It seemed to be a crucial part of noble society that the people had too much time. If one lived anywhere near the aristocrats and wealthy merchants, one would inevitably come into contact with rumors, whether one heard about them, spread them or was the main actor in those stories.
In Blanche's case, the third category had always fitted. Being the emperor's concubine served as an automatic coupon to being the center of attention and thus unwanted remarks. Even though she had been convinced that she hadn't stirred up any trouble in the last weeks, she was currently being told that two specific stories were circulating and spreading like fire in a dry forest.
The first one originated in the palace and hadn't left the walls of the royal estate until now. Apparently, Lady Blanche had become arrogant enough to raise her voice at the emperor. The servants weren't surprised about such a development and chatted about it with all of their friends. But since Theodore didn't mind it, this wasn't much of a problem as it didn't change the view the palace's inhabitants had on the concubine.
Though the other rumor was more of an issue.
Leon had used his rare free time to have another lesson with the concubine and addressed the newest rumors among the nobles. He had a similar opinion on the urgency of these stories. While he had advised her to be as polite as possible whenever others watched her, he wasn't interested in her personal disputes with her lover. Though the second narration made him bury his face in his palm. He leaned forward on the sofa and took steady breaths in an attempt to calm down. “Naturally, this happened just in time for it to affect the empress' tea party. Great. Now we should clear up the misunderstandings, but we can't because Lady Lemares already convinced everyone that she is the victim. No one will listen to our explanation, especially since she is, unfortunately, seen as more credible than you.” He let out a long sigh and shook his head slightly without looking up.
Blanche spoke up in hopes of getting the man to swallow his annoyance. “Well, it's not pleasant that this happened, but it's not that terrible either, right? I don't think that this will change my reputation if you consider what they call me behind my back.” She herself was far from satisfied with this dilemma as it set her back once more, but at least her situation hadn't become much worse.
Rather than the rumor, its source infuriated her though.
After Evelyn Lemares had been thrown out of the palace due to her more than incompetent teaching skills and vile behavior, she seemed to have dedicated herself to the slander of her former student. That woman had told anyone who would listen to her whining that Blanche had shown her the self-centered and bratty conduct that had been the norm two months ago. Allegedly, the concubine had been the one to insult her tutor and then ran to the emperor and fed him lies, which caused Evelyn to lose her position as a tutor and earner her some harsh words from Theodore.
This was funny as Blanche remembered to be the person that had become the victim of the other's abuse of power and taunts. But her previous image hadn't done her a favor, and the nobles instantly took the side of the esteemed teacher instead of the one of the ‘impudent and manipulative mistress’. This rumor had only enforced the opinion that the aristocrats had on the emperor's lover.
It wasn't a catastrophe. Still, Blanche, who had tried to improve her image, would have to wait until this scandal was erased from the people's minds before expecting that they gave her another chance.
The novel's development was still in the first chapters, so she had about ten months left until the original ending, in which she was abandoned and executed by her lover. This was a lot of time, but even that seemed so short when her life was on the line. She needed to have changed the way the public saw her into a polite and inconspicuous lady within these ten months. Altering an already existent opinion required exceptional behavior, which could only be presented over the course of a long time span. Evelyn had stolen some of that valuable time and pretended as an innocent saint despite being the vilest person imaginable, which obviously upset the concubine.
But what made Blanche even sicker was the pretentiousness the tutor displayed. Twisting reality just to harm the reputation of a person who was already hated was quite pathetic. Though there were more people than Evelyn who would gladly do that. Blanche knew quite a few.
Leon frowned again before responding. “It wouldn't be this much of a problem if it wasn't Evelyn Lemares who felt wronged. As you know, she is the Duchess of Duremont's sister, and that woman will definitely take the side of her relative. You already had a catastrophic relationship with Her Majesty's family before, and this incident certainly won't improve it.”
Blanche let out one single nervous chuckle and stared into the cup on her lap. “I didn't expect to improve anything in that regard in the first place, but that really isn't optimal.”
Leonard watched her take a sip of her tea and raised his own drink to demonstrate the proper way to hold it. “Remember to position the cup like this. Your fingers are placed in an odd way.”
The concubine looked down at her hand with a frown and then alternated between checking how Leon had positioned his fingers while trying to imitate him. The secretary observed her ungracious attempts but didn't comment on it, for which Blanche was thankful. She moved her hand until she was content with her posture. It probably still didn't look elegant, but to her, it seemed acceptable.
Leon only began after she stopped fidgeting. “Anyway. The tea party will be an opportunity for you to prove that you aren't as incompetent as that woman portrayed you. So, we have five days to prepare. That should be enough since you don't have to be perfect all of a sudden. As long as you don't draw attention to yourself, it will be fine.” He voiced the last sentence with a somewhat accusatory tone, which the concubine ignored.
“Don't worry. I will stay as quiet as a mouse. It's not like I have anyone I wish to talk to.” Unfortunately, the party could only be attended by people who had received an invitation from the empress, which meant that Stella couldn't accompany her. Blanche couldn't complain though. It was already strange that Seraphina had sent the concubine an invitation.
The empress and the concubine had been arch-rivals from the moment that they had first met, so it was clear that Seraphina had only invited her husband's lover because the protocol dictated it. The concubine would have been fine with not going, just to avoid facing the judgmental crowd of noble ladies on her own. But refusing to attend without a reasonable excuse was offending to the royal family, so Blanche was cornered.
Leon continued to give her tips despite her already agreeing with him. “People will have their eyes on you either way. If you remain silent for a long time, they'll eventually get tired of staring at you. However, in the beginning, everyone will expect you to cause drama, which naturally-”
Blanche cut him off with a rejecting waving of her hand and almost let her cup fall in the process. She caught it just before the tea could spill out and gulped down the rest of the liquid before placing the cup on the table. “I won't, I promise.” She looked up again to see Leon, who showed her a dejected expression.
“Please try not to drop your cup or ruin your dress at the gathering.”
The concubine laughed nervously in response. She obviously didn't want to do that, but she didn't trust her coordination in stressful situations and didn't want to evoke an accident by saying that it wouldn't happen.
Leonard shook his head slightly and stood up. “Then we should sit at the table and talk about drinking and eating first.”
Blanche followed him while carefully carrying her cup. Her face lit up as she approached the table. Numerous macarons were sitting on a plate in the middle. Her gaze snapped to Leon, who looked like he had to hide a grin now. “Can I-”
“Yes, you can. But only if you pay attention to the proper etiquette in the process.”
Suddenly, Blanche was much more motivated than before. She slipped onto her chair and held back from grabbing one of the macarons in favor of staring at the utensils in front of her.
Leon took a seat across from her and began explaining why the dishware was positioned like this and what she needed to keep in mind while she attended a party.
During the whole lesson, the concubine looked forward to finally eating the macarons, and as soon as Leon gave her permission, she devoured a few of them. At least she wanted to do that but had to restrain herself under his stern gaze and ended up eating much slower. Apparently, she had done well since Leon claimed that he wasn't worried about going through the necessary topics until the event.
While Blanche didn't tell her tutor, she was much tenser than him.
Making sure that the public didn't view her as a villainess was crucial to her survival, but Leon couldn't know under how much pressure this put her. And it was even worse than that.
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To her dismay, she had been unsuccessful when trying to remember what about the party had been written in the novel. It seemed like the author had skipped this scene, maybe because the villainess had refused to attend, which didn't give Blanche a chance to know how she shouldn't behave. Staying quiet in a corner appeared to be a safe plan, but she still became slightly nauseous when thinking about the gathering. After all, Theodore wouldn't be there to protect her, and everyone else was against her, so she would be on her own.
After she had finished the macarons, she bid farewell to Leon and returned to her chambers, where she chatted with Stella until it was time for dinner. She ate with her lover, who reminded her of the appointment with the tailor on the next day before he hurried off to his office. That once again made Blanche worry. The emperor's duties had been just as demanding as before during the last few days, so he didn't take any breaks except for when he joined her for meals. The concubine was glad that he at least had these few minutes in which he wasn't working, but she still felt like he had too few opportunities to relax properly.
This was why Blanche was more than surprised when he accompanied her after lunch the next day. “You'll come to the tailor with me?”
Her question made a small smile form on Theodore's lips. “Don't want me there?”
Blanche shook her head quickly before refuting. “No, I'm always happy when you are with me. But don't you have a lot of work to do? I shouldn't take away your spare time for something so unimportant. After all, I can go alone, so you don't have to trouble yourself.”
“It's fine.” He patted her head for a moment. “I'm actually completely free right now. The ministers are on their way for another discussion in the evening, and I have to wait for more letters before I can do anything else. So, I thought that I'll join you.”
A beam lit up Blanche's face as she took his hand. “It's good that you finally have a little break. Don't overwork yourself!”
“Of course. I will be careful.”
They linked their arms and approached the parlor, with Stella trailing behind them. Their destination was where the tailor, an elderly woman, who came into the palace four times per year and prepared dresses for the empress and the concubine, had displayed her creations.
Each of the tailor's visits had a very similar schedule. Normally, Seraphina asked for about five pieces to make sure that she could wear a new gown for every event while Blanche demanded a greater amount than she could even put on before the next appointment with the tailor. As a result, the concubine owned countless unworn attires, and her wardrobe was already threatening to burst.
For this reason, Blanche had made the conviction to only ask for as many dresses as she could actually wear this time. Aside from saving space in her room, another more significant effect was that she could prove that she wasn't as materialistic anymore.
In addition, being nice to the tailor now was the least she could do to make up for her previous behavior. In the past, she had been rather cool because the other woman had the tendency to talk a lot and Blanche didn't know how to deal with such people. But even after that, the tailor had been so friendly and willing to help that Blanche felt bad for her silence. She would definitely be kinder now.
As the couple moved through the corridors, Theodore turned to his without slowing his pace, which made her focus on him. She met his gaze, and after a moment, he spoke with a strangely serious expression. “After I arrived way too late for dinner last week, I checked on the clock in my office. I was suspicious from the very beginning since I had taken a look at it shortly before I left. It was exactly five minutes after 8 o'clock. I can't have taken an hour to walk through the palace, so I wanted to confirm something. And I was right. The hands were pointing at the wrong time. While a slight difference would a normal, the clock was off by a whole hour.”
Blanche stopped in her tracks upon hearing this. “An hour?” A frown appeared on her face. Her lover had been an hour late.
Theodore affirmed her words. “Yes. Exactly one hour.”
“But that would mean...” She didn't finish the sentence, but her lover's nod confirmed that he knew what she intended to say.
“Someone changed it manually to depict the wrong time.” Theodore pressed his lips into a line.
For a second, the concubine was speechless. Someone had changed the clock in the emperor's office? What did that person hope to gain from doing that? And who had been the responsible one? Only a very small number of people could enter the office on their own, and they were the ones who occupied an important position in the palace. That naturally meant that Theodore trusted them, and abusing that trust could lead to harsh punishment. Why would someone risk that to make the emperor be late to a meeting with his concubine?
Blanche was completely perplexed when she replied. “Why would a person do that?”
Her lover shook his head as his face became even more stoic. “I have no clue. Doing something so foolish will cause them to lose all the influence they might have had, their job and their residence as well. We're currently investigating the matter, but no evidence of any sort has been found. For now, I can only assume that some servant did this while thinking of it as a joke, which it certainly isn't. Apparently, I have to give them a reminder of the emperor's authority and show them that joking with me will have consequences. When we find out who the perpetrator is, they will be punished accordingly.” Upon finishing his sentence, his expression softened again. “Still, that won't undo what happened. I'm sorry. I wished that I could change that evening, but I can't. I can only swear that I will never miss one of our appointments or worry you like this ever again.”
The rational side of Blanche wanted to stop him from speaking any more. He would only burden himself with vows that he couldn't keep when he became enamored with the heroine. At the same time, the rest of her longed to fall into his arms while he made promises about their shared future. She was torn, as always. “It wasn't your fault.” She took her lover's hand in hers. “And since the person who manipulated the clock was surely only trying to joke around, you don't have to give them a too harsh punishment.” Since someone being punished because of the villainess' problems would once again make her life harder.
Theodore's free hand wandered to her cheek, and he gently caressed it, which created a stark contrast to the resentment in his eyes. “That person entered my office without permission and tampered with my belongings, which would be enough to justify throwing them out. However, it doesn't stop there. They are at fault for making me arrive late by an hour because of their impudent actions. During that time, you waited for me all alone. I still remember how you looked at me when you told me how long I had been away. That expression burned itself into my mind, and that person is the one responsible for making you suffer like that. I have not considered letting them off the hook for a single second, and I won't budge on that decision.”
While the part concerning her wasn't a convincing reason to her, Blanche realized that she hadn't thought about the whole picture before asking him to be lenient with the perpetrator. “You're right. I spoke too soon. Naturally, touching your things is an inexcusable offense. A violation like this can't be ignored.”
“Exactly. And I will make sure to find this person and explain to them how angry they made me in great detail.” That might be an even worse punishment than losing one's position. Theodore was very intimidating when he directed his raw anger at another person, which was probably necessary for him to keep the aristocrats in check. His fury would make anyone tremble under his gaze and get on their knees to apologize. But even that wouldn't help. If he resented a person, no matter who they were, they would regret it.
As Blanche would when he watched her execution without batting an eye. She suppressed the shiver that ran over her spine and pushed the vivid memories of her nightmare away to focus on her lover.
Since she still held his hand, he noticed her involuntary motion either way. His questioning gaze already showed her that he would ask about her well-being before he opened his mouth.
So, she quickly raised her voice. “In that case, I actually feel a little bad for them. You're really scary when you are furious.”
Theodore began to walk again and carefully pulled her along as he replied with a small grin. “If you think that despite never having seen me getting truly wrathful, I worry about how my presence must seem to others.”
Blanche let out a dry laugh to mask her sensitivity when it came to this topic. She had witnessed how he treated her after she tried to harm his wife. That might have been a nightmare, but everything had felt so real. Along with the novel's description of her execution that perfectly aligned with these images, this convinced her that it had been more than just a meaningless dream, something like a premonition. Blanche could still feel Theodore's cold glare on her and the axe on her neck. She unwillingly lifted her hand to stroke over her neck as she replied. “Well, you have been upset with me a few times already.”
That made Theodore turn to her. “Upset, but not angry. Surely, we had some small fights, but none of them were about more than trivialities. I have never been truly furious with you.” Without warning, he stopped and met her eyes with furrowed brows. “I didn't scare you then, did I? Did I ever make you uncomfortable because I got too heated in a discussion?” Not until this date.
Until now, she had never even had a single thought about being fearful of her beloved. In any of the quarrels they had had because of her impudent behavior in public or the topic of marriage, she had been the one to get emotional. She had been the one who cried, yelled and spoken about having doubts about whether he really needed to let people tell him what to do when things didn't develop like she wanted them to. He had always been forced to calm her while controlling his temper to not further fuel the fight.
There had been only two times at which he had raised his voice at her. The first reason had been their argument before the wedding with Seraphina. Blanche had refused to accept that he would marry his fiancée and hadn't listened to his pleas as he tried to explain why he had to do it. The second case had been when she hadn't given in after he told her that she couldn't become his wife. These times, she completely disregarded any rules and norms of noble society and hadn't allowed him to defend himself. At that point, he had spoken with a louder volume but apologized right after that. Yet, even in these scenarios, he hadn't intimidated her.
In none of their fights had Blanche ever backed down because she worried about his anger. The worst thing that could happen had always been his frustration, which she could quickly overcome by acting cute and apologizing. Theodore had never made her feel unsafe before she had been forced to experience her execution and observe his indifference about her death. She had seen his hatred then. After all, he had to have hated her at that point, or he would never have been able to sit by while she died. Even this small glimpse of her lover's wrath was like a knife that had been plunged into her heart and was being moved around whenever she remembered it.
But in this reality, he hadn't begun to resent her yet. There had never been a moment in which she hadn't trusted him, and he should know that.
Blanche smiled at him as she replied. “No, you didn't scare me. You always forced yourself to stay calm to avoid scaring me even while I got loud. But even when you are only making an appearance in public, your presence is pretty intimidating. Plus, I saw you being furious at others a few times already, and that was all I needed to fear for their safety.”
Her response wiped the frown off Theodore's face and replaced it with a relieved smile. “Thank the gods. I was worried for a moment. I do not ever want you to feel pressured or intimidated around me. It's concerning that you've witnessed me being mad multiple times when I'd actually consider myself a very composed person.” As he spoke, they sped up their pace again.
“In your defense, the only reason you become truly angry is when the other party is unreasonable and behaves inappropriately.”
Her lover chuckled quietly at that. “I'm glad that you see me like that. I try my best to be a righteous ruler. Though I can't promise that none of my actions are influenced by my personal feelings.” In that aspect, he was very similar to the empress.
Seraphina also attempted to make unbiased decisions throughout the story while ignoring her own emotions. She would even do extremely cruel things if this led to what she deemed to be the better ending. These similarities had caused the main characters to become closer. But along with those resemblances, their differences also made them into the perfect couple that would rule over Artias together.
Blanche had to blink a couple of times to distract herself from that thought. She succeeded just when they reached the door.
Her lover let go of her hand and stepped forward to open it. But as soon as his fingers grazed the handle, it was pushed down from the inside, and the door flew open. The emperor managed to save himself at the last second by jumping away from the entrance.
A blonde woman emerged from the room, and Blanche had to suppress a groan. Her bad luck just had to make sure that Seraphina was here while they were on their way too. Thinking about the other woman seemed to have tempted fate to ruin her day.