It seemed like they were quite sure that there was a third party here, one that would even drop a chandelier in an attempt to crush Prince Linden on his diplomatic mission. This was certainly alarming, especially when they knew that this wasn't the dowager empress' doing.

Somehow, Blanche was the only one in shock.

Linden stayed surprisingly calm despite this. He was silent for a moment and gazed at the spot at which the guards had just been arresting the perpetrator that had almost cut the ropes of the chandelier. It was quiet, so it seemed like the servant had already been dragged away. The crown prince showed a barely visible frown before turning back to the emperor. “You have both my empathy and my respect. To be able to deal with two threats with different goals at the same time is impressive. I already have issues with one person opposing me. Despite my father being alive, the struggle for power has already started and has become quite harsh. However, my enemies also wish the best for our nation, so they would never want war. Having such destructive forces among your people must be stressful.”

Theodore showed him a dejected smile. “It is. But at least I have a general idea of what they are trying to do. Causing chaos can be predictable too. So, I will manage to take care of that. Rest assured that I will not allow them to ruin the peace that our fathers desperately tried to achieve. We will continue to give our best to reach an ending that is favorable for both of our nations. Trust me in that regard. I will protect what is important to me, and the well-being of the people on this continent is one of the most crucial things.”

Seraphina chimed in with a serious expression. “Still, we cannot let our guard down. There is no guarantee that those people will not come up with ways that we cannot predict. We need to be alert at all times and prepare for the worst cases. It seems like we need to remind some of our servants what loyalty means too. If the unknown person troubling us used a person that worked here for a long time, it is likely that others have been influenced too. We will have to deal with that soon. I shall ask Gloria to run some tests on people that seem suspicious.”

Theodore nodded. “I already did some research. I gave her a list of people that should be investigated occasionally. There will be numerous investigations from now on. You can believe that I already thought about this often enough.”

Cedar watched that interaction from the corner of his eyes while gazing at the chandelier. Even though their situation still wasn't pleasant, he had returned to showing a little smile as he listened to the others almost absentmindedly. He only spoke up after the rest had talked for a while. “You should ask the chefs to redo the food. Poison would be the easiest way to harm someone while making it seem like it was planned by the person serving the dishes. It would be unfavorable if our guests got sick after eating here one time. Check whether there are allergies too.”

The emperor was quiet and just looked at his brother for a moment before turning to the crown prince. “Are there any allergies that you or your attendants may have that could be known by the public? If there are, we should be extra careful to not let someone secretly put that into your food. I expected that someone would try poison, so we created several dishes from Northern Ocrea as bait, which we can unfortunately not serve you. If something was touched, it would be this food.”

Linden replied immediately. “I do not believe that there is anything special. As long as no poison was used, it should be fine.”

Blanche could just stand there and ask herself how everyone was so calm. They had just found out that this unknown third party liked to cause so much trouble that it may hurt all of them in the process. The looming threat of a war that was created by a misunderstanding should also make them stiffer. But it seemed like all of them were prepared for much more than the concubine was.

In fact, it was almost eerie how quickly they moved along. No one here seemed to have an issue discussing one of the biggest dangers right now while walking through the palace to the guest rooms.

Linden often asked questions in between. The topic of the conversation jumped between the political chances of working together to the norms and history of Artias to the unknown threat again. He continued this even after his things had been brought to the guest room and he was shown the rest of the palace. What was surprising was that the person he talked to most was Seraphina.

The empress was eager to explain everything to him and had no issue speaking about random historical facts that she had seemingly memorized. She gladly gave lectures about the political and economic development of the country and what kind of etiquette was required. It appeared like they had a pleasant conversation, which was favorable. Linden getting along with the royal family of Artias would increase the chances of them being successful with their negotiations.

Still, it was a bit odd that Seraphina took care of that while Theodore was walking behind them with Blanche at his side. They had just reached the ancestral gallery, and Linden was keen on asking who every single person here was while the same thing as before happened as the empress told him all he wanted to hear. Cedar also narrated a bit, and seemingly, he knew more about the royal family than the empress herself, which probably annoyed Seraphina, but she didn't show it. In the end, she spoke more anyway so that Linden heard far more than he should probably wish to hear, but he stayed interested to the end.

Blanche inwardly cringed at the thought of portraits and hoped that the crown prince never questioned why her picture was in the foyer instead of Seraphina's. But naturally, she didn't bother bringing up that topic. She leaned over to her lover and whispered to him. “He seems to be very interested in hearing about our nation.”

Theodore tilted his head to rest it on hers for a moment. “I hope that's not the only thing he is interested in. It would be splendid if those two get along well. I feel like they are rather similar. I don't need to worry about taking walks with him if she does it. So, I would be happy to let them spend some time together on their own.” Somehow, it didn't sound like he was just wishing for them to talk.

Blanche scanned his expression in confusion and narrowed her eyes slightly. “You won't use that as an excuse to always send the empress to chat with him, right? You are the emperor, so you need to focus on your nation first. You have to be present during those discussions.”

“I know, I know. I never intended anything else. Do not worry about me slacking off. I will make sure that everything ends as well as possible. I just thought that it was funny. Usually, no one is this interested in hearing about an ancestral gallery. No one should be this happy to blabber on about it either.” He glanced at the two others that were standing in front of another painting.

The empress was in the middle of extensively explaining who the mother of Theodore's father was, and Linden listened to her the whole time. Blanche felt a small smile tug on her lips when she saw that. Both of them looked so serious, but seemingly, they enjoyed their conversation. It would be good if Seraphina didn't just focus on how mean her husband was to her but rather on winning over the crown prince. The more Linden got along with anyone here, the more likely it was that he would happily sign the contracts the emperor had prepared.

The concubine hoped that this would keep the heroine from being upset each time that Blanche was cuddling with Theodore right in front of her too. Maybe Seraphina wouldn't be angry at her for the faux pas earlier either. Surely, hearing the other woman being addressed as the empress hadn't been pleasant, but maybe Linden's interest in Artias made up for that.

Theodore turned to his lover and grinned when he saw her smiling. “You're happy about it too. I thought so. Don't worry. I'll fix everything. I would have liked to do something else, but that would have created too many problems for me and mainly you in the future, so I had to hold back.”

Blanche squeezed his arm and gave him a smile. “You shouldn't strain yourself too much. Don't overdo it with plotting against our enemies. Besides, I trust you fully. You don't need to justify your decisions.”

Theodore reached over to gently pinched her cheek and looked at her with love basically twinkling in his blue eyes. “You're way too kind. I promise that I will protect our future no matter what. I'll do everything to make you happy.” It seemed like they had started being romantic again without even trying it.

Blanche could barely keep herself from grinning even more when she imagined how Leon would react to that. This thought made her pause, and her face fell. “Theo. Where did Leon go? He was with us earlier. Did he just disappear at some point?” She looked around to see whether she had just missed that he was there too, but apart from Seraphina and Linden, who were still chatting, only the usual people were there. Naturally, Stella, Owen, Noah, and the empress' maids followed them along with a few guards from both nations. Cedar was there as well but no secretary. She ignored the prince's infuriating smile when their eyes met and turned to her lover again.

Theodore nodded toward the end of the hallway. “Leon is with the rest of our guests. He instructs them on where they can sleep and store their things. He also explains our security measures to them so that they won't be surprised. Don't worry about him. He is very capable of defending himself even if something did happen.”

Blanche breathed out in relief. “I wasn't worried about him getting hurt. I just thought that we accidentally ignored him the whole time. Thankfully, that isn't the case.”

“Whom did we ignore?” Cedar walked over to the couple and chimed in without paying attention to the annoyed expressions he met. “Was there someone we forgot?”

Theodore narrowed his eyes at his brother. “There is no one else. If you are asking me, there is one person too much here, but it can't be helped. Why are you even here and don't try to win over Linden?”

Cedar looked around and scanned the people around them before smirking at the other man. “He already seems to have formed an opinion on me, for which I surely have to thank your kind words. So, I figured that I would rather spend some time with my dear brother while Prince Linden hangs on your wife's lips so much that it almost baffles me. Regarding there being a person too much here, I, unfortunately, have no idea whom you could mean. Surely, Lady Blanche's guard is a bit off-putting, but he does his best to protect her. Even if he overdoes it sometimes. He may be a bit too cautious. The maid too. But at least they are loyal.”

Blanche glared at him while he said that and couldn't help but speak up. “I can assure you that they never expect danger when it isn't appropriate. There seem to be some people that are rather unaware though. Acting will only cover up so many intentions.”

Cedar glanced to the side as if to check on something else, and his smile faded a bit. “I agree. You will not be able to hide most of your feelings forever.” If he was referring to his psychopathy and his hatred for Theodore, he was certainly right. No matter how perfect his fake smile was, he wouldn't be able to fool anyone that had once had the displeasure of being alone with him for a moment. At least if one knew what he truly was like. After all, Cedar was far from happy.

It was just annoying that he immediately managed to shift his expression as soon as Linden glanced at him.

Right now, Blanche was just glad that she could cling to her lover without anyone complaining. That made Cedar's presence a little less unsettling even if it was disturbing to see how different he acted with Linden being here. Hopefully, he would stop his strange pretense soon. She was almost considering asking him why he was doing this, but she doubted that his response would be helpful.

Theodore seemed to notice her tense mood and leaned down to kiss her cheek. No matter how often he had done this today, she couldn't get enough and happily accepted it. She would have enjoyed it more if Cedar wasn't watching them while he kept that oddly disheartened expression on his face.

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Blanche was getting more confused every time he tried something like this and gazed toward Linden to find out whether he was observing them. He was.

That meant that Cedar was certainly attempting to influence the other man. But it was still unclear what this was supposed to gain him.

Though, it might have worked.

Linden turned to Seraphina again and said something in a quieter voice.

For a second, the empress' face scrunched up. Then she neutralized her expression again and shook her head while explaining something to the crown prince.

The concubine could only hope that Linden would keep his guard up from now on. They didn't need him to sympathize with their enemy all of a sudden. She was tense already, and the fear that some acting skills could convince their ally to rethink made it worse. That Cedar was still standing in front of her didn't lift her spirits either. Just when she thought that it would be fine unless he tried talking to her, he spoke up.

“Earlier, we were quite hurried, so we didn't have a chance to chat for longer. Is everything truly alright? We didn't meet for a while, and you were tight-lipped about your last weeks. Did something exciting happen?”

Blanche gave her best to keep herself from grimacing as she met Cedar's gaze. “I didn't say much because nothing happened. We had quite a peaceful time after your last visit. No one bothered us anymore, you know? We had enough time to prepare for our guest's arrival without needing to worry about many other things.”

Apart from the emperor and the empress' fight, of course. But she wouldn't tell him about that. Cedar had no right to know anything about the happening within the palace, especially if he could possibly use that to harm them later. The fact that Seraphina and Theodore had a lot of issues would be a perfect clue for their enemies to figure out what sort of plan could be used against them.

Cedar gave her a little smile. “I see. If so, it seems like I worried for no reason. But that's better than not being careful enough, isn't it? In any case, I wanted to say that I-”

Theodore interrupted him there without even looking at him. “Why would we have lied about being content? How could we not be when we had a lot of time to be together?” To him, the discussion was over with this. His gaze wandered toward the empress and the crown prince. “I see that your conversation is finished. Would you mind moving on if there aren't any questions left? I do not wish to rush you, but the evening is approaching quickly, and it would be best if we finished looking around before it's time for dinner.”

Linden nodded to him. “I do not have any further inquiries. If something else comes up, I will just ask.”

The emperor was satisfied with that. “Naturally. Feel free to ask as often as you wish too. Everyone here will be happy to answer your questions. Well then. Shall we move? I would still like to show you my office since we will have most discussions there.”

The group began moving again, and Blanche was a bit relieved that Cedar hadn't been able to finish whatever he had been referring to. Unfortunately, she quickly had a different thing to worry about.

Linden, who was still walking next to the empress, turned to the side and addressed Seraphina after a few steps. “This is the ancestral gallery of the royal family, correct? Then there should be a picture of every person that ruled the nation. Why isn't there a picture of the emperor and you here then? Or did I miss it?”

Blanche tensed upon hearing that. She knew which topic would inevitably come up. She could only chant her one wish like a mantra in her head. Hopefully, the guest wouldn't insist on seeing the picture.

Though, it seemed like Cedar ruined like he ruined anything. He just gave an objective response, but it didn't help. “We have such a painting, but it will only be moved here once the next emperor takes over. It's a tradition to keep the picture of the current rulers in the foyer on the top of the staircase. That is why you have not seen it here. You should be able to catch a glimpse of it while you walk by. It is hard to miss.”

Seraphina stiffened a little when this subject came up, but she kept her composure. “That is correct. I can assure you that it is not special though. It's the same as the other ones. Even the position and the thrones are almost the same. Since you have seen us in reality, there is no need to take a look at that painting.” It was unusual for her to act like this. Normally, she wouldn't try to hide mishaps in a way that was this obvious. Even Cedar, who didn't even know that there was an issue, glanced at her like he wondered what she was thinking. But that didn't matter. She and the concubine as well hoped that the crown prince would give up on this,

Sadly, Linden was more curious than anyone had wished for. “I would still like to see it at least once. It won't be too much of a bother if we return to the entrance hall for a moment, correct? I would only need a few seconds. I think I saw the silhouette from downstairs, but I didn't pay attention to it. The rest of the portraits are gorgeous, so it would be a shame to miss this one.”

It would have been good for Theodore to get involved now, but he didn't. He calmly watched the conversation without a care in the world and with a smile on his lips. Blanche was almost sure that he was a bit happy about this, which was rather mean. After all, Seraphina had been humiliated the entire day from start to finish. The introduction had been enough, but now the emperor didn't even try to help the empress.

Blanche wanted to prevent their guest from seeing the picture though. “It is without a doubt wonderful. But wouldn't the ballroom be much more interesting? You could see the thrones there in person. That will be much more impressive than just seeing them on a canvas.” Both she and Seraphina carefully watched the crown prince's reaction, only to be disappointed.

Linden alternated between looking at them before speaking up. “I promise that I will not ask as many questions again. I am just curious. It should be fine for us to go there for a moment. Unless it is truly bothersome, of course.”

Now Theodore chimed in and said exactly what one shouldn't have said. “You are free to move around in the palace as you want. We will not obstruct you. If you wish to see this room rather than the ones you haven't been to, it is fine. We have a little over two weeks, so you can take your time.”

“Very well then. I would like to see the painting myself. I was told that the painter is a genius.” Linden turned to Seraphina, who seemed a bit unhappy about it but led the way.

Blanche sighed quietly as they trailed behind them. This would cause an uncomfortable scene, which she already prepared for.

As soon as the group arrived at the second floor of the foyer, Linden stepped closer to the painting that hung in the center of the room. His forehead was covered in barely visible wrinkles when he gazed at the portrait for a while. Then he turned around to look at the other one, the one with the empress, hanging a few steps away while almost being covered by some decorative chairs. Blanche turned away to avoid having to respond to why something so stupid had been done by her lover. Theodore didn't say anything about this and instead chatted with Cedar while both praised Erneis' masterful skills and mentioned how he had painted a family portrait with them as children once already. That the emperor was currently speaking to his enemy while ignoring the empress completely only added another layer to the insult.

Luckily, it seemed like Linden had no intention of asking anyone about this.

Seraphina gestured to the side to show him the second painting. “The painting is hung there.” It was surprising that she didn't say anything else about this. She was probably more upset about this matter than she cared to admit.

Blanche mentally noted to remind Theodore that he would have to move their portrait before the Duremonts would come tomorrow. Unfortunately, there wasn't much she could do when her lover was being stubborn, but she could voice her dismay until he saw that it was necessary to pacify her. Hopefully, that would work.

Linden looked at the second portrait for a long time after being guided there. He didn't voice his opinion on this and just made eye contact with the empress for a moment.

The concubine felt much worse about all of this than before now. She had been holding Theodore's arm ever since they left the dining room at lunch even though his wife was here too, which just made it even more awful. She couldn't help being slightly worried for the rest of the evening. But she calmed down a little after witnessing how Linden continued to ask question after question, which Seraphina happily answered. Still, it was strange that Theodore walked beside Blanche and left his wife to deal with the guest, but it wasn't as bad as before. As long as the empress and the crown prince got along, it would be fine.

In the end, the most irritating thing was Cedar. One would have expected that he would cling to the crown prince and try to curry favor with him, like he had done for the first half of the day. Instead, it was almost like he was glued to Theodore and Blanche and refused to leave their side. He walked next to them whenever he could, looked at them way too often and sometimes even initiated a conversation. The concubine was pretty sure that this was his revenge for Theodore troubling him during the last weeks. He might also have been upset because of their last conversation, but she didn't care too much.

Blanche stayed with her lover the whole time and barely let go of his arm in between. Aside from walking around a bit, cuddling and feeling guilty and annoyed, she hadn't done much, but still, she became tired quickly.

In the evening, all of them ate dinner, which was stressful in itself. Blanche felt pressured to exhibit perfect table manners and was nervous the whole time, especially since all members of the royal family seemed like they hadn't practiced anything else in their whole lives. The fact that Theodore had made her sit next to him without allowing Seraphina anywhere near them made all of this worse.

So, the concubine was more than happy when the day finally ended and they bid goodbye to their guest and Cedar, who had luckily been sent home and seemed to drop his facade as soon as he didn't see Linden anymore.

Upon entering her lover's chambers, Blanche fell into their bed immediately and pressed her face into the cushion. She let out a loud sigh and moved her legs around a bit before letting her limbs plop down.

Theodore appeared next to her a second later. “You really seem to be exhausted. Is everything alright?”

She lifted her head to look at his smiling face. “You have nerves. Do you know how bad I felt all day? To make the empress deal with everything while we cuddle is pretty mean. You also talked to Cedar more than to her, which is strange considering that you told Linden to distrust one more than the other.”

Her lover got rid of his shoes before moving down to her feet. She allowed him to bend her knee so that he could take off her shoes as well while he spoke. “You said that you trust me, right? I have a plan, and to achieve our goal, we have to make sure that some things are a bit different. It's important that Linden meets her exactly like this right now. Besides, you shouldn't worry about that woman at all. She deserves much worse, so she should be happy to be treated so nicely.”

Blanche rolled onto her back to look up at Theodore. His expression was completely serious with not a hint of amusement in his eyes. Almost like he truly despised Seraphina with all of his heart. That didn't make sense though. Surely, there had been conflicts and fights, but that was no reason for him to act like the empress was the most awful person alive. There had to have been something else that happened. And apparently, the heroine didn't remember what that was either. It would be interesting to know what had occurred though.

Blanche surely had no idea after all.

How could she?

The heroine couldn't have done anything wrong, right?

Blanche gazed up at her lover for a moment before speaking up. “Do you hate her? The empress, I mean.”

“I do.” The response came way too quickly and with more conviction than she had expected.

Blanche propped herself up on her elbows as she stared at her lover with a frown. “Do you really hate her? Or are you just exaggerating?”

Theodore moved up to her face again. He leaned forward so that he could look directly into her eyes while responding. “I absolutely despise her. I felt that emotion often enough to be able to determine it. Believe me. She is actually tied on spot number one of the people I resent most along with the dowager empress.”

Blanche believed him. She had seen how he treated his wife and reacted to Seraphina's complaints. No one would act like this when they liked the other party. And she had to admit that a small, selfish part of her was happy to hear this. This was another proof that the novel's timeline could never come true, that Theodore wouldn't execute her just for the other woman again. It was awful to feel calmed by this, but Blanche couldn't help herself.

At the same time, doubt arose in her though. It was unlikely that Theodore just suddenly chose to despise his wife for no reason. The reason was important for this too. Even when Blanche didn't want to ask, she should. She made eye contact with her lover before asking the most important question about this matter, even as her stomach churned. “Why?”

Why was she so nervous asking that? It felt like blood was rushing to her head.

Theodore's reaction was strange too. His expression fell for a moment. He opened his mouth and closed it again. He stared at his lover for a long time before closing his eyes. “You should know, but that...is the thing I cannot tell you about yet. My secret. You might have noticed already, and I know that it's cowardly of me not to admit it when we're both well aware. But I still need some time. You know that as much as I do.” He slowly moved his hands upwards and took hers in between his. He lifted her hands to his mouth before he gently laid his lips on her skin. “I can only assure you that I love you. I always loved you and will continue to love you even after my heart stops beating. So, please trust me for now.”

He had always loved her. Hearing that was like balm for the villainess' soul.

Blanche carefully freed her hands from his hold to cup his face. “You trusted me too, so why would I not return that fully? If we both need some time before admitting the truth, it's fitting, right?” She was still in disbelief about him allowing her to keep silent about her secret even after Theodore had known how deep her problems ran. How could she not show as much consideration as he had? “Take your time. It's better if we fully prepare for something like this. I have to admit that I have no clue what your secret may be though.”

Theodore gave her a sad smile. “You will understand when I tell you. But for now, I can only ask for your forgiveness. I haven't told you yet, but I can't sleep whenever I think about how you might react. Even though I have no right to ask this, please-”

She cut him off with a kiss. She didn't want him to ask for forgiveness when he had never hurt her. He was always on her side, and the worst thing he had done recently was ignore her wishes regarding the portrait. But she wouldn't even bring that up.

Blanche wanted to spend a calm evening in his embrace, with nothing else around them mattering. She would use a lot of time telling him how well he treated her and how much she adored him. If Theodore could truly accept her secret, the fact that she had been brought here to betray him, then she could accept his too, no matter how awful it was. In fact, she would even accept it if he started to hate her, which she knew far too well.

She loved him too much to feel anything else for him.