The next day continued to improve Blanche's mood since Leonard managed to make time for a lesson and gave her the desired overview of Artias' relationships to its neighboring countries. She knew about the discord between Northern and Southern Ocrea, but his summary still cleared up some of the questions that she had had before. The dreading escalation at the western territories unsettled her even more now that she had a better understanding of what the emperor was dealing with.
And that wasn't even everything.
In general, it was disturbing how many nations were on the verge of war or in the middle of one. Batra, a very small country in the southeast that was Artias' ally, was threatened by Clatos and Travuan. Only Artias' protection had prevented the two largest dictatorships of the continent from invading Batra, but their rivalry and desire to grow didn't stop because of that. Should a military conflict between them break out, the consequences would be catastrophic. Aside from the cold war between Northern Ocrea and its counterpart in the south as well as Artias, riots in Southern Ocrea caused issues too. It was all rather messy.
At the end of the lesson, Blanche's head was spinning with all the new pieces of information, which still didn't hold back her growing curiosity. Politics consisted out of many complicated topics, but it was also incredibly interesting to hear about the world outside the palace, and she was eager to learn more. She didn't need to worry about being overwhelmed anyway.
Leonard had to return to his duties directly after the lesson and promised to resume the topic at a later point in the future, which would, unfortunately, be a while away. After all, he had to assist the emperor in finding solutions for the problems that he had explained to the concubine before doing anything else.
Thus, the rest of Blanche's time had still remained unused. She would have enjoyed getting to see her lover for more than the short meals for once, but she was thankful for even the little conversations. After all, she knew that spending this much of his time on work wasn't what Theodore wanted either.
Still, it would be pleasant to not be forced to stay alone day after day with her boredom. To avoid spending all of her time doing absolutely nothing, Blanche visited the kitchen almost daily to create some sort of dessert. Occasionally, she met one of the four servants from before and gave them some sweets as they had a little chat, but unfortunately, no opportunity for a longer conversation came up.
Blanche soon realized that she missed Stella more than she had previously thought. The maid's constant presence at her side had become so normal that she felt strange without it.
So, when the day of the servant's return finally arrived, the concubine was more than eager as she waited in the entrance hall. To not risk breaking her promise, she had come there directly after lunch, even though Stella was only supposed to return to the palace in an hour.
As the concubine stood there for a while, a group of servants arrived. They all gave her a strange look, except for two of them, whom she recognized as the men she had met in the kitchen.
To their colleagues' confusion, these two waved in Blanche's direction, which she mirrored. For the next couple of minutes, the two men talked to the crowd until Clark pulled his friend to the concubine and tapped his arm.
George rolled his eyes before speaking up. “You can say something without hiding behind me, you know? Anyway, we, including the girls, wanted to thank you for letting us have some of the pie you baked.”
Blanche smiled at them, even though it was hard to ignore the rest of the servants, of whom some had come closer to eavesdrop and winced at the lack of formal speech. Those people probably expected a mean response, but Blanche tried to be as polite as possible. “The cake had to be finished either way, so I was glad to share it with you. Normally, I always end up with a bigger portion than I can eat on my own without knowing what to do with it.” At least that had happened when the baking fever had taken a hold of her when she had been a child. In the last weeks, she hadn't baked often enough, but she was sure that she would repeat the same mistakes in the future again.
The servants that were standing next to the group tried to be inconspicuous with their whispering and eavesdropping but failed miserably, which was a bit frustrating.
Blanche heard every word, and she had to admit that she understood why they were so surprised to hear her chat with servants. She obviously didn't like being stared at like this, but she gave her best to ignore that since she was used to it.
But apparently, this atmosphere was tense enough to make the men retreat quickly. George was as polite as ever, but it was clear that he ended the conversation earlier than he might have done it in private. “Then it is good to hear that we managed to finish the cake. Still, we are very grateful. We don't want to disturb you any longer though. Please have a nice day.” With that, George and Clark excused themselves after just a short conversation and returned to their colleagues.
Blanche was a bit confused about that, and it got even stranger.
Just a couple of seconds later, one of the other servants addressed the two men and pulled them to the side. They followed him with a tense posture that showed their unwillingness even to Blanche, who was watching them from a distance. The three rounded the corner, and the rest of the crowd trailed behind them, which left the concubine nearly alone in the hall as both her curiosity and concern grew.
Without thinking twice, she slowly approached the wall while trying to keep the volume of her shoes clicking against the floor as low as possible. She moved closer until she could hear the people speak and carefully glanced around the corner. Thankfully, no one looked in her direction so that she could see what was going on.
The group of servants practically circled George and Clark and listened to the servant who seemed to be their leader. “I really wonder what that woman had to do to win you over. Weren't you especially...” He spoke while pointing at Clark. “Annoyed with her ‘parasitic clinging’ to His Majesty?” Then he gestured to George. “And didn't you despise her treating everybody here like slaves? Both of you changed your mind quite fast.”
Clark hissed his response in a quiet tone that hinted that he wanted to discuss this in private. “Don't do this now.” Though, of course, it was already too late for that.
The servants' leader crossed his arms while replying. “What? You don't want me to point out your hypocrisy? She is nice to you once, and you instantly forget everything that happened?”
Clark frowned at that and took a step forwards, but George stood between them and spoke up. “This argument is completely useless. We only talked to her a few times, Harris. Please don't make a big deal out of that.”
The servant, who seemed to be called Harris, snorted at his response and crossed his arms. “Do I need to remind you of the many times that this pest has made it her task to ruin our lives by threatening to have His Majesty throw us out? Or of the times that she made us run around for nothing for her entertainment? You surely still have in mind how she treated Stella, right? And all the things she said to us?” His words continued to flow out and only stopped when he had to take a breath
In the short pause that followed, most of the servants around him nodded. Whether they just agreed because he said that or because they actually felt like this was unclear. If it was the latter option, they were being rather harsh. Especially this Harris.
Blanche knew that she hadn't been nice, but she was pretty sure that she had never given orders that were supposed to trouble the servants. Though her impolite tone might have made it sound that way. However, she couldn't think about that for long. Right now, she could only stare at Harris while trying to figure out who exactly he was. This man was too familiar for it to be a coincidence. If he led the servants this easily, he had to be a somewhat well-known person. Right?
But the scene already resumed before she came to a conclusion.
Clark listened to Harris but cut him off at some point. “We can talk to whomever we want, and that is none of your business. You hated her from the very beginning before she even had the chance to do anything. And if you're completely honest, she only-”
This time, Harris interrupted him with loud laughter. “I was the one? That's strange. If I remember correctly, you resented her more than most of the staff, including me, just a week ago. You despised her so much that you even purposefully-”
While he spoke, one of the maids turned her head slightly and noticed Blanche, who was leaning out from behind the corner. The woman gesticulated wildly, which caused Harris to stop mid-sentence to turn to the concubine, just when the most interesting part should have followed. In an instant, the whole group did the same and stared at the concubine with differing expressions. Most of them evaded eye contact, a few others were bracing themselves for the trouble that they expected to encounter.
Blanche didn't want to continue to stand there and reveal that she had been eavesdropping. So, she stepped out from behind the wall. “Is there a problem?” Hopefully, this directed the servants' attention away from her inelegant entrance.
Within a second, Harris changed his behavior from acting hostile towards the emperor's lover to being submissive. He put on a polite smile before speaking in a soft voice that seemed to ooze friendliness. “No, of course not. Is there something we can assist you with, Lady Blanche?”
She should be angry with this man. She should be fuming right now. And she was a little upset too, after all, she had been slandered. But she wasn't as furious as she should be since she could only look at Harris and ponder whether she had met him somewhere already. She could swear that she had never paid attention to most of the servants, but at the same time, she was sure that she knew him. And even though he had messed up badly just now, she didn't want to scold him. Still, she considered it for a short moment.
But in the end, Blanche couldn't bring herself to raise her voice. She shook her head in response. “No. I was waiting for Stella and just wondered why all the servants suddenly left the foyer. I apologize for interrupting the conversation. If there aren't any issues, I will give you some privacy.” She spun around on her heel and walked away from this uncomfortable situation, during which all eyes were trained onto her.
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The concubine had known that the majority of the staff didn't especially like her, but she hadn't considered that they would react this harshly because someone had been kind to her once. Though it didn't seem like Harris had done this to harm her. No, it had sounded like he had the intention of troubling George and Clark specifically. But despite this provoking attitude, Harris also seemed like he genuinely didn't comprehend why the two men had talked to the concubine out of their own free will.
Most people who hadn't noticed her change would feel this way. Even when they had been in contact with her for the last two months, they would have a hard time believing that a human could become a completely different person overnight. Just like Seraphina didn't trust Blanche, others also wouldn't.
This meant that the concubine couldn't expect anyone to act like Sophia, who had immediately been kind despite her sister's hatred for the concubine. Blanche's survival, which required the sympathy of the public, wasn't going to be achievable this easily. She was aware of that, but she still couldn't do more than continue to follow the rules and treat everyone with respect. Eventually, this had to save her, even if it took an eternity. The only problem was that she didn't have ‘an eternity’. She only had a little over ten months left until the original novel would end and possibly doom her.
Blanche was lost in thoughts as she wandered out of the main entrance and stood next to the steps leading up to the palace. Shortly after her, some servants, whom she recognized as Stella's friends including the four ones she knew, came out too and waited.
As if she had been able to foresee the future, a carriage arrived at one of the golden side gates of the estate merely a minute later. The coach came closer until it stopped while maintaining a small distance to the palace. The vehicle's door opened, and a ginger-haired woman jumped out.
A rush of adrenaline surged through Blanche. Finally, her maid had returned, and she could spend time with her again. She followed her first instinct as she lifted the hem of her dress and hurried towards the carriage. She ignored the coachman, who was moving the baggage out of his vehicle and watched her with skepticism, and focused on slowing her steps to not accidentally trip over the cobblestone.
As she approached Stella, the maid turned around, and a beam appeared on her face upon seeing her mistress.
The concubine only stopped to avoid a collision at full speed but still couldn't hold herself back fully. In her ecstasy, she threw her arms around the other woman without thinking about whether her hug came too sudden. “Welcome back!”
Luckily, Stella returned her embrace just as eagerly. “You really waited at the entrance, My Lady? You didn't have to do that.”
A smile spread across Blanche's lips as she pulled her maid a bit closer. “Of course. I promised you that I would be here after all.” The women remained in this position for a short while, which was enough to spread a warm feeling in the area around her heart. For some reason, she was extremely happy to see that her maid was fine. Stella had never been in danger, but for some reason, she had still been worried about something bad happening. Thus, it was relieving to see Stella happy and healthy. So, Blanche relished in the hug and only let go when she was forced to.
The concubine heard approaching footsteps and reluctantly backed away but took her maid's hands in hers. Before she would allow her servant to greet her friends, she added another sentence. “I missed you.” She had spoken in a much lower voice than before, but the other's glowing beam proved that the maid had heard her.
Stella squeezed her mistress' hands lightly and whispered back. “It seems that we are on the same page. I missed you too, My Lady.”
When the women let go, all the surrounding people gave them a look that revealed their doubts about this situation more clearly than most words would have. But that didn't matter to either one of them.
For a couple of minutes, Blanche stepped to the side to allow Stella to catch up with her colleague until the maid bid them farewell.
“Let's talk about everything later. I need to unpack my bags now and get some rest. The ride was exhausting.” With that, Stella turned to her mistress, and they went back to her chambers, which were directly next to Blanche's.
While sorting and folding her clothes, Stella blissfully gushed about the house at the sea where she had spent the last week. Her descriptions of the surroundings made the concubine desire to see the ocean herself even more than before.
Blanche couldn't help it. The stories about the calmly swaying blue waves formed an image in her mind, and she wanted to confirm whether she was right in her assumptions about the ocean. She could basically see the summer mansion in front of her inner eyes, and she wanted to see it in reality too. But if she wanted to be able to do that, Theodore couldn't forget his promise of visiting the coast with her for summer vacation. Though the overwhelming amount of problems that he had to solve this year and the possibility that he wouldn't care for her at that point anymore made this questionable.
So, when the conversation moved on to other topics, she was a bit relieved to avoid bad thoughts that made her doubtful about her future.
When Stella inquired whether something interesting had happened in the palace while she was away, Blanche naturally didn't answer truthfully. The concubine didn't mention sneaking out of the palace and only recounted how bored she had been, which made Stella laugh.
“Well, there isn't much for you to do while I'm here either.” Stella wasn't wrong about that, but still, her presence made everything much more wonderful.
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The following days passed with the same nonexistent excitement as the previous ones.
Still, it was more enjoyable when the concubine was able to chat with Stella while going through her monotonous schedule. Blanche awoke, got ready, ate breakfast with Theodore, took walks, ate lunch, baked in the kitchen and ate dinner before going to bed. Even if she repeated the same actions daily, it wasn't as tiring as she had believed it to be weeks ago.
Blanche always looked forward to meeting her lover, and seeing him filled her with bliss. When she wasn't with him, she was with Stella, which was a treat as well. The discussions with her maid ranged from ethical dilemmas to the problems of the commoners in Artias, which encouraged her to view some topics from a different angle. Aside from this, Blanche had begun to love baking even more than she had as a child. That might be connected to the fact that she didn't have to clean the dishware she used now and had access to an almost unlimited amount of groceries and spices, which her family could only have dreamed of possessing.
Because of this, she visited the kitchen, where she often met the four servants that had become her acquaintances, every day. Along with Stella, who really was one of those servants' close friends, they had a short conversation whenever they could, but their chef's reminders to finish their work interrupted this often. Still, it was exciting to get to know new people and see how open they had become with a person that they had despised weeks ago.
The only one out of the four servants who continued to maintain some distance was Clark, who evaded eye contact nearly all the time but chimed into the conversations nonetheless.
After baking in the kitchen, Blanche regularly brought the dishes she had made to dinner. Theodore always praised her, even if she doubted that he really enjoyed eating so many sweets despite his preference for savory food. But still, he kept on asking her to make more, and she complied happily while paying attention to use less sugar than she normally would have.
The days went by like this without occurrences. Blanche didn't run into the empress, and to her relief, Sefare didn't contact her either. Her routine didn't change at all except for the desserts that she decided to make. Nonetheless, this was enough to satisfy her, and her thoughts stayed almost clear of any worries concerning her possible doom. Of course, this didn't go on for long. It was only until one day, which soon brought an unpleasant surprise.
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This time, the concubine had baked a chocolate cake with strawberries, which she was especially proud of. Decorating it had taken longer than she had intended, and thus, she arrived at the dining room a little later than usual.
Fortunately, Theodore wasn't present yet, so he hadn't been forced to wait.
The concubine requested a servant to set the cake down on the table and sat on her chair. She talked to Stella for a moment while the rest of the food was brought in. Though when everything was finished, there was still no trace of the emperor.
Blanche had begun tapping her fingertips onto the table and drank some of her tea, but her lover still didn't arrive when minutes passed. That made her ask. “Say, Stella... Have we perhaps confused the time and came here too early?
The maid glanced at the grandfather clock in the corner and shook her head. “I don't think so, My Lady. It's eight o'clock, like always. The kitchen staff has prepared everything as well, so we can't be tardy. Most likely, His Majesty is just finishing up one of his tasks before he can leave. We should be patient for a little longer.”
The concubine agreed, but doubts already began to tear at her mind. Theodore had never let her wait for more than ten minutes even if he had had no free time on that day at all. Unease began to rise in her when a look at the clock confirmed that half an hour had passed. Maybe something had happened to him, and no one had witnessed it. With every second of silence, the knot in her stomach twisted more despite Stella's attempts to give a plausible reason for Theodore's absence.
Blanche gave her best not to sound pressing while inquired a servant as he passed by the room. “Excuse me, do you maybe know where Theo currently is? He hasn't arrived for dinner yet, and I worry a bit.”
The elderly man scanned the table, on which the meals already stood, and the candles that slowly burned down. Then he turned to the concubine and responded in a pacifying tone. “His Majesty might still require some time before he can join you. He should be in the office along with Her Majesty.”
Hearing these words felt like Blanche's organs cramped while a knife was being twisted in her innards. Why did Theodore have to be with Seraphina? During the last few days, Blanche had been too careless and taken her current circumstances for granted. She had completely ignored the passing of time and the connected progression of the novel.
Due to the massive workload because of the political difficulties, Theodore would involve the empress in many decisions and have many discussions about their strategies with her. They had arrived at the part of the book during which the main characters started to speak more often and created a mutual understanding and respect for each other.
The concubine's expression seemed to have betrayed her terror as the servant quickly added something else. “They are discussing something about an important trading contract with another nation. His Majesty will surely come when he is finished.” Reassuring her the interaction was merely out of diplomatic reasons didn't calm her like intended.
Blanche muttered a dry “Thank you” and stared at the cover hiding her chocolate cake. Trying to prevent the main characters getting together sounded so tempting, but Blanche knew that this would only support the original development. Her life was more valuable than staying with Theodore, right? Still, she seriously began to consider hindering his and Seraphina's relationships. Was there a way for her to chime in during intended story events?
Her fingernails dug into her skin as she clenched her fists tightly. Her eyes wandered to the clock. Twenty minutes had passed since she had checked for the last time.
Being a little tardy because a conversation took longer than expected was one thing. But not sending a notice despite not arriving until one was late by an hour was something else entirely. It seemed like Theodore was completely invested in the dialogue. So, much that he forgot the world around him and his lover, who was waiting for him.
Unwillingly, Blanche let out a bitter chuckle. She should probably get used to this feeling soon. Similar situations would arise much more often in the future. Theodore would set back anyone and anything for his wife once he fell for her. She gritted her teeth, which caused Stella to give her a worried gaze, but the concubine insisted that she was fine.
The barely audible ticking of the clock echoed through the otherwise silent room, and she looked at the hands again. They indicated that it had almost been a full hour now.
Maybe Theodore wouldn't come anymore after all, but Blanche couldn't bring herself to consider leaving. Even if he was absorbed in a conversation, he wouldn't simply let her wait without sending someone to inform her of his absence. Though as the minutes passed, she began to doubt her own reasoning.
Stella attempted to soothe her by repeating that the emperor was very busy and would come soon. But being forced to sit there in uncertainty about whether he would join wasn't the most upsetting thing. It was the fact that he was with the heroine, the person who would make the rest of the world seem irrelevant to Theodore.
Blanche's heart felt like someone was tugging at it, and she lowered her head to hide her emotions from her maid. She wiped her eyes as inconspicuously as possible and gave her best to ban thoughts about the novel to the backside of her mind. Her stomach growled quietly, and she reluctantly picked up her fork. Even if Theodore didn't come, she still needed to eat. Her servant observed her but didn't intervene as the concubine swallowed her appetizer. With every bite, a mix of grief and animosity sank deeper into her bones.
Just like this, she was reminded that her counterpart's vile actions didn't seem as absurd when she was filled with these feelings. Not all of the original Blanche's deeds were justified because of this, and she still felt sick when remembering a few of them. But trying to get rid of Seraphina was a desire she shared with the book's villainess. How could it be different when that stupid heroine just seemed to monopolize everyone's affection while destroying the villainess' life just because she could?
The concubine's thoughts were interrupted as the double door suddenly swung open.