Clark seemed a bit unhappy about entering the concubine's room and stood around without knowing what to do.

Stella quickly approached him. “You can sit down on the stool.” While she spoke, she began to search the dresser for a brush and powder.

Clark reluctantly complied while Blanche plopped down onto her bed. For a while, only the noises of the maid rummaging through the drawers sounded through the room. It seemed like this made Clark even more uncomfortable, so the concubine tried to distract him.

Blanche simply addressed the first topic that she could think of. “Did Gloria scold Angelica and Darlene again? The last time I saw them, she wanted to punish them because Harris had lied about them not fulfilling their duties.”

Luckily, Clark quickly replied and continued the conversation instead of leaving an unpleasant pause. “For now, it seems like that bastard stopped slandering them, so Gloria didn't complain. I don't even know why she did so in the first place. The girls sometimes run off and meet at a private place during work, but they always finish their tasks. Usually, they only disappear when they are done with everything. I remember that there was one exception, and that was when they visited you a few days after your fight with His Majesty. They and George lost some hours because of that, but they stayed up longer and finished everything. So, I don't understand why Gloria allowed Harris to influence her this much at all.”

Blanche was a bit confused by that too.

Gloria was a reasonable person that wouldn't allow anything to obstruct her work and had also been described as such in the novel. The only time that she allowed her feelings to take over was when she was dealing with the concubine, who was the rival of the empress that Gloria admired. Even then, she didn't cross the borders and merely attempted to use Blanche's anger to benefit Seraphina. Why was such an intelligent person not able to see through Harris' facade? His acting skills were phenomenal, but his blatant lies had to be found out at some point.

Blanche said just that too. “That is weird. We can be happy that he isn't causing trouble right now, however, that doesn't mean that he won't do so in the future.” Once again, Blanche's confusion regarding Harris' role in the novel didn't help her much with figuring out what was going on inside his head though.

Clark crossed his arms. “I don't think that he is calm because he had a change of heart or wants a break. He always has some kind of goal that he is trying to reach with his actions. Every single word or movement has a purpose in his plans. Right now, he probably wants others to think that he is extremely compassionate and caring. In the last few days, he kept repeating that he wishes for your recovery and how dreadful it is that such a young person can collapse suddenly. That means that he even uses incidents like that to make himself appear better. That's why he pretended to console Stella too.”

Stella frowned at that and set the powder box onto the dresser with a loud clink. “It's good that I pushed him away as soon as possible. Talking to that person evokes my desire to throw up, and while I was feeling horrible, I wasn't in the mood to deal with him at all.”

Clark's expression darkened. “Unfortunately, all the people in the kitchen at that time think that you were unreasonably harsh and unable to control your misdirected anger while he was only trying to help.”

Stella began to gesticulate around wildly. “I don't care. He deserved to be called every single insult that I voiced, and the others will realize that too, sooner or later.” The maid's words were determined, but her tone didn't match that.

The two servants began to rant about Harris until Blanche interrupted them. “I didn't know anything about that situation. What happened?”

Stella leaned her hip against the dresser and imitated Clark by crossing her arms as well. Before she spoke, she bit her lip for a moment and lowered her gaze onto the floor. “You couldn't have heard anything about that yet. It was on the day after the ball. You refused to wake up, but I couldn't take care of you since His Majesty didn't allow me to enter. I couldn't stay in my room the whole time because I would have snapped if I had been forced to be alone with all the worries about you not waking up. So, I went into the kitchen in hopes that some of my friends were there to distract me. As soon as I entered, everyone circled me and asked about you and whether His Majesty had truly hugged you in front of the guests. At first, I simply told them to leave me alone, but some kept insisting. And after a while...” She paused for a moment and uncrossed her arms to prob them onto the dresser. “I just broke down and cried a little bit.”

Stella remained quiet after that, and Clark picked up from that point. “I don't mean to be sound provoking or anything like that, but you didn't cry just a little bit. Everyone in the kitchen heard you and halted whatever they were doing. The people who had questioned you also apologized a hundred times, which proves that you didn't seem like you were sad but devastated.”

Stella shrugged at those words and allowed him to resume without objecting.

Blanche felt her stomach twist in guilt for worrying her friend this much, but she didn't speak up so that Clark could finish his story.

“Well, and then Harris waltzed in. I didn't believe that I would ever say this, but I would have rather seen his aggravating smirk than his fake facade of empathy. He tried his best to seem like he was grieving and then sat down next to Stella. He offered to help her and said that every one of the servants would support her too and all of those overly sentimental things just to get everyone watching to think that he is serious. Understandably, Stella became a little angry at that and told him to go away. When he didn't listen, she used more rude words, but none of them were lies. Then Harris pretended to be hurt and left, only to be consoled by some other servants who believe that he is the victim.”

Once again, Blanche had missed something crucial like this. That made her feel even worse. “That seems like something Harris would do.” Blanche had to admit that even when her strange consciousness insisted that this person, who seemed so horrible, wasn't that bad at all. “He tried to make you seem like the culprits while I talked to him too. He said that he only wanted to warn me about you, and no matter how many times I refuted his excuses, he didn't give up. Then he suddenly talked about how he was only mean to you because you were ruining his life and that especially you...” She pointed at Clark. “Made him angry because you had been friends for a long time.”

Clark's eyes widened before he clenched his jaw. “I wish I could say that that was a lie. In hindsight, I feel ashamed for not noticing how manipulative Harris is earlier. We spent a lot of time together ever since our employment here, so I don't get how I couldn't have caught him in the act at least once. Maybe I just wanted to believe in him and didn't question him for that reason.” Clark was fuming on the inside, and he didn't put much effort into hiding that.

Stella observed his expression for a moment before making eye contact with her mistress. “When we were at the jeweler's shop, he claimed that you two had a fallout after which you suddenly didn't talk to him anymore one and a half years ago. Is that true?”

Clark tensed at that and paused shortly before responding. “In some way. We had a fallout, but that didn't consist out of one big fight. We had hundreds of smaller disputes that became worse every time. At some point, we both told each other that we didn't want to see the other person anymore and just stopped talking. Then I befriended the others. I had never talked to them much, but after a while, I realized that they were actually very nice. That I spend a lot of time with them made Harris mark them as a target of his too, and ever since then, he doubled his efforts to complicate our lives.”

They were silent for a moment, which Stella used to turn back to the dresser. “I see. That sounds awful.” She opened the box and dipped the brush in the powder before lifting it to the other servant's face. “I will apply some powder now. I'll try to be careful, but it might still hurt. Tell me if I use too much force.”

Clark nodded while seemingly trying to act unaffected but balled his hands into fists and closed his eyes, which Stella took as her cue to begin. She carefully spread the powder across his reddened nose.

Blanche observed the maid's methodical movements through the mirror for some time before speaking up again. “At the jeweler's store, Harris said some weird things about your fight. I didn't believe a single one of his words, but I'm still curious. If you were friends for so long, what was frustrating enough to make you fight so much that you now hate each other?”

Clark visibly flinched, which caused Stella to scold him for moving around. He apologized to her and then met Blanche's gaze in the mirror for a few seconds before looking away again. “I don't remember. We had so many arguments. Some were about work, others about colleagues or our general opinions. I think near our... Near the end of our friendship, we fought about every topic you can think of.” Somehow, he didn't sound very convincing.

The concubine tried to ask again. “I can imagine you doing that after you were already angry at each other but not while you were still friends. Do you really don't remember what the first big quarrel was about? It's fine if you don't, I'm just interested in it.”

That caused Clark to make eye contact through the reflection. “I don't, alright? It must have been some unimportant thing, but it was good like that. After all, I still would be friends with that bastard otherwise.” His voice was dripping with frustration, and when he finished, he avoided her gaze again. His body language didn't make his words seem more trustworthy, so Blanche wasn't content with his answer.

The concubine would love to believe him since that would prove that Harris had lied about her being the original topic of their first fight, but Clark didn't appear to be honest right now. Maybe bringing up the other version would evoke a reaction from him.

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“I am relieved to hear that. Harris told me that you fought because of me and started your quarrels just after I arrived at the palace. He insisted that you were insulting me constantly and that he defended me, which then caused you to ignore him.” While Blanche spoke, she felt less confident in her words. Even if Clark wasn't telling her the whole truth, they had been friends for a while. So, how could she consider trusting Harris rather than him? Quickly, she added the other half. “Of course, I don't think that any of his stories are true. After all, I ran into him badmouthing me already when we were at the entrance and waited for Stella to come back from her vacation.”

Clark remained quiet in response.

Had Blanche said something that offended him? She prepared herself to continue on when Stella chimed in.

The maid put another layer of powder on Clark's face while she spoke. “Well, obviously Harris loves to lie and tries to confuse everyone. I got furious at him when he spouted such nonsense, but we were in public. So, unfortunately, I couldn't yell at him. Still, it was pitiful how he attempted to curry favor with you after seeing that His Majesty cares for you, My Lady. Maybe he will double his efforts after finding out how His Majesty carried you through the palace as well.”

Blanche slouched her shoulders upon being reminded of that. “It's worse enough that I will have to deal with the nobles' gossip about that. I don't need Harris to annoy me even more. I didn't even talk to him for more than five minutes, but that was sufficient to make me want to dismiss him instantly. I was clear about not having any desire to help him, so I hope that he understood me and will leave me alone.” She said all of that while she left out that she couldn't help but feel some kind of sympathy for Harris.

Clark sounded sincere while he replied. “I wouldn't count on that.” Stella had finished applying the powder and thus allowed him to turn around. Clark's eyes met Blanche's as he spoke with seriousness. “Harris will do everything to gain influence, and as you already heard, he uses people with more power for that. He can't simply go to His and Her Majesty to talk to them, and the royal advisor is busy the whole time. That makes you the most influential person in the palace that he can bother without being seen as impudent as long as he doesn't anger you. In the past, you seemed unapproachable, but now there is nothing keeping him from attempting to steer you in the direction that he wants. It's very good that you saw his true personality already, or you would believe him too.”

His words made Blanche feel a bit guilty for doubting him, so she quickly responded. “Admittedly, his acting skills are exquisite. While he talked to me, he shook with anger and pretended to be hurt because I said that you knew that he was a bad person. I had to remind myself of who he was a few times during the conversation.”

Clark nodded at her before turning to the mirror to check whether his injury was still visible. After spectating his reflection and tilting his head in a couple of different directions, he rose from the stool. “Thank you. You really can't see that something happened anymore. I didn't think it would cover it up this much.” That did sound a little like he was trying to change the topic, but no one said anything.

Stella shrugged as she began dusting off the brush. “Of course. Why would I propose using powder otherwise? I'm always happy to help.”

Clark glanced at the mirror, the powder and then at the maid. “Could I perhaps borrow a bit of this for a few days? Just until this-” He gesticulated toward his nose. “Is better again?”

Blanche didn't think twice about her response. “Naturally. It's my fault that you need to cover something up in the first place. I have enough powder boxes and brushes, so you can even keep the ones Stella used.”

Clark thanked her and grabbed the items from the dresser. Then he already prepared to leave, and the women followed him to the entrance to bid him farewell.

Blanche used that opportunity to speak up again. “I'd like to apologize for hitting you with the door once more. I shouldn't just try to force it open after realizing that something was behind it. Does it still hurt?”

Clark lifted his hand to touch his nose and stopped just in time because he remembered that he couldn't wipe the powder away. “It still stings a little, but I will be fine. You didn't do it on purpose, so you don't have to say that you are sorry over and over. A mistress shouldn't apologize to her servants for trivialities in the first place, and if you do it this often, it will get worse.”

Blanche rolled her eyes at him. “If I make an error, I should apologize for it no matter what. I'm not doing this for fun but because I accidentally hurt you.”

Clark was quiet in response. There was a slight frown on his features until he nodded and turned to leave. But then he stopped and faced her again. “I, uhm...” He didn't continue for a moment and seemed to fight with himself.

After some seconds of silence, Blanche encouraged him to speak. “Yes?”

Clark made her wait for another second before he finally resumed. “I still have to apologize for something too. I wasn't very...kind to you at first before even giving you a chance. I mean, you were unfriendly in the past too, so I just assumed that you wouldn't change, and because of that, I-” He cut himself off. “That wasn't what I intended to talk about at all. I want to apologize for the incident regarding your allergy.”

Blanche's eyes widened slightly. It was sudden and unexpected for him to bring up that topic, especially since her allergic reaction had been three months ago. “A lot of time has passed since then, so you don't have to apologize. It wasn't even your fault, right?”

Clark remained silent and stared onto the floor for a while before responding. “I was, well... I was in the kitchen that day. I saw a servant making the cake and putting cherries in it. Even back then, I knew that you were allergic to those fruits, but I didn't say anything. I thought that you had been exaggerating, so I didn't stop the person and let them bring the cake out of the kitchen. I only heard that you were confined to your bed for days because of that later. With a single word, I could have prevented that, but I didn't.”

Blanche blinked at him a couple of times. It wasn't surprising that more than one servant had been in the kitchen while the cake had been made, still, she was taken aback by him suddenly bringing this up. He didn't have to say anything since the incident had been almost forgotten. Yet, Clark spoke about it despite risking that she might be angry about it. Surely, she behaved completely different from before, but she was the same person, so he couldn't have been sure that she wouldn't snap at him. Either he trusted her enough to know that she wouldn't, or he wanted to clear his consciousness of guilt. She would appreciate both of these things.

A soft smile appeared on Blanche's face. “Thank you for telling. I don't blame you or the servant who made the cake. I complained a lot in the past, so it's understandable that you thought that I wasn't being serious. Still, I would ask all members of the staff to not put any cherries in my food anymore since eating them isn't very pleasant for me. In general, you should pay attention to allergies. Other people's ones might be way worse than mine, and ignoring them can cause terrible issues that you definitely don't want to evoke.”

Clark just stared at her for a while. “Aren't you going to ask who the servant was to punish them?”

She shook her head. “I didn't intend to punish anyone in the first place, and that's why I didn't mention it again. Theo just recently found out and was more upset than me, but since he doesn't know who it was, he can't punish them either. I don't plan on letting him dismiss a person just because they made one little mistake. As I said, I'm content as long as I don't find cherries in my food anymore. Though I should probably check twice when little red fruits are in my dessert anyway.”

Clark nodded in affirmation and stayed quiet without moving from his spot. Only after a moment, he tore himself from his thoughts. “That's generous of you. I have to go back to work now. Goodbye.” The women barely managed to bid him farewell before he hurried out of the room with the powder and a brush, which left them alone again.

Stella was the first one to speak. “He was a bit odd today.”

Blanche responded by shrugging. “Before I even greeted him, I crashed the door into his face, so I'd understand if he was a little frustrated. Maybe the collision was stronger than I thought. He should have gone to the doctor to check whether he is even able to work for the rest of the day.”

“Clark isn't the type to complain about his pain, but he also wouldn't ignore his health to work. Hopefully. In any case, we can't force him and have no choice but to wait until we meet him again. Do we still follow the original plan and go out now?” Stella looked out of the window.

Blanche agreed. She wouldn't miss out on her overdue walk just because she would come back a few minutes later. It was warm enough, so they didn't take any coats with them and left immediately.

While the hallways of the palace weren't full today, they also weren't empty, which proved that it was quite an ordinary day. Fewer people were in the garden than on the inside, but there was still a good portion of knights, who trained on the sand square, and servants, who were enjoying their free time. A couple of gardeners were working on the plants as well, which filled the air with the smell of freshly cut grass.

Thus, the women had many interesting things to watch while they walked, from the knight training to a group of people that played some jumping game. In the end, Blanche had paid more attention to the staff than to the flowers, but she didn't mind it. The plants wouldn't run away, but the people wouldn't always be there.

Time passed quickly like this.

Even though the women had stayed out longer than they had intended to, Blanche still didn't want to go inside. The sudden appetite for a chocolate cake was the only thing that made her agree to return to the palace when the air began to cool down.

When she entered the kitchen, she was surprised by the number of cooks and servants that circled her to ask how she was doing or whether the concubine was fully recovered. Luckily, Harris wasn't there, so she didn't have a problem with staying composed the whole time. Blanche gave her best to answer the questions while preparing her cake and ignored the confused gazes from the people who hadn't seen her baking before. While she was in the middle of stirring the dough, she decided to make a bit more, which proved to be beneficial since many of the servants were trying to inconspicuously gawk at the result. After she was done, she allowed each of them to take a slice and had to hold back a grin at their expressions.

At first, most of them were skeptical, but after an hour, the whole cake was gone, and the servants seemed to be slightly more comfortable in the concubine's presence. Apparently, making a dessert was truly the easiest way to gain someone's trust. Blanche even thought about preparing a tart for Seraphina in hopes of reaching the same result, but the fear of being accused of poisoning the empress stopped her from seriously considering that.

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When the concubine returned to her room with Stella, the sun had unfortunately already begun to set.

Blanche still wasn't willing to go back to her room though, so she complained loudly. “Now that I can go out again, the days seem to pass quicker. I'm not even tired yet.”

The maid opened the door while listening to her mistress' complaints. “We never go to bed this early, so it would be strange if you were. We can still get some board games from the library. We haven't nearly played all of them, and a couple of card games are there too.”

“That sounds good.” They entered the room, and Blanche was about to plop down onto the sofa when Stella stopped her.

“My Lady, you didn't put that letter onto the bed, right?”

In confusion, Blanche turned around, only to find the maid pointing at an envelope that was neatly placed onto the center of the cushion. A bubbling sensation began to grow in Blanche's stomach. She had a bad feeling about this. “No, I didn't. I'm sure of that.”

Stella glanced from her mistress to the letter and back again a couple of times. She spoke with uncertainty layering in her voice. “Should I inform one of the guards about that?” Normally, this might have been a good idea, but the concubine hesitated.

Blanche slowly shook her head. “No. I will take a look at it first. This might be by Theodore. He could have ordered someone to put it there, right?” She didn't even believe that herself. Something inside her told her that there was something wrong with the letter. There was no way that her lover's notes would stir up her emotions in this manner. If this had been by him, she would be curious and overjoyed but not fearful. With slow steps, she approached the bed without taking her eyes off the envelope.

The white paper was adorned with a green seal with the letter ‘S’ and no other visible indications of whom the sender might be or how they had entered the palace. But Blanche didn't need any more hints to know who the writer of this text was.

There was only one noble that signed his letters with this seal, and he was very familiar. It seemed like Blanche would have contact with Marquess Sefare once again after months of silence between them.