The concubine couldn't keep a smile from spreading on her lips as she pondered about what this meant for everyone around her. Seraphina obviously wasn't interested in Theodore but rather liked Linden. Wasn't there amazing? The empress could be happy to some extent too even if her husband hated her for some reason.
Even if the crown prince would leave to return to Northern Ocrea in a while.
Slowly, the corners of Blanche's lips sank again. Linden would leave soon, wouldn't he? This meant that Seraphina was falling in love while knowing that the one she held dear would be gone in a week. That had to hurt. And this relationship wasn't just disadvantageous in that regard.
If the fact that the empress had an affair got revealed to the public in some way, it would be horrible. Seraphina would become the goal of taunt and mockery so that her reputation would be stained, and the respect people had for her would deteriorate. Surely, there might be some issues for Theodore too, but it was doubtful whether he would care about others talking about him much. The emperor might be criticized for having an affair, but it would be way worse if the empress was the one to have one due to the stupid difference in treatment between the two. In the end, the one that would suffer because of gossip about her infidelity would be Seraphina.
So, one thing was extremely clear. “Stella. We can't mention this to anyone.”
Her maid slowly nodded. “I won't tell anyone. After all, this matter is a bit problematic, isn't it? His Majesty will be mad.”
Blanche turned her head to scan the other's expression. “Why would he be? He doesn't necessarily care much about her. I don't think that he would be affected by it. He also said that when we talked about the rumors. He even made a bet about them being a couple with me.” She froze when she said that and understood what this meant for her. “Oh. It seems like I lost. Now he will make me do something for him.” Hopefully, it wouldn't be too stressful.
Stella seemed to be genuinely surprised at that. “He didn't care? But won't His Majesty's reputation suffer if his wife isn't faithful to him? From what I heard, women having an affair are treated much differently than when men have one.” That was another sign of their nation not being too developed regarding equality.
Blanche quickly replied. “I'm aware of that too. But I would worry about others more. After all, Theodore won't personally feel attacked like most husbands would. I think he even...” At some point, it had seemed like he had even been hoping that those two would have an affair. He had been insistent on them being similar from the very beginning and had encouraged them to spend time together by not joining Linden too often. He had even cuddled with his own lover in front of them numerous times. Blanche truly had no idea what was going on in his head. She let out a low sigh before her eyes snapped to something in the bushes. She had found the gap. The concubine stopped abruptly as her eyes lit up. “There it is!” She pointed at the hole. “I did find it after all!” Blanche couldn't keep herself from being relieved at that. She didn't want to accidentally pass by the center and make the empress notice her after all. She walked toward the gap and squeezed through the hedges to get outside. “See? I knew I'd-” She cut herself off as she saw a shade of light blue hair from the corner of her eyes.
There was no way.
She stiffened and turned her head to the side.
Cedar stood directly next to the hole with crossed arms and tapped on his elbow as if he was waiting. He gave her an amused smirk that might actually be honest for once. “Ah. Lady Blanche, what a surprise. It's been a while since we met each other. How are you?”
The concubine almost wanted to run back into the labyrinth again, but she didn't have that choice when Stella was directly behind her. So, she would have to resign to her fate. She was pretty sure that she looked rather dejected right now, but she couldn't bother neutralizing her expression. “Good afternoon, Your Royal Highness. What a coincidence. I can't complain about anything bad happening recently. What leads you into the royal palace and behind the labyrinth nonetheless?”
Cedar unfolded his arms and gave her a soft smile. “I grew up in the palace. Don't you think that I know every corner of the estate and all the best hiding spots? I would definitely win a game of hide-and-seek with anyone here.” So, he had seen her run away and guessed that she would try to use the side entrance. One had to admit that he was good at plotting. He scanned her expression for a moment before adding something with a more playful edge in his voice. “But it seems like you like playing hide-and-seek too, right? I didn't meet you during the past times that I came even though I am sure that I searched for you. But, well. Did my gifts arrive at least?”
Blanche felt annoyance bubbling in her stomach. This man just knew how to frustrate her with a few words and gestures. Giving her presents was definitely an easy way to upset her along with the fact that he was seemingly involved in trying to frame her for stealing Seraphina's jewelry. But of course, she couldn't say that without revealing that they knew about Harris being blackmailed by him. So, she had to focus on the rest, which was more than enough to infuriate her. Maybe she could pay him back for that without making him snap this time. “Indeed. I am extremely confused by the fact that Your Royal Highness would feel the need to give me gifts. After all, we barely have any connection after only having met a few times. Aside from that, I already own way too much jewelry, so I don't need any more. Thus, I would have felt odd about keeping the gifts, which is why I decided to donate them. I asked Lord Astame to sell them and give the received amount to charity. I hope you do not mind that.”
She had expected Cedar to be at least a little annoyed at losing money, but she should have expected that a member of the royalty didn't care much about such expenses. The prince was completely calm and showed her a smile that might have impressed other women a lot. “How generous of you. I always knew that you had a kind heart, but to go this far to support others is touching. You truly earned my respect with actions like this. Aside from you saving the daughter of the Ravillot household, it seemed like you do even more to help others. I heard about you pardoning multiple servants, even though they gravely offended you as well. I sincerely hope that being this nice will not be your downfall in the future.”
Blanche gave him a little smile, but it was more to keep herself from glaring at him. “I can assure you that I will not be kind to anyone that doesn't deserve it. So, you don't need to worry. Theo and I will manage to defeat whatever dangers could confront us together.”
Cedar barely seemed to listen to her words either way and just focused on what he wanted. “I see. It surely is romantic. From how you met to how you are interacting with one another. I will pray for you. Now that we are talking about my brother once again, do you perhaps know where he is? I have something for the two of you.”
Blanche's face fell before she could prevent it. She didn't doubt that this would be another thing she wouldn't like. For a moment, she thought about insisting that the emperor was busy to keep Cedar from annoying him. But she would rather have Theodore with her while facing the prince's schemes. So, she gave in. “Theo is in his office, but he would be able to make time for you if it doesn't take long.”
“I can assure you that it will not take longer than five minutes at most. Would you please be so kind and lead the way?” Cedar still smiled at her as if they were friends, but by now, she was too nervous to get angry. He was planning something, and she didn't want to get involved. But she didn't have a choice.
Blanche held back a groan before ensuring that her companions were following them before moving forward. She didn't take long to notice that Cedar kept more distance from her than usual by walking behind instead of next to her. But that wasn't much better. She could almost feel his eyes on her back, and that was awful. She hurried to find the shortest way to the palace and unwillingly became quicker with each step so that she had to force herself to slow down.
But the longer they walked, the more she realized that something else appeared to be wrong. The servants stared at the prince and the concubine, which she was used to, but it seemed like they were concerned with them far too much even though they did nothing special. It only dawned upon her when they arrived at the office. She narrowed her eyes and glared at Cedar for a bit. “You let me walk in front of you on purpose, didn't you? What did you do?”
The prince only showed her a blinding smile. “What could I have done, Lady Blanche? People always tend to watch members of the royal family whenever they go. I am sure you must have noticed already.” He didn't seem nervous about being watched at all either. Cedar was probably not lying about being used to it.
But Blanche still wasn't certain whether this was a trick. When it came to members of the royal family, one should walk behind them or join them if given permission and not walk in front of them. But it seemed like no one truly paid attention to that in the palace. Maybe the previous emperors had cared, but Theodore never did, so none of the servants would be offended by this. That meant that Cedar had to have done something behind her back, which might cause others to stare. Or maybe the servants really gawked at the famous dangerous prince like this whenever they saw him. That sounded like it would be quite unpleasant. But it was obvious that Blanche wouldn't receive a response from Cedar even if she asked. So, she would have to ignore this for now.
Blanche took a moment to glare at the prince before turning to the door and knocking.
Theodore's voice sounded seconds later. “Blanche?” So, he had recognized her pattern again.
A soft smile grew on her lips before she could help it. She opened the door and slipped inside without hesitation. “Theo!” She rushed to his side and fell into his arms so that he barely managed to set aside his book before hugging her. She moved her mouth closer to his ear and whispered to him. “We have unwanted company. It's Cedar.”
The emperor's gaze snapped to the door, and he tightened his hold on her to pull her onto his lap. He whispered back to her in a low voice. “I'm glad that you're here. What does he want?”
Blanche shook her head. “I have no idea. He said he wanted to see both of us and that it wouldn't take more than five minutes.”
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Theodore was silent for a few seconds and gave her a short kiss before turning to the door. “You can come in too.” He sounded so cold now, which only served to be a great contrast to the way he stroked over her back.
Cedar leaned in to look inside and slowly stepped into the office too while acting as cheerful as ever. “Good afternoon, Theodore. Are you sure that I am not disturbing you? One easily feels like an intruder when seeing the two of you. I'm happy to be able to witness such an adorable interaction though. You really seem to be like you belong together.”
The emperor didn't reply to any of those comments and focused on the important things. “Why did you want to talk to us? Unfortunately, we do not have much time, so I would ask you to make it quick.”
Cedar closed the door behind him before walking forward to stop in front of the desk. “I apologize for interrupting your work. I will not bother you for long. It's just...” He reached into his jacket and pulled out an envelope with two fingers. “About this.” He extended his arm to his brother and placed the envelope on the desk before taking a step back with a wide grin on his face.
Theodore stared at the white paper in front of him without any intention of touching it. “What is this?”
The prince seemed to have waited for this moment. “Oh, you won't find out without reading. Come on. Open it.”
The emperor glared at his brother for a bit before giving in and ripping open the envelope with little care. He made it much harder for himself by refusing to move his arms away from his lover, so she took the envelope from him to pull out the letter. She handed it to him, and he held it up so that both of them could read it.
Her lover's expression darkened while Blanche could just narrow her eyes at the prince. She wanted to keep quiet and not allow Cedar to relish in her confusion, but she couldn't restrain herself. “You are...inviting us for dinner tomorrow?” She could barely keep her irritation from being audible in her voice.
Cedar just grinned at that. “We are. It's been a while since we ate together as a family. I thought about inviting Her Majesty too, but...” He left a pause in which a glint of amusement appeared in his eyes. “It seems like that would be odd for you, wouldn't it? I heard that there were some issues with her currently. Some rumors reached my ear, but I dare not believe them. But it does worry me a bit. So, I just wished to offer my help if you ever need to vent to someone about your frustration.” It seemed like even he had heard about the empress' alleged, and seemingly very real, affair.
What had been supposed to upset Theodore only caused him to shrug. “The rumors are true, you may believe them. But you are doing me a favor by not inviting her. It will also not be necessary for you to include her in your planning from now on if you understand what I mean.”
Cedar's smile didn't falter. “It almost seems like you have been waiting for this. Don't tell me that you did. You never fail to surprise me, Theodore. To think that you would actually pull through with this.” But even this obvious attempt of a provocation left the emperor unmoved.
Theodore set down the letter and shuffled Blanche around on his lap so that he could rest his chin on her shoulder. “I am happy as long as I can catch you off guard. But I'm sure that you were rather quick to understand in comparison to some others. You just didn't believe that I felt safe enough, but I can promise you one thing.” A little smile appeared on his lips. “The emperor can do much more without anyone's help than you think. Making my promises come true is the least that I can do. And I promised Blanche that she would be the one by my side for all eternity.”
That once again didn't sound like anything Blanche wanted to focus on.
The concubine leaned her head against Theodore's and wrapped her arms around his, which still held her waist. Clearly, her lover's words indicated something she should not hear coming from him, but she didn't focus on that now. Instead, she just picked up on the nice part of what he had said. She turned her head to kiss his cheek and cuddled against him. “I will remind you of the promise every day of our lives. We will stay together like you promised, and I will swear it back as often as I can too.”
Cedar had to be cringing upon witnessing this overly sweet exchange, but he didn't show it on his face. He smiled at them and nodded toward his brother. “I understood that much when he asked you to marry him. As you may have noticed, I didn't tell anyone like you wished me to. Is there any news regarding that matter? You said that it would still take a while until you will make it public. Then we should do something in private, with just us, first. We could toast to your engagement tomorrow if you'd like to.”
Blanche still wasn't sure whether they would go at all. She was extremely glad that she had heard about this while Theodore was there, or she might have been unable to decide how to react. She had no desire to visit Cedar and his mother, but outright rejecting them was a bit hard too when their ranks were so different. Well, theoretically, Blanche was the emperor's fiancée now, which would put her on the same level as a prince or at least one that was only slightly lower, but no one knew that yet.
And seemingly, it was good that she hadn't rejected them because Theodore was pondering something. If he didn't immediately deny the invitation, then he had to see some advantage in them going. In that case, she would join him even if she felt like going into the lion's den wouldn't make her very happy.
Cedar scanned both of them. “Well? Are you free tomorrow, or is there important work that cannot be delayed? In that case, we could-” He didn't even manage to finish that sentence.
Theodore spoke up first. “I didn't say that we had no time. We are somewhat free. It's true that I have some things to do, but I would always make some time for my dear family.” Mockery was dripping out of his voice when he said that. “So, of course, we will come if nothing else suddenly prevents us from going. We had nothing planned, right?” He turned to his lover and made eye contact with her. He was giving her a chance to deny the meal.
Blanche would just have to voice a random excuse and could keep trouble away from them with that. But it seemed like Theodore would go to do something there, so she wouldn't reject that offer. “I don't think so. We should be free to go out whenever we want to. And the dinner would be at seven o'clock?”
Cedar happily nodded at her. “Indeed. I am overjoyed to hear that you are able to attend. I believe that it has been over seven years since we last sat at a table together, and now a new member of the family is joining us. I am very content with that and will make sure that you will be satisfied with the meal. We'll ask the royal chefs to prepare the most wonderful dishes that day. Leave it to me.”
Theodore gazed at his brother with slight annoyance. “Oh, I'm sure that you will create a great menu. As long as there is no special delicacy from some random nation far away, we will be fine with everything. Please find something that you like to eat, and we will gladly eat it too. I know that you will choose it well. But I would like to ask you to remember something.” He put on a fake smile while resuming. “I would like to avoid the dowager empress knowing about our engagement right now. You know how chatty she is, and we want to keep it a secret until our great party. So, you will have to keep quiet a bit. That should be fine, right?”
Cedar nodded. “Naturally. I'm sorry that I forgot about her tendency to spread news way too quickly. I won't tell her.” He gazed that them with a glint in his eyes that almost made it seem like he was threatening them.
Blanche refrained from glaring at him and just lifted her arm to comb through her lover's hair while replying. “Thank you. We will be very grateful. After all, you are the only one aside from us knowing about it. So, we would be rather upset if it did spread because we trust you.” She had just told the biggest lie of her entire life, and still, she didn't feel bad in the slightest.
Seemingly, Cedar didn't pay attention to her sarcasm either. He responded with a radiant beam. “I do not deserve such kindness. It's only natural that I would respect your wishes and do what my brother and my future sister-in-law ask of me. I thank you for your trust and will make sure to repay you for it later.” Him saying this in a completely normal tone was enough to make it sound like a threat. “Then I will take my leave now if my brother allows it. After all, I do not wish to disturb you any longer and still need to prepare for tomorrow.”
Theodore showed him a fake smile. “Of course. We wouldn't want to keep you from taking care of your responsibilities after all. Have a nice evening.”
Cedar returned a bright grin. “I will, thanks to your kindness. Your words of trust truly touched my heart. And obviously, meeting the two of you overjoyed me in itself. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. Sleep well.”
Blanche would like to ignore him completely, but she felt like being that petty wasn't helpful. It was better to feign politeness. “Good night, Your Royal Highness.” She regretted it immediately.
The prince turned his attention to her and just had to do something to annoy her at the last second. “You may call me by my name, remember? I wouldn't want our dinner tomorrow to seem too stiff. I cannot force you though. I mean, I could by ordering you, but that would be awful. After the wedding with my brother, you should stop calling my title anyway. You can already get used to the new one now. Good night, Lady Blanche.” He turned around after grinning at her for a bit longer and left the office.
The door shut behind him, and immediately, the emperor relaxed.
Blanche could just focus on her anger though. “That arrogant person. I would like to throw one of your books at him, but that wouldn't be good.” Cedar would probably just catch it, but that didn't matter. “I hate him.”
Theodore waited for her to turn around to him before putting his hand on the side of her face. “It's good that we share that sentiment. If you'd like him, I think I would have to kill him.” That was a bit harsh, but she couldn't blame him either, especially since she knew that he wasn't really serious about harming his brother if he could help it.
The concubine reached up to pinch his cheek. “Why would I ever have any sympathy for a man that tried to murder you?” She wasn't sure why. “I mean, he might have been a child when it happened, but he still supported his mother despite her trying to kill you.” Cedar had been manipulated ever since his birth. How would he have been able to defy Camille? “That would be enough to prove that he is a horrible person, but he just had to be more infuriating than anyone I ever met too.” For some reason, she was almost sure that Cedar could be nice and that he might even joke around with people that got closer to him. They were just his enemies, so he wouldn't show them that side. “It seems like making people angry is his hobby.” It truly was.
Her lover gazed down at her with conflicting expressions. He only spoke up when she gave him a questioning look. “I don't want you to sympathize with him, so I'm unsure whether I should say this. But I feel like Cedar just enrages people because it means that they finally have an opinion about him as a person and not as a tool that is supposed to grasp the throne. He has no one to give him kindness, so he would rather take dislike or hatred than indifference. I noticed that he always begins his plots when someone tells him that they trust him or that he might actually not be as bad as others believe. When you tell him that, he just shuts himself off. I once offered him a truce, and he immediately reminded me of the fact that his mother made him swear that he would kill me.”
Blanche was silent for a moment before responding while keeping her eyes locked with her lover's. “That's sad. But Cedar is still at fault. I know that it might not be easy for him, but while his past explains everything, it doesn't necessarily justify his actions. If he noticed that his mother doesn't love him or care for him, then he should have tried to meet other people too. I bet he would easily have found some honest friends if he just acted like a normal person instead of someone that attacks others' weaknesses and provokes them. That is why I won't sympathize with him at all. You can trust me on this one.”
Was it really that easy though? Of course, it would be simple to just say that Cedar should have noticed, but it was a bit audacious to judge about that when the concubine almost had no idea what he had really gone through. She hadn't lived through his childhood. And she would wish no one what Cedar had experienced. She didn't know much, but she had a vague idea of what a controlling person like Camille might do to her son to bind him to her.
After all, Camille did claim to love her son, but as her behavior showed, her love wasn't very kind.
Theodore raked his fingers through his lover's hair and looked at her with a serious expression.“I always trust you, no matter what it's about.”
Blanche almost sighed at that. “I know. I didn't mean to say that you didn't. By now, you said it often enough for me to believe it.”
Her lover's face lit up with a little smile at that. “Good. Then it seems like I am finally reaching my goal. Now I only need to convince you of everything else too. That I love you more than anything else. That I only want you. And that everything that belongs to me is yours. That you could never be greedy by taking my gifts. That you are the-”
She cut him off with a kiss.
Blanche gently brought her lips to Theodore's and felt how he melted under her touch. No matter how often they did this, it was still breathtaking. But at this very moment, it also reminded her of something else. When she pulled back, she looked deep into her lover's eyes. “If the empress did have an affair, would you be angry?”
This was something they had to discuss after all.