Apparently, aphrodisiacs were much more potent than anyone would have thought and only stopped affecting the concerned person after a specific amount of time. Blanche hadn't felt too desperate after a few minutes and had been able to pinpoint that the tingling slowly became less noticeable. But it took a while for her to recover. Thus, the night after the Vasquez's baby party hadn't been filled with much sleep.

So, Blanche had spent most of the following day in bed to get at least a little rest. By the time she stood up, it seemed like everything had already been taken care of.

Apparently, Camille had stayed quiet about her leg and had not filed a complaint about Leonard. Instead, the story about Duke Vasquez hurting her had been spread to the nobles, and she wouldn't risk getting blamed for helping him, so she would also be silent in the future. The duke and Marguerite had been arrested and would be interrogated now. The investigation had already started, and the document that would put Claude on trial had been signed by Theodore.

The emperor himself insisted on being the judge, which some people should have found unfair since he was biased. But in reality, not a single person seemed to have complained. Maybe everyone knew that he wouldn't let anyone stop him now, or they hated the criminal as much as he did. Maybe he had also been convincing enough by stating that there were too many deeds that would be covered in this trial so that he would have to step in.

In any case, the Vasquez mansion was already being searched for clues regarding the different crimes, and Selena had been cooperative so far. That the investigation was already so progressed despite the incident only being yesterday meant that everything was being prepared for the trial so that it could be held as soon as possible.

Despite that, daily life stayed extremely calm for Blanche. Theodore cuddled with her as much as before. The most stressful about her day had been her lover joking about how adorable she had been last night. That always earned him a glare and a shy kiss afterward.

It became a bit more exhausting when the sun set and they ate in the dining room. Seraphina had waited in the hallway before that room and insisted on listening to Blanche recounting the events of the prior day. The empress ignored how Theodore glared at her and thankfully left without a fight.

All in all, the day had been rather peaceful, but Blanche still into jumped their bed and only wanted to sleep as soon as the couple returned to their room.

----------------------------------------

Similarly to this, three days passed without any circumstances, and the emperor focused his attention on dealing with the trial. The concubine definitely wasn't being neglected in the meantime though. She received as much affection as ever and was actually content having some time to herself for a while.

After having countless lessons with Leon, she had some free time again, which she wished to use to bake a gift for Theodore. She had planned on making a fruit cake once again, which took a bit longer thanks to her needing to cut the ingredients first. It was a bit more stressful than normal since her maids were there too. Ever since hearing the story about what had happened since Blanche had narrated everything to the empress, her attendants could only curse Camille and Claude without any signs of sympathy.

Blanche couldn't even count the number of death threats and hints of treason she had heard anymore. That the others were very vocal about what they would do with the knives they were holding didn't make it better.

Even the normally rather calm Angelica was eager to demonstrate how she would cut off Duke Vasquez's fingers and the dowager empress' tongue, if given the chance. She had placed an apple on her cutting board and slowly sliced off a bit while continuing her slightly disturbing narration. “And that was the last finger. Now I can move on to his tongue and do the same with the dowager empress' fingers.”

Darlene stood directly next to her and slashed through her grapes with a little smile. “And then their toes.”

Stella, on the other hand, had a grim expression on her face while stabbing the fruits in front of her over and over again. “I always knew that they were horrible, but this is more disgusting than I could ever have imagined. They deserve death and nothing but death.” She punctured her words with another stab, which seemed to have had too much force since the knife remained stuck in the cutting board. This was the second time that the maid had destroyed one today, and yesterday, Darlene hadn't been better.

Slowly, Blanche was beginning to feel bad for the chef, who kept accepting the broken utensils with a sigh. She paused in the middle of stirring the cream and gazed at her maid, who quickly hid the cutting board behind her back. “Stella, the board is not at fault here. Plus, I already told you that you can't speak about the dowager empress like that. Someone just has to accuse you of treason and find someone to testify that you did say something like that. By the way, that applies to all of you.” She made eye contact with the other two and waited for them to lower their gazes.

Darlene just crossed her arms and raised her chin. “She told someone to force you to-” She gritted her teeth and unfolded her arms to grab the knife and stab it into the pear that was lying next to the grapes. Once again, it sounded like she might have graced the board below too, but she didn't even pay attention to that. Instead, she lifted the knife and pointed it at their invisible enemy. “Every sane person would agree with us! Just because she's the dowager empress or something like that, she can't get away with this kind of crime. She won't be able to deny it with so many witnesses, and despite nothing happening, she proposed to hurt you like that. She has to be found guilty!”

The concubine wasn't sure about that. “By legal means, she may get away since being royalty gives you some amount of protection from the law. I don't doubt that Theodore will make her regret it though. If he can't get her in a trial, it may become even more uncomfortable for her. After all, he keeps shutting down her greatest sources of income. She might have problems with money soon, but since she lives here for free, that may not concern her so much. She will dislike it if all of her friends suddenly lose their titles and she is left without support though.”

Angelica, who had returned to cutting the apples normally, paused to frown at her mistress. “I hope that she will suffer more than that. You told us about His Majesty's plan to keep her alive, and I agree that letting her rot inside a run-down building far away would be good. But someone should properly break her legs first. Someone seems to have sprained one of her legs, but that isn't enough to keep her from walking.”

Stella shrugged before unsuccessfully trying to pull the knife out of her board again. “I heard that...” She paused to attempt to retrieve her knife again but failed once more. “Sprains are more painful and take longer to heal than fractures.”

Darlene walked over to pull the knife out of the board and handed it to her friend. “I hope so. That woman deserves the worst.”

Blanche just focused on stirring her cream again while praying to the gods that no one heard her maids. They hadn't listened to her complaints once even when she had continued to remind them of her worries for the past few days. She could do nothing but tell them to be careful when others came. Blanche looked around once more to make sure that they were alone. She paused in the middle of her movements when she saw how a male servant baked some kind of bread at the other end of the kitchen. Surely, he was far away, but he might have heard them. The concubine squinted her eyes and tried to identify that person. She was pretty sure that this was Harris, but she could be wrong.

As if the man had noticed her stare, he turned around and made eye contact with he, which revealed that this was indeed Harris. He averted his eyes after a second and focused on pulling the bread out of the oven. Then he put it in a little basket and prepared to leave through the exit closest to him. But he stopped before reaching the door and turned around to use the other one, which was next to the counter that the women worked at.

At that point, the maids noticed him too. Their relationship with Harris was still strained due to the events in the past, but they seemed to be more uncomfortable meeting him and less furious. After all, he hadn't caused any issues during the past weeks and just seemed tired at all times. In addition, the incident with Clark bringing him to the doctor's office had shown them that their friend might still care about Harris, so they were reluctant to start any fights. Still, Darlene furrowed her brows when she saw him and put her knife away to cross her arms.

Harris didn't directly approach the door but stopped next to the counter and made eye contact with the concubine. For a moment, all of them were silent, but he didn't move, which could only mean that he wanted to talk to her but didn't dare to speak up first.

Blanche placed the bowl on the counter and set down her whisk before wiping her hands on a towel. “Yes?”

Harris was quiet for another few seconds before he hesitantly began. “Good day, Lady Blanche. I merely...wanted to ask whether you were fine after that incident.” Of course, he would know a bit about what had happened. Surely, Cedar had given him some information, and Harris had seen the rest for himself. He definitely had seen her act like she was completely drugged and probably didn't believe that she had understood why he was with the prince in her state. So, he wasn't worried about her asking questions, which was good.

The concubine was tempted to ask anyway, but she held herself back. She couldn't reveal that they knew about Harris being blackmailed. So, she just put on a smile and replied normally. “I am perfectly fine. Thank you for your concern. I was a bit tired afterward, but I managed to get back on my feet rather quickly. You saw that I was walking alone on my own soon after, right?”

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Harris nodded. He was silent for longer than it was normal before responding. “That is good to hear. Then we will hope that the trial will turn out favorably for us. There is enough evidence, so it should be fine, but it is better to have some luck as well. I...will take my leave now.” He turned around and prepared to walk to the door but stopped when it was opened from the outside.

George came inside with a deep frown etched into his features. He barely paid attention to the other man and just plopped down on one of the chairs by the table next to the counter.

Darlene scanned him with raised eyebrows. “Someone is in a bad mood. What's wrong?”

George turned to her and began speaking without a hint of amusement in his voice. “Clark is sick. Really sick. He probably ate something wrong yesterday. Ever since then, he's been lying in bed and throwing up constantly. He has a fever too.”

Before any of the women could express their worry, Harris stepped forward. “Please say that again. What does he have?” There was a small bit of panic in his voice, which he didn't try to cover up.

George gazed at him with skepticism before replying. “We ate breakfast together. Then he had a headache and wanted to lie down. He did that but didn't return, so I visited him in the evening. He barely replied to me, so I got one of the doctor's assistants. Then they brought Clark to the doctor and treated him there. He has a high fever and apparently had so since yesterday. He isn't able to keep anything he eats or drinks when he occasionally wakes up for a few minutes in his stomach. He throws up everything, so he only gets weaker. Right now, the doctor told me that they have to start giving him medicine because it's rather severe. He probably ate something wrong, and that made a slight cold, which he already had before, worse.”

The longer he listened, the paler Harris got. One could basically see the gears turning in his head as he dug his fingers into the basket he was holding. After a moment of silence, he spoke up in a barely audible voice. “Can I see him?”

George frowned at that. “Look. I don't think that he wants to see you when he opens his eyes once in a while. He needs to rest and not get high blood pressure. So, it would be-”

But Harris didn't seem to listen to that at all. He stared at the other servant, but his eyes seemed glassy as if he wasn't seeing anything at all. “If it's that bad, I have to see him. Please.” His voice cracked when he said that.

That was enough to surprise George. He let his eyes wander across the other's face before speaking up. “Well... For five minutes, it might be fine. I can bring you there.”

Harris just nodded without saying anything else. He didn't have to when his face revealed that he was full of terror. He was actually petrified just because of this short narration.

George stood up and prepared to leave when Angelica stopped him. “Please tell Clark that we hope for his quick recovery if you can talk to him.”

Stella agreed to that with a nod. “If he is awake, ask whether he wants to be visited or left alone. We can fulfill either one of those wishes.”

Blanche hurried to add something as well. “Tell him to get better quickly.” She didn't have more to say, mostly because her mind was somewhere else.

It didn't make sense for Clark to have eaten something bad unless he had eaten outside the royal estate. The food in the palace, which the servants naturally consumed, was being brought in from the best market in Artias. The ingredients would be handpicked by the most skillful chefs and then inspected by at least three different people before they ever got transported into the palace. Then they would be checked once more before the food was prepared by the same skillful cooks. It was ridiculous to assume that someone would have messed up so badly that something rotten or harmful had been brought here. If Clark had happened to find the one troublesome food item and had consumed it alone without checking it or anyone else getting sick, that would have to be a very big coincidence. It made perfect sense for Harris to worry.

The concubine didn't hear the rest of the conversation and absentmindedly watched as George and Harris left the room. She only returned to the present when she was addressed by Stella.

“My Lady, is everything alright?”

Blanche snapped out of it and looked down at her bowl. “Yes. I was just a bit worried about Clark, that is all. I mean, it's hard to imagine that bad food would be offered here.”

Darlene leaned her back against the counter and raised her index finger. “Well, the cooks won't bring it with them. But there are some stupid people, me included, that like to bring food from the outside. You can accept gifts from friends and family and such. Since the security measures were raised, a superior has to check everything that is brought inside, which they do quite carefully. It's still possible that something that was brought in like that simply rotted after it was put in the store rooms. Maybe Clark just didn't check what he was eating and consumed whatever troubles him now.”

That made sense, but Blanche was still skeptical. If the food had gone back, becoming sick after eating would make sense. But according to George, Clark had been ill for a while now and kept throwing up. Hadn't the bad food left his stomach by now? She didn't trust that this had been an accident. Clark was a kitchen servant. Surely, he knew how to distinguish bad food from good items. Then why would he be unlucky enough to make a mistake for the first time and immediately eat something that confined him to his bed for days?

It was a small thought Blanche had. She had no proof for this and no specific reason to believe this, but she would rather be safe. “What if...it wasn't just bad food? Nor an illness?” She glanced at her friends. “What if it's something else? He might have been poisoned.”

That made the others a bit concerned, but Darlene made a rejecting movement with her hand. “No one would waste time poisoning a single servant. It would be quite hard to ensure that your desired target eats the prepared dish when so many servants share food, so I doubt anyone would put in the effort. What would they even gain by doing that? If a whole group of people was threatened, it would make sense. But this was just one person. Our singular identities aren't that important to anyone dangerous. To your enemies, we are probably useless.”

Angelica walked over to her and ruffled through her lover's hair despite the other's yelps. “Don't say things like that.” She hugged Darlene and held her in a playful choke-hold at the same time while meeting Blanche's gaze. “But I agree that it seems unlikely. There is nothing special about Clark, so I doubt anyone would target him specifically. You could still check if you wish to be sure.”

Darlene had grinned happily as her lover held her, but when she heard the rest, her face fell. “Yes. You have the means, so it might be for the best. I have to admit that I'm a bit worried too. The last time he was sick, he didn't even take a day off. He seems to be seriously ill now. I hope he gets better soon.”

Blanche was only more certain that she should ask Theodore about this now. She held back a sigh as she turned back to her bowl and stirred her cream again. “I hope so too. We should visit him if he doesn't get better soon. I will have Theo check whether there was poison involved as soon as I see him. No matter what the response is, we will have clarity then.”

All the maids agreed to that. It took a while before the women stopped thinking about that problem and focused on their work again. The concubine insisted on doing everything but the cutting herself since she planned to bring this cake to Theodore. So, her maids stood around for a while. Once again, they used that time to begin cursing their most hated enemies in a way that was actually a bit scary.

Blanche looked around to check whether they were alone multiple times. She was only calmed when she saw that another group at the end of the kitchen was busy playing some board game while yelling. Those people wouldn't overhear them. Still, she kept confirming whether others had gotten closer to them. They were lucky.

She managed to finish the cake without issues and prepared to bring it to Theodore's office. As always, Stella and Darlene argued about who would carry the cake, and like in most cases, the former was quicker to grab the tray. The group didn't take long to reach the second floor, and it seemed like there weren't any visitors for the emperor either.

Blanche carefully knocked, and seconds later, she was allowed inside. She opened the door and leaned inside to smile at her lover as she prepared to ask about Clark. It only took a moment before she saw his grim expression, and her smile died. She stepped inside and gestured for her maid to wait before shutting the door.

Theodore just lifted his arms, and that was her cue to rush to him to fall into his arms. He pulled her onto his lap and captured her in his arms before burying his face in her neck. He let out some stifled murmurs before lifting his head again. “Something really bad happened.”

The concubine put her hands on the back of his head and stroked over his hair while ignoring the worry that made her stomach churn. This didn't sound good at all, and she was certain that her lover wouldn't exaggerate. “What is it?”

The emperor glared into the distance while replying in a cold tone. “Marguerite Besseta was found dead in her cell this morning.”

Blanche froze at that. The palace's security measures were as perfect as they could get. How could someone enter and attack someone in the cells, which should be guarded by even more knights than the rest? That should almost be impossible. And still, the key witness in the trial about the party's incident was dead. The concubine was almost rendered speechless. She could only ask one thing. “How?”

Theodore exhaled deeply and turned to her. He looked tired, but there was also a hint of regret there. But out of all emotions, rage definitely outweighed the rest. “Allegedly, she had a heart attack and bit off her own tongue during a seizure, which made her suffocate due to the swelling. But no one would believe that. Especially since her house coincidentally burned down this night too. Her close family members all were at home, and none of them survived. That this is a coincidence is a little too hard to believe. We took about four minutes of an investigation until we found out that someone brought in poison that made her experience something similar to a stroke. The person doing it didn't leave anything behind but that substance in her food. There were no signs of someone breaking in either, so a person from within the royal palace was responsible. Gloria watched Harris the whole time. He didn't ever go toward the cells. That means that someone else was responsible.” The longer Theodore talked, the more horrible it sounded.

Blanche felt the blood draining from her face. She couldn't help but imagine Marguerite's face. Just four days ago, that girl had lived and had held a conversation with her.

Now Marguerite was dead, even though she definitely hadn't deserved it. Surely, that girl had been a bit naive and had allowed others to use her, but she wasn't even an adult yet. To be murdered in such a painful way was a terrible fate that only a few of the vilest criminals deserved. But not such a young girl, who hadn't even experienced half of her life.

Blanche wasn't much older, but she was still petrified upon hearing about that. As if that wasn't bad enough, someone from within the palace had put poison in Marguerite's food. Or was there some other possibility? Had people somehow sneaked in? She didn't know. She had a clue about whom might be able to help them with some hints, but she doubted that the person she had in mind would talk. Not when one could assume that his mother had been responsible.

The concubine opened her mouth and closed it again before speaking up quietly. Marguerite's death still shocked her, and it left behind too many questions. “That poor girl. How horrible. Why did someone do that? Do they gain anything from this?”

Theodore pressed his lips into a line before responding. “That is the worst thing. She died for no reason. We still have enough testimonies to prove that she was the one that gave you that medicine. The one thing that we can't prove is that Duke Vasquez hired her through her testimony. But we couldn't have done that from the very beginning since her words would be up against his. We need the contract she mentioned, and it should be in his mansion somewhere. So, her death doesn't change a thing for this trial. We have no idea who the responsible one is either. Duke Vasquez is in a cell and hasn't moved until now. He didn't order anyone to do this, at least not after we arrested him. If he didn't do it, someone else had to have been involved.” He was right about that making it much worse.

Marguerite's death didn't bring any advantages to anyone. She had died because someone had decided that she would have to disappear, but that judgment hadn't made any sense. Now the trial would progress in the exact same manner. It might take a while longer since a valuable piece of the story was missing, but the result wouldn't change.

And not only the girl had died. Her whole family had been pulled into disaster as well.

That was more than upsetting.