And just like that, Seraphina had appeared, and she wasn't in a good mood.

Blanche stared at the empress' frown and swallowed, which proved to be a complicated endeavor due to her dry throat. She grasped her teacup tighter and couldn't keep herself from shrinking in herself upon feeling the anger that was oozing out of the heroine's aura. “Uhm... Good day, Your Majesty.” Blanche wanted to hit herself the next moment. In her shock, she had forgotten that she had already made a mistake by greeting the other woman first. Wonderful. Now the situation was ruined. “I'm...sincerely apologize. I didn't mean to...” She averted her gaze to focus on anything but the fuming empress.

Sophia seemed to be tense as well. Apparently, she was more nervous about her sister catching her in the act of meeting with Blanche than she had previously shown. Of course, she wasn't terrified like the concubine though.

Naturally, Blanche was more intimidated than anyone else. She didn't dare to move a single muscle in fear of drawing the heroine's attention towards her. She hadn't done anything wrong, right? So, she shouldn't have to expect to be punished, but she had thought that at the tea party too.

A few seconds passed, and Seraphina had regained a bit more of her composure. She had neutralized her face so that she hid her anger behind her mask of calmness, but she couldn't control the effect her frustration had on others. She spoke up in a rather cool tone, which made the others lower their heads. “Please stay seated. May I ask what led you here, Lady Ravillot? It's unusual for you to come to the royal palace without informing me of your visit.”

Sophia wasn't as fearful as the concubine, but her nervousness was still obvious. She was fiddling with her hands as she replied to her sister. “Good day, Your Majesty. I...usually tell you. I was meeting with Lady Blanche to drink some tea, and I normally would have visited you before that. But you said that you were busy, so I didn't wish to keep you from working.”

That sentence made Blanche think about the empress' workload for the first time. She hadn't seen Seraphina walking around for longer than usual, and the last time, the heroine had seemed very exhausted as well. It would make sense that the empress was in her office the whole day and didn't appear outside as often because of that. When the emperor had more duties to fulfill, his wife also took care of more tasks than she normally did to unburden him. It had been stupid of Blanche to not have thought about that earlier.

But that little detail also made her realize something else. The empress couldn't make as many decisions on her own as Theodore did, so Seraphina would often have to ask him for permission or get his signature. In general, political subjects required the spouses to be on the same page and exchange their opinions on most documents. That meant that they probably worked together fairly often.

Blanche's heart clenched at that thought. What if Theodore was spending the biggest portion of his day with the heroine because of that? During that time, the main characters had enough opportunities to talk to each other without needing to eat together. Thus, their relationship could already have developed much further than the concubine had anticipated. Were all of her presumptuous thoughts about keeping the main characters apart useless because they would find a way to get closer either way?

That question made Blanche freeze in place, and it felt like the temperature had dropped. She tightened her hold on the cup to keep herself from shivering and only let go when she feared that she would crash the porcelain. Now that she didn't have something to grasp, it was even more difficult to push back the nightmarish thoughts about Theodore and Seraphina. For that reason, she was actually glad when the empress addressed her, but the icy tone quickly made her reconsider.

“Lady Blanche. I would like to ask whether I understood this correctly. You invited Lady Ravillot to the palace to drink tea and chat about our family?”

The concubine hurried to respond. “Good afternoon, Your Majesty. You are correct about that. I did not wish to speak about your family specifically, but I did invite Lady Ravillot. She and I had a conversation during the ball on your birthday. We were unable to continue our talk back then, so we arranged a meeting.” Her reply didn't soften Seraphina's expression.

The empress' face had returned to its stoic mask, but her dismay was still visible due to the flicker of anger inside her eyes. “This is unexpected. I didn't think that you would get along.” Her voice was dripping with contempt and the clear hint that Sophia shouldn't engage with her greatest enemy. Apparently, the empress wouldn't let this slide. She finally let her gaze roam away from Blanche and glanced at the table. “I see that you have prepared a quite cozy seating arrangement. Would you mind if I joined you?”

The concubine's heart almost stopped at that. Seraphina couldn't be serious right now. There was no way that someone could refuse the empress, especially within the royal estate. They had no choice but to agree. Blanche didn't understand why the heroine would want to sit down with them though. She wouldn't have batted an eye if Seraphina had sent her away to speak to Sophia, but this wasn't logical. The empress despised Blanche, so why would she insist on drinking tea with her nemesis?

Sophia was more composed than the concubine. After the initial surprise, a smile appeared on her face. “Of course. We wouldn't dream about refusing. It would be our pleasure to have you with us.” Not really.

Blanche desperately tried not to show her resignation on her face and held back a sigh. “Naturally, we would be honored by Your Majesty's presence.” She hoped that this hadn't seemed too impolite due to her slightly dejected tone.

Seraphina showed them her typical emotionless expression as she turned to her maids. “Ask one of the servants to bring me a chair.” It seemed like she was really serious. Now no one could prevent anything anymore.

One of the attendants, who seemed to be Kate at first glance, immediately bowed and then rushed toward the building while the other two were glaring at the concubine.

Blanche did her best to not roll her eyes at that and focused on not embarrassing herself by accidentally tipping over the tea. At the same time, she also tried to calm herself to avoid showing her unease during the following situation. It was hard to keep her cool when she knew that she would drink tea with the empress though.

Within a minute, Kate returned with a male servant that was carrying a chair. He set it down next to the table and turned to leave before making eye contact with the concubine. Blanche relaxed a bit after she recognized George and gave him a bright smile, which he returned. He nodded towards her and bowed to the empress before going back to the building.

But this interaction didn't help the concubine either.

Seraphina sat down in the most graceful way imaginable and then addressed her maids again. “I would like to a cup of the tea that Lady Ravillot has.”

Again, one of the maids hurried away within seconds. It was unmistakably visible that they not only cared for their mistress but also respected her from the bottom of their hearts. Except for Kate, of course, as that woman would poison the empress for money later.

Blanche didn't focus on her though but on the uncomfortable tension that surrounded the terrace now that the heroine and the villainess were at the same spot. It was strange to sit at the table with the empress, and it certainly made Blanche feel like she was lacking the necessary manners to even deserve being here. She would be thankful if she could sink into her seat and disappear into the ground, but she forced herself to keep a straight posture.

Fortunately, Sophia behaved like an angel again and raised her voice to cut through the unnerving silence. “Say, Lady Blanche. Did you know that servant as well? You already greeted the maid last time and the man just now too.” That was a lighthearted topic, perfect to strike up a conversation despite the thick atmosphere.

Without thinking about it, Blanche replied. “Yes. I met them and two others in the kitchen while I was baking. Ever since then, we've talked regularly, and they eat whatever I made on that day, which is great since there aren't any leftovers like this.” Only when she finished, she realized that befriending servants might seem a bit odd to nobles. But she knew that Sophia didn't care and Seraphina was close to her attendants as well, so none of them should complain. She hadn't really expected them to pay attention to the story in general. Apparently, they had listened though.

Sophia's eyes began shining as she heard the other's words. “You are baking? On your own, without any help?” She said that as if this was a great feat. Did she think that the concubine was a confectioner?

Blanche quickly tried to paint a more realistic picture. “Well, I do everything on my own, except for the cutting. I can't seem to keep my hands steady when it comes to working with sharp objects, so one of the servants or my maid help me. I'm not making anything extraordinary though. I do not make art out of my food like other people do. I just create a simple cake by mixing together the fitting ingredients. Baking is very easy once you have done it a couple of times, so that's not very special.”

Sophia seemed to have a different opinion on that and visibly got excited. “When you've never done it, it is special! Seraphina and I always tried to help the kitchen staff when we were little and ended up causing more chaos than anything else. I'm pretty sure that they considered banning us from that part of the house at one point. So, we've always admired it when people learn how to bake or cook, especially when they don't have to. There was one day when Seraphina-”

The empress cleared her throat, which made Sophia stop.

After a moment, Sophia realized what her error had been, and her eyes widened. “I apologize. I was talking about Her Majesty. Please forgive my insolence.”

Seraphina's expression didn't budge when she nodded at her sister. “It was only a small mistake in front of few people. I assume that no one will hear about this, so we will forget that it happened. Please be more careful in front of others.”

It felt like those words were supposed to tell Blanche to keep quiet about this, not that she had ever had the intention to gossip about it in the first place. The concubine was a bit irritated at that but forced herself to not reveal her emotions. Naturally, Seraphina treated her sister differently from her nemesis, but Blanche was sure that she would have been threatened if she had made such an error. Instead of frowning at that, she concentrated on keeping her teacup steady as she lifted it to her mouth to take a small sip. The sweet apple flavor did little to calm her. She was still on edge and feared that she would pour the tea over herself if she wasn't careful.

Just when the silence began to feel strange again, Seraphina's maid returned with the tea. It was unsurprising that the heroine's way of holding the cup emitted more elegance than it would have been the case with any normal person. But that was to be expected of the female main character of a novel. She was perfect in everything she did. Except when it came to cooking, apparently.

But that didn't make Blanche feel better at all. The empress had no need to learn how to prepare meals since she would never even be allowed to touch the kitchen utensils. None of the servants would stand by while a member of the royal family attempted to do work that was considered to be lowly by other nobles.

The concubine kept observing Seraphina from the corner of her eyes while pretending to stare at her tea. Now that the heroine was here, Blanche couldn't relax at all. That was rather unpractical since she had looked forward to eating some delicious pastries, but she definitely wouldn't be able to swallow a single bite while the empress was watching. After a last longing gaze at the cake pieces in the middle of the table, Blanche fully concentrated on Seraphina.

For a change, the empress was wearing a navy-blue dress today, and her neck was adorned by a necklace with sapphires. She was breathtaking for sure.

But Blanche paid attention to something else. She needed to turn her head and stare at the accessory for a while before she could be sure. That necklace was definitely the one that Blanche had gifted the empress. In her mind, she cheered at the realization that Seraphina was pleased enough with the present to wear it in her free time. She didn't dare to say anything though and just hid her grin by drinking another sip of her tea. However, she didn't seem to be as good at veiling her emotions as most others. When she looked to the side again, the heroine was staring at her.

Seraphina looked at the other woman with the typical stoic expression that revealed that she simply didn't feel the need to show a more happy expression. “I assume that you noticed that I am wearing a part of your gift. At the ball, I did not have the chance to thank you properly, and while I did so through my letter, I would like to express my gratitude again. You truly chose a magnificent present. I was taken aback by that, so I must have been too astonished to put my thoughts into words.” By saying this, she emphasized that she hadn't expected the concubine to be able to be polite for even a single day. She really was in a bad mood, wasn't she?

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Blanche ignored that part and showed the other woman the brightest smile she could muster. “I'm overjoyed that Your Majesty deems my gift to be acceptable enough to wear it. It looks gorgeous on you, so I'm glad to have made the correct choice.” She didn't miss the way that Seraphina's eyes narrowed at her politeness.

The empress replied in a tone that was a bit colder than before. “Thank you, Lady Blanche. I have to say that your attire is also very pleasant to look at.”

The concubine was irritated at the sudden compliment and needed a few seconds before she understood the full extent of those words. The realization made her freeze, and it felt like ice was creeping through her veins. She was wearing the navy dress today, and of course, she had to run into the empress as soon as she had gathered the courage to put on such a risky gown.

Hopefully, the heroine wouldn't think that Blanche was doing this purposefully to imitate her, but she always seemed to feel attacked by the concubine, so it was no use hoping. The fact Seraphina even addressed it could only mean something unfavorable. In the worst case, this could underline the empress' view of Blanche as a power-hungry person that would pose a danger to her. If the heroine thought like that, the villainess' chances of survival would decrease exceedingly.

Blanche couldn't afford to let that happen now that she had already lost a quarter of her time until the novel's end. In a panic, she replied. “Thank you, Your Majesty. Now that you mention it, I fear that this dress might make it seem like I had intentions that I wasn't even considering before. I apologize if I accidentally offended you. If you give me permission to excuse myself for a moment, I will change into a different attire this instant.”

“There is no need for that.” Seraphina's expression didn't budge, but she still didn't seem calm due to the frosty look in her eyes. “You made it clear that you didn't have any veiled intentions by choosing this gown in particular. I am content with that. The power of the royal family is not so unstable to make me sensitive about such a matter. Though others will assume that you were aware of the scandal you might cause by wearing this in public, so I would recommend not appearing with a dress in this color at an event. For the sake of your reputation.”

Due to the sharp edge, these words sounded more like a threat than a well-meant piece of advice. The empress had pointed out her influence and stressed that she wouldn't back down easily as well. She had definitely seen this gown, which technically shouldn't be an issue at all, as a personal attack. Of course. She always felt like everything was somehow connected to her.

Quickly, Blanche responded while trying to keep her resignation and her slight annoyance from showing up on her face. “Thank you for your generosity, Your Majesty. I never intended to wear this attire anywhere outside the palace, and I will not change my stance in this regard.” She wanted to add another apology, but the glint of irritation in Seraphina's eyes made her close her mouth.

Again, the women were quiet, which left them in an unnerving silence once more.

Sophia kept alternating between looking at the two others, while apparently being unsure about how to ease the tension. After a few seconds, she finally spoke up. “It's been a while since we spoke about the incident on my fourteenth birthday. I told Lady Blanche just a few minutes ago, so it came to my mind again. Your Majesty still remembers that marquess too, correct?”

The empress gracefully drank from her teacup before setting it down carefully. “Of course. Due to my mistake, he was hurt, so I naturally feel ashamed while thinking about it to this day.” It seemed like she truly didn't wish to admit that she had purposefully strained that unpleasant man's ankle.

But her reply was enough for Sophia to strike up a conversation about past events at birthday parties. The countess gave her best to involve Blanche too, but the concubine tried to stay out of it to let the sisters talk. Even though the siblings were clearly not as relaxed as they would be when they were alone, it quickly became obvious how close the two were. Despite Blanche's presence, Seraphina couldn't keep herself from smiling when Sophia began rambling about her child and husband.

It would have been a lie to claim that seeing this didn't evoke conflicting feelings in the concubine.

While it was sweet to watch two sisters caring for each other this much, it also reminded Blanche that she would never have the chance to show the same feelings again. Her siblings had been executed for something that couldn't have been their fault before even reaching an age with two ciphers. Otherwise, Noel and Nelly would definitely be this intimate with their older sister as well.

After getting over her initial jealousy after a few weeks of her mother's pregnancy, Blanche had adored the twins before they had even been born. After the birth, that she had pampered them with every resource that she had found in their home. She had participated in their games and reenacted any role that they wanted her to play, whether that had been a bloodthirsty warlord or a meek princess waiting for her knight to save her.

Until the very end, Blanche had anticipated seeing them grow up and become wonderful people, only for her father's crimes to prevent all of that. He hadn't wanted to betray the nation nor wished to fuel a war, he had only broken the law to increase his wealth by trading weapons with harmless citizens in Northern Ocrea. He hadn't deserved to die for that, and even if the court had chosen to punish him with the death penalty, it was unfair to blame his wife and children too.

Blanche's memories of being imprisoned back then were very vague, but she remembered her parents pleading for the guards to release the children. Of course, they had been ignored. Only one of the guards had shown empathy and purposefully dropped a key. But after the initial joy of being able to flee, they had realized that this key only opened Blanche's chains. Despite her parents telling her to run away alone, she had refused countless times until she had finally given in while hoping that she would be able to get someone's help. She had rushed through the town while trying to speak to every person that looked like they could have the slightest bit of influence.

Accidentally, she had run into Marquess Sefare, who had taken pity in her and had taken her to his house. She had told him her story, and the next day, he had traveled to the prison, only to return with the news that the execution had already been conducted. Blanche remembered how she had fallen to her knees and broken down completely. Then Sefare had consoled her for hours and promised her that he would protect her in the future.

In hindsight, it seemed more than obvious that none of those events could have been a coincidence.

As a marquess, Sefare had probably been able to bribe someone to gain all the knowledge about the current investigations. He had just seen his opportunity to find a marionette he could use to harm the emperor. He had to have paid the guard to place the one key to allow the daughter whose age was closest to Theodore's to flee. Sefare had known that this young woman would be helpless without her parents and vulnerable to manipulation after losing her family. He had grasped the opportunity and pretended to be her savior.

And all of those years, Blanche had believed in his lie.

How foolish she had been to trust the man that would have probably been able to intervene and save her siblings, if not her whole family, but hadn't because he wanted to use her to gain power.

Blanche was surprised that she was able to keep her emotions under control despite that realization. She assumed that her wrath was just as great as her grief now so that her brain was too confused to let her show her emotions. Thus, she was in a daze and very much relieved when Sophia announced her departure.

Both Blanche and the empress accompanied the countess to the main entrance.

The sun was already setting and tinted the surroundings in an orange light, which seemed to please Sophia, whose mood still hadn't been ruined. “The royal garden truly looks even more beautiful like this. I have to take a walk during the sunset next. Though I shouldn't lose sight of my older objective. After all, I didn't get a chance to visit the kitchen today either. It appears that I must come to the palace in the near future to finally catch a glimpse of the famous chefs.”

Seraphina showed her sister a warm smile, which seemed very unusual to Blanche considering the cold glare she normally got. “Naturally. Let us make plans for that in the near future.” The empress hugged her sister for a long time before stepping away. “You are free to visit any time, Lady Ravillot. Have a safe carriage ride.”

Sophia nodded at her. “I will. Until the next time, Your Majesty. May you have a wonderful evening.” Then she turned to the concubine. “I hope that you have a pleasant evening too, Lady Blanche. Thank you for welcoming me here today.”

Blanche gave her a bright smile, which definitely would have been less strained if the heroine hadn't been there. “I was honored by your visit. As Her Majesty already said, please come home safely.”

Sophia assured them that she would be protected by a knight that was accompanying the carriage before climbing into the vehicle with the help of a servant. She waved while driving off, and the concubine mirrored this, which felt a bit odd since the empress didn't do anything. Maybe even such a small gesture was considered to be unladylike.

However, Blanche didn't care about that. She only wanted to say goodbye to Seraphina and leave immediately. Unfortunately, the heroine's intentions seemed to differ from hers.

Without looking at the concubine, Seraphina spoke up. “How often did you meet her in private?”

Blanche hesitated before turning to the other woman, only to find her still staring at the carriage in the distance. She wasn't able to complain about Seraphina's manners both due to their ranks and her own behavior in the past, but she still had to hold back a sigh. Who was the impolite one now? “This is the second time that Lady Ravillot visited the palace to have tea with me, Your Majesty.”

Still, the empress didn't face the other woman. She just began talking with great care to pronounce every word clearly. “Let me remind you of something. Not all people are as naive as you think them to be. Changing your behavior for a short while will not allow you to gain anything. Sophia is too gentle and forgiving for her own good, but she isn't stupid. You won't mobilize my sister against me, no matter how hard you try.”

Blanche felt a flicker of annoyance inside her. Why was the empress so sure that every of the concubine's actions was an attempt to harm her? Admittedly, Blanche had given her best to trouble Seraphina in the beginning, but she had been a completely different person for over three months. At some point, people had to notice that her intentions had changed, right? But seemingly, the empress wouldn't forget the past that easily. Great. This had been to be expected, but it was still upsetting.

Despite her frustration, Blanche replied as calmly as possible. “It was never my goal to mobilize anyone. I spoke to Lady Ravillot after the events at the tea party. I was very fond of her kind nature, and we had a pleasant conversation. We did not have much time then, so we decided to continue the discussion later over a cup of tea. Your Majesty can rest assured that I have no desire to intervene in your relationship to your sister.”

Finally, Seraphina turned to the other woman, and Blanche immediately regretted her wish for eye contact. The empress' expression was a display of pure wrath with traces of contempt. Her voice was filled with the same emotions as she responded. “Until now, I accepted that you kept on troubling me at every opportunity and allowed you to play your games, but this is where I draw the line. The empress' position isn't as empty as you think it to be. If you attack my family, I won't stand by and let you do as you please. Have you understood?”

All of Blanche's confidence seemed to vanish into thin air. Her plan to deny the other's accusations was quickly destroyed by the aura of rage that surrounded Seraphina. In all of this time, she had never seen the empress getting this upset. Now Seraphina was furious, even though nothing problematic had happened today. But Blanche couldn't voice her fear nor her complaint about how unfair this accusation was. Instead, she just replied with a shaky voice. “Yes. I never attempted that.”

“For your own sake, I hope that your words are true.” The empress spun around on her heel and rushed to the building, with her maids trailing behind her.

In an instant, the tension in the air disappeared, and Blanche felt drained. She almost fell onto her knees but could keep herself upright with all of her power. What had made Seraphina this aggravated? Was simply meeting with Sophia enough to make the empress plot a murder? In any case, it was important to stay safe. Blanche wouldn't approach Sophia anymore despite her disappointment about that. She couldn't risk antagonizing the empress because of a few meetings for fun.

“Are you alright?”

“My Lady?”

Two voices called out to Blanche at the same time. When she looked up, Stella and George, who had to have been the servant helping Sophia into the carriage, were standing in front of her.

The maid was quick to voice her frustration. “What's wrong with that woman? Just because she is the empress, that doesn't mean that she can threaten others just like that. Nothing happened except for her ruining your evening!”

George shushed his colleague looked around to confirm whether they were alone. “Keep your voice down. No one can hear you talking about Her Majesty like this. Though it's true that her behavior just now was odd. Why did she feel like her family was endangered?”

Blanche took a deep breath and forced her knees to stop shaking before answering. “I can't be certain, but I assume that she thought that I was trying to use her sister against her in some way. I just wanted to have a nice chat with a kind person, but seemingly, I will have to miss out on that in the future, or I will be executed.” Her words might seem like an exaggeration to the others, but they were the disturbing truth to her. If the heroine saw her as the villainess, that could be enough to make sure that the novel progressed like it originally did. As an antagonist, Blanche would meet a terrible fate then. Along with her suspicion that Theodore might have to work with Seraphina daily, that definitely lowered her chances of preventing her doom.

But the concubine couldn't cry in front of the servants because of that. She forced herself to straighten her posture and shook her head. “In any case, I should avoid the empress. She doesn't like me much, and due to our past, I understand that. Still, I would like to avoid being the target of her hatred because of that.” Stella opened her mouth with a frown, but Blanche interrupted her with a wave of her hand. “Let's talk about something else. I don't want to go to bed with such unpleasant thoughts.”

Otherwise, a nightmare wasn't out of the question, and she couldn't risk that. After all, the doctor's herbs hadn't arrived yet.

Stella looked like she wanted to refuse but didn't complain.

George was the one who spoke up. “Then I have something that might interest both of you. I found out why the steward gathered us in the kitchen yesterday.”

That did make Blanche curious. “What happened?” Hopefully, this would be interesting enough to distract her.

George's expression became serious as he continued. “Apparently, one of the servants disappeared for a couple of days. No one really wanted to give me a name, but I'm pretty sure that it was Harris. I didn't see him for a while and only did so today. After he entered the kitchen, everyone stared at him, and he was immediately sent to the steward. I don't know what happened, but it sounds like no one could find him after his fight with Clark, and he returned after taking a few days off. Maybe someone finally found out what a horrible person he truly is and will get him dismissed.”

Blanche didn't believe in that. After all, Harris was a phenomenal actor. She didn't doubt that he would be able to convince unknowing people of almost anything just by talking for a bit. He only seemed to lose control of his emotions while fighting with Clark, and even then he might have been acting to provoke his former friend. But she didn't speak up to crush George's hopes. She was too worried about why she felt like Harris wasn't even the greatest actor she would meet.

The rest of the evening was pretty relaxing.

George insisted on bringing the women back to their room and wished them a good night by the door.

Blanche and Stella returned the sentiment and got ready to sleep. Luckily, the concubine wasn't plagued by a nightmare that day, but the realizations of the afternoon still made her ponder as she was lying in her bed.

The heroine's hatred might ruin everything, and it was possible that Theodore and Seraphina were already closer because they were working together without Blanche's knowledge. Both of those facts had the capability of eliminating her chances of having a happy end completely. And on the same day, Blanche had understood that Sefare had sacrificed her entire family to make her his pawn.

It had been a while since a few realizations had made her feel this awful.