Blanche felt absolutely horrible about standing next to Theodore in front of the door. Still, she couldn't bring herself to let go of his hand and gripped him even tighter when his fingers moved to the door handle.
Duke Duremont would be quite upset when he heard about this. She was sure of it.
Theodore paused for a moment to pat her hand once more and gave her a small kiss. “You don't need to worry. He will get angry at me and not you, at least not for long. He will only take a moment and yell and then stay quiet. You saved his granddaughter's life. He can't hate you even if he tries to.”
The concubine nodded, but she didn't believe that for one second. If she guessed correctly, they would announce the divorce and her engagement today. Both of these things would succeed in ruining Duke Duremont's mood completely. She didn't need to think twice before knowing that he would probably wish to slaughter them after hearing all of that. But she had no way to avoid that conversation anyway. At some point, Henry would find out.
Theodore waited for a moment to let her calm down before he whispered to her. “Are you ready?” He opened the door after she signaled him that it was fine with a nod. He led her inside and put on his typical polite smile, which he always showed in public. “Good day. I am happy to see all of you here. I hope you didn't wait for too long.” He probably didn't call their titles to not immediately give away that Seraphina wasn't the empress anymore. No one noticed yet though.
The Duremonts were already sitting inside the guest room on one of the sofas, with Seraphina and Elaine being seated on Henry's left and right. They had probably chosen that seating order to calm their father and husband as soon as the news came. It seemed like that would be necessary too.
Duke Duremont already glared at the emperor, who was still holding his concubine's hand. He looked like he would like to stay silent instead of greeting anyone, probably because he expected his daughter to speak up first. He glanced at her in confusion when she didn't reply. His expression darkened, but he still followed the protocol after Seraphina patted his hand. “Good day, Your Majesty. I am honored to be welcomed by you. What could be the occasion?”
Theodore let out a quiet sigh. “I am eager to finally bring this matter behind us too. But I do feel a bit disgruntled to hear that you will ignore the greetings because of your impatience. Neither your wife and your daughter nor my angel had the chance to speak up yet. Shouldn't they say hello first?”
Henry's face scrunched up at that. “My daughter should have spoken up already, but she didn't do so. That's why I assumed that you had already met her. But if you insist, we will continue the greetings first. Good day, Lady Blanche.” He addressed the concubine as curtly as possible in a voice that lacked all warmth.
Blanche would have liked to curtsy, but her lover still held her hand, so she couldn't do that. So, she just greeted the duke with a bright smile. “Good day, Your Grace. I hope that you've been well and haven't had any issues on your way here.”
Henry ignored that and just glared at her.
Theodore narrowed his eyes as well. “I see that we should avoid having longer discussions today as you seem to be distraught. I understand that you must be surprised, but please do maintain some amount of politeness. Though, I shall ignore that you spoke in the wrong order as you did not do it with ill intentions.” He ignored the duke's irritated expression and led his lover to the sofa. He sat down and pulled her with him.
Henry took that as his cue to speak up again in a much angrier tone. “What are you referring to, Your Majesty? Naturally, the correct order suggests that I speak first. A baroness' rank can't be higher than mine. You should be aware of that.”
The emperor looked rather annoyed at that too. “I planned on having that discussion a bit later, but we can also do it now. But if you turned to your daughter for a moment, you would see that she wishes to ease you into it. There are three topics that we need to discuss. I assume that your daughter will take care of two of them. You may speak, Lady Duremont.”
Both Elaine and Henry turned their head to their daughter in shock after hearing that title. The duke's expression became darker, but the duchess was a bit calmer. Elaine leaned forward to reach over to her daughter. “Seraphina... What exactly does this mean?”
Seraphina was silent for a moment before she reluctantly spoke up. “It would be better for you to give me some time before we will address that topic. I need both of you to listen carefully before reacting. There have been some changes that will greatly influence our family and our nation, but I can assure you that it is for the best. So, you will need to listen until I explained everything. Please do not get angry first since I've given my permission to every single change.”
Duke Duremont ignored everything his daughter had just said. He narrowed his eyes and turned to the emperor while grabbing Seraphina's hand. “What did you make her agree to?” He didn't listen to his daughter's attempts to make him turn to her again and kept glaring at the other man.
Theodore rested his elbow on the backrest of the couch while showing Henry his cold stoic expression. “It would be best if you choose to be a bit more patient. Your daughter was about to tell you what happened, and it was you who interrupted her. Since I believe that you would like to hear it from her instead, I shall let Lady Duremont speak.” He gazed at Seraphina. “Tell him directly. It will be best to get it over with.” He leaned his head onto his palm and glanced to the side. “This is a big change that may upset him after all.”
Henry glared at the other man before whipping his head around to face his daughter. “What is he talking about? Is it-”
Seraphina lifted her hand and silenced him. “Please allow me to explain. I will start with the most important facts, but you need to listen afterward. Will you promise me that?” She stared right into her father's eyes while waiting for him to nod. She only continued when he did that. “His Majesty and I divorced. We signed the documents yesterday.”
The ducal couple froze in place. Henry became paler at that but didn't find his voice quick enough. His mouth fell open, but he didn't say anything.
Elaine was the one that reacted first. “Are you serious?” She stared at her daughter, who just nodded, with wide eyes.
By now, Duke Duremont seemed to have processed the news. “What?” He raised his voice and jumped to his feet. He whirled around to the emperor. “How dare you do that to my daughter? Because of that woman?” He pointed at the concubine. “This is it! I will-”
“Henry.” Elaine's voice was sharper than normal. And that wasn't all. The duchess' whole aura was more intimidating than usual, so her husband had no choice but to listen. “You promised that you would listen to Seraphina. You'll sit down and close your mouth until she finishes.”
Henry froze at that and met his wife's gaze. “But-” He cut himself off when he noticed that the duchess was still glaring at him. Then he slowly sat down.
Elaine watched him until he had done what she had asked of him before taking over. She turned to Seraphina and gave her a gentle smile. “Sweetie. You should have told us first.” She stood up and sat down next to her daughter before pulling her into her arms. “We could have helped you earlier.”
Seraphina quickly returned her mother's hug while also reaching for her father. She only spoke when her father joined them. “I did not mean to worry you. Now everything is settled, and there won't be any issues anymore. I agreed to the divorce and signed without being pressured. I didn't mind any of the paragraphs within the contract, and I do not regret signing it. So, there is no need to argue now. His Majesty did not wrong me in any way. Please do not feel bad for me or anger him when there is no reason for any of us to be discontent with this development. I am happy with this decision. From now on, I will have one month to move out along with my servants. Would you mind it if I return home then?”
Elaine gently stroked over her daughter's head. “No. Of course not. We are happy to have you with us. We won't take long to get everything ready, and we can help you transport your belongings. Your room is still untouched, you know?”
Henry looked like he fought against tears while he hugged his daughter tightly. “You will always have a place at home. You can come back as soon as you want. There is no need to stay here any longer.”
Blanche watched that in silence while trying to keep her expression neutral. It was touching to see such a family care for one another. But obviously, it would seem weird for her to show any reaction to that now, so she forced herself to hold back. As long as she was silent, it should be fine since she didn't want to disturb the family.
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But Theodore had less empathy. He watched the others cuddle with indifference while leaning his head to the side to rest it on his lover's shoulder. Then he whispered to her. “They will take a while longer, so we can distract ourselves for a bit. Will you give me a massage?”
The concubine gazed at him with pure annoyance but let her head rest on his as she whispered back. “Not now. I will do that later when we're alone. Not when we're in the middle of a meeting.”
Her lover didn't seem to have mercy though. He cuddled against her and turned his head to press a kiss onto the side of her neck. “Why? You're my fiancée. Who is supposed to stop me? I want to hug you now. Don't push me back.”
Blanche didn't have the desire to do that, but she would probably have to. “Theo.” She tried to voice this in a tone that warned him to stop, but it might not have worked. “Theo. Don't do it now. We have plenty of time later.” She feared having been too loud and glanced over to the Duremonts, only to meet Henry's gaze. She hurried to avert her eyes and looked to the side. “Theo, please... We need to focus on this.”
The emperor finally obeyed at that. He lifted his head and whispered once more. “Alright. Later then.” He turned to the Duremont family and ignored the duke's grim expression before resuming. “That was the most important thing. I believe you needed to hear this first. I would like to remind you that there are two other topics we need to discuss. One doesn't have much to do with us and one doesn't have anything to do with you. Still, I feel like your parents may wish to hear about them. Will you tell them about your new family, or shall I do it?”
Seraphina narrowed her eyes at that. “This is indeed our own personal matter, Your Majesty. I would appreciate it if we didn't deal with that today. I will inform them a bit later in private.”
Theodore tilted his head to the side and seemed to ponder about that. “Naturally. It is your private matter after all. But make sure that they know before the surprise is there. I'm not sure whether they want to be shocked upon hearing that you'll move to Northern Ocrea.”
Seraphina sighed and closed her eyes for a moment, probably to hold back her anger. “I am happy to hear that you are as sensible as always. I'm sure that you would be pleased with me revealing your secret too, Your Majesty. But I am of the conviction that one should be able to talk about such things of your own volition. Please allow me to do that.”
Theodore raised his hand and made a rejecting movement. “You are free to decide on your own as we have no affiliation with each other anymore. I don't wish to be acquainted with you, and there is no need for me to act any differently either.”
Henry's frown deepened. “Your Majesty. There is no need to be like this just because you are divorced. After all, you are the one that caused this. I will not stand for my daughter being disrespected, and now I do not have the need to hold back anymore. That you aren't married anymore also doesn't justify you ignoring your visitors to cuddle with a concubine. That is pure insolence even if you are the emperor.”
Despite this, Theodore stayed fully calm. He just replied as if he had expected this. “It seems that you are in a bad mood. As I said, I can understand this to some extent. But since the following news will only upset you more, it might be best for you to listen now. Whether I cuddle with Blanche or not is not something under your jurisdiction. You have no right to meddle in my relationships, much like I will not influence yours. I would also like to inform you that Blanche is not solely my lover without a title anymore. She is my fiancée as well, so it should be appropriate for us to be affectionate.”
This statement was followed by silence.
Blanche could only stare at her lover in shock while inwardly screaming about the discussion that would begin. This had been the worst way to reveal their engagement.
Seraphina sighed quietly and leaned back, most likely to let the fight begin without her being included. After all, she had wanted to ease her parents into accepting the news, and now her efforts were rendered useless.
It took a few seconds before Henry reacted to those words. “This is a bad joke, right?” His voice was dripping with fury, but he didn't jump up again. This time, he remained seated, but the expression of pure wrath on his face made him seem even more threatening.
Theodore immediately felt how his lover tensed and leaned over to her to pull her into his arms. “I do not think that my engagement with Blanche is a joke, Your Grace. We already signed the documents on my birthday, so she has been my fiancée ever since then. We have not made it public yet, but that doesn't change the fact that she is legally a member of the royal family. That is why it would be best for you to accept that I will appear at her side often from now on.”
Blanche didn't say a single thing as a shiver ran down her spine. The tension was so thick that one could have cut it with a knife, so she didn't dare to move. The duke's anger was understandable, so she had no way to defend herself. What would she say? That she had gained a position that was unreachable for others of her rank was true.
Henry glared at the couple with more hatred than ever before as replied to the emperor. “No, surely, you must be joking. Because there is no way that you divorced my daughter just to marry that girl. Did you think that getting rid of a competent empress is a good idea because your concubine doesn't like her? Do you really believe that your next wife will accept this person here by your side? Such a-”
“Father.” Seraphina chimed in to silence the duke. She took his hand before beginning to speak to him in a calm voice. “Lady Blanche did not get involved in this process. Surely, she may have played a role too, but she never did anything in order to create this outcome. Besides, we got along well during the past few months, and I did tell you about that. There is no reason to offend her when she never did anything to trouble us. In the last months, that is. So, I would ask you to encounter her with a bit more respect. And please allow His Majesty to speak before coming to conclusions.”
Henry's face scrunched up at that, but he didn't say anything. He turned to the couple and pressed his mouth into a thin line while glaring at them.
Blanche felt like she might be hated the most here, so she barely wanted to respond. She clung to Theodore's side and prayed that his presence would save her from the worst insults that could possibly follow. She just hoped that her lover would be able to deal with this conversation without losing the Duremonts' support.
Surely, Seraphina's words were a little comforting, but they helped little when the duke was furious. It would be best for the emperor to calm his opponent down before attempting to explain anything else. But as expected, he didn't care for that.
Theodore looked like he wanted to become much harsher, but instead, he chose to be so indifferent that it was painful too. “Your Grace, I did understand why you worried about your daughter, but why do you wish to get involved now? The matters of the royal family do not concern you. Since when has the emperor needed to ask for permission before his wedding? So, I refuse to accept any criticism. My only mistake is not making Blanche my wife sooner. I believe that would have spared all of us a lot of trouble.” He turned to his lover and lifted her hand to kiss her fingers.
Blanche gave her best not to show her nervousness, but her heart was pounding in her chest. Sharing this information had been provoking enough, but Theodore didn't seem to know a limit. Granted, it could have gone worse, but this was bad enough. Blanche felt like she couldn't leave it at this, so she tried to speak. “Your Grace, I fully understand your concerns, but this decision is something Theodore considered for a while. He didn't rush into it nor-” It seemed like no one even listened to her as she was coldly interrupted.
Henry already looked like he was about to murder someone. He gritted his teeth and balled his fists while his wife desperately tried to console him. “You...” He breathed in and out a couple of times, but it didn't calm him down. “You seriously want to make her your wife? She is a baroness! How can she marry into the royal family? That is ridiculous!”
Theodore narrowed his eyes before pulling his lover's head against his chest. “Why? There is no law that insists that the emperor's wife has to fulfill any criteria. Some empresses never even knew how to govern and left everything to their advisors. So, there is no need for anyone to join a competition before they become my wife. Since my political power is strong enough for me not to need the daughter of any influential household, you do not need to worry. I understand that you wish for the best for the nation, but do hold back. There would be nothing keeping me from marrying Blanche tomorrow. The most ridiculous thing here is you trying to keep me from doing it.”
Henry moved as if he wanted to stand up, but both his wife and daughter stopped him.
Elaine stroked over his hair and whispered something to him before turning to the emperor. “I apologize for this reaction. Henry is a bit surprised that he suddenly heard about this without a warning. Of course, that doesn't excuse him being disrespectful, but I hope that you will excuse it. Congratulations on your engagement. May your union bless Artias with another decade of improvement and prosperity.” In contrast to her husband, she was completely calm, which made Henry whip his head around to her.
“Why do you act like this is completely normal? She is a commoner who never received any training that the emperor's wives should attend! Why aren't you shocked or angry at all?”
Elaine sighed quietly and took her husband's hands in between hers. “Darling. You should have seen this coming. I knew that His Majesty and Lady Blanche planned on getting engaged ever since the ball after summer vacation. They wore matching rings, remember? And the way that he presented her in public was different too. Since His Majesty plans on making one of her children the heir, it would be beneficial for them to marry as well. If you thought about it for a moment, you would have understood that they would get married at some point.”
Henry stared at his wife in utter shock. “You knew? Then why didn't you tell me?”
“You were always a bit slower when it came to topics like marriage. You remember how long I had to wait for my proposal even after hinting that I wanted it multiple times, right? So, we guessed that you would find out later than we did. That is why we attempted to do our best to make you get used to that thought. Apparently, it didn't work out that well.”
Seraphina inserted herself into the conversation when her father looked at her. “Naturally, I was aware too. I knew before Mother did, and I was also informed on the day of the engagement. That is why there is no need for you to feel like I was mistreated in any way. I am perfectly fine with that decision. That is why you should accept it too. Just like you and Mother fell in love, those two are happy together. It would be unfair to deny them their right to be together as His Majesty's position is stable enough to protect Artias. Besides, many commoners would be happy to have a royal lady that rose from their position. That could strengthen the Estien family even more. Do you not think so too?”
Henry was quiet for a moment. He scanned his family's expressions before slowly turning to the emperor again. He almost seemed to stall time before eventually speaking up. “Congratulations on your engagement. I hope that this will bring you enough happiness to make up for the problems it will cause.” Then he addressed the concubine. “Lady Blanche, I hope that you understand that this will not be as comfortable for you as you may believe. Being a member of the royal family is hard. And I can assure you that Seraphina was much more lenient than most other noble ladies would have been. No matter who becomes the next empress, they will definitely not treat you with kindness. That is why you will have to act accordingly and-”
Blanche knew that it would have been better to listen, but she didn't want to hear this. She didn't even want to imagine Theodore marrying another woman, so this speech was too much for her. It was good that she didn't need to listen to it at all. “I apologize for interrupting you, Your Grace. But there is no need for you to worry about matters like that. Theo will not marry another woman.” She quickly noticed how bad that sounded and hurried to correct herself. “I'm not forcing him to do this, it was his own decision. He himself stated that he would not agree to another marriage, no matter what.”
Henry narrowed his eyes. “I do not wish to crush your hopes, but that is impossible.” He turned to the emperor at that. “You will need an empress. You cannot just refrain from marrying when there is no heir yet.”
Theodore showed him a little smile. “Exactly. I will marry one woman. I never said that I wouldn't. But there is absolutely no need to worry about Blanche's relationship with my new wife. Because she won't have a problem with herself.” He only paused for a little moment to give the Duremonts time to react. “It should have been obvious by now, but I refuse to even look at another woman. I will never marry anyone but her. Blanche will be my wife, and we will have our wedding after we dealt with my family. I don't care whether you wish to attend the ceremony, but you should come to the coronation. After all, that will be done to honor the new empress of Artias.”