“Do you think that one mistake justifies another one? Just because it would be so much easier for all involved parties, it's not less selfish. Should you act on your desires or continue to live like before to do the best for everyone else?”
Was this another test from the empress? If so, it was important to reply with what she wished to hear.
If this was an honest question though...
Blanche was silent for a few seconds. She doubted that she was good at giving advice on that matter. When it came to acting on selfish desires, her stance was clear. She had changed the whole story of the book because she hadn't wanted to leave Theodore. In a way, it had been selfish since she had stolen the main characters' guaranteed happy ending. But that didn't mean that they couldn't be happy now. She and her lover were more content than they could have been in the novel. So, she didn't feel bad about changing this world. The only thing she regretted was accidentally causing their enemies to make a move earlier. But if she had the choice again, she would still act like she had now. Because Theodore and she were happy.
The concubine pondered about her words for a moment before deciding just to say what was going on in her head. “You said that it would be easier for anyone involved. I assume that you mean that it would make all of them happy then. In that case, I don't think that you can make a mistake at all. If you are satisfied with that choice and the people you care about too, then it's the only valid option, isn't it? Why would you need to cling to what others are saying when everyone that matters will agree with you?”
Seraphina kept silent for a short time. Then her lips formed a soft smile as she met the concubine's gaze. “Just asking that question was selfish of me. I knew how you would respond, and I wanted to hear that. I still do not know whether it is acceptable for me to act like this, but it is too late anyway. There has been no going back for a long time. I've seen this coming for the past months, and now the chance is finally there. If something has to happen, you should do it in a way that makes most people happy. Maybe that is a good way to put it. Even if I feel like I just keep justifying my own wishes.” She raised her head to look up at the sky and was silent for a while.
Blanche was uncertain whether she should speak up or whether that would interrupt the other woman, so she didn't say anything. She just stood there with the heroine for a bit while wondering whether this was a test after all. Did the empress want to figure out whether her nemesis still planned something? If so, Blanche hoped that she had passed. Though, she got no indication of either result.
At some point, the empress turned her attention back to the presence. Her expression had returned to a neutral one that possibly was a little softer than normal as she addressed the concubine. “This was an enjoyable conversation. I thank you for listening to my endless rants. I will have to return now. Please have a wonderful day.”
Blanche gave her a small smile, which hopefully covered up her uncertainty. “It was a pleasure, Your Majesty. May you have a great day as well. Do not forget to take a rest if you are feeling downcast.”
“Is that an order?” For a moment, the concubine was worried about having said something wrong, but Seraphina's voice lacked the sharp edge it would have had if the empress felt like she was being disrespected.
Still, even the joke made a shiver run down Blanche's spine, but she tried to hide it somewhat well.
The heroine scanned the other woman's expression before her lips formed a faint smile that was barely visible. “You certainly have changed. Good day, Lady Blanche. Take care of yourself. I heard that someone unpleasant was searching for you.” With that, she strode over to the rose arch and disappeared within the hedges of the labyrinth while Noah hurried to follow her.
The concubine was left behind and looked after the empress for a moment. This whole conversation seemed too strange again. It was unusual for Seraphina to show so much vulnerability. Maybe this really was another one of her tests. It might make more sense if it was.
And still, Blanche couldn't help but believe that a part of what she had heard was true. There was no way that the heroine had run into the maze while expecting that the concubine would coincidentally see and follow her. And it felt like Seraphina had been honest about some things at least. There was no way to prove that, but Blanche certainly did feel uneasy with this development.
It was like the empress had said, people could change.
Blanche just didn't know whether she liked such grand changes.
Surely, the concubine acted completely different from before too. Still, it was simply strange to speak with Seraphina, the cold and invincible empress, when she revealed her weakness and spoke about her wishes and needs. Blanche didn't understand why the other woman would tell her this.
She also didn't know why it felt like her hairs stood on edge despite the technically quite peaceful interaction with the other woman.
Blanche hurriedly hugged herself and shook her head to suppress a shiver. She immediately turned and walked toward the exit of the labyrinth, her head spinning with what she had just heard. She was so tense that she was more than relieved upon finally getting out and seeing her friend's face.
Stella was by her side in an instant. “My Lady, what did you talk about? You both looked calm.” She certainly was curious.
Blanche raised an eyebrow at her. “Is it so strange that we might have a conversation that doesn't end in a fight? We spoke about some of her private issues, which is why I would like to refrain from repeating it out loud. She didn't even tell her maids, so I assume that she doesn't want the whole palace to know.” Which somehow alarmed Blanche even more. Why would Seraphina tell her of all people? Why did she wish to share her nightmare with the concubine specifically when so many others were closer to her? Was there a reason? Blanche didn't fully wish to ask. She lowered her gaze for a moment and then absentmindedly lifted her hand to cover her yawn.
Stella nodded in response. “I understand.” She scanned her mistress for a moment, only to give her a crooked smile. “Are we going to return to our room now, or do you want to take a walk like you originally wanted to? You don't seem more awake despite being outside.”
The concubine was certain without needing to think much. “I want to go to bed. I'm too tired to do anything. How late is it? Maybe nine o'clock, right? Then I can sleep for at least two hours before Theodore will be done. Let's go back.”
Luckily, her maid supported her decision instead of dragging her around for a walk.
Blanche was overly relieved to enter the warm building again and almost threw herself onto her bed as soon as she had entered her room. She got rid of her shoes and coat before cuddling herself under the covers and closing her eyes. She dozed off only a few minutes after successfully pushing away all thoughts of what the empress had told her.
The concubine was pretty sure that dreamed something during her nap. There were random pieces of a conversation in her mind, but she barely had any chance to follow what the people were talking about. She just knew that two men were fighting. It sounded like one of them was too exhausted to do anything but keep quiet, which only infuriated the other one. There was a flash of red before one of the voices became weaker and weaker while promising someone that they would join their beloved.
She also saw flashes of a grave in a forest.
Blanche didn't like this topic. She hated it so much that she refused to remember more, and her mind was hazy anyway, so she fully embraced the excuse. Seconds after she awoke in a warm hug, she had forgotten about that dream. When she opened her eyes, she was greeted by Theodore, who was lying in front of her and gently stroked a strand of hair away from her face.
“Good morning, my angel. Did you sleep well?”
Blanche let her head lay on the pillow and gazed at him with half-lidded eyes. “Good morning.” She greeted him in a drowsy voice and relished in his warmth while he pulled her into his arms. She took a short while until she was fully awake and finally got used to the light within the room then. While staring at her lover, she slowly remembered the morning, which made her lift her head to look at the clock. “Theo, why are you here already?”
The emperor pulled her back into his embrace and nuzzled his face into her chest. “The meeting is over. We discussed everything we wanted to talk about, and a few of the ministers want to speak to Linden about some less crucial matters. I don't involve myself with things like private trading contracts, so I left.”
Blanche counted through the hours four times until she was sure that she had understood it correctly. “So, you left after half of the meeting was over because you had no motivation to stay?”
“You could say that. I was just a bit more efficient in planning the schedule of the meeting, so it didn't take as long. I'm rather happy with our decisions, so no one can complain. All of them agreed with my plans and even praised the idea I brought up. They'll be fine. I was getting a bit bored after we finished, so I said that I needed to take care of something and would give them a chance to speak alone if they wanted to. They were thankful for that and left us alone.”
The concubine could just stare at her lover for a moment before narrowing her eyes. “Please tell me that you didn't leave because you wanted to see me. You surely had another reason too.”
“Well, it's also to give Linden a chance to speak with my ministers in private to confirm whether all of them are loyal or whether we have to suspect them to be our mysterious third party. But more than that...” Her lover's gaze was enough of a reply.
She groaned quietly while raking her fingers through his hair. “What am I supposed to do with you? It's a good thing if you try to locate our enemies, but please use only that reason and not me. You shouldn't put me above your work.”
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Theodore's response came immediately. “You are more important than everything else. I think I need to say that even more often, or you won't understand it. I adore you. That means that I will never ever choose something else above you. Governing the nation is my job, and I am doing my best to help Artias. But in the end, you are the center of my whole world. I could live without our nation in the worst case, but I couldn't live without you.” He took her hand in his and brought it to the side of his face. He pressed a small kiss onto her palm before placing it on his cheek. “I am devoting my life to you. So, you should start believing that you are my top priority.”
By now, she didn't question that at all anymore. Blanche was still worried about his strong will though. He would definitely cause issues if he openly said things like this. No one would be happy about the emperor caring more for a single commoner than for the nation. But even then, he probably worked harder than most rulers before him. Some of the past emperors had only focused on their luxury and never did anything about politics. So, no one should be able to criticize Theodore, right?
Blanche was silent for a moment before stroking over his skin. She propped herself up on her elbow and leaned toward her lover to kiss him. “You know that I couldn't live without you either. We just have to stay together until all eternity. So that the both of us can be happy.”
The emperor showed her a breathtaking smile. “Of course. There never was another option. You are my happiness. I can prove it over and over again, but that will never be enough. But I will refuse to give up anyway. I will make sure to shower you with gifts and affection forever. You will never doubt my love.”
The concubine let out a quiet chuckle. “We're doing it again, did you notice? It's almost like we can't stop. But I couldn't imagine anything else being better.”
Her lover only took a single moment to pull her on top of him and wrap them in the blanket. “I can't either. That is why we keep doing it. No one will ruin this for us. Because this is true love. Anything else doesn't stand a chance against it.”
Blanche let her head rest on his chest while drawing small patterns on his skin with her fingers. By now, she was rather sure that they would stay in bed for a while longer, so they could take their time. It wasn't like they had anything to do either.
Being alone with Theodore for a while would be much better than possibly having another meal with the empress and Prince Linden. She really didn't need any more tension between the royal couple today. Especially not since Seraphina was feeling unwell.
So, the concubine would do all of them a favor by keeping Theodore in their room for a bit. She had just the idea of how to do that too.
In the afternoon, Theodore insisted on bringing her to another short interaction with all the ministers and Linden though. Blanche didn't complain and just greeted all visitors before bidding them farewell when they left. She tried to ignore the fact that Duke Duremont was obviously angry with her and that the empress had returned to her stoic face. When Seraphina looked at the concubine, Blanche just averted her gaze and focused on her other conversations. Then she immediately left with Theodore without allowing another interaction.
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The next days were as full of cuddling and being glued to her lover as the previous ones. Blanche slowly but surely wanted to start baking something again, just so that she could bring Theodore another present for once. But for some reason, she had a feeling that she would have to focus on other matters for now. The emperor stayed longer in his office and dealt with some documents after the discussion with Linden.
The concubine couldn't help but hope for a chance to surprise him with cake, but that idea was quickly crushed by Leon. Naturally, she didn't mind the lessons much and knew that there were more important than baking, but today, she was a bit dejected. She found the necessary motivation soon after they began talking about Theodore's father, so the rest of the lesson wasn't too bad. Learning about the history of the Estien family was interesting enough to make up for Blanche's initial disinterest with all those dates and different names. When Leon reminded her that she would have to know who all of those people were soon, she was a bit unsure, but with some time, she believed that this could work too. The lesson finished with Blanche taking some small notes on the names of the past five generations so that she could at least identify the important people. She was quite content with that. Especially since Leon also mentioned fascinating historical topics like old mysteries about the fourth empress' death and the first revolt that had turned the Estien family into the royal one.
Blanche certainly didn't mind going over the two hour mark when Leon talked about those important things. The only issue was that she barely had any time left when they finished. Blanche scanned the clock for a while before letting out a sigh of frustration. “I won't finish a cake in half an hour. Well. Then it seems like we have to take a walk instead.”
Stella gave her a gaze that was a bit odd considering that she had merely proposed going outside. “I don't know, My Lady. The last times that we wanted to go out, we were unlucky, right?”
The concubine made a dismissive motion with her hand. “When we went to the labyrinth to see the empress, everything was fine too. We can't stay inside for the rest of our lives.” While saying that, she stepped out through one of the side entrances and immediately regretted her decision. As soon as she climbed down the staircase, a person from the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she turned to them.
She made eye contact with Cedar, and her first instinct was to run away. Sometimes, it almost seemed like the gods were purposefully making her life harder with things like this. Maybe turning her back on the prince and leaving was the better option. Surely, pretending not to see a member of royalty was extremely brazen, but Theodore definitely wouldn't punish her for it. Still, she was hesitant to just run away from Cedar like that. She wasn't sure what she had expected.
But as soon as a wide grin spread across the prince's face, she was convinced that her initial reaction was the best.
Blanche spun around and rushed in the opposite direction while going through the layout of the garden in her mind. There had to be a place where she could hide for a moment. The labyrinth appeared in her field of view, and her decision was made immediately. She rushed into the maze without a second thought. Unsurprisingly, neither Stella nor Owen questioned her and just trailed after her as she ran through some random paths without having a destination. If Cedar was following her, which she doubted, she didn't want him to come too close. So, she would have to walk around as confusingly as possible to make sure that she was losing him.
To be honest, she also irritated herself by doing, that but at least the chances of Cedar finding her were minimal. Blanche turned random corners for a while longer until she was sure that no one would ever be able to follow her. Then she stopped and turned to her companions. “Is he gone?”
Owen affirmed her question with a nod. “I believe that he did not enter the labyrinth. I cannot hear anyone moving around here. There may be some people in the center though. I believe that someone is talking there.”
The concubine gazed at him in surprise and kept quiet for a moment to listen. It did sound like someone was having a conversation somewhere, and the light splashing of water in the distance made it seem like there were rather close to the plaza. Blanche tried to focus on the voices and find out who the people were, but she was unsuccessful. A small part of her was curious enough to consider checking who would meet here secretly to talk, but the bigger part told her to mind her own business.
So, she just stayed in one place. She had another more pressing issue anyway. “How long do we have to wait until that man leaves for sure?”
Owen spoke without his expression budging. “I do not know. He may have something to do. In that case, he would not waste his time by standing here. However, I can also imagine that he is depraved enough to wish for nothing but to cause trouble. Then it may be better to wait for at least ten minutes. We could take a small walk inside the labyrinth.”
Blanche was about to agree when she remembered something else. Hadn't Sefare used another way to leave the labyrinth when they had met here? “Wait. I think there is a second exit. A small one at the backside of the maze.” She had searched for that after the marquess had mysteriously disappeared from the labyrinth back then. The hole led to the back of the royal garden, and the area there wasn't visible from the front. So, she might be able to leave like that if she found it.
Stella vaguely seemed to remember that too since her eyes lit up in recognition.
But it was surprising that Owen knew. He didn't seem to be shocked by the news at all. “I believe that there was a gap between the hedges to allow the gardeners to enter the backside of the maze more easily.” It seemed like that hole hadn't just been there accidentally.
Blanche nodded with newfound motivation. She wouldn't be stuck in between the hedges for the rest of her free time but could actually take a walk at the backside of the royal estate, which she didn't visit too often.
The concubine began moving again while putting her right hand to the side against the hedges. She hoped that this would bring her out soon. She only took a moment to realize that things weren't going in her favor though. Blanche was progressing and managed not to go in circles, but she didn't get closer to the exit. She only found herself at the rose arch despite her attempts at rounding a few corners to get away from the center. She knew how to get to the main entrance from here, but it seemed like she was unable to find the path that led her to the back of the labyrinth.
Blanche sighed at that and was about to ask Owen for help when she heard laughter. For a moment, she froze as she tried to identify who that person may be. She knew that voice, but she doubted that this could be whom she expected. Slowly, she stepped closer to the rose arch.
A man was talking now, and that woman laughed again, which caused him to join in. It only took a few more noises from the people in the center, and the concubine finally managed to find out who it was.
“No way.” She breathed out those words as she stepped closer to the rose arch and leaned forward to look inside. This time, she was much more careful and held her breath while gazing at the fountain. She hadn't been mistaken.
Seraphina and Linden were sitting there together. The two of them were by the edge of the fountain and chatted about something. That wasn't anything new. Both of them had spent almost every day with each other after the crown prince had arrived. It would have been odd for them not to talk to one another.
But the fact that Linden, who had never smiled until now, was beaming at the empress right now was strange. Seraphina mirrored his expression as she spoke about something while the man happily listened.
Blanche froze in place as she saw that. For a moment, she could only stand there without moving before she stiffly straightened her posture and stepped behind the hedges to hide better. But even though she was quiet, her mind was full of worries.
Both of the people by the fountain were extremely skilled at hiding their emotions and didn't show their smiling faces in public. The most Seraphina did was give others little polite smiles, but those were definitely fake. The ones the empress and Linden showed each other weren't.
Either the concubine was over-interpreting this, or the rumors were true. She wasn't even sure herself.
It was obvious what she should do. Blanche should just turn around and leave without intervening or telling anyone about this. But she couldn't keep herself from moving back to the rose arch to look at the people there.
Seraphina and Linden were still chatting, and it seemed to be his turn to tell a story. The empress' reaction let all doubts disappear. She was biting her lips for a moment to hold back, but then she gave up and laughed loudly without making any attempts to hide it. The heroine never showed anyone this normal side of herself that wasn't the flawless empress. She wouldn't just reveal everything to a man she had met three weeks ago if she didn't trust him fully. Even at the end of the novel, she hadn't shown herself to Theodore fully even though they were married.
It was obvious that Seraphina cared about Linden, and he didn't seem to feel the need to hide his emotions in front of her either. That was clear enough, but every possibility of them possibly just being friends was erased in one second.
At the moment that Seraphina's laughter slowly quietened down to giggling, Linden stared at her in awe. It was obvious that the empress was beautiful, but there was more in his gaze than just admiration for someone's appearance. Seraphina slowly stopped while looking into his eyes. Then, almost at the same time, both leaned forward to meet in the middle. Linden reached for Seraphina's hand, and as their fingers brushed over one another, they seemed to give in. They softly laid their lips on one another's.
It took all of Blanche's self-control not to stumble away. She forced herself to take a step back and then slowly walked away from the center of the labyrinth, with her mind being in an uproar. What had she just witnessed? There was no way to misunderstand this, right? But why had it gone this quickly? Since when was Seraphina the type of person that fell in love within three weeks?
It sounded so unbelievable that the concubine considered going back to check one more time. But that wouldn't change the answer.
Blanche blinked a few times before turning her head to her maid, who looked like she was about as shocked as her mistress. “You saw that too, right?” She whispered that as quietly as possible.
Stella slowly nodded. “I did. Then the rumors are...” It was unusual for baseless rumors within the royal palace to be true. But in this case, it seemed like they weren't so baseless and actually accurate. Way too accurate.
The concubine walked forward while her head felt like she was spinning. To her personally, it didn't matter much if Seraphina had a lover.
But to think that the empress had changed so much that she would have an affair and disregard her position as the emperor's wife? That was shocking. The heroine from the novel would have never acted like that. It seemed like this world was different in every regard. After all, Theodore also didn't care for Seraphina, and the villainess didn't have the originally extremely hateful relationship with the other woman anymore. It did appear like their reality was too different to even be compared to the novel.
And for Blanche, that was just wonderful. Her heart was pounding in her chest as the book's reality seemed to be splintered into a thousand pieces. There was no way that anyone would be controlled by some kind of magic identity.
The world of “To Be Empress” with the heroine Seraphina Estien didn't exist anymore. What an ironic thing.