She was easy to spot.
As the main character one needed to have a certain presence to be memorable and Seraphina surely did have it.
The heroine was a bit taller than Blanche and thus looked down at the concubine which only made her seem even more threatening. Her facial expression also didn't help in that regard. She stared at Blanche with a cold gaze that nearly made the concubine shiver. But even despite this, it was painfully obvious that Seraphina was gorgeous which wasn't surprising since she was the heroine of a romance novel. The other's appearance was impressing enough to make Blanche wonder how she had never questioned the existence of such a beautiful being. Though the concubine herself was quite pleasing to look at, Seraphina had something about her that made her even more eye-catching.
The empress wore her golden hair open so that it reached her waist and complimented her slender figure. Her blue eyes were emphasized by her spotless skin and matched the majestic dress she was wearing. She belonged to the royal family, so she was allowed to be dressed in navy and gold which needless to say fit her perfectly. Along with that she also wore a golden tiara with sapphires to complete the image of a flawless empress even more. She wouldn't have needed any of that to seem majestic, but like this, she almost looked like an ethereal being.
The only thing that contradicted her beauty was the freezing look that she gave Blanche. Though it was understandable that Seraphina disliked the other woman. The person in front of her was the mistress of her husband which already justified Seraphina holding a grudge.
The more prominent reasons though were the many fights they had had ever since Seraphina had married Theodore. Most of them had developed because Blanche had disrespected the other woman or tried to claim privileges that were meant for the empress. Logically Seraphina hadn't ignored this imprudent behavior and countless disputes had erupted.
The worst one of them had even ended in Blanche promising that she wouldn't let the other woman stay empress for long and that she would take over that position. In hindsight, these words had been more than foolish and only proved what an impulsive person Blanche had been. And this had only been one of the countless times that she had antagonized Seraphina.
Naturally, the empress only saw the concubine as a cause of problems and a future threat now. So it was understandable that she acknowledged the other's presence with the simplest one of the possible greetings in a tone that was just as frosty as her glare. “Lady Blanche.”
The concubine stopped staring at the other woman and hurried to show the empress the appropriate courtesy. She lowered her head, lifted the hem of her dress and made a curtsy. “Greetings to Her Majesty, the empress of Artias.” Most likely this had been the first time that she had properly addressed Seraphina with this overly formal traditional greeting. It felt a little strange since Blanche was used to provoking her lover's wife at any given chance. Luckily it seemed like the novel's memories had also taught her to swallow more of her pride. It didn't pain her as much to bow to her nemesis as she was sure that it would have before.
That was good. She needed to get along with Seraphina to avoid becoming the villainess. This was crucial even if it made her stomach churn. In the best case, the heroine would have a completely neutral opinion on her so that Blanche wouldn't be considered important for the story. To act appropriately around the empress and treat her respectfully was the first step to improve their relationship to that level.
Nonetheless, it appeared like Seraphina wasn't impressed by the concubine's greeting. Instead, she narrowed her eyes and gave the woman in front of her a disapproving look. “It seems like you finally regained some of your lost manners.” She spoke slowly and clearly which caused her voice to have some kind of authority despite her staying calm. “This is progress. Though I doubt that you will be able to maintain this level of behavior for very long.”
Normally Blanche would have given her an annoyed answer and added something provoking. Even though a part of her felt the need to do so, she just focused on keeping a neutral expression. She couldn't let her nervousness nor her dismay show. It was logical that Seraphina acted like this when they had been enemies starting from the very day that they had met. To change the other woman's impression of her Blanche would need to be kind for a longer amount of time. Being calm and collected while talking and acting respectfully should be enough to slowly improve her image. As long as Blanche didn't try to cause trouble nor began quarrels, she should steer away from the villainess' role.
But of course, that would take some time as the woman on Seraphina's left proved. “It is quite unlikely that she can keep up the facade of a well-behaved person for even a day, let alone longer than that. We shouldn't bother hoping.” It didn't take Blanche long to identify this person.
This woman was of a similar age as her friends and her expensive-looking dress revealed that she was a noble lady too, even if her dark brown hair was tied up in a ponytail which was rather uncommon for aristocrats. This person was much more open about her emotions than the empress and gave the concubine a dismissive look. There was only one person at Seraphina's side that fit this description. This was Madeleine Bellfaux. She was the eldest daughter of Marquess Bellfaux, who was known for his enormous wealth that he had built by trading with properties.
Madeleine had always been at the heroine's side and supported her with her strong personality. Her impulsive, and sometimes harsh, advice often bordered on tactless which was why Seraphina didn't listen to her most of the time. Right now she proved that again by complaining about the concubine loudly. “I believe that it would be best to leave now. I don't want to be in a bad mood for the rest of the day. Let us continue our walk.”
But a third voice chimed in at that point. “Madeleine. Don't be like that. Lady Blanche greeted us politely, so we need to return the favor.”
Blanche turned her head to look at the person on the heroine's right side and unsurprisingly Sophia was there.
Sophia was the youngest daughter of the Duke of Duremont and thus Seraphina's little sister. She had blond hair as well and blue eyes that were slightly lighter than her sibling's. She had gained the hearts of many readers by always being gentle and patient with others, even with the haughty and bratty villainess herself. Sophia would be the one to calm and comfort the heroine, give her advice or simply listen to her if it became necessary. Currently, Sophia should be pregnant which a short look towards her slightly rounded belly confirmed.
Seeing that made Blanche swallow again. She heard how the women in front of her talked, but their voices seemed to fade out as she got lost in thoughts.
While the book itself did have a happy end, there had still been some tragedies. One of them had been the death of Sophia's child which had also greatly affected her mother's health. That the reason for the young girl's death hadn't been an accident or a sickness made it even more regrettable. Three months after the beginning of the main story Sophia had given birth and everything had been fine until she attended the emperor's birthday party a few months later. She and her husband had talked to the royal couple for a short while and asked Sophia's aunt to watch over the baby.
At this point, they couldn't have known that Evelyn Lemares was a psychopathic woman who was fully controlled by her jealousy for her sister. From her early childhood on she had envied Elaine Duremont, Sophia's mother, and that had gotten worse after she had fallen for her sister's husband. Evelyn had projected her anger onto her sisters' granddaughter and threw the baby into the fountain when nobody noticed.
The incident had been considered an accident as Evelyn had told Sophia that the baby crawled into the water. Only near the end of the book, Evelyn's deed was revealed and punished. But Sophia hadn't been able to recover from the loss of her daughter and became sick to the point of refusing to leave her bed.
Blanche felt the need to throw up at that thought. Not only because of Evelyn's malice but also because the investigation in the novel had disclosed that the villainess had worked together with that monster. Apparently, Blanche had used the woman's jealousy and promised to give Evelyn a chance to marry the man she loved, who happened to be Seraphina's father. That had led to Evelyn doing everything in her power to hurt Seraphina.
The thought of partnering up with such a vile person made Blanche question how evil her original personality had to have been. It seemed like she had simply done everything to reach her goal even if it included helping a child's murderer or poisoning a pregnant woman and her unborn baby. She was extremely thankful for the book's memories if they had helped her realized how horrible all of that was. Still, it confused her how stark the contrast was. As far as she could remember, she had always adored children, including her two younger siblings. Helping someone with getting away with murdering such innocent creatures appeared like an unimaginable idea to her. Shouldn't even the villainess have condemned this crime? Even if she hadn't, she would now.
Blanche would try to save Sophia's child. If she could shape her own fate, then she should also be able to influence the people surrounding her too. The emperor's birthday was an easy date to remember and since she would be attending the party anyway, she would just need to stay near the fountain and watch Evelyn. She wanted to distance herself from that woman as much as humanly possible, but she should still keep an eye on her. People that were fueled by jealousy were unpredictable and the original story's Blanche had been no different. When considering how ruthless her own actions in the novel had been described, she definitely understood why she had been the villain.
Blanche snapped out of it when one of the women in front of her cleared her throat. Apparently, she had spaced out for the dozenth time today.
Great.
She quickly lowered her head and made another curtsy. She remained in that position for a few seconds while waiting for the people with the higher rank to greet her. Even if she wouldn't have much to do with them, being polite couldn't hurt.
Though Madeleine, who as the daughter of a marquess had a higher rank than Sophia who was married to a count, didn't seem happy about it, she greeted the concubine anyway. “Lady Blanche.” The annoyance in her tone was easy to hear, but that didn't keep Blanche from returning the greeting.
“Good day, Lady Bellfaux.”
After that, it was Sophia's turn to speak and she did so with a polite but genuine smile. Even her warm voice served as a stark contrast to the others' aloof speech. “It has been a while, Lady Blanche. How are you?”
“It truly has. I'm doing well. Thank you for asking, Lady Ravillot. I hope that you are feeling well too.” Blanche returned a small smile even if she felt a shiver run down her spine while she fought against her own nervousness.
Sophia's face lit up even more, and she happily replied. “Oh, luckily everything has been going well. I am glad to hear that there don't seem to be too many problems. It is wonderful that it has been peaceful for a while now.”
In contrast to her friend, Madeleine only furrowed her brows and crossed the arms in front of her chest. She stayed quiet for a few seconds and looked to her side before turning her head to Blanche with a cold expression. “It seems that you have decided to show more appropriate behavior for now. If you truly wish to continue to act like this, maybe it would be time for an apology now.”
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The concubine was a bit confused at that statement. Was this about an apology for her general actions towards the empress or did the other woman have a specific event in mind? Silently Blanche cursed herself for causing so many arguments. She had lost track of most of them. “I am willing to do so as soon as you remind me what exactly I have done.” She desperately hoped that there hadn't too much trouble in the past weeks. But she was disappointed mercilessly.
Madeleine clicked her tongue and replied in a voice that was dripping with frustration. “It appears that you might have a problem with your long-term memory. Have you truly forgotten the last banquet already? I seem to remember an incident during which you tried to insult Her Majesty in front of all influential nobles of the capital. An apology for that would be in order, or am I mistaken?” It sounded like she truly wanted to hear an apology for her friend.
Whether Seraphina appreciated that was unrecognizable as her face still expressed no emotion. Sophia, on the other hand, looked quite uncomfortable. Most likely she was unsure whether she should support her friend's words or try to deescalate the situation.
Sure enough, if Blanche still had been the same person as yesterday, she would have gotten furious by now. Though she still found the words a bit provoking, she understood that her own actions had led to the way that others treated her. Seraphina and Madeleine were reasonable people, and they were only this hostile because of the concubine's previous behavior. Blanche had often thrown tantrums, provoked them or their families, and had been disrespectful in general too often.
The last banquet had not been an exception. Theodore had arrived with Seraphina and Blanche. Naturally, he had taken a seat on the chair at the end of the table, at the position that was meant for the emperor. Despite knowing that the seat next to him was the empress', Blanche had sat down on it. Even after being warned by Seraphina multiple times, she hadn't moved which caused a big dispute with the heroine's family. The emperor had broken up the fight and defended Blanche but still taken his wife's side. This had made his concubine even more furious and caused her to create more problems. In the end, they had been forced to leave the banquet early and Theodore had been angry with her. Only for a short while though. After all, he could never be upset with his lover for long.
The emperor's tendency to quickly forgive anything Blanche did was probably one of the main reasons that she had ended up as the villainess. Her impulsive behavior had never been punished but rather supported by Theodore's pampering and forgiving nature. Him never telling her to consider her own position before provoking those who were much more powerful had made her feel verified in her actions and led to her being too cocky. She had forgotten that her status was only based on the emperor's favor and never realized that she was losing his love until it had been too late.
Instead of looking around, she had created more elaborate schemes and used other nobles to try to harm the empress. She had longed for more power without considering that she might also get hurt in the process. Ultimately, her pride made her feel untouchable and led to her downfall. Swallowing her pride was an essential part of her plan to survive along with avoiding the main characters' hatred. Apologizing now would be an important step in the direction of both of these goals.
Blanche froze and reminded herself to stop overthinking everything during the whole conversation. She couldn't just stare off into the distance. She quickly lifted the hem of her dress and bowed as deeply as she could. “I sincerely apologize for my actions. After reflecting on my past behavior, I realized that it has been inappropriate and disrespectful. While knowing that an excuse for these incidents won't be enough to convince you of my change, I still promise to conduct myself properly in the future. Once again I'd like to express that I deeply regret what happened at the banquet.” She considered asking Seraphina for forgiveness but due to their relationship that might seem too insincere. After finishing her speech, she lifted her head and tried to read the women's expressions.
This time all of them were affected by her words and appeared to be momentarily stunned. Seemingly none of them actually expected an apology out of the concubine's mouth which wasn't surprising since Blanche had never apologized to the empress. Seeing the three women's confusion was satisfying, especially since Madeleine, who always had something to say, was at a loss for words.
However, Blanche had to admit that watching the stoic Seraphina furrow her brows and press her mouth into a thin line was slightly entertaining as well.
At least it was until the empress' stare turned icy and made the concubine feel like it pierced through her soul and revealed each of her thoughts. The next few seconds were accompanied by an unpleasant silence and a just as distressing eye contact with the heroine.
Blanche found herself unable to avert her gaze or say anything else.
When the silence slowly became unbearable, Seraphina finally gave her answer. “Many people give great speeches without the intention of keeping any of their promises. I hope that you are aware that every spoken word should have meaning.” Her voice matched her frosty expression. On the outside, she was very calm, but there was a noticeable undertone full of resentment in her voice. But she didn't say more than this.
The empress walked past Blanche without even giving her another look. Her companions followed her and Sophia nodded once to signal a silent goodbye.
Blanche stood there motionlessly and watched as the women moved forward.
Just as she thought that they would leave, Seraphina stopped and looked over her shoulder. “I'm not as blind as His Majesty.” With that, she rounded the corner and disappeared from Blanche's view.
The concubine was left behind to be frustrated with the heroine's reaction. While she hadn't expected the empress to forgive her immediately and become her best friend, she also hadn't anticipated such a cold response. Though she should have seen that coming. The last eleven months had been filled with countless discussions and fights of which most were started by Blanche. That Seraphina doubted her good intentions was only based on their collective background. It would take a long time to make the empress change her mind.
Blanche let her shoulders sink and sighed loudly. Only now she noticed that her knees had been shaking. The confrontation with her archrival had seemingly affected her more than she had previously thought. It felt like her heart was almost jumping out of her chest.
Footsteps sounded next to her and Stella stepped into her field of view. “Is everything alright, My Lady?” The maid sounded concerned which made it seem like she really was a loyal companion. Despite their rocky start, she was already worried about her mistress. That was sweet.
Blanche gave her a little smile. “I'm fine. Thank you, Stella.”
The maid returned the smile and didn't ask any further questions. Presumably, because she knew about the conflicts between the empress and the concubine. She regularly witnessed tense interactions between them after all.
Blanche gave herself a moment to calm down before she continued to follow the pathway while enjoying the view of the skillfully designed garden. She silently admired the professionals who tended to the plants and allowed the landscape to be as breathtaking as it was. But she couldn't focus as much on the flowers as she wanted.
Mixed-up scenes from the novel appeared in her mind, or she found herself pondering about the future. Her life was at stake so this made sense, but she hadn't thought about anything else the entire day, and it was getting frustrating. The encounter with Seraphina had drained her energy quite a bit too, so she was already at her limit.
Nevertheless, she couldn't keep her mind from digging through her memories. She needed to rethink her plan. Blanche gave in with a small groan. She scanned the garden and noticed the roses in a little flowerbed that was separated from the others. Most of the flowers were red, but there were also some white roses that were just as beautiful. She left the path and approached the flowerbed. A bench was conveniently placed directly next to the plants, so the concubine used that chance and sat down on it.
Since the roses were planted in an elevated flowerbed, she was now at the exact height of the flowers. She moved her face closer to the roses and reached for one of them. Blanche carefully pulled it towards her to get a closer look at it while staying wary of the thorns. She trained her eyes on the rose and let her mind wander once again.
The short conversation with Seraphina had been enough to make her doubt that the approach she had chosen was the best. As long as the heroine held a grudge against Blanche, it could cause problems. Even if the concubine didn't act much on her own, she could become a minor villainess and those often had terrible fates in romance novels too. If Seraphina's dislike could lead to her doom, it was actually rather dangerous to stay close to her.
Maybe, no, most likely it would be safer to leave the palace and stay far away from the fights for power and the intrigues of nobility. This would make it easier to avoid Marquess Sefare as well. If Blanche lived somewhere else, preferably in a small city far away from the capital, it would be nearly impossible for him to find her even if he wanted to get rid of her. But at the same time, she would give up her protection to a big extent as well.
Inside the walls of the palace, Blanche was shielded from many dangers. She didn't need to worry about her living expenses or finding shelter and food. It was also extraordinarily hard for attackers to even enter the property due to the layout of the palace's defense mechanism and the existence of the royal guards, who included some of the nation's strongest and most skilled warriors. These trained knights would be able to eliminate most physical attacks and protect the palace. Thus, Blanche would be safe from any assassinations Sefare could possibly plan as long as she was in the estate. Even the entrances were heavily controlled and any food that was brought into the kitchen would be examined before its usage. This made poisonings way less likely to happen.
However, though the palace was quite safe, there were gaps in the security as the novel had shown numerous times. For example, Seraphina had been poisoned by her maid once. This event proved that smuggling harmful substances into the palace wasn't impossible.
On top of that, there had been a chapter in which the heroine had secretly left the royal estate through a hole in the wall. Therefore, it was obvious that there was an unsecured passageway that could eventually allow enemies to enter the palace.
But didn't hole also give Blanche a chance to leave the property on her own? Maybe she should leave it open then. Did an escape route give Blanche enough certainty though?
There was a sequel to the novel, but she didn't know what would happen in that book. Countless threats could arise with her being helpless against them. Naturally, these dangers would appear close to the main characters who then would have to fight against those threats. So as long as Blanche stayed in the palace, she would inevitably also be affected by the protagonists' problems.
And yet there was no way that she could leave.
The reason was that she was useless when it came to sustaining herself. Blanche's father had been a merchant and his wealth had allowed the whole family to live comfortably. When he had died along with her mother and siblings, Blanche had only been eighteen and Marquess Sefare had taken her in. And ever since she had come to the palace, Theodore had spoiled her. At no point in her life had she ever been forced to take care of herself. For this reason, Blanche wouldn't be able to live alone in the capital unless she wanted to starve. So she would much rather stay in the palace even if she was close to the main characters and the story events because of this.
But she had to admit that there was another reason that kept her from leaving.
Blanche didn't want to be apart from Theodore. While she couldn't care less about Seraphina, Theodore was important to her. He was the male main character and thus always involved in the story. Distancing herself from him would significantly raise her chances of survival. Still, she couldn't bring herself to actually consider that possibility.
Theodore was her first love and the person she cared about most in her life, as well as the only one who had ever made her feel this happy. Leaving him would hurt just as much as her execution, if not even more. Even if it was illogical and stupid considering her threatening doom, she couldn't bring herself to make a decision that would separate her from her lover. Her feelings for him were too strong to be suppressed even though she knew that he would choose Seraphina in the end.
Rationally thinking, Blanche was aware of how foolish this was, but she didn't even want to try to convince herself to leave. Despite knowing how the story would progress, she wanted to be selfish and monopolize Theodore even if staying with him increased the chance of her dying enormously. So, her original plan of acting kind, becoming invisible to others and avoiding intrigues would have to be enough to save her.
Bits of a sentence reached Blanche and caused her to focus back on the real world.
“My Lady!” Stella's voice came from directly next to Blanche's ear. The maid was already bowing down to her mistress and grabbed her shoulders gently. “My Lady, can you hear me? Thank the gods. You weren't responding even after I called multiple times. Is everything alright?” Stella spoke with a slight tremble in her voice, and her expression also revealed that she was upset.
Blanche felt a bit bad for troubling her, so she quickly answered. “I'm sorry for worrying you, Stella. I'm fine, I was just thinking about something.” Her response somehow didn't seem to calm the maid.
Stella stepped even closer and made eye contact with her mistress as determination twinkled in her eyes. “My Lady, I know that it's not my right to interfere, but you have been spacing out the whole day. It's normal to be lost in thoughts but not to the point of completely forgetting the world around you. Please, you can talk to me if something is bothering you. If you want to, I can also consult the royal doctor if you are feeling unwell. Losing all sense of reality like this can't be good for your health.” She interrupted herself for a moment and lowered her gaze before continuing. “I know that I'm not authorized to give you any advice and I apologize if this seems inappropriate to you. But I'm simply worried about My Lady.”
Blanche could only sit there and didn't know what to answer. It was touching that her maid cared this much even though today had been the first time they had really had a friendly conversation. She didn't feel like she could quickly come up with a satisfying excuse but telling the truth was impossible too. Still, she wanted to calm Stella. “You really don't have to worry about my health. I'm feeling fine. I just tend to overthink different things and let my mind wander, but that doesn't affect me negatively.”
To the concubine's surprise, Stella refuted that immediately. “It does. Whatever you have been pondering about this whole time has to be a burden to you. I can see it on your face when you think that I'm not looking and when you notice my gaze, you put on a fake smile. If you don't talk about your worries and the problem doesn't get resolved, it will weigh on your mind and pressure you. Stress is very dangerous and affects both your physical and mental health. That means that you have to tell someone what distresses you.”
Blanche was momentarily stunned by the maid's determination. It was overwhelming how dedicated the other woman was despite their rocky relationship prior to this morning.
It seemed like she would really need an excuse now.