The worst thing about all of this was that Sefare was a mediocre actor. He could never hide it if he had some underlying intention. That was why his seriousness felt like a dagger in Blanche's heart. He didn't falter once while explaining himself in a calm voice. “I did bribe the people at the prison. And we had discussed a date by which I would have been able to come with the rest of the money. I made my move a week before the set date, so there should never have been a problem. But there was an issue. The execution was carried out as it had originally been intended, it is just that it had been carried out way too early. As soon as I got you out, someone most likely intervened to ensure that there would be no way for me to stop it. They somehow made sure that the execution would take place the morning after you were gone. That wasn't an accident.”

He was lying. He had to be. But he looked so serious.

What if this wasn't a lie at all?

Blanche's heart was beating so fast that she wouldn't be surprised if it jumped out of her chest. There was no way that this was true. But Sefare was so calm that he could never have been lying. He seemed absolutely convinced that this was true. She barely managed to force herself to speak. “Are you saying that someone purposefully...”

Sefare nodded. “There had to have been someone. The owner of the prison would not suddenly have the execution much earlier than he had planned, especially not because he was waiting for me to come and pay him. The prison guard that dropped the key for you and some other workers there knew about you fleeing but nothing more. They wouldn't have had a way or reason to interfere with the date of the execution. I didn't tell them to execute anyone and merely wished to free everyone involved, so the people within the prison can't be at fault. The number of my allies who knew about this plot was also limited. The dowager empress and the second prince left everything to me to ensure that they couldn't be blamed if something happened. I never even talked to them about this plan. I'm sure that they would have favored keeping something like hostages to be certain that you would follow orders too since they often use that tactic. There was only one more person who sometimes spoke about this matter with me. Duke Vasquez.”

No way.

The concubine's eyes narrowed as she glared at the marquess even as her heart pounded in her chest. If he was lying to him, she would kill him later. “Why would he do that? Why would he murder my family? It should be obvious that this would make me hate you as soon as I found out. Keeping hostages would have been much more effective.”

Sefare nodded again. “Exactly. I was convinced of that too. But Duke Vasquez repeatedly tried to convince me that a person with nothing to go back to would listen to you more. I always disagreed, but he continued to address the topic again and again until I told him to leave me alone. I'm pretty sure that he never guessed that you would find out. He always believed you to be stupid and so naive that we could tell you everything. After you said that you wouldn't help us, he was the one that was the most upset out of everyone. It was almost like he saw it as a personal insult. He said some rather disturbing things about putting you in your place by scaring you with something. I wasn't sure what he meant, but he wasn't kind about it.”

Blanche was left speechless at that. To be honest, this matched Duke Vasquez's personality better than she cared to admit. He truly had been sensitive when it came to her disobeying him, and he was the type of person that would have no issue crushing others for his goal as well. She could seriously imagine that it had happened like this. But she didn't know why Sefare was telling her this. It wouldn't make her like him more nor would she pity him. It only caused her to hate his companions even more.

Before she could speak up, Theodore began in a cool voice. “We will decide whether to believe you later. If you want to convince us, you should give us more information to work with. You are rather close to the Vasquez family, right? What can you tell us about them?”

Sefare blinked at that a few times before gazing at the table. His expression was a bit dejected when he replied. “Duke Vasquez is an unpleasant person. His mind is only focused on one thing, and that is personal gain. He more or less just accepts people around him that could possibly help him later. I talk to him when he approaches me, which he does a little too often, but I dislike him deeply. I'm only friends with Her Grace and Lord Vasquez, but even they are rather distanced. It feels like they keep most things about their personal life hidden.” The marquess paused for a moment before resuming his story with conflicting emotions on his face. “But from what I gathered, they do not have much to decide at home. The duke is the head of the household, and he apparently lives up to that role no matter what. He is ambitious and wants more and more. He is worse than I am. After all, he even has a family that he uses for his gain. I think he tried to raise his son to be a smaller version of him, but his wife intervened a bit. Her Grace isn't as ruthless as he is. Her sister seems to have monopolized all the power-hungriness.”

Theodore listened to that and immediately added another question. “Did they ever mention their vacation during this summer? If so, did they say anything special or something that seemed odd?”

Sefare shook his head. “They mentioned their stay in Travuan, but there was nothing special. They just talked about the view from the mountains, the beach and...” He froze and furrowed his brows. “Duke Vasquez did say something odd. He claimed that he brought an ace back from Travuan. He didn't tell me what it was, but he called it a small vial of happiness.”

Blanche and Theodore exchanged a look. This could definitely be the poison. If the Vasquez family had truly brought it from their vacation, which the couple had suspected already, then they could be certain of the source now. Even if it didn't help much since the dowager empress and the second prince still could have borrowed something. All of their enemies could have vials of that poison now, so they would have to find some proof if this was supposed to help them in front of a court. It was better than nothing but still offered little.

The concubine sighed inwardly as she gazed at Sefare. This seemed to be all that they could use for now. He would probably not be able to tell them more than that. This meant that they didn't have to stay here for an unnecessarily long amount of time either. Hearing that Duke Vasquez might have gotten involved to kill her family and force her to help them was bad enough. She didn't need even more worrisome news that would crush her brain when she was thinking about it. She was about to propose leaving so that they talk about this in private without the marquess, but she didn't open her mouth in time.

Sefare spoke up before her as he looked right at Blanche. “Before you leave... I know that I said it already, but I would like to repeat it again. I apologize for getting you caught up in this mess. I am not directly responsible for what happened to your family, but I'm still sorry.”

Just when Blanche had thought that she could be calm, she was filled with wrath again. She dug her fingers into her lover's clothes and was calmed by him pulling her closer before narrowing her eyes at the marquess. “You have nerves. Do you think your hollow words will gain you anything? I won't forgive you, you hear me? You aren't doing this to feel better about yourself either. You just believe that this will save you from worse punishments. Are you just doing all of this to please Theo so that he won't execute you? Then you can use your time for other things. Sweet talk won't convince anyone here.”

For a moment, Sefare just stared at the table in front of them. Then he ran his fingers through her hair. “Maybe trying that was my goal, but I don't think so. I don't even know myself. I'm just tired of this. All of those intrigues and games for power. They didn't make me happy for a single moment. And it seems like most victories were imaginary to some extent too. I lost about two thirds of my wealth within half a year, and now I'm suddenly on trial for treason. Your Majesty is rather efficient when you get serious.”

Theodore gave him a derogatory look. “I didn't even need to dig deep to reveal your deeds. You weren't careful, and that will be the cause of your fall now. I will make sure that you regret committing every single one of those crimes. But as I said, if you find a way to help us during the trial, you may still be able to live. Do your best.”

Sefare nodded and lowered his gaze. “Of course. Those people wanted to have me executed, so I will be happy to return the favor. I will freely talk about everything I can remember.” That meant that they didn't even have to convince him. It was obvious that he would give his all to save his life. This also meant that they didn't have a reason to stay here much longer.

Blanche wanted to stand up and leaned forward but stopped at the last moment. There was one more thing that was on her mind, and she wanted to talk about it. Even if she told herself that she didn't care about his reason, she was still thinking about what had happened at the ball. She leaned back again and raised her head to look at Sefare. She waited for him to make eye contact before speaking up. “During the ball, Theo asked you whether I had known about your scheme. Why didn't you drag me down with you? You would only have had to say that I knew about the plan, and you could have destroyed my reputation. No one would have trusted me then, and I might not be seen as completely innocent Why didn't you get revenge like that?”

For a moment, all of them were silent.

Then Sefare showed her a faint smile that didn't reach his eyes. “You don't seem to know how ruthless His Majesty is. I really don't want him as my enemy anymore. Attacking you is basically suicide. Besides...there is no reason for me to harm you. It wouldn't gain me anything. I'm not a good person in the slightest, but I'm also not unnecessarily cruel. You finally look like you are happy. There is no need for me to destroy that.” It sounded odd for him to say the most obvious thing.

Blanche had expected him to be more wrathful about it though. “You were upset about me not working with you though. I thought that you would want to take revenge under any circumstances. That is why it surprised me that you didn't try to make Theo distrust me.”

Sefare gazed at her lover. “If you had seen how he looked at everyone who dared to say something against you during the past few months, you would understand that he will probably believe you no matter what. It would have been a waste of time to try to influence him, and it would only have served to make him upset. And as I said, that wouldn't gain me anything but only worsen His Majesty's mood. And he was very clear about knowing whether I would lie. Risking his anger isn't amusing, so I thought that the truth would be better.” He averted his eyes. “I had no right to be angry about you refusing to harm a person that was only kind to you from the very beginning. That was stupid. This whole plan of ours was unnecessarily cruel for both of you. Maybe I secretly always knew that, and that was why I was so resentful when you confronted me.” He let out a little huff. “It's laughable, really.”

Blanche watched him for a moment before speaking up. “You are acting odd.” She hadn't really meant to say it out loud, but it was too late now. She had found it strange during the whole conversation already, but right now, it was even more obvious. The Sefare she had known before would have never spoken like this. “You never admitted to your mistakes in the past. And you also became angry much quicker back then.”

Sefare continued to stare into the distance. “Maybe I did change. Time passes by all of us, right? I almost died, so that might explain why. My head was a mess while I slept, and I feel like I am barely awake even now, so I'm not sure if I'll stay like this when I'm not dizzy anymore. It doesn't matter much though.” He lifted his head to look into her eyes. “You changed too. You became more mature and calm. You began thinking about what others believe and actually managed to see through our plot despite us continuing to lie. And you became an excellent actress. I remember you sneaking into the kitchen to steal cake and trying to tell me that you didn't do it. You barely managed to hide your worry about being caught back then. But for the past two years, you hid that you had already warned His Majesty. Still, you acted like you were so terrified whenever someone mentioned the possibility of telling him. You really fooled all of us. But more than that, you actually look more lively.” The little smile on his lips made her narrow her eyes.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Blanche knew that the novel's memories had made her more lively. At first, she had been dejected at all times with only occasional bits of happiness in between. But then it had slowly changed so that her wonderful life was only accompanied by some less pleasant incidents. But she wouldn't admit that to the marquess. Blanche glared at him before responding. “I used to be lively before the last year too. You just never paid attention to that. Pretending to be nice and actually caring about a person are different. That is why you never saw.”

The response came in a barely audible voice. “That's not true. I saw you when you were laughing in my home too. It has to sound awful for me to say that, but...I liked seeing you smile. If I had been a bit different, a little less focused on power, I would have really started seeing you as my daughter. You always were a kind girl. You were crushed after what happened back then, and the first year consisted of you grieving and crying most of the time. But once you trusted someone and opened up, you were always there to greet that person with a smile even when you still shut out strangers. I wasn't used to that in my grim household at all. That is why I didn't let you get too close to me. I didn't want to endanger this plan because I suddenly developed sympathy for someone. It was a rather strange time. But that smile back then wasn't nearly as bright as the one you show now. So, it seems like you finally found your true happiness.”

Blanche didn't know what to make out of this. It wasn't normal for Sefare to care about anyone. He surely hadn't done so in the past, and she didn't believe that he would suddenly change. While she had been trying her best to please him while living with him, those words would have meant the world to her. Now they felt empty and hollow. “You really think that this will get you some kind of benefit, right? Don't expect me to do anything for you when I will be the first person to spit on your grave.”

She had hoped for those harsh words to stop Sefare, but he didn't seem to give up.

“I don't. None of this makes my actions any better. Just because I regret how I acted in the past, it doesn't justify anything. That is why I'm not asking for anything but being able to save my life. I will freely go into exile without troubling anyone in Artias ever again. You can erase my family name from the register since I don't have any living relatives. No, wait. I think I have an uncle who has children. He could take over and give the title to one of them if he wanted to. That would be better than letting everything decay.” Sefare truly sounded tired while he was speaking. He actually looked like he was a bit drowsy and just barely managed to voice his thoughts. That would make it seem like he wasn't able to lie right now.

But Blanche still wasn't convinced that he didn't have any bad intentions. And either way, whether he was telling the truth didn't matter.

For Sefare, this was a dead end. He would be exiled and probably executed in a few years no matter what he said, and Blanche wouldn't protect him either. She had no reason to ever help him. Why would she when he was right about none of his words excusing what he had done? She wouldn't forgive him. She only wanted him to leave so that they had one enemy less to worry about. And her wish would come true.

She would never see Sefare again.

Blanche slowly rose to her feet, and her lover did the same.

Theodore immediately took her hand in his as he stared at the marquess with an icy look. “We will deal with everything related to that later. You will need to stay in the cells for a while until the trial, and afterward, you will leave the nation if you managed to help us. If not, you will leave this world. Think about what you will say when it's time, and don't cause problems for the guards. That was everything we needed to tell you. We won't see each other until the trial unless you remember something helpful in between.”

Sefare nodded. “I will find something and tell you when I do.”

The emperor didn't even give him another look. “Good.” He led his lover to the door and opened it.

Sefare watched them and met the concubine's gaze one last time. “Goodbye, Lady Blanche.” Those words made everything seem much more final.

Blanche forced herself to keep looking into Sefare's eyes while responding. “Goodbye. I hope you will suffer as much as those you hurt.” Then her lover led her out of the room.

The sound of the door shutting behind her made it seem like a chapter was closed.

Surely, she would never forget what had happened, and she would never stop grieving her family's death. But she would live in the present. The past was over, and there was no way for her to predict the future anymore since the novel's ending would arrive in less than two weeks.

From now on, there was no need for her to focus on that. Blanche would move forward in a way that wasn't dictated by anyone else or by some author. She would have to shape her own future with her own happy end. It might be a little scary at first, but she would be able to do it. After all, she had so many wonderful people by her side.

Theodore seemed to notice that she was lost in thoughts and stroked over her head before pulling her into his arms. “Is everything alright?” He muttered into her ear, and she immediately felt like melting.

Blanche leaned against him and nuzzled her face in his chest. “I am. Because everything will be fine.” She didn't know that for sure, but she wanted to believe in it. “We will continue together and get the future we want. We will defeat our enemies and change everything.” She had expected her lover to be surprised at that, but he wasn't.

He just tightened his hold around her and whispered to her. “Of course. That is why we were given this chance. We are supposed to reach the future that makes us happy. This is what life is about. I will give everything I have and more to ensure that we end up exactly where we want to.” He planted a little kiss on her forehead before pulling back. “Making you happy is my priority. There is nothing that will keep us from being together. Even if we have to flee to another country for that. But I will create a future in which we are together.”

Blanche couldn't help but nod while a little smile grew on her lips. Maybe she was still a little emotional from the conversation before. Maybe she was just so overjoyed that both the novel and her past weren't a problem anymore so that she could focus on helping her lover deal with his political issues. Maybe she was grieving because she had needed to talk to someone that claimed that her family had died for nothing. She didn't even care why she was so sentimental now.

Blanche just clung to her lover and let him distract her. She whispered that she loved him a few times, and he said it back an equal amount of times. She took a few minutes before calming down and tugged at his sleeve then. “What exactly will Sefare say during the interrogation? There isn't much he knows that can help us convict those people.”

Theodore began leading her down the hallway as he replied. “Leon already talked to him this morning and wrote it all down. There really isn't much, but his words could be one of the many nails in the coffin. We can also be sure that the Vasquez family retrieved the poison from Travuan now. So, the one that used it on you could only have been someone from the dowager empress' faction. That much is clear. It's nothing new, but we got the final proof.”

All of that would only help as additional information during a trial but not as evidence. That meant that their chances hadn't increased much.

The concubine was about to sigh when Theodore resumed. “Maybe, just maybe, we have a hint though. Sefare said that Duke Vasquez might have interfered with your family's matters. That he might have been connected to that trial is an option.” He paused for a moment before explaining in a low voice. “The Vasquez family is currently trading with Northern Ocrea too.”

What?

Blanche stopped abruptly. She felt like her brain was fried as she slowly lifted her head to stare at him.

Theodore's expression was grim. Too grim. It proved that she was on the right track. His words added the final information she had needed. “That isn't a crime anymore in itself, but they are smuggling weapons, medicine and other illegal things inside. And from what it looks like, they are working with the same group your father used to deal with. And Duke Vasquez began his cooperation with them about a month after your family...was killed.” His voice got softer near the end as if he wanted to make it easier for her to listen. But in the end, his words were like daggers to her heart.

Duke Vasquez had suddenly taken over her father's business connections? That wasn't a coincidence. There was no way that this was a coincidence.

Blanche's breath hitched when she heard that. “Are you sure? That means...”

He nodded. “I assume that he took over some contracts right after your father's demise. That means that he must have known about the date of his death and that he was aware of the connection between that group and your father. Duke Vasquez definitely researched some matters about your family. He might have also done more than just read through the files. Maybe he really wanted that deal and wished to get rid of a rival. He could have insisted that Sefare's plan of keeping your family alive was bad because of that.”

For that?

Blanche's family had died for something like that?

Blanche felt like her insides were being burned as boiling anger spread through her veins. She dug her fingers into Theodore's arms. “If he did that...there has to be evidence, right? He has to have bribed people to get those files. If there is evidence...” Her voice was trembling with anger, and she didn't manage to finish that sentence.

The emperor's face was grim as he replied with utter conviction in his eyes. “If he left even a single trace back then, we can accuse him of unjustified murder. Since that is connected to the plot Sefare took care of, we could even put him on trial for treason.”

Blanche tensed at that. Her grip on her lover's clothes tightened as she looked right into his eyes. “That could help, right?” She wanted it to. She wanted that to give them some kind of proof so badly. Because then she would be sure that Duke Vasquez would suffer for her family's death. In the end, she didn't care who had been the one to order the execution as long as they got their punishment. Whether it was Duke Vasquez or Sefare or someone else. She wanted them to regret ever daring to harm an innocent family. “If you find proof like that, use it. The person who did this...can burn alive.”

Theodore gently cupped her chin and brought his face closer to her. “I will find out who they are. That person will regret being born. I will make sure of that.” For once, a threat like this didn't make her worry.

No, she was content. Blanche knew that revenge wasn't supposed to be the correct way to approach things like this, but she lost the ability to care about that the moment that she had heard about her family's death. Whoever had been responsible for that could rot alive and spend the rest of their days in pain, and she wouldn't forgive them. That feeling was rooted deep inside her, and it made her question one thing more than ever.

Blanche slowly lifted her head and looked up at her lover as tears welled up in her eyes. “How can you pretend to be nice to people that are at fault for Althea's death? I want the person who killed my family to suffer without release. And you somehow manage to let your enemies live despite having chances to kill them secretly.”

The emperor gave her a little smile, but the look in his eyes was bitter. “I will be completely honest with you. I am more resentful than you can imagine. I don't blame Cedar because he was only fifteen back then and just trailed after his mother. Actually, he was a bit sad about Althea's demise too because she was kinder to him than his own mother. He was the only one from within the palace who gave me his condolences. That might be why I try so hard to see him as a person that was only manipulated from the very beginning. But the dowager empress is a different case.” His expression darkened. “I don't want to kill her. Because that would be too easy. Seeing me while I'm happy and ruling the nation upsets her so much that she probably can't sleep without thinking about how much she hates me. She also hates being powerless and weak. And that is why I will not let her ruin my life with her presence. I can ruin hers just by being happy. But that isn't enough. I will slowly crush the people around her. With each day, she will lose money and influence, and it will make her break down from the inside at some point while she is rotting underground. She can stay in the cell I'm putting her in until she turns to dust. I know that it isn't clever of me to let my greatest enemy live, and I will not hesitate to kill her myself if she ever had become a serious threat in any situation. But I don't want her to get the easy way out. I want her to suffer for what she did. That also holds true for other people.” There was a glint of something dangerous in Theodore's eyes. “But I won't touch them for now. Not when I know that this will only make it harder for us. Because our happiness is still the most important thing.” In an instant, his face changed, and he seemed shocked before he forced himself to hide that. “I'm sorry for saying that just now. I know that you hate it when I'm so resentful. I'm really sorry.”

How could she blame him?

Blanche reached up to cup his face and made him look into her eyes. “It's alright. I despise our enemies too, and I understand what you are thinking. As long as you don't hate me, I'm fine with seeing you angry too.”

Theodore immediately refuted that. “I could never hate you. I love you with my whole heart, and there isn't room for anything else. So, you never have to worry about me being upset or angry with you. That will never happen.” By now, she had slowly begun to believe him. After all, it seemed like he was completely unaffected by finding out about her past. Then he would probably also deal with anything else she showed him.

Blanche cuddled against him and pressed a kiss onto his cheek. “I know. I love you.”

The emperor only tightened his hold on her. “I love you too. I will be yours forever.”