“To prevent rumors, one must prove the accusations wrong by doing something that contradicts them. In your case, Lady Blanche, that would be marrying.”

The concubine almost choked on air at that. “What?” She couldn't keep herself from grimacing. Had she heard this wrong? There was no way that Fiona would actually propose something like this. But apparently, there was.

Fiona lifted her hands and showed her palms to Blanche. “I did not mean to offend you with that. I merely voiced what would bring those rumors about His Majesty and you to an end. Naturally, the best option would be you having a lover and getting engaged and married to that man.”

Blanche bit her tongue to not remind Fiona that she was in a happy relationship with Theodore in a harsh tone. There was no way that she could just blurt this out. Not when that would be the ultimate proof for the emperor's affair. So, she gave her best to stay calm and just frowned at the other woman. “I know that you did not have any ill intentions. Still, I would like to ask you not to voice such things. There is no man close to me at this point in time, and I doubt that that will change anytime soon. I don't have the desire to get married to a stranger nor do I have the background or wealth that would make anyone interested in me. So, that is plainly impossible.”

Fiona widened her eyes and put her finger against her lips as if she was pondering. “Oh no, Lady Blanche. There would be plenty of men that would be interested in you if you gave them the chance to speak with you. You are a beautiful young lady, so they would be honored to just be allowed to kiss your hand and fall for you immediately. You shouldn't deny that you will marry in the future just because you haven't met the right person. After all, you are at a marriageable age. You can't just stay in the palace forever. At some point, His Majesty's hospitality and his will to pay for your expenses and to deal with rumors that could ruin his marriage will come to an end. You do not want to wait too long and die on your own, correct?”

Blanche was about to stand up and walk away to hide in the tent but then remembered why she had decided to sit with Fiona at all. Sefare was waiting for her, and while the duke's daughter wasn't pleasant, she wasn't a threat like him. The concubine refrained from glaring at the other woman and shrugged. “I would rather die alone than be trapped in a loveless arranged marriage with my only purpose being producing heirs. Besides, you are only slightly younger than me, and you do not have a fiancé either, correct? In fact, it seems like many young men and women aren't engaged at this point.” Normally, many marriages were arranged before the children's coming of age when they were sixteen years old. So, it was rather unusual for so many people in Blanche's age not to be engaged. Her frown deepened at that. “Now that I mention it, it is odd, isn't it?”

Fiona nodded at her before drinking some of her tea. “Unfortunately, the political tension makes it hard for aristocratic households in the capital to establish bonds to other families. There are those who support His Majesty, then some do not support him so much, and others are neutral. Some are even in between these categories. The households in those factions, especially the most influential ones, tend to favor forming relationships with sympathizers, which would reduce the number of marriageable candidates by a lot. Thus, there are quite a few young people, including me, who have not found the right person. I believe that it is our responsibility to make ties that link our families with others though, which means that-” She cut herself off before she could say anything else that might have revealed more of her view on the situation. Instead of continuing her act, Fiona's mask seemed to fall, and she stared at the person that was taking a seat on the side of the table across from them with both worry and disbelief. “Lucille...”

The concubine turned her head too to see the girl sitting there with her head hanging low.

Lucille took a moment before she looked up and greeted the two women in a quiet and shaky voice before immediately averting her eyes again.

Fiona clenched her fists before she covered up her expression of rage and began chatting about random lighthearted topics. That sudden change was so confusing that the concubine was dumbfounded for a while. What had infuriated Fiona this much? Had she been angry at Lucille for coming here unannounced? That seemed unlikely since they were friends. Or did Fiona just use the girl for her goals? Even then she shouldn't be this angry at Lucille for sitting down across from her.

Blanche's gaze wandered to the other girl, who was still keeping her eyes on the table in front of her and didn't dare to raise her head. It seemed like Lucille was also trembling a bit, which caught the concubine off guard. What had intimidated the girl like that? Had Allen pulled her to the side to scold her? Probably not. After all, he took part in the competition and didn't have much time to do something like this now. Blanche couldn't have scared Lucille either as she hadn't done anything except for sitting here and listening to Fiona ramble. So, she kept watching to find out.

Lucille had just received a cup of chamomile tea from her friend's maid and was quickly drinking it. One couldn't see much of her face since the girl often lowered her head. But when the sunlight managed to shine onto her skin, only one thing seemed odd. One of her cheeks was slightly lighter than the other one. This seemed like she had put on powder in a hurry and forgotten to spread it across her skin. Though, only powdering one cheek was strange as well. The only time that people might do something like this was if they had to cover up some pimple, but Lucille hadn't worn any powder before.

Blanche could only come up with one other reason that someone might cover a spot while the rest of the face was left alone. Clark had done that to hide his reddened nose. Had Lucille somehow hurt herself too? Before the concubine could think about this for longer, a male voice sounded next to her.

“What a wonderful day it is. This is the perfect weather for a hunting festival, isn't it? It's a pleasure to meet you here, Lady Lamont, Lady Valerian, Lady Blanche.” That person was easy to recognize just by listening to them speak, and she wished that she hadn't been able to do that.

Blanche turned around stiffly and faced Luciano, who was giving her his wide carefree grin, his eyes being glued onto her even while he was addressing the other women. She waited until the other two had greeted him before speaking up. “Lord Vasquez, how are you?” She didn't doubt that her tone sounded just as unmotivated as she was right now.

Luciano just seemed to find that amusing. “It almost appears like someone is bored. If that is the case, would you mind me abducting you for a second?”

Of course, Blanche did. Her conversation with Sefare should have made it more than obvious that she didn't wish any contact with him or the whole Vasquez family. “My apologies, but I'm currently in the middle of-”

Before she could finish her sentence, Luciano grabbed her hand and bowed down to hint a kiss on the backside of her hand. While doing that, he looked up at her with a mischievous smile, which made her heart flutter. “Please? An old friend really wants to meet you.” That was never a good sign, and that he already touched her just made this worse. He would probably make most ladies fawn over him with gestures like that, but she wasn't impressed.

Blanche was actually scared of what could follow now. She didn't need to speak to this man when all she had said should make her stance clear. “No, I really don't-” She didn't get to finish.

Fiona chimed in without a warning and used a much too cheerful tone. “Oh my, Lady Blanche. This matches with the topic that we talked about earlier, doesn't it?”

Blanche turned her head around to glare at her. But since Luciano still hadn't let go of her hand, which made her increasingly nervous, it was probably more of an imploring gaze.

Fiona's smile didn't falter as if she wasn't watching the other woman being led to her certain demise. She didn't care at all. At least it seemed like this before she spoke up. “Lord Vasquez, it's a surprise to see that you are here. Aren't you participating in the competition?”

Luciano slowly let go of Blanche and raised his hands in a rejecting gesture. “Oh, no. I'm not very fond of aggressive activities like that. I favor busying myself with more sophisticated things like managing a business. Though, I have to admit that it is fun to watch the hunters enjoying themselves.”

Fiona nodded at him. “What a coincidence. My opinion is the exact same. While I would like to elaborate on that, Lady Blanche and I, as she wished to say just now, are currently speaking about an important subject. Would you mind being patient for one minute so that we can finish our discussion?”

Luciano didn't fail to respond with a just as confident tone. “Naturally. I didn't mean to interrupt. I will give you some privacy so that you can finish. Don't forget me in the meantime, Lady Blanche.”

The concubine ignored that and watched him when he turned around and walked away to wait a few steps away from them.

Immediately, Fiona moved a bit closer to Blanche before speaking up in a surprisingly serious tone but without letting her smile drop. “You can't refuse. The difference in your ranks is too great for that, and you don't need gossip about you avoiding the second duke's family unless you want rumors about His Majesty hating them. Go with him but insist on staying where people can see you because of gossip that might surface if you are alone. If he argues back, you can at least make him accept that your maid will remain by your side. Stay calm and smile as much as possible. If you show that you are scared, people will allow themselves to cross the line without much thought. Listen for a few minutes until you find out what he wants and pretend to feel dizzy then. Just say that you are still sick from the ball and stumble around a bit. Then speak to a servant so that they can bring you to a place where you can rest and remind them that you want to come here. No one can hurt you with all those guards around. Remember that.”

Blanche was rendered speechless by this sudden list of tips and could just stare in return. She didn't manage to press out a single word before it was over.

Fiona leaned against her backrest again and sipped on her tea before adding the rest. “And that is the story of how I met my cousin for the first time. He is a rather brazen little boy, isn't he? Luckily, he didn't make an appearance at a ball in the capital yet, or he would have destroyed our family's reputation.”

Blanche stared at her in disbelief until Fiona spread two fingers over her lips to signal her to smile. The concubine did her best to do that, but it was rather hard when her distress upon being forced to meet with one of her greatest enemies mixed with her irritation about the other woman's wish to help her. Before she could say anything though, she felt how someone's stare was piercing her back. She turned around to make eye contact with Luciano, who was watching her in a manner that gave her a chill to the bone.

Unfortunately, Fiona was right. Declining the offer of a duke's son as a baroness was almost impossible without a good reason. Saying that she was sick would be fine, but doing so just a second after Luciano had shown up might be a much too obvious lie. Besides, people would just see Blanche rejecting him from afar and then might assume that the emperor's relationship with the Vasquez family had worsened so much that the people of both sides didn't want to interact even in public anymore.

So, Blanche was forced to play along with his games, much like she had been at the ball already. She muttered a small “Thank you” to Fiona before raising to her feet as slowly as possible and walking over to Luciano while trying to steady her shaky legs.

Luciano met her halfway so that she had to face him earlier than she had wanted to. That he was looking down at her was enough to make her feel even smaller than she was. He didn't even give her a second before beginning to talk. “Lady Blanche, I'm glad that you managed to sacrifice some of your valuable time. We haven't met each other since the ball. It was quite a surprise to see you suddenly collapsing, and I couldn't help but blame myself. After all, you tried to decline my offer to dance, but I insisted on you joining me even though you were sick. Was it very serious? And have you recovered fully by now?”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Blanche didn't like how polite he sounded. That was usually an indication that she wouldn't enjoy what would follow. At least they were currently being surrounded by servants carrying some rather big chests around. He couldn't hurt her around all of those spectators. If he did, she could easily use that to ruin his family's reputation, so she doubted that he would be so stupid. Still, that didn't serve to calm her much. She let out a nervous chuckle and averted her eyes when his piercing stare got too much. “I'm perfectly healthy, if still a bit dizzy, which is why I will not be able to stay for long either. Thank you for your concern, Lord Vasquez. You don't need to worry as I am the one to blame for attending despite being ill.”

In contrast to her, Luciano didn't have any trouble remaining tranquil while ignoring her hint at being unwell. He linked their arms before she could do anything about it and began escorting her across the glade. “I see. That's a relief. Though, I already expected as much. You have always been a beautiful woman, but today you seem to glow even more.” He stopped smiling to put on an exaggerated expression of regret. “Still, I can't deny that I influenced your health negatively on that day. So, I would like to make it up to you. Please allow me to invite you to my family's tent so that we can enjoy a relaxing cup of together there.” No way.

Blanche definitely wouldn't do that. She tried her best to stick to Fiona's advice and keep her expression from showing her uncertainty, but she doubted that she was succeeding. She attempted to make him let go of her arm, but he didn't give in, so she couldn't continue to struggle. If she moved even more, people would notice that something was wrong, and she didn't have to think twice to know that Luciano would manage to blame her for that in some way.

So, the concubine tried it in a different way. “Naturally, I do not mean to offend you, however, I will have to politely decline. After all, we are still a man and a woman. Thus, we cannot be alone together without causing unnecessary gossip that might ruin your chances for marriage later. For that reason, you should also let go of me.” She hadn't ever thought she would use that stupid norm to her advantage, but as long as it protected her, she didn't care about how ridiculous it was.

However, Luciano didn't give up that quickly. He maneuvered her through a group of servants so that she wouldn't collide with anyone before moving forward again. “I would never demand you to risk your reputation for me. It's completely normal for a man to escort a close friend when he leads her somewhere. Within our tent, there are enough servants that will stay with us the whole time, and the entrance will stay open as well.” His polite smile returned. “Besides, you didn't mind sitting alone with me in the carriage when I brought you home after you were carelessly running around in the capital. So, you have no reason to refuse now.” She did.

Just being with him was enough of a reason to wish to run away. But Blanche couldn't do that without causing an uproar since she would be offending a duke's son and behaving inappropriately at an event. She even doubted that she would be strong enough to wrench her arm out of his grip. The only thing she could do was make him stop acting like her friend and get him to spit out the truth. She looked to the sides, but aside from some occasional glances, there was no one watching them. They were a few steps away from other guests, so she could quietly speak without being heard.

Blanche took a deep breath before she began. “With all due respect, I attempted to decline your offer back in the city too, but you kept insisting. Regarding your family's tent, I highly doubt that there would be many others inside with us. After all, you surely have to discuss a confidential matter with me, right? Otherwise, you would have spoken to me in front of Lady Lamont and Lady Valerian. I can imagine what this is about, so I would appreciate it if you were honest. This pretense of being worried about me won't do anything but use up time unnecessarily.”

Luciano acted like he was hurt by those words, but his arrogance remained, which only made it even more obvious how superior he thought himself to be. “I'm wounded by the fact that Lady Blanche thinks about me like that. I am your friend. I told you that already, right? So, it's only natural for me to care about you and your health. But if you insist on not coming to our tent, we can talk somewhere else as well. We'll just go to a location that is a little more secluded.”

She didn't trust that either. She couldn't be sure whether he only wished to speak in private about Sefare's intrigues or whether he intended to use this opportunity to get rid of her. In both cases, more so in the second, she didn't have the desire to be cornered with no one to help her. In fact, they had already reached a spot that was too far away from most of the guests for her liking, even if it was just a few steps away. Luciano had led her behind the tents in which the servants were storing the food and drinks for later. She could only see the rest of the nobles through the few gaps between the tents.

Blanche slowly began to panic and tried to argue. “The problem of us being alone and causing rumors isn't solved with that. In the end, I would also argue that there isn't much to talk about. I told Sefare what was on my mind multiple times. It's his fault for not acknowledging that my decision was final. I was rather clear about not wishing for any further contact with him or you, so I don't know what you wish to achieve with this conversation. I won't come with you, and I would like to ask you to let go of me. I'll yell if you don't stop.”

Luciano sighed. “Well, then I have no choice but to leave you alone.” He let go of her arm.

She took a few steps back and blinked in confusion. Could it really be this easy? Had she been able to make him understand that she wouldn't change her mind? After he had been so demanding before? She doubted it. “Really?” Her voice was laced with skepticism, and seemingly, this had been justified.

In an instant, Luciano's smile dropped. “No. Do you think this is a game?” His expression turned cold, and he stared at her with a freezing glare that rivaled the empress'. Why did the author have to give anyone the ability to intimidate the villainess, who was supposed to be the main antagonist, with one look? It was just ridiculous at this point.

Blanche took one step backward, only for the man to return to his neutral expression again.

“Oh, I'm sorry. Did I scare you? Hopefully not. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I did. Still, there is no way that you can just leave now. But you didn't truly think that I would allow that in the first place, did you? We'll have a little conversation with Sefare now. He will come to our meeting point soon, so you will have to be patient until then. For now, just don't cause a scene and follow me. No one will hurt you. This palace is flooded with guards, and there are countless possible witnesses in audible reach after all. Surely, you can see the many people around us. Do you think anyone would try something strange here? It would be a loss for us no matter what happens.”

Blanche clenched her teeth as she imagined all the responses she could give to that. The most logical thing was to run away, but that would mean that the other party would still have the desire to speak to her. After all, Sefare hadn't believed her last time. She had to make it clear that she wouldn't help them from now on. Only if they understood that, she would be able to distance herself from their intrigues. Luciano had been right about not having a chance to harm her with all the other people being present. If something did happen, Sefare and Luciano would be arrested immediately, so they surely wouldn't take the risk. Shouldn't she use this opportunity then? After all, she might not be in a safe environment next time. She took a deep breath before responding. “Alright.”

Luciano's smile returned at that. “Thank you for your understanding.” He stepped closer and raised his hand to offer her his arm again, as if his general behavior wasn't creepy enough.

She backed away just before he could touch her and glared at him. “But I don't trust you in the slightest. I just want to end this once and for all. We'll stay close to the venue, and Stella will come with us. She can stay out of earshot, but she should still be able to see me from afar.”

Luciano raised his eyebrow at that. “Your maid? The one we lost in the crowd?”

Panic shot through Blanche's veins as she whipped her head to the side and spun around, only to find Stella standing a few steps behind her with a concerned frown. Immediately, her fear turned into anger, and she turned around to voice some rather harsh words. But as soon she was met face to face with Luciano, she forgot that and stumbled back instead.

Luciano, who had definitely stepped closer to scare her, almost seemed to find that funny. “I apologize for that.” He snorted again and pretended to wipe tears of amusement from the corners of his eyes. “I couldn't help scaring you when you look like this. Really... I don't know why you distrust me that much in public. We are friends, right?”

“We're not.” Blanche pressed out her reply between her teeth and balled her fists to keep herself from saying anything worse that might upset him.

Luciano lowered his gaze to the floor in a pretense of being hurt. “Oh. How mean of you. I was the one who volunteered to accompany Sefare because I know that he and my father would be less kind to you. So, I thought that you would be thankful or at least a little happy to see me. Well, then. I guess I can't do anything for now. We'll see how much you like me when Sefare is standing in front of you. Would you grant me the honor?” He extended his arm towards her.

Naturally, Blanche wasn't comfortable with the thought of having to link arms with him again. “I can walk by myself.” She looked over her shoulder to scan the venue next to them.

“Someone is feisty today. Reminds me of myself when I was younger. Just be careful in front of the others with that. They don't like people who talk back very much.” Luciano dropped his arm. “Very well. Then let us move so that we won't make Sefare wait.” He turned around and began walking around the venue but luckily without moving away from it.

Blanche stayed a few steps behind him and glanced at the knights that were positioned in the vicinity again. She was definitely in their field of view. If anything did happen, she would just have to yell one word, and they would circle the responsible ones.

After a couple of seconds, Stella caught up with her and leaned closer to her mistress to whisper. “My Lady, this is suspicious.”

The concubine held back a sigh. “I know. But I have to take care of this matter now, or it will continue to haunt me. If I don't resolve this and make Sefare understand, it might ruin my life later.” She furrowed her brows slightly while adding the rest. “If they try anything, I can call a guard and use this as a reason to never speak to them again. So, it's better to do it now.” Even if she hoped that it wouldn't go that far. Either way, she wanted a protective measure, which was why she quickly turned to Stella again. “They won't want you to listen and I don't want to risk you being a target, so I'd like you to step aside now.” She gestured toward the closest tent. “Go there and then walk alongside us with some distance. You won't be able to hear me then, but if I lift my hand high up, I need you to ask one of the guards for help. Alright?”

Stella's expression already told her what she thought about that. “My Lady, what-”

Blanche couldn't argue now. “It'll be fine. Just do it.” She managed to say that just in time before she was interrupted.

Luciano looked over his shoulder and gave Blanche a smile, which silenced her. To her dismay, he slowed his pace until he was walking next to her. He looked like he was about to say something, but she had no desire to let him address some weird topic.

So, Blanche quickly spoke up first and picked the first subject that came to her mind. “I heard that you fought with Her Majesty at the last ball.” She hoped that this would give her maid enough time to position herself correctly.

Luciano's expression didn't change at all upon hearing that. “I did.” For someone who was awfully chatty most of the time, he was rather quiet now, which only made her curious.

“What was it about?”

He glanced at her for a few seconds before looking in the direction of their destination again. “Let's just say that I miscalculated. I expected her to react a bit differently.” He paused for a short moment. “But I have to admit that this is also fun. Despite her stoic facade, she is easy to provoke whenever you are involved. She seems very insecure about her position. I could talk about that even longer, but it seems like we reached Sefare.”

Blanche's gaze flickered to Stella, who had managed to reach a tent that was maybe about thirty steps away. It wasn't far, and she could definitely get help from there. Perfect. Blanche quickly looked back to hide that, and her eyes wandered to the meadow in front of them.

Indeed, Sefare was standing there. He was staring into the forest before turning to them when they approached him. He was frowning, which posed a stark contrast to Luciano's polite expression. “Lady Blanche. Seemingly, your manners have returned. I thought that you might run away again.” He had nerves to say that.

Blanche crossed her arms and stopped a few steps away from him. “After your threat last time, I think my caution is logical. To be honest, I thought that there wasn't anything that we would still have to discuss. I made my stance very clear, didn't I? But I'm here now. What do you want?”

Luciano put a hand on her shoulder to push her a bit closer to Sefare, which made her take a step to the side to avoid him. That didn't cause him to get angry though. He just stayed calm and confident like before. “Don't be so hostile. We are trying to have a civilized conversation, so it's crucial to listen to each other before being so upset. I promise that all so-called threats from Sefare were just misunderstandings. He would never harm you. We are all on the same side, remember?”

Blanche let out a snort at that. “I thought this was exactly why you wanted to meet me. I'm not on your side, and I never was. You lied to me in the beginning, and I was naive enough to believe you because you had saved my life.” She pointed at Sefare while trying to suppress the anger that welled up inside at the thought of him possibly letting her family die on purpose. “Now that I found out what your real goal is, I won't do a single thing for you anymore.”

Sefare glared at her. “It seems that you are truly serious about this. Are you really going to ignore my warning?”

The concubine's response to that was clear. “The one that allegedly wasn't a threat? Yes. I will have to ignore that. I know your real goal, and I believe that I made it clear that I wouldn't stand by while you hurt Theodore.”

Luciano chimed in at that. “It's a bit harsh to accuse my family of attempting to harm His Majesty. After all, he is not only the esteemed ruler of this country but also my cousin. You see, my mother is-”

Blanche cut him off. “I know. I am very much aware that the Duchess of Vasquez is the dowager empress' sister. But that doesn't mean that you'll support Theo but rather his mother. She happens to favor her second son, the one you are much closer to as well, and by putting him on the throne, you hope to gain power. After all, your parents are quite resentful for only being the second most influential dukedom in Artias, even though you are related to the dowager empress.”

Luciano's polite facade still didn't fade. He just turned to Sefare and spoke in a calm tone. “So, she really does know most things about our family. Though, there is one thing that she fundamentally misunderstood.” He eyed Blanche without turning to her, a neutral expression that made it seem like he was voicing facts on his face. “We have no intention of risking our prosperity and power for a vague promise of gaining influence. Do you know how hard killing the emperor would be? It would be so dangerous that the second-ranking family would definitely not be desperate enough to try that. We have little to win and everything to lose. That would be a bad deal, wouldn't it?”

If Blanche hadn't been aware of the novel, she would have doubted her own judgment at his convincing argument, but now she didn't hesitate for a single second.