While the preparations for the hunting festival had already begun over a week ago, the servants still rushed through the corridors on the date of the competition to take care of the last issues that needed to be resolved. Theodore had to get ready for the hunt and supervised the last steps before the festivities could start. Thus, Blanche had been forced to awake alone for the first time since the assassination attempt, and she hated it. She had gotten used to waking up in her lover's arms so that she felt a bit lonely upon opening her eyes and finding that she was alone in her cold bed.
But she didn't have a chance to think about that too long since Stella was already forcing her to stand up. “My Lady, we have to hurry! The hunt will begin at noon, so we only have three hours to get ready and one hour to eat breakfast and go to the venue.”
To the concubine, that seemed like more than enough time, but she didn't have the energy nor the motivation to discuss that and just plopped down on her chair to eat. Though, when she took a seat on the stool by the dresser a bit later, she quickly realized that her maid had a different idea about her attire for the day. “Stella, you know that we will go into the forest, right? The event today is a hunt, and the women are only supposed to cheer on their male relatives during the competition. This is not a ball, during which everyone tries to be the most striking one. Everybody will have more simple dresses, so it would be best not to wrap me in silk and pearls.”
Actually, that was a lie. Despite the hunt mainly being an event for the men to enjoy, the noble ladies adored dressing up while also boasting about their wealth at any chance they got too. For that reason, they didn't wait for a ball to show up in the most lavish clothes with expensive accessories. They were a little more inconspicuous than usual since no one would take a walk in the forest in a ballgown, but all in all, their clothes were still pretty luxurious. The empress was one of the few people that actually paid attention not to appear in an unnecessarily lavish attire, much like her mother and sister.
In contrast, the concubine had done the opposite in the past. During the last hunt, Blanche had naturally worn the most fancy dress that she had been able to find. This time, she had intended to do the opposite to prove that her behavior had changed.
However, it seemed like Stella wouldn't play along with that. The maid was a bit too excited about this. “We might be in a forest for the day, but only the men are running through the woods to hunt. The women will stay by the tents and sit down at a table to have a nice cup of tea together. So, it's more of a tea party for you. And since My Lady is so pretty, it would be a shame not to emphasize that.” Stella didn't seem to care for her mistress' objections and dismissed any reason that was connected to being inconspicuous by saying the same thing. “No matter what you wear, people will always look at you. After all, you're the most famous woman in the nation and beautiful at the same time. Besides, being too modest would just make people wonder what happened to you.”
Blanche was a bit embarrassed by the compliments. She couldn't help but feel happy about being praised, but she refused to reveal that since this might only encourage her maid. She still had to argue with the servant after all.
In the end, they decided to compromise. The concubine chose a dark purple dress with long sleeves and no decorations except for a few ruffles, which was one of the most simple gowns she owned. Thus, her attire was elegant without needing many ornaments. In return, Stella had free rein over her hairstyle and the accessories she would put on. The maid chose to curl her mistress' hair in many small strands before asking her to put on the butterfly ornament.
At first, images of her nightmares and the broken clasp filled her mind so that Blanche was reluctant to take it out of the hiding place. But after Stella searched for the butterfly for a while and still didn't find it, the concubine gave in and opened the drawer with the shawls.
When Blanche looked in the mirror after getting ready, she held back a sigh upon seeing that she might look a little less flashy than usual but not as inconspicuous as she would have liked. Though, it was too late to change that now.
Styling her hair had used up so much time that they immediately left after they were finished and walked through the royal garden to reach the gate that led to the forest. The path they used was full of servants, which were bringing something to the venue or back to the palace. So, the women had to step aside to let someone with a cart pass by on multiple occasions, for which the maids always apologized a dozen times.
In the end, they still arrived at the perfect moment.
They weren't too late so that no one would stare at them, and they weren't too early so that Blanche wouldn't have to deal with the noble ladies' gossip for longer than necessary. She stopped before they reached the venue to get an overview of the layout in hopes of being able to use that to avoid the people she disliked.
The glade was decorated similarly to last year. Only the color scheme was different so that the many garlands were green and gold this time. There were a few tents for the different families, and each of the households had a separate table, but most of the seats were empty since the women were sitting at the grand table in the middle of the glade. They were already chatting happily. The concubine didn't even have to hear more than a few words while circling the venue to know that the most interesting topic was the attack on the royal couple and that it was odd for the festival to be held despite that.
Blanche couldn't say that she hadn't wondered about that too, but she didn't feel as scared as some of the women pretended to be. After all, the forest was filled to the brim with knights, and it seemed like there were more of them than of the guests.
The concubine saw a few familiar faces by the table, but the only person she truly liked wasn't to be seen, so she had no desire to sit down. In fact, she would try to refrain from doing that as long as possible. The guests were free to roam around as they sat it fit during all parts of the event, except for during the victory ceremony. So, Blanche intended to use taking a long walk as an excuse to avoid almost everyone here. Naturally, she would have to spot the annoying people first and then take a detour whenever they were too close to her. She would favor it if those individuals wouldn't see her in return, but it seemed like most people were trying to eye her inconspicuously, which quickly began to tire her.
“Did I do anything wrong, Stella? I don't understand why everyone looks that confused. Did I not take walks in the past? Or is my attire too fancy? I don't think so.” Blanche looked around and kept herself from frowning every time that she met someone's gaze and the other person averted their eyes.
Stella gave her an apologetic smile. “Well, you were already at His Majesty's side at this point last year and attempted to sit at Her Majesty's table. I assume that they expect you to do the same again.”
That made the concubine sigh. “It's been how long since I began trying to change? It's been over four months. Did none of them notice anything yet? They surely are dense. It is an advantage if they see that I'm behaving well, but I'm still not comfortable being watched the whole time. Do you think we could go further into the forest during the hunt so that I don't have to deal with them?”
Stella was appalled by that idea. “My Lady, the forest is full of dangerous animals! There is a reason that the participants of the competition aren't allowed to go without at least two servants.”
“I know, I know. That was a joke.” While there had never been an incident yet and the bigger animals were much farther away from the glade, Theodore had reminded his lover not to enter the forest on her own multiple times. Blanche still found it dejecting. “It's a shame though. I don't want to sit down at the table, but if I keep walking past them while actively trying to avoid them, they might feel offended. I can't do that either.”
They passed two noble ladies who were whispering about Blanche talking to her maid, which made her roll her eyes. After that, the women stopped gossiping and stared at her as if she was going to hurt them, which made her realize that they had seen that. The concubine hurried to get away from them.
On her way through the venue, she eventually passed the tent of the Estien family, which had been visible from afar already. A tall flag with the royal crest on top of the navy tent marked it so that anyone would know whom it belonged to. In hopes of catching a glimpse of her lover, Blanche walked a bit closer, but he wasn't anywhere to be seen. Instead of him, the empress sat at a small table by the tents' entrance and drank tea with Elaine, Sophia and Evelyn.
The concubine quickly spun around before she could accidentally make eye contact with them. It was good that Seraphina and Evelyn were together so that she could avoid them at the same time. One glance at the public table showed that Fiona and Lucille seemed to spend their time with each other as well. That made it easier to take a bow around them too. Now Blanche would only have to find the Vasquez family's tent and hope that Sefare clung to them so that she could avoid that group as well. Since they would take part in the hunt, that shouldn't be a problem for long.
Henry Duremont was a completely different subject. He would attempt to speak to the concubine in private today and warn her not to trouble his daughter. He certainly wouldn't hurt her, but Blanche still wasn't keen on being yelled at. Especially since she knew that she would cry again, which the duke would definitely assume to be an act so that he would get even madder.
Blanche and her maid slowly squeezed through a gap between two tents before approaching the empty square, where the men would gather before the hunt. They stopped at a spot with a little distance to them. Blanche chose a secluded location in hopes that no one would see her spying on others. She hid behind one of the tents and leaned out from behind to scan all the people she could recognize.
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It didn't take long before she found Claude and Luciano. Their black hair was very striking in the midst of all the elderly people with gray hair, so it was easy to keep her eyes on them. If they were chatting over there, Sefare probably wasn't far away too. Her assumption was proven to be true seconds later. The marquess stood directly next to the duke and his son. So, all of them would probably take part, and she would be fine if she simply stayed away from that square for now. That was everything she needed to know.
Just when she was about to turn around and walk away, one of the people she was watching looked straight in her direction. Luciano gave her one of his smug but somehow intimidating smiles, and she panicked. Now that he had seen her, the men might come over and insist on talking about her conversation with Sefare, which wasn't what she needed right now. She had to leave and hide somewhere before he could tell his father anything.
Out of an impulse, Blanche took a step back and turned around, only to run into another person. Luckily, she hadn't picked up any speed at that point, but it still hurt, especially since the other party didn't budge while she almost fell to the ground. She barely managed to stabilize herself in time. When she was sure that she wouldn't fall over anymore, she opened her eyes, which she had previously squeezed shut. Somehow, Blanche wasn't surprised to see Seraphina's brother in front of her, and at the same time, she was startled because of that. “Lord Duremont?” Damn it. She had spoken up first.
Blanche help back a sigh and hurried to correct herself so that he wouldn't feel offended. “I did not mean to address you first nor did I wish to run into you. I sincerely apologize. I was a bit surprised, so my mouth acted before my mind did. Please do not be angry as it wasn't my intention to insult you.” Starting a fight with the heroine's brother was the last thing she wanted to do today, especially since he shouldn't have troubled her today at all.
Luckily, Allen didn't seem to be upset but only a bit taken aback, which was somehow alarming when it was him, who hated the concubine. He stood still for a moment before he took a step back. “No, it's fine. That was a quite...abrupt meeting, so to say. Much like last time.” He paused for a moment before resuming. “If it goes on like this, me scaring you might become a tradition. It's been like this three times already.” As he said that, the hint of a smile graced his lips almost as if he was relieved, which made Blanche freeze.
It was true that Allen had surprised her thrice after her awakening with the novel's memories. He had suddenly addressed her while she was searching for the hole in the wall and ran into her with full force by the labyrinth before seeing her now. But had he seriously just made a joke about that? While being in her presence?
Allen hated the concubine since she had always troubled his beloved sister, and he wasn't pleased by her general arrogance as well. And he never smiled unless he was in the presence of the family he adored so much. Hadn't the book mentioned that even his fiancée had only ever seen his annoyed, cold or emotionless expression too? If the mysterious author had taken their time to emphasize that, why was Allen smiling in such a situation when he was meeting the mistress of his sister's husband? Seemingly, he was in a very good mood, or he would have glared at her already.
Blanche was dumbfounded at that and got almost scared as she already expected the worst, like one of the empress' tests to check on the concubine's reactions. But still, she tried her best to keep her expression neutral. She brushed a bit of imaginary dirt off her dress, more to distract herself than to clean her skirt before replying. “It seems that I have a tendency to run into people and get scared easily. That was my fault for being careless, I apologize.” She carefully adjusted the clasp in her hair to make sure that it wouldn't eventually fall to the ground and break.
“It wasn't your intention, so that's not a-” Allen stopped in the middle of the sentence. At first, she thought that he had tensed like this because he had realized whom he was talking to, but his eyes locked onto her hair. “Why is that...” A deep frown was etched into his features as it became visible how the gears in his head were turning. It took a few seconds before Allen lifted his hand to his temples and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, he still seemed to be irritated but a little more composed. “Lady Blanche, would you mind if I asked you a question?”
Since Blanche didn't know what he would ask, she was uncertain whether she did, but she had to be polite. “Uhm… No? Go ahead.”
Allen continued to stare at the spot where she had just straightened her hair. He appeared to be reluctant to speak up but forced himself to open his mouth after a short moment of silence. “That ornament. Where did you get it, and how long have you owned it already?”
Blanche bit her tongue at that. Why did Allen want to know that? That didn't concern him at all and wouldn't give him or his sister an advantage. Besides, he didn't really want the honest response, so answering truthfully would create an unpleasant situation. After all, Allen wouldn't like to hear that this had been a gift for Blanche's first anniversary with his sister's husband.
Theodore had given it to his lover on his birthday, which had been exactly a year after they met. The couple had been interested in one another after a glance and already clung to each other a few days after Blanche had appeared in the palace, so they had simply called that first day their anniversary since the exact date of the beginning of their formal relationship wasn't too clear to them anymore. But upon staying quiet about the romantic part, it wasn't a lie to say that the present had been for the day that they met. If Blanche used this wording, Allen couldn't be offended.
“This was a gift by Theodore on the anniversary of the day that I came to the palace and we became acquainted with each other. So, I have owned it since his birthday last year. Is there something wrong with it?” When Blanche said that, she actually got scared and was about to take the clasp out to look at it.
Just before she could do that, Allen shook his head. “No, it's beautiful. There is only...” He stared at the ornament while pressing his lips into a thin line. For a couple of seconds, he was quiet before he continued. “Do you know whether this is a special model that was only made for you? Or do others of that kind exist?”
Blanche was speechless at that. Why was that so important to him? Hopefully, he didn't want to buy something like this for his sister. She didn't actually know whether Theodore had commissioned a jeweler to make this for her specifically or whether he had just coincidentally found it and thought of her. Though she doubted that it was the second option. Her lover would only buy ready-made items when she saw an accessory of another person and gushed about that or in the rare cases that she went out to a store. The concubine was almost certain that the emperor barely bought things that he hadn't commissioned otherwise. “I am unsure about that, Lord Duremont. I believe that this was made for me and only exists once, but I have no real proof of that.”
“I see. Then I assume that this is really important to you.” Allen said that while looking into her eyes, but she wasn't certain whether he even paid attention to her. His voice hadn't revealed any vile undertone, and still, she felt uncomfortable with that statement.
One image of the broken butterfly from her nightmare was enough to make Blanche want to take a step back and cover her clasp to protect it from anyone that might wish to destroy it. “It's important to me. Very important.”
Allen appeared to be mentally absent, but he snapped out of it when she spoke. He shook his head slightly as if he wanted to push away bad thoughts, which might be connected to him realizing that this had been a gift by his sister's husband, before responding. “And it's never-”
Someone cleared their throat and cut him off with that. They both turned their head to see Briana, Allen's fiancée, who was standing next to them with crossed arms.
Blanche's first reaction was to sigh inwardly.
That young woman had always disliked her, and after their last meeting, Briana would still be angry because of the dress, which had been dirtied at the tea party. Judging by how bratty Briana had acted in the past, one could expect the worst, and the other's narrowed eyes seemed to support that at first. However, a closer look at the younger woman proved that she was actually rather uncomfortable while standing there.
Briana unfolded her arms to dig her fingers into her skirt. She was pressing her lips together and, all in all, just seemed like she wanted to disappear into thin air. Still, she spoke in a not so polite tone. “Lady Blanche. There is something we need to talk about.”
Before the concubine could even respond, Allen spoke up. “Briana, you know that you have to greet the other person properly before addressing something like that.” He sounded like a teacher that scolding his student for not learning.
That behavior was similar to how they had acted in the past already. Whenever his fiancée was forgetting to follow the rules or conventions, Allen would remind her of that in a strict tone, which she would reluctantly accept. In the novel, this seemed to have been the author's main argument to make Briana a good person while Blanche was a villainess, even though they proved to have pretty similar traits. After all, these interactions made it seem like the marquess' daughter at least listened to her fiancé while the concubine constantly troubled the emperor.
Right now, Briana didn't seem to be too thrilled about being corrected though. Her bottom lip trembled, and she averted her eyes. “Good day, Lady Blanche.” She had pressed that out with a shaking voice, which made it sound like she was about to cry.
That immediately reminded Blanche of her little sister. Nelly had always looked like this when she wasn't allowed to have yet another slice of cake in the evening, which had led to Blanche secretly bringing her a piece later more often than not. Even now that sight made her want to step in, but Allen didn't appear to notice that.
Either that, or he didn't care. Instead, Allen let out a low sigh and frowned at his fiancée. “It is disrespectful to not make eye contact with the other person while speaking.” His voice didn't have a hint of sympathy, and his face didn't show any either. If one didn't know any better, one would almost think that he didn't like his fiancée. When Briana lifted her head and pouted at him with watery eyes, he just crossed his arms. “You know I'm right, so don't make that expression. Other people are here too.”
Briana's face only scrunched up more at that. “You're unfair. You're the one ignoring the rules.” She accusingly pointed at him before holding her index finger toward the concubine. “You can't just meet an unmarried woman without anyone accompanying you. Especially because you have a fiancée, who was waiting for you. You didn't greet me when I came here either. And, and...” She paused to calm her unsteady voice before resuming in a manner that showed that she was struggling to keep quiet. “She ran into you and addressed you first! And I'm the disrespectful one? Do you know what people will say about this if they see us like this?”
Blanche's heart ached a little at the sight of such a helpless girl. How old was Briana? Was she even an adult yet? Maybe just barely. Yet, Briana seemed so much younger than that right now, which arose the desire to do something in Blanche. She certainly shouldn't stand here and watch a couple quarrel, but she also couldn't run away. So, she couldn't help but want to get involved in some way too. She pitied Briana already.
Still, Allen's expression didn't soften when he saw his fiancée's face. On the contrary, his frown only seemed to deepen. “Stop pointing at others, that's impolite.” Briana immediately did as he asked, after which he continued. “So, what you are saying is that you watched us and listened to our conversation without showing yourself from the very beginning.”
Briana's eyes widened at that. “No, I... That wasn't... I only wanted to make sure that...” She didn't even finish before lowering her head so that her bangs covered her eyes.
Allen opened his mouth with the same annoyed expression, which made it seem like he would continue without paying attention to Briana, who looked like she was about to cry.
Blanche felt a pang of both anger and pity in her heart. Why was that man so mean to his fiancée, whom he was supposed to care for and protect? That girl had just lost her mother and had no one to cling to, and when she approached the person she adored, she was treated like this. Even though Briana had been rather disrespectful at the tea party too, the concubine couldn't bring herself to hold it against that scared little girl, which Blanche fully blamed on her memories of Nelly's behavior. She spoke up before Allen could. “Good day, Lady Bellfaux. The weather is wonderful today, isn't it? It's the perfect temperature to spend time outside. The hunt should be rather successful this year. By the way, you wished to tell me something?”
Both Briana and Allen stared at her with widened eyes for that. The girl gazed at her fiancé as if she wanted his confirmation that she could raise her voice, and he nodded, which made Blanche clench her jaw. How dependent on the man that treated her so coldly could Briana be?
Surely, the concubine couldn't do much without Theodore and would even cling to him when he despised her as the novel had proven, but at least she could speak on her own. Unless she was intimidated because of her conversation partner. Still, she wasn't angry at Briana but at Allen for being so unemphatic. How could she be angry at the person that reminded her both of herself and her little sister? Blanche gave her best not to show her annoyance on her face as she patiently waited for the girl to speak.