Seraphina stood there while curtsying and waited for the emperor's permission to rise. Unfortunately, Theodore stayed silent.
It only took a few seconds before Blanche felt the tension in the room thickening. She would have liked to do something about this, but she couldn't speak for her lover. Or could she? Theoretically, he had told her that she was allowed to use his name to order anything, but she was reluctant to do that. So, she just tapped his arm while searching for his gaze. When Theodore still didn't speak or look at her, she forced herself to begin though. “You may rise. It's not good for-” She cut herself off before mentioning anything about the suspected pregnancy. “Theo, please let her rise.”
Theodore, who only seemed to wake up from his paralysis now, returned to the present and faced Blanche. He pressed a kiss onto the side of her forehead. “If my angel wishes for that.” His previously soft tone changed into an almost threatening one as he addressed his ex-wife. “You may rise.”
Seraphina straightened her posture again and kept her stoic expression. Apparently, she wouldn't change that even if her rank had been altered significantly. “Thank you, Your Majesty.” Then she turned to look at the concubine.
Blanche took a moment to understand. If one saw her as a member of royalty, which depended on the definition, everyone except for other members of the royal family would have to wait for her to speak. Suddenly going from being a baroness, who had to speak up as the last person, to the emperor's fiancée was definitely a huge step. She would take a while to get used to the fact that she would address Seraphina first. “Good day...” She had almost called the other woman ‘Your Majesty’, but she held herself back just in time. “Lady Duremont.” It was odd to speak like this. There hadn't been anyone with this title for a while now, and suddenly, the previous empress had it. “It is a pleasure to meet you.” Even if saying this directly after witnessing the other's divorce while sitting on the ex-husband's lap was problematic. Everything about this greeting had been horrible so that the concubine already felt how her cheeks were heating up.
But Seraphina just showed her a little smile. “The pleasure is all mine, Lady Blanche. I wish you a nice day and a relaxing afternoon.” Then she turned to the secretary. “I would like to wish you a wonderful day as well, Lord Astame.”
Leonard shouldn't be grinning as well, but he was. “I'm sure that I will have one. Thank you for your concern, Lady Duremont.” With that, he grabbed the divorce contract off the table and brought it into the neighboring room, most likely to put it into one of the folders with the most important documents.
For a moment, everyone was silent.
After a couple of seconds passed, Seraphina spoke up. “If there is nothing else you wish to tell me, I would ask for permission to leave.”
Theodore let her wait for a bit before replying. “Actually, there are still two things. The first one is regarding your departure. I assume that you will take everything you own with you and will refrain from touching any items that belong to the royal family. You can leave the attires in the royal colors here too since you will not be able to wear them.” Suddenly, it seemed like that rule was important when he had disregarded it so often in the past.
Seraphina still listened to that and nodded calmly. “I am well aware of which items belong to me and which ones to the one with the position as the empress. I am unsure whether you would wish to hand the future empress old jewelry which belonged to me, but I will leave them here. If you do not wish to keep them, please do donate them to charity though.”
The emperor replied while scanning her with his cold eyes. “I will do that as soon as you leave. And don't forget anything, or you won't see it again. The same holds true for your people. When you leave, take your servants with you. I won't keep those two here.”
Seraphina tensed at that, just for a split second before she managed to hide it. “You would allow me to bring them back home?”
Theodore glanced to the side, which only made him seem even more annoyed. “I'm not sure if you could call that me allowing anything. I will throw them out as soon as you are gone. So, I really don't care what you do with them.” While speaking, he stroked over his lover's hair with so gentle movements that it felt like his voice and his expression belonged to a completely different person. He was so mean to his ex-wife while still pampering his fiancée as always. It was almost contradictory.
Seraphina didn't seem to feel as bad as Blanche did though. She actually seemed a bit happy upon hearing that she could take her servants with her. “I will have them work in the Duremont mansion. There is no need to worry about them troubling you in any way.”
The emperor opened one of the folders in front of him and began flipping through the pages while replying. “It's nice to hear that you are this overbearing when it comes to your family too. You never asked whether they would allow you to move back in. Did you tell them about the divorce? Probably not. And now you suddenly come back and bring three others, whom they never met, with you. His and Her Grace will be ecstatic.”
Seraphina paused for a moment before she replied. “I can assure you that my parents will welcome me and my attendants without any issues. It may seem like we are one step behind you, but even we could guess what you were planning ever since you stopped hiding it. There won't be a problem since my parents are only waiting for the news. But I have to ask why you mentioned three people. I only have two maids, whom I will take with me. You do not intend to dismiss Gloria as well, or do you?”
It couldn't mean anything good when a complacent smirk spread across Theodore's lips. He looked way too arrogant when he spoke. “Oh, I didn't mean her. I meant the child. Congratulations on your pregnancy.”
In an instant, Seraphina's posture changed, and her iron mask was forgotten. She went rigid and stared at the emperor with wide eyes. “How?” She whipped her head around to the concubine a moment later, pure terror showing on her face.
Blanche was as shocked as the other woman was and immediately shook her head. “I didn't say anything! I never even mentioned that topic!”
The emperor began patting his lover's hair again while he shushed her. “Obviously, you didn't. Noah did.” He lifted his gaze again and made eye contact with the petrified Seraphina. “He was a genius as a spy. I never thought that he would be this efficient. I originally placed him by your side because I was waiting for you to attempt to hurt Blanche. It was a good choice of you not to do that. I would have executed you immediately. But it was also helpful to have been reported everything that happened. So, I managed to hear about how my plan worked out perfectly without even needing to question my judgment.”
Seraphina didn't seem to be able to contain her emotions upon hearing that. She balled her hands into fists and showed her panic clearly on her face. She took a moment to process the news that her trusted knight was actually telling the emperor everything about her before speaking up. “Your Majesty, I would kindly ask you to treat this matter secretively. This child will not be an obstacle to you in any way. I will ensure that-”
Theodore didn't even let her finish. “I'm sure that you know that me keeping quiet won't change a thing. I do not hold any ill regards against this child, but you are aware of the truth, are you not? Anyone that can count will be able to figure out that the empress' pregnancy started around the time she spent a lot of time with Prince Linden. You can imagine how harsh noble society might get with you if that came out. Which is why it's even more important for you to...avoid all the trouble here. Did you write him already? I would guess that you already did so after receiving the documents.”
Seraphina nodded while still being visibly shaken. “I did write a letter to Linden yesterday. It should arrive in a little under two weeks. Maybe just one week if the messenger is quick.”
The emperor showed a bright smile upon hearing that. “Perfect. It will take another two weeks for him to come here to pick you up. I'll give you a royal decree for your marriage.”
Blanche was still shocked by him revealing that Noah gave him information as if it meant nothing. She was barely able to follow the conversations. Why were those two discussing such important matters so curtly? Especially the part about the royal decree surprised her though. She knew that marriages could be supported by the royal family, but she had no idea what this truly meant aside from permitting people to marry against their relatives' will and ensuring that no one could talk back.
Even Seraphina was a bit taken aback when Theodore mentioned that and gave him a skeptical look. “I merely wrote about our divorce and hinted that there is something we need to talk about. There is no guarantee that Linden here all of a sudden. I doubt that he will be able to inform his people within a few days. A journey to Artias has to be prepared in advance.”
“He will come. If he doesn't, I'll send you there by carriage. But I'm very sure that he will be here as soon as humanely possible. After all, he can't leave the neglected ex-empress alone. He couldn't when he was here, and that won't change so quickly either.” Theodore's voice was dripping with mockery while he spoke, which was more than unusual.
It was odd.
He did hate Seraphina with all of his heart. But why? The heroine had never even committed any crime that could make him hate her so much, right?
Blanche thought that she had managed to grab a figurative corner of an idea regarding the reason, but as soon as she did that, her chest just started to hurt. She averted her eyes for a moment while rubbing the spot that ached most, only to lose what she had wanted to remember and might need to focus on soon.
Unfortunately, time didn't stop for her to try again.
Seraphina was silent for a moment. She scanned the emperor with an undefinable expression before reluctantly speaking up. “This is something I would like to avoid asking, but I can't help being worried. Ever since the very beginning, you told me to get along with Prince Linden because you claimed that we were extremely similar. Then you purposefully showed how distant we are from each other and gave Prince Linden and me countless chances to spend time together. When the rumors spread, you didn't care and even seemed pleased despite normally grimacing when I'm mentioned. In fact, you only told me to continue like this and pushed us together as often as possible while saying that everything was going according to plan. I'm almost scared of assuming this. But is there the possibility of you having planned that Linden and I would become a couple?”
Theodore didn't give her a direct response. He just smiled at her. “Would that bother you?”
Seraphina's expression became a bit colder. “I do not regret getting closer to Linden, but I am slightly disgruntled about the fact that you were the one planning this. This will not keep me from going with him if he offers it though.”
The emperor lowered his gaze to the table again and stroked over his lover's head while scanning some documents without truly reading them. “He will offer it. You will become the queen of Northern Ocrea and try to improve the relationship between our two nations. You surely want your beloved relatives here to do well, so you will keep political enemies away from Linden and work hard.” Was that an order? It sounded like one.
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Seraphina was quiet for a moment before replying. “Naturally, I will put my love for my home country above my personal feelings regarding that nation's ruler. But since I get along well with his future wife, there should not be many issues even during diplomatic discussions. All of that will be dealt with in the future though. For now, I would like to request permission to invite my family. I will need to explain the matter of the divorce to them, and it may be better to do it here.”
Theodore raised an eyebrow at that. “You mean, it's better if they directly want to complain to me afterward. You should have told them before, but I guess we have to do this now. Normally, I would decline, but I also have something to say to them. But you only need to invite your father and mother. There is no need for anyone else to come. Tell them to be here tomorrow at three o'clock in the afternoon. We can have tea while talking about everything necessary. I will endure it once more.”
Seraphina ignored that insult and bowed her head. “I will do that then. May I have permission to leave?” The emperor just lifted his hand and waved toward her, which she took as her cue to curtsy once more. “Goodbye. I wish all of you a wonderful day.” With that, she turned around and left while tightly clutching the contract in her hands. She was trying to hide it now, but she still seemed to be affected by the news about Noah being her ex-husband's spy.
Blanche could understand well why that would shock the empress. After spending months with another person, it would be terrible to hear that they were only waiting for you to mess up before spreading all your secrets. But that wasn't everything that had left the concubine speechless.
This whole conversation had been filled with so much tension that it had felt more like a fight than a normal talk. And in the end, everything that had been said would distinctively shape the future of Artias.
If the former empress really married Northern Ocrea's crown prince, this would bind the two nations together and strengthen their alliance. It would also be a big advantage if Seraphina, who would keep her home country's best interest in mind, became the queen of Northern Ocrea. Then Artias would definitely gain more benefits than if anyone else reigned. At the same time, Seraphina could be happy with Linden, and their child wouldn't need to face as much trouble as they would here. It was almost too perfect. Now Linden just had to agree to that plan, or everything would go horribly wrong.
But more than that, it was odd to know that the empress had lost her position. No, she had freely given it up. That would have never happened in the novel, but now they were here, and the documents had been finalized and signed.
Blanche was silent until the door was closed behind Seraphina before speaking up. “It's over...just like that?”
It took about a second before Theodore cupped her face and crashed his lips onto hers. He kissed her again and again before pulling back and grinning at her. “It's over. This nightmare is finally over. Now we're finally on track to our perfect future. We will marry soon, and you will gain what has been rightfully yours from the very beginning.” He stroked over her cheeks with his thumbs. “You'll be my wife and the only one by my side. That person will be sent to Northern Ocrea, and she won't bother us ever again.”
Blanche was still a bit taken aback by that big amount of kisses. So, she took a moment before replying. “Yes. But are you sure that you should be this mean to her? She will be the queen of an allied nation if everything goes well.”
Theodore's hold on her chin tightened. “She will work as intended. Don't worry. There is absolutely no need to feel any sympathy for her. She never had any for you either. She deserves much worse than that. I would have made sure that she gets it too, but this is necessary. We needed her as a pawn to keep Northern Ocrea in check. Because we need Linden to reign and not his sister. That manipulative woman is perfect to help him fight against his family. That's the only reason that she's still alive.” That was pretty harsh.
Blanche blinked a few times before replying. “She didn't even do anything that bad. Maybe she was a bit unfriendly sometimes, but I understand why she acted like that. Saying that she deserves death is way too mean. That...” Was it? A small voice in the back of her mind questioned that, and she felt horrible because of that. She didn't want Seraphina to die, but...
That woman had watched Blanche's execution without any sympathy, which soured the concubine's view of her. But then again, the villainess had surely deserved it. The heroine had revealed all the proof for that.
Proof that had been convincing enough to the judges, so it had to have...
As she stopped herself and just froze in place, Theodore tensed. He scanned her expression and gently rubbed over her face as worry became visible on his face. “Blanche, say... You don't possibly...” He stopped himself and shook his head slightly. “Not now. We'll do this in the future when everything has calmed down.” He leaned forward to kiss her forehead. “Just know that nothing I do is without a reason. I wouldn't resent someone when they never harmed us. You trust me, right? I only pay back the people that deserve it.”
Of course, she knew that. But it was still hard to be understanding when she had no idea what the conflict with Seraphina had been about. She certainly didn't remember a single reason why this could be the case. She also didn't remember why she was so reluctant to speak about this topic or why she was rather content despite those harsh words.
Because the villainess had only ever been in a horrible conflict that might create such hatred once. And the events of the novel hadn't happened yet, so that couldn't be a reason.
Right?
The concubine averted her eyes and nodded. “I trust you fully. Just tell me at some point, or I will worry my whole life.”
Theodore gently patted her head and gave her another kiss. “Of course. I will tell you as soon as I'm ready. But you need to promise that you will stay with me no matter what.”
Blanche raised her arms and then pulled him into her arms. “Definitely. I wouldn't ever leave you, no matter what happens. That's why you can tell me everything.” She rested her head on his shoulder and gently ran her fingers through his hair. “I'm always on your side and-”
Leonard came back from the storage room and cut her off. “You keep repeating that. Don't you two believe each other? I think you promise one another that you will stay together forever every day. No one would be able to bring you apart even if they wanted to. So, worrying like this might be a bit unnecessary. Don't you have other topics to talk about?”
Theodore shrugged. “You will find out what it means to worry about another person when you finally fall in love. You won't ever let go of that person then.” He underlined his words by wrapping his arms tighter around his concubine. “We adore each other, and we really like showing it like this to one another. Others might-”
The secretary gave him an annoyed look before walking over to the couch and plopping down on it. “I was planning on bringing some wine to toast to this day, but now my motivation is gone. Maybe I should just go drink by myself. After all, you don't seem to wish to discuss any future plans.”
There was something that Blanche had been pondering though. She took a moment to recount the conversation before she was reminded of what she had been missing. She quickly spoke up. “I have a question. I would like to know what a royal decree does for a marriage. I know that it permits people to marry even if they normally might not be allowed to. That isn't needed in this case though. Why do you want to give Lady Duremont one for her marriage then? Is this...more of an order?” She looked up at her lover and waited for his response.
Leonard chimed in before Theodore could. “Exactly. This means that she is being bound to her new husband by law. It won't apply to Prince Linden since he isn't under the emperor's control, but this basically ensures that Lady Duremont would go against the emperor's wishes if she divorced. So, she won't be welcomed back. In all honesty, this is only supposed to keep her from ever returning to Artias. But I'm not sure whether she got the message.”
Theodore added something as soon as the other man finished. “I'm doing this to prove that I'm happy about her marriage too. I don't want any stupid rumors about me being jealous. I doubt that anyone would think that now that I made it clear that my angel is the only one I need, but we need to make sure that it stays like this. That's why we'll also send off that woman with a bright smile. Before that, we will get rid of all of her belongings of course. As soon as she leaves the royal estate, I want everything to be cleaned up.” He lifted his head to turn to Leon. “You can tell the servants to get rid of the old portrait too. They can burn it or something like that. I don't want to ever see it again.” He seemed to be talking about the painting that hung in the entrance hall in a forgotten corner. It was a bit problematic to burn the picture of the emperor and the former empress, but no one would dare to ignore his order.
Blanche pressed her mouth into a thin line when reality caught up to her again. The divorce had been processed now. She couldn't push away thoughts of the future anymore. There wasn't an empress, and soon the nobles would find out and demand a new one. And then Theodore would have to deal with all of that pressure before he gave in and...made a choice.
He could marry another influential woman, but judging by his words, that wouldn't happen.
The other option was his current fiancée becoming his only wife, which would make her the empress.
Blanche, who happened to be that fiancée, unwillingly tightened her hold on her lover while pressing her face against his chest. There was no way that this could end well.
Unsurprisingly, Theodore noticed her tension immediately. He began stroking over her hair while cradling her head. “It's fine. You don't need to worry about anything. I will make sure that everything will be wonderful. What concerns you?”
She didn't want to say it so openly, but after a moment of silence, she responded. “Artias needs an empress. The nobles won't accept anything else. And I can't take on that role even if you seem to believe that for some reason. So, you need to...” He needed to marry another woman, but she couldn't bring herself to say that. “You claimed that you wouldn't multiple times...but you don't have much of a choice here unless...”
Theodore didn't hesitate to bring his hand to her chin. He tilted her head upward and pressed a kiss onto her forehead. “I won't marry anyone but you. There is no way that I'd ever even look at another woman, and I will be happy to vocalize that no matter how often people need to hear it. You know that I said that the emperor doesn't need anyone's permission, right? That still holds true. I don't need anyone's help. But we do have supporters that will do their best to improve their relationship with us. They would never dare to complain. Most of our enemies might not stay nobles much longer. So, that issue is solved too. And since you are the only one I will marry, only you can become empress as well. I already promised that I would not force you. But please think about it before denying that possibility. Listen to me tomorrow and don't underestimate yourself. Trust my judgment and Leon's as well. Then you will change your mind.”
The concubine doubted that. Becoming the most powerful woman in the nation was a great responsibility, and she wasn't sure whether she could carry it. She would have to if things continued like that, but she was still worried. She was different from Seraphina. Blanche hadn't been raised with the very purpose of becoming empress. She had been raised as a commoner with no expectation of doing much during her life since her family had been rich. There was no way that twenty years of education could simply be rectified within a few months. “Theo. You know that my parents never taught me to take over a nation. I'm not prepared for that. I would take years to catch up. Of course, I would try, but everyone would just compare me to the previous empress. I...”
Her lover shushed her and kissed her again. “You'll never be alone, remember that. The empress' only job right now is appearing in public and taking care of some documents. You are already doing both. I plan on giving you much more power with some laws so that you will have the same amount of rights as I do. But we'll do that slowly so that our political surroundings can get used to it. You will never be alone with Leon and me here to assist you. The ministers will also continue to work without many problems, so there will be little change at first. If there is anything else, let me teach you like I was taught by others. So, please think about it for a while before denying that possibility. It would be unfortunate if you gave up because you don't trust yourself. Because I know that you can do it.” Theodore put his hand on the side of her cheek and looked directly into her eyes while speaking. “Please trust me. Think about it. You don't need to pressure yourself. You have more than enough time to get used to this thought before trying anything. Just don't deny that possibility tomorrow. Alright?”
Blanche couldn't refute that. She nodded weakly without being sure what she should say. All of this was way too complicated for her. If she didn't become empress, no one else would. Would that be better or worse than having a commoner as the emperor's wife? Surely, the biggest portion of the commoners would love that fairy tale about a young lady without noble origin becoming the most powerful woman in the nation. That might give her enough support to carry her easily. But the aristocrats would fume about a person with lowly origins, as they called it, being put above them. Not all nobles were like that, Blanche knew that. But even a few loud voices could be enough to trouble her.
Could the emperor's power truly stay stable despite all of that? Blanche wasn't sure. She didn't know anything right now. It had advantages and problems. Being the empress gave her quite a few chances to change things. She might even be able to move society forward a bit by pointing out the problems she had seen while living among commoners and nobles.
But she didn't feel prepared for that at all. Not in the slightest. Upon seeing Theodore's confidence when he appeared in public, she always felt small. He was a good ruler, and in comparison, she was completely useless. She was scared of the prospect of being put on a throne, which she didn't deserve. Some empresses before her might not have done much either, but if she received power, she had to use it to do some good.
She, Blanche, the one who never acted. The villainess.
The concubine was completely lost in thoughts, so she almost didn't notice when Theodore gently poked her cheek. He smiled at her and rubbed small patterns into her back. “Don't worry about it. You should consider that option and not pressure yourself. It's unhealthy to do things like this. Just lean back and let me explain why you are perfect for that position. Then you can slowly get used to that thought. You don't have to come to a conclusion overnight.”
Blanche nodded even if she was sure that she would barely be able to hold herself back. She couldn't just refuse her lover's request when he was this gentle about asking her. “I will try...to go slowly.” Even if the concerns in her head wouldn't disappear if she just said this. She leaned her head against Theodore's chest and closed her eyes. She wanted to have some time to relax without thinking about all of this, but she suspected that her mind wouldn't allow her to rest.
That proved to be true.
For the whole day, she pondered her future even when her lover told her to stop to avoid over-exhausting her. But she couldn't help herself. Even while they lay in bed, her mind was somewhere else before he began showering her in kisses. He managed to distract her enough so that she could fall asleep eventually, but when she awoke in the middle of the night, she could barely close her eyes again.
The situation in general was bad enough, but that they would meet the Duremonts today made everything worse. The only good thing about Blanche's nervousness was that she was awake as soon as they left the bed. In comparison to the other days, she was much more energetic, even if she was a bit too tense. She had hoped that it would get better with time, but the closer three o'clock came, the more nervous she got to the point that she was shaking.