“Lady Blanche, please wait for a moment.”

Blanche almost whined in frustration. She didn't want to talk to Claude, but ignoring a duke that had addressed her would be too offending. So, she reluctantly turned around and faced Duke Vasquez. “Yes?”

“If my words offended you, I want to apologize. It wasn't my intention to make you uncomfortable in any way.” The imitation of worry on Claude's face only served to frustrate her even more. Of course, he had purposefully said things that would upset Henry and Seraphina. It might not have been his objective to see her struggle trying to escape this situation, nonetheless, he had accepted that as a possible consequence.

But still, she couldn't show her anger. Though her atrocious abilities as an actress might have rendered her attempt at veiling her true emotions with a smile as useless. “You can rest assured that I haven't taken anything you said to heart.”

“I'm glad about that. I already feared that I wounded you.” Duke Vasquez made eye contact with Seraphina before he resumed. “Naturally, I also do not wish to bother Her Majesty, so I will leave too.” The empress replied curtly and allowed him to do so, which caused him to follow the concubine. He stopped next to her and gave her another fake grin.

Immediately, Blanche realized that she still hadn't managed to escape from this catastrophic meeting.

Claude didn't intend to let her go. “Since we both are free now, would you mind accompanying me for a short walk?” Yes, she did mind. How could he expect her to want to be in his presence any longer than she absolutely had to? Claude's whole way of acting had unsettled her from the start, and his fondness for troubling her and Theodore made her dislike him even more. Besides, if the walk with his wife during the tea party was an indication of what would follow, he would only use this opportunity to encourage her to strive for the empress' position.

Blanche wasn't keen on listening to her lover's enemies rambling about their schemes against the emperor, especially since distancing herself from these plots was crucial to her survival. So, she would have to politely decline. “I'd love to, but I fear that I don't have any time right now.”

Much like every of Duke Vasquez's expressions, his regret also looked fake. “How unfortunate. Can you truly not spare a couple of minutes?” Why did he keep insisting? Did he want to tell her something so badly?

But Blanche didn't care about that. Being alone with him was the last thing she would be content with, so giving up was out of the question. Still, she had no idea what kind of excuse would get him to let her leave. Could she somehow use the social norms of noble society to get rid of him? Unmarried people of differing genders spending time together alone was frowned upon, right? But they weren't alone since Stella was there. So, she couldn't name this as a reason either. “I, uhm...” She tried to give a reasonable reply, but her mind was blank.

Satisfaction formed on Claude's expression. “Surely, five minutes won't-”

Blanche panicked. Her mind moved on its own and wandered to the first thing she would have liked to do after this, which was baking. Unfortunately, she had hurried to interrupt Claude, and the response was pretty abrupt because of that. “The cake is-” Both Duke Vasquez and Blanche froze at her reply as she cut herself off. She had simply voiced the first thing that her brain had been able to come up with, which just happened to be useless. Great. Now she had embarrassed herself in front of Seraphina, Henry, Claude and the servants and still didn't have an excuse for rejecting the duke's offer. She wanted to hit herself for her stupidity, but the look on Duke Vasquez's face almost made it worth it.

Her strange reaction had ripped down Claude's mask and left behind the first honest expression that he had shown her today. For a moment, he was completely speechless before he repeated her words. “The...cake...?” His voice sounded as confused as he looked.

Blanche was ready to apologize for her outburst when a thought crossed her mind. This wasn't such a bad excuse after all. A beam lit up her face. “Yes! I asked the chef to make a cake for me, and it should be finished by now. I was only planning to go outside for two minutes, and meeting Her Majesty, His Grace and Your Grace already slowed me down. That isn't a problem, but I can't keep the cook waiting any longer since I originally asked him to finish the cake as quickly as possible. I don't wish to bother the staff for no reason. I hope that you will forgive me for being unable to join you because of this, Your Grace.”

As quickly as Claude's mask had been torn down, he restored it. “I understand. It's unfortunate, but it can't be helped. Enjoy your meal, Lady Blanche.”

“Thank you.” She made another curtsy before turning back around and hurrying in the direction of the palace. Out of fear that Duke Vasquez might see through her lie otherwise, she steered toward the kitchen instead of returning to her room. As soon as she entered the building and peered through the doorway to make sure that none of the people from outside could see her, a burden lifted from her shoulders. “Finally...”

Just at that moment, Stella caught up to her. The maid followed her mistress into the corridor and put her arms onto her hips. “Her Majesty and her father really have an oppressive presence. I barely dared to move, even though I wasn't involved in the conversation and didn't hear what they said at all.”

Blanche wiped a strand of hair away from her face and frowned. “I'm glad that I'm not the only one who noticed that. And I am unlucky enough to keep running into them. Though the interaction didn't end in a disaster this time, so I guess that this is progress.” She continued to walk toward the kitchen and quickly scanned the environment to confirm that no one was close enough to listen to them. “Still, I'd like to avoid them as much as possible. Duke Vasquez as well. That man is up to no good, and the other two hate me. Just talking to them makes me want to disappear into thin air. That's why I ran away as soon as I could and didn't wait for you. I'm sorry about that. Did the empress' maid bother you again?”

Stella shook her head. “No. But if looks could kill, I definitely would have been dead by now.”

Blanche let out a snort and replied in a whisper, “It seems that she is similar to her mistress in that regard. It always feels like the empress is thinking about a way to get rid of me. I can't blame her since her dislike for me is mostly my fault, but it's still scary. Especially since everyone I talked to described her a calm and composed while she looks as if she is going to snap to me.”

“I have to admit that I've always seen Her Majesty with a stone-faced expression as well. What unsettles me is only the tension that is present when she interacts with you. Why does she seem angry to you?”

The concubine paused for a moment before trying to explain it. “Well, she does control her facial expression almost completely, but there are small movements that she can't always cover up. Though her eyes are the most revealing feature. If I pay attention to those, I can identify what level of resentment she currently feels for me.” Which was pretty useful.

The women halted their conversation when they reached the kitchen, and Stella stepped forward to open the door for her mistress. For a change, the room was completely empty, which made them stop.

Blanche was slightly confused at this display. The kitchen was always hectic, so why was no one here? “Is there something special planned for today?”

Stella looked around with a frown. “No, I don't remember anything that-” She interrupted herself as her face lit up with recognition. “Oh, I do! Every year, there is a day on which all servants line up before the head maid and the steward, except for the personal attendants of course. That might be today. In that case, the kitchen staff probably prepared everything already so that they can rest later.”

Blanche stiffened at that. “Would the guests notice something like that?”

“I don't think so. A few servants will always be ready to take care of the visitors. Normally, guests wouldn't pay attention to what the other members of the staff are doing as long as their requests are fulfilled. So, I assume that they aren't aware.”

That meant that Claude hopefully hadn't realized that the concubine's excuse had been a blatant lie.

At first, Blanche was relieved by that, but then she remembered that others had heard her too. “But I assume that the empress knows, right?”

Stella blinked before her eyes showed realization. “Yes, most likely she would. Then she and her servants too...”

Blanche ended the sentence. “Noticed that I was lying to Duke Vasquez. At least she didn't say anything. That would have been just what I needed, being humiliated in front of the whole group.” She let her gaze roam across the room and realized that all the workspaces were clean already. So, she wouldn't be able to use the utensils without dirtying them again and giving the servants additional work. “Anyway, it looks like we can't even bake today. Are we going to return to my chambers? I don't want to risk running around the palace and accidentally meeting Duke Vasquez.”

Stella nodded but gave her mistress a regretful smile. “If you want to avoid him completely, you may have to stay inside your room until the ministers leave. Otherwise, there is always the possibility that he moves in the same part of the building as you. Especially since he was very keen on going on a walk with you. He might ask again.”

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Blanche replied as they slipped out of the kitchen. “Hopefully not. I'll have to prepare some better excuse for an emergency though. I really don't want to be alone with him. But locking myself in my room for the rest of the week or even longer wasn't my goal either. I mean, I was looking forward to this walk so much, and I couldn't even enjoy it because the dukes showed up after I took ten steps.”

Stella spoke up in a tone that didn't make it clear whether she was joking or not. “We could go out anyway. If we visit the garden very early in the morning and late in the evening, the chances of him being there are close to zero. Few people promenade around at night.” Her idea actually wasn't a bad one.

Blanche couldn't hide her grin when she thought about that. “That sounds rather fun. The garden looks mysterious in the dark, and I found that interesting for a long time. Though we are risking that the guards have a heart attack because they don't expect another person to jump out from behind a hedge at midnight. So, maybe we shouldn't hide in a bush to scare them.”

“We should not do that. I don't want them to act on impulse and cut me open with a sword.” Stella giggled quietly while she closed the door behind her.

Even though the maid still made fun of her own idea, her mistress was already enamored with it and couldn't stop thinking about it the whole time.

Just imagining the splendor of the gorgeous roses under the dim moonlight made Blanche impatient already. During the time at which she sat on her sofa and drank some tea, she regularly glanced toward the windows. When the sun finally set, she only had to look at her maid, and before she could even speak, Stella began grinning.

“You're very predictable, My Lady. Are we really going outside now?” Stella seemed to understand quickly. Her mistress' beam was enough of a response, which made the maid resume. “Then we should put on coats at least. It might be warm in the sunlight, but the nights are rather cool.” She opened the wardrobe to retrieve a long shawl, which she wrapped around her mistress' shoulders. For a minute, she disappeared into her own room before returning with a coat.

Blanche's smile didn't fade the whole time, and in contrast to the previous nights, she didn't feel any signs of tiredness. Apparently, the prospect of doing something unusual excited her this much, which made her realized that her schedule was pretty monotonous for the most part. Though it didn't bother her as long as she was able to interact with her lover, her friends, bake and occasionally break those habits.

To her, this was fine, but others might be more surprised about her sudden ideas.

When she opened the door, the knights in front of it were torn from their conversation and flinched at the sudden sound. They spun around, and upon seeing the concubine, they relaxed again.

Blanche quickly greeted them. “Good evening.”

One of the men spoke up immediately. “Good evening, Lady Blanche. Is there a problem? If we interrupted your night's rest, I apologize. We will be quiet now.”

Blanche smiled at them. “No, I don't need anything. I didn't hear you talking either. I was merely going to take a walk.”

The guards weren't as skilled in hiding their emotions as most aristocrats were. The men turned to look at each other in confusion before meeting Blanche's gaze again. “You want to go outside now?” She nodded, which made the knights frown. “I don't know whether that is a good idea. It's the middle of the night. Are you sure that His Majesty is alright with that?” One of the guards attempted to make her change her mind, but the expectation of being given an irritated answer was painted onto his face

Blanche was ready to surprise him with a calm reply when a realization dawned upon her. She paused to observe his features. Was this who she thought that he might be? Purple hair wasn't very common among the knights, so the odds that this was Noah Aldis were pretty high.

Noah was one of the secondary main characters in the novel. He was a young knight, who had arrived at the palace shortly before Blanche had received the book's memories, and had great potential despite his small amount of experience. He trained hard and made quick progress, so he would be chosen as the empress' personal guard after an assassination attempt that had happened while the heroine had been on her way to attend a birthday party. From that point on, the novel's Seraphina and Noah had gotten along well, and it was even hinted that he had developed feelings for her but held them back since she was married.

Until now, Blanche hadn't seen him more than for a few seconds in the corner of her eyes, but admittedly, she also hadn't looked for him. The guard wouldn't play a big part in her life as long as she didn't harm the empress.

Noah began shifting under her gaze, which made her snap out of her thoughts.

She focused back on the conversation and dismissed his concerns. “It's not that late. I would still call this the late evening and not the middle of the night. And the royal estate is always safe, right? So, the time I go out doesn't matter.”

Noah replied immediately. “Of course, but it's dark outside. You might trip over some branches and hurt yourself. The other knights might also be surprised at seeing someone in the garden and act before they realize that you aren't a threat.” Noah didn't seem to have the intention to give in, and if his characterization in the novel was to be believed, he wouldn't until the very end. He should be far too overprotective for that.

Blanche would only have two choices to get outside. She could either pretend to listen to him and climb out of the window, which she definitely wouldn't attempt to do, or she could ask him to come along.

The second option was how Seraphina had convinced him to let her leave whenever she wanted to go out to meet her brother in the labyrinth at night. By insisting that she would be in safe hands if Noah accompanied her, she had always been able to get him to allow her to exit the building no matter when as long as he followed her.

The concubine would shamelessly abuse this knowledge now. “Then how about you join us? You could protect us from whatever worries you.”

The guards' bewilderment was amusing to see. The second knight was quick to reject her offer. “I fear that isn't possible. We cannot abandon our posts without our superior's permission.”

Noah didn't say anything, but the curiosity sparking behind his eyes was obvious. That man loved adventures and was easy to be enthused for new experiences, so refusing an unexpected journey at night had to disappoint him. Since he was unwilling to ignore a young lady in alleged danger, he probably wouldn't want to stay here. Just a little push would suffice to convince him.

The concubine would gladly give that push. “Alright. We'll go alone then. Come on, Stella, let's leave.” Blanche moved past the knights and steered towards the stairs. After a few steps, a voice stopped her already.

“Wait! It really would be safer if we'd accompany you.” Noah turned to his colleague, who still seemed unsure. “We're supposed to protect her anyway, not the room. His Majesty said that very clearly. So, it doesn't matter if we abandon our posts. It would be much worse if we ignored this and something happened to her.”

Those words were enough to persuade the other knight. He sighed dejectedly and trailed behind Noah, who had already caught up with the concubine.

Blanche was staring at him as she repeated to herself what he had said. For a moment, she hesitated before asking him the question that busied her mind in a quiet voice. “Did Theodore really tell you that your task is to protect me?”

Noah scanned her face shortly, and the corners of his mouth lifted. “Yes, His Majesty did. He was very open about wishing for your well-being.”

Immediately, the area around Blanche's heart was starting to feel warm. Her lover had positioned the most promising of the royal knights in front of her room with the order to secure that she was safe. She could barely keep her happiness from clouding every other thought. Her face had to have been glowing with joy, but she didn't care whether the others would notice. She walked down the stairs with a spring in her step, with Stella next to her and the knights following them with a little distance.

While the other guards patrolling the hallways glanced at the group with slight confusion, they didn't speak up to stop them. For a moment, it seemed like there might be a problem when the group arrived at a side entrance, where the men by the door exchanged questioning looks. However, one of them shrugged and then allowed Blanche to pass without inquiring why she wanted to go out.

As soon as Blanche left the building, the cool air surrounded her body and made her hairs stand on end. “You were right about the coats.” She glanced at Stella, who was pulling the fabric closer around her body. “I'm glad I put one on. I didn't think that it would be this cold. It's freezing.” Blanche's lips formed a mischievous smile. She leaned over to her maid and whispered in her ear. “Reminds me of the empress.”

This evoked a snort from Stella. She opened her mouth to reply, but her eyes fell onto the horizon, and she stopped to tilt her head back. “My Lady, look.”

Blanche complied and looked up at the night sky. It was almost completely dark except for the faint light that oozed out of the palace's windows, which allowed the stars to occupy the center stage. Countless little glowing spots filled the black of the cloudless sky to form a breathtaking sight.

They definitely should have done something like this earlier.

Blanche lowered her gaze again and pulled her maid onto the pathway. “If we go further away from the building, it will be darker so that we can have a better view of the stars.” She had the perfect place in mind. A few trees and bushes framed the tiled stone path behind the labyrinth, but otherwise, there was nothing. The maze's hedges would obstruct the weak light coming from the palace, and since there were no additional sources of light, it would be pitch black there.

Stella didn't hesitate to follow her mistress, and they made their way to the concubine's destination when a splashing noise made them stop abruptly. The two women looked at each other.

Blanche hesitated before whispering. “Did you hear that?” The maid nodded, which confirmed that Blanche hadn't just imagined that noise. Before she could find out where it had come from, the knights reached them.

Noah spoke up immediately. “Is everything alright?” His hand already rested on the handle of the sword that was strapped to his hip. He was ready to enter combat right away if necessary.

Blanche nodded. “We just heard something that sounded like a person was moving around in water. We're close to the terrace, so the source might be the fountain.”

Instantly, the two knights removed their weapons from the sheaths and strained their muscles. They tiptoed to the bushes that were between them and the terrace and took positions behind them.

The concubine followed them and stopped next to the men. “What are you doing?” She gave her best to whisper as quietly as possible.

The reply came in an even smaller volume. “Please stand back, Lady Blanche. We have to confirm whether this person might be an intruder and could pose a danger to the inhabitants of the palace.” That was much obvious. But attacking them without even being sure that it was a trespasser with malicious intention was exaggerated as well.

“You can't just-” Blanche's objection was interrupted by a giggle that came from the fountain. Without a doubt, it was a woman's voice, and it seemed strangely familiar to her.

Stella appeared to have the same thought. “Isn't that...?” The maid didn't acknowledge the knights' attempts at stopping her and crouched down next to the bush to catch a glimpse of the person who made these noises.

Blanche's curiosity got the better of her, and she sneaked to Stella's side.

That seemed to make Noah panic. “Wait! Be careful! You don't know whether they are dangerous.” He hissed at them and followed them to keep the women from moving any closed to the fountain. However, that wasn't necessary at all.

The concubine's position already allowed her to watch the two people playing on the terrace, and she realized why she had known that voice. From the balcony, light fell onto the ground and was reflected by the water's surface, which allowed them to identify the two maids right away.

Those were none other than Angelica and Darlene.