Theodore took a while to calm down fully, and his lover held him the entire time to slowly make it easier for him.
When Blanche moved her head to make eye contact at some point, the sun was already steadily coming closer to the horizon. “Is it better now? Do you believe me that I won't let anything about our relationship change? Or do I need to give you even more affection? We could have another candle bath with rose petals. Or we could ask for salmon and eat something nice together. Or the cake that is still standing on the table.” They hadn't had a chance to finish that yet, and the thought of feeding her lover wasn't bad right now. “Or we can go to sleep early so that you can rest. Or...” That would be her favorite choice for today, but she doubted that her lover would allow her to get so close today. “We could just continue showing each other how big our love is.” Blanche brought her lips to his cheek and left a small trail on her way to his ear before nibbling on his earlobe.
She could feel how Theodore stiffened. She could imagine what was going on in his head easily, and that was exactly what she wanted to stop. If she distracted him, he wouldn't think about such matters, and she needed to accomplish that.
Her lover moved his hand to her face and caressed her cheek as he spoke to her in a weak voice. “I don't think... Why are you so kind to me? Even though you just heard that I betrayed you.”
The concubine gave him a bright smile and turned her head to the side to kiss his fingertips. “You are right here, aren't you? When you had the choice and all information about the truth, you chose me. That is what matters.”
Theodore's face showed dejection, which immediately made her feel like she had said something wrong. “But you said that you didn't remember everything. You don't even know everything that I did. Every single mistake that I made is-” They were probably ingrained in his brain. Without a doubt, he already tortured himself by reminding himself of his missteps over and over again.
Blanche wouldn't let him do that either. “I told you that it won't change anything. I will leave it to you. You can tell me about that past, or you can forget about it completely. I'm fine with both. We will do what makes you happy.” She let go of him to catch his hand next to her face. She brought it to her lips and pressed kiss after kiss onto his fingers and only stopped to speak again. “You can have as much time as you want. I will listen to everything or swear to never mention it again. I don't mind. What do you want to do?”
Her lover was quiet for a moment as she returned to kissing his hand. He watched her every movement before he replied quietly. “I want to tell you. There is so much that happened. So much that explains why I did some things differently in this world. For example, the reason why I needed to let the horrible woman that framed you live. Believe me, I was just waiting for an excuse to ignore my own reasoning, and once, I was a second away from lifting my sword before you came in. I...want to tell you why I couldn't kill her, even though she deserves it.” He almost sounded desperate while saying that.
She was almost sure that he was scared of her believing that he cared for Seraphina. That was why he had always shown his dislike for that woman so obviously in front of her. Little did he know that she hadn't worried about that anymore ever since she had paid attention to the hateful gaze he had directed at the empress. He had always shown that no matter whether he had known whether they were being watched.
Why Seraphina had hated the concubine so much that she would frame Blanche for treason was a much more worrisome matter. But they had time to discuss that later.
Blanche interlinked her fingers with her lover's and turned his hand around to kiss his wrist a few times. “I know that you wanted to kill her. I saw it a few times. I was there during some of your fights, remember? You don't need to prove anything to me. But if you wish to tell me everything, or just pieces and bits, I will gladly listen. But that won't happen now. Today was way too exhausting for you. We will go to sleep now, with me cuddled against you. I will be here the whole night, so you can sleep tightly.”
To be honest, sleeping was most likely the better option for him. Even if she would favor showing him just how much she loved and longed for him, this wasn't the time to be selfish. Theodore had been forced to fight against a group of mercenaries today and had arrested his family after that. He was obviously drained and hadn't had a chance to rest yet. He hadn't even had the chance to change his clothes.
The concubine's eyes widened at that thought. She could see how her lover panicked at that, so she hurried to speak up before him. “Theo, you haven't changed yet!” He was still wearing the same clothes that he had worn while entering combat with a bunch of mercenaries that probably hadn't washed in a month. Surely, fighting had been sweat-inducing too. She should have proposed taking a bath as the very first thing but had completely forgotten about that. “We need to get you washed first!”
Theodore immediately relaxed when he heard that there wasn't a big issue. He lowered his head to rest his chin on her shoulder again. “I know, but I don't think that I can move enough to do that. I definitely won't stand up today anymore, and I won't let you go either.”
Blanche was incredibly relieved to hear that her lover was finally saying something that wasn't full of regret again. She wanted him to continue being this relaxed, and if he said no to her, it was a good sign too. After all, she didn't want him to mindlessly follow what she told him. She let her hands roam across his chest and gave him a little smile. “I see. Then we will still need to get rid of your dirty clothes, don't we? We're still wearing shoes too. That won't do if we want to sleep. Since you had an exhausting day, I will help you.” She slowly moved on to opening the jacket of his uniform while lifting her head to press a kiss onto the side of his neck.
Theodore stopped her after a moment. “I didn't tell you everything yet. It's important that you know everything and want to make sure that you are aware of everything before agreeing to...being with me.” There his sadness was again, and she hated it.
Blanche used this chance to take his hands into hers to bring his palms to her cheeks. “And my response won't change. I love and want you in every single way. Time isn't running away from us, and while I do not wish to hold you back if you want to tell me now, your health is more important. Tomorrow is another day. And the day after that too. I will stay with you for a lifetime and even longer. That's why we don't have to rush it. I'm ready to hear whatever you tell me, and I'm also fine with you staying quiet. Give yourself a night to process all of this first. Because that will allow you to be calmer tomorrow when you know that I will always be by your side as your most loyal companion. Alright?” She beamed up at him. This time, she could basically see that he would kiss her just because of that expression on his face.
Her lover tilted her head slightly backward and pressed her lips on top of hers with slightly more passion than he had dared to show before. As always, he was quick to take over every nook of her brain and made her melt under his kiss.
For Blanche, this was wonderful, but it also gave her a challenge. She was so close to ignoring her previous thought. She had been sure that she would let Theodore get the sleep that he deserved now. Now she had to admit that she had changed her mind yet again. His lips on her were so tempting that she couldn't help but wish for more. Maybe giving him a bit more excitement before sleep would entice him to have a better rest. At least she told herself that. In reality, she just wanted to remind him of her love while distracting him from bad thoughts.
She let her hands wander and began the mission of getting rid of her lover's clothes. Whether he agreed or not, he would still need to undress anyway. So, she could use this as a not-so-subtle way to give him an offer, one he could reject or accept. She would simply go along with what he wanted. Her actions seemed to have shown that too.
After a few seconds, Theodore pulled back and looked down at her with obvious uncertainty. “Are you...” He didn't finish that sentence and just gazed at her with worry. “Am I just misinterpreting this or...” Of course, she couldn't watch when he was so vulnerable around her.
Blanche took his words as her cue to lift herself up to kiss his collar again.
That gave Theodore the certainty he needed. He let her pull him down and accepted her lips on his neck as he stroked over her head with exaggerated care. “Are you sure? We just talked about this for the first time-” His voice broke, and he stopped himself to begin again. “You still want me to touch you?”
Blanche grinned at him. “At least you notice what I want now. I don't have to spend a month trying to seduce you and failing miserably because I'm too embarrassed like for our first time. Now I dare to say it out loud when I want you.” She became a bit more serious after pressing a small kiss on his cheek. “Of course, I won't force you. If you want to sleep now, just say it. But don't use this as a reason to never touch me again. I would get upset because of that.”
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Theodore gently stroked over her face as he responded. “I wouldn't... I would never have the motivation nor the strength to keep myself from touching you. I love and desire you too much. If that makes you happy too, I will gladly give you everything of me. But I thought that you might not want to be with me before you heard everything.”
A small thought appeared in Blanche's mind as she looked up at him. She surely wouldn't let him avoid her because he worried about her. “I think I was rather clear about my emotions not changing. Like when you promised that you wouldn't distrust me after finding out that Sefare brought me here. Nothing could have made you hate me, right? So, you can believe me when I say that the same holds true for me. I love you, and that won't change no matter what. Since you are still in disbelief, I will need to become more clear.” She grabbed his hands and brought his fingers to her mouth to kiss the fingertip. Then she gave her best to sound as desperate as possible as she whispered his name. “Theo...”
A shiver ran down her lover's spine at that. He leaned down to her and mumbled a response. “You are playing unfairly. I don't have a choice here at all.” He moved her hands aside to reach her mouth and captured her lips with yet another kiss. His hand slowly wandered across her body, as if he was waiting for her to stop him. Of course, she never did that, so he just continued to caress her skin until every part of her skin was tingling. But a moment later, he paused again and broke their kiss to look at her. “This feels like a dream. A dream that is so nice that I don't deserve it. I can't believe that you are still here in my arms.”
Blanche did her best not to pant and pulled him down to her again. “What did you expect? I told you that I loved you more than anything. You didn't intend on letting me leave either, so this was the only possible outcome from the very beginning. I'm here in your arms, and I will always be here. That's why we are doing this right now. Stop teasing me, or I will have to show you what playing unfairly means.”
With that, she guided his lips back onto hers and almost sighed in relief when he continued. From then on, Theodore let himself be coaxed into taking over. She tried to take care of him a bit too, but she barely had a chance since her lover seemed to have made it his mission to make her lose her mind. She only had a few seconds in which she had the chance to think clearly, and that didn't allow her to do as much as she had originally wanted to. Blanche had the suspicion that she might not be able to give as much back as she received for the whole night. But if that was enough to ease Theodore's worries, she would accept it for now, only to make sure to repay him later.
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The night was surprisingly calm when they finally went to sleep. Blanche didn't dream, for which she was grateful, and had a relaxing rest without disturbances. When she opened her eyes the next morning, she wasn't surprised to find Theodore staring at her. She barely managed to stop squinting because of the sun, and he was already wide awake as he gave her a kiss.
“Good morning, my angel.”
The concubine stretched her arms for a moment and shifted around before cuddling against her lover in a different position and replying in her slurred voice. “Good morning...” She didn't say more and gave herself a few seconds to wake up first. She might not have slept early last night, but she could guess that they had stayed in bed for long enough to make up for that. After a short while passed, she slowly spoke up again but still kept her eyes closed. “How late is it?”
Her lover responded while stroking over her head. “Almost one in the afternoon. We slept in. But we don't have to do anything today, so it's fine.” He gently rubbed small circles into her scalp until her skin tingled.
She sighed at that sensation and smiled at him. “That's good to hear. No Leon who forces us to work today? That can only be relaxing. This means a full day of cuddling for us.” Blanche opened one eye and gave her lover a little grin. “Or maybe a week. We've earned ourselves a vacation. It doesn't matter much whether we cling to each other here or in the office, but I won't let you work after so much stress. Today, we won't leave our room at all. We still need to have our salmon celebration meal and our rose petal bath. I assume that breakfast in bed will come first though.” She knew that Theodore wouldn't want to let go of her for even a second now too well. For the next few days, they would stick to each other even more than normal.
Her lover showed her a faint smile, which immediately made her heart jump with joy, as he continued to massage her. “That was the plan. But I didn't ask your maids to come here. You told them to take a week off after all. And until now, I also didn't inform anyone else about our meal. I'm sure that it's already finished though. We will only need to wait a moment.”
Blanche didn't want to move away from the massage at all, so she only glanced to the side. It was true that the room was empty, and the curtains were still drawn. No plates adorned the table and no food had been brought. She had to admit that she was a bit hungry, but she was content being alone with her lover now. This meant that they had all the time they needed, and she fully intended on using each second to shower him with affection. She would still accept him pampering her though. “That's fine. I can wait a bit when I have such wonderful company.” Blanche closed her eyes to enjoy his massage a bit longer before she eventually forced herself to sit up. She propped up the cushion behind her and leaned against it before patting her lap. She didn't need to ask twice.
Theodore quickly put his head onto her legs and allowed her to stroke over his hair as much as she wanted to. He looked up at her and took in her soft smile as if she was his savior. After a short while, he spoke up in a whisper. “I still can't believe it. It feels like this is too good to be true.”
The concubine gently poked his cheek before pressing a kiss onto his nose. “That's what I thought when we met. But after all this time, I can finally believe that it's true. We are the perfect couple, and we will stay together forever. From now on, our lives won't have any problems anymore and only love. So, I propose that we begin this by eating breakfast together and then bathing. I also think that we should ask the servants to change the sheets. We may have been a bit too sweaty last night.” She grinned at him and enjoyed the sight of her lover's peaceful expression.
Theodore caught one of her hair strands that had stroked over his cheek and pressed a kiss onto it before releasing it again. “That's a good idea. They can do it while we bathe. For now, I will ask them to bring us food though. Your stomach already grumbled a few times.” He gently ran his fingertips over her belly.
Blanche showed him a bright grin. “I can't deny that I am rather hungry now. I love spending the night with you, but I definitely need food to replenish my energy afterward. Let us eat a bit. Salmon won't happen in the morning though, right? Well, everything else is fine too. I would like to have macarons.”
Her lover reached up to her face and stroked over her cheek. “You will have everything you want. As long as it doesn't harm you, of course. Whatever you desire will be yours in a second. Just say the word.”
Blanche resisted the urge to explain how he didn't need to do anything for her at all. He wouldn't listen to that anyway. So, she just asked for something immediately. “I would like a kiss. Will you grant me that, my beloved?” She brought her face down to his and didn't have to wait long.
“Gladly.” Theodore used his elbow to prop himself up to kiss her. He somehow managed to take over, even though she was currently the one above him.
After a few seconds, they were already in the middle of their own world again. Without a doubt, they would have delayed breakfast once more if it hadn't knocked at that moment. For a moment, the couple just continued before they reluctantly separated.
Blanche pacified her lover by stroking over his head as she replied in a louder voice. “Yes?”
The response came in a chirpy tone. “Good morning, My Lady! I hope you slept well.” This was unmistakably Stella.
For some reason, the concubine was happy to have her maid here, even if she had told the other woman to take a week off yesterday. Maybe it was because she had remembered a random image of Stella's devastated expression among all the other memories and was just glad to see that her friend was fine. A smile spread on her lips as she raised her voice again. “Who is there? I'm pretty sure that I told my attendants to take a break. So, you can't be one of them. Who else could there be?”
One could basically hear how Stella smirked as she replied. “A person that brings salmon, macarons and citrus cake with blueberries as well as apricot tea. Is that enough information to let me pass?” It definitely was. It seemed like she had brought all of her mistress' favorite foods.
There was no way that Blanche could be mad at that. Especially since she desperately wanted to see her friend without having more than a slight guess as to what had happened to Stella in that other world. “Alright. You convinced me. You...” She paused to look down at Theodore. She received a nod from him before he sat up.
He immediately moved right behind her and pulled her onto his lap before wrapping them in their blankets.
Blanche strained her neck to give him a kiss before cuddling against him and addressing Stella once again. “You can come in.”
It only took a short moment before the door opened, and the maid stepped inside with a bright smile. Stella bowed to the couple and quickly shoved a cart with overturned silver coverings into the room. She brought the cart next to the bed and handed over a tray with stands, which could be used to eat comfortably while being in bed. She eyed Theodore for a moment to let him speak up first.
The emperor rested his chin on Blanche's shoulder and gave the maid a curt greeting. “Good morning. I thought you had a week off.”
Stella showed him a bright smile before focusing back on sorting the items on the cart. “Good morning, Your Majesty. I hope that you slept well. I know that I was offered a vacation, but how could we leave My Lady without her maids? Darlene, Angelica and I came to the conclusion that we could alternate between one of us taking off a day if My Lady insists. But if not, we would like to continue working as normal for the next few weeks before taking a break once things have calmed down. We do not have much to do, so this is almost a vacation anyway.”
Blanche had expected that already. If her friends refused to rest, she wouldn't order them to do it either. “I guess that I will have to accept your help then. But don't overdo it. Yesterday was more than stressful. You'll get your well-deserved break in a few weeks, as you said.” She paused at that thought. She accepted the cup with hot chocolate milk that the maid offered her and blew on the steaming liquid before speaking up. “See? You even put in the extra effort to bring us an even more luxurious breakfast than normal. You must have felt like we needed some time to relax too. What happened while we were gone? Any problems, new developments or rumors?”
Stella stopped her movements and pondered that for a few seconds before replying. “I don't even know where to start. The royal guards searched through every single room to ensure that no attacker could hide anywhere, and the security has been improved even more. Apparently, the path those mercenaries used to enter was closed off too. So, we should be able to calm down without fearing new dangers now. Of course, the servants are still in the middle of gossiping about everything. They constantly ask whether His Majesty and you are fine and wish you the best. Everyone is really impressed by the fact that our emperor also fought and won the battle for us, so the gossip is mainly just full of compliments.” As always, the maid was eager to chat about rumors, so she had a lot to tell and just continue talking. “Naturally, some question the safety of the palace, but the new security measures will quickly erase those doubts. Aside from that, I don't think that there is much to talk about except for the shock that many people here suffered from. The only other important thing is that Lord Astame is currently dealing with everything. He wrote a report for the nobles and explained why Her Majesty, the dowager empress and His Royal Highness will be arrested now. Ah, by the way. His Royal Highness seems to be fine. The doctor told me that he only had a headache, which is why the doctor would like to focus on the two of you today to make sure that you were not hurt. That was all, I think.”
That was a lot already.