The concubine had been completely unaware of any rumors, so to say that she was taken aback was an understatement. She almost choked on her tea and needed to cough for a moment before being able to speak. “Excuse me. Would you please repeat that?”
Angelica immediately hurried to wave her hands around in a dismissive gesture. “Oh, please don't take me too seriously. I merely talked about what others were chatting about. Naturally, I didn't believe it. I would never accuse Her Majesty of...well.”
Clark swallowed his piece of cake before speaking up. “You still didn't repeat it.” He glanced at his colleague before turning to Blanche. “She said that there are rumors about Her Majesty and Ocrea's crown prince. People speculate that they have romantic feelings for each other. Don't worry too much though. Rumors are stupid. These two are only together this often because His Majesty is busy cuddling with his fiancée. Whenever I see you, you are touching one another. You seriously are touch-starved, aren't you?”
Blanche frowned as she listened to his words. Right now, she was more worried about those rumors than about anything else. “Theo and I like cuddling, but that has nothing to do with this topic. Also, would you please be more careful when mentioning our engagement? But that doesn't matter now. What about the rumors? Do people actually believe that? If anyone told someone outside and word about this left the palace, it would be horrible.”
Clark shook his head slightly while eating another piece of the cake. “I don't think they believe it. They are just bored and like to talk about random things. As long as Her Majesty doesn't kiss anyone in public, no one would truly trust those rumors either. Her reputation is flawless, remember? I mean, it was until a few months ago. But it isn't bad enough to make people believe such things.”
Blanche bit her tongue as she thought back to Linden and Seraphina.
Surely, the empress was way too focused on proper etiquette and acting according to the protocol. So, she would never have an affair, right? Seraphina wouldn't get closer to the future ruler of another nation just because they spend a lot of time with each other, right? That was almost unimaginable.
Still, Blanche worried a bit. Those rumors had surfaced because Theodore didn't take care of the guest as much as he should. The empress had probably just stepped in because of that and now suffered because of all the gossip. Maybe Blanche should talk to her lover and ask him to spend a little more time with Linden. But on the other hand, maybe telling Theodore would just make it worse. Those rumors certainly weren't favorable for Seraphina, so she doubted that he would ignore that chance to trouble her. Blanche might have to get involved here.
Clark quickly saw how she got lost in thoughts and spoke up to pull her back into reality. “I said that you don't have to worry about it. The crown prince will leave in a week, and then everyone will forget about all of this within a few days. Do you ever stop overthinking every little thing?”
Blanche nibbled on a cookie while staring into the distance. “Actually, Prince Linden already asked whether he could stay another week. I think that he likes it here.” Or he liked Seraphina. And maybe Seraphina liked having a man's undivided attention for once. The concubine inwardly scolded herself for those thoughts, but she couldn't help it. She stood up without a warning and finished her treat. “I'll ask Theo to talk a bit more to Linden. It's bad if he doesn't take care of his guest at all. We will see each other later.”
Both Angelica and Clark waved to her and bid her farewell, even though he took a moment to make fun of her overreacting. “You know that it wouldn't be that bad even if they had an affair? After all, His Majesty is also together with you. So, I doubt that he would care.”
Blanche gave him an uncertain smile. “When it came to me, my rank was a problem. In this case, the issue is more that this would be seen as an insult to Theodore. If a woman has an affair, it is seen as even worse. I know that Theo won't personally care. But I doubt that it would be good for the empress' reputation if she was suspected of being unfaithful. I honestly wouldn't mind it if she likes some man that fell for her, but I want the servants to shut their mouths for her sake. So, I'll ask Theo to help me a bit. Until later.” She walked over to the door and opened it, only to almost be hit by it when someone pushed down the handle from outside.
A certain brown-haired servant came into view. She truly hadn't expected him here.
“Ah. Hello, Harris.”
Harris looked like he was as surprised as she was and barely managed to keep the small chest he was holding upright. He took a moment to process that she was the one he had almost crushed with the door and glanced at the area behind her before speaking up. “I apologize, Lady Blanche. I did not expect you to stand behind the door. Were you hurt?”
The concubine was uncertain regarding what to think about the man in front of her. He had troubled her friends for so long and had always been a phenomenal actor that liked to play around with the ones around him. But at one point, he had given up all of this, avoided the others as often as possible and looked more tired than anything. He had stopped acting and had even warned her about Cedar. She truly had no idea what to do about him. “You didn't hit me, it's fine. Did you want to enter?” She stepped aside to make way for him.
Harris' face scrunched up. “I sincerely thank you, but I do not need to go inside. I was merely asked to deliver this to you by His Royal Highness.” His frustration was obvious as he spoke about the prince like Cedar had been the one exhausting him for the past decade.
Blanche narrowed her eyes at that and stared down at the box. “What do you mean? What is it?”
Harris opened the top and revealed a shining necklace made of gold and some violet gems. The piece of jewelry was gorgeous, but he looked at it as if it was some speck of dirt.
The concubine had the same expression on her face though. “He didn't really ask you to bring this to me as a gift, I hope. Please tell me that this is for someone else.” Right now, she was truly praying that this was a misunderstanding, but her mind told her that it wasn't one.
Harris let out a low sigh. “I asked him whether he was sure about times. He is certain. He wanted you to have this random necklace, which I assume to be rather expensive. Though, he seems to be self-aware about your nonexistent desire to keep it. He just said that he wants to offer it anyway and that I should put it into your room if you won't accept it.”
Blanche glared at the box and crossed her arms as anger rushed through her veins. Even after everything that had happened, Cedar still believed that she was materialistic enough to forget the past. That prince had threatened her at least three times and talked about her lover's death even more often. Still, he seemed to believe that it would be fine after he gave her a single necklace. Was he stupid? Hadn't she told him that she loved Theodore and would never betray the emperor often enough? By now, even the very hint of her helping the enemy made her blood boil. Those people just saw her as a pawn and believed that she would act like they wanted her to after a few gifts or kind words. That only made her despise them even more.
She looked up at Harris and narrowed her eyes. “Did he ask you to come to his manor to pick that box up?”
Harris shook his head and showed the same level of annoyance the concubine also displayed. “Thankfully not. But he comes here often to see Prince Linden. He always asks for you, but His Majesty instructed everyone to keep him away from you. His Royal Highness just said that he wanted to give you a present, and apparently, I was unlucky enough to meet him while he was searching for a person that needs to give this to you. I...wouldn't take it if I were you.” It was strange for a servant to make such a direct suggestion, but he was right.
Blanche let out a laugh without amusement. “Obviously, I won't take it. Return it.”
Harris was quiet for a moment before letting out a deep breath. “I doubt that he would let anyone make him take it back. Someone could throw it in his carriage when he comes again, but I'm sure that it would end up here a day later again. He even wrote a letter.” He pulled out an envelope from behind the box and moved it around in the air for a moment.
Blanche only took one second to see that her name was written in cursive letters on the white paper without her title being anywhere in sight. She could already imagine how Cedar would smirk at her when she got angry about it and clenched her jaw. “Burn it then. I won't take it no matter what.” She glared at the letter. “That looks like he wrote a whole essay. Why would I read that when there will be nothing but provocations inside? Is that man insane?”
Harris shrugged while being careful not to drop the box. “I considered asking him that, but I doubt that it would have ended well for me. You shouldn't burn the jewelry though. You could ask His Majesty to sell it and donate the money for charity as he did it the last few times.”
Blanche felt something crack inside. “The last few times?” That bastard had already bothered her on multiple occasions, and Theodore had needed to keep him from approaching her? She began cursing Cedar inwardly while pushing past Harris to move out of the kitchen before turning around. “Come with me. I won't touch that, but I need to bring it to Theo.”
Harris nodded and trailed behind her without saying another word.
The concubine almost stomped all the way to her lover's office before knocking on the door. A second later, Theodore's voice sounded from inside and allowed her to come in. She noticed that Linden should be here right now a bit too late and considered retreating, but she had already disturbed them. She slowly opened the door and moved her head inside to look around. The emperor was alone. She frowned at that scene but entered and rushed to her lover's side.
Theodore already welcomed her with a bright grin and open arms as she fell into his embrace. “Those were under two hours, and you still missed me. That should make it obvious that working more won't be an option.”
Blanche grumbled for a moment as she nuzzled her face against her lover and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I normally manage to hold myself back, but that is only the case when I don't get gifts from the infuriating idiot that calls himself your brother.”
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Theodore's expression changed in an instant. He narrowed his eyes and gazed at her with anger clearly written on his features. “He sent one again?” Even his voice was layered with rage, which made her believe that this had happened more often than she could have guessed to be the case.
“I didn't know about anything prior to this, but he sent a servant to bring me a necklace.” She turned to the door and was surprised to see that Harris hadn't entered yet. She had almost forgotten that he wouldn't come into the emperor's office just like his. “That servant is standing in front of the door with the box and a letter.”
Her lover immediately lifted his gaze to the entrance. “Come in.” His voice sounded icy.
It was no surprise that Harris was more than uncomfortable. He slowly entered to bring the box to the emperor and opened it to present the content to him. He also lifted the letter to show that there was a second part to this.
Theodore glared at the gift for a moment before speaking up. “Give this to Leon. He will do the same as last time. Leave the letter here. No, wait. Bring the letter to him too.”
Harris obeyed with a nod and hurried out of the room without hesitation.
This allowed the couple to be alone, but it seemed like the emperor's mood had effectively been ruined. He tapped his fingers onto the table while keeping his other arm wrapped tightly around his lover.
Blanche shuffled around a bit until she was sitting on his lap more comfortably before leaning sideways to rest her head on his shoulder. “How often did this happen already?”
Theodore took his hand off the desk and put it around her waist as well. “I think every day he came here. I read the letters and burned them afterward. Leon sold the jewelry to some merchant, and we gave the funds to a few people that are trying to fight against poverty in the cities. I'm sorry for not telling you. I thought that it would be better if you didn't hear about it. Cedar might be planning something, but I think it's nothing dangerous. He's just being petty as always.”
The concubine gently stroked over her lover's back and gave him a soft smile, even though he probably couldn't see it. “It's fine. Whether I had heard about it before or not, my reaction would always have been the same. What did Cedar write?”
“The usual things. As you can imagine, some empty promises of gaining power if you betray me wrapped in sweet and intrusive phrases. No one would be able to guess that he wants to revolt against the emperor after reading this, but he made it seem like you two were friends and regularly exchanged letters. Bastard. I can't even read them anymore without wishing to make sure that he can't write any letters anymore after I see him the next time. Leon is the one going through everything at least once now, and he is as annoyed as we are. Maybe I should actually consider taking care of Cedar's persistence. So that those people will finally shut up.”
Blanche lifted her head to look into her lover's eyes. “Whom are you referring to? The Vasquez family? Or his supporters in general?”
Theodore gazed down at her with a serious expression and clenched his jaw. He only spoke up after she stared at him for a while. “The nobles. Some people don't know when to shut up. Apparently, someone believed that you were rather close to Cedar and gossiped about that. I don't need to question whether this was done purposefully. Some aristocrats now doubt that you are on my side, and others even assume that Cedar and I are secretly working together. It seems like my brother successfully made it seem like we don't despise him as much as we should. I don't care about such things since everyone within the palace understood that you are loyal and that Cedar is vile, but I worry about some nobles. I also have no desire to send a dozen people to prison. Because I will definitely insist on a trial each time that someone offends or insults you.”
Blanche believed him without hesitation. He was completely honest about all of this, and he had already shown that he didn't mind pointing this out when even a duke had insulted her in front of others. “What a liar. I barely even talked to Cedar, and when he came to bother me, it wasn't my fault. And I'm pretty sure that I always look annoyed when he comes to me. Did the others not see that, or are they that stupid?”
Theodore sighed and buried his face in her hair. “They have to be stupid. Why else would the dowager empress have followers when it's obvious that she and Cedar have no right to take the throne? After all, I'm the firstborn and the one my father named his heir. There shouldn't be any discussion, but they just see my brother as a way to get away with their corruption and their abominable crimes. That they might ruin their nation with this doesn't seem to concern them. All of them are just mentally undeveloped. I have no idea what else to say about that.” He cuddled closer to her and took a deep breath. For a moment, he was silent before quietly speaking up. “But let's not talk about that, or I'll get mad again.” He lifted his head and showed her a soft smile. “What did you do the whole day? Did something special happen?”
She shook her head. “I made a small cake, but that was it. My friends were there too, and we chatted a bit. The only thing that was bothering me was...” Her voice trailed off as she pondered about how to phrase it properly. She didn't want to overwhelm her lover with the sudden news after all. She still had to begin somewhere. “There have been some strange rumors.” She waited to scan her lover's face and was a bit taken aback to see his unmoving expression.
Theodore leaned against his backrest and pulled her with him so that she could sit on his lap and look into his eyes without tilting her head the whole time. “Do you mean the ones about our guest and the empress?”
Blanche paused and examined his face before continuing. “You heard about that already?”
“There have been rumors ever since the tea party. They sat next to each other, and that was enough to make some people believe that they have a romantic relationship. But I don't know what they are doing when they are alone, so I can neither deny nor affirm that yet. I just know that Prince Linden even visited her in her room a few times. Do you know how much this means for a person whose reputation matters more to her than her own life?” It was true that Seraphina would usually worry too much to allow a male visitor that wasn't a relative into her room. But why was he talking about this in such a calm tone? It almost sounded like he didn't care at all.
“Aren't you upset about that?” Blanche leaned forward to bring her face closer to his. “There are rumors that the empress is unfaithful. That will certainly cause an uproar if someone from outside hears about this.”
Theodore shrugged. “Why would I be upset? Her reputation would be destroyed completely. And it would finally give me a great reason to get rid of her. So, I won't complain.” He didn't even hide his intentions anymore.
After years of desperately trying to make things work with Seraphina, that was more than surprising.
Blanche stared at him in disbelief. “But...won't that also damage your reputation?”
Her lover put his hand on her cheek and gently stroked over her skin. “Why? It would only seem pathetic if I would hold on to a wife that doesn't love me. But since I hate her and everyone with a functioning brain noticed that, no one would doubt that I am indifferent about it. Only she will be seen as audacious and greedy for choosing a random prince over the emperor, as unfair as it is when I already have a lover anyway. But I don't care. She could spend the night with every single man in the palace, and I would favor that in comparison to her bothering me with her trivial issues. As long as she stays away from you and me, she can do her own things without me getting involved. I neither have the interest nor the motivation to confirm those rumors.”
Blanche slowly moved backward to scan his whole face. She took a moment before replying. “So, you aren't mad at all?”
Theodore tangled his hand in her hair and twirled an alabaster strand around his finger. “Not in the slightest. The only thing that upsets me is that she kept giving me lectures about proper etiquette and manners for two years. Now she immediately discarded all of that as soon as she meets a new man that is a bit similar to her. But, well. It might also be beneficial. After all, I can use this against her whenever she says something about us not acting how she wants us to. And Prince Linden loving a woman from this nation would make him much more likely to do his best to keep our nation's relationship peaceful.”
Blanche sat there in silence as she watched her lover and wondered how she hadn't foreseen this. Right now, it truly seemed like Theo despised Seraphina, so he would obviously be happy to have something to use against that woman. If the empress truly did cheat, which was extremely questionable, then all of her arguments about her husband suddenly marrying his mistress could be ignored with a single reminder of this incident. This could even be used to make her leave her position.
But the concubine couldn't believe that the heroine would actually be interested in a man that had only been here for a little over a week.
Seraphina probably wouldn't actually have an affair. Surely, she had always attracted some men and was happy to become friends with them but an affair? She might be the type to play some small games to make someone jealous, but would she really cross the line? If she was the heroine, there was no way, right?
Blanche furrowed her brows while pondering about that before pushing those thoughts away. She had no way to know, so worrying wouldn't do anything. She should just focus on more important things. Like spending time with her lover while they had the chance to be alone without any interruptions. She leaned her head against Theodore's chest and closed her eyes. “I see. Then we don't have to talk about that anymore. I'm sure nothing happened at all. The servants are just bored and like to chat about random things again.” At least she hoped that.
The emperor cradled her head and pressed a few kisses onto her hair. “Even if that's not the case, it won't be an issue. In fact, this will rather be good for us. Because an affair would be a valid reason-” She didn't want to hear him say it, and she was lucky for once.
A knock cut them off.
Theodore sighed quietly and raised his voice. “If it's you, Leon, come in.”
The door opened, and the secretary stepped inside with a grim expression as loud voices sounded behind him. Was someone yelling in the hallway? “Your Majesty, we have an issue. Not a major one but a frustrating inconvenience.”
The emperor put on one of his hands to his face and massaged his temples. “That isn't good. Is it related to that woman?”
“Yes, indirectly. She isn't the one being upset here though. Maybe we should let them in to explain it themselves. This is a rather obvious scheme that is supposed to cause a split, so it will only take a bit of intimidation, and then it will be fine.” Leon narrowed his eyes and glanced at the people behind him, who were silenced for a moment. As soon as he looked away again, they started arguing rather loudly, which made him glare into the distance. “It seems like we'll need to prove that another person here was involved later, so it would be best to get Gloria.”
Theodore nodded. “Search for her and send the people inside. I'm curious.” His voice sounded like he was more furious than interested, but Blanche didn't speak up. She only thought about standing up before the possibly very important guests came in but ended up staying on Theodore's lap. She had already expected it, but her lover didn't let her go, so she could only turn around to face the entrance anyway.
The first person to enter was Seraphina, who massaged her temples while looking rather annoyed in general. She was followed by her two attendants and Stella. The three maids argued while basically yelling the entire time. The empress gave her best to ignore that and gazed at the emperor.
Theodore scanned the scene with a cold expression that was enough to make the maids quieten down. He waited for a moment before addressing the group in a tone that was just as freezing. “What exactly is this here? I suspect that you have a good reason to disturb me like this while daring to raise your voices in the emperor's presence.”
The empress' maids cowered when they heard that, and Stella averted her eyes but kept glaring at the other women.
Blanche only needed one look to see that her maid was trembling and balling her fists, which was enough to make her angry. Had those two others started another fight with Stella? If so, she would rely on her lover's help to break it up quickly. She mouthed ‘I'll protect you’ to her maid as she promised herself that she wouldn't let anyone make Stella suffer again.
It wasn't clear whether Stella understood, but she nodded at her mistress.
Seraphina waited for a moment and scanned the maids to make sure that they were silent before speaking up. “I sincerely apologize for this, Your Majesty. I hoped to solve this issue by myself, but as you can see, we were going in circles when Lord Astame found us. If you give me permission, I would summarize all the important things.” It was obvious that she didn't want to involve the emperor in this matter at all, but she had no choice anymore.
Theodore looked at his wife without any hint of sympathy despite her apparent exhaustion. “Go ahead. Don't leave out anything important.”
The empress's expression darkened a bit at his resentful tone. “Naturally. This noon, we, by which I mean me and my maids, happened to notice that one of my amethyst necklaces was missing. After searching for a while, we came to the conclusion that someone had to have removed it without my permission. We took a look at the rest of the jewelry in the process, and in total, four items were missing. Two necklaces, a bracelet and a tiara. I wished to instigate an investigation, but one of my attendants was told that Lady Blanche's maid had been caught entering my room at least three times. Thus, she overreacted and entered said maid's room, where one of the items was stored. Two other items were in Lady Blanche's room, and the remaining necklace was nowhere to be found.”
Even without any further information, Blanche could tell what this looked like. This was the oldest scheme in the history of blaming things on someone. She knew that she wasn't in danger here in any way, but depending on whoever tried to have her punished, this wouldn't end well for them.
And in the end, Stella was also involved. And even if her mistress was basically invincible, she wasn't. Blanche didn't like this at all.