Theodore had just explained how he understood that him carrying Blanche out of the ballroom had caused rumors but that he didn't care because he wouldn't act differently even now. Everything had sounded logical until his last sentences followed. “As long as the empress and her father aren't pestering me about it, I don't care, and I also have no qualms about defending my actions in front of them. Besides, the empress is partly at fault for you breaking down in the first place, so she actually doesn't have the right to complain.”
Blanche frowned at that comment. She had been ready to melt at Theodore's determination to protect her no matter what happened, but then his last words completely caught her off guard. “First of all, Duke Duremont is angry. Stella told me that he wasn't especially pleased when you picked me up, so you might have to prepare yourself to deal with his wrath now. The empress, however, seemed to have been quite calm. But I don't understand how she is supposed to be responsible for me collapsing at the ball. I am to blame for not recovering properly before attending and then dancing with Lord Vasquez. So, the empress doesn't have anything to do with my rash decisions.”
Her lover narrowed his eyes slightly as he replied. “She didn't influence your choice to go, but she kept you from leaving earlier. After you gave her your gift, you wanted to say something, and she interrupted you. You intended to ask for permission to leave, right? Well, she was too irritated because you handed over a perfect present, so she refused to hear you out. If she had allowed you to speak then, I would have sent you to your room, and you wouldn't have been at the ball for long enough to pass out. I only noticed that after I sat beside your bed while you slept and recounted the events of the evening. Because of that, I was, and still am, a bit angry at the empress.”
Theodore paused for a moment, and his expression mirrored that he was truly upset and not just a bit angry. “At first, I planned on visiting her to apologize for the fact that the situation became this uncomfortable for her. But after I realized that she had directly evoked it by forcing you to stay despite having witnessed that you were stumbling around, I didn't have the composure to meet her. Not while still being uncertain whether you would recover. For that reason, I haven't talked to her since the ball, and honestly, I'm quite content with that. I wouldn't have been able to keep myself from blaming her otherwise.”
Blanche hadn't thought about it like that. Seraphina had cut her off when she tried to speak up, so the heroine had taken away her chance to leave in time. Of course, that couldn't have been done on purpose since the empress hadn't had a way of knowing that the concubine would suddenly collapse. Thus, Blanche wouldn't truly blame her.
However, Blanche didn't focus much on that part as she concentrated on Theodore's claim of not having met Seraphina since the birthday party. If that was true, then it was a stark difference from the book, which she needed to confirm. “Theo, now that you mention it... When did you give the empress your present?”
Theodore stayed silent for a moment and stared into the fire before letting out a small “Oh”. He turned to meet her gaze again and responded in a factual tone. “I forgot about that. I wanted to give her the gift after the ball, but obviously, I didn't have the time to think about something trivial like that. I was focused on making sure that you were safe and would wake up again, so I didn't leave your side. After you were awake, I took care of all the work that I neglected in the days before that. So, I haven't given her anything yet.”
This was definitely completely different from the novel. Logically, the original Blanche hadn't collapsed at the ball, so Theodore hadn't been forced to rearrange his schedule. A few minutes after the ball, he had handed Seraphina a key and mysteriously hinted that her present was somewhere in the palace. After searching for a while, the heroine had found a spacious but still cozy office that she could now use instead of the library. That gift had won her over, and she had been impressed by her husband's consideration. This had been the reason that she started to like Theodore despite his troublesome pampering of his concubine. This also had allowed the spouses to become friends after a few weeks of longer conversations.
If the emperor hadn't ever handed that gift over, that naturally wouldn't happen.
Blanche was speechless at that prospect. She didn't know whether she should be ecstatic or worried. This was the second bonding moment of the main characters that she had prevented, with the first one being a discussion that had been interrupted because of her fight with Evelyn. Didn't this almost make it seem like she could keep the main characters apart just by intervening whenever an event was supposed to happen? That sounded too good to be true.
And it was dangerous.
If she allowed this piece of information to lull her into a fake sense of security, she might destroy all of her previous efforts to survive by actively trying to keep the couple away from each other and thus becoming the villainess. She couldn't risk dying because of something that she couldn't fully trust yet. But she couldn't deny that the thought of being able to stay Theodore's one and only lover was tempting enough to burn itself into her mind. She would have to observe the situation more before making a decision, but there might truly be hope for a better ending. Unless, of course, all the missed scenes would take place later.
Blanche's heart clenched at that thought. She lifted her head off her lover's chest to make eye contact while she tried to keep herself calm as if her heartbeat hadn't quickened. “Are you going to give her the present later?”
Theodore paused and stroked his fingers over the wrinkles on her forehead, which she hadn't even noticed before. “Why do you seem so serious about that? Would it be bad if I hand it over in a few days? I mean, maybe it would upset the empress that the gift came too late, but that you were unconscious was definitely more important, and even she should understand that.”
Of course, the emperor couldn't just not give his wife a present. If anyone from outside learned about this and compared it to the mass of expensive objects that the concubine had received for her last birthday, questions would definitely arise. How come that the empress obtained nothing from her husband while the woman with an unknown background, who officially only was a guest in the palace, was showered with valuable jewelry and lavish attires? Theodore couldn't just offend Seraphina like that.
But on the other hand, Blanche almost wished that her lover would forget.
If he didn't gift the heroine the office, the couple wouldn't begin to spend more time together. They wouldn't become friends and wouldn't eat together, which also wouldn't allow them to get closer during every single meal. Skipping that fundamental part of the main character's romance might prevent that they fell in love.
For Blanche, it would be better like that. But how could she demand that Theodore threw away all the effort that he had put into letting that office be furnished and ask him to risk being judged even more harshly by the other nobles? She couldn't. So, she lied. “No, it wouldn't be bad. You prepared the gift already, so wasting it would be pointless as well. Besides, you can't refrain from giving her a present. If you didn't do it, and Duke Duremont found out about it, he would kill you. And probably me first because he always thinks that it's my fault that his daughter is being treated unfairly.”
Theodore was silent for a moment, and one could see the gears turning in his head. His eyes narrowed slightly, but he attempted to keep his expression neutral. “Say... During the last few months, you have spoken a lot about the empress' father and about how angry he is or how he could stop supporting me. You explained why that is the case, but I am still a bit worried. In the past, you never even cared about that man, and now you seem to consider his feeling before every one of your actions.”
Blanche prepared herself to repeat that she was trying to pay more attention to politics, as he should know, but Theodore's next sentence rendered her speechless.
“Did he perhaps threaten you?”
Blanche blinked a few times as she questioned why he would expect something like that before she shook her head and found her voice again. “Of course not!” Until now, Henry had never spoken to her when it hadn't been absolutely necessary due to the emperor's presence. She knew that there was still a scene at a hunting festival in which Duke Duremont would remind her not to trouble his daughter. But before that, he had never even been in her close proximity except for when he attended the same events. That didn't mean that he didn't terrify her, but he had never done anything other than glaring at her or ignoring her.
Theodore visibly relaxed at her response. “Good. I was worried about having to punish him already.” That was actually a very dangerous comment.
“You can't just joke about punishing the second most influential man in Artias. There is no way that you would be able to do that without creating a big uproar.”
Her lover sighed and stroked over her head a couple of times. “I don't think that Duke Duremont is in the second place. Officially, he might be, but in reality, he is number four or so. Besides, it wasn't a joke. I wouldn't hesitate to punish him to prove that I won't allow him to disregard my rules. Even if he was the emperor, he couldn't just run around and threaten others. Power doesn't allow you to do anything you want.”
Unfortunately, it did in most cases. It was strange that Theodore as the most influential person in the country wasn't aware of that yet. As long as the majority of the people of the lower noble ranks didn't work together to harm the ones on top, the powerful aristocrats were practically untouchable no matter how much they ignored the law.
Blanche pointed that out in a more subtle way. “Well, being rich opens many doors, so I would be careful with that statement.”
Theodore let out a quiet sigh as he pulled her closer again. “It seems like we can't stop ourselves from addressing serious topics even in this cozy environment. I started with that, so it's my fault, isn't it? Well, let's devote ourselves to more lighthearted themes for the rest of the day.”
Blanche grinned as he began to plant kisses all over her face. She was about to agree when she remembered that Theodore couldn't stay forever. How long had he even been here already? Her eyes wandered around the room until she found a clock that was almost completely hidden behind a stack of books. “I would love to, but... How long were you planning on spending time with me?”
“I can't stay too long since I didn't inform Leon about me being absent. So, around-” Theodore cut himself off when his gaze landed on the clock as well, and he groaned. “Why? Whenever I'm with you, time seems to slip away between my fingers, and when I do my duties, the minutes feel like hours. I used to enjoy working, do you remember that? That was only a year ago, but the circumstances of our nation became so much more demanding in those twelve months. I'd love to stay, but...”
Gently, Blanche ran her fingertips over his cheeks and then cupped his chin to kiss him. “I know. I'll miss you, but you can't help it. You'll come back tomorrow or whenever you want. I will wait right here.”
Her lover smiled at her before burying his face in her neck and pulling her closer. At first, she gladly returned the embrace, but numerous seconds passed, and Theodore didn't make any attempts to loosen his hold on her. Even after another while of silence, he didn't show any signs of movement, which made her speak up.
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“Theo?”
The response followed immediately in a serious tone. “I don't want to let go.” Theodore sounded so fragile at that moment that it broke her heart.
Any thoughts of reminding him that he couldn't neglect his work left Blanche's mind and were replaced with countless ones of begging him to stay. Just so that he could blame her later and didn't have to feel bad for his decision. “Then don't. Two hours more or less won't make such a big difference.”
“If I don't force myself to let go now, I might not be able to leave your side. I can promise you one thing. There will only be a few months with so many problems. After that, we can spend much more time together. Then I won't let you go the entire day, alright?” Theodore lifted his head to meet her gaze, and his glassy eyes glimmered in the flickering light of the fire.
That image sent a pang of guilt to Blanche's heart. She hadn't imagined that her lover would suddenly become this emotional. A glimpse was enough to make her hate how hurt he seemed right now. Quickly, she put her arms around his neck and lifted herself onto her knees to be on his eye level. “Of course. I'm always here for you. No matter what happens.”
Simultaneously, she and Theodore initiated the kiss, and both of them didn't separate until they had to gasp for air.
Her lover turned away from her and wiped over his eyes before he gave her a smile. “I'm sorry for that. I didn't mean to get so emotional. Working so much isn't good for me.”
A part of Blanche believed that this wasn't the whole reason, but she didn't press. After all, being overworked led to a lot of frustration, and she knew how often she began to cry over the slightest inconvenience, even more than usual when she was frustrated.
Theodore didn't continue and blankly stared into the fire for a few seconds, which told her that he wouldn't reveal more, so she replied.
“Don't apologize for showing your emotions. I said that you didn't have to hide any of your feelings from me. Whether you are exhausted or sad or angry. I'm by your side no matter what and will always listen to your worries. Besides, I always cry in front of you too and you console me, so it's only fair-”
Before she could do anything else, Theodore pulled her into another tight hug. “I love you.” It was only a whisper, but his tone said so much about them.
Blanche put her arms around him and repeatedly told him that she adored him as well.
A few minutes passed before they separated again, and this time, Theodore's face expressed contentment. He slowly stood up and helped her onto her feet as well. Before he left, he squatted down next to the fireplace and used the poker to move around some half-charred wooden pieces. “I assume that Stella doesn't know how to properly clean this, and even if she did, it would take a while, and she is supposed to attend you in that time. I'll send you a servant that will dispose of the ash.” He glanced up at his lover, and when she nodded in approval, he rose and accompanied her to the entrance of her main room, where he hugged her again for a couple of seconds. “I'll see you tomorrow. Good night. Have sweet dreams.”
After Blanche bid him farewell too, her lover left her chambers and steered towards his office with Owen, who had previously been waiting by the door.
This meant that Blanche had finished the exciting portion of the day. Stella's teasing question about how she had enjoyed the afternoon entertained her a few minutes before another servant arrived and cleaned the fireplace. The man finished quickly and disappeared with the ash and the leftover pieces of wood.
Thus, the concubine and her maid were alone as they had always been for the most part. Surely, chatting with Stella was fun, but it felt restricting to be unable to step outside for a spontaneous walk or a visit in the kitchen.
Since Blanche had nothing to do, she had picked up Leon's handbook a few times to refresh her memories about the conventions in noble society despite not believing that any events were coming up too soon. After all, the hunting festival was still a bit away. She could only hope that Theodore would allow her to leave her room alone before that date so that she could bake again and meet the other servants.
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It was a pleasant surprise that her lover gave Blanche the desired permission to go out again the very next day after the doctor insisted that it was healthy for her to get some fresh air. Since Theodore had to make up for the skipped work, he couldn't stay longer than for the meal. He brought her back to her room and kissed her there before returning to his office. This left her with more than enough time to do something else for the rest of the day.
Blanche was already looking forward to that. “How should we use my regained freedom, Stella? Should we go out for a long relaxing walk, or should we bake another cake? We still have more than enough recipes to try out, but the weather outside looks inviting as well.”
Stella glanced toward the window and replied after she had observed the blue sky. “We could just do both. There are enough simple cakes that will be done in under three hours. If we make one of them, we still have time to take a walk before baking.”
Actually, Blanche had hoped for that answer. She could barely wait to create another pastry. But going outside without Theodore constantly telling her not to overdo it was too tempting to miss out on the opportunity, especially since it was a bit warmer now. She didn't even have to change into warmer clothes to go into the garden, and the breeze wasn't strong enough to make her freeze anymore. So, she didn't hesitate to rush to the door and open it, only to be stopped when the door hit a solid object.
In her confusion, she tried it another time, but she couldn't open the door further. Though the voices quickly informed her that the unknown object she hit hadn't been lifeless at all.
“Are you alright, Clark?” The person that had spoken was definitely George, and Darlene had hissed quietly at the impact.
Blanche jumped to the side to squeeze into the corridor. The usual four servants were standing in front of the door, and the two knights guarding the hallway were there too, but as usual, they just eavesdropped. Blanche was much more focused on the damage she had done. Upon seeing that Clark was touching his nose as if he was trying to hold back the pain, the concubine froze. “I'm really sorry. I didn't know that someone was there. I thought that the door was stuck and didn't... I'm sorry.”
Clark cleared his throat and fumbled around at his nose for a few seconds before replying in a strained voice, which sounded a bit nasal. “It's fine, it was an accident. I shouldn't have stood behind a door in the first place. I should have expected that something like this would happen. Just don't hit the next person twice as well.”
Blanche regretted doing that already. “I sincerely apologize. I'll be more careful from now on.”
Stella came into the hallway as well. She seemed surprised after seeing the visitors and greeted them with a bright smile. “What are you doing here? I didn't think you would show up, but you finally made it.”
Blanche would have liked to greet the others in a kinder manner too, but she couldn't focus on that. She watched how Clark tapped his fingers onto his nose and saw that he flinched whenever he touched it. Apparently, it was worse than he had admitted.
She wanted to apologize again, but Darlene already spoke up. “Well, we took a while, but now we are here. This was a bit unfortunate though. We came to congratulate Lady Blanche on her recovery and not to get another patient. The gods aren't very generous this year, are they?”
Clark rolled his eyes at that remark. “This has nothing to do with any gods. I stood too close to the door, and Lady Blanche opened it at that moment. Besides, it's not that bad. It barely hurts anymore.” It was plainly obvious that this wasn't true by the way that he kept hiding his nose and blinked away the tears in his eyes, but no one bothered to point out his lie.
Everyone just stared at him for a moment before George broke the silence. “Anyway, how are you doing, Lady Blanche? Stella gave us the summary whenever we met in the kitchen, so we knew that you had a cold and a fever, but we didn't think that it would become that awful. Is it really safe for you to go out only a week after you collapsed for no apparent reason?”
Blanche hadn't really passed out without a reason. Her dizziness after the dance, her fever and the hallucination together had to have caused her to faint. Though explaining this would probably worry them even more, so she was a bit more careful. “No, it's fine. The royal doctor checked on me every day and gave me his permission. Theo already insisted on keeping me inside for longer than necessary, so I'm definitely fully recovered. I suspect that Stella isn't your only source. The rumors probably spread throughout the whole palace, right?”
Angelica was the one to respond with a bashful smile. “It's good that you are feeling better now. And you are right about the rumors. We try not to engage in gossip, but it was hard not to listen when everyone was talking about His Majesty carrying you all the way from the ballroom to the doctor.” The corners of her lips sank. “At first, we weren't sure whether the rumors were true. But after a few days, when every member of the staff wanted to chat about it, we realized that this incident had actually happened.”
Blanche had to admit that she understood that. “Naturally, you didn't believe that the emperor would do something that reckless. I had trouble trusting Stella as well when she brought it up the first time.”
The servants looked at each other, but only Darlene responded. “Actually, that wasn't the reason for our disbelief. We didn't doubt that His Majesty would ignore everyone and everything around him to get you to safety. It's just that the person to tell us about you collapsing isn't very...” She paused for a moment before giving up on being subtle. “It was Harris. So, we weren't really keen on listening to him in the first place, and when he said that you passed out, we thought he was trying to upset us on purpose. But apparently, he was at the ball himself, and multiple servants backed his story, so he seemed to have told the truth for once.”
For a moment, Blanche paused to remember whether she had seen Harris anywhere after the visit at the jeweler's shop. She couldn't remember that, but she had been busy with other things as well, so that didn't eliminate the possibility of him being there. “I can't confirm whether he was there. The last time that I met him was because he accompanied Leon and me into the city to buy a gift for the empress. He suddenly wanted to talk to me and began complaining about how you were the bad people and would slander him. He only left me alone when Leon came back.”
The expression of all the servants darkened at that, and George spoke up. “So, he really attempts to twist the facts. We thought that he was rather calm during the last days, but seemingly, that was just a farce.” George shook his head. “I don't get why he likes to stir up trouble. Every normal person should strive for harmony and not fights.”
Darlene crossed her arms at that. “He isn't normal. That man is sick, and that only adds another reason why we shouldn't have any contact with him to the never-ending list.”
Stella opened her mouth to respond but closed it again. She stared at Clark for a moment before raising her voice. “Say... Is something wrong with your nose? You keep touching it the whole time. If it still hurts, we should take a closer look at it.”
Clark sighed quietly before slowly lowering his hand and turning to his friends. “Is it very obvious that something happened?”
George pressed his mouth into a thin line, and Darlene voiced a low “Ouch”, which was already enough of an answer, but Angelica only added onto that. “Well, you could cover it with powder. I have some in my room and can get it quickly if you want to.”
Blanche stood at a spot from where she wasn't able to see Clark's face, and every reaction only made her feel worse.
Stella's was the most unsettling one. “It looks like someone hit you and broke your nose.”
Clark groaned at that. “Great. My eyes water the whole time, and now everyone is going to ask me why I got into a fight. How long will it stay like this? Hopefully, not for more than a day.”
Blanche took a step to the side and felt a pit of guilt in her stomach as she saw Clark's red nose. Some parts of his skin were already starting to turn purple, which made it look even more painful. “I'm very, very sorry about that. I didn't mean to hurt you. I have some powder in my room too. You can have one box and a brush to cover it up.”
“Is it really that bad? I need some kind of mirror to check.” Clark seemed to hope that his friends were exaggerating, but that wasn't the case. After Stella went into the room to get the hand mirror and handed it to him, he realized that too. “It's even worse than I thought. This is going to be visible for at least two weeks, isn't it?” He lowered the mirror dejectedly. “I think I will take some powder.”
Darlene eyed his face for a few seconds before smirking. “I doubt that ‘some powder’ is going to be enough. You'll need the whole box.” This earned her a glare from Clark, but she simply shrugged.
Stella chimed in before he could reply in a sour manner. “It's the truth. But in any case, we have enough for you to cover the bruise for as long as you need. If you come inside for a short moment, we can put it on, and no one will annoy you with questions.” The maid glanced at her mistress, who nodded to give her permission to invite the servant.
Clark seemed a bit uncomfortable but agreed nevertheless. He was about to enter when the others stopped him.
George spoke up first. “We would love to stay a bit longer, but we have to go back to work now. As far as I know, we haven't finished our duties yet, so we have to hurry, or Gloria will yell at us.”
The female servants nodded at that, and Angelica replied.“Yes, and we don't need her to be even angrier at us. Thanks to Harris, she believes that we are completely incapable.”
That thought caused Darlene to shiver. “She's already intimidating when she is calm, but her fury makes you feel like you are a warrior on a battlefield and will be beheaded if you say the wrong thing.”
Blanche and Stella barely had time to wish them goodbye before the three servants rushed down the corridor and split up there after Darlene had given Angelica a small kiss, which made the remaining people grin.
Even Clark had a small smile on his lips, but that quickly faded when he realized that the concubine was watching him. He didn't seem to like it when others knew how he felt. Yet, he couldn't hide how reluctant he was when Blanche entered her bedroom and he was supposed to follow. After forcing himself to come into the room, he stood around as if he was lost and looked like he would rather be somewhere else.