“Did someone offend you?” Theodore's question didn't quite allow an easy response.

While it was true that Lucille had insulted the others, she had seemed so dejected just now. She was very young and the only daughter of the Valerian household too. If the emperor got involved because of her insolent words, that girl might end up not being able to marry and thus not having a legitimate heir to the family. Was it really necessary to risk ruining the whole household just because a person that could almost be called a child was careless once? Surely, Lucille would have to learn to behave, but being rebuked by Allen would give her enough motivation to do so.

So, Blanche wouldn't be too harsh with her words. She also wouldn't lie though. “The younger Lady Bellfaux apologized to me for overreacting at the tea party because of her late mother's dress. That reminded her of her loss, and she began crying. Lord Duremont consoled her, and at that moment, Lady Valerian came. She must have misunderstood and carelessly voiced some things that are probably connected to many rumors that are circulating about me. Thus, she accidentally insulted everyone present as well as the empress and indirectly you too. As you can imagine, Lord Duremont was upset because of that, and since he is rather scary, Lady Valerian was quickly intimidated. After Lady Lamont calmed it down, we agreed to forget about this. As you can see, it was a typical day in the society of nobles, which is the main reason why I hate events like this.”

Theodore was quiet for a moment before replying. “I see. Are you alright with that? Forgiving such an obvious insult too easily might result in people believing that they can be impudent as long as they apologize later.”

Blanche shrugged. “She is just a little girl. Ruining her chances for marriage because of this is unnecessarily harsh. At first, I was angry too, but in the end, she said nothing that I didn't hear being whispered behind my back already. I feel bad for Lady Bellfaux though, the younger one. I think she took those words to heart and looked devastated. Luckily, her fiancé doesn't have a reason to break off their engagement. Lord Duremonts keeps scolding her when she ignores the proper etiquette, but he was the first one to hug her when she cried.”

“That doesn't make him a good fiancé though. In fact, I would say that he only proved that he is nothing but a coward again.” The emperor's voice didn't give off even a hint of amusement. He was completely serious, which irritated Blanche a bit.

“What do you mean? He seems pretty scary to me, much like his father.”

Theodore frowned at that. “I told you that you didn't have to fear anyone, right? Especially not him. Lord Duremont might have an intimidating glare, but as soon as someone argues against him, he gives up to avoid conflict. If someone offended his fiancée and even hinted that he might break up with her, he should insist on punishing such behavior. Of course, only if he truly cares for her. He loved stirring up unnecessary trouble when his sister was involved, so I wonder why he was so meek today.”

It was true that Allen would definitely not have let this go if Blanche had been the one to offend Seraphina. Though, that was a little different since the concubine had often provoked arguments in the past while Lucille had messed up for the first time.

Before she could voice that, her lover already continued. “I will remember this incident so that we can talk about it later in private. But enough about that for now. You look gorgeous.”

Blanche's cheeks began to heat up at his soft smile, and she quickly covered her face with her hands. “Don't say things like that when people could hear us.” Luckily, it seemed like no one could eavesdrop since they stood in an area that was a bit more remote, but she wouldn't risk anything.

Theodore didn't seem to think about all of that in the slightest though. He didn't even look around before replying while continuing to beam. “But it's true. I mean, it's always true, but when I see our butterfly ornament, I can't help but be ecstatic. Be careful that it doesn't fall out of your hair.” In fact, that was one of her greatest worries today along with meeting Henry and the people plotting against the emperor.

Blanche had to hold herself back from adjusting the ornament again as she replied. “I made sure that it's fastened tightly about four-hundred times in the last hour. Due to my request, Stella also pays attention to that.”

“That's good. But wouldn't it be better not to move around too much then? You were running around in circles the whole time. Don't you want to sit down at the table?”

Blanche's face scrunched up before she could control herself. She quickly gave her best to neutralize her expression, but Theodore was already raising his eyebrows at her and crossing his arms. She hurried to respond in a way that would hopefully cover her dismay at that thought. “Well, as you know...most of the people there are rather unpleasant, so I wanted to avoid sitting for as long as possible. It's not like any of them will miss me anyway.” She already knew how her lover would react before he spoke up.

“Oh, I know that you aren't fond of them. That's why I offered you your own table, and you still declined. It would have been better like that, wouldn't it?” Theodore gave her a patronizing smile.

That made Blanche roll her eyes. “I gave you my reasons, didn't I? Every noble family, which I don't have, by the way, has a little table. But the only people really using theirs for the whole time are the empress and the individuals she invites to sit with her. Everyone else takes a seat at the big table during the hunt and only returns to their tent when the victor has been announced. Taking a stroll around the venue out of curiosity is the only reason I can bring forward to protect myself from that fate. Unless someone asks me to sit with them. Then I am ruined, but I don't think anyone here has the desire to spend time with me.”

“I do.” Theodore grinned at her, which made her heart skip a beat.

She almost wanted to tell him that she loved him but looked around as she remembered where they were. This was a public event, so the emperor chatting with a baroness and no one else had already attracted unwanted attention. No one dared to stare at them, but one or two people glanced at them once in a while, which made Blanche sigh inwardly. She couldn't even talk to her lover without revealing that they were in a relationship. Officially, they were close friends, which should be enough to justify having a conversation, but she knew that this would only fuel the rumors that she needed to prevent. So, as much as she disliked it, she couldn't speak to Theodore for too long.

Blanche replied in a low volume so that no nosy aristocrat could listen to them without stepping closer. “I want to spend time with you too, but if you take a look around, you would see that we are already being watched by some guests here. I fear that we can't talk right now. The hunt will begin soon too, so you should prepare.” She had hoped to be met with at least a little seriousness, but her lover didn't seem to have that intention.

Theodore lifted his hand to his chest and pressed it against the spot where his heart was before speaking up in a dramatic voice. “Are you really this cruel to send me away after I told you that I wanted to stay with you? That's mean.”

Blanche scanned the people around them and purposefully met some of the spectators' gazes so that they would look away. Then she turned back to the emperor, who was still grinning at her, and carefully stroked over her hair to make sure that it still stayed in the position that it should have. “Normally, I appreciate your jokes, but you should know why I'm worried. Talking to me instead of the other guests for too long will seem odd. After the event is over, you can immediately come to me, but right now, too many eyes are directed to us. You don't want to dismiss all of our efforts to keep this secret just for a chat that we could have later too, right? At this point, I'm sure that Duke Duremont is glaring at us already.”

Theodore turned his head slightly to the side before his smile widened. “He is.”

Blanche cursed inwardly. Now Henry would only be even angrier, and if she wasn't able to avoid him, he would be scarier during the confrontation later. She didn't dare to turn around to confirm how upset he was and just stiffly kept her eyes on her lover.

Though, Theodore didn't seem to be half as nervous as she was nor did he notice her concern. He faced her again before giving her a bright smile. “Should I wave towards him?”

The blood in her veins almost froze upon imagining that. “Are you insane? He would behead both you and me for that! Are you sure that the wound in your shoulder isn't clouding your judgment?” She was a bit louder than she had intended to and quickly shut her mouth and looked around in a panic. Luckily, no one seemed to have heard her. Otherwise, they would be outraged about how she spoke to the emperor.

Theodore laughed quietly but at least had the decency to hide his mouth behind his hand. “That was a joke, don't be so angry.” He stopped chuckling and gave her a soft smile that made his whole face light up. How could anyone be aggravated when he had this look in his eyes? He paused for a short moment, in which he just scanned her, before resuming. “You don't have to worry. I need to leave for the hunt soon. There are just two things that I have to discuss with you before I go.”

Blanche nervously let her eyes roam across the guests again. By now, it seemed like some of them had lost interest in just watching two people talk, so it should be fine. “Go ahead. It just shouldn't take too long.”

Theodore's expression slowly became more serious as he began. “This is still connected to the incident with Lady Valerian. I just wanted to remind you that you deserve to be respected and have the right to rebuke anyone who doesn't seem to care for that. If people are unfriendly, you are free to reply in the same manner. You don't have to accept someone insulting you because you pity them. No matter what, I will always support you, so you don't have to keep quiet during fights either.”

Blanche blinked at him a few times. She was both touched by that statement and a bit taken aback. Had her lover really been so blind not to see that she had stirred up countless arguments in the past? Why did he still believe in her? The last four months of behaving like a well-mannered person had apparently made him forget anything from before. Or had he truly not understood how bratty his mistress had acted and thought of her as a saint as the empress had described it?

Even then, giving her so much leeway was risky. Since Blanche was his guest in the palace, her misdoings would also cast a bad light on him. She was pretty sure that Theodore had been a little more careful with his comments in the past too, since he was aware of how many problems she could cause. But now he had basically given her permission to ignore all social conventions and promised to protect her afterward. That wasn't only reckless, it bordered on insanity. After all, his support by the Duremont household was already hanging by a thread because of his affair.

Thus, while his words warmed her heart, they also made Blanche worry. “Theo, do you feel strange? Are you dizzy or something like that? Or is your wound hurting?”

He shook his head with a bright grin. “No. I'm feeling great, and I meant every single thing I said.”

She frowned at him before responding. “Sometimes, I think that you hit your head on the day of the attack and that your mind is a bit hazy now.”

That made Theodore laugh again. “It's something similar to that. I already told you that that incident woke me up, so my mind is more clear than ever before.”

Blanche crossed her arms at that. “If you say so. Still, I'm not sure whether you are capable of hunting in your current state. Are you sure that you want to take part?” She had been quite worried about him when he had told her about his decision to participate and still had her doubts.

Theodore hadn't complained about his injury once nor flinched when the doctor had touched the wound to pull out the threat. So, it was likely that he didn't feel any pain. However, that didn't get rid of the cut. It was still there, and reopening or infecting it could be worse than the initial injury. Though, her lover didn't seem to care about that. He was way too confident that everything would be fine and kept repeating that every time the topic came up.

Even now Theodore was giving her a smile, which was supposed to be calming, and responded without a sign of hesitation. “It will be fine, I can guarantee you that. Actually, the competition is the second thing I wanted to talk about.” He made a small pause, in which his grin became more playful. “What score do you think I will get?”

Answering this kind of question wasn't really fair. Blanche knew the answer because of the novel after all. The hunting competition went on for two hours, and each participant got points based on the animals they caught. Smaller and slower ones were worth one point. The bigger, faster or more aggressive an animal was, the higher their value was, with the highest one being three points. Since the forest wasn't too rich of possible prey, the scores were typically rather low in general. Last year, Theodore had won with a score of seven, which was about the same he got every year.

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The emperor wasn't an exceptional hunter and usually didn't have much motivation to exhaust himself for such a useless victory, so he was always waiting for someone to be better than he was. There were more than enough great archers among the guests after all, and they could surely win with ten points if they gave their best. However, none of them wished to offend the emperor despite his countless reminders that he wanted a fair competition and didn't dare to get more than six points.

Thus, Theodore wouldn't have to overdo it this year either. It would be fine if he just got the score of the novel, which had been eight points. He would win with that despite him struggling against the pain for the entire hunt. Blanche didn't really want him to force himself, but now that he had decided to participate, he wouldn't back out anymore. Even though he would get Seraphina to praise him for that, the concubine couldn't interfere.

The thought of that was enough to make Blanche's heart sting, and she hurried to respond to distract herself. “You normally get seven points, right? But you're hurt this year.” She hesitated for a moment and hid her mouth behind her hand while pretending to ponder about this. “Then I would say that you will win with...eight points. But you shouldn't risk reopening your wound just to get that. If you feel any pain, you have to stop.”

Theodore continued smiling despite her repeatedly reminding him of the injury. “That's such an ambitious goal for a person with a barely functioning shoulder. I have to rely on just one of my arms, you know.”

She rolled her eyes at that and couldn't help but smile at his joyful attitude. “Stop complaining. You were the one insisting on competing. Now you have to deal with me assuming that you're able to use a bow. But like I said, if it hurts-”

Her lover cut her off with a dismissive motion of his hand. “It won't, I promise.” His smile turned into a self-assured one. “Aside from that, I can also promise you that I will get at least eight points. But you should expect me to get more than that.”

Blanche crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes slightly. “No, you shouldn't overdo it. You know that. If it gets worse and you miss out on work again, Leon will kill you.”

The secretary had been one of the people, along with the doctor, who had been against the emperor participating and was the most vocal one about his opinion. Leonard had made it very clear that he wouldn't be pleased about being forced to secretly reign the country by himself for the second time this year.

Theodore hadn't seemed very impressed by that back then and just shrugged. Now he also wasn't as affected by the other man's threat as he should have been. He just let out a low chuckle. “You have a point. Leon is scary when he is angry, but I'm still the emperor. What is he going to do? Refuse to take care of everything so that the economy and citizens might suffer? He is too kindhearted to do that. So, I wouldn't worry. I won't get sick either way. But of course, this event is going to drain my energy quite a bit.” He pressed his hand against his chest again and closed his eyes while continuing in an exaggerated dramatic tone. “You see, an injured man like me will probably have to struggle just to walk by the end of the hunt. I don't want to risk giving up in the middle and making my servants carry me back to the tents. For that reason, I will need something that motivates me enough to come back. Like a charm.”

Blanche was taken aback by that phrase. They normally used the word ‘charm’ to describe a kiss to wish the other person good luck. However, it was obvious that she couldn't show such an intimate gesture right now. Not when everyone could see them. “Do you mean when you win? I'll gladly give you as many charms as you want when we are home.”

“Actually, I meant-” Theodore interrupted himself when his eyes locked into something in the distance. His face fell before he returned to a neutral expression. “It seems that we don't have as much time as I would have liked.”

The concubine slowly turned around while trying to seem as inconspicuous as possible. She immediately saw whom her lover was referring to.

How could one not spot the empress with the most graceful but also intimidating atmosphere around her at one glance? Seraphina had left her table and was currently striding toward the couple. She appeared to have decided that the couple had chatted in public for long enough and would ask them to separate. In the process, she would probably also hand over her handkerchief to Theodore while Blanche was watching, just to remind the other woman of whom the lawful wife was.

The concubine felt her stomach churn at that thought, and flashes of the memories from the novel appeared in her mind. She balled her hands into fists and gave her best to maintain a neutral expression. Since the main characters weren't as close as they should be at this point, the empress might not praise her husband, and he might not blush at that, right? Even if Blanche couldn't be sure of that, there was no way to prevent the emperor from accepting the empress' handkerchief without causing a huge fight and attracting the spectator's ridicule. All Blanche could do was search for Theodore later to give him her handkerchief as a present for his victory and praise him herself in hopes that he wouldn't talk with Seraphina for too long.

By now, Blanche's fingernails were digging into her palm, and she forced her hands to relax to not leave any marks on her skin. She was about to turn to her lover to ask him to meet her after the hunt when the heroine stopped.

The people that approached the empress and began a conversation with her were easy to recognize too. These were Allen and the Bellfaux sisters. Seraphina definitely wouldn't leave her brother, his fiancée and one of her best friends after a few words, so this gave the concubine some time to talk to Theodore before they were forced to part ways.

Blanche whipped her head around to her lover to find him staring at her, but she didn't let the surprise about that silence her for long. “I have a gift for you. You remember me telling you that, right? Would you come to me after the competition, or rather after the event is over, so that we can take our time?”

A smile spread on Theodore's lips. “Of course I remember that. I was looking forward to it ever since those words left your mouth. And naturally, I'll gladly spend time with you in the afternoon. We need to celebrate my victory together after all. However, as I just mentioned, I can barely wait for your gift. Can't you give it to me now? Please?” His expression and his pleading tone made it almost impossible to refuse.

Under different circumstances, Blanche would have definitely given in after teasing him for a moment, but there was no way that she could do that now. Her present wasn't just a random item but a handkerchief, which played a specific role in the hunting festival. “That... I can't do that, Theo. I'm sorry, but it's something that I cannot hand over to you during this event. I'll show it to you as soon as we are back in the palace.”

For some reason, Theodore didn't seem to be too surprised about that. He pretended to sulk for a moment, which made her add another “I'm sorry”. Then he spoke up with a smile. “How unfortunate. In that case, you have to promise me to agree to something else.”

Blanche hurriedly nodded. “Of course. What is it?” Her lover wouldn't ask her to do anything reckless anyway, so she didn't need to hear it before replying.

Theodore's grin widened at her response before he answered the question. “I would like you to give me your handkerchief.”

Momentarily, the world seemed to stop around Blanche as thousands of thoughts rushed through her mind. She only voiced one of them though. “I'm sorry, I think I didn't understand you correctly. What did you say?”

“I'm asking you to offer your handkerchief to me.” Theodore continued to smile at her, as if he had just voiced an innocent request and not something that could potentially ruin his relationship with all of his political supporters.

Giving a handkerchief to a participant of the hunt was a way to signal that you wished for that person to win. For younger girls and unmarried women, this was a male member of their family, like their father or one of their brothers. Married or engaged ladies could do that too but usually gave that little gift to their husbands and fiancés. Thus, handing over a handkerchief to a man was a sign of either kinship or a romantic relationship. Obviously, Blanche wasn't related to the royal family or the Duremonts. She wasn't young enough not to understand the conventions behind this tradition and just give a handkerchief to a man she liked either. So, it was clear that her reason for handing over this present was of romantic nature. Did her lover not realize that this would signal that they were a couple, especially if he accepted her gift? This hadn't happened in the novel either, so she had no idea how awful this scene could get if she messed up.

Slowly, Blanche felt how the blood began to flow to her cheeks. “Theo, this isn't funny. What are you saying? You know what that means.” She bit her lip to not carelessly add anything else and hurriedly looked around to make sure that no one stood close enough to hear them.

Despite her obvious discomfort, Theodore didn't seem to comprehend anything. “It means that you are hoping for my victory. That's not wrong, is it?”

Blanche was about to lose her composure at that. She gave her best to stay quiet as she hissed at him. “Please tell me that you are joking. You know that it means something else too. We're not blood-related, so this is the easiest way to throw all of our efforts to keep us a secret away. This is an obvious mistake that we can't afford to make unless you want the empress and her family to snap and turn on you. Who will secure your reign and back your decisions with their influence then? You should be more careful than me because of those risks! I used to ignore every single rule and convention of our society while you had to clean up my mess afterward. Why have we switched roles now? You keep saying things that seem like you didn't think about it for one second. The attack didn't damage your head, did it?”

Even after her aggravated speech, Theodore was still calm. At least he had stopped smiling, but his serious expression only made her question his sanity more. “I know what you mean. But how could I offend someone just by not hiding my relationship with the woman I love? I'm not insulting anyone nor do I run around while showering you with kisses. I'm not even touching you, even though I want to hug you so badly. We're not formally announcing anything either, and even if we did, no one would have the right to complain.” That statement was so wrong that it physically hurt.

“Of course, it's insulting to the empress if you have an affair, especially one with a person without a noble background! It's bad enough that I live in the palace. But if we admit that we are in a relationship by doing something like this, it would be a disgrace to both the Duremont and the royal family. Besides, the empress is your wife, so she will give you her handkerchief. Why do you insist on taking mine? I will gladly hand it over to you when we are alone in the afternoon.” Blanche could barely keep herself under control, but luckily, she managed to press her lips together before anything else came out.

Finally, Theodore seemed to be a little more serious too. He frowned slightly while responding. “First of all, don't say things like this. You aren't an affair. You are the only woman I love. And then, you shouldn't phrase the rest like this either. It sounds like you believe that my relationship with you is worthy of mockery in some way, which it isn't. It should be obvious why I don't want the empress' handkerchief but yours. I love you, so I naturally treasure your gifts more than anything anyone else could ever give to me.” He said very dangerous words in public here.

Blanche quickly looked around when he continued, but fortunately, no one had heard that statement.

Her lover didn't even pause though. “And I need your handkerchief now because it will bring my luck for the competition. You shouldn't worry about anything else but giving me a little present so that I'm motivated to win. If anything bad happens, which won't be the case, it's my fault since I asked you to hand it over, and no one can punish me. You don't have to fear any consequences either. Who could blame someone for obeying the emperor?”

Blanche clenched her jaw as her mind raced to go through her choices. She could either continue to refuse, which would probably end in her stubborn lover insisting until she gave in, or just fulfill his wish, which she couldn't do. So, the only way out of this mess was to lie, even though she hated doing that. “You see, the problem is that I didn't make one.” Her voice came out stiffly, but she still gave her best. “I didn't expect you to accept mine because of the obvious consequences that would have. Naturally, I don't have anyone else to give something to either. So, I didn't buy a handkerchief nor did I ask my maid to choose one.” Announcing that, only to give him the allegedly not existing item later, wasn't the most clever thing to do, but she had no other way.

In the end, she knew that she wasn't a good liar, but that Theodore raised one of his eyebrows and crossed his arms immediately after she began speaking was surprising too. He gave her a mischievous smile before replying. “Ohhhh. I see. Are you sure about that? Because earlier, you mentioned that it was odd for me to want your handkerchief and discussed handing it over for so long. That made me think that you had prepared one. In fact, I would bet that you made one yourself.”

His certainty made Blanche hesitate for a moment before she managed to reply with a halfhearted excuse. “What makes you think that? I just misspoke.”

Theodore took one step closer to her, and his smile widened as he gestured to her hands. “Don't lie to me, Blanche. During the past few days, you had so many small red points on your fingers. That could be an allergic reaction, but I would assume that these were little pricks from a needle.”

Before Blanche could force herself to keep calm, she lifted her hands to look at them more closely. A few red dots were still visible, but she hadn't expected him to notice that. When she lowered her hands, her lover's triumphant grin greeted her. She pressed her lips into a thin line, which only caused him to chuckle before he resumed speaking.

“See? They are still there. So, either you just admit it now, or I'll have to ask your maid.”

Blanche tensed at that. She slowly turned her head to Stella, who was fiddling with her fingers and looking at the floor. It was clear that a servant couldn't lie to the emperor, no matter what. The concubine gave up with a sigh. “Alright. I made one so that I could give you a present after you won. It's not especially pretty or well-made, but I gave my best and suffered quite a bit to finish it. I couldn't bake in the last few days at all, you know.”

“I knew it. I'm sure that it will be wonderful. You just have to give it to me now so that I can tell you how great it is.” Theodore was an idiot right now, and the concubine almost told him so.

In the end, she held back though. Without saying anything, Blanche walked over to her maid, who was currently carrying the handkerchief in her apron. After Stella handed the carefully folded cloth over to her, the concubine quickly hid it between her hands and looked around.

Most women were immersed in their own conversation, and the hunt would begin in fifteen minutes, so the men were busy preparing themselves. Seemingly, the couple just standing there and talking hadn't been very interesting as not many people observed them anymore. Except for some occasional glances, few eyes paid attention to their movements, meaning that if she managed to hand it over fast, no one would notice. Surely, Theodore would be intelligent enough to take the gift inconspicuously too.

However, Blanche's hopes were crushed when she turned around, only to find her lover extending his hand towards her. She narrowed her eyes at him for that and came closer. “This is your last chance to gain some common sense and do this later.”

The corner of Theodore's lips only raised more at that. “Trust me. I know what I'm doing now. My position won't be swayed by a piece of cloth when even insanity couldn't. Don't underestimate the emperor's power.”

She let out a sigh, but instead of drawing it out more, she just laid the handkerchief onto his palm. “There you go. Obviously, you won't get a gift afterward anymore now. Just pray that no one saw us.”

But Theodore didn't get that hint either. He didn't put the cloth away quickly like she had hoped but slowly unfolded it before spending a few seconds inspecting it.

Blanche felt how she became nervous and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She wasn't sure whether she was distressed because of the future issues this might evoke or because she was scared that he wouldn't like it even though she had worked on it for so long. But at the moment that Theodore's expression was filled with awe and a radiant beam appeared on his face, she stopped worrying completely.

Why was her lover this wonderful? It wasn't fair that one man could probably end a war by just smiling like that and making all the spectators fall for him. Whoever had blessed Theodore's birth had really overdone it with his charm. It even dumbfounded a person who had lived with him for over one and a half years.

Theodore lifted his gaze to his lover before speaking up and pulling her out of her trance. “It's beautiful. I knew that you would create something great, but this is even more incredible than I could have imagined. Even though you sewed for the first time, it's perfect. You took some inspiration from the fan, didn't you?”

She hadn't been able to help herself. Both the handkerchief and the accessory had the same colors, a dark blue background with golden ornaments. Since the flower decorations on the fan had been so stunning, Blanche had imitated a few of the patterns that wouldn't be called too feminine by people who wished to insult the emperor. Though, she hadn't believed that he would catch on within a couple of seconds. She was a little embarrassed as she nodded and gazed to the side before making eye contact again.

Theodore was still showing her such a bright smile that her heartbeat quickened, and she had to restrain herself to not throw her arms around him as he spoke again. “That means that we can have matching accessories in the future.”

Even though Blanche wearing an attire that she could combine with a fan in the royal colors was rather unlikely, she didn't deny that but just relished in his happiness. He liked her gift. So, all the hard work had paid off in the end. She couldn't help but beam at that too.

Until Stella coughed behind her. The concubine turned around to find her maid tilting her head to the side to give her mistress a sign.

Blanche faced the direction that the servants had indicated and immediately sucked in a deep breath. Most people hadn't seen them. Otherwise, a loud murmur would have already filled the venue. Two or three ladies and men showed a shocked expression at the event in front of them and would certainly gossip about this later, but none of them were the ones that had the right to cause a scene here and now.

However, the empress had seen the couple too. And she could definitely confront her husband about exchanging a sign of a romantic relationship with another woman.