Leonard had barely brought Luciano into the hallway when he already returned. “Lady Duremont is waiting in front of the room. She would like to talk to both of you.”
Before Blanche could process that properly, Theodore already spoke up. “No. Who does she think she is? Just because she has a few more weeks to move out, she can't act like she is the empress. If she wants to talk to us, she has to make an appointment. Tell her to leave us alone.”
The concubine whipped her head around to her lover and scolded him immediately. “Theo. You can't be that disrespectful. At least ask what she wants before making a decision. And since she spoke up for me at the ball, I think that we owe her a short conversation.”
Theodore had a strange expression after she said that. That easily gave away that he had many conflicting feelings about this matter. “I don't understand why you keep insisting that she needs to be treated with kindness when she clearly doesn't deserve that. If we meet her, it's only because you insisted on it. But don't expect me to ever be nice to her. I'm proud of myself for using her as a pawn instead of slaughtering her immediately.” The more time passed, the more honest he seemed to be about how much he despised Seraphina.
Still, Blanche had no idea why he suddenly hated that woman so much. After all, she couldn't remember anything that might justify such a strong hatred. If she did, she would surely admit it to herself. She scanned her lover for a moment before replying. “I know that you told me that this is connected to...” She whispered the last words. “Your secret. But isn't this a bit exaggerated?” It wasn't, and for some reason, she knew that. She paused for a few seconds but didn't receive an answer, so she resumed at a normal volume. “In any case, I want us to meet her. Just act like she is a random noble. Don't be too mean, or I will feel bad.” The emperor opened his mouth to refute, but she quickly cut him off by putting her finger on his lips. “Let her in.”
Theodore gently grabbed her hand and pressed a kiss onto her fingertip before looking directly into her eyes. “At least let her wait a bit. That much is fair.” He addressed Leon in a voice that was a little louder without turning away. “Tell her that we will meet her in a few minutes. After all, she suddenly came without a warning, so we will take a bit longer. In fact, the only reason that I will look past her insolence of suddenly appearing here in the middle of the night is that my angel wants to let her in. Tell her that exact thing.”
The concubine gazed at the secretary in the expectation that he wouldn't agree. There was no way that Leon, who had always done his best to mediate between the royal couple, would offend the former empress now. But she was disappointed immediately.
Leonard looked completely indifferent when he replied. “I will do that. Please excuse me for a moment. I will bring Lord Vasquez to his carriage.” With that, he left the room and closed the door behind him.
Blanche was speechless. She could only hope that Seraphina wouldn't be too upset about this. She looked up at her lover and intended to scold him once more, but he was faster than she was.
“What did you think about Lord Vasquez? Does he seem trustworthy?”
The concubine was taken aback by that, but she quickly collected herself. “I mean... While he thought that I was drugged, he tried to calm me down and promised that he would help me. So, I doubt that he was lying. After all, he must have believed that I wouldn't remember that anyway.”
Surely, Luciano had known that they were suspecting that something would happen then, but he hadn't acted like he knew that she was awake either. Otherwise, he would have been much more vocal about how he would protect her. But he hadn't done that. Instead, he had just whispered to her, and he had tried to keep Cedar from being alone with her before quickly getting help.
Of course, Blanche couldn't be certain whether he had just done that to gain their trust, but at least Luciano didn't seem like a despicable human being. “The way he interacts with his family seems pretty honest too. Just how his expression moves while he is talking about his father. I don't think he's lying. He would have to be an extremely good liar to pull that off. I've seen a few phenomenal actors, so we can't deny that option, but...”
Theodore gently stroked over her head. “You believe him, right? So do I. It seems like our instinct is telling us the same. I can't guarantee whether he is truly uninterested in gaining more power, but he doesn't seem like he wants to dethrone me. That is enough for me to keep him in charge of the Vasquez dukedom for now. If they feel like they owe us, they will certainly be loyal for the next decades. And having the approval of all three dukedoms when I want to rewrite the law in any way could help. That is why I would try to keep an amicable relationship with him for now. But of course...” Wrath flamed up in Theodore's eyes. “The same can't be said about his father. I didn't think I could hate him even more, but it actually seems like I would like to crush every single one of his bones myself. I promise you that he will suffer before the trial. To be honest, the judgment is already clear.”
Blanche wasn't surprised at all. At this point, Claude had collected so many crimes that even a ducal household would start to crumble. “He'd already be executed for everything excluding his attempt to create a war with Northern Ocrea, but now...”
Theodore nodded. “Obviously. But he won't receive just a simple execution. I am the judge in this trial and appointed two assistants. They were skeptical about me taking the case due to my personal involvement, but as soon as they flipped through the evidence, they changed their minds. I made sure to pick out the judges that had a family themselves and showed them how Duke Vasquez targeted merchant families and framed them to take over their businesses. Now everyone in the courthouse is on our side. Duke Vasquez will get separate punishments for each crime he committed, which means that he will never leave prison.” He paused for a moment before adding something with a grim expression. “I also thought about letting the relatives of some of his victims visit him occasionally. Of course, Leon will also make sure that he is as miserable as possible. He will get nothing but molten bread and barely enough water to survive. Then we will see who is at whose mercy.” His glare was actually a bit scary when he talked about that man, but that wasn't surprising.
Blanche herself could barely bring herself to have any sympathy for that horrible person. She was content if Claude received his punishment for causing her family's death and bringing so many others to ruin. Still, she disliked seeing Theodore in that state full of hatred. She wanted him to be happy, not upset.
She wrapped her arms around him while she knelt to reach his face to kiss him. “I trust that you will deal with him. But that is not what matters now. We found out what his goal was and managed to defeat him. From now on, the third party is rendered useless, and the dowager empress lost her biggest supporter. She will suffer as well, and we can focus on crushing her. So, everything is wonderful, right?”
Theodore pulled her against him and kissed her again before letting her see his face. Now he looked as dejected as angry, which painted an unpleasant expression onto his features. “But the fact that he wanted to hurt you like that is more than horrible. No matter what we do, it won't make up for the fact that you became their target.” He put his hands onto her cheeks and gazed at her with regret. “I'm sorry for not being able to prevent it. I should have been able to guess something like this, but when it comes to plots that I haven't revealed yet... It seems like I am quite useless in that case. I will need to work harder to ensure that nothing like this will ever happen again.”
The concubine frowned at that and mirrored her lover's gesture to squeeze his cheeks. “What are you saying? Nothing would have happened even if we hadn't found out. I would have never been left alone during a party, and I also wouldn't have drunk anything someone from the Besseta family could offer me. So, you don't need to worry about what could have happened. I would have been fine. Besides, it's more calming that you can't think in such a disturbing manner. I mean, how did Duke Vasquez's mind wander from legitimatizing his son as the ruler to drugging me and making me marry Luciano? That doesn't make any sense. Especially since it should be obvious that I would be their greatest enemy from within. And giving me some amount of power as a member of the royal family would have been an indirect suicide in that scenario. As long as you are in the palace and have the right connections, which I would have after a revolution, poisoning someone is way too easy.”
Theodore narrowed his eyes at the thought of such a situation. “He probably assumed that you would be content with gaining power and would just help them because of that. You know that he doesn't believe in loyalty unless you get something from it. Either that or he wanted to see you unhappy. Ever since you talked back to him, he was really mad at you, and that might have caused him to become even crueler than normal. He didn't manage to hurt you, but he tried it, and that is enough to make him my nemesis. I will make sure to pay him back a hundredfold so that he will regret what happened on that day for the rest of his life.”
Blanche believed him without a second thought. Her lover's expression was enough to tell her that she couldn't even imagine how painful Duke Vasquez's life would be from now on. And she didn't care one bit. “I know that you will. But that isn't what we need to think about now. We will greet Lady Duremont now, and you will be at least a little polite.” She didn't receive a response, which was all she needed to find out that her lover would definitely not be kind to Seraphina. So, she sighed and gave him a little kiss in hopes of calming him a bit. “Come on. It won't take long. Tell her that she can enter.”
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Theodore pulled her closer to him and rested his chin in the crook of her neck. “No. I don't want to see her. If you want to talk to her, you need to let her in.” He almost sounded like he was pouting now.
The concubine found it a bit concerning that he was going this far to show his dislike for the former empress. But there wasn't anything she could do about that. She could just try to steer the conversation in a direction that would be as pleasant as possible for every participant. For that to happen, the guest had to come in first though.
Blanche turned to the door and raised her voice. “Please enter, Lady Duremont.” She wasn't sure whether the other woman had heard her and whether the duke's daughter could even come in without the emperor's permission. Apparently, it had worked though. While she was in the middle of trying to get off her lover's lap, the door opened, and a servant stepped in to hold open the door for Seraphina.
The former empress was as graceful as always while she strode inside and stopped to make a curtsy.
Blanche pressed her lips into a line and tried to move off her lover's lap, but he just held her tighter. Seemingly, she would have to greet their guest like this even if it was extremely disrespectful, not that she minded it much. It appeared like she didn't need to worry too much about that when the emperor was way worse.
Theodore ignored their visitor for longer than necessary before speaking up. “Lady Duremont. I hope that this is an important matter. It's late, and I'm not in the best mood, so a conversation with you is not what-”
Blanche didn't even listen until the end. “Good evening, Lady Duremont. I apologize for his harsh words. He is merely a bit upset because of Her Majesty, the dowager empress. You are not to blame for that. Welcome.” She had basically committed some of the greatest offenses among nobility just now by interrupting the emperor and speaking for him, but Theodore didn't do more than nuzzle his cheek against hers.
Seraphina greeted her with a perfect faint smile. “Good evening, Your Majesty and Lady Blanche. I am terribly sorry for disturbing your rest this late, but the matter I wished to discuss is important. I-”
The emperor cut her off a moment later. “So important that it can't wait until tomorrow? As you should be aware, I'm not very keen on seeing you in general and much less-”
The concubine sat up and squeezed his shoulders. “Theo! Stop being mean. Lady Duremont is a guest, and she apologized, so let it be.” She turned to the visitor again. “I would like to assure you that he is in a bad mood due to personal matters. I apologize for that anyway.”
Seraphina lifted her head again, but she didn't move from the spot she was standing on. “No, His Majesty is correct. I did come without a warning despite it being very late. I disturbed your private life, which is inexcusable. Even though I had an important reason to appear, I am honored to just be allowed to meet you for now. I wished to inform you of some occurrences during the ball. Since the matter is connected to Her Majesty, the dowager empress, I figured that you may find this information useful.”
Blanche scanned her lover with narrowed eyes. He looked like he had so many petty comments ready that she didn't want to risk it. So, she chose to reply. “I see. Thank you for your help. It would indeed be helpful to know about that. Please take a seat.” She gestured to the sofa on the other side of the table.
Seraphina followed her gaze before glancing at the emperor. “With all due respect, Lady Blanche. I do not wish to disturb you for long. I will merely share what I witnessed if you give me permission and leave afterward. Of course, I do not mind joining you for tea, but it may be a bit late for that.”
Blanche turned to her lover and almost sighed at his icy expression. She once again replied for him. “I understand.” She faced the other woman again and did her best to hide her uncertainty about sitting on Theodore's lap while seeing his ex-wife. “Then I would ask you to narrate what happened. Did Her Majesty say anything special?”
Seraphina bowed her head for a moment before beginning. “In fact, she said many things that I would consider special. She dropped her facade and finally admitted that she was dissatisfied with His Majesty ruling over the nation. She gave her best to convince my family to help her. Naturally, we informed her that speaking of treason may lead to her execution. When she noticed that she wasn't able to pull the Duremonts on her side by insulting you, she asked me to have a drink with her in private. I believe that we stayed on the balcony for five minutes at most since I did not endure it for longer. Her main objective seemed to be convincing me that you and His Majesty were my enemies so that I should help her.”
Theodore listened with a freezing expression, and his eyes narrowed when he heard the last sentence. “I'm sure that she had countless reasons. There are many things that one can find if one is looking for them. What did she say? Let me guess. It's about Blanche taking your place or something stupid like that.”
Seraphina nodded. “Exactly, Your Majesty. At the beginning of the party, she didn't know anything about your future plans yet. So, her only argument was Lady Blanche stealing my husband and throwing me out of the palace. She made it seem like this had been the work of a manipulative woman that only had gaining power and causing misfortune in mind. Her Majesty talked about how humiliated I must feel and how I should have the chance to pay back the responsible person. She then went on with talking about how she understood what it felt like to be targeted by such a jealous vixen and how my heart must ache. She complained about a woman named Althea for a moment, and from what I gathered, said lady was the previous emperor's mistress, whom Her Majesty did not like very much.”
All of that sounded like the typical speech a manipulator would give. Seemingly, Camille truly had tried to win over the former empress. Luckily, that hadn't worked. Since Seraphina hadn't allowed that woman to play with her, she at least deserved a short explanation regarding Althea.
Blanche waited for her lover to reply, but no response followed, so she quickly chimed in. “That is correct. The previous emperor had taken in a lover and treated her with much more affection than his wife. Her Majesty may have developed some sort of inferiority complex when it comes to that person because of that. She is very resentful whenever Althea is mentioned.” She doubted that Theodore would be happy to reveal that that concubine had been his mother in front of the person he hated so much, so she didn't speak about that even when she assumed that the other woman had heard some hints about this already.
Seraphina lowered her gaze for a moment. “I see. I thank you for the confirmation. It seemed like Her Majesty was rather enraged when talking about that woman. But in contrast to her, I stayed calm, which upset her and made her realize that I wasn't going to listen to her reasoning. So, she moved from me being jealous to other personal reasons. She suddenly began mentioning old stories about conflicts between you and me. I was rather surprised how she knew so much, but when I asked her, she avoided answering.”
Somehow, it wasn't surprising that the dowager empress had found a way to gain information from the inside of the palace. After all, the servants were chatty, and the conflicts between the empress and the concubine had busied the whole palace for days. Certainly, no one would guess that talking about those could cause problems, so they had probably also told their friends and family on the outside a lot. Just one person among those needed to be interested in some money or exchange stories with less trustworthy people, and the dowager empress would know everything that happened within the palace.
Still, memorizing those events when she hadn't been present required some dedication. Camille had prepared to search out the former empress and hoped to make that woman join her side. The Duremonts were a powerful ally, so that idea was understandable. At the same time, it was a terrifying thought.
Blanche would have liked to thank Seraphina for not being swayed despite the dowager empress clearly wishing for her help. But it was a bit strange to thank someone for not committing treason, so she stayed quiet.
Seemingly, Seraphina hadn't expected a response in the first place since she continued explaining. “I told her that I had no issues with you. She tried to repeat the same reasons, so I reminded her that I did not see the need to blame anyone for what happened. Then she noticed that I didn't hold a grudge against you and chose to take a completely different approach. She said that it was the duty of every citizen to protect our ruler and that we would need to deal with the person that manipulates the emperor to keep our nation from harm. I responded by asking whether she questioned Your Majesty's judgment. She didn't even deny that. She insisted that a ruler needed to be controlled if he was trapped in someone's web of lies, even if cutting him out required some harsher methods. At that point, I did not have the patience left to deal with her. I told her that she sounded like she wished to commit treason and harm the emperor and the future empress. She became truly upset after, but I didn't listen to her and returned to the ballroom.”
It was easy to imagine that a person like Camille wouldn't like it if she had misjudged a person. After all, this might result in the dowager empress accidentally giving away her true intentions. No matter how much she tried to hide her actual attitude, she had revealed that she despised the concubine already, and now many others would question her loyalty.
Seraphina paused for a little moment before resuming. “Then the incident regarding the announcement of your engagement happened. After the end of the ball, I left with the intention of bringing my family to their carriage. But I didn't get that far since I met Her Majesty after going out. She began another conversation, and her tone was much more direct now. She said that you had managed to manipulate my family by staging the incident with Grace. Sophia became upset in return and told her to stop spreading lies. That made Her Majesty scold her for being naive and too trusting. But my sister argued back, and Her Majesty became more insulting to the point at which His Royal Highness tried to intervene. Needless to say, my father wasn't pleased and may have raised his voice a little. That caused Her Majesty to accuse him of disrespecting her.”
Theodore frowned at that. “That won't be an issue. Why was she even there when I told the guards to bring her out? Did she just refuse to follow them?”
Seraphina nodded slowly. “Indeed. Of course, it is problematic to drag a member of the royal family out, so the knights were reluctant. That she used her leg as an excuse for her slow pace did not make it better either. In any case, she tried to appeal to me by saying that Lady Blanche had stolen my position as well as my husband. She also claimed that a commoner as an empress would ruin the nation. When she was asked for a reason, she was speechless though. The discussion went on for about two more minutes after that. She basically just said that Lady Blanche would harm Artias and was told that someone who had attempted to murder their own son wasn't much more suitable. Then she stomped away, which caused a few issues with her leg. In the end, His Royal Highness had to help her to their carriage.”
That whole story seemed very much like something that would happen when Camille tried to argue with the Duremonts. There was one thing that bothered Blanche a bit. “And Cedar didn't do more than that? He is normally very chatty and adds his opinion when others are talking. He usually wouldn't stay silent when his mother ruins her reputation due to careless words. Wasn't he very quiet today?”
Theodore gazed to the side as if he pondered that for a moment before he replied. “I think that may be related to the incident from last time. Right now, he is fed up with his mother, but he has no way to show that. He can just watch as she gets in trouble, and still, he will be the one to clean it up afterward. This won't go on for much longer though. The dowager noticed the change of atmosphere too. She feels humiliated, and she will certainly not let it go even though it was her fault. She will do something in just a few weeks. I don't know whether it will be some petty attack with rumors or whether she will send another load of assassins though. Both options are very much possible.”
That didn't sound good. Surely, it had been easy to imagine that Camille, who was extremely proud, would want to get revenge. And it had been part of the plan to corner her until she snapped and did something sudden. Still, being attacked by assassins was rather dangerous.
It was the easiest way to gather evidence too, but Blanche was a bit too worried to just accept the risks. “Then we need to prepare for that. We can't let her gain the upper hand.”