The events on the birthday of a member of the royal family didn't only serve to celebrate but also to display the opulence that distinguished royalty from any other nobles. Thus, it wasn't surprising that the preparations for the empress' birthday party begun ten days before the ball would take place.
Apart from the steps to the kitchen and the occasional walks in the garden, where Blanche was constantly tense in anticipation of meeting a specific group of people, the concubine didn't leave her room. Still, she could see countless servants running around and carrying all kinds of decorations and furniture to the ballroom whenever she was in the hallways. The closer the day of the event came, the more cooks were occupying the kitchen and creating dishes that made her mouth water. Because of this, she lost her chance to bake, yet it wasn't a big problem since her mind was filled with other worries.
Blanche only had one week left to find a present for Seraphina, but she still had no idea what she should buy. She was clueless about what the heroine liked, and for once, the novel's knowledge didn't help her much either.
The empress was described to be the opposite of a materialistic person. She enjoyed thoughtful gifts way more than expensive ones and favored other displays of affection. That only emphasized how different she was in comparison to the villainess, who adored jewelry and costly dresses. That might be why Theodore hadn't gifted his wife too many things even later in the novel, which meant that the concubine couldn't even steal any great ideas.
Still, Blanche had no choice but to hand over a physical item. Last year, she had created an uproar by appearing at the ball and announcing that she had forgotten to bring anything, which was why Theodore had reminded her so early this time. In retrospect, the concubine wanted to vanish into thin air at the memory of committing such an insolent act in front of every noble in the capital. So, not having a present this time was out of the question. But finding something that the heroine would like, a considerate present, was almost impossible since she barely knew anything about Seraphina's interests. This was only complicated by the fact that gifts for members of the royal family had to meet strict requirements, or the giver would humiliate their entire household.
Firstly, the present had to have a specific value. This meant that the expenses for it should be higher than for the ones for the gifts that other aristocrats had received in the last year. Otherwise, it would be regarded as an offense to the royal family. Though Theodore and Seraphina's weren't as strict as their predecessors in that matter, so it should be fine as long as the present wasn't so cheap that a commoner could afford it.
Secondly, repeatedly giving the same object or a very similar one was frowned upon too. If possible, one should bring something that one hadn't presented last year, but that wasn't as important as the first part. Of course, surprising the royal couple with a rarity would make a good impression, but Blanche couldn't dream about getting a hold of anything that the empress didn't have access to.
To make matters worse, every guest would hand over their gifts one after the other while the rest was watching. So, if the concubine made a mistake, every noble from the capital would become aware of that immediately. Thus, her present had to be perfect.
But how was she supposed to find a gift that met all of those standards and also didn't stand out too much? An extraordinarily expensive present might convince Seraphina that it carried a second meaning or that there was something wrong with it. But Blanche probably wouldn't have to worry about being the person that handed over the most special present.
After all, Theodore's obligatory birthday gifts were usually pretty valuable. He had to keep up the appearance that he spent most of his money on his wife after all, even if that wasn't true in the slightest. Possibly, he also saw it as some kind of compensation for the trouble that his concubine caused for the empress, so he wouldn't choose small things.
Even now, while the royal spouses only had started to earn the other's trust, Theodore had come up with a brilliant idea for Seraphina's birthday. He would hand her the keys to a room, where he had furnished an office so that she didn't have to use the library anymore. This useful gift would capture the empress' heart and thus lay the foundation for them to become close friends.
Needless to say, the concubine couldn't copy that either.
Blanche lay on her bed while she huffed at that thought and wiped her eyes. She had stared at the ceiling for the last hour and still hadn't come to a conclusion but only allowed depressing thoughts to fill her mind. Maybe she should have asked her lover to pick something for her when he had offered it. But it was too late for that now. Currently, he had so little free time that he wasn't even able to visit her, so she wouldn't pass her few duties on to him. She let out an exaggerated sigh that made Stella turn to her.
The maid frowned slightly, with a bit of concern on her features. “You have been pondering about the same thing for long enough. You should take a break.”
“I would, but I still have to find a present. Our world won't stop for me so that I can take my time deciding. The ball is in five days, and I have to choose something and go buy it so that it's here for the event. But I don't know what the empress likes at all...”
Stella looked up from the maid uniform she had been sewing and raised one of her eyebrows. “You don't necessarily have to choose something she likes, you know? It would be fine if you just gave her some piece of jewelry. That's enough to not be disrespectful, and you won't have to make a wild guess about a stranger's preferences.”
If Blanche was in a different situation, she would have followed her maid's advice without hesitation. However, in her current circumstances, Seraphina's goodwill would decide about her death or survival. Choosing a gift that the heroine would enjoy would certainly be a step in the right direction and show that the concubine wasn't out for conflicts anymore. But right now, it didn't seem like she would come up with a better plan. Every of the few presents that Seraphina had loved in the book was a practical thing that could help her in her work, and those would be things like an office, which Blanche couldn't just order.
The concubine pondered about that for a moment. “Jewelry, you say? I might find something she finds pretty. Though I doubt that she needs any accessories. Her wardrobe should be full of necklaces, bracelets, hair ornaments, tiaras-” She interrupted her numeration when a vague scene appeared in her mind. “A tiara!” She sat up abruptly, which caused Stella to drop her needles.
“My Lady! Don't scare me like that.”
Blanche apologized, but she was already far too happy to really feel bad. “Sorry. But I know what I can get her now. A tiara.”
The maid picked up the needles again and put them onto the table in front of the sofa. “Doesn't Her Majesty have enough crowns? She wears the main one for all important events, and for smaller parties, she has a few different ones, doesn't she? I don't think that she needs another one.”
A grin lit up Blanche's face. “I know. She owns countless crowns. But no tiaras. Well, actually she has some, but they are too heavy and big to deserve to be called a tiara. I overheard her complaining about the weight of her hair ornaments months ago, so a lighter one will make her happy.” Seraphina hadn't only voiced her annoyance about the heavy crowns once but dozens of times when she was with her servants. The concubine had never had a chance to listen in on such conversations, but why would she need to if she had memorized “To Be Empress”? At least she was pretty sure that those scenes had been from the book since the memory was pretty vague, but in the end, that didn't matter. As long as she knew what to buy, she was happy.
Stella wasn't as energized by the idea as her mistress was. “You did? In that case, it might be to her liking. But are you sure that it would be acceptable to go out and buy an accessory like that? It will be hard enough to find a place that offers tiaras, and the present has to be of good quality too.”
Blanche's smile faded upon being reminded of that. “Oh, I almost forgot.” In Artias, it was only customary for the empress to wear a crown. Members of the royal family could adorn themselves with tiaras as long as they were smaller than hers and the dowager empress'. Consequently, it was audacious for anyone else to imitate this. While some people bought similar items to display in their house or gift them to their children, one could never wear them in public. For this reason, only a few smiths manufactured them, and even fewer did so in a quality that would satisfy the empress.
The concubine might be able to find a jeweler that was in possession of some tiaras, but buying them would attract unwanted attention, especially if she accidentally met another aristocrat there. However, since it was meant to be a gift to the empress, she still should be able to avoid seeming impertinent. “But that shouldn't be a problem if I immediately state that it's for Her Majesty, right?”
Stella hesitated a few seconds before responding. “I'm unsure. There might be people who don't want to listen to your explanation before gossiping.”
Blanche thought about that for a moment. Slowly, she stood up and walked over to the sofa. “As long as I hide my face, that won't bother me either. I'm going to put on a cloak and only take it off when I'm inside the store.”
“That's only going to make everyone look at you.” Stella objected, but her voice already lacked the worry from before. She grinned and rose from the couch. “But the main issue is still finding a jeweler that sells tiaras. I have no experience in that matter, and I don't know whether you do. Before going out, you will have to ask for His Majesty's permission too, and I doubt that he will allow you to travel alone.”
Blanche almost hadn't thought about that. She had simply imagined using the secret passageway once again, but as Luciano had noted, that was more dangerous than she had considered beforehand, especially when she was up against Theodore's enemies. Just the thought of meeting Luciano was enough to make her unwell, but it did give her one advantage. The memory of the carriage ride back home made her glance at her desk. Hadn't Luciano given her the address of a jeweler? She moved over to the table and opened the drawer. After aimlessly searching through a stack of unimportant pieces of paper, she found the small sheet that he had handed over to her. “I just remembered that someone recommended a store to me long ago. Since I don't know any other jewelers, we could try going there.”
Stella followed her and skimmed over the text. “I'm not familiar with this name. It's not like I know a lot about that part of the city, but it seems like this is an expensive story. This isn't your handwriting, right? Who gave you that recommendation?”
Blanche gave her best to avoid the topic as quickly as possible. “I don't remember. However, it's good if the store is in a district with more wealthy customers. That means that the quality of the items they sell will be higher, doesn't it?” The Vasquez family would surely only buy extremely valuable jewelry, so Blanche should be able to find good things in a store Luciano visited. Since she didn't quite trust Luciano, she would ask to make sure that this really was a normal store first though. For that, she had to go out a bit. “But even if they have expensive items, we can't be sure that we'll find something there, so it would be better to go as soon as possible, in case that we need to travel to another store too. I should ask Theodore today so that he can inform the guards in time.” With that, she left her room.
Luckily, Stella didn't question her mistress anymore and followed her to the emperor's office without bringing up the topic again.
Just when Blanche rounded the corner to the final corridor on her way to Theodore, she saw the door open, and a group of men came out of the office, which relieved her. She had been worried about interrupting them, but apparently, a meeting had just ended, and the ministers were leaving. So, she could talk to her lover in private without him having to send anyone away. Though when she came closer, her relief turned into nervousness.
Three of the men walked towards the staircase. She wouldn't have to face those three, but the other three ministers, who happened to be the exact people that she wished to avoid, stayed by the office's entrance.
Duke Duremont had a chat with his friend, Marquess Bellfaux, who had observed Theodore running after his concubine two weeks ago, while Duke Vasquez spoke to someone that was hidden behind the opened door.
Blanche swallowed as she moved closer to them and considered waiting until they were gone. However, when Henry looked up and their gazes met, she dismissed that thought again. It was too late now anyway.
The men halted their conversation and watched her movements. Still, they didn't make an attempt to address her, so she wouldn't speak up either.
With slow and methodical steps, Blanche approached the office while doing her best to ignore Duke Duremont's burning glare. His friend's expression wasn't any more amicable, but it was way less intimidating nonetheless. She walked forward while being focused on her posture instead of their resentment and passed by them. Just after the first hurdle had been taken, the second one planted itself in front of her.
Duke Vasquez had noticed her and moved between her and the office with his usual smile, which was too wide to be genuine. “Lady Blanche, I'm pleasured to meet you here. Did you enjoy your cake?” This question caught her off guard.
Though after another second, Blanche remembered their last meeting. She ignored the mocking tone of his voice, which made her feel like she was about to fall into a trap, and replied. “The cake? Ah, yes. It was very delicious. Thank you for asking. I hope your duties in the palace aren't too stressful, Your Grace?”
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Claude hummed in response. “No. I have a satisfying balance between work and free time. I'm more worried about His Majesty at the moment as he has a much greater amount of duties to fulfill than I have. Though admittedly, he has other possibilities to relax as well. Please, take good care of him.” His words were just loud enough for the other two ministers to hear, and Blanche could see that Henry balled his fists upon hearing them.
She raised her hand in an attempt to keep the situation from escalating further in case that Duke Vasquez intended to keep provoking the empress' father. “It's not my place to do something like that. I wouldn't dare to-”
Claude cut her off. “I fear that you have misunderstood me. You and His Majesty are close, aren't you? He wouldn't be generous to just allow any woman to move into the palace nor would he let some stranger hug him in public. He only does that because you are a very, very good friend, so you shouldn't be embarrassed to admit that you are a dominant pillar of support for him.” He didn't pause to let her respond and continued with a different topic. “I assume that you haven't coincidentally asked the chefs to make another cake for you today. In that case, you surely wouldn't mind taking a short detour in the garden with me? There is something I would like to discuss with you. In private.” He added the last two words in a whisper to make sure that the other men wouldn't hear them.
Seemingly, Blanche had been right about him wanting to tell her something secretly, and it probably was connected to Marquess Sefare. Maybe they were wondering why she hadn't informed them about the events in the palace for three months. No matter whether that was his objective, she couldn't agree. She had to stay away from these intrigues to survive, so she couldn't allow them to contact her.
Plus, there was another good reason to avoid them. Duke Vasquez and his son made her uncomfortable. Their fake smiles seemed to hide disturbing intentions, and she didn't wish to be in their presence for longer than it was necessary, especially not when no one else was with them.
Still, Blanche needed a believable excuse. She opened her mouth to stall for time, but a voice interrupted and took away the need to reject Claude's offer.
“Blanche!” Theodore came out of the office, and his tired face lit up with a smile, which she returned.
“Theo!” Blanche called out for him without thinking much about it. Immediately, the temperature seemed to drop. From the corner of her eyes, she saw that Henry was observing them freezing hatred, and she quickly turned away again.
The emperor appeared to have noticed too since the corners of his lips sank slightly upon realizing that the ministers hadn't left yet. Most likely, he had intended to hug his lover, but the others' presence made that impossible. Still, he approached Blanche and looked down at her with adoration in his eyes. “I'm sorry for not visiting you. These past days have been...stressful.”
The concubine fought the urge to throw her arms around him and replied in a quiet voice. “I know. I already told you to stop apologizing for that, didn't I? It's not your fault.”
Theodore's expression proved that he felt guilty nevertheless. Still, he didn't insist on continuing with this topic and asked about the important part. “If you feel like that, it's good. I'll try to make more time soon. But for now, there is little room. Did you come here for a specific reason?”
Blanche let out a small “Ah” as she remembered why she had searched for the emperor in the first place. She felt a bit stupid to have forgotten within a second just because she had seen her lover. “Yes, there is something I would like to ask you.”
“Then we should discuss that in my office.” Theodore turned his head to address Claude with a polite smile. “Did you still have something to tell me, Your Grace?”
Duke Vasquez shook his head. “No. I will return to my chambers now. Your Majesty.” He nodded in the emperor's direction. Theodore allowed him to leave with a quick nod, after which Claude looked at the concubine. “Lady Blanche. I wish you a pleasant afternoon.” The glint in his eyes forced her to suppress a shiver to not reveal how much this man unsettled her.
“Goodbye, Your Grace.” Blanche tried to hide it, but she was still tense. Her shoulders only relaxed when Duke Vasquez disappeared from her field of view.
Theodore seemed to notice that and addressed her as soon as Claude was gone “He is an unpleasant person, isn't he?” His lover nodded, so he resumed. “I'm glad that we are on the same page. Not many people seem to realize. What did he want from you?”
“He asked me to take a walk with him. The same thing happened a couple of days ago, and I had to use an excuse to get away. Just now, you saved me.”
Her lover furrowed his brows and crossed his arms. He directed his gaze at the end of the corridor, where Claude had been walking a minute ago, and his expression darkened even more. “It might be best if you avoid him in the future.”
Blanche was taken aback by that proposal. Surely, her lover had said the same thing when she had warned him about that household, but Theodore knew that she wouldn't be able to disregard a duke's greetings without being disrespectful. Normally, he was keen on following such conventions even if the Vasquez family was his enemy. Did he truly distrust Claude so much that he didn't care about the proper protocol anymore? Maybe her warning had served to make him more cautious around that household. If that was the case, it would be beneficial to her.
Maybe she could rely on the emperor's help in her attempts to break off contact with the people plotting against him. He might assist her in finding excuses to do so, which she would definitely endorse.
Blanche tried to coax just the response she needed out of her lover. “I can't ignore a duke when he talks to me, you know.”
Theodore's reply followed instantly. “I'll make sure to intervene if I see him close to you.” Thank the gods. The emperor couldn't know how good his response had been for his lover and was already thinking about something else. He gazed at the other two ministers, who were still standing in the hallway without having moved since the beginning of the conversation. Henry made eye contact with him, and after a few seconds of unnerving silence, the emperor turned away. He opened the door for Blanche without saying anything to Duke Duremont.
The concubine made a small gesture to signal Stella to wait there and entered the office.
Theodore trailed behind her, and as soon as the door fell shut, he rushed the last step to her and pulled her into his arms. The sudden movement startled her, but it didn't take long before she returned the embrace wholeheartedly. Then Theodore already whispered to her. “You can't imagine how much I missed you. Every day without you while I have to deal with all these nightmarish circumstances is like torture.”
Blanche felt a sting in her heart at his words. She shouldn't have left him alone with all the pressure that the conflict with Northern Ocrea put him under. She lifted her arms and stroked over his back, which caused him to bury his head in her neck. “I'm sorry for not coming here earlier. I didn't want to interrupt you since you barely have free time already.”
Theodore held her even tighter. “It's probably better like this. When you are with me, I'm unable to focus on anything else. Normally, that's fine with me, but right now, I have to solve this problem. Or rather these problems. The letters from Ocrea progressively keep getting worse. Travuan and Clatos are threatening our ally again. The contract regarding the trading route between the coast and Esora has to get rewritten as well. And everything is happening while we have to plan out the empress' birthday ball. I hate this year.” He lifted his head to look at her. “When all of this is finally over, I'll make sure to smother you with affection. You won't get rid of me for the next few months.” At least if she was still the person he wanted to cuddle then.
Blanche couldn't help nodding, even though she knew that her fate was still uncertain. “Please do. I missed you a lot too.” Just at that moment, a noise behind Theodore made her look up.
Leonard was sorting a stack of documents on the desk and nodded in her direction when he saw her. Without speaking up, he immediately gazed back at his work again. Though it didn't seem like he was able to concentrate much. His clenched jaw and his lacking snarky comments about the couple indicated that he was fuming, and his tight grip on the papers only underlined that impression.
Slowly, the emperor moved to face his secretary without letting go of Blanche. “You should take a break.”
That caused Leon to groan. “Don't start with that again. I'm fine. In a few minutes, I'll have forgotten about that little argument, and everything will be alright again.”
Theodore seemed skeptical. “You mean if you haven't accidentally taken out your anger on these important documents until then.”
Leon slammed the papers onto the desk and gave Theodore an annoyed look. “Will it make you feel better if I inhale and exhale loudly a couple of times? How about you two just do your thing and let me finish sorting this mess?” He gestured to the round table, at which the ministers normally sat during the meetings.
The emperor smiled despite his obvious displeasure with this topic and turned back to his lover. “As you can see, he currently is in a good mood after Duke Vasquez gave him some constructive criticism.”
Blanche heard the impact of another stack of paper on the desk and glanced over at Leonard, who looked like he was about to explode.
The secretary couldn't keep himself from speaking up about his fury. “We're trying to save the nation, and that bastard has nothing better to do than dismissing all of our plans while refusing to listen to our arguments. And the rest of those idiots fall for his lies! How am I supposed to stay calm at that? I wish I could just wipe that grin off his face with a well-aimed-” He interrupted himself and moved to the window to stare outside, most likely in an attempt to regain his composure.
Theodore's smile faded at that, but he didn't say anything to the other man. Instead, he addressed his lover. “You said that you visited the office because you wanted to ask me something, right? What is it about?”
Blanche replied quickly to avoid wasting his time. “The empress' birthday.”
The emperor grimaced at that. “Are there problems with the preparations?”
Quickly, Blanche shook her head and hurried to continue to not let him misunderstand. “No, that's not it. I still need to buy a gift, and I thought about going to the city to find a jeweler. Obviously, I can't go alone, so I wanted to ask whether you could possibly send two knights with me.”
Theodore's surprise at her words was obvious. “Really? It's been at least half a year since you went out.”
If one didn't count her last secret trip to the capital, he was right. Even though he had suggested her visiting any store she liked, Blanche had rejected his offers numerous times. The world outside the palace walls was interesting, but before awakening with the knowledge about the book, she had never felt the need to experience it alone. After all, the emperor wouldn't be able to accompany her since the risk of him being recognized and harmed was too high.
Blanche smiled at her lover. “That's one reason more to break the habit. I don't plan on spending a lot of time in the city. I just want to buy a gift and return immediately afterward.”
Theodore paused to think for a moment before turning around to his secretary. “Leon, do you mind going to a jeweler with her tomorrow?
Blanche followed his gaze with confusion.
Surprisingly, Leonard didn't seem to be irritated at all. “I don't mind. But will you really survive the meeting with the ministers on your own? I won't be here to quarrel with Duke Vasquez for you.”
Theodore chuckled at that. “I will manage for a day. You deserve a break anyway, and even though you can't rest while going out, you can take your mind off this mess for some time.”
The secretary nodded at this. “Alright. Then I'll request a carriage for noon.”
Blanche's gaze alternated between the two men a few times before she spoke up. “It's nice of you to accompany me, but isn't your work more important? Wouldn't it be enough if some knights come with me?”
The emperor immediately refused that. “No, I'd rather let you leave with someone I trust. Leon knows a lot about jewelry as well, so he'll be able to help you differentiate between items of satisfactory and disappointing quality. Besides, as I already said, he'll have to take a day off soon, or he might skin Duke Vasquez alive.”
Leon looked way too serious when he replied. “I wish I didn't have to hold myself back in that regard.” He left his spot by the window to move closer to the couple to address the concubine. “Are you fine with us departing around noon? Then we'll have enough time to look around properly.”
Blanche nodded. “Yes, that would be good. But only if I'm truly not keeping you from doing more important things.”
Leon shook his head. “You aren't. In fact, there is something else that Theodore and I discussed prior to the meeting. We weren't sure about one thing, and since the ball is approaching quickly, it would be important to clarify that before then. Have you still memorized how to do the waltz?”
Theodore chimed in. “I know that we taught you the basic steps, but that was shortly after you arrived at the palace, which is...” Upon seeing her expression, a smile spread on his lips. “That was over a year ago, so it's not a problem if you need to refresh your knowledge a bit.”
Blanche needed more than a refreshment. Her lesson about ballroom dancing with Evelyn had reminded her how unskilled she was when it came to memorizing a sequence of movements. While she had learned to waltz, she had never been able to perform well. But since she hadn't ever danced at an event either, she hadn't believed that this would be important. The only person she wanted to join was Theodore, and he couldn't leave Seraphina's side at balls, so she didn't plan on dancing in the future either. “You could say that I forgot almost everything from those lessons. But it's not necessary for me to repeat that, right? I'm not going to dance at events anyway.”
Leon objected. “You can't rule that out. If someone, especially a person with very high status, asks you to, it might come across as impolite to reject them.”
Theodore's forehead wrinkled slightly as he heard this and looked at his lover. “You shouldn't worry about that though. If you don't want to dance with anyone, you don't have to.”
Leonard observed that and rolled his eyes but didn't keep on pressing. “Still, it might be better to teach you how to dance. We can make an appointment and go over the fundamentals before the ball, just in case.”
For a second, Theodore stared at him as if he wanted to correct him, but he let it be. Then he turned to Blanche again. “Actually, it would be best to do that today. Some documents will arrive in three days, and I won't be able to take care of them without Leon. So, excusing him for now would be better. Only if you haven't made plans for the rest of the day, of course.”
The concubine replied with a smile. “Free time is the one thing I don't lack. We can have a lesson today.” Even though she still didn't expect to dance in public any time soon, she didn't mind learning how to waltz either. Maybe she could dance with Theodore in the future, and she would like to be able to mirror his movements instead of obstructing them.
Leonard put down some documents while he responded. “Good. Then we'll leave now.”
That caused the emperor to pull his lover closer once more. “Are you going to leave me alone with all of this work now? I still have to reread hundreds of documents. How am I supposed to finish that without losing my mind when you aren't here?” He whined a little while tangling his fingers in Blanche's locks.
She leaned her head against his chest while attempting to hide how bad she felt for not being allowed to stay with him. “You just have to call for me, and I'll be here in five minutes. Tell me, and I can visit the office daily too.”
Leon chimed in before Theodore could respond. “I don't want to be impolite, but please don't. I can already imagine how much he will work when you are here. You'll cuddle over there, and I will be the one fulfilling all of his duties.” He wasn't wrong.
Even right now, Blanche was still in the emperor's arms and thus keeping him from returning to his desk. She only realized that now, which made her feel guilty. So, she uttered a small “I'm sorry.”
Leonard responded before putting back the last stack of papers into a folder. “If it's only for a few minutes, it's not an issue. But coming here every day would definitely slow him down. Are you ready to leave now?”
She nodded and reluctantly let go of her lover after squeezing him tighter for a moment.
Theodore leaned down and gave her a short kiss before moving to his desk. “Take your time.”
Leon nodded but replied differently. “I'll be back in an hour.” He didn't intend to listen to Theodore's advice. That became obvious directly after he stepped out of the office. He rushed down the hallway, and Blanche, who had barely been able to wave her lover goodbye, had to hurry to follow him.
Much like her mistress, Stella also almost had to run to catch up to them, and as Blanche looked back to her maid, she realized that Henry was still standing in front of the office.
The duke was about to enter the room, which made her worry. Would he cause even more trouble for the emperor, who was already stressed enough? Theodore was a stubborn person, and Duke Duremont was too. A conflict between them would definitely not be resolved quickly and most likely have more dire consequences than a simple quarrel normally had. The emperor couldn't afford to lose the Duremont's backing, so Blanche hoped that they wouldn't fight.
Though she didn't have much time to think about that.