prince's strategy of smiling. In the end, he chose a mix and met the other's gaze with a neutral expression and an icy glint in his eyes. “There is no need to apologize for that. I am the one that needs to voice an apology. I apologize for the inconveniences you had to face, and I will make sure to let the carriage get repaired. What strange coincidences you met. That is unfortunate, but as you said, the day is joyful. This is our esteemed guest's arrival, so we should celebrate.”

Cedar's eyes wandered to the crown prince immediately. He climbed down the stairs to stop in front of the other man before bowing slightly. “Ah. It is a great honor to be able to meet you. My name is Cedar Estien. I am this country's second prince and His Majesty's brother. I hope that we will have many chances to work together in the future.”

Linden seemed like the polar opposite of the other prince. His expression remained as aloof as before while he greeted the other man with a slight bow. “I am honored to meet you as well. I am Linden Sual, the crown prince of Northern Ocrea. May our nations successfully work together from now on.”

As always, Cedar replied perfectly. “I hope so too. Though, it would be too soon to make you focus on political discussions just after you arrived. First, we should lead you around and then let you rest. I assume my brother already showed you a bit of the palace but surely not everything, correct?”

Seraphina was the one that responded while she made eye contact with Linden. “Indeed. We shall now enter the palace to show you and your people to your rooms, Your Royal Highness.”

And there the mistake was.

Blanche was almost sure that Theodore had told her that Northern Ocrea's people merely addressed the singular ruler by a title while everyone else might just be named by their rank. It would be best to call the crown prince ‘Prince Linden’ and nothing else. Though Blanche was almost sure that something so small couldn't create a big issue, she worried. Especially since Theodore probably hadn't told Seraphina, who would certainly not mess up if she had been informed. Theodore had known, and somehow, Cedar had paid attention to it too, but the poor empress, who had already had the worst day until now, had made the error now. That was a first.

For a moment, the concubine worried, but Linden didn't seem to be mad. Luckily, he stayed as calm as before while he responded. “I would be thankful for that. But there is no need to address me with a title. In Ocrea, we do not call anyone by a title except for the king himself, so it would be fine to address me as ‘Prince Linden’. If you do not mind, please call me that.”

Seraphina certainly had not been aware of that. For a split second, she seemed surprised, but she immediately caught herself again. “I was not aware of that as I only relied on quite old books in our library. I sincerely apologize. It will not happen again, Prince Linden.”

Linden replied quickly again, seemingly not wishing for the empress to feel bad. “There is no need to apologize. It is truly not a troublesome issue, and I would never be upset about something as small as this. But I feel like this is a good moment for me to apologize in advance. I do know much about your traditions either, so I might end up doing something that may strike you as odd.”

Theodore, who had not done anything to help the empress despite the strange atmosphere, used that comment for himself. “That should not be an issue. We do not have many customs that would concern you. Most nobles in our nation are very proud and insist on being respected by maintaining useless norms. But naturally, you will not have to pay attention to that. The only thing that may surprise you is how we handle crowns in our nation. It is normal for the emperor and the empress to wear them when they appear at public events. We put it on way more often than you would. I hope that this will not irritate you too much.”

Linden was quiet for a little moment before nodding. “I was not aware of that. Thank you for informing me. I will pay attention to as many customs as I can memorize.”

The emperor showed him a gentle smile at that. “That is very considerate of you. Thank you. I will inform you about anything important that comes to my mind.”

Cedar watched that interaction and waited until they finished. He kept a close eye on all expressions as if he wished to figure out what they were thinking, especially when it came to Theodore. That was enough to make Blanche move closer to her lover as if she wanted to protect him. Cedar seemed to notice and glanced at her for a split second without seeing impressed by her glare. In the end, he followed the correct protocol and looked at the empress.

Seraphina should have used that chance to force him to wait, but she acted as politely as always. “I am pleased to see that you are in good health as well, Your Royal Highness. I hope that the issues in the morning did not upset you too much.”

Cedar smiled again and greeted the heroine with a perfect bow. “I wish you a wonderful day, Your Majesty. I thank you for your concern, but I can calm you.” And there it was for the first time. His smile faltered for a single second, which immediately alarmed Blanche. If Cedar didn't smile, it was because he was acting, and he certainly managed to put on a forced smile far too well. “There is nothing we can do about some things, so I will not be stressed because of this. I rather looked forward to being here now.” His smile became a bit brighter again. “It is a way too beautiful day when I am able to become acquainted with the crown prince of Northern Ocrea and meet all of you. Since I haven't been here in a while, I missed visiting the palace and...I am glad to be here today again.” While he paused, he had glanced at the concubine. And for a second, she could have sworn that she had seen his eyes linger on them in that strange way that made her feel like he was annoyed. That couldn't mean anything good. Was he angry at Theodore's involvement in the carriage situation? Possible. Cedar certainly used his chance to upset them. He turned his head to Blanche and gave her a smile that was way too warm for her liking. Why was he such a good actor? “Good afternoon, Lady Blanche. It's been a while. How have you been doing?”

Blanche fought the urge to ignore him and responded without bothering to fake a smile. “Good afternoon, Your Royal Highness. I cannot complain. The palace was as cozy as ever, and no one came from outside to annoy us either. I hope that it will stay like this for a long time.”

Cedar's expression twitched at that. For a moment, she almost believed that he was genuinely a bit taken aback by her response, but then she remembered who she was talking to. The prince averted his eyes and showed a smaller smile with a pretense of sadness in his eyes. “Ah. Well, yes. Of course. I pray that you will continue to stay in good spirits. May the next weeks be wonderful for you and Theodore as well. We'll... It's good that everything went well within the palace.” Why was he saying those words that strangely? And now he looked at the floor like a kicked puppy.

As if he hadn't been the one scarring Blanche for life last time after purposefully bringing up her deceased family. If she hadn't known him, she might have felt some sympathy. Which she definitely didn't feel now. That would be stupid. After all, Cedar had always been her enemy, and she couldn't forget that. How come that expression was enough to make her unwell even if she knew that it was fake?

But Blanche didn't tell him that. She narrowed her eyes at him and clung to Theodore. She didn't know how to respond to this. Why did Cedar have to make the situation so uncomfortable when he could easily act happy like always?

If this was connected to Linden, she didn't want to know what Cedar had planned.