Camille insisted on revealing what she knew about Blanche's past now. The situation was rather tense, but it seemed like she had misjudged the emperor's loyalty.
Theodore barely listened to this accusation. He gently stroked over the back of his lover's hand and leaned over to her to whisper. “Everything is alright. I will take care of this. You don't have to do anything. Alright?” He only moved back when she weakly nodded at him before speaking up louder so that everyone could hear him. “It seems like you are saying strange things. If you truly know something about my lover despite me not knowing, which I doubt, it would be logical for you to tell me in private. Not in front of all of our guests, during her birthday nonetheless. This is quite inappropriate, and I am worried that the dowager empress never thought about delaying this. And didn't you intend to reveal Sefare's crimes? Attacking Blanche all of a sudden does seem odd.”
Cedar tried to speak up here, as if he wanted to push this back much like he had wanted to do it a moment ago. “We truly understand your concern. Thus, I would suggest dealing with this in a short while in private when we-” He was cut off.
As expected, Camille was far too full of herself as she insisted despite her son's attempt to save the situation. “We did consider delaying it. But I fear that this is important to the public as well. The matters are related and both very urgent. The current event's importance fades into meaninglessness when you understand what this is truly about. The disturbing truth has to be shared as soon as possible. After all, it is very shocking to hear that our ruler's lover is not who she pretends to be.”
Blanche furrowed her brows as she opened her mouth. Theodore had said that she didn't have to do anything, but she didn't want to stand by while he took care of this. Her name was on the line, so she had to chime in.
She wasn't fast enough.
For some reason, the one speaking up with a booming voice was Duke Duremont. He squeezed through the crowd to stop next to the dowager empress and glared at her. “Pardon my insolence, but it seems like you have completely lost your mind. We are in the middle of a birthday celebration. Since when do personal matters need to be discussed in front of this many people? I would kindly suggest postponing this unless you wish to make the guests question whether your intentions are truly noble. It may seem like you harbor ill intentions by making a scene out of this.”
The dowager empress wasn't satisfied with being confronted and quickly replied with a grim expression. “You are being rather impudent, Your Grace. Is it not important to reveal someone's crimes to the public before something bad may happen? Lady Blanche is not only hiding her true identity, she is also a traitor. She is not on the side of Artias and would love to see our nation crumble due to her plots.”
A murmur went through the crowd. It wasn't just a quiet one though. All the gathered people began to exchange their opinions with their friends. It almost seemed impossible to calm them down again, but a single gesture by the emperor was enough to silence them at once.
Theodore's face looked so grim that he might as well have been a warlord in the midst of a battlefield. His voice filled with an equal amount of hatred as he spoke. “You should know that I despise nothing more than people spreading lies about the woman I love. Think about whether you will continue here or stop twice. This decision may not determine whether your life can go on, but it will surely decide about how kindly I am willing to treat you in the future. I, both as the emperor and the lover of the woman you attack, would recommend you to close your mouth right there and go home this instant.”
Cedar stopped smiling at that, clearly noticing that his acting skills were needed. “I understand that you are upset and sincerely apologize for this unfavorable situation. Though, I would ask you to at least grant us some time to explain this later. Threatening us won't change your situation. We are only trying to warn you. Thus, it is absolutely necessary for you to pay attention until the very end. We will not tell you a single lie. But I do agree that this is the wrong point in time. We should consider taking care of this in a more calm situation. I fear that this may overwhelm you and-”
As if that wasn't enough, Camille chimed in before her son finished. “There is no need to postpone the condemnation of a criminal. We have proof and can show that to you. You can't ignore this, Theodore. Everyone here has been fooled and deserves to know the truth. Lady Blanche is not the person she pretends to be and harbors vile intentions. She may even be planning to take your life. We have no issue proving that.”
These words were enough to wipe away the last hope that Blanche had previously had. She knew that Cedar was a good liar. Even if he currently tried to delay this matter despite his mother's attempts, his words could tilt the scale. The more he talked, the more likely it became that he managed to convince everyone here that she was the bad one. Right now, he didn't seem eager to do this, but Camille might as well order him to start spouting his lies.
What would she do if they twisted the story enough to make the others believe that she had lied about her circumstances? Blanche fully trusted her lover, but the people in the original storyline had also just seen her backstory as another reason to hate her. They had blamed the villainess for leaving her family behind and saw the fact that she had been associated with people that wished to murder Theodore as proof that she didn't truly love him. Surely, she had told him her version, but what if the enemies' story made him change his mind? If there was just one second in which Theodore didn't trust her, it would ruin everything.
But Blanche trusted him.
After all Theodore had done for her, she knew that he loved her. And he had sworn to be on her side no matter what. Blanche might be the villainess, but she held the hero's love, and she wouldn't let it go. She had to do something about this. And while she had limited options, she did have to attempt something.
If her enemies tried to make her out to be the bad one, she could seem even more pathetic until she was tragic enough not to be blamed by anyone. Seeming calm might sound like it would help right now, but anyone innocent would hurriedly reject all accusations of treason. She needed to be shocked upon hearing those claims, and then she had to be devastated because people doubted her love for Theodore. Didn't that sound like it would help? She wasn't sure, but it was her best bet right now.
Of course, that was difficult when Blanche wasn't good at acting, but she would try her best. Adrenaline already made her shake, so she just had to add something more now. She slowly brought her hand to her mouth and tried to look down a bit while breathing in and out deeply. She only dared to lift her head a moment after and opened her mouth to speak while letting her face scrunch up. “How can you accuse me of something cruel like that? I would never wish to harm Theodore.” Her voice trembled, and her body shook as well. This should be perfect if she wanted to make people believe that she was scared.
Well, that wasn't a complete lie either. Blanche was full of adrenaline right now. She didn't doubt Theodore, but her reputation was still on the line.
But seemingly, her first attempt worked quite well. She heard no reaction from the guests, but someone else fell for her bait.
Theodore's face appeared directly in front of her as he leaned over. “Blanche.” He gently placed his hand on her cheek and guided her head to face him before he whispered to her. “What did I tell you?”
Oh. He thought that she was scared and wanted to reassure her.
That alone made Blanche want to smile, but she couldn't show her contentment now. She gently brought Theodore's hand in front of her mouth before letting her smile grow. She looked right into her lover's eyes while beaming at him and using his hand to shield her face from the guests. “That you trust me. And that you love me and will never leave me. I know. I trust you with all of my heart.”
Her lover's eyes widened for a split second as he understood. He showed her a faint smile that no one could recognize from afar. Still, he whispered affirming words to her as he gently brushed his fingers over her skin. “Good. Never forget that feeling. I promised you all of that about a million times. If I changed my mind now, I would break every single one of these promises. Do you think that the emperor of Artias would be this dishonorable? I love you unconditionally. I know that it is hard to believe in me now, but I would never doubt your dedication to me. So, I won't listen to anything they say. Please don't be scared. I'm on your side, and I will always be with you. Alright?”
Blanche's smile grew even more. “Of course. Thank you for doing so much to protect me. But allow me to help. If they do this now, I want it to be worse for them. Just let me play the victim.”
“You were the victim in all of this. But rest assured that everyone here will know. Even if those people run their mouths, your reputation will not suffer.” Theodore didn't pay attention to the fact that they weren't alone and gently pressed his lips onto hers. At the same time, he cupped her face with his hands, which didn't allow her to move away. But she didn't even attempt to do that. She couldn't bring herself to care about the people around them and let him kiss her until she was breathless. Still, she didn't let go of his hand and just clung to his arms. The emperor slowly moved back a little to give her some space while intertwining their fingers. “Is everything truly fine? I will kiss you as often as I have to get these horrible thoughts out of your head.”
Blanche had to hold back a smile while forcing herself to neutralize her expression. “I'm fine. But don't let go. I want to hold your hand now.”
“Naturally.” True to his promise, Theodore held her hand as tightly as she held onto his. Even when he turned back to the crowd that had already moved quite a bit from before.
Seraphina was now standing in front of the dowager empress and the prince and spoke so that everyone could hear her. “This is a very severe accusation. Charging someone with treason could cause them to be executed, which means you will have to take full responsibility if your claims are wrong. I do hope that you have decisive evidence to back this theory. If there isn't a satisfactory clue, this would count as slandering a young, innocent noble lady, which certainly would not end well for you. In case you do have proof, this should be brought in front of a court and not a ballroom.”
It wasn't clear what was more surprising, Seraphina standing up for the concubine or the fact that Camille still didn't understand that she was preparing her own grave.
Cedar did try to make the decision for her, but that didn't work. “I have to admit that we did not think that far. It would be better to consult a judge regarding this manner. We were just so worried about my brother's safety that we wished to inform him as soon as possible. But of course, we will deal with this in a legal manner. Then I would propose that we will delay this-”
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Theodore interrupted him before he could finish. “Don't think that you can get out of this so easily.” His voice was dripping with wrath now. His expression was even grimmer than before, which even made Cedar pause. But the emperor didn't give anyone a chance to speak up anyway and continued in his icy tone. “Aside from the fact that you suddenly announced things that are connected to my relationship with Blanche in public during a happy gathering, you said something that scared her. If that wasn't enough to earn my personal grudge, you also accused Blanche of a crime. You even hinted that she might commit treason, even though it does not make any sense for her to wish for my death when I clearly favor her. Are you aware that this will stain her reputation if some people believe your lies? You should have stopped when you had the chance, but now there is no way that I'll let you run away. You managed to make me mad as both my own person and the emperor. Now you want to leave without any consequences? I won't let that happen. You two will not move from that spot until you fulfilled all of my orders. Cedar, you will stay quiet and will not get involved from now on. The dowager empress will answer all of my questions and apologize to Blanche.”
He was thinking about Cedar's ability to lie. Good. If the prince couldn't speak, it was only a matter of time until Camille ruined this herself.
Cedar actually looked like he was taken aback by that for a moment. But it only took him a second to put his weak smile on, which was supposed to make it look like he was the victim here, before he replied despite having been told to keep quiet. “Of course, we will answer whatever question you may have. But I do believe that acting out of an impulse has been wrong. We should not have addressed this in public. We truly should continue this in private and will apologize for choosing an inappropriate-” His attempt at saving the situation was once again interrupted by Camille.
The dowager empress glared at the emperor and still managed to hold her head up high despite all the hatred she was facing. “We will not delay anything. We will reveal the ugly truth right here and now. Then you will see that we haven't accused an innocent person here at all. In the end, you might be the one apologizing to us because you finally saw that we are the ones trying to help you. After all, she has been involved in an elaborate assassination attempt that has been planned for years. If you listen to the man that plotted all of this, you will see.” She lifted her hand, and the two men that had stood by Sefare's sides pushed him.
Sefare stumbled forward. He barely kept himself upright and still refused to make eye contact with the emperor.
Camille wasn't bothered by that though. She simply continued her speech. “Lord Sefare planned to betray our nation in the most horrid way imaginable. He wished to assassinate you, Theodore. But he could not get close to you, so he needed an accomplice. That person is none other than Lady Blanche, who was instructed to gain your favor by this vile criminal. He taught her how to act to charm a man and then sent her to seduce you.” Her gaze wandered to Sefare, who was still standing there motionlessly. “Maybe it would be better to hear it from the person in question himself. After all, Lady Blanche will be reluctant to tell the truth and only engulf herself in even more lies. So, let us allow him to share his version of the story.” With that, she addressed the marquess. “Open your mouth, or you will regret it.”
Sefare remained silent. He looked like he was gritting his teeth as he kept his eye glued to the floor. That was only natural. Speaking up now would merely get him in more trouble. Anything he could be convicted of was less severe than being accused of treason, so he would never admit that he was involved in this.
Instead of him, the whole ballroom seemed to whisper. The guests kept looking at the thrones and then at the rest of the royal family. A big group of people was just confused like Luciano, who stood a few steps behind the prince and the dowager empress. But many others seemed to be rather upset. Sophia looked like she was about to confront the people making such claims herself. The Duremont family had already gathered around Seraphina and was gazing at the group in the center of the room with a cold look, much like the empress did.
Theodore looked at that scene for a moment before leaning over to his lover. In contrast to before, his voice was soft when he whispered to her. “Do you mind if we do this right now? I want to prove that you are innocent. We will have to talk about your past for that. Is that fine?”
Blanche wasn't prepared for that. She knew that speaking about her family might crush her, and doing it in front of all of these people wasn't pleasant either. She would have to admit that she had originally come to her lover because she was being manipulated and hoped to secure a life of wealth just by getting closer to the emperor. Blanche couldn't say that out loud. Even telling him had made her hang her head in shame. This was good if she wanted to seem tragic while making the dowager empress the bad one, but it was unfavorable if she was supposed to talk. “We have to do that. I know. They'll probably reveal evidence about Sefare getting me out of prison otherwise. But I... How can I explain that I was supposed to...” She couldn't finish that sentence.
Her lover gently stroked over her cheek while looking directly into her eyes. “You won't have to explain anything. I will talk for you. I will make sure that everyone takes your side, don't worry. Are you fine with that?” He sounded so convinced.
Blanche couldn't do anything but nod at him. “I won't let you do everything, but if you could...announce some things about my past, that would be nice. But don't tell them how stupid I was.”
Theodore understood her despite her barely audible voice. “You weren't stupid. You were a young woman that was being used by someone you trusted. You even tried to refuse but were pressured. In the end, you coming here was the best possible outcome for both of us though. So, don't ever blame yourself for any of that.” He pressed a kiss onto her forehead before turning back to the scene in front of them.
By now, the two men had brought Sefare forward so that he was standing in front of the platform with the thrones. He was being yelled at by the dowager empress but didn't say anything. He looked like he would remain stubborn until the very end and refuse to even open his mouth.
It wasn't perfect like that, but it did give them a chance.
If Sefare spoke first, people would without a doubt be more inclined to believe him, simply because they had heard the original version from him. But they could also flip that effect by making sure that the other version came first. Speaking about this with so many people here was a risk, but it was obvious that they had to take it. Blanche couldn't hide that she had once met Sefare. There was little proof in this case, but people could certainly determine who had bribed the prison she had been in. That meant that this whole story made sense. If Blanche wanted to gain the upper hand here, she needed to stick to that part no matter what. She just had to ensure that no one saw her as a traitor.
Blanche was shaking with adrenaline as she took a deep breath and readied herself to speak. She knew that she could never confidently share this in front of so many people, so she closed her eyes and tried to shut out everything before speaking as loudly as she could. If she imagined that she was alone, maybe this would work better. “It is true that I...have been in contact with Lord Sefare before arriving in the royal palace.”
Her words cut through the silence like butter. She didn't dare open her eyes, knowing that everyone was just watching her.
Unsurprisingly, Camille's voice sounded a moment later as she seemed almost triumphant. “It seems like the criminal acknowledged it herself. Now you will hear-”
Hearing that woman's ugly voice granted Blanche enough rage to ignore her anxiety. She forced her eyes open and glared at the dowager empress, her voice shaking even more. “But I am not a criminal. I have never shared his goal of harming Theodore. I cut off contact with Sefare as soon as-” She got louder, but she was still interrupted.
Again, Camille became far too shrill as she realized that she was being talked back to. “Be silent! Your lies will not fool anyone!”
Blanche would normally just accept this, but she couldn't do that here. She could lose everything because of this, so she couldn't hold back. She had to say whatever reminded the people here that Camille was treating this strangely. Her anger once again let her raise her voice. “Why should I have to be silent when you accused me of treason? If you wish to judge me, you have to give me a chance to offer my view. It is true that Lord Sefare tried to use me after the death of my family, but I refused! You have to include that part in your story as well.” Now she had finally said the most important part. Everyone had at least heard this once now, so the theory of her being innocent at least floated around.
And she knew well that Theodore, whose expression became even grimmer, would just do his best to underline this theory when he spoke up and interrupted Camille. “This means Blanche gave her testimony. Considering that she warned me about Sefare and also never harmed me during the many chances she had, this is the only logical conclusion. But we shall hear the other side. Let us make this into the courtroom you wanted. If we reveal people's alleged crimes now, I will stand in as the judge.”
The dowager empress began speaking, without a doubt to accuse him of being biased, but she was silenced with a glare.
So, Theodore could focus on Sefare again. “You will speak about this plot of yours now, and you will not leave out any details. Aside from that, you will not say anything about things that don't interest me. You will not lie and only speak the truth, or I will pay you back immediately. Remember that I am good at reading people. I can assure you that I will be able to tell the difference between acting and being honest. You won't like what happens if you say something that doesn't sound very truthful.” He sounded so authoritarian that no one here would refuse.
No one but Camille, who chimed in again. Her expression was filled with rage as she took a step forward. “Telling him to lie will not ensure a fair judgment! What are you-” She didn't get far and stopped abruptly when the emperor's gaze landed on her.
Theodore showed her such a hateful expression that she didn't finish. He wasn't content with just silencing her though. “Are you deaf? When did I tell him to lie? I said that I wanted to hear nothing but the full truth as every judge would. Do you have a problem with that? If so, we can gladly use other methods to ensure that he is not lying. But I feel like those will only make you call me a tyrant again.”
The dowager empress gritted her teeth at that, but she didn't dare to speak up.
Instead, Cedar stepped forward to stand by her side. “We do not have a problem with that. We fully trust your judgment. I believe that it is important to hear both sides before coming to a conclusion, so listening to Lord Sefare is crucial. You are free to interrogate him.” As always, it seemed like Cedar was only cleaning up his mother's mess. And despite his bright smile, it was obvious that he was annoyed, at least it somehow seemed that way. He hadn't wanted to try any of this, had he? This was all his mother's foolish idea, which might just end up ruining his chances of seeming trustworthy. It was no miracle that he was upset.
Theodore gave him a cold glare in response. “Cedar, I told you to be quiet. You will stay out of this mess and let your mother deal with the chaos she caused. I don't want to hear another word from you.” With that, he turned to Sefare. “Lord Sefare, begin at the start now. How did you meet Blanche? Depending on how much I like your answers, I may pardon you and send you into exile instead of killing you.”
Sefare lifted his head with shock being written on his features. At first, he just stared at the emperor, but he didn't dare to keep the other man waiting for long and grasped onto what seemed to be the only option to survive Camille's wrath. He stumbled forward a little step and began explaining loudly. “Her father was convicted of treason, and she was supposed to be executed for that. I managed to come into contact-” He didn't get much farther.
Camille already decided to add something, her voice shrill and so loud that it revealed how hysteric she was. Even now, she already balled her fists and seemed to lose her composure. “You can't bribe the witness! He is leaving out important facts! It is important to mention her family in more detail here. Both of her parents were-” But she wasn't able to finish either.
This time, Theodore cut her off. “Are you truly speaking about Blanche's parents now when you accuse her of a crime? What does one thing have to do with the other? Aren't you listening to yourself? I don't think that information like that is crucial to us. Tell me exactly what kind of crime Blanche allegedly committed. Don't mention things about her private life unless that is connected to your accusations. Then I'll tell you a hundred reasons why you are wrong about her being anything but innocent.”
That only served to infuriate the dowager empress more. She took another step forward and raised her voice even more. “You aren't supposed to blindly defend her! He is talking about her family because their crimes are related to her true vile personality. You will need to face the truth and-”
The emperor didn't let her finish this time either. “I'm facing the truth though. I know that Blanche would never harm anyone unless they posed a threat to her. But even that has never happened before. She never hurt anyone, so your claims are ridiculous. She has lived with me for two years now, and you've barely met her five times. She never tried to kill me in the meantime and only showed me her kindest sides. Why do you want to judge her personality? And I am not the only one that can vouch for her.” Theodore gestured to the crowd that was gathered around them. “I feel like many people here will disagree with you when you say that Blanche is the vile one. For example, anyone that was present while she saved the daughter of the Ravillot family from the clutches of a madwoman. But you are too self-absorbed to understand that. So, I expect silence from you now. You were asking for Sefare to speak. Let him talk.”
Camille was shaking with anger now, but she didn't say anything. Cedar had already put his hand on her shoulder and kept whispering to her, probably to prevent a catastrophe that would occur if she blew up. Right now, the emperor was too angry for them to be able to do anything, so it was crucial for Camille to stay calm.
It didn't seem like the dowager empress had that skill though. In the current situation, she had had many chances to turn the tide and accuse Theodore of being biased properly, but her yelling made it hard for anyone to trust her. How foolish she was.
In the meantime, Blanche could only hide her smile behind her hand as she stared at her lover in awe. He was standing up for her even though she had been unsure of whether this would work just a moment ago still. He supported her no matter what everyone said and had arguments to counter whatever his mother brought. That only served as an additional reminder of why she loved him this much. It was truly impressive how he didn't seem to hesitate even once when he was faced with provocations. And he wasn't even done yet.
Blanche promised herself that she would speak again as soon as she could, but for now, she took the secondary role and just watched things unfold.