“They want to become emperor?” Was that really the third party's real goal? Blanche almost couldn't believe it.
Theodore nodded. “It seems like that may be the case. It would explain why they want to use me and Cedar against each other. After all, we are the two people that could legally inherit the throne. If everything went wrong, the dowager empress could argue about having a right to rule too, but I doubt that she is involved. She would rather make her son emperor and use him as a puppet since that is a much safer way. So, our unknown enemy will try to get rid of all members of the royal family. They don't want to dirty their hands though, so they wish to make us destroy ourselves.”
That wasn't a bad idea in itself. After all, both heirs could easily kill each other or leave one behind with barely any strength. It would be simple to end it by interfering as soon as the two were done struggling.
But still, there was something that bothered Blanche. “But if they wish to rule Artias, shouldn't they want to protect us from war? They could destroy our prosperity with that, and gaining power while needing to restore the nation is hard, isn't it?”
Her lover stared into the distance while gently stroking over her cheek. He took a moment before responding with a deep frown. “A war with Northern Ocrea could be used to convince the citizens that the Estien family is incapable. They could blame us for killing Prince Linden, who came to visit and have a peaceful discussion, and thus make it seem like we purposefully entered military combat. Maybe this third party hopes to gain the right to rule like this, but I don't understand why. After all, there is no other person that is related to the royal family. Cedar and I are the only blood-related relatives of my father. We don't have an uncle or a half-brother. We don't even have a female relative that carries the Estien bloodline.”
Seraphina, who probably noticed that Theodore didn't even mention her potential right to rule, narrowed her eyes and covered her mouth with her hand as she began thinking loudly. “Even if the citizens reject the royal family, they cannot simply ask for an emperor from any household. I do not understand why anyone would believe that that would be possible. If there is no heir, there will be chaos in the country, and many households will try to become the next royal family. Our enemy would have to be extremely powerful if they are confident that they will win that struggle. Why would this unknown person suddenly be seen as a possible ruler? They would need the support of many people if they cannot prove that they are related to the previous emperor.”
Blanche was quiet for a moment as she scanned the expressions of the royal spouses. She almost didn't dare to speak up, but Seraphina's words had indicated one thing, and she felt like she had to point that out. “But doesn't that mean that this family has to be so influential that we know them? They would have to be part of a household from the capital and be a duke or a marquess, correct? We only have three dukes and maybe a dozen marquesses that visit the palace regularly. If one of them is responsible, the number of suspicious individuals has significantly lowered.”
Seraphina nodded as she got lost in her thoughts. “That is correct. Especially since we can safely exclude His Grace, the Duke of Duremont. Marquess Bellfaux would also never try anything like this and none of my father's friends in general.”
Theodore looked like he almost wanted to make a snarky comment, but he didn't do it. Instead, he continued to deal with the matter seriously. “I doubt that it's Duke Lamont too. That man is way too meek and hates conflict. I don't think he would be interested in the crown. Obviously, Leon can be excluded as well. At least half of the other marquesses too due to their lack of ambition and their laziness or because they don't have enough money to bribe so many people.”
Blanche felt like that was almost too good to be true. “We can't be certain about this, but the number of people that can be suspected is down to maybe ten people at most now. It should be possible to investigate what they are doing and whether they have contact with servants that go out to meet others regularly. Shouldn't we catch them quickly like this?”
Seraphina abruptly halted her movements, which caused Linden to stop as well. She wrinkled her forehead while thinking about something before quietly speaking up. “There may be a faster way to determine who they are. There is only one person that I can think of that tried to cause issues for the royal family on multiple occasions. If they are extremely brazen, they may even believe that their plot could work out without them needing to go through any trouble. I will look into some books again. I may have already found something that could help us though. Please excuse me.” She spun around and prepared to leave, only to stop herself after a few steps. The empress turned around to face the emperor again. “We should still investigate every family that has the political stance that would allow them to become arrogant enough to believe that they could take over the nation. All of them. While I am sure that none of my father's acquaintances would ever consider something as vile as this, I would like you to convince yourself of their loyalty. In the meantime, I will try to find out whether the person I am thinking about is the threat here. Please grant me permission to leave, Your Majesty.”
Theodore nodded. “I will investigate the ones I suspect. You are free to go.”
Seraphina thanked him quickly and prepared to leave.
Linden was the one that stopped her this time. “Wait a moment.” He turned to the emperor. “I would like to ask for permission to leave as well.”
Theodore gave him a little smile. “Of course. I hope that you two have a lovely afternoon. Goodbye.”
The crown prince didn't see the need to change his stoic expression to bid farewell. He and the empress steered to the building and disappeared inside the palace.
This left the couple alone. Blanche stood still for a moment before she let her shoulders slouch and spoke quietly. “It seems that matters will only become more complicated from now on. Why do so many people have to be so power-hungry?” This was a new threat the novel hadn't even dealt with. How could she help like this when she could only guess?
Theodore seemed to be just as unwell with this. “It's unfortunate, but we will have to accept this. The investigations might bring forward some evidence. Let us hope for that. But until then...” He glanced at his lover and put on a little smile. “We should focus on a more pleasant topic to avoid becoming depressed. Even if this is a huge mess, we are making progress on another front. Let us bet on something.”
Blanche looked up at him. She had the feeling that she wouldn't be too happy about what would follow now either. “Go on. What will it be about?”
Theodore gestured to the figures of the empress and the prince that walked away in the distance as he leaned forward to bring his mouth to her ear and whispered. “Those two like each other. A lot. That is why I wouldn't be surprised if, after the next few weeks, that woman finally releases us. She will ask for-”
The concubine knew what he would say, and she didn't want to hear it. She shook her head immediately. “Even if the empress, who happens to be the paragon of proper etiquette and cares a lot about the royal family's reputation, did like Prince Linden a bit more than she should... Even then, she would never actually do something that would make their relationship physical. So, she could never be blamed for anything. And she surely wouldn't throw away her honor, her family name and risk weakening her position by letting others notice. She is much too clever to allow anyone to find out. The fact that there are rumors should prove that she isn't interested in him. And like I said, even if she was, she wouldn't ever reveal it. She would swallow it until he is gone and forget it.”
Blanche wasn't completely sure whether that was true. What she had explained held true for the heroine of the original novel, who had never reacted to Luciano's advances with kindness and had only seen him as a tool. Seraphina had always been worried about rumors and repeatedly monologued about her never putting her own feelings above her role as the emperor's wife. She had often said that she would do anything in her power to be empress, no matter how harsh she had to be. So naturally, she would also never throw away her position. Aside from the fact that she had disliked Luciano, she had never considered doing anything that could cause people to gossip about the emperor even if Theodore brought his lover to public events. She had merely tried to unsuccessfully use that man to make her husband jealous at a later point, but she had ensured that news like this would never spread either.
But that had been in the book. It wasn't certain whether Seraphina would still act like this.
Theodore didn't seem to believe it. He raised his eyebrows at his concubine while putting his arms around her waist and pulling her against him. “Sometimes, you are rather oblivious. I already told you that they are a perfect match. It would be disappointing if this doesn't work out. I'm pretty sure that it did though. Did you listen to their conversations? Both are extremely eager to speak to each other as much as possible. They don't bother watching us cuddle or getting angry about it but just focus on having conversations for hours at a time. He almost called her by her first name earlier. You know how sensitive the empress is when it comes to being addressed properly. They are rather close, or she wouldn't have allowed him to speak to her like that for long enough for him to get used to it.”
Blanche knew that he was right to some extent. Still, she wasn't convinced. The heroine of “To Be Empress” would never have an affair, simply because she valued her rank too much. Could the change in the story have influenced a character's personality this much? The concubine leaned against her lover as she tried to push away the thoughts of the novel, which could only sour her mood if she accidentally remembered the ending. “I didn't deny that they are close. But they could just be friends. I mean, I don't care much either way, but I doubt that she would ever do something that could stain her reputation.”
Theodore was silent for a moment as he stared into her eyes. He got strangely serious and tightened his hold on her as he resumed. “That is all she ever cared about. And that is why she thought that it was fine to keep us apart. She would ruin a perfectly happy relationship just to keep her reputation intact. I don't have to explain how disgusting that is, do I? I'm getting tired. This situation is the perfect chance for her to finally do all of us a favor. She doesn't have to take the first step either. I am sure that she will since I made the situation clear a couple of times. But if she doesn't do that, I could just take the matter into my own hands. I won't be able to hold back enough to make it pretty though. It would be best for her to finally understand that I didn't exaggerate when I said that I hated her.”
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Blanche was still taken aback by how resentful he seemed to be when it came to the empress. But she didn't say anything about that and just hugged him.
She didn't need to think about this more. She shouldn't. Her head already spun when she just began to wonder, so she wouldn't. Being clueless here was perfectly fine. She wanted to be clueless.
Theodore almost fell into her embrace and buried his face in her neck while caging her with his arms. He lowered his voice and whispered to her. “I promised that you will just have to be patient for a while longer, didn't I? I'm preparing everything, don't worry. We only need some time and no one will question it anymore. The one that deserves to be by my side is you.”
More words she didn't want to think about.
The concubine gently ran her fingers through his hair as she replied in a soft voice. “Don't overdo it. You announced that you love me in front of countless people many times. In the future, we will marry and have children. You don't have to prove anything to me.”
“I do. We both know that. And I will gladly prove it over and over again. Because the fact that I am standing here with you in my arms is a miracle. I will never stop being grateful for it. I won't just thank some god for this. Instead, I am thanking you for being here with me the whole time. I will show you my love in as many ways as I can come up with. I'll make sure that our future will be wonderful.” He slowly lifted his head and showed her a smile with his eyes being full of affection. He let his hands wander up to her face and cupped her cheeks. Then he gazed at her for a long time.
Blanche got drawn into his beautiful blue eyes and could just stare back. Like this, they were silent for a while. She eventually managed to force her mouth to work and hurried to blurt out what she needed to say. “I love you. And I know that you're doing your best to create the most wonderful future. That is why you don't have to show me over and over. I will be happy to prove that I am on your side too, so give me a chance. Do you know why you don't have to convince me? Because I trust you fully.”
Theodore's smile widened as he slowly rubbed over her skin. “You trust me? Then make a bet with me. If you are confident that you will win about our guest and the empress not being together, I will owe you a favor. If I win, you have to comply with one request of mine without talking back.” The way that he said this made her want to give in immediately. He sounded too certain.
Her lover wasn't a person that would bet without being convinced that he would win. If Blanche ever had managed to gain the upper hand, it was because he had wanted to lose. Now he definitely seemed to be convinced that he was right, and that lowered her certainty.
But admitting that would only show how weak Blanche's arguments against the empress having an affair were. So, she didn't give in. “I accept your bet. But we won't rely on rumors and only facts.”
Theodore let go of her face to grab her hands. “Naturally. Then I can start thinking about what I will ask of you soon. I need to make sure that it will be something that you wouldn't normally do.” He hummed to himself before showing her a playful smirk. “I feel like there are way too many possibilities.”
Blanche pouted at him and raised her chin. “Don't be too certain. If you climb up too high, you will fall down deeper as well. I need to prepare a nice task for you too.”
Her lover let out a chuckle as he led her forward to continue their walk. “Don't worry about it. I will win anyway. I would do anything you tell me to do, so you don't even have to win. Remember? I wasn't joking when I said that I would offer the world to you.” That wasn't something the emperor should say to someone, not even if he was joking. But in the end, they both knew that he was completely serious about what he had said to her.
He always was.
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Since Theodore had basically been glued to Blanche's side for the past weeks, it was almost a shock when he wasn't there. The ministers had visited to have a meeting with the emperor and Prince Linden today, and it would go on for much longer than the two hours that her lover normally spend in his office.
This meeting had begun earlier than when the couple normally stood up, but Blanche had insisted on eating breakfast with him before he started working. Thus, she had forced herself to wake up early, which wasn't too bad with him being there to shower her with kisses. Her lover had made sure to make up for the lost time by hugging her for at least five minutes before leaving. He had even given her another love mark as a reminder that he would return as soon as he could. Naturally, he only exited the room after she declined his offer to join the meeting multiple times.
To Blanche, being up this early was strange. The sun was barely rising, and she already had a chance to decide what she would do now. Her first thought had been asking Leon for a lesson, but since he was at the meeting too, that wouldn't be possible. She was a bit too tired to bake, so that wasn't an option either.
For a while, she just sat on her window sill and stared outside while keeping herself from nodding off. When her forehead almost hit the glass again, she sighed and leaned her back against the wall. “I think it's been months since I stood up this early. I can barely keep my eyes open. I'm tired.”
Stella set down the item she was sewing and carefully hid it inside her basket before rising to her feet. She walked over to her mistress and crossed her arms. “Then how about you lie down again? There is no need for you to stay awake when we don't have anything to do. It would be better to rest fully and then do something instead of sitting around like this the whole day.”
Blanche nodded weakly. “You're right. I-” She leaned forward to set her feet on the floor before freezing in place when a movement in the corner of her eyes made her stop. She turned her head to look outside and held still to watch the scene below.
Seraphina was walking through the garden with only Noah by her side. That was an unusual sight when Linden had been glued to her ever since those two had met. But now the empress was here without the crown prince and her beloved maids and was merely accompanied by the one person she couldn't avoid. She was hugging herself and wrapped the short shawl around her shoulders to keep the cool breeze of the morning air away as she moved toward the labyrinth without hesitation and rushed inside.
Blanche shouldn't get involved in this. She knew that it was none of her business. The empress' private life was not something she should care about. Not just because of the other's status but also because their relationship was still strange. But before she could restrain herself, she already jumped up. “I want to go out, Stella.”
She cursed her curiosity. But Blanche couldn't help it.
Stella's eyes narrowed in confusion. “My Lady, weren't you tired? Why do you suddenly want to go out? I mean, a morning walk can wake you up, but... You never liked going out early.”
The concubine still didn't like it very much, but she couldn't keep herself from following Seraphina anyway. “It will be fine if we put on a coat. Let's go.” She moved over to the dressing room and hurried to find a thick coat that would keep her warm. As soon as she was done, she rushed out of the room in such a rush that it even surprised Owen. “Ah, I apologize. Good morning.”
“Good morning, Lady Blanche. You never leave your chambers this early. Is there something the matter?” Owen was as professional as always.
Blanche considered pointing out that this was still Theodore's room and not hers, but she ignored that. “I saw the empress outside, and she looked a bit odd today. I just want to make sure that she is fine.” Maybe she wanted to figure out whether there was an issue with Linden too. After all, she knew that it was serious only after seeing that short scene.
When Seraphina asked her maids, with whom she had a rather close relationship, to leave her alone, it was connected to some unpleasant topic. The labyrinth was the heroine's place to think, and if she ran there in the morning without anyone but Noah, she had to be troubled by something.
Blanche would just go there for a moment to see whether there was a big issue, and if there wasn't one, she would leave immediately. She might feel the need to check on the other woman because she felt a bit bad about the way Theodore treated his wife right now or because of her desire to find out more about the rumors regarding Linden, but that didn't matter. Neither Stella nor Owen asked why she wanted to see the empress, so she didn't have to explain.
The concubine hurried out of her room and only slowed her steps when she reached a door that led outside. It was rather cool. It wasn't actually especially cold, it was just windy, and in the morning, the concubine was way more sensitive than normal. She held herself back from whining when she stepped out and wrapped the coat around herself before rushing to the labyrinth. When she finally reached her destination, the wind didn't hit her face anymore, which immediately made it more pleasant.
Blanche put her left hand on the hedge on her left side and imitated the heroine's trick to find the center quickly. She followed the course of the maze, and it didn't take long until the gorgeous rose arch appeared in front of her. She slowed her steps and hid behind the hedges to look at the plaza in the center without being seen.
Seraphina was sitting by the fountain and stared into the distance while fiddling with her hands.
It seemed like Noah had been banned to the very end of the square and stood next to the entrance, from which he could oversee the area without interrupting the empress' thought process. Naturally, he noticed the concubine after a few seconds. He gave her a little smile that wasn't as bright as his normal one. He was worried too, and that said everything.
Blanche only needed one glance at him to see that the issue might be bigger. She lowered her voice into a whisper. “Did...something happen?”
Noah seemed quite helpless as he shook his head and whispered back. “Her Majesty just stood up and immediately decided to go here. I...think she didn't have a good night's sleep today. Yesterday, everything was fine. Prince Linden even stayed with her for the whole evening, and she...” As he said that, he averted his eyes while seeming a bit too unwell. “Her Majesty didn't seem to be upset then. But suddenly...”
Something unpleasant was going on.
Blanche turned back to watch the empress. She bargained with herself for a while. She shouldn't intrude now and bother the other woman, who had clearly come here to be alone. She didn't have any right to get involved and could imagine how strange it would be for her if Seraphina suddenly came to ask about her well-being. But at the same time, she was aware that leaving now would make her regret it.
After all, the empress looked helpless right now. The heroine never looked like that. Seraphina always had an idea and never despaired or resigned. As selfish as it was, Blanche wanted to find out what had wrecked this strong woman so much.
So, the concubine could neither leave nor step closer. Thankfully, that decision was taken away from her.
The empress returned to the present and blinked a few times before seeing her surroundings again. She made eye contact with the other woman and stared at the concubine for a moment.
Blanche felt her cheeks warming up she hurried to step out from behind the rose arch. Hopefully, Seraphina wouldn't get angry at her for watching her like this. It would definitely seem very strange to others if she was just standing there and secretly followed another person. But running now also wasn't an option anymore. She walked forward and stopped a few steps away from the fountain. She was extremely uncertain about what to do, so she just made a curtsy first.
Seraphina looked at the concubine for a few seconds, during which a slight frown appeared on her face before she straightened her expression. “Good morning, Lady Blanche. You are up early. I assume that you woke up with His Majesty then.”
The concubine couldn't even deny it. “Good morning, Your Majesty. I did. I...uhm...” She didn't know what else to say. She couldn't admit to having followed the empress here without embarrassing herself even more. But she knew how bad she was at lying, so that wasn't a good idea either. So, she just decided to ignore her reason for coming here completely. “If you permit me to ask this, how are you doing, Your Majesty?” She expected a cool response about her not having the qualification to care about this, but she was surprised.
A small smile graced Seraphina's lips as she lifted her head slightly. “Is it that obvious?” It was. Aside from her being here alone, something else would make anyone guess that she was bothered by something. There were rings under her eyes. They were barely visible, but in comparison to the empress' clear skin that was always perfect, they were to be spotted easily.
It truly seemed like the strong empress was currently at her limit.
Blanche didn't know how to feel about that.