As soon as the music sounded, her nervousness doubled.

Blanche took a deep breath and turned to her lover again. “Now, then. If I mess up, it's your fault.”

Theodore greeted her with a soft smile. “I won't let that happen. Don't worry. What did I say about me being able to dance with my eyes closed in the middle of the night? I practiced enough for both of us. And since Leon said that you stopped stepping on his feet, there shouldn't be any issues. I will guide you.” He took a step back and extended his arm toward her before bowing.

The concubine would have liked to sink into the floor at that. Why was the emperor purposefully bowing to her in public again? That certainly wasn't good. The ruler of the nation shouldn't bow to anyone, not even the empress. But it wasn't like Theodore cared about that, so why should she?

Blanche held back a sigh as she took his hand and let him pull her into his arms. “You really are doing your best to trouble me, aren't you? This will cause enough rumors for years.”

Theodore pressed a kiss onto the back of her hand and gave her a smirk that made her heart skip a beat. “Isn't that what we want? Everyone needs to see that I'm in the palm of your hand. Rumors are the best way to prove that the emperor of Arias adores his future wife more than anyone could ever believe. That is exactly why we will need to add one more reason for them to gossip each time they see us. Let us show them a perfect waltz to reveal that we were meant to be together.” Now she was under even more pressure.

Blanche immediately focused all of her attention on her feet when the music began playing. She had recounted the steps often enough by now, so she shouldn't have trouble repeating them. She just had to make sure that she was moving in time with the music and that she matched her lover's pace. Seconds were enough to prove that there wouldn't an issue as long as she didn't let herself get distracted too much.

Theodore was incredible at guiding her, and his movements were perfectly coordinated. He was a genius when it came to dancing, and she was more than thankful for that. She would still have liked to concentrate on the dance, but she didn't have the chance to do so. Her lover spoke up way too soon. “You were good before, but now you improved a lot. It seems like Leon isn't exaggerating when he praises you. I already knew that before, but this only proves that you are amazing once more.”

Blanche unwillingly looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. “He praises me? Why? I'm not doing anything special.”

“He said that he never met anyone that was this earnest about learning. Even about the history of the Estien family, which is the most boring subject you can imagine. He is impressed that you actually show interest in all of this and that you are able to pick up on the most important things during a discussion, even when you might not learn all facts by heart. He also likes how you always try to solve problems or how emotional you are when it comes to previous rulers that weren't as kind. It seems like he is very content being your teacher.”

The concubine didn't find any of that impressive. She was just good at remembering things if she had had a logical discussion about them. And being upset about rulers that had left their citizens to starve was natural too. Aside from all the topics she was learning about being interesting, she also had an important reason to study. “I will be your wife. I have to know as much as possible and show exceptional manners. I need to make sure that I won't embarrass you and the royal family. Especially since there will be problems already due to my origins.”

Theodore's face fell at that. “You would never embarrass anyone. I love you, and standing by your side is the most wonderful thing I could imagine. You becoming my wife after everything that happened is a miracle. You said yes to me. There is no way that I would settle for anything less than a dream wedding now. And the royal family will be proud to welcome such a wonderful empress. There have been kind ones, but unfortunately, the last two generations weren't so lucky. Your personality is enough to make you better than anyone that entered the royal palace during the last decades. But as long as you care for other people and try to improve the situation in our nation, you will become the most successful one of all the women in our family. I'm sure of it. The citizens will adore you.”

Blanche almost choked on her own tongue when he said that. It sounded like he wasn't even being subtle about this anymore. Now she couldn't even tell herself that she was misunderstanding something anymore. Her lover truly intended to give her a position she wasn't qualified for. “Theo, I...”

The emperor shushed her and brought his face closer to her. “Don't worry. Everything will be wonderful, I promise it. Trust me. I won't do anything that could make you unhappy. I will never force you, but you know that I can't imagine anyone but you by my side. I won't ever accept anyone else either. But we won't deal with that now. We still have some time. The supreme judge is currently going through the divorce papers thanks to someone who insisted on checking him twice. It will take a while longer, but we are already preparing for it.”

The concubine almost stopped in her tracks at that. It took all of her concentration to keep herself in pace with the music. “You already started?” Then it would take two months at most. And then the royal couple would be ready to reveal this matter to the public. Blanche felt the blood drain from her face. “The Duremonts will kill you. I mean, they were patient for so long, and now... Duke Duremont will have no reason to help you. Even if he wants to keep the country safe, he can only ignore his personal feelings for so long. He might view this as an insult to the whole family, right?”

Theodore glanced to the side, and a little smile grew on his face. “He is angry, and it will get worse when he finds out. But he won't put his fragile ego over our peace. It will be fine. Especially since he owes you. He himself promised that he would support your children later. Naturally, that will include backing you too, even if he doesn't like it. The only thing that could bother him is his daughter going to Northern Ocrea, but if she is happy, he will accept. In other words, we are fully on the right track. Nothing will go wrong. Our enemies may cause trouble, but we will be fine.”

Blanche opened her mouth to remind him that she wasn't too sure about that, only to stop when she heard how the music quietened down. It seemed like their dance was over. Finally, she could relax without needing to worry about tripping over her feet. “We're done.”

Theodore grinned at her. “You did fantastically. As expected of my angel.” He leaned forward to kiss the side of her neck in a way that would make sure that anyone could see what he was doing. Then he straightened his posture again and pulled her along with him. “Now we need to greet the most wonderful guests. After that, it will be calmer.” He led her to the platform and ignored how everyone was whispering about them.

The guests had to have noticed the missing chair next to the thrones by now. Blanche would have liked to hide behind her lover, but that was impossible when there were people all around them. So, she forced herself to stand up straight and walk forward as if she didn't care about being watched.

The couple climbed up the stairs, and she gave her best to not show her nervousness as they approached the thrones. She couldn't believe that she would actually steal Seraphina's seat now. She would favor refusing at least for the next few weeks until the divorce, but she couldn't do that in front of all the guests. Blanche shouldn't have forgotten about this while dancing. Then she might have had a chance to discuss this and change Theodore's mind, even if she doubted it. But now she had to go along with it despite every fiber of her being in pain at the thought of doing this. Well, Seraphina would lose this seat soon anyway, so it should be fine, right? Blanche tried to justify it, but she still wasn't quite content.

They reached the top of the platform, and it felt like everyone held their breath to check what would happen.

Blanche expected her lover to lead her to the empress' throne, but he brought her to the middle and looked at her. Apparently, he wanted her to choose which spot she would take. The answer was easy. The only thing that was worse than offending the empress was offending the emperor. She would rather take the smaller issue, even if that issue was still rather big. She gave him a little tug, and he immediately moved over to the throne meant for Seraphina.

When Blanche sat down, she felt like she had committed the gravest offense in the whole world. Her cheeks felt warm, and she fought the urge to hide her face while Theodore sat down as well. She felt way too small on this huge throne, and the fact that she was on a higher level than the guest only served to make her feel even more intimidated. She was desperately trying to avoid eye contact with anyone as she turned to her lover. “Theo, I hate this.”

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Theodore did the only thing that could have made this even worse. He reached over to her and took her hand in his. “I felt the same when I sat up there for the first time. You don't need to be bothered by anyone looking at you. You will be the center of attention from now on, and we can't do anything about it. It sounds useless, but it does get better. Now I don't care anymore, but back then, I also thought I was going to die. You will get used to it with time. For now, just focus on me when we toast to Artias.”

Blanche almost groaned at that. “I have to announce that too, right?” She didn't actually need a reply. She knew that she had to ask the guests to join them. For a moment, she paused when she was reminded of the fact that such things weren't always done for birthdays so that she might be able to skip it. But upon looking around and seeing that the servants had already prepared the drinks, she noticed that she had no choice. She gave her best to keep her voice from trembling as she spoke up loudly. “I would like to ask you to join me for a toast to Artias. Would the servants be so kind to hand everyone that wishes to drink a glass of wine?”

To her surprise, the staff members listened immediately. Within seconds, a maid came up the stairs and offered a tray with two drinks to the couple. Theodore took both and then gave one to his lover. In the meantime, the rest of the guests also received a glass each.

Blanche was way too scared of dropping her glass as soon as she took it, but she managed to move it closer to her body without spilling anything. Now she would have to speak up again and blabber something about Artias and how she was thankful to everyone helping to secure the nation. The only problem was that the emperor normally talked about how he would improve the country and that she couldn't say that. She also couldn't speak in the name of the royal family yet. She would have to improvise and try to impress the nobles with something else. Even if her true goal was simply not embarrassing herself.

It took all of Blanche's self-control to hold her head up high and speak loudly while seeing all the guests look up at her. “I would like to take a moment to thank all of you for working hard to ensure that our citizens live the best life we can realize at this point in time. Naturally, there is still a lot of room for improvement, but we will do our best to make sure that we reach our full potential one day. That is why all of you deserve our gratitude for your continuous services to Artias. Please have a toast with us to celebrate our country's well-being. May our nation continue to bloom under our emperor's reign so that we can all come together in the future with even more pride for Artias.”

She thought that she had done well considering that her hands were shaking, which made her feel like she would drop the glass soon. She waited for her lover to start drinking, but he only gazed at her. So, she swallowed her anxiety and took a sip of the wine first.

Theodore did the same, and the guests joined him.

Blanche breathed out in relief when she finished the small portion without spilling anything and hurried to hand the glass to the maid again. The emperor was done a moment after her and also gave the empty glass to the servant, who then left the platform. Blanche was glad that she didn't have to hold that fragile thing anymore, but what would follow now wasn't much more pleasant. She had to speak to everyone one last time for now. She took a deep breath before beginning. “Thank you. Feel free to dance or visit the buffet from now on. I am sure that we will meet later to have a short conversation. For now, I wish that you will enjoy this evening.” She was more relieved than anything else when that was finally over.

Now the second part of the event would follow. This one wasn't much better. She tried not to think about how she would have to greet every single noble now, but she could barely push that thought away. She hoped that she was hiding her dejection well, but she doubted it.

Theodore leaned over to her after only a few seconds. “You don't need to look so grim. You did well. I'm proud of you.” He squeezed her hand, which only served as a reminder that they were still holding hands in public.

Blanche had given up on hiding that, so she just began playing with Theodore's fingers as she sighed quietly and turned to him to whisper. “Thank you. But I'm still nervous. After all, we will have to talk to each of them now. I have no desire to meet your beloved family. I'm sure the dowager empress will scold me for being insolent again while also telling me to join her faction. Then Cedar will chime in when you get angry and try to calm her to avoid a conflict. After that, he will make comments that will cause people to believe that we like each other. It's the same each time but not less nerve-wracking.”

“I know. I should have gotten used to them back when we lived in the palace together, but I never managed to learn how to deal with them. That won't change now either, so I just hope that they'll be gone soon. I'm doing my best, so it can't take much longer. We will just have to ignore them as well as possible today. I'm right by your side, so nothing bad will happen.” He interlocked their fingers, which only made it even worse.

Blanche let out a nervous chuckle as she gazed at the nobles, who definitely saw exactly what they were doing. “I'm sure it will be fine. This is a ball. They won't suddenly cause issues here since it would ruin their own reputation, right? I surely hope so. After all, it would be horrible if they...” She decided not to end that sentence not to evoke anything. “In any case, we just have to greet them and smile, right? I'm used to the dowager empress not even greeting me properly, so I won't have any issues ignoring what she is telling me.”

The emperor gave her a wide grin. “But you know that you have a chance to greet her first. You are a host today, so you are free to address anyone as you see fit. That will ruin her mood, but in the end, you are right.”

The concubine gazed at her lover from the corner of her eye. “I do remember that I can do that, but...that might not be clever. Maybe I should just let her speak as I do normally. After all, we will be annoyed if she causes a scene.”

Theodore leaned even closer to her. “But isn't her causing a scene good for us? She always pretends to follow the rules but just uses them to make herself look better. If others find out that she is not as intelligent as she pretends to be, she will only lose followers. Making her look impolite is the best thing that could happen.” He wasn't wrong about that.

Blanche was silent for a moment and went through the different scenarios in her head. If she did what she had originally wanted to do, she would show that she didn't intend to pay attention to those rules. Then she would have to wait for the others to address her the whole evening. That was fine, but at the same time, she would reveal that she didn't see herself as a host. Since this was her birthday party, that would be ridiculous. So, she would have to act as the proper protocol required her to. “Alright. Then I will address her first. Even if she might blow up.”

Her lover laughed quietly. “Don't worry. She blows up because of everything. No one will blame you for following the rules.” She sure hoped so.

One look at the guests proved that everyone was still looking at them but tried to make it seem like they were busy. Blanche attempted to ignore that and searched for the other part of the royal family. She didn't take long.

Camille and Cedar were sticking out like a flare as the other guests made way for them. The prince was escorting his mother, and both looked as majestic as ever in their attires in navy, gold and white. Judging by their expressions, Cedar was still as calm as ever while the dowager empress had to hide her fury at seeing a concubine on the empress' throne. She probably felt like she was being betrayed by that in some way too and compared Seraphina to herself.

Blanche didn't care about that at all though. She wondered whether to put on a fake smile or whether to be as impolite as the other party was. In the end, she chose to act in a manner that wouldn't allow anyone to blame her. She would be kind. As kind as she had to keep up appearances and frustrate their enemies. She waited for the prince and the dowager empress to come closer. When they stopped in front of the thrones and Cedar bowed, she couldn't help but to grin. She didn't want to smile, but Camille's anger upon realizing that Theodore was not addressing her was a bit amusing. But the other woman could only get even more upset from now on.

Blanche greeted her with a bright smile. “It is an honor to have you visit this ball, Your Majesty. I could have never dreamed that you would sacrifice your valuable time just to attend my birthday party. I wish you a good evening. I hope that the short way here wasn't troublesome.” She was a bit surprised upon being able to finish without being interrupted.

But Camille was boiling by now. She glared at the concubine and spoke in a voice that was dripping with fury. “Did you just dare to start a conversation before His Majesty had a chance to greet us? Are you not aware of the insolence you are currently showing to each and every guest here?”

For a second, Blanche considered explaining it kindly. But then she remembered that this person had attempted to kill Theodore, and her desire to be nice quickly deteriorated. So, she would be sweet. So sweet that the other woman would despise her. She gazed at her lover like she was asking for help before replying loudly enough to make sure that everyone heard her. “Did I do it wrong? I thought I was right for sure. Am I not the host? This is my birthday party too. Aren't I supposed to speak up first? I believe that this was written in all the etiquette books in the royal library. Are they perhaps wrong?”

Theodore's lips formed a smirk. “Oh, no. You are certainly right, my angel. It seems that the dowager empress forgot because she was so excited to come here.” He turned to the guests. “Good evening to both of you. I am saddened to hear that you are in such a bad mood. Hopefully, this wonderful event will lift your spirits.”

Thanks to his provocation, no one really listened to him calling his lover by a pet name, but someone had probably heard anyway. Blanche didn't even worry about rumors anymore. At this point, everyone in the most remote areas of Artias probably knew.

Though, Camille's face scrunched up as she met the emperor's gaze with a freezing glare. “I am very much aware of those rules. However, they only apply when a guest is visiting another person's home. Aside from that, royalty should still be treated with respect under all circumstances.”

Blanche was beginning to get annoyed after only a few sentences. She knew that she was right, so she wouldn't let anyone tell her that this wasn't true. She forced herself to keep smiling and responded. “If I did not appear polite enough, I sincerely apologize. I assumed that you were not as sensitive when it comes to this matter due to the event during the last ball, where you greeted me rather strangely. But I do not mind. I will also not insist on following specific traditions at all times. However, I would like to point out that I did not commit an error. Pardon my honesty, but you are not residing within the royal palace at this point in time. You are living in the mansion at the far end of the estate. I do live here though. That makes you a guest like anyone else and me a host. That is why it is fine for me to greet you first. But we should not dwell on trivialities like this.” The concubine turned away to greet the other guest without giving Camille a chance to speak. “Good evening, Your Royal Highness. I am pleased to see that you chose to attend this ball as well. How was your trip here? I hope that there weren't any issues.” It was physically revolting to smile at the prince, but this could help her prove that she was always respectful later.

As expected, Cedar greeted her with a bright grin. “How could I not attend a ball when it is personally hosted by you and my dear brother? There weren't any issues. There rarely are any problems within the royal estate, for which we can only be grateful. This time, the coachman arrived at the designated spot in time, which was a great relief. We feared being late, but thankfully, we were here punctually. Good evening, Lady Blanche. And more importantly, happy birthday. May your next year be full of happiness and joy. I will pray for your health and success in all of your endeavors.” She had actually believed that something a little more underhanded would come. Cedar was surprisingly kind now. If that was honest, it would be a wonderful greeting.

But that man's kindness was as calming as a thunderstorm. After all, he certainly didn't mean a single word he had said.