“Theo, I'm bored. Can we go back and eat cake already? Even that is more important than this here. You keep hearing the same things.”
Duke Vasquez's expression became much darker in an instant. He was too angry to speak though and just glared at the concubine like he would charge at her one second later.
But Theodore didn't pay attention to that. He turned to his lover and gave her a bright smile while patting her head. “I feel the same. Let's reward ourselves for enduring this boring talk with a wonderful day. I won't leave your side for a single second.” He kept looking at her while speaking a bit louder. “You are free to leave, Your Grace. Naturally, you are still banned from the palace. Keep that in mind, or I will arrest you for trespassing next time.”
Claude was trembling with rage, but he couldn't do anything. That realization seemed to have sunken in by now. He didn't start to argue nor did he insult anyone like the couple had expected. Instead, he forced himself to put on his smile while his eyes held a dangerous glint. “Of course, Your Majesty. Lady Blanche. I will take my leave now.” He bowed one more time while keeping his eyes on the concubine as if this was a silent threat.
It probably was one, but Blanche didn't feel intimidated. Not when she was sitting on top of a throne in the middle of a room full of guards with the emperor by her side. “Goodbye, Your Grace. Do read a bit more to train your memory. After all, you getting senile is what caused this whole issue.” Without waiting for his response, she turned to her lover and added something a bit quieter. “I don't like him. I don't want to see him anymore. You shouldn't ever allow him to show his face in Artias again. Ah, and if you close down his stores, could you gift me some of them? I really liked the jewelry there.”
This should have been just loud enough for Claude to get a general idea. She glanced over to the man to confirm that, and his expression told her that she had been successful.
The duke was probably unable to hold himself back, so he spun around and hurried to the door. He hoped that leaving would keep him from snapping at the emperor and the concubine to avoid additional trouble. But he didn't get far.
Theodore raised his voice with a grin. “One more thing.”
Claude stopped in his tracks and refused to move for a few seconds. Only then, he slowly turned around with a wide smirk that still showed all of his anger on his face. “Yes, Your Majesty?”
Theodore looked like he almost couldn't contain his laughter anymore, but that was an act too. “We decided that we will attend your party. After all, we need to greet my adorable little cousin, whose name we unfortunately never heard until now. Keep in mind that we are only attending because of your wife and son, who are related to us. I still will not forgive you no matter what, so you can't gain anything with this party. Do give your best to make it pleasant for us though, or our mood might worsen.”
Blanche put on a grin as well and added to that before the other man could reply. “I like salmon a lot, Your Grace. Maybe you should offer that.”
Duke Vasquez probably wanted to kill her now. He was just glaring at them with so much hatred that it rivaled Camille's. Still, he didn't voice anything but a curt response. “Of course. I will keep that in mind. I will leave now and take care of it immediately.” He was seconds away from exploding, so he would definitely do something in an attempt to harm the couple as soon as he got home. Then he would get careless and offer them evidence on a silver plate.
Everything was going according to plan.
Now Blanche had to put the cherry on top and add the final insult. To do that, she didn't even have to speak anymore. She only put on a mocking smirk and made eye contact with Claude while cuddling against Theodore's arm.
The duke met her gaze, and it looked like he was cursing her in every imaginable way. But he was helpless for now. So, he just turned around and stomped out of the room.
The gazes of all the guards in the ballroom followed him, and judging by their cold expressions, it seemed like most of them had a strong dislike for him. No one even bothered to open the door for him, so he had to do that himself.
The doors fell shut with a loud slam behind him.
Immediately, Blanche relaxed a little. She hadn't been really scared, but a small pang of nervousness had never left her, and now it was finally gone. She could stop acting now. To her surprise, it hadn't been too exhausting to pretend to be an arrogant woman that liked to mock her enemies. That thought was what made her tense again.
The way she had acted just now might have been a little similar to how she had been around Seraphina in the past and to how the villainess in the novel had behaved until the very end. Right? That realization was enough to make her unhappy. Surely, she had defeated the novel and had almost reached the ending. But she didn't want to risk creating a new problem by doing anything that was remotely similar to the villainess' original behavior. After all, Theodore had hated her for that in the novel, and in real life, he had disliked her being bratty too.
She whipped her head around to her lover and showed him a little smile while speaking up. “I'm sorry. I acted a bit...too smug just now. I didn't mean to be so bratty.”
Theodore gazed into her eyes while gently brushing his fingers over her forehead. “What are you talking about? You just did what I asked of you. You confidently showed that I belong to you and that you can do what you want inside your own home. That man is our enemy, so you can't really overdo it no matter how much you anger them. Were you uncomfortable with this?” He looked worried now, which made Blanche feel bad.
She shook her head. “No, it's fine. It's just that I acted like I was extremely self-centered now. And the things about wanting jewelry or wanting to use your power weren't true. I just wanted to make sure that you know that. I'm not that selfish and materialistic.”
The emperor was silent for just a moment. Then he pulled back his hands and extended his arms to her. He waited for her to stand up and climb onto his lap before pulling her into a warm hug. “Blanche.” He made sure to look into her eyes while whispering to her in a soft voice. “I know that you aren't selfish or materialistic. I've always known. You never use my power even when I offer it to you. For months, I've been waiting for you to tell me to condemn the ones that hurt you, and you still insist on showing mercy. Even after all of that happened, you still want to be a good person. You always were good, and there wasn't ever a moment in which I believed that you didn't truly love me. Also...” He slowly let his hands wander to her cheeks. “I love you unconditionally. That means that I love everything about you. From the way that you smile at me to how your eyes shine when I give you a present. I also love it when you stand up to such horrible people. And you never claimed anything that wasn't true. You are the most powerful woman in the nation right now, and you will gain the official title too. You also have my love and everything that is mine. Why would you need to lie? You could have been even more direct, and it still wouldn't have been an issue. Because you are free to speak your mind at all times. I will listen and make sure everyone else does too. Alright?”
Blanche tried to nod, but that was hard with him holding her face. Even though his words were certainly indicating things that she shouldn't accept, she couldn't help but be happy upon hearing them. The area around her chest felt warm as replied in a barely audible voice. “Thank you for being on my side.” Knowing that he was with her no matter what was the best gift anyone could have brought her.
Theodore leaned his forehead against hers and rubbed small circles into her cheeks. “You don't have to thank me for that. I owe it to you because are always on my side, and I will gladly offer the same to you. From now on, we are only going to appear as a couple. I will always be right next to you and support your endeavors.”
Slowly, a smile spread across Blanche's face. “That's good. I will also do the same for you.” It was strange how a few words were enough to please her so much. Within a few seconds, her worry had disappeared again, and she could relax in her lover's embrace. At least she had thought so, but Theodore had another idea.
He gently guided her to stand up. He offered his arm to her, and when she linked their arms, he led her down the stairs of the platform. Theodore brought her to the middle of the ballroom before letting go of her. He took a step back before bowing and offering her his hand.
The concubine stared at him in confusion. “What are you doing?”
Theodore raised his head to give her a cheeky smile. “We're here and dressed up already. Then we can dance a little as well, right? We don't have the orchestra here yet, but you said that you didn't want them. So, I only got one person.” He gestured to a man with a violin that sat on a stool near the wall.
Blanche frowned at that. “When did he... I could swear that he wasn't here before.”
“He came in while we were cuddling. We tend to forget the world around us while being in each other's arms, right? So, you don't have to be surprised when people use that time to prepare some surprises. How do you think did I smuggle gifts into our room while you were inside?” He gave her a wide grin. He was completely right about everything he had said.
Blanche shouldn't have been surprised by that. She was used to servants always appearing whenever they were needed, so it wasn't odd for a member of the orchestra to do the same. She gave the man a little smile before turning to her lover. “Is that so? Someone has put a lot of planning into this. Then I shall reward him accordingly.” She put her hand onto the emperor's and let him pull her closer.
The music started a second later so that they were surrounded by the soft melody of a slower waltz.
Theodore took the lead, and he was flawless as always. His movements were perfectly coordinated, and he didn't have an issue guiding her through the dance. Blanche could leave everything to him. The regular lessons with Leon had made it much easier to keep up, so she felt less intimidated than last time too. It was still a bit embarrassing to dance in front of all of those guards, who didn't have anything to do but watch them. But waltzing during the ball had been much more nerve-wracking.
So, she could focus on actually enjoying the dance now. She was in her lover's arms and could look at him without anyone interfering while they quietly chatted. It wasn't long until she began to beam.
Theodore gazed at her with so much love that her heart felt like it would burst. Being with him was like a dream, and she never wanted it to end.
But of course, they weren't alone in this world.
Times passed and quickly proved that some people never gave up. Apparently, the dowager empress was one of them.
----------------------------------------
Upon hearing the news, Blanche narrowed her eyes. “Is she stupid? That will only harm her, won't it?”
Leon took a sip from his teacup and shrugged. “Obviously. Well, the death of an insane woman in prison won't change much. But it does arise suspicions since Evelyn Lemares was going to stay in a cell to the end of her life, and that she was suddenly killed after the dowager empress swore to get rid of her reveals a lot. But as I said, it won't change the situation.” Leon drank again, still holding his cup far too tightly. “Regarding the rumors... After the ball, everyone was on your side. So, it's obvious that these rumors she spread now won't change a thing. Whether the emperor has been blinded by a prostitute or not wouldn't matter as long as he didn't lose his ability to rule. That is why spreading such gossip won't do anything but make people ask whether she didn't know about her son's relationship for over half a year now. Everything the dowager empress does is useless and will ruin her reputation. She may be good at talking, but once she has an enemy who argues against her, she seems to lose her cool. That can only be good for us, so leave her be.” He tried his best to sound like he was indifferent, but the anger was boiling directly under his facade. The look in his eyes was scary, and his grip on the teacup was a bit too tight.
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Blanche almost feared that he would crush the poor porcelain cup soon. She bargained with herself about whether she should point it out but chose not to. Seemingly, the secretary was more upset about people insulting Theodore and Blanche than she herself was. Admitting that she had noticed that would probably only make Leon even madder, so she would avoid that topic for now. “Of course. If she wants to destroy what is left of her honor, we won't hold her back. Right now, her followers are going down one after the other, and Duke Vasquez has quite a few problems. That means that her position is slowly getting weaker. If she adds to the rumors that arose after she tried to condemn me during the ball, this will only make people dislike her more. That is exactly what we need, especially if she kills awful criminals first and just makes herself seem more like a threat.” Blanche really couldn't bring herself to care for Evelyn's sudden murder. She hadn't even asked for the cause of death, which said a lot about her thoughts about that horrible woman. That this event could cast a shadow on the dowager empress was a nice side effect though.
Leonard moved the teacup around and loosened his grip on the porcelain for a moment, which actually relieved Blanche a bit. “Obviously. That idiot doesn't even see that her own actions are harming her. Everyone knows that she is the one spreading those rumors, and we don't even have to mention the murder. Now everyone is aware of the fact that she tries to bring you down despite actually being at fault here. And she can't even read the mood. So many people hate her, and she still tries to approach them to gain their favor with a few sweet words without knowing that a lot of influential people are intentionally avoiding her. Still, she pursues them in an attempt to win them over with her poor acting skills and her fake compliments. The one who actually resembles a... No. Comparing her to anyone would be an insult to that poor person that was mentioned in the same sentence as her.” He slammed his cup onto the table and hurried to wipe away the liquid that had spilled out.
Blanche watched that with concern, but she didn't say anything.
Leon already composed himself again. He forced himself to lean back and put on a smile. “Anyway. She will also be present during the Vasquez's party and try to gain influential supporters. If you see her talking to someone, chime in. With Theodore at your side, no one can refuse you. You need to make social connections anyway, so this is a good starting point. We'll go through some easy conversation starters again. Then you can slowly change the topic to what happened at the ball. After that, you can fake some tears and say how much she hurt you by indicating such horrible things. You could also acknowledge the rumors and express how bad they make you feel since you've never even looked at someone aside from your fiancé. If you seem pitiful enough, everyone else will begin to hate her even more.” There was something like contempt sparkling in his eyes as he balled his fists on his lap.
Blanche was just happy with him not threatening to destroy the cup right now, so she ignored his obvious fury. “I don't think I can act convincingly enough. I can look dejected and hide my face in Theo's chest when it gets too much though. That could make it seem like I feel hurt too, right? But I feel like being calm would be better in this scenario. I would favor being seen as a dignified woman in public.”
Leonard snorted at that. “Due to some incidents in the past, that may be impossible. But you can try anyway if you insist. During the last ball, you fused both gaining sympathy and being calm well, so I would recommend trying the same again.” He picked his cup up, and the concubine held back a sigh. Hopefully, he wouldn't get so angry again. She didn't want him to hurt himself with the shards if he ended up breaking the cup.
Blanche watched his movements with caution. But for now, Leon was just drinking without seeming like he would crack open the porcelain. Still, she should wait before asking her question to avoid him being enraged again. Unfortunately, he kept sipping on his tea while staring into the distance and seemed to get angrier with each passing second.
So, she hurried to speak up anyway. “By the way, the dowager empress isn't usually this stupid, right? I actually thought she was a calm and composed woman that used her wits to secretly go against Theo. That is what the narrations and rumors made it seem like. But she is rather open about hating him, so it baffles me that they managed to delay the repetition of their trial for so long. When it comes to assassination attempts, she is the obvious one who would benefit, and since she also despises Theo, it should be clear that she is responsible. Cedar is at least capable even when he barely seems to plot against us openly, but that woman...” She shook her head to herself. “But my actual question is about something else. Why does she keep doing such petty things that don't help her but us instead? She loses her temper easily and uses tricks that harm her reputation. Were the narrations wrong? Seemingly, her self-control is rather awful despite her having been empress for a while. Which is rather disadvantageous for her and could easily harm the nation too.”
Leonard tilted his cup and stared at his tea for a moment. “Well, Theodore said that she's always had hysteric fits that only his brother could pull her out of, which is why His Royal Highness was even called her pacifier at some point when he was younger. It seems that she never truly took care of much work in the palace either. She usually let her husband do the work or pushed it onto His Royal Highness. People even playfully called him empress with how many events he organized and how many documents he wrote. Without him, the dowager empress is helpless, but you never noticed her incompetence because the rest of the family covered for her. Regarding her psychopathic state, I can only tell you that it seems like she was raised in a family that taught her that she was worth more than others. This led to her having the tantrums I mentioned. Those just got worse when the previous emperor took her son away from her. It doesn't help that said woman has been overly resentful when it came to Theodore for a while now. That she compares you with her ultimate rival, Althea, probably won't be good for her mental health either. She is unstable and emotionally driven, so you can't expect her to think about this logically. Unsurprisingly, her rank has nothing to do with this. It seems like you have a wrong image of what an empress is in your mind. Being the emperor's wife has no influence on one's personality. There were good empresses and bad ones as well. We clearly share the opinion on which of those categories the dowager empress belongs to.”
Blanche paused for a moment. She obviously had an image of what an empress had to be like. That position should be held by someone like Seraphina. Someone that felt responsible for what happened in the nation and worked hard to help Artias' people. Someone who was always, except in some very rare cases, calm and collected and had a clear judgment and did what she deemed to be best for the country without holding back. It was easy to understand why these traits were important for the woman that stood at the ruler's side. So, the concubine had assumed that most empresses were similar to that, even if she hoped that those women had been more objective in their judgment. “But the empresses are usually the emperor's fiancée since their childhood, right? So, they were raised with the expectation of ruling the country later. Then one should try to teach them a bit about calm behavior. Her Majesty is a perfect example.”
She could have sworn that Leonard grimaced for a moment. He averted his eyes and replied with slight annoyance in his tone. “Her Majesty is a very stressful example if you ask me. It's fine to have high standards for yourself, but she expects anyone around her to share those standards and opinions. If you tell her that most of the old conventions of noble society are completely stupid, she would probably lecture you for hours to change your mind for no reason other than her feeling better about herself in the end. You've seen how her discussions with Theodore end.”
Surely, Blanche had witnessed that a few times now, but she wasn't sure whether that was Seraphina's fault solely. “She might be a bit infuriating. But I don't think that Theo is very kind to her, so it's understandable if she is upset about that. I heard him say some rather mean things to her. Like about her being unwanted here or having no power.”
Leonard shrugged at that. “Those weren't lies, right? No one wants her in the palace anymore, and she didn't touch any political topics for months. Theodore didn't allow her to because he doesn't trust her. So, it isn't false to say that she isn't needed anymore. She could have ended all of this long ago, but she just had to drag it out unnecessarily. Plus, Theodore knows what he is doing. He said that she needs to hate him as much as possible for this to work, so I trust him.” It was a bit strange to hear him talk like that. Normally, he was rather indifferent when it came to other people. But now it seemed like he absolutely despised the empress even though they never truly fought.
The concubine was rather sure that the novel had never touched upon the secretary's relationship with the heroine, which was strange in itself. After all, Seraphina winning the respect of the emperor's advisor would have made sense. But it hadn't been mentioned at all. So, Blanche knew little about those two aside from the fact that Leon was often sent to mediate between Theodore and his wife. She stared at the man for a moment before speaking up. “Say, do you dislike the empress?”
The answer came way too quickly. “Yes. I disliked her from the very beginning. She always acted like she was something better, and how she treated you was a perfect example of that. From the beginning, she wanted everyone to behave in a manner that she approved of, and when Theodore refused, she got upset. To keep it peaceful, he listened to her in many aspects. But you didn't let her control your actions and continued to live like before. That made her unreasonably angry, and this is only one of the many reasons I dislike her. She is manipulative too and pretends to know everything better. But before all of that, a single glance proved that I dislike her too. I had a bad feeling about her from the first time I saw her onward. It's good that nothing happened, but my intuition is usually pretty reliable. I was extremely glad when Theodore finally noticed that too.”
While speaking, Leon was completely motionless and stared into the distance, which made him seem a little scary. If one didn't know this man, one would certainly assume that he was a warrior or something like that due to the atmosphere around him. But that wasn't the important part here.
What he said explained why the novel had never bothered to deal with this topic. Why would the readers want to see characters who didn't adore the heroine? In a romance book, no one wanted something like that.
But wasn't that excuse too simple? Having a person here that distrusted the empress that much, that wasn't just a coincidence, was it? It made the heroine seem like she wasn't perfect at all, something which the novel had never admitted. Or had it?
Despite the fact that she should think about that more, Blanche just changed the topic. “I see. Thank you for telling me.” She didn't know what else to say about that subject, so she tried to steer the conversation back to the original topic. “In any case, we were talking about what an empress is supposed to be like.”
Leonard looked like he awoke from his paralysis and made eye contact with her again. “Ah. Yes. I feel like you have an idolized image in your mind. An empress is just a human too, so she will never be perfect. Her only duty is to do her best to maintain the nation's well-being and improve our country if possible. Aside from that, an empress is just a normal woman, who happens to wear a crown. That is all you have to know. Just because you sit on a throne, your personality doesn't immediately flip a switch. You should be aware of that by now.” A little grin grew on his lips. “At least I thought so. I heard that you said some interesting things to Duke Vasquez. The secret empress, wasn't it?”
Blanche would have liked to sink into the floor at that. “Don't mention that, please. It was as effective as planned, but it was embarrassing. That nickname is real, which just makes it worse.”
“It's good if the people accept you already. You'll need the servants to swear their loyalty to you after all.”
The concubine gave the secretary an annoyed look. He still didn't seem to understand why she was a bit worried about Theodore wanting to make her empress. That already said everything about him and how little he cared about that position. But Blanche ignored that and addressed the original topic. “So, you are telling me that the dowager empress is just stupid and unable to control her anger because that is the personality she was born with? But I still don't get why she would plot like this and sacrifice her time by spreading rumors just for nothing. She has to have some sort of goal.”
Leonard sipped on his tea before nodding. “Indeed. She has a goal and will work hard to ensure that her second son will overthrow Theodore. She is well aware of the fact that being charged with treason could end up with her being executed. But she thinks that she is undefeated. That is why she won't understand that her actions may not work out like she wanted them to. Currently, I think that she wants to pressure the two of you into acting a bit more subtly for some time. She believes that spreading those rumors will make you wish to avoid attracting attention. In her ideal world, you would refrain from appearing in public and Theodore would hold back with declaring his love to you.”
Blanche could imagine why Camille would assume that to work. Any young noble lady would hate the prospect of showing up at parties and being called a prostitute. But the dowager empress surely hadn't grasped how her son's mind was working yet. There was no way that any person could repeat such a rumor in Theodore's presence, or they would regret it. The concubine was used to such gossip too, so she didn't care much. At the same time, she was almost sure that her lover wouldn't tone down his displays of affection because of this. He would probably increase them instead. So, the dowager empress' plan had little chance of success even in a temporary time span.
All in all, Blanche was slightly confused as to why Camille was using petty rumors like this when it wouldn't work out like it was intended to. “Hasn't she seen that this won't help her? Why does she even want us to stay quiet for a while?”
“She needs that because her current situation isn't as pleasant as she would like it to be. She wants to stall for time. Of course, we won't do her the favor of letting that happen. We will show her just how insignificant her entire existence is when she dares to provoke Artias' emperor and empress.” Leon's expression was full of determination despite him just having said something that wasn't entirely true. The concubine wasn't the empress yet, but he seemed to be way too mad to pay attention to that. It almost felt like there was a murderous aura surrounding him like a flame, and he tightened his hold on the cup. This time, he used so much force that Blanche couldn't stay silent.
“Leon, you're awfully strong, do you know that? I saw you training with one of the royal guards once, and you knocked him to the floor in one hit without even using a weapon. So, maybe you should be careful with fragile objects.”
The secretary furrowed his brows. “I am aware of the fact that I'm good at fighting, but why do you need to point that out? I don't remember ever doing anything special in your presence. Did I mess up? Did I break something?”
She gestured to his hands. “Not yet. But you might do it in a few minutes if you don't pay attention. I'm asking you to have mercy on this poor cup.”
Leon's expression softened at that, and a little smile appeared on his lips. “Trust me. My self-control isn't that lacking. Even though I have to admit that certain people bring me to my limit, I rarely mess up. The last time I did was seven years ago. And I don't regret that in the slightest. So, don't worry about it. But if it calms your worries, I will do you a favor.” He set down the cup on the table before resuming. “So. Now that we talked about that witch for long enough, let's return to the more important thing. We need to prepare you for the party. Theodore will probably give you a dress in the royal colors again, right? Then I would ask you to wear the earrings that I gifted you for your birthday. You still have them, I assume.”
Blanche hurriedly nodded. “Of course. They are beautiful. I can definitely wear them for the party, but I'm a bit surprised that you insist on that.” She scanned him with skepticism. “I didn't think that you would care much for the current jewelry trends unless it's to teach me about some customs.”
“You are right about that. My proposal wasn't based on the earrings' appearance. They are special. You will see it when you wear them that day. Just listen to me for now.”
She was a bit taken aback by that sudden inquiry, but she trusted Leon. “Sure. I will put them on. Then you have to tell me what about them is special though.”
Leonard gave her a little smile. “I will.” Then his expression became serious again, which meant that the lesson would continue. “Now to the really important thing. The topic is conversation starters. Come on, approach me and speak about something.”
At this point, Blanche didn't mind that anymore. Of course, it was hard to progress when Leonard purposefully replied with nothing but curt phrases, but they had done this a few times already. Blanche just chatted about whatever came to her mind. As soon as she had a topic, blabbering for minutes at a time wasn't hard at all. Along with the other things Leon proposed to go through, this was enough to let her feel prepared for the party.
So, she wasn't too nervous when the weeks passed and it was time for the event.