The next days were a strange mix of hectic moments and pure relaxation, which might have been good because it distracted the people in the palace from their worries. After the emperor had announced both the date of the engagement party and the wedding and coronation, it seemed like everyone was in an utter panic. Everything had to be perfect despite the recent problems, and everyone seemed to share that opinion.
Blanche and Theodore also planned many things themselves like the decorations and what food would be offered. They decided on their vows and consulted Madame Charture, who was happy to tailor a few attires for them. The couple worked in the office a bit as well, but aside from that, they were even lazier than normal.
If people had been concerned about them cuddling too often before, these worries only grew now. The two of them had begun to share even more sweet declarations of eternal love. To Leonard's dismay, they didn't care much whether they were alone or being watched. In both cases, they just began telling each other about their devotion whenever the chance came up. Most people assumed that this had happened because of the revolt and the couple's fear of losing one another. But of course, no one could guess the real reason.
Blanche spent each moment making sure that her lover didn't doubt that she belonged to him entirely for even a single second. It wasn't hard to offer all of her when he gave so much. Theodore indulged her even more than before, and her complaints about it being too much were ignored. So, she accepted his affection, his gifts and his vows. But she insisted on returning something each time.
When they took walks, she held his hand. When they ate, she fed him too. When she had received a gift, she would cuddle with him until she felt like they had enough, which never seemed to happen.
It would take a while to convince him that he didn't need to live with guilt, but she was sure that she would manage to persuade him at some point. She would just shower him with her love until he understood. What was more important than anything else was that they were happy. Nothing stood between them anymore, and the both of them wouldn't accept anything else from now on. Each one knew what the other knew, and the only exceptions were surprise presents. It was wonderful to not be forced to hide anything anymore.
Not only the relationship between the couple was harmonious.
The rest of the people around them were recovering from the revolt as well and eagerly looked forward to the next events. Even if some servants might have been stressed because of the sudden decision.
Leon, especially, had to deal with most things and contact the high priests to ensure that they would take care of the ceremony in the temple. The secretary acted like he was much more annoyed than ever before, but he couldn't help smiling when he thought that the couple wasn't looking. He was truly happy for them, which earned him a lot of jokes about him needing a lover himself.
Owen stayed by the concubine's side as always, which thankfully meant that he also protected the emperor at the same time. The knight was as calm as usual, but he was forced to speak a bit more now because of this talkative colleague.
Noah seemed rather content with his new position. After the revolt, he had apologized for not being able to do much during the attack and for giving his sword away. He admitted to having done that out of fear that the concubine would hurt herself with it after Cedar had pointed it out. He voiced his regret for a while until he had been told that it was fine and had been relieved. Since then, he had become even more overprotective and swore to protect the couple more often than necessary. But at the same time, he stayed cheerful and blabbered a lot, which caused Owen to join in sometimes too.
Stella was rather content with that development. After all, she could finally talk to someone even when her fellow maids were busy cuddling. She was still as eager to serve her mistress though. And most importantly, she was completely healthy and genuinely seemed happy. The maid had reacted a bit surprised upon having Blanche hug her as soon as they saw each other the morning after the concubine had found out the truth. That she had been asked to always take care of her herself and never get hurt confused her even more, but she had gladly returned the embrace.
Angelica and Darlene happily used their free time during their job to cuddle and do some things for which they hadn't had time before. They had needed some time to calm down after the attack, and especially Darlene had been a bit too worried about the palace's safety afterward. Thankfully, they had calmed down after a few days passed, which might have been connected to all their friends being fine.
George apparently had been with most of the servants in the breakfast room near their quarters, where he hadn't been in any danger. He had been shocked too but recovered way quicker than some of his colleagues.
Clark had gotten over the incident even faster though. He had been in the cellar to visit Harris during the attack. None of the mercenaries had truly cared for the cells, so the both of them hadn't noticed much except for the knights telling them to stay quiet.
Harris had been released a day later, and thanks to the emperor's official explanation of him being a spy that was sent to infiltrate the enemy, his reputation was as flawless as before. He had started to work again and spent time with Clark and George as well as the concubine's maids when they had been forced to take a day off. It seemed like they would get along well despite their problems a while ago.
Luckily, there weren't any problems with the criminals either.
Even though Theodore had offered to have one more conversation in hopes of clearing up some misunderstandings, Cedar had departed a day after the doctor had treated his wound and only left behind a note that said that he wished the couple the best for the future. He had added that he would need to find a better shovel if he wanted to change a riverbed now too, which seemed to show a little hope for him. Though, that he refused to even speak to his brother indicated that things might take a while.
Camille had been sent after him two weeks later. Apparently, the dowager empress had demanded to see the emperor, but she was refused without any further comments. Theodore had already begun to prepare some ugly gifts for her, so it seemed like her life would only go downhill from here on out.
To Blanche's surprise, some mercenaries were brought to a prison in the south instead of being executed. It seemed like Theodore was serious about changing the laws in regard to the death sentence and wanted to limit its use to only absolutely urgent cases. Though, about half of the responsible ones had been found guilty of treason against the entirety of Artias and had been executed anyway. It was no surprise with how dangerous this attack had been, even if the royal guards hadn't had any losses.
Sefare had been sent away as well. Due to Claude's sudden death and Camille's imprisonment, his testimony hadn't been necessary anymore, so he had left the nation without a trial. He seemed to believe that he could build a new life, but of course, he would be imprisoned. The concubine had been pleased with not seeing him again, so she naturally didn't feel bad about him being treated like that either.
Things were slowly getting wrapped up as the last decisions regarding their former problems were made, which created a satisfying feeling. Even outside the palace, everything seemed to go well. Slowly, letters from all nobles began to arrive as they wished the emperor the best and promised their loyalty once again. Many also announced their presence at the events they had been invited to. It seemed like no one was outright refusing the invitation because they disliked a commoner as the empress, which was a pleasant surprise. This hinted that there might not be too many problems for the concubine when she went into politics, and that raised her mood even more.
That Blanche was able to prepare her wedding with Theodore was enough to make her euphoric. But the fact that everything around her was wonderful made her question whether feeling so ecstatic the whole time was even healthy. Her friends were well. Artias flourished. Her lover was with her and wanted to marry her. It was almost too perfect to seem realistic. Her greatest worry right now was whether she wanted red roses or violet tulips in the vases, which proved how content she was. After she hadn't needed to ponder unpleasant things for a while, she even asked herself how long that would go on.
She regretted that a tiny bit just a few days later.
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Upon wondering about decisions, Blanche had immediately evoked that she would have to make one again. But even after staring at the letter for minutes, she still wasn't sure. “Theo, I don't know.” She whined again and chewed on her cookie to distract herself.
Theodore gazed at the envelope as if he was watching a disgusting parasite. “I should really not tell you my opinion on this matter. Because you know that I would like to burn it along with the sender.” He lifted his cup and drank a sip while still eyeing the letter with caution. He had made sure to let someone check whether it was safe before but still seemed to distrust it. That only proved how little he trusted Seraphina.
Blanche rested her chin on her palm and picked the envelope up to hold it against the light. “It may be good that Ocrea is so far away. Then I don't have to worry about you making that threat a reality. She already needs to deal with her husband's sister, and that is bad enough. In any case, I would argue that I made a big mistake on my part here. She said that she wanted to exchange letters, and I agreed, so I should have expected this. I forgot, and now I'm not sure. I should read the letter, shouldn't I?”
Her lover carefully reached over to remove a crumb from her lips while he replied. “You heard my answer. I wouldn't touch it. I cannot speak for you though. This is about what you want to do. Do you want to read it?”
The concubine tilted her head and sighed. It shouldn't be hard for her to listen to what she herself wanted. But she didn't know what she wanted, which was the main problem here.“I'm indecisive. I can't ignore the letters of Northern Ocrea's future queen. We will have to consult with her at some point anyway. I mean...if you won't even invite her to diplomatic meetings, we need to write letters, right?”
Theodore's expression was enough of an answer. “I would never ever allow that wretched thing to take a step into our nation ever again. She can rot over there. I won't even consider interacting with her through letters. Linden is there too, so I'll write him. He knows that his wife and I will never get along. I warned him about trying to bring her here again, so he definitely understood.” It wasn't surprising that he had taken such precautions at all.
Blanche gave him a small smile and patted his hand to calm him down before tearing open the letter. “I will read it to make sure that everything is fine with Linden.” She unfolded the papers that had been inside the envelope and began to skim through the pages.
Of course, Seraphina had once again written everything in beautiful cursive letters that conveyed a sense of grace. Apparently, the former empress was skilled in writing letters. At least these wouldn't cause someone's downfall.
The concubine's expression darkened for a moment before she focused on reading. “They arrived in Ocrea without issues and used a bird to bring this here faster. They were greeted by many happy citizens and went to the palace. Linden's father seems to already have accepted her as his son's beloved, and he will gladly support their marriage. The wedding will happen in a week.” She let out a snort. “Who thought that the diligent empress would go through with something like this so quickly?” She paused to read a bit further ahead before resuming. “She met Linden's sister. They hate each other.”
Theodore scanned the letter with narrowed eyes as he drank a sip of his tea. When he set down the cup, he replied. “That's not surprising. Power-hungry people either group together to use each other or become mortal enemies. The both of them are just as cunning, so it's not surprising that they saw through the other's facade. Maybe they will crush each other now.”
Blanche looked up from the paper for a few seconds. “I thought we wanted her to win for Linden. Then both losing isn't good. We'll need to see her as a person and as a political figure separately.” She continued to read again. “She liked Ocrea until now, but she didn't do much yet. Linden's family, except for the sister and her creepy guard, seems to be nice. She visited a doctor and consulted him about your advice. Apparently, they will look into it. She thanks you for thinking about her child.” Blanche waited for Theodore to frown before resuming. “She also wrote that she knows that this isn't because you care about her but rather for Linden, but she thanks you anyway. Then she went on to talk about the landscape and how the capital looks. We both know that already though...and she added something about...” The concubine paused and read it again. Then she slowly let her eyes wander to her lover.
Theodore immediately recognized what that meant. “What did she write?”
Blanche lowered the letter and put it away before responding. “She said that her brother dreamed about me dying a few times and how he always felt incredibly guilty afterward. Sometimes, he apparently saw the butterfly ornament too, which is why he asked me about it once. We knew that, and she just gave more details. But the other part may be a bit more....well. You knew that she dreamed about feeling guilty, right? Well, she saw my grave and how you died on it. Last time, she said that she had no idea who the people there were. Now she admitted that she believes that we were the actors in that dream. But it sounds like she still has no idea why she dreamed that. She drinks her herb tea daily now and won't get any nightmares anymore, so she won't find out anything more either.”
The emperor's eyes flickered with wrath. “Good for her. You can write that this will save her life. If she ever remembers, she should give her best not to let us notice, or she will get what she deserves. And then she will regret ever being born.”
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The concubine patted his hand again. “She doesn't remember. I'm pretty sure that she wouldn't have been so confused by all of this then. She also wouldn't have opened up to me of all people if she did know. She would probably have run away if she remembered.”
“Which would have been her only way to survive.” Theodore held her hand tighter and picked up a cookie with his other hand to bring it to her mouth. Even while he was fuming, he thought about feeding her, which she gladly accepted. After all, eating while she needed to think about her decision was best.
Blanche still didn't know whether she wanted to respond. If she personally began exchanging letters with the person that had caused her doom in the past world, it would feel somewhat strange. As the empress, she would certainly need to write to Seraphina, but that wouldn't include any private information like the other woman's thoughts about the people in Ocrea. But at the same time, the concubine was uncertain whether being cold to a person that didn't even remember their huge conflict was a good idea.
Blanche was unsure in general, especially since she feared that her lover would misunderstand her decision. If she treated the events of the past as solved problems, her choice should be obvious. She had never once blamed Theodore for anything that had happened in that other world. To her, he didn't deserve to be blamed for anything either, even if she admitted that her judgment might be a tiny bit clouded when it came to him.
She saw Seraphina as the main responsible one. So, not forgiving that woman was different to her than forgiving her lover. Still, ignoring the former empress could make Theodore think that she was upset with him in some way too. On the other hand, writing to the new queen could make him believe that she didn't condemn Seraphina for manipulating and drugging him, bringing the couple apart and framing the concubine for treason.
Blanche sighed again and admitted defeat. It had been five minutes, and she was already drained from not cuddling. So, she gave up and moved her chair closer to her lover to lean her head on his shoulder. “Theo, I'm overthinking it again. I feel like each decision will make people that aren't directly involved jump to the wrong conclusions. Tell my brain to stop.”
Theodore wrapped his arms around her as soon as she came closer to him and whispered to her. “If you worry about what I think, you can calm down. I won't read anything into your actions nor feel offended because of that. I certainly wouldn't be happy if you became friends with that woman, but you can write her if you want to. You can use that to get information from Ocrea so that we can react quickly if trouble is developing there.”
“I don't think that you need to worry about me getting close to her. We talked more often near the end, but I was always a bit tense in her presence. So, writing is the closest I'm going to get.” Blanche took a deep breath and let her whole body fall toward her lover, who caught her with ease. She turned her head up and scanned the ceiling for a moment before she continued. “I think I will write her occasionally. I can be a little nice in my letters. It won't be anything special nor do I plan on writing often, but it would be good to be in contact with Ocrea's queen.” And she would feel bad about promising to write and then not doing it.
Theodore gently combed through her hair with his fingers. “I thought so. We have enough letters and pens in the office, so it would be easier to write there. It can wait until we work tomorrow, right? She surely won't mind waiting one more day, will she?”
The concubine nodded. “Of course. I could even wait another day after that. But I will just do it tomorrow before I forget. I can collect ideas for what to write already. After all, I have no idea what I want to tell her. Nothing here is...” She paused before realizing that this was completely stupid. “Actually, many things happened. I think I can write a lot. It will feel good to announce that our enemies are gone.” She grinned at that, and her smile only widened when Theodore offered her a cookie.
He beamed at her too. “It's good if you're eager to spread good news, but don't we have other priorities? Our engagement party, for example. We have five days left, my angel. That's not much. We have to make some final decisions. Like whether you want roses or tulips. The gardeners from the capital are about to despair because they don't want to prepare both to throw them away afterward.”
Blanche grimaced at that. “I know. But if we have decorations in the royal colors, red roses aren't fitting. We would need blue ones.” She paused at this thought and couldn't help but imagine it. “Does that exist? Did someone already create blue roses?”
Her lover chuckled and tapped her nose. “Of course. And before you ask, yes, the vendors will certainly give the emperor some if I ask. Does that mean that you want blue roses? And red ones for the wedding since the decorations will be white then?”
Blanche imagined that for a moment and quickly began nodding. The venue would look so beautiful that she herself would probably be impressed. And she would be having her engagement party there. She couldn't keep herself from beaming at her lover. “Theo, I still can't believe that we will get married. I'm so happy.” She wrapped her arms around him and gladly accepted him patting her head. “Then I can finally say that I'm your wife and call you my husband. And I can announce that you are mine without sounding audacious.” She stopped Theodore before he could refute that. “I know that I can already say that, but then I can do it with more elegance. I just have to say ‘my husband’, and everyone will know. And then I can grab your arm and tell them that it's part of the protocol.”
To be honest, she hadn't really cared about that in the past months either, but now it would be official, and she loved that.
Theodore hummed at her while caressing her scalp until it began tingling. “You do have to keep in mind that you being able to do that is not related to your title as my wife. You always had a claim on me. And now it will be lawful too. I can't help but look forward to signing the contract too, even if that seems like the boring part. And before that, we will have our ceremony. Just imagining you in your white dress is enough to make my heart skip a beat.”
Blanche's eyes were probably shining when she added to that. “You will wear a uniform and wait for me at the altar. I can barely imagine how handsome you will look. Everyone will be jealous when they see you because you are too charming when you put on your soft smile. And you be there only for me. We'll exchange our rings and our vows. And then we will finally be together and bound by law. I'm sure that Leon is already in the middle of writing our contract.”
Her lover let out a quiet laugh. “He was already finished. But then I had some more ideas, and he needed to revise it. I want to make sure of one thing after all. This contract will not be broken in any way. As soon as we sign, we are married for eternity. Divorce will be literally illegal and impossible. Which means that no one can ever do anything about this union. I was so extreme because I can now technically accuse someone that tells us to end our marriage of encouraging a crime. Just so that I have an excuse to deal with anyone that is stupid enough to make us angry. I also wanted that no one can ever question your position, so I once again needed to ensure that you can use my power in a legal way too. You will have the chance to sign with my name, you know? That is the best I can do at this point in time. But in five years, you will have the same amount of power as me anyway. Then the empress and emperor will be equal.”
Blanche raised an eyebrow at him. “Last time you told me about that, you talked about a decade. How did the time span get shorter by five years?”
Theodore grinned at her. “I'm efficient. And I have to admit that I'm impatient. I want to make sure that you get what you deserve as soon as possible. Then no one will ever question whether the emperor truly loves his wife. Whether he would do absolutely anything for her and offer the whole world to her. Everyone will be convinced of me being a fool for you.” He lifted her hand and pressed a kiss onto the back of her hand. “We will be known in history as the royal couple that loved each other more than anything else.”
She didn't doubt that he would actually try to make sure that this happened. And judging by his plans for their wedding, their celebrations alone would prove that he adored his wife. Blanche was still overwhelmed when she heard how big the festivities would get, but she couldn't think about that much. She would need to focus on hosting and talking to the guests after all. Only thinking about that was enough to make her want to beam with joy and shiver with nervousness at the same time.
Blanche linked her fingers with her lover's and gave him a bright smile. “I think that our engagement party will already be named the most wasteful event in history. And that you want a week-long banquet for our wedding will definitely be special too. Believe me...no one will forget. We cuddle way too much in public, so the rumors won't ever subside.”
Her lover gently stroked over her hand. “That is a good thing. Every single person in Artias, no, on the whole continent should stop doubting my commitment to you. We'll have the most wonderful wedding you can imagine. Everyone will be jealous, and then we will finally be married after a long ceremony. During that time, we will have enough chances to prove how much we love each other. Even the priest will be taken aback by how happy we are, and the guests will be impressed by our beautiful party.”
Blanche didn't doubt that. She was already excited, and she only became happier with each day. Taking care of the preparations was extremely satisfying, so she loved involving herself in the planning. Everything should be perfect in the end, and all the people around them worked for that. The hardest part was mostly making choices for what she wanted to have since the other options were always tempting as well.
The concubine sighed and leaned her head against her lover. “I feel like both my head and heart are going to burst before we even reach that day. I get so nervous just while thinking about it that I could faint. I'm worried about our preparations. There is so much on my mind that still needs to be taken care of, it's ridiculous. At the same time, I get euphoric whenever I remember that I will marry you. So, it's hard to decide what I'm feeling. I only know that I'm concerned about everything going wrong. I don't want to ruin our day by doing something inappropriate. What if I forget my vows?”
She could imagine how she would trip over her own words and end up embarrassing herself when it was her turn to tell her lover how much she cared for him. She would end up crying if that happened. Well, she would probably already be crying before that too, so it might not change too much.
Theodore grinned at her and poked her nose. “Are you sure that you are the one that has to worry about that? I think I will start sobbing as soon as I see you in your wedding dress as you walk toward me. Leon will definitely make fun of me. I swear to the gods that I will pay him back if he dares to joke around during our party.”
Blanche smiled back. “He won't dare to do that. You know that he is happy to help us even if he always acts like he is offended. He even offered to bring me to the altar. I think he is the most suitable person to do that. I could also ask Owen, but in the end, he will probably bring me to the room already.”
Normally, the father would bring his daughter to the altar, but in her case, that was sadly impossible. So, she would gladly accept the offer and let the secretary lead her to Theodore. She was sure that Leon would be careful about doing anything that could cause problems even if he joked around constantly.
Blanche chuckled when she imagined that and spoke up. “Even if Leon may try to make fun of us for crying, you know how flawless his attitude in public is. He won't do anything too bad. If he does, I will just cry and make him feel guilty.”
The emperor finished drinking his tea and set the cup down on the table. “I don't doubt that you have your ways to make him regret trying to annoy us. But I can assure you that I would be much more drastic. Even if he is my friend, he won't ever be allowed to do anything during our wedding.” He gave her a smile. “I'm pretty sure that he is very happy too though. After all, he likes you, and having an empress he gets along with is wonderful for him. In addition, he absolutely despised the Duremonts from the very beginning, and his intuition was right. So, he will be glad to see that you are by my side.”
Blanche paused for a short moment and finished the last cookie before becoming a bit more serious. “Say... Did you ever tell him and Owen anything about that other world? You trust them a lot too, and they probably would have done their best to help.”
Thankfully, her lover's smile didn't disappear despite her question. “I didn't tell them. That would have sounded a bit too strange for them. But I did give them hints about specific things. I warned them about every dangerous person and pointed out the political issues we need to take care of. For example, I told Owen to never duel Cedar's personal guard. In the end, he luckily never had the chance. He was a bit confused about what I said, but he accepted it. Leon believed me too, but he was a bit more open about wanting to know the reason why I suddenly changed my mind about some people. But he never questioned that we would crush anyone that tried to hurt you.”
The concubine showed him a little smile. “Then I guess that I need to thank him for that in a less obvious way. Maybe I should bring food for him in return a few times. But then I will have to get something for my lover too, or he will get jealous.”
Theodore brought his face closer to hers and kissed the tip of her nose. “Very jealous. You can't forget about me. I will gladly remind you though.” His lips wandered to her ear, and he ghosted a few kisses onto the side of her neck.
She tilted her head to give him some leeway until he suddenly stopped.
Theodore met her confused expression with a grin. “We wanted to take a walk in the garden, didn't we? If I start now, we won't stop any time soon. Should we really end our day early just because of a few kisses?”
Blanche glanced at the window and pressed her lips into a thin line. Surely, they had wanted to go out, but right now, she didn't have the motivation to do so. After sitting here so comfortably, she didn't want to get changed and leave the room. When they went out, the same as always would happen anyway. They would walk around while holding hands and cuddling until they sat down in the pavilion. That would lead to more cuddling. In the end, Theodore would carry her to their room, and it would create the same outcome.
She turned her attention back to her lover and brushed her fingers over his upper arm. “I almost forgot. We still need to decide which food we want during our wedding too. And we need to order the flowers now that we know what we will use. And the garlands have to be bought too. I think we need to contact a jeweler that will take a look at the crowns as well. There is so much to do. Will we even finish that today?” Obviously, they still have over two weeks to do that, but exaggerating made her intention clear. “I don't know if I have the energy left to do all of that.” Blanche let her head sink onto her lover's lap in a dramatic gesture. “I'm so exhausted. I can't move a single one of my muscles. If we go out, you will have to carry me.”
Her lover knew very well what her plan was. He smirked at her as he patted her head. “You will begin nibbling on my neck as soon as I do that. And then it's only a matter of seconds until we go back to our room. Very well, we will stay here for the rest of the day. We can come up with something else to do. But if you are exhausted, that will be hard. Or do you want to want me to distract you a bit from your tiredness? I could help you relax.”
The concubine inwardly congratulated herself and gave him a little smile. “Yes, please. Maybe you could give me a massage in bed. That would sound good. And I would guess that it will busy us for a while. Would you do me the honor?” She asked that without actually needing to wait for the response.
“Gladly. Do you think that there would ever be a time in which I would be able to resist such a sweet offer?” Theodore took his hand off her head and let her sit up so that he could stand up too. He bowed down to pick her up and carried her the few steps to the bed, where he slowly laid her down. Then he followed her and scanned her expression with a smirk. “You are too adorable. I need some recognition for being able to work even with you sitting next to me.”
Blanche brought her hand to the backside of his head and pulled him toward her. “I will give you all the recognition you could want.”
As their lips met, it was once again obvious that they were going to enjoy this to the fullest for the rest of the day. And not only for this day.
They would stay together for the rest of their lives, and nothing would be able to separate them.
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The preparations for the engagement party went smoothly, so the day of the celebration arrived soon.
As Theodore had announced, every important noble from Artias had been invited, which meant that the festivities were bigger than for a normal ball. The decorations were so gorgeous that everyone had to have been jealous upon seeing them, and the buffet was as rich as it could be expected of the royal chefs.
To Blanche's relief, no one complained about her becoming the emperor's wife during the whole party. Instead, everyone tried to leave a good impression, which was a bit exhausting but more pleasant than being cursed. Still, the number of gifts they received was overwhelming. Blanche accepted every single piece with a bright smile even though she was sure that she wouldn't ever touch some of the presents ever again. There were some very extravagant things among the gifts that even she didn't find beautiful anymore. But the people had obviously given their best, and she had managed to act at least a little happy. That wasn't too hard when she knew that this was the celebration that honored her union with Theodore. This made smiling rather easy even while she was showered with random compliments by people she had never met. Still, she was relieved when the party ended and she could lie down with her lover.
Many guests spent a night in the palace afterward and bid them farewell the next morning. After that, it only took a few hours until the last person had left, and the servants began cleaning the ballroom and the garden.
Almost instantly, the preparations for the wedding began. While the ceremony would happen in the temple, the rest of the celebrations, including the coronation, would be held here again in the ballroom. Then there would be no break for seven days full of festivities, so they needed to have everything ready before the first day. This meant that the servants were busy the whole time and ran around the palace even more than usual.
To Blanche, all of this felt weird. She still couldn't truly believe that her greatest dream would become reality now. She would become Theodore's wife and didn't need to worry about them being harmed by anyone else. She had him for herself, and the people around them supported the couple. It was almost too perfect to be real.
But as she thought that, another month passed in the blink of an eye.
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The day had finally come.