“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.”

And just like that, those words had been the final nail in the coffin.

Blanche felt her blood rushing to her cheeks. She buried her face in her lover's shoulder, and even him patting her head didn't get rid of the anxiety that was rushing through her body now. Still, she forced herself to straighten her posture and look at the people in front of her. She needed to keep her dignity even if she felt like dying on the inside. Theodore had truly announced that she would become empress in the most direct and tactless way imaginable.

Obviously, Seraphina wasn't affected by the news at all. Elaine was definitely shocked this time, but she actually seemed more worried about her husband.

Henry, however, almost appeared to lose his mind at that. He leaned against the backrest and stared at the emperor with pure wrath. “Tell me that this is a joke. I understand you marrying her, but how can you even dare to think about making her empress?” He got louder with each word until he was yelling.

Theodore narrowed his eyes. “Watch your mouth. I told you not to raise your voice in my or Blanche's presence.” He only spoke in a tone that was a bit kinder when the other man closed his mouth. “Good. Now let us discuss this like normal human beings. Firstly, this is none of your business. I don't actually have to explain myself or give you a reason until you agree. I don't care about your opinion. The only one that has a say in this is Blanche. I will only tell you this to make you understand why she is fitting for this position. Now the second part. There-”

Duke Duremont didn't let the emperor finish. He spoke a bit louder and with a trembling voice, so it became clear that he held himself back from yelling. “How is this none of my business? Our whole nation depends on this. She might not destroy us because you are still there, but she isn't an appropriate candidate at all! She has no political experience or education whatsoever! She will be completely clueless, and everyone will know that. What do you think will happen? The nobles will rip her to shreds! How will you move on without the aristocrats' support?”

Theodore sighed and glanced at his lover before continuing. “I think I said this a dozen times already. The emperor of Artias has way too many rights. He isn't dependent on help. But if you want to cling to that thought, I can calm you as well. There are enough people here that will be happy to support me. Even if you aren't with them, Lord Astame and Duke Lamont will immediately back Blanche. And Count Ravillot would certainly support his daughter's savior as well.” That comment was a subtle reminder for Henry to stay calm, and it served to make the duke grit his teeth. Theodore didn't even stop there though. “And as your older daughter said, you can rest assured that the citizens will adore an empress that is the descendant of commoners. So, I don't need to argue with anyone to keep them on my side. I would also like to ask you to give me time to explain before you begin complaining. I wanted to tell you my reasons for her being a suitable empress.” While he spoke, he squeezed his lover's hand.

Blanche squeezed it back, but she could barely keep herself from showing her dismay. She knew that she should defend herself and tell Henry that Theodore wasn't fully wrong to do this, but how could she try that when she herself wasn't too confident that she could become empress? The thoughts in her mind were simply too burdening. She had no idea how to deal with all of this. If she declined, Theodore would need another wife. But she also couldn't agree. Her being the empress was an odd thought.

And the worst thing was that she began to ask herself why she was being so hesitant more every day. Something inside her already voiced the provoking idea about her just going along with her lover's plan. He knew what he was doing, and in the worst case, she would sit next to him while he governed. That wasn't too much of an issue, as Seraphina not working for a few months had proved. But still, she couldn't bring herself to agree with that little voice inside her. She wasn't fit to be empress. She didn't even speak up when that issue was addressed, so how should she appear as the most powerful woman in Artias?

Henry barely waited until the emperor finished before speaking up again. “I know why you want to place her beside you very well. If you care for her, it's obvious that you'd try this. But it's impossible. Can't you just keep her as your secondary wife? That will be bad enough for most aristocrats to accept, but you will never be able to make her empress. She would need to have received lessons ever since her childhood to be suitable for that position. But she has the blood of a commoner family and no political knowledge. She can neither represent nor govern the nation. You can imagine how the nobles will react, right? Your favor can't be the only thing protecting her.”

Theodore glanced at the duke with annoyance. “I assume that you don't know that even that small suggestion about me taking in some other woman is enough to ruin my mood. Blanche is the only one I want. There is no way that I will do anything but make her my one and only wife. And all the issues you mentioned are not really a problem. Are we talking about the same nobles at all? They may always pretend to act like they are brave and strong in front of you, but as soon as I enter the room, they get quiet. They talk a lot, but most won't ever oppose me. Did anyone except for you speak up when I brought Blanche here? When she gave me her handkerchief during the hunting festival? When I dressed her in the royal colors and gifted her crowns? When I let her sit on the throne?”

The questions barely mattered.

Theodore paused for a short moment before answering his questions himself. “No. No one ever complained. Except for you and the dowager empress, of course. But she won't be around for much longer. And you don't seem to be against Blanche as the empress because of your own opinion. You don't look down on commoners, so her bloodline doesn't matter much to you. You merely worry about the stability of Artias, right? After telling you about how the nobles will react in reality, only one other problem remains. You are concerned about Blanche's political knowledge, correct?”

Henry balled his hands into fists. He avoided looking at the concubine and slowly nodded. “Seraphina is extremely competent. Having someone inexperienced now wouldn't serve to improve the nation.”

Blanche was aware of that. Of course, she was. She couldn't truly defend herself either, even if a part of her longed to do it. It would sound desperate if she explained how she had worked on documents with Theodore already while attending lessons with Leon. If she also learned how to organize events, she could actually support her future husband a lot already. And that was the empress' main task anyway, was it not?

But if you compared all of that to Seraphina's accomplishments, it did sound like Blanche would be quite useless.

Yet, Theodore's face lit up with a smile. He raised his hand. “Give me the folder.” It only took a moment before a servant hurried out of the corner and handed him a folder from the office. Then he held it toward Blanche and opened the first page. “Can you remember that contract here?” Of course, she did. They had just signed it yesterday.

Blanche snapped out of her thoughts and became a bit more unwell. She gave her lover a skeptical look before responding. “That was the contract regarding the trading route between some mines in the south and the capital. The one that brought the idea of using both the rivers and streets to bring items from there to here. It was refused by multiple other nobles, but the merchant didn't give up, which is why it ended up here. We, or rather you, affirmed that it would be better to realize this idea yesterday. The original was already sent to the merchant that is in charge of this project, and this is the copy.”

Theodore grinned at her and replied in a soft voice. “Exactly. What was the issue here? Why did we agree with it when many others rejected the idea?”

Blanche didn't quite understand why anyone would need to hear this, but she answered the question anyway. “At the first glance, that new route is longer. You need to take a detour to reach the rivers, so most people assumed that it would cost more and take longer. But all in all, it's still faster than the normal way. Coincidentally, there are some rivers that flow toward the north so that the full ships can be brought here without needing too many horses. Normally, the gems and stones have to be transported by countless carriages because they are rather heavy. Now you only need those coaches for the first and the last bit of the journey, and in the middle, the boats take over. The ships, which are rather small, are being brought back by many carriages as well, but at the same time, one can use them to store fur and fabric that needs to be transported to the south. Those aren't as heavy as the gems, so the horses can move faster, and they don't need to rest as long afterward. So, this whole method is faster and thus, more cost-efficient, which is why we agreed.” She only noticed that she had explained more than others needed to know at this moment and quickly averted her gaze.

Theodore still beamed at her and stoked over her head. “You're as clever as always.” He turned to the duke and leaned forward to hand over the folder. “Can you read that? The first pages are the ones that belong to the contract she just mentioned. Behind that, there are other contracts I wrote in the past few days. You will notice that the handwriting is a bit different on some. That is because Blanche took care of those. Read them. Then you should see that she has no issues dealing with the matters you ministers also face.”

Henry frowned at that, but he obeyed and flipped through the pages while staring at each contract for a few seconds. At one point, he tensed and scanned one of the pages for much longer before glaring at it. He took a while before closing the folder and clenching his jaw.

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The emperor greeted him with a smirk. “You noticed, didn't you? I put in some of the older versions on which she wrote down small comments on how to improve it. That contract had almost no spelling errors, so she liked it a lot. Still, she proposed adding some argumentative paragraphs that would make it easier to explain this decision to the involved people, even those that are new to this topic. Did you recognize that contract? It was yours. And you also wrote back that the changes I made were quite helpful. Do you understand now? She is a natural. But of course, this didn't happen because Blanche was lazy. Ever since her birthday a month ago, she started helping me with my work. Surely, it will take a while for her to get used to everything, but right now, her biggest issue is accepting that some merchants can't write without spelling errors. She's doing well assisting me in the office. You can see that, right? If anything else is lacking, I will teach her. We have enough time for that.”

Blanche barely knew how to react to that. She hadn't known that she was going through documents that the ministers had sent. She had been sure that Theodore was giving her the ones that weren't as important. He had given her permission to redo everything, so she had marked all the passages that bothered her and scribbled comments onto the sides. Some had been rather curt, but sometimes, she had rewritten multiple paragraphs because something had been missing or another phrasing had sounded better. Sometimes, she had put things into a more simple sentence, just to let people with less knowledge in this field understand too. She wasn't proud about having ruined a contract that Duke Duremont had submitted. But she wasn't met with as much anger as she had previously believed, so maybe she hadn't been too wrong with her work.

Henry didn't say anything and just glared at the folder.

That gave Theodore a chance to continue. “You remember that she came up with the law that gave the ministers more power too. She didn't do it in front of many other people and is rather shy about it, but she also mentioned some other laws that should be implemented, including better education for children and laws that make it easier for women to take over their households. She showed the desire to change our nation in a way that benefits everyone and has some fresh ideas, partially because she may have lived as a commoner and has another view on things. That means that she doesn't have problems reading up on laws and correcting contracts or suggesting improvements for Artias. That is the greatest part of the things I need to deal with. You saw how she hosted her birthday ball and how she acts in public in general too. Representing the royal family isn't hard for her. She only has to smile, and everyone will be happy to have been greeted with so much friendliness. And if that doesn't convince you...”

Somehow, he found even more things to say.

Theodore paused to give the duke a radiant beam before he proudly resumed. “For about a year, she has been attending lessons with Lord Astame, my advisor. He covered the basics of etiquette and noble conventions, but after she asked, he began talking about politics and economy too. I can calm you by saying that he praised her a lot even though he normally finds faults with everyone. He is glad that someone is genuinely interested in these topics and that she is ambitious while learning. His only complaint is that she doesn't like to read these thick tomes about politics, but he doesn't like them either. So, there is only a single problem about her becoming empress.”

Blanche's cheeks were already glowing after receiving so much praise, but she was surprised when she heard the last part. Then Theodore turned to her, and she tensed even before he began speaking. Certainly, this would be a big issue, or he wouldn't point it out.

But her lover was perfectly calm when he started. “At some point, we will have to go through the constitution. You don't need to read everything at once. You only need to know which part is where so that you can check the old laws when you wish to read up on something. I think we already looked at the first fifty pages while cuddling without you even noticing it. What are the first parts?”

Blanche froze at that. They had read something that resembled the constitution a while ago, but something had been quite odd about that. She wasn't fully sure whether Theodore meant this for a moment but asked anyway. “You mean that book? The brown leather one? That was awfully thin, wasn't it? There was no way that this was our whole constitution. The general human rights came first, and then there were things about the emperor, but not every law that I know of, and the military. We were almost done with that, so I don't think anything else was in there. Was that really the whole book? Our constitution isn't that short.”

Theodore chuckled at her. “It is. At least the main part. There are eleven other books of that length, and each one deals with another broad topic. But you already heard the most important things because I read them to you. So, there is no need to worry. We'll go through the rest too.” With that, he focused on Henry again. “Do you understand now? She doesn't have any noble blood, but she has the necessary desire to help others, and she is gaining knowledge about everything quickly. She is also good at reading people, which is what she proved when she saw through Lady Lemares' facade before you did. Blanche is perfect for the role of the empress, and I will not ever consider placing anyone else there. But as you can see, your wife already knew that.”

It was true that Elaine didn't look too surprised after getting over the initial shock. She calmly drank a sip of her tea before replying. “I did not expect you to voice it without preparing my husband for this kind of information. But I knew that it was coming. No one would marry another woman if the one they love is directly next to them. Especially not if she is doing so well.” She showed the concubine a soft smile. “I would like to apologize for Henry's rudeness from before. He didn't wish to offend you, he just genuinely worries about Artias. He only needs a moment to process the news. It would be nice of you to give him a minute. So, please excuse his words from before.”

Blanche was more than surprised to hear this woman defend her, so she quickly spoke up in response. “Oh, no. There is no need for you to apologize. I am well aware that His Grace's concerns are valid. This is a rather controversial decision, so I did not expect you to be overjoyed.” She herself was already uncertain enough about this.

Still, Elaine insisted on being far too friendly. “Having political concerns does not excuse using harsh words against someone that worked hard to make up for their lacking education in the past. Henry did also comment on your relationship far too much, for which I wish to sincerely apologize. I will scold him for you.” Elaine turned to her husband, and her smile faded. “I would ask you to be careful with your words. What would you have done if someone had told you to marry another woman while I was your fiancée? If they proposed that you could keep me as a second wife or a mistress instead? Especially if they said that while I was next to you?”

And somehow, that was enough to turn the confident duke into someone that couldn't even look up.

Henry was silent for a moment. He averted his eyes until his wife brought her face closer to his. Only then, he finally responded. “I would have been extremely angry.”

Elaine nodded at that, and her smile returned. “I would have been upset too. And that is why you will not say things like this to anyone else ever again. Do you understand? There was no need to make them worry about whether you will continue to support His Majesty. In the end, you would accept it anyway no matter what. So, stop complaining and let His Majesty decide. He isn't incompetent. And as long as Seraphina is content, we won't need to be upset about the divorce either. We will finally have her back home. Is that not better?”

Seraphina was silent for a bit too long for replying. “There is something else aside from the news we already shared. I will also have to trouble you a third time, but that is a rather personal issue.” She glanced at the couple on the other couch, which made it clear that Blanche and Theodore should leave.

Henry alternated between looking at his wife and his daughter while looking rather dejected. “There is even more to talk about? Please tell me that this is less nerve-wracking. Or does everyone but me know already too?”

Blanche was speechless at that. How had Elaine's comment changed anything about the situation? Why was Henry already distracted and had stopped protesting? That didn't make any sense. But she didn't have much time to think about that.

Theodore slowly stood up and pulled her with him. “Blanche and I know. But your family doesn't. And I'm sure that you will wish to keep it like that too. We won't tell anyone if you don't plan on spreading the news. In return, I would like to ask you to keep our secrets to yourselves too. We will announce our engagement during the ball next month.”

There was a glint of anger in Seraphina's eyes when he mentioned her secret, but she held back until he finished. “It would be better for all of us to treat this matter confidentially. Naturally, we will not ruin the surprise if you wish to reveal it during the ball. But before that, I would ask you to write an official letter about the divorce and publish it. I would favor that not being announced in the middle of a party.”

The emperor pulled his lover into his arms while responding. “I already finished that one a while ago. I'll tell Leon to send it today so that this topic will be rather old when the ball comes. Due to your special circumstance, you can not deal with stress right now after all.” This earned him a glare from Seraphina, but he didn't care much and just addressed the duke and the duchess. “We said most of the things we wished to discuss. We will leave you alone so that you can talk about the happy news by yourselves. Unless there is something anyone here wants to tell us, we will leave. I wish you a nice afternoon.”

Henry's anger had faded by now and left behind an unusual calmness, which was accompanied by a big portion of frustration. He shook his head. “We would like to continue this conversion in private. May you have a wonderful evening, Your Majesty. And Lady Blanche too.”

Elaine and Seraphina added their goodbyes as well.

Theodore merely returned a polite smile. “We will have a nice day. Thank you. I assume that we will meet during the next ball again. Until then.” He started leading his lover to the door, but Blanche stopped before he could bring her out and quickly turned to the Duremonts.

“I wish you a relaxing evening. Goodbye, Your...” Blanche almost called Seraphina by her old title and barely stopped herself. “Your Graces and Lady Duremont.” That seemed to have used up Theodore's patience since he immediately proceeded to pull her out of the room.

The door closed behind them, but the couple stopped directly behind it so that she managed to hear what the people inside were saying.

Henry was the first to speak up. “Even during such a situation, they don't stop provoking us.”

The concubine was slightly confused about what he was referring to, but Seraphina's reply explained it. “I have to admit that their constant touching upset me a lot in the beginning too. Then I noticed that they didn't do it to annoy me. They are, in fact, always like this. They just don't hold back in front of others anymore. So, you do not have to feel...”

Blanche didn't hear the rest because her lover already moved forward, and she hurried to avoid making him wait. She matched his pace and leaned into him while they walked. “This...went better than expected. He didn't try to kill us.” She could barely believe it, and saying it out loud felt even stranger. How had they managed to go through with this without Henry having a mental breakdown? It didn't make sense for the prideful man to have given in so easily. “I thought that he would begin leading a revolution immediately.”

Theodore gave her a little grin, but it quickly faded. “He's a coward. The nation comes first, and he knows that I am the best ruler available right now. So, he will have to try his best to help me. He used to be able to threaten me because I hadn't realized that I didn't need to listen to him yet. Now he can say whatever he wants, and I will ignore him at all times. That moron doesn't have anything that I would need. I appreciate that he finally understood that and stopped yelling, but I'm still annoyed with him. He dares to say some rather impolite things to you, so I feel like I need to teach him how to keep quiet.”

Blanche was a bit uncomfortable with him saying things like that about his biggest political supporter, so she quickly spoke up before he could gossip more. “But I don't understand why he accepted the divorce so easily. That he just said that our engagement is fine was strange too. He always wanted to stabilize the empress'...I mean...his daughter's position. He hated me, so I doubt that he will just get over this within a few minutes. What if he lied to calm you?”

That was a concerning question, actually. Though, Blanche doubted it.