“Are those two the new attendants that were assigned to you this week?” As expected, Seraphina had understood it quickly.
Blanche was well-aware that this was another case of Theodore provoking Seraphina for no reason, but she also knew that the other woman wouldn't care anymore. She didn't even bother trying to find excuses. “Indeed, Your Majesty.”
Seraphina gazed at the two maids behind Blanche, who were doing their best to look as graceful as possible while bowing to the empress. “I see. It is better to take care of this matter sooner rather than later. I heard that those are the servants you befriended. In that case, it is good to keep them around. You will need people that are absolutely loyal to you more than anything else.” That tip was a bit surprising.
The concubine could only nod. “I will.”
After that, they were silent for a moment. It wasn't a very stressful silence, but it wasn't pleasant either.
So, Blanche hurried to add something. “Are you doing well, Your Majesty?”
Seraphina responded with a little smile on her face. “Yes. There have not been any issues lately. The tea you recommended to me seems to serve its purpose wonderfully, and the documents are being processed at this point in time. In about a month, we will receive the response. That means that we can slowly but surely prepare ourselves for a great change.” That she hadn't had any nightmares lately was calming. The part about the divorce not so much, but at least she hadn't said it outright, which just reminded the concubine that she hadn't even told her maids about this yet. But the empress continued without letting a pause for anyone to think much. “Aside from that, my mother has finally given up on visiting a specific person in prison. That raises my mood tremendously.” She seemed to be referring to Evelyn, but a moment later, her face fell as she paused. “Merely the events of your birthday ball concerned me a bit.”
Blanche bit the inside of her cheek. She could fully understand why the other woman was upset. “I know that there is no way for me to apologize, but I am truly sorry about Theodore's behavior. He should be more patient and-”
Seraphina interrupted her. “I was not referring to that. I was speaking about the incident that took place later. The one that revealed Her Majesty's rather questionable intentions. It seems like her plot failed, and many people are now talking behind her back about how vile she is for threatening an innocent girl that became the victim of a criminal. Still, she may try to turn the tide. Please do keep your guard up.” It was almost unimaginable that the empress truly wasn't upset because of the throne incident.
Blanche also found it a little confusing that the other woman didn't suspect her of a crime now despite her past being revealed. Shouldn't that have made her Seraphina's number one target? But she tried to hide that thought and didn't point it out. “I will be careful. Thank you, Your Majesty. For your words and for your generosity to ignore what happened.”
Seraphina paused for a moment before replying. “You should be aware of the fact that I do not have to deal with this for much longer. My will to let myself be bothered by someone's petty plans is non-existent. By now, you should have noticed what his goal is though. You need to get used to it as soon as possible. From now on, you will keep your head up high in public no matter what. You have become better at hiding your discomfort, but you have to put in even more effort if you wish to conceal your weak spots. Naturally, learning is the more important part though. You cannot neglect your studies at any point in time. Keep in mind that increasing your knowledge is of utmost importance right now.” Somehow, it felt strange to be scolded by the empress in a kind way. Seraphina's words sounded like she demanded way too much, but her speech was gentle. It just seemed like those were tips that were supposed to help the concubine later.
Blanche barely knew how to respond to that. “I...will make sure to remember that. We took a break for the last two days, but now Leon will give me lessons daily. I pay attention and do my best to learn. I will try to work on my acting skills a little. Thank you for your advice.”
The empress nodded to herself before turning her head to look at the clock that stood at the side of the hallway. Then she faced the other woman again and replied. “That is good to hear. Do not forget that promise. It is about time for afternoon tea. Are you perhaps on your way to your lesson with Lord Astame?”
Blanche almost wanted to affirm that to avoid having to admit that she was only going to meet her lover. But she was horrible at lying. There was no way that she could fool someone like the heroine. So, she would have to tell the truth. “No. I finished the lesson already. I'm going to...pick up Theo.”
Seraphina wasn't surprised in the slightest. “I see. Then I do not wish to disturb you any longer. Continue to learn as much as you can. Have a nice day.” She ended that sentence with a little smile.
The concubine hurried to return the farewell with a smile as well. “I will do my best. I hope that you have a wonderful day too, Your Majesty.” For a moment, she just stood there and watched how the empress and her entourage disappeared around a corner.
She and her companions were quiet for a few seconds before Darlene spoke up. “The atmosphere around you certainly changed. You used to make everyone panic by appearing in the same room together. Now you can have a conversation without even glaring at each other. That is surprising. In the past, I was sure you two would end up killing each other.”
That was a bit too close to the truth.
Angelica sighed at her lover's blunt remark and chimed in. “You should have guessed that their relationship became better. After all, Lady Blanche is really kind, and at some point, those around her have to notice. Otherwise, Her Majesty would have never allowed something like the last ball. She didn't even criticize His Majesty for letting Lady Blanche sit on the empress' throne. She has to be on friendly terms with both of them.”
Darlene pouted at that. “But that's not true. I heard that His and Her Majesty are like explosives when they are together. You should have noticed how many people gossiped about them fighting for hours until Lady Blanche stepped in to interfere. And then there were all the incidents of them accidentally meeting in the corridor, especially the one. You know which one I'm referring to.” Oh, no.
Blanche already felt unwell upon hearing that. “What exactly are you talking about?”
The maids exchanged a short look before Angelica gazed at their surroundings. They had enough distance from other people, so she quietly began to explain. “Well, some day about one or two months ago, Her Majesty wished to talk to His Majesty. He was in the middle of speaking to some servants when she appeared. Without skipping a beat, he turned around and left. She stopped him though and asked him why he was acting so inappropriately. Then he said that he could either lie to her or tell the truth, of which she wouldn't like the latter one. Her Majesty then attempted to convince him to postpone their discussion until they were in the office, but he refused. Instead, he had said that he had better things to do than to listen to her baseless complaints. And...that he didn't want to see her face for absolutely longer than necessary. She tried to argue, but he didn't even listen to her. He just ignored her and gave an order to one of the servants before announcing that he would go to meet you and left. Her Majesty wasn't happy about that.”
Just imagining that scene made Blanche sigh. It was true that Theodore had been extremely upset with his wife after their big fight, and it was obvious that he would actually do something like this. But still, embarrassing the empress in front of so many spectators was brazen, more so than other things he had done. “That... He really did change. He never used to be so disrespectful. Treating the empress like this is...” Her lover truly was an idiot sometimes. But if so much time had passed since then, she couldn't do anything about it. And this just proved that Theodore wouldn't suddenly change his mind about his divorce, so it was probably fine if Seraphina left quickly. The concubine massaged her temples for a moment before turning toward their original destination again. “Let's go to his office. I don't want to make him wait.”
The group walked to their destination without taking a detour. They didn't take long before arriving at the office.
As always, Blanche knocked quietly. To her surprise, the door was opened from the inside so that she didn't have to wait even a single second.
Leonard greeted her with a serious expression. “There you are. He is already getting withdrawal symptoms. Come in. There is something we need to talk about.” He opened the door for her and let her slip inside.
Blanche was a little concerned at those last words though, so she rushed to Theodore's side. She fell into his arms and looked at him with the expectation of seeing him tired.
But Theodore seemed to be perfectly fine. He grinned at her and pulled her into a hug. “Hello. I missed you.” He stole a small kiss from her before resting his head on her shoulder.
Blanche stroked through his hair while giving Leon a confused look. Then she focused on her lover again. “I thought that you had to talk about something serious. You really scared me for a second. But it seems that there is nothing to worry about at all.”
Theodore lifted his head. His smile had disappeared as he gazed at her. “It's not really something to worry about. It's just that Sefare woke up this morning. He was awake for a few minutes to eat and drink before already, but now he is truly up. The antidote helped, and he is recovering right now, which means that we can interrogate him.”
She had almost forgotten about that. Suddenly, being reminded felt strange, especially since she had no idea what kind of information Sefare would give them. He should be able to say whom he was working for now. His testimony could be an advantage for them during a trial. If he could prove that he had done this for the second prince and the dowager empress, then it might be another piece of evidence that could be used to convict them. This was a huge chance.
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Blanche gave her lover a small kiss and smiled at him. “That is good. Then he can testify for us and be punished properly in the end.” She had to admit that she was happy at the prospect of that man ending up in prison. He deserved that for leaving her family to die and for trying to kill the emperor.
Theodore gently brushed his fingers through her hair while looking into her eyes. As he continued, he scanned her expression for any traces that indicated what she was feeling. “That is not all. Sefare doesn't remember who could have poisoned him, but he knows other things. I'm not sure whether any of this will help since it seems like the dowager empress kept her distance from this plot, but we can try anyway. Sefare explained that he would testify about everything of his own volition if he is only banished from Artias like I promised during the ball. He obviously wants the people that are trying to pin all blame on him to suffer. But he also asked for something else. He wanted to have a chance to speak to you.”
Blanche tensed at that. “To me?” She had no idea what Sefare could want from her. Did he expect her to speak up to protect him? He couldn't be that stupid. Why would she ever try to help the person that let her family die for no reason but for him to gain power? Her throat felt dry as waves of grief and bitter resentment crashed over her. A part of her was cruel enough to consider meeting him just to get his hopes up and to leave when he was sure that she would save him. After all, he had done the same to her before he had left to allegedly help her family. “What does he want?”
Theodore shook his head. “I have no idea. He said that he wanted to tell you something instead of asking for anything, but I'm not convinced. Of course, I won't make you meet him. I understand if you just want him to rot in prison without ever seeing him again.”
Blanche bit the inside of her cheek and paused for a moment. She had no idea whether she would be able to stand a conversation with the man that had left her family to die. She might break down in the middle and just start sobbing. Right now, she didn't feel like crying for once and was merely filled with wrath, and she wanted to keep it that way. Naturally, she didn't have the desire to see Sefare.
But not going to meet him would feel like she wasn't facing her past. Blanche couldn't just avoid it either. For the two years she had spent in Sefare's mansion, he had been a mentor to her. Maybe she had even seen him as some kind of father figure. Even after he had dropped his facade and threatened her about going to the palace, she had never felt hatred for him but only slight uneasiness.
Then, from one day to the other, she had gained the novel's memories, and uneasiness had turned to resentment.
Overnight, she had finally grasped what Sefare had truly done and what he was planning. She had distanced herself from him in every way imaginable from that point onward. Blanche had wanted to break off all contact, refused to think about him as something else than a cold-hearted enemy and avoided speaking to him whenever she could. She had refused to call him by his first name even though she had done that while she had lived with him. She had wanted to leave everything that connected her with him behind, and she still did.
So, Blanche would rather try to end it here than carry this with her for the rest of her days. “I will go meet him. I will talk to him one last time and end it.”
The emperor scanned her expression once again. “Are you sure?” He took a moment to see the resolve on her face before nodding at her. “Then we will go to him now. Or do you need more time?”
Blanche shook her head. “I don't want to think about this too much. I just want to end it. Let's go.” She didn't want to waste a single moment wondering about what she would say. She would face this without preparation and would not hold back. It was the last time that she would speak to Sefare. She had the chance to be completely honest. There was no need for her to lie or act.
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Blanche knew that she was fine, but she was still nervous upon standing in front of a small room next to the doctor's office. This room served as the secret sleeping space for Sefare for as long as his survival had to be hidden, so it wasn't too fancy to avoid attracting attention. But still, there were many guards surrounding the area so that the patient could never run away. That just reminded her of whom she would meet.
The concubine stared at the door in front of her and took a deep breath. Now that she was here, she felt much less confident than she had been before. She wasn't sure what Sefare would say to her, and she had no desire to let him embarrass her by flustering her. She didn't want to get too upset in front of him since that would seem like losing to him. That was why she was overly tense and could barely work up the courage to open the door.
Theodore didn't need long to identify her emotions. He gently ran her his fingers through her hair and rested his forehead against hers. “Take your time. Do you want me to accompany you inside the room? I can join the conversation, or I can wait here depending on what you want.”
Blanche felt her stomach churn, but she gave her best to show him a little smile. “Of course, I want you to be with me. If I want to bring a conclusion to my past, my future has to be with me too. Come with me.” She didn't want to be alone with Sefare. She told herself that it was just to make sure that she had someone that could confirm her story if something unpleasant was discussed.
But in reality, she knew well that Sefare had once been the person she had wanted to make proud more than anything else. It felt important to face him while having the one who truly supported her and praised her without vile intentions by her side. She was glad that her lover was here. Without him, she probably wouldn't even dare to open the door.
Theodore gently pressed a kiss onto her lips before cupping her face. “Alright. Then we will go in when you are ready. You don't have to worry. I will be with you the entire time.”
The concubine forced herself to breathe in and out before nodding. She wanted to stall for time so badly, but she couldn't do that, or she might give up in the end. “Let's go inside.”
Her lover gave her a reassuring smile and waited for her to nod at him. Only then, he put his hand on the door handle and slowly pushed it down. The door opened with a creak, and he led her inside.
Blanche tightened her hold on his hand as they entered the room and Owen followed them. She looked around while barely daring to let her gaze fall onto the sofa. It didn't take long for her to realize that she would have to force herself at some point though. Slowly, she let her eyes roam around her surroundings and pretended to be interested in the furniture before looking at the man on the couch.
Sefare almost seemed to have aged a decade in the time that she hadn't seen him. During the ball, she had only caught a glimpse of him from afar, so she wasn't sure whether this had been the case before her birthday too. But in any case, he looked tired so that the two guards behind him probably weren't necessary. It was still good that they were here.
When the emperor entered, Sefare bowed his head without rising from the sofa. Anything else would probably have caused the knights to pull their swords immediately.
Theodore guided his lover toward the couch that stood on the other side of the small table and sat down next to her. He made sure to keep their fingers intertwined and pulled her to him so that she had a chance to lean against him. He was silent for a moment before speaking up in a cold voice. “You can drop the act. You should be aware of the fact that bowing to someone after revealing that you wanted to kill them is rather two-faced.”
Sefare lifted his head and gazed at the couple for a few seconds before lowering his eyes to the floor. “I am aware, Your Majesty. I still have to show you respect though. And I have to thank you for saving my life.”
Blanche wanted to let her lover reply at first, but she didn't have the patience. She wanted to make one thing clear, and that desire was greater than her unwillingness to speak. “He didn't do that to help you. You will need to testify in front of a court, and that is the only reason anyone bothered to save you.”
Sefare looked up at her for a moment before continuing to stare at the floor. “I am aware of that too. And I will testify. Even if I don't think that it will help much. Testimonies alone aren't enough evidence. Especially when the other party is so influential. My word isn't much against the one of the members of the royal family. But it might help against Duke Vasquez. He is the one that mostly discussed some plots with me while the dowager empress and the second prince barely spoke to me about anything related to their schemes. I could at least testify that he knew about everything without seeing the need to inform anyone else. But he can just state the opposite, so it's difficult.”
It wasn't certain whether this sort of testimony would gain them anything at all. But they were ready to collect breadcrumbs just to finally condemn the true enemy here.
Theodore gazed at the marquess with a freezing look. “If there isn't evidence, it would be in your interest to remember something that could serve as a clue. It doesn't matter if some documents could appear after years or whether there are witnesses. You will remember something that can help us in some way and whether it existed before is not important. In any case, there will be something during the trial, or things may look grim for you.”
Sefare lifted his head at that and gave Theodore a serious look. “You truly did change, Your Majesty. Seven years ago, you would never have been so honest about something like this. I know that you used some interesting methods in the trial back then, but you were way more careful and reluctant.”
The emperor just stared at the other man without showing emotion except for his icy resentment. “Time changes people. If you are surviving multiple assassination attempts and learn that you need to be stronger to protect what you care about, not changing would be unrealistic. It should be obvious that I would resort to using harsher methods if my enemies try to kill me. But that is not what we came here to talk about. What do you want?”
Sefare nodded and turned his attention to Blanche. His expression showed that he was conflicted. He searched for the right words for a moment before speaking up. “I know that I have no right to say this, and I am aware that you won't accept it either. But I would like to apologize. You were pulled between two factions in the middle of a war for power, and no young woman should have been forced to face that. This doesn't make up for everything that happened or for what I said to you, but I still-”
Blanche felt anger bubbling up inside her. She tried to hold back but only for a moment before remembering that she could say what she wanted. This wasn't a scenario in which she would have to hide her fury. She knew exactly that the man in front of her was responsible for her family's death. So, she had no need to spare him. She let all the words that had gathered in her mind out at once. “Save your breath. I will never, never forgive someone like you. You are nothing but a power-hungry, materialistic bastard that is unable to think about anything else but himself. You are so arrogant and self-centered that you can't see anything but your own gain and will gladly harm other people in the process. When someone is below your rank, you have no qualms about using them until they break. And if you have to let their entire family die for that, you don't care. You would even ruin the whole nation to just get a few more gold coins even though you're already swimming in money. How could you believe that anyone would ever forgive you? You deserve nothing but misery until the day you die.”
Sefare stayed quiet for a moment. Blanche almost expected him to become angry at her now. He always got upset when someone criticized him or talked back to him. She had seen him blow up a few times by now, and it had never been pretty, but this time, it didn't seem like he got mad. He seemed to get calmer instead and replied slowly. “I understand that you feel that way. But even if it doesn't change anything, I want to point out something. I did try to save your family.”
That piece of garbage.
The concubine almost jumped off the sofa at that. The only thing keeping her in place was her lover's arm. Instead of using something else to get rid of her aggression, she wrapped her arms around Theodore and yelled at the marquess. “I told you to stop lying! Why would you do that when you never cared about other people at all?”
Sefare still remained unmoved as he responded. “I truly tried to free your family. It wasn't because of pure goodwill, of course, it wasn't. I wanted to use them as a way to secure that you would do what we told you. If they were staying at my home, you would always have a reason to obey no matter what. You definitely would have brought in poison for the emperor if I just said you would have to do it to help them. That plan had been the one I was following for months, so I thought that everything would go well. I got into contact with the owner of the prison and the judge that took care of that trial. They were ready to drop the charges as soon as I got there with the money. But when I arrived at the prison to pay for their release, I found out that the...that it had already happened.”
Blanche remembered exactly how Sefare had told her that her family wasn't alive anymore. She had stood on the red carpet in front of the fireplace in his living room and had collapsed to the floor immediately. Then she had sat there and cried for hours while Sefare had given his best to calm her to no avail. She had screamed, sobbed and wailed without a pause and had only stopped when her throat had been so dry that no tone had come out anymore. Even then, she had lain in bed and cried again and again each time that more tears had been ready to roll down her face.
In hindsight, she had been so sure that Sefare hadn't actually gone to the prison at all and that he had only pretended to go there to calm her. Hearing that he had tried to help her family would destroy that image completely. She didn't believe him at all.
“You're lying. You wouldn't have failed if you actually attempted something like that. You have way too much money to be unable to bribe those people.” Blanche pressed her lips into a thin line and desperately tried to hold back the grief and anger that was building up inside her.
Her lover tried to calm her by brushing his fingers through her hair, but it didn't help her much.
Not when Sefare looked far too serious for her taste.