Blanche gritted her teeth and leaned her head against her lover's shoulder while cursing the responsible person in her mind. There had absolutely not been the need to get rid of Marguerite, and still, someone had decided to risk their head by smuggling a traitor and poison inside the palace. That not only proved that the palace might not be as safe as it could be but also that they couldn't trust the staff or the food that had been served blindly. That was truly a fearful thought.

Theodore was silent for a while as well before speaking in a quiet voice. “There is only one person that comes to my mind that could have felt threatened by Marguerite Besseta or her whole family appearing in front of a court. If the Bessetas ever had the chance to appear during a trial that I am leading, they might try to bring up the execution of the count again. And if everything went well for them, the trial about the assassination attempts, which has been reopened two times and is still being processed right now, might be seen from a different angle. People might want to know who falsified evidence and why Count Besseta was framed.” The emperor leaned back and sighed quietly before he continued. “That would not only reveal that the dowager empress tampered with evidence during a trial concerning treason but also that Count Besseta was linked to slave trafficking. If the nobles found out that the dowager empress was friends with someone like that, she would have many issues. Maybe she was scared about them appearing in public again after they hid away for years. It would make sense for her to think like that.”

That whole story seemed logical, and that was enough it took to convince Blanche that it might be true. Camille wouldn't mind resorting to such methods if she even felt threatened in the slightest. Even if that meant killing a young girl and her whole family. The dowager empress was ruthless and had proved that often enough. Knowing that such a woman might have a spy in the palace was more than unsettling.

The concubine could barely voice her thoughts properly. All of this just sounded awful, and she had no idea how to see even the smallest positive thing in this. “Did you find some kind of clue? Something, anything that allows us to get revenge for that girl?”

Theodore was silent for a moment before responding. “No. There is no clue in that case. But apparently, a servant was poisoned yesterday morning too. The doctor is taking care of him, but we are trying to investigate in secret to avoid an uproar. He is in a stable condition, but he needs an antidote and is under surveillance the whole time. The man I am talking about is, unfortunately, Clark.” He gently patted his concubine's head and looked right into her eyes to check her reaction.

Blanche had already guessed whose name would be called at the very moment that her lover had mentioned a sick servant. Her stomach churned, and she tightened her hold on Theodore. “I...just heard that he was sick and wanted to ask you to check. But...” She might have had her concerns, but she hadn't been sure. Now she was unhappy about having been right. Clark had been targeted for certain, and she couldn't understand the reason. Why would anyone risk being accused of treason just to attack a normal person that didn't have much political influence in any way? But that wasn't the most important topic now. “Is it a dangerous poison?”

The emperor kept silent for a moment before replying. “There is no easy answer to that. It will not kill him under any circumstances. Still, it makes him extremely ill. If you'd look at him, you would probably think that he is about to die, but that's not true. He will recover after a few days of rest and the appropriate treatment. This poison can only trouble the victim for a week at most before it won't have any effect anymore. Since the royal doctor is treating him, he should be fine the day after tomorrow. So, it may be harsh to say this, but you should not worry about him. What is more important is to find out why he was poisoned. You know more about him than we do. Is there anyone here that hates him, or would someone gain something by harming him?”

Blanche pondered that for a moment before shaking her head. She knew about some banter and rivalry among the servants, but nothing would go far enough that they would despise each other to the point of considering murder. Clark had problems with Harris, but both seemed to care for each other to some extent, so they would never harm one another. But aside from personal reasons, work-related ones also didn't make any sense. Clark didn't have a special position that someone could want. No one would benefit from killing him in the slightest. Especially since everyone knew that he was friends with Blanche, so it should be clear that the emperor would notice and investigate.

The concubine was silent for a bit longer when something entered her mind as she remembered the scene just now. Harris had immediately been terrified upon hearing that Clark was sick. Not even after he heard how severe it was, but he had already been panicked when George had said that their friend was lying in bed because he was ill.

And then Harris had insisted on visiting the patient to confirm how bad it was. It was almost strange how quickly he had assumed that it was something really bad. That thought sparked another one, and Blanche remembered the conversation between Cedar and Harris. The servant was being blackmailed, with the threat being connected to a person he held dear. The prince had threatened to harm that person if Harris didn't obey. And now Harris seemed to be overly worried about Clark as soon as something happened.

Now that she considered that...

The concubine was almost sure that Clark was the beloved person that Cedar had mentioned. In that case, it made sense for Harris to be scared of something bad occurring if he had refused to obey recently.

Blanche whipped her head around to her lover and spoke up so fast that she tripped over her words and needed to start again. “Harris is being threatened with Clark's safety. I think that Cedar told him that he had to listen or his most important person would suffer. Harris was extremely distraught upon hearing the news of Clark being sick without having known any details yet. That is why it might be possible that Clark was hurt to pressure Harris. Maybe his friend being poisoned was a sign for Harris that he has to start working if he doesn't want to regret it. That means that Harris might do something troublesome in the near future because he is scared that Clark will get hurt even more.”

Theodore froze for a moment before replying. “That makes sense. I will ask the guards to keep an eye on Harris and position a few at Clark's side. I won't risk anything. We will protect both without forcing someone to make a choice.”

Blanche affirmed that with a nod. “You should do it in a subtle way. Maybe the person that poisoned Marguerite also was the one attacking Clark. If we catch them in the act, we could be sure of whom we need to be cautious of. This isn't a guarantee, but if we have their name and face, it will be easier to deal with them later.”

Her lover gave her a little smile and ruffled through her hair. “That is a good idea. You are way too clever. I will immediately ask some less flashy guards to take care of it. It would be better to put Leon there somewhere too. I'm sure that he would be able to listen without any issues.” He paused for a moment before resuming. “And you said that Harris was going to the doctor's office now?”

“Yes. He wanted to visit Clark immediately. If you want to, you can also call for George to tell us how Harris reacted or whether anyone strange was somewhere around them.”

The emperor glanced at the clock and scribbled down a few notes on a long list that was lying in front of him. He only replied when he was finished. “I will do that. More information is always good.” He raised his voice. “Leon, did you hear all of that?”

A stifled voice sounded from the storage room with the documents. “Every single word. I will go immediately and inform the knights about their new tasks.” A few seconds later, Leon came out of the room with an uncharacteristically serious expression and steered toward the door to leave.

Theodore looked after him before turning to his lover again. “You don't need to worry about us being too loud. He just has better ears than most humans have.”

Blanche vaguely remembered having heard the two men talk about that already once. “I see. It seems that his past does bring him some advantages. But I have to admit that I'm not used to seeing him be this serious. He often pretends to be annoyed, but I rarely witnessed him being actually this mad. The last time was at the Vasquez's party.”

Her lover stroked over the back of her head and gave her a weak smile. “Believe me, you never saw him boiling with anger. When you were there, he held back. I said that he kept me from killing those people that wished to harm you, but I did the same with him. He only controlled himself because he wanted to pay them back in an even harsher way. It's rare for him to get that upset, so it just proves that he cares about you. Normally, I should be worried about what he will do to them now, but I am rather content because I won't have to dirty my hands. I know that I wouldn't be able to hold back, but Leon is good at regulating himself. And his anger will ensure that he is even more efficient than normal. Right now, he is very focused on working, so he will be back here with your friend in two minutes. Unless Harris was still there and Leon had to wait, of course.”

The concubine nodded at that, but she didn't have the energy to smile. She was a bit worried about George being surprised about being called to the emperor, but that was the least of her concerns. Clark had been poisoned, there possibly was at least one dangerous person with access to their cells, and Marguerite had been murdered despite her being imprisoned here. Those were about the most terrible things that could have happened over the course of just two days.

Theodore seemed to notice how unwell she felt and gently rubbed circles into her back while pulling her against him so that she could rest her head on his shoulder. “Don't mull over it for too long. We will figure something out. For now, we can just increase our security and wait. Once we find the servant that works for them, we are almost safe. Leon will stay with your sick friend to ensure that nothing happens, and we'll keep an eye on Harris so that nothing bad can happen near him either. Everything will be fine.” She could only hope for that.

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Blanche closed her eyes as she allowed herself to escape the worries in her head for a moment and focused on something else instead. She concentrated on Theodore's heartbeat and his soft breathing while pushing everything else away. Even if the world around her seemed to fall apart, he was right here next to her. They had defeated the novel's original fate and had been able to stay together, so they would win against these dangers too.

They had to. She told herself that about a hundred times, but she was still scared. Scared of losing everything she was hoping for now.

But just sitting here and hoping wouldn't help anyone either.

It was just a foolish thought, but Blanche at least wanted to mention it. She slowly opened her eyes. “If Harris was really blackmailed, don't you think that Cedar would know what he was asked to do? Whether he ordered Harris himself or just knows that his mother did it. Could we...invite him and speak about this matter with him? I know he's unlikely to talk, but he is upset with his mother right now. Maybe...”

She caught herself having useless hopes again. There was no way that Cedar would help them with anything. He was their enemy. Blanche knew that. But when she remembered his obvious exhaustion during the last party, she wanted to believe that she had caught a glimpse of what the prince kept hiding. If they started to peel at that, maybe they didn't have to stay enemies.

Theodore didn't seem to be convinced. He weakly shook his head, his gaze cast downward with obvious dejection as he replied. “Blanche, as much I understand that you want this to work... Remember how he was before. No matter how the story progresses, Cedar will stay on his mother's side. She taught him to do that ever since he was young. He is so dependent on her, I don't...” He stayed quiet for a moment before he resumed in a whisper. “I want him to have a chance as much as you do. But I'm not sure if he will ever free himself. Camille raised him to fulfill her goals, and at this point, I fear that he forgot his own. Even if we did invite him, he won't give us any important information. We would just reveal that we suspect that he has a person in the palace. We can't do that.”

It made sense. Of course, it would be dangerous to give Cedar information. He could use that against them in an instant. If it was someone like him, he would abuse every little hint they revealed.

Blanche squeezed her eyes shut again. She knew that they couldn't risk that. It had been stupid to even suggest that. She weakly nodded. “You are right.”

Cedar hadn't even really taken their side. He had merely refused to do an unspeakable thing, which didn't necessarily mean that he was willing to change factions. In fact, it was obvious that he didn't intend to do that since he had still been the one to take care of his mother after she had returned with her sprained leg. Theodore had told Blanche that too.

Still, it would have been nice to get Cedar to join them. But Blanche probably had to remind herself that he wasn't her friend this time more often.

The couple stayed in silence after that. Blanche only lifted her head when a knock sounded from the door.

Theodore planted a small kiss on her forehead before replying in a louder voice. “Leon, you may come in.”

The door opened, and the secretary entered along with George, who seemed a bit worried but calmed down upon seeing the concubine.

Theodore didn't waste any time and spoke up as soon as the men stood in front of his desk. “You are the person that just accompanied a servant named Harris to visit a sick colleague, correct? How did he react? Did he say anything special?”

George was visibly taken aback by that, but he responded quickly. “He was extremely worried and fidgeted with his fingers the whole time. When we went in, he immediately ran to the bed and tried to talk to Clark. He barely got a reply, which made him worry even more. Then he sat there for a while and stared at Clark. He didn't say anything except that he wished that Clark would recover soon. After that, he just stormed out without a warning.”

That would fit what Blanche had thought about. Harris was now convinced that it was his fault that his beloved person had been hurt and would hurry to obey the orders that he was given. That meant that someone had to stop him. The concubine turned her head to the secretary. “Leon, can you check on him? We don't know what he will do now.”

Leonard wasn't surprised by that at all. “I will go immediately.” He left the room without looking back once.

The emperor rested his elbow on the desk and stared into the distance while pondering something. “I hope he won't do something stupid. That would be annoying after we tried to protect him for so long. I won't be lenient if he actually tries to harm anyone. Let's just hope that Leon gets to him before something happens.”

George looked more confused than ever before. He alternated between gazing at the concubine and the emperor but didn't dare to speak up.

After a moment, Blanche felt the need to relieve his worries. She turned to her lover. “Can I tell him? He has no idea what this is about after all.”

Theodore slowly nodded. “But remind him to stay silent about it. No one else can know. And by no one, I mean absolutely no one.” He glanced at the servant, who hurriedly nodded.

Blanche kissed her fiancé's cheek before making eye contact with the other man. “There are a few problems right now, and Clark being sick is one of them. Apparently, he was poisoned by the same person that killed one of the witnesses for our trial last night.”

George froze completely at that. “He was poisoned? But the servants share the food. No one else got sick, so how did they...”

Theodore spoke up before the servant could finish. “They put it on the plate or inside the cup. That was what the dowager empress always loved to do. It seems like she may be behind this because she wants to blackmail Harris. We found out that he has been working for the second prince for quite a while now. He is doing it involuntarily though, so they need to secure his loyalty by pressuring him. Most likely, he refused to do something, and they wanted to prove that they are serious about their threats.”

George only became paler at that. “They hurt Clark because they want Harris to work for them? But we are only servants. What is he supposed to do?”

The concubine shook her head. “We have no idea. But it won't be anything good. The trial we will have soon will deal a lot of damage to our enemies, and that is why they are probably getting uncomfortable. So, they will want to prevent us from focusing on that whole matter. They already killed a witness, so they may want to do that with the main criminal too. We should ensure that Duke Vasquez is being watched at all times.”

Theodore nodded. “Leon will take care of that. Aside from, that we'll give Clark a guard but make sure that this person is careful.” His gaze met the other man's. “You can take care of your friend, but don't stay at his side for too long. We want to give our enemies an opportunity and catch them when they are stupid enough to rush in. So, don't intervene if you see strange people around the doctor's office. The only thing you need to do is inform us if you spot someone like that. That is all you can do for now, or you will endanger your friend. Understood?”

George slowly nodded, but his fear was still painted onto his face. He didn't even know how to react to any of this, which was understandable.

Blanche gave him a little smile. “How about you go back now and rest for a bit? In the evening, you can visit Clark again and bring some of his favorite food in hopes that he will get hungry. It would be better for you to do that instead of worrying the whole day. We are already taking care of it.”

George forced himself to mirror her expression. “Alright. Then I will take my leave now.” He stopped in the middle of turning around and looked a bit scared when he turned back. “I sincerely apologize, Your Majesty. I didn't-”

Theodore silenced him with a rejecting gesture. “If Blanche gives you permission to retreat, you may leave and don't need to ask me. I won't go against her words, so you might as well see everything she says as my will.”

Blanche was absolutely horrified to hear her lover voicing something like that, but George's expression lit up. He left the room with a more genuine smile and closed the door behind him. The concubine opened her mouth immediately. “You know that the emperor is the most powerful person in the nation? Saying that someone can use his will is ridiculous. Not even the empress can-” She cut herself off and sighed. “Forget it. You won't listen to me anyway, will you?”

Her lover showed her a bright grin and gently poked her cheek. “You know that I will always listen to you. But if I do listen, I will fulfill all of the wishes you mention immediately. You claimed that you don't want that despite asking me to listen. How will I be able to understand what you want me to do like this?” He leaned forward, and his lips ghosted over the side of her neck.

Blanche suppressed a shiver and ran her fingers through his hair. “You know what I mean. It's alright if you decide to listen to me as my lover, but as the emperor, you can't let anyone influence your decisions. At least that is how it should be.”

Theodore didn't pay much intention to her complaints and just began massaging her back. “But the emperor is just a human too. You always told me that when you wanted me to rest. So, I will need to have someone I can rely on as well. That will be you. My lover, wife and empress.”

The concubine pressed her lips into a thin line. She still needed to deal with that too. The divorce was progressing steadily, so the documents should be signed soon. Then she would still have a calm life for a while, but as soon as it was made official, the discussions would start.

Certainly, a lot of people would complain about the mistress that had wanted to take the lawful wife's place and had forced her out of the palace. That was a minor issue though.

If there wasn't an empress, every aristocrat would pressure Theodore into marrying another woman soon. The more influential families would try to present their daughters as possible candidates in hopes of gaining power. Even if most women wouldn't be keen on marrying a man that openly favored his concubine, they would probably accept it in order to become empress.

Theodore had said that he would never marry another woman, but under all of that pressure, he might crack because he understood that having an empress was necessary. And maybe he would understand that Blanche taking that spot was impossible. A commoner without political backing becoming empress was ridiculous. Everyone knew that.

Everyone except for Theodore. The concubine was just waiting for the day he would realize that too.

Blanche shuffled around on his lap for a moment before slowly standing up. “Ah. I almost forgot. I still have a gift for you. I thought that you might like another cake after everything that happened.” She gave him a bright smile before walking to the door to retrieve her cake from her maid.

Theodore grinned at her the whole time. “It would be good if we could eat some sweets together now. We need to relax a bit after all of that trouble.” Hopefully, they would be able to.

After all, their situation remained the same, and ignoring the dangers was impossible. For now, they could only rely on their conclusions and guards though. They couldn't do much except for taking the necessary precautions. The rest would have to be dealt with later while they waited for results.