Theodore spoke up a moment after Claude had been dragged out. “Well. We didn't anger him as much as I hoped for. His son upset him more than we did. But his reaction when he notices that it won't do him any good, no matter whether he brings proof or not, will make up for that. At least I will get a chance to humiliate him even more in front of a court. If he finds something, that is. I actually doubt that he will. After all, we already looked through everything a dozen times. He might try to falsify something, but I doubt that he has the time for that. But he might get some documents out of a secret stack if he had one. We could send a few knights with him. If they keep an eye on him, we might find something new.”

Luciano gazed at the door, through which his father had left a moment earlier, and then turned back to the thrones. “It would be good, just so that he can be punished for every crime he committed. But I doubt that something like that exists. Father isn't careful enough to truly have another secret hiding place. If he had one, I would have probably heard about it at least once. But he never mentioned anything like that. So, I assume that he will just go through all the old documents and try to blame me for some of his crimes. I still don't understand why though. Even if I lost my title again, he wouldn't stay the duke either.”

The emperor nodded. “He committed far too many crimes to be spared. He would be stripped of his title due to everything he did even if he committed one less deed. He will only ruin his family if he manages to make me believe that his son is vile too.”

Luciano looked around the room for a moment before replying. “I thank you for your trust, Your Majesty. I think that he just believes that you would forgive him if he manages to blame Her Majesty because he knows about your strained relationship with her. I'm not sure if my father will be able to bring you anything, no matter how hard he tries. It's more a feeling than anything, but...I know my aunt. Even if I barely talk to that woman, Mother told me enough about her. Her Majesty won't let him give you any evidence against her. It either doesn't exist, or she took care of it already. She is an...efficient person, so to say. At least as long as she doesn't get mad. If she gets angry, she becomes sloppy.”

Theodore was silent for a few seconds during which he scanned the other man. Then he spoke up. “Say, your mother knows a lot about her sister. You had a lot of contact with Cedar too, and he knows the dowager empress best. In addition, your father and Camille are rather similar. And you know your father well too. Maybe that can help us gain an advantage over them. What is your judgment now? What would your father do in the dowager empress' position? After what happened during these past weeks or months.”

Blanche quickly chimed in after that to explain a bit. “Most of her supporters lost their wealth and influence due to their crimes being revealed. So, she lost a lot of power as well. During a few balls, she picked a fight with Theo and was reprimanded harshly. She also had to publicly apologize for revealing my past during my birthday. After that, she complained about me marrying Theodore and had to leave the ball early. So, we assume that she must feel rather humiliated. What would your father do about that?”

They had witnessed Claude in a similar situation once. He had tried to drug the concubine and wished her the worst because she had said something that made him feel offended. If Camille was anything like that, which the dowager empress had already proved due to her suggesting the same scheme, trouble was lying ahead.

Luciano pondered for a moment before he responded. “That is hard to say. As you noticed, he is rather hateful. If he thinks that someone provoked him, he would definitely begin to attack them as soon as possible. He would claim that you, Lady Blanche, ridiculed him for two events in succession. Since you were the one that talked back to Her Majesty, you would be blamed. Much like her, he wouldn't ever understand that his unfavorable situation was just the result of his own behavior. Either he would yell at you immediately, like Her Majesty did, or he would quietly leave while fuming. In the second case, he would be much more furious. And as you know, he did get angry after your audience, and the result was that he came up with this plan to hurt you.” Luciano paused and averted his eyes while disgust flashed on his features. “But he didn't wait until he was calm to come up with this plot, so he made a big mess. Her Majesty would probably wait a while until she can focus on using her mind, even if it's just because Cedar keeps her in check. If she feels offended, she might even think about it before making her move. She would know what kind of risks are connected to attacking the emperor. Maybe she would pretend to be calm for a few weeks and then do the most awful thing she can come up with. She would use every single one of her playing pieces and possibly maneuver herself into a situation in which you can defeat her. The risks for both sides would be high though.”

This was the exact same thing that Theodore had said a while ago. He didn't seem surprised about that. “I thought so too. If we agree, then we can assume that this is what will happen. We will prepare for that then. It may be better for you to stay away from politics until she is gone. She might blame you for trying to switch sides after all. Then there could be problems for you and your family. I thank you for your hint though.”

“I shall make sure to stay away from this situation for now. We...are quite aware of the fact that the dowager empress sees us as traitors now. Cedar already warned me.” That would have been a quite interesting topic to hear more about, but Luciano already seemed to focus on something else and bowed his head to the emperor. “I need to thank you for your help once again, Your Majesty. It is more than generous of you to grant my family another chance. I will need a lifetime to return this favor. I will deal with any issues that you appoint to me in the future.”

Theodore's response followed immediately. “I already have something.” He ignored the other's surprise and waved to one of the servants, who brought out a big folder from behind his back and handed it to the young duke. The emperor watched him for a moment before speaking up. “It may be a bit boring for you, but you are the most experienced person with business right now. I could deal with it too, but the ruler meddling with too many businesses may be seen as unfair. So, you will look at the documents inside there. You should recognize the trends. Find a way to strengthen the business that I marked on the first page. You need to ensure that they will be able to continue existing in a few years even if they need to change their strategy.” Theodore waited for the other man to stare at the folder before continuing. “The businesses on the second page are the exact opposite. They are medium-sized right now, but they will surely grow up to become monopolies soon. But they will ruin our economy if that happens, so they need to be weakened a bit or at least be forced to share their stocks with others. Take care of that too. Of course, you should find out about the upcoming trends too and use them to our citizens' advantage.”

Luciano blinked at the thick folder in his hand. He opened it and read through the first page before speaking up. “I don't think that those people will-” He cut himself off and continued reading before closing the folder. “No, they might go bankrupt if the situation changes drastically. I will look into it, Your Majesty.”

Theodore smiled at that. “Good. You will have about a year, unless another date is specified in the documents, but being faster is obviously better. Don't overwork yourself though. Your family comes first. You have permission to leave then.”

Luciano quickly thanked him again. Then he said goodbye to the emperor and the concubine before exiting the room while still being a bit confused upon having received such an important task.

Theodore stood up a moment later and held his hand toward his lower. Blanche slowly rose to her feet while trying to pay attention to her crown. She let her lover escort her out of the room and tried to ignore the stares of the knights from the ballroom. The sudden silence after so much talking felt odd.

She didn't endure it for long and quickly spoke up. “Wasn't it bad to discuss things like that in front of so many guards? They all heard that we know what the dowager empress is planning.”

The emperor was quiet for a short moment before turning to her with a soft smile. “It's not necessarily bad. If they keep silent, we can be happy about having loyal people. If they spread the news, that woman will either complain about me slandering her, or she will double her efforts to surprise us. And the more she wants to outwit me, the more obvious her movements get. So, I will gladly do something to make her worry more. I want her to be so caught up with the thought of me being more intelligent than her. That would make her go mad.”

Blanche could easily imagine that something like that would absolutely ruin Camille's mood for a while. That made it a perfect plan. “I see. I didn't think about that. But it will be nice if we manage to get back at her in some way. And once she makes her move...”

“It will be her last one.” Theodore gently squeezed his lover's hands as he led her through the hallways. To her surprise, he didn't bring her back to their room though.

Instead, he guided her to a side entrance and left the building with her. She only took a few moments to realize that he was going to bring her to the pavilion. Normally, they came here to drink tea or eat, but this didn't seem to be the case today. Then it had to be something more serious. So, she didn't ask.

When they reached the hedges that framed the pathway to the pavilion, Theodore instructed the people following them to stay behind. Then he and his lover used the way to get to their destination. They arrived there, and he pulled her toward the bench to sit down. He made sure to hug her after taking off their crowns and placing them on the bench next to them.

For a moment, he was silent, and only the soft rustling of the bushes in the wind was audible.

When Theodore spoke up, he was so quiet that she wouldn't have understood him if he had been away any further. “I just wanted to talk to you about what he was mentioning before. The former duke, I mean. I know that I keep telling you this, and I hope that you can be sure about this by now, but...every time someone mentions it, I worry. About it hurting you or it making you doubt my love. That is why I will say it again and again. I will never leave you. I cannot live without you, which we already noticed, so that thought would never cross my mind. I never loved anyone but you, and it will remain like that forever. So, you don't need to listen if anyone ever tells you that I would turn my back on you even if you become powerful and build up your political position.”

Blanche had already forgotten what Duke Vasquez had said earlier, but she was reminded upon hearing Theodore speak to her like this. A soft smile grew on her lips as she leaned against him. “I know. I feel the same after all. I am aware that we are much closer than many others are, and that will cause people to be jealous. So, they will make stupid comments. You proved to me that you love me over and over again. I believe you, and I trust that you won't leave me. That doesn't mean that I would be alright with you looking at other women, but I trust you. Much like you know that I would never show interest in another person besides you. You are mine, and I am yours. That's how it works, right? We are destined for each other.”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Theodore had tensed in the middle of her speech, but at the end, he relaxed again. “Yes. We are fated to be together. That's why we are here now. Because the gods or whatever brought us together and gave me this chance, showed me that this is what I need to work for. I will make sure that both of us are happy together until the very end. Nothing will come between us.” He gently stroked over her cheek and turned her head to look into her eyes. “I promise you that with everything that I am. I will make the world around us a way better place than it originally was.”

The concubine reached up to cup his face and moved one hand to the back of his head. “I will do my best to assist you on the way. Right now, I can't do much, but I will become a good empress. I will learn and help you in your office. I will take care of the nation to the best of my ability. And you know what? I'm sure that we will manage to do it. Because there are so many wonderful people around us. All of them will help us in our endeavors. The burden isn't resting on your shoulders alone. From now on, you can depend on me no matter what.”

The emperor leaned forward, but he didn't kiss her yet, even though she had clearly invited him. “You are always on my side. I know that now. That is why I can't let this get between us.” His eyes seemed to be full of sadness while he ran his fingers over her cheek. For a moment, he was quiet before he resumed. “I've made up my mind. If I wait much longer, I will consider the thought of never telling you, and I can't bear that. But I still can't gather enough courage to face your reaction. So, I would like to ask you to wait one last time. When Camille makes her move and we defeat her, I will tell you. Immediately after we get rid of her, I will tell you everything. My secret. Just promise me that you will look at me with the same amount of love afterward.”

What a foolish man he was.

Blanche didn't need to think about her response. She closed the distance between them and gently kissed him. This had to be one of the rarest kinds of kisses that they shared. It was unusual for her to be the one leading the whole time when their kiss took a while.

Theodore didn't make any attempt to do something else but to receive her kiss this time. What showed how he truly felt right now were his arms, which were wrapped around her in a gentle and yet firm manner. He didn't want to let go of her, and he wouldn't have to.

When she pulled back after an eternity, she left her face right in front of him and whispered. “You should know how much I love you. You love me with that much passion too. Did you ever distrust me? No, you were on my side no matter what happened. You even stayed with me when you found that letter to Sefare. You always were my most loyal companion. So, I will obviously return that sentiment. I will be with you until the end of time. I will be waiting for you until you finally gathered enough courage to tell me. But no matter what it is, I won't condemn you.” Because she could never. “You hear me? Get that inside your skull, you stubborn man. I will be right by your side.”

Even if she didn't like what he told her, there was no way that she could ever lose even the slightest bit of love for him. She even doubted that she would be able to have any negative emotions about what he would explain to her. Even without details, she knew that it wouldn't change what she felt for him. Nothing in this world had enough in store to do that.

Not even when the little voice in the back of her mind reminded her that she should admit to the real reason why she was so adamant that she didn't have a clue about what he wanted to tell her. When a part of her remembered a distant scenario in which Theodore might not have stayed by her side as promised.

Theodore leaned his head forward and gently pressed his lips onto her forehead. “Thank you.” His voice was trembling while he spoke. “I will do everything in my power to do what is necessary to make up for it. If you stay with me, I will use my whole life to make you happy. No, I will do that no matter what. I love you so much.” He did his best to calm himself, but he failed and buried his face in his lover's neck.

Blanche quickly put her hand on the back of his head. “Theo... Don't cry, or I will start too.” She grasped his hand tighter. “You don't need to be scared. Hold onto me all you want. Because I won't let go either.”

For a moment, the both of them just comforted each other with their presence. Then Theodore began to press kisses onto her skin. He interlocked their fingers as soon as she had brought her hand to his and kissed her a dozen times. Only then, he looked at her. She didn't know what he was feeling. He was scared and so full of regret that it seemed to eat at his heart. But at the same time, her words seemed to bring him some sort of comfort.

It wasn't enough for Blanche though. She loved him so much that it hurt to see him cry. She needed to calm him down in some way. The easiest way to do that what to show him that she loved him. She leaned forward to him and offered her lips to him, and he immediately closed the remaining distance between them.

Theodore's fingers tangled in her hair, and he carefully pulled her even closer until she was sitting on his lap. He didn't have any issue keeping her in place when she didn't move away even once. She just wanted to stay as close to him as possible too. She put her all into the kiss and hoped that her sincerity would reach him like that.

For minutes, they only sat there in each other's embrace without the intention of letting go.

When the kiss ended, another one followed until they couldn't do anything but rest their heads on one another's shoulders. Blanche stroked over her lover's hair with care and enjoyed the calm moment.

A long time passed before Theodore quietly spoke up. “Something will happen soon. It's almost like I can feel it in my blood. That is why I am so sure that we will need to have our conversation soon. It's like the air is buzzing around with tension. This time, I made sure that the dowager has no influential people that she could frame around her anymore. She will go down if she attacks, and she will attack. She has no other choice because I was prepared this time. Her allies are gone. Cedar is more upset with her than ever before. Everyone else is turning their backs on her. If things continue without her intervening, she will lose her place in noble society. That she kept asking for a postponement of the trial about the assassination attempts on me wrapped a noose around her neck. That is one thing that she is doing again. Running away and refusing to give up on her pride. I wonder how far she got with that before. Even if everything is different now, I hope that she will stay the same. If she does the same thing that she did back then, she has put herself into checkmate.”

Blanche stared at the flowers that were growing on the pillars of the pavilion and turned her head slightly not to dig her chin onto her lover's shoulder. “I'm sure that you will win. After all, she is the one person here that only caused trouble for everyone around her. It was a given that she would lose at some point. And now you will arise victoriously. We won't hand over the nation to your brother.”

“No, we won't. I won't hand over anything to him. No matter how pitiful he is, I won't ever give him something. Even when...” Theodore paused for a short moment and averted his eyes. “I still need to thank him for two things, did you know that? But I will never do that because I can't bring myself to forget what else happened between us. But he did two wonderful things for me without even knowing that it would help me. No... I think he knew. He couldn't have known that he would give me a chance to change everything for the better though. Maybe I will thank him at some point if he manages to get away from that horrible woman. But he won't do that. I don't think that he has the strength to tear himself from her yet. Still, I would hope it for him.” Theodore sounded tired while speaking. It was like he was actually so sleepy that he was just rambling about something, but he said important things without wanting it.

But what thing could Cedar have done that had made Theodore so relieved? Had it been being close to a person the emperor hadn't looked at often anymore? Had it been doing a horrible thing Theodore had just waited for? The reply was quite blurry, but Blanche didn't even want to find out.

The concubine continued to draw small patterns on Theodore's head while occasionally running her fingers through his hair. “We can't save him against his will. We will see what he does with his own life. Maybe Cedar will get a second chance too. But if not, we still have our own life. No matter what, he won't become emperor. You will keep that position, and I will be by your side. We only need a bit more energy, and then we will have won.”

Her lover weakly nodded. He pressed his nose against her neck and took a deep breath before he slowly forced himself to lift his head. “We should go back to our room. If we stay away longer, people will worry. I want to be closer to you too.”

Blanche patted his head before withdrawing her hand and moving to look into his face. “Are you sure? It's not that late, but...you sound tired.” She tried to climb off his lap, which he reluctantly accepted.

Theodore looked up at her and held her hand to stroke over her fingertips. “That's exactly why I need you to be with me now.” He stood up as well and extended his arms to her. “I will carry you.”

Blanche didn't hesitate to dive into his arms, but she had her doubts. “I don't think that this is a good idea. Our clothes are really fancy today. I can barely sit because this dress is so puffy. If you lift me up, you won't be able to see anything on one side. Besides...” She gave the crowns a skeptical look. “Those need to go back up to their designated spots in the dressing room too. I don't think that we can carry them at the same time. I need to hug you while you lift me up after all.”

Theodore already bowed down to pick her up, and she immediately went along with it and let him lift her body. He didn't pay much attention to the crowns and just left them on the bench. “One of your maids can just take them. As long as they don't throw these onto the floor so that they break, it's fine.”

It wasn't right to just hand ever his crown, which was a family heirloom, but she didn't complain. Blanche just allowed him to bring her out of the pavilion. She leaned her head against his chest to listen to his heartbeat while he instructed Stella and Angelica and closed her eyes for a bit. She didn't even need to look to find out where in the palace they were.

Theodore followed the same path as always, so she knew exactly how far they still had to go to reach their room. She counted the steps as they walked up without saying anything. She was sure that he was going extra slowly to avoid making noise for her, which made a small smile spread on her lips.

When they arrived at the third floor, her lover whispered to her. “Are you still awake?”

She replied without opening her eyes. “Of course. You wanted to bring me to bed, right? I can't sleep without that. A goodnight kiss is an absolute requirement before I can doze off. Don't forget that.”

“I won't. I would never forget the most important thing in my life.” He pressed a kiss onto the top of her head before bringing her to their chambers. He bid farewell to their attendants then, and she did the same while opening one eye.

Then they were alone.

Theodore gently placed her onto the bed after taking off her shoes and her cape. Then he joined her too and pulled her into his arms. For a few seconds, the both of them were silent until he began speaking again. This time, he didn't look as tired anymore. More than that, he was confident. “They will make their move soon. Our finale is here. And that will be the beginning of the rest of our future. From now on, it's the two of us and our happiness. We will help the citizens and everyone that is on our side. But the most important thing is us. I won't ever give you up.”

Blanche gave him a little smile. “Good. I would be disappointed by anything else. I adore you with everything that I am. Every fiber of my being is yours. So, you need to cling to me. I swear to love you for all eternity with all of my heart. ”

“I swear to do the same for you. I will never let go. I will shower you with my unconditional love until the both of us can't take anymore. And even then, I will gladly tell you that you are the only thing in my life that I could not live without. I will prove that to you as often as necessary until even the last person in this world understood it. I will stay by your side for all eternity.”

Those words sounded like they came right out of a novel. They were overly romantic and full of clichés. Every other person would have frowned upon hearing it and asked whether they were fine.

But to them, this promise meant the world, and they sealed their promise with a kiss.