The tea party was approaching at a rapid pace, and the daily lessons with Leon didn't allow Blanche to repress the thoughts about it. Her mind was constantly repeating the most important table rules and greetings. Aside from this, there wasn't much she needed to pay attention to, except for keeping quiet and not bothering others.

Still, the prospect of sitting there alone in the midst of gossipy noble ladies, who looked down on her and only waited for one mistake of hers to run their mouths about, didn't make her joyful. Thankfully, Leonard practiced drinking tea with her so that she wasn't completely unprepared.

Though that didn't bring her any advantages when she became so restless that she could barely sleep the night before the party.

After waking up, the first thing Blanche considered was following Theodore's advice and informing the empress of her absence. Pretending to be sick wasn't impossible, but she reminded herself of her ultimate goal. To survive, she had to improve the public's opinion of her, and giving up at the second event wouldn't allow that to happen. So, she dragged herself out of her bed and got ready with Stella's help.

She still had time to go through the most important points again until the afternoon, which she did even while eating breakfast and lunch. Her expression appeared to have betrayed her mood since Theodore suggested that she could stay in her room if she wasn't feeling well. It took all of her self-control to refrain from taking his advice to heart, but she told him that she would go to the party. When lunch ended, the concubine paced around in her room while contemplating when she should go to the terrace. The appointed time on the invitation had been set to three o'clock, and naturally, appearing late wasn't an option.

Nonetheless, she wouldn't stay there longer than she absolutely had to. Being there ten minutes earlier should be fine, but what if everyone else was already present at that time? In the past, she had often arrived after all the other guests, which forced them to wait for her, and this was exactly what she needed to avoid.

She was a bit worried that she would be tardy due to some accident, so Blanche ended up standing on the balcony half an hour before the party would begin. Stella was staying with her until she would go down the stairs to reach the massive table that had been set up, but Blanche was still nervous.

The servants were currently leaving the terrace, so it appeared that they were finished with their preparations. About twenty chairs lined the table, which was covered with teapots and a great number of tiered cake-stands, which were filled with pastries and other sweet snacks. None of the guests were there yet, and aside from the few servants, only one other person was present.

The empress stood next to the table with a stern expression that gave her an aura of authority despite her motionless figure. Somehow, it was odd to see that. Why was she so tense even with no one around?

It was almost as if Seraphina had heard the concubine's thoughts since she raised her head, and the women's eyes met. For a moment, they stared at each other in silence without moving even a little bit.

Blanche almost flinched upon being caught but did her best to hide this. Still, she was so surprised that she tightened her grip around the railing until her fingers hurt. She didn't dare to give in until a part of her reminded herself that she had to yield, or her life would find an earlier ending than she would like. It took more strength to lower her gaze than keeping it up had. She forced herself to focus her eyes on her hands and gave her best to quieten the murmur in her mind while relaxing her body again.

Though when she finally felt calm enough to look up, a voice cut through the silence from directly next to her. She almost jumped away from the noise's source but could keep herself in place by digging her nails into the railing once more. She wasn't successful in disguising her flinching and her widened eyes though as she whipped her head around.

“I apologize, Lady Blanche. I didn't mean to startle you.”

It took Blanche one second to identify the two figures in front of her and another one before her heart had slowed down enough to stop it from pounding. “Oh no, Lady Ravillot isn't at fault. I was lost in my thoughts and didn't notice your arrival. How are you?”

Sophia, whose stomach was even more rounded than during their last meeting, gifted her a warm smile in response. Being so kind to her sister's archnemesis was truly a bit strange. If she acted like the rest of her family and friends, it would be a bit more understandable.

Madeleine, for example, stood there next to Sophia with crossed arms and a stiff expression while refusing to acknowledge the emperor's lover. She was just quiet, which made the situation a bit uncomfortable.

Luckily, Sophia prevented this from going on longer. “I'm doing well, thank you for asking. How come that Lady Blanche is here already? Normally, only very few people are this early.”

The concubine expected a sarcastic addition about her chronic tardiness from Madeleine, but it didn't follow, so she replied politely. “Well, the last few times, I always arrived too late, so I wanted to make sure that I was punctual today. What led the two of you here at this time?”

Again, Sophia was the one who continued the conversation. “We are here to see my sister. After the guests arrive, we don't have opportunities to talk to her anymore, so we often come earlier to have a moment for ourselves in private. We can't visit the palace whenever we want to, so we make use of all the time we can spend together.”

This answer should have been so obvious that Blanche winced at her own incompetence to make small talk. She hoped to evade another mishap and put on a small smile. “Oh, naturally. Do not worry. I don't want to interrupt your meeting. I will wait here until the party begins.”

Immediately, Sophia waved her hand around. “That's not what intended to say at all. You don't have to stay here alone because of us. Please accompany us downstairs.”

Inwardly, Blanche wanted to shake her head rapidly, but there was no way to do this respectfully. The concubine didn't feel uncomfortable when she was on her own nor did she wish to spend additional time with Seraphina. So, she definitely wanted to refuse, which she tried to do in a quiet voice. “I really don't want to interfere...” She quickly realized that she had lost though.

Sophia's dejected frown made it impossible to ignore her offer. “Lady Blanche, you wouldn't disturb us. You are a guest of Her Majesty's tea party as well, so please don't hesitate to join us.”

With every of her friend's words, Madeleine's expression had darkened, which revealed just how wrong the other's statement had been.

Seraphina wouldn't be thrilled to be forced to bear her husband's lover for longer than she had to either.

Nevertheless, the concubine gave in. Sophia's genuine disappointment at her possible refusal made Blanche agree, even though every fiber in her being told her not to. “If Lady Ravillot insists, I will follow you.” As long as she stood there with some distance, it should be fine, right?

A beam lit up Sophia's face, which served as proof that this decision had been the right one. “Thank you very much. You will not regret it. Please come and meet my sister.” She led the others to the staircase.

Blanche stayed behind until some distance was between them and then let out a quiet sigh before dismissing her maid. “We'll see each other later. Take advantage of your free time, Stella.”

The maid replied with furrowed eyebrows. “Good luck with the party, My Lady. Be careful!” If she said it like this, it only reminded the concubine of how unpleasant this afternoon would be.

They waved at one another for a second before Blanche turned around and trailed after the two women.

The others had already stepped onto the stairs and had stopped to face her. Sophia beamed at the concubine. “It seems that you have a good relationship with your maid.”

For the first time today, Madeleine added something as well. “It really does.” Her voice was filled with many unmissable layers of surprise, which was an insult in itself.

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Blanche ignored that in favor of catching up with them and lifted the hem of her dress to walk downstairs. “Yes, during the last two months, we have become quite close.”

Sophia appeared to be delighted by this revelation as her eyes twinkled with admiration at that. “Truly? That is wonderful to hear. You see, I am quite close to my maid too. She is a bright young woman with many talents. Maybe you met her already.” After that, she gushed about how important it was to treat servants with respect while praising her maid about a dozen times. She did this in a way that was very sweet since it proved how much she cared for the servants that tended to her.

Unfortunately, that still didn't erase Blanche's worries. The concubine occasionally added a short affirmation and didn't interrupt the other woman, which seemed to be enough to please Sophia.

When they reached the table, Sophia eventually stopped talking so that she could approach her sister with a bright smile.

Seraphina had become rigid as she observed the concubine. Even though her expression didn't shift, the coldness in her eyes was sufficient to make Blanche consider spinning on her heel and disappearing into the palace.

Sophia didn't mind the icy mood of her sister and came closer. When she stopped, she made a curtsy, only to be pulled into a hug by the empress, which she happily returned. The two of them stayed close for a moment before letting go and separating with beaming smiles on both of their faces. The same scene repeated when Madeleine stepped forward, which proved that the empress had ignored the protocol and the proper order of introductions in the presence of her dear ones.

In the meantime, the concubine stood at the side while attempting to blend in with her surroundings. She was aware that she wouldn't stay unseen, but her hope of being ignored still remained.

At least until that hope was crushed by Seraphina's gaze moving to her. “Lady Blanche. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

Blanche moved as gracefully as she could while she approached the other woman and made a curtsy. “The pleasure is all mine, Your Majesty. Good afternoon.”

The empress didn't initiate any dialogue after that, which led to an unnerving silence.

Blanche had to refrain from constantly shifting her weight from one foot to the other to ease the tension lying thick in the air.

Fortunately, the empress didn't feel the need to stare at the concubine again but faced her friend and sister and began a conversation with them.

In an instant, the concubine's shoulders sank down, and she let out a huff. Being under Seraphina's inspection felt like standing in the center of a storm. Though some pressure had lifted off her, she still was in an unfavorable situation. The three women next to her had a lively chat, and while the concubine could hear their every word, she certainly wouldn't join in. Even if Sophia hadn't wanted to exclude her, this was way less comfortable than staying on the balcony would have been.

Blanche didn't want to be caught observing them, so she let her gaze wander across the venue. The table was neatly prepared with different plates and utensils, which were placed in the exact same position in front of every chair. The pastries looked like they came right out of the gods' kitchen so that the concubine had to turn her eyes away before she got hungry. Coming to a tea party only to devour the food wasn't highly regarded in aristocracy, so she had to refrain from doing that. To avoid tempting herself, she focused on the dishware again.

The biggest of all the plates in front of every chair was always covered by a small piece of paper, on which something was written. The concubine assumed that those were the seating cards that led everyone to their assigned chair.

One glance at the table revealed which was the empress's chair. Naturally, it was bigger and made from a different kind of wood than the other's ones. It seemed like she would sit in the middle of one of the short sides of the table, where the empress traditionally sat.

This was enough to convince the concubine that her seat wasn't anywhere close to that spot, which meant that she would probably sit near the other end of the table. Most likely, she would be positioned so that she wouldn't be in Seraphina's field of view. But the concubine didn't care about where she was going to sit. She could only hope that she was far away from Evelyn and Fiona, but at this point, her luck was often more unreliable than helpful.

At that moment, Blanche was distracted. She lifted her gaze when she heard some voices from a distance.

A group of women was walking down the stairs while they had some discussions. All of them got quiet when they arrived in front of the empress. Starting with the person of the highest status, one after the other was addressed by Seraphina and returned the greeting with a curtsy. There were countless famous people here. Selena, the Duchess of Vasquez, spoke to Seraphina first. Fiona engaged in small talk after that. Those were already two of the people Blanche wanted to avoid, so praying for them to stay away hadn't had an effect. Great.

After everyone had finished greeting the empress, she allowed them to sit at their respective place. The seats quickly filled with only a few empty chairs, of which only one was at the very edge of the table. Blanche guessed that this was where her name was written and a look at the card proved this to be true. As soon as she sat down, her already awful mood worsened even more.

Fiona's sickly sweet grin appeared directly in front of her. “Oh my, what a coincidence. To have such a perfect chance to talk more to Lady Blanche. This must be fate.”

Blanche bit back a groan and returned the smile, even though hers probably looked as forced as it was. The only amusing thing about this was that the empress seemed to dislike the duke's daughter as well and thus, had seated her far away. Seraphina really was excellent at reading people. “Lady Lamont. It is a great pleasure to sit this close to you. How have you been?”

Fiona giggled slightly, which made the concubine want to roll her eyes. “I'm doing magnificently. Thank you for asking. One of my friends came here with me, and I'm excited to introduce her to you.”

Blanche raised an eyebrow, and her gaze swung over to the side, to which the other woman had gestured.

A girl with red hair, who seemed a little younger than Fiona, sat there. She didn't have much of a presence, to be honest. She looked rather shy and barely met the concubine's gaze. It looked like she didn't even want to be here, which was surprising since her friend was very outgoing and confident.

Fiona happily introduced her friend. “This is Lucille, the daughter of Viscount Valerian. I hope that the two of you will get along well.”

At first, the concubine was ready to nod and smile at Lucille while forgetting her already, but she remembered the name.

This girl had been a minor villainess in the novel, much like Fiona. Lucille was even less important to the story though. She had only appeared during an attempt to make business connections between the royal family and the Valerians. She had been unsuccessful since Theodore had obviously ignored her and her father, and seemingly, she hadn't cared much about trying it again afterward. That actually had made her a rather useless character since her appearance hadn't influenced the story at all. This meant that she shouldn't play a big role this time either.

Blanche kept her expression as neutral as possible. “It's a pleasant coincidence to be able to meet you, Lady Valerian.” She would simply treat that girl like everyone else since the other's mere existence shouldn't cause any trouble. At least as long Lucille didn't try to gain an advantage by working together with Fiona.

Lucille replied with a smile, which seemed more fake than anything else. “It is an honor to get to talk to you, Lady Blanche. Fiona told me so much about you, so I have to admit that I was curious to see you in person.” After she spoke the last sentence, her smile died completely, which revealed her honest, not-so-friendly attitude. She didn't want to be here at all, which actually made the concubine a bit sympathetic. Maybe this girl was nervous because she had to come here alone without her mother.

Blanche didn't know how to reply since she couldn't quite complain about being here, so she lifted the corners of her lips to feign a smile in return. Still, she didn't doubt that her expression showed that she wasn't as happy to be in a conversation with the two women as she pretended to be. It was almost like a miracle when the sound of a chair being pulled backward reached her ear. The concubine turned her head but was disappointed. Instantly, her mood became even sourer.

The Duchess of Vasquez stood right beside her with a gentle, but somehow patronizing, smile. “Oh my, Lady Blanche? It seems that we will be neighbors for the tea party. I didn't expect to meet you here.”

Admittedly, not many people would have summoned their spouse's lover just to be polite. Seraphina probably didn't feel too happy about this either.

Blanche forced herself to smile. “How could I miss an event that Her Majesty is hosting herself? Naturally, I will always attend when I am invited. Good afternoon, Your Grace.”

Selena remained silent as she took a seat. But the gods paid no attention to Blanche's prayers to let her avoid further interactions with all the people sitting around her. The duchess carefully moved her legs to the side and turned around to face the seat next to her. While doing this, she rested one hand onto her stomach and rubbed it slightly before she raised her voice again. “That is understandable. After all, Her Majesty's parties are always very entertaining. Something new is constantly coming up, whether that may be an incident in one of the capital's noble families or a small disagreement.”

Blanche ignored that most of the rumors and disputes that had happened at social gatherings in the past had been connected to her as she agreed halfheartedly.

Before the duchess could address another topic, Fiona greeted Selena, and they engaged in small talk before Lucille spoke up shortly. Good. Hopefully, they would leave alone Blanche now.

The concubine listened to the exchange for a moment before noticing that it didn't give her any useful information at all. She let her gaze wander around the venue and took note of the fact that only the two chairs on the empress' right side were still empty. The heroine hadn't assigned the seats based on the typical order of the ranks, but it was still rather clear would who would be by her side. A short glance at the guests proved that these places were for Seraphina's mother and aunt, which left the concubine a small victory.

At least Evelyn wouldn't sit anywhere in Blanche's close proximity.

As if they had waited for their cue, the missing ladies emerged from the balcony and strode down the stairs. The Duchess of Duremont greeted her daughter and talked to her for a moment before they separated again before Evelyn spoke to Seraphina as well. The greeting went by as politely as it had to be in front of all the others and ended rather soon.

Then the tea party officially began.

The empress stood next to her seat and waited for her relatives to sit down before she addressed the guests. As soon as the first word had left her mouth, all conversations died down, and all eyes were directed at her. “I would like to sincerely thank everyone for accepting the invitation and attending this year's tea party in the royal palace. I hope that the journey here has been uneventful and that all of you are in high spirits. As usual, this gathering is supposed to be a relaxing meeting that gives us an opportunity to have calmer conversations. Whether it may be about current developments and news, our interest and other subjects that we wouldn't address at a more crowded event. Please enjoy yourselves, and savor a moment without the restlessness of other balls or banquets. The servants will now request you to choose a flavor and then will pour you a cup of the selected tea. All of the flavors were made from the most supreme and refined ingredients and are handpicked by me. Do not hesitate to ask for a refill when you are done and taste some mouth-watering snacks, which were prepared by the most skillful chefs of the royal kitchen.”

After she ended the speech, she sat down with more grace than anyone else had ever managed. Not once had Seraphina stuttered or faltered, and no one had dared to utter a single word while she spoke. Like always, the empress' perfect facade and unshakable self-control had no cracks. Those cracks only seemed to become visible when Blanche threw a tantrum or was involved in a dispute.

So, the concubine would make sure not to budge today. She was balancing on a thin line right now, so she absolutely couldn't allow herself any mistakes.