Being pregnant had filled Blanche with overwhelming joy. She had been prepared to do anything for their baby no matter what. Of course, she had been aware that she would need to be extremely careful now and that Theodore would treat her with even more softness than before. She didn't mind that much when it was for the best of their child.

What she did mind was that her maids acted as if she would faint upon lifting a teacup on her own. Even though she had done little by herself before, it had still gotten worse to the point at which others carried the folders in the office for her. She did basically nothing by herself now, which could be frustrating at times.

Especially when she wanted to bake, only to be pulled away from the furnace and lose the knives to her friends. She often glared at them then, but that didn't help much when her maids and even the other servants agreed that she shouldn't do anything dangerous. Clark was the only person that believed that she could still cut a cake at least, but that only earned him a lecture from the others and a smack on the arm by Harris.

Thanks to this overprotectiveness, it wasn't surprising that rumors spread quickly. The royal couple had visited the doctor and cried in happiness for a long time afterward. Ever since then, the doctor had come to their room to examine the empress every day, and she was being treated as if she was made out of porcelain. The emperor had ordered all books about pregnancy to be brought to the doctor and even contacted medical professionals.

This made it very clear that those rumors weren't just baseless gossip. An official announcement wasn't necessary at this point anymore.

Still, Blanche and Theodore wanted to keep it a secret for another month. The baby bump would slowly start to get visible by the fourth month, but it wasn't too noticeable at this point in time, so making it public then should be fine. They hoped to reveal it during a small party.

At least having that surprise had been the plan at first, but it quickly became clear that they would probably name it a baby party from the very beginning. That was unnecessary since a baby party was usually held when the child was three or four months old, but for the birth of a royal heir, celebrating multiple times seemed to be the norm.

Blanche had insisted on the party being small at least. They would only invite the three ducal families and the Ravillots since Sophia had invited Blanche to her baby party as well. So, the event itself should be rather relaxing. The most exhausting part was probably how the servants acted like their empress would break due to the slightest inconvenience.

“I'm telling you that there is no way that she can sit on such a hard chair. Do you want her to be uncomfortable? We'll get another pillow from the inside.” Of everyone, Stella was the most protective one, and she didn't mind proving that over and over again.

Even Clark had a hard time arguing against that. He sighed and glared at the chair for a moment. “This thing is cushioned. There is absolutely no way that it's uncomfortable. Her Majesty said that she didn't want to have any extra pillows. Didn't you hear her?” It was unknown why he was even trying it. In the end, he would be the one to fetch another cushion, and everyone here knew that.

Stella crossed her arms and raised her chin. “I did hear her. But you can surely imagine what she is currently thinking, yes? She just doesn't want to inconvenience you because she is way too kind. That means that you should do this for her without asking any questions.” She gave the other man an accusatory look.

Clark stared at her with pure annoyance before he turned to the empress. “Your Majesty, do you need a pillow?”

Blanche, who had previously been silent, spoke up before her other maids could complain. “I don't. That's why I told you that there was no need to get one. I've sat on these chairs for two and a half years now. There have never been any problems with me being uncomfortable. So, there is truly no need to-”

Stella looked at her with round eyes. “But, My Lady! There is no way that we can just let you sit like this. You will probably stay here for hours. It's better to make sure that you are feeling well the whole time. Besides...” She glanced at Clark. “I wonder what His Majesty will say once he hears that someone refused to fetch a pillow for his pregnant wife.”

Clark threw his arms in the air. “I feel like you aren't listening to me! She isn't made out of glass. She won't dissolve like sugar when she sits here in the sun for a while. There is no need to get a third parasol either. You are overdoing it. Just because you're the empress' maid now, you can't ignore what she says.”

Harris, who had stolen a cupcake from one of the trays and calmly ate it while watching the fight, chimed in at that. “Why are you even arguing? You knew that you lost the moment that Stella opened her mouth. If you don't stop complaining, you won't be done fighting until the party ends. I would just recommend getting a pillow now.”

This earned him a glare from Clark. “You have it easy. You can just talk like this isn't an issue because you aren't the one that needs to deal with her whims constantly. You just stand there and watch my misery. Why won't anyone listen to me? Being pregnant isn't a terminal disease. There is no reason for you to act like the world is going to end. Her Majesty said that a few times too. It's ridiculous to keep on whining about this. If you want her to have a pillow, even though she explicitly told you not to get one, fetch it yourself!”

Harris shrugged. “It seems like someone is in a bad mood. I was going to accompany you, but I feel like you may need to do that alone now. Shush.”

Clark narrowed his eyes at that. “You just wanted an excuse to pay me back for this morning. I won't fall for that.”

Harris turned around to leave. “You don't have to. After all, me going to fetch a pillow now has nothing to do with you. Since you didn't want to get one, I will hurry up and do it.” Harris glanced over his shoulder with a wide smirk. “Did you perhaps not want to go because you don't know which room you need to take it from? Don't tell me that you actually forgot. That would be embarrassing. Very much so.”

Clark let out a huff at that and put on a confident expression. “I would never forget. Aren't you the one being unsure about where it is? That is why you want me to come along to show you. Very well. I will do you the favor, but I won't let my guard down.” With a few steps, he reached the other man. “You're always so troublesome, do you know that?”

Harris grinned at that. “I am? Aren't you the one that messed up an apple pie yesterday again? Maybe your curse wasn't lifted at all. But that isn't what we were discussing at all. Are you sure that you suddenly want to accompany me?”

“It can't be helped. You are going to get in some kind of trouble again. I truly need to take care of you, or you will drop the things you need to transport or something like that. So, I have to watch what you are doing. We both know how frail your arms are.”

Harris snorted at that. “That sounds like an excuse.” He turned back to the group. “We'll be off then. I will do my best to bring this person here back without him causing any problems. The pillow will be there in a few minutes.” With that, the two of them left without really paying attention to the response.

After a couple of steps, Clark whispered something, which earned him a nudge with the elbow, to the other man before they disappeared into the building.

Blanche smiled at that and focused her intention back on her maids. “It's nice to see, isn't it? I'm happy that they get along again. It looks like their meals together paid off.”

Stella stood next to her mistress and let out a quiet huff. “They get along a little bit too well during work hours. I heard that they got in trouble with Gloria for slacking off. I hope that we'll see the pillow sometime today. I'm pretty sure that they will just do what Angelica and Darlene always do when they go out to fetch something, so it could take a while. We will have to wait and see.”

Darlene immediately put her hands on her hips and opened her mouth. “What are you saying? Angie and I always take care of our tasks. There is no way that we would mess up that much. Those two are truly going too far with taking breaks, but we finish our work no matter what. You should praise us instead of saying something like this.”

Stella began quarreling with the other woman about that, which was good since they seemed to forget to ask for a third parasol.

Blanche let out a quiet sigh and looked around. Theodore still hadn't come to her rescue, which meant that he was probably preparing some kind of gift. She wasn't sure whether she was happy about that, but seeing it would change her mind in an instant. She definitely wasn't insistent enough on not needing anything. Maybe she should try to discuss that with him again, but she doubted that she would be successful. So, she could actually just forget that already.

What really mattered now was preparing the party. Blanche let her gaze roam across the venue and made sure that everything was exactly as it should be. The table had been set, and enough sweets and snacks had been placed in the middle. Tea was there too, and maids stood at the side to attend the guests as soon as they arrived. Owen and Noah had chosen a spot that was a bit farther away and chatted there, so they could be here within seconds in an emergency without seeming too intimidating. It seemed like everything was ready. Now only the nobles had to arrive.

The empress' eyes landed on her maids again. The women were still happily arguing about something and joked around. When they didn't tell her to be careful for the hundredth time a day, they looked adorable together. A soft smile grew on Blanche's lips, and she spoke up quietly. “If you want to, you have each have a cupcake too. There is more than enough here. During the party, you won't be able to eat anything, so you should take something now.”

Stella immediately shook her head. “There is no way that we could steal things that are supposed to be for your guests! We can have the rest, but we could never eat anything now and-” She cut herself off upon seeing that Darlene had already grabbed two cupcakes and happily bit into them. “You disloyal little thing.” She put on an exaggerated angry expression and pointed at the other woman. “You really have no restraint. You even took two of them!”

Darlene munched on her cupcake and wordlessly handed the other one to Angelica, who accepted it with a smile.

It only took a few seconds for Stella to lose her ability to feign anger, and she grinned as well.

Blanche used that chance to quickly take a cupcake herself without needing to ask one of her maids. Bending over the table was apparently way too dangerous for her, but she mastered that without any issues and began eating her reward. The sweet taste of strawberry cream filled her mouth, and she could only think about one thing.

She was happy.

Even with all the little inconveniences that developed thanks to her friends' overprotectiveness, everything was wonderful. She knew that those people cared about her and her child, and that was a very calming thought. As long as she could live here with these people around her, everything was fine. There was even a person here that cared for her even more than her friends, and he wouldn't ever leave either.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

All of this was way too perfect.

As if Stella had noticed how her mistress looked at her, she turned to the other woman. “Ah. Is His Majesty still not here? I wonder what he is doing right now. I thought that he had prepared the gift already.” She only noticed that she had messed up after voicing that.

Blanche gave her a gentle smile before she looked to the side. She had already guessed that she would get something, so this wasn't a surprise. If Theodore was done with that though, there was only one other option of where he could be. “He is probably talking to the doctor then. He is doing his best to learn everything about pregnancies to avoid any kind of complications. You know how he tries to keep that a secret from me, but he already contacted the most well-known doctors in the whole nation. He really wants to make sure that everything goes well.”

No matter how much he attempted to hide it, Theodore was worried about her. More than he normally would. Maybe it was because of his experience with pregnancy during their other past. Seraphina had lost her child, and he had seen that happening right in front of him. Theodore was probably overly cautious to prevent anything similar happening here. That was why he did his best to keep his wife from being subjected to any kind of stress and read as much about any possible complications as he could. The doctor was definitely trying his best, but the emperor probably wouldn't be content with anything anyone could provide. This was about his beloved wife and his precious child after all.

Blanche just hoped that he wasn't pressuring himself too much. She wanted him to be healthy too, and if he worried the whole day, he would be prone to getting sick. She made the mental note to remind him to take a break occasionally when they were alone again.

The empress let her gaze wander across the venue again and finished her cupcake before checking off a list in her mind again. Everything was ready for the guests, so she only had to wait until they arrived now. Greeting them by the gate seemed to sound too risky to Theodore, so he had told her that he would meet her at the table.

Now she was here, and he wasn't there yet.

Blanche didn't want to know how much he was pressuring the poor doctor this time. She thought about sitting down, but that wouldn't be too pleasant when she would sit for the next hours anyway. It would be better for her to walk around a little. But she had the suspicion that she wouldn't be able to take a walk without being asked whether she was fine a dozen times. So, she just stood there and waited for something special to happen.

As expected, that was rather boring, so Blanche spoke up after a short moment. “Stella, your birthday will come soon, won't it? Do you have anything special in mind? Thanks to our little angel here...” She put her hand on her stomach. “We won't travel for our vacation this year, so I can't buy you anything in Ibela again.” Which was a bit dejecting. After all, Blanche wouldn't be able to leave the palace any time soon, so she couldn't buy anything for her maids. It was also a bit saddening that she wouldn't be able to spend time in the summer estate with Theodore, but the reason was obvious.

It wasn't a good idea to leave by carriage now when she would be in her sixth month at the end of the vacation, so they had decided to refrain from visiting their summer mansion. That was a shame, but they couldn't do anything about it and would make the best out of it next year.

Stella was quick to shake her head in regard to her mistress' inquiry. “As I said, there is no need to buy anything for me, My Lady. I will be fine as long as I can celebrate with my friends. If you wish to do something, you could make some delicious fruit rolls.”

Blanche sighed at that. “I would, but I doubt that you will let me do much in my state. You always act like I will faint if I need to stir some cream by myself. It's almost painful to deal with that, you know? There is only a single person here that is more overprotective than you. That says a lot about you and how-” She cut herself off when she saw the person she had just mentioned at the staircase. A bright smile appeared on her lips, and she quickly finished her response. “In any case, I will find something for you. Don't worry. Your birthday will be wonderful. I will make sure that you will be very content.” With that, she looked at her lover.

Theodore carried a bouquet of flowers down the stairs and showed her a radiant smile, which was only reserved for her. He walked over to her without breaking eye contact once and bowed when he reached her to offer her the flowers. A bouquet of different flowers in shades of blue and purple greeted her. As soon as she took it, he grabbed her free hand and pressed a kiss onto it. “Is my angel doing well?”

Blanche beamed at him and couldn't help but smell the bouquet once. Its fragrance was as wonderful as its appearance. She gave herself a moment to enjoy both before responding. “Of course. I was doing well before, but now I am ecstatic. My husband truly knows what to bring to make me even happier than I already was. Now I just need to put them in a vase so that they will stay fresh as long as possible.”

Her lover gestured to one of the servants behind him. “I already took care of that. I thought that those would be a beautiful decoration for our table. Then our guests have something to look at during the tea party so that we can use that time to share our affection.”

She let out a quiet chuckle. “I don't think that being watched ever stopped us. Maybe we'll need to work on our image soon. We can't be known as the emperor and the empress that cuddle the whole time without paying attention to anything else. We have to present some political accomplishments.”

Theodore's fingers were already intertwined with hers again as he gave her a bright smile. “Don't we have enough of those? The contracts we signed last week were pretty good, weren't they? And the merchant that came here for an audience was impressed by your understanding of the situation. I think for a new empress, who just got crowned last month and is currently pregnant, you are doing a lot. Definitely more than anyone before you during their whole reign. Except for maybe the third and the sixth empress. But you'll reach that level too. You're already on a good path despite being so young.” Hearing that was always calming.

In the end, Blanche knew that they hadn't been lazy after their two weeks of a break after the wedding, but she still felt like they could do more. After all, their day consisted of two hours of work and mostly cuddling and chatting. It felt odd, but seemingly, they still finished enough tasks. If so, then she could at least stop worrying about this. “I see. Then I will need to work even harder in the future. After our baby is born and a little bit older, of course. Our family will always be my priority.” She stroked over her lover's hand and smiled at him before addressing the servant with the vase. “Would you please put those on the table with some water?”

The man hurried to comply, and she watched in satisfaction as the bouquet was placed in the center of the table.

Blanche turned back to her lover. “As always, you chose the perfect thing. These flowers are gorgeous and match with decoration on the table. You have already planned this a while ago, didn't you?”

Theodore's smirk was enough of a response. “How could I not plan things like this much earlier? I need to make sure that my angel's party goes well, and her gifts always have to be perfect. I'm glad that you like it. That is why I asked the gardeners to plant some of those in the winter garden too. I thought that they would look nice in the flowerbed next to our table there.”

She couldn't really imagine how those flowers would look there, but since they were gorgeous, they would surely be wonderful in the winter garden as well. “That sounds like it will be beautiful. I trust that you chose a perfect spot. You truly deal with too much at the same time.” Blanche raised her hand to stoke over his cheek and gave him a blinding smile. “I think that you did enough to deserve some rest now. Won't you relax a bit with me today? I will make sure to thank you for these flowers by giving you a nice massage later.” She could already guess that this would end with him asking whether she truly felt comfortable enough to do that, but she was sure. After all, she wasn't so sick that patting her lover's head for a while would be overly exhausting. So, she continued before he could ask. “That will be a reward for me too, so you have to let me do it. I won't accept a no.”

Her lover beamed at her and gently tugged a strand of hair behind her ear. “Then I guess that I have no choice. I will have to resign to my horrible fate of letting my angel pamper me. That will certainly be traumatic.” He paused to look around before pulling her into his arms. “Would you mind already thanking me a little bit now? The guests aren't there yet. So, we have time for a short break. I want to greet you properly.”

Blanche didn't mind doing that at all. “Alright.” She stood up on her tiptoes and leaned against her lover to kiss him. Their lips met, and she wrapped her arms around him. For a moment, she just gave herself a chance to get lost in their kiss.

It was pretty obvious that they lost track of time because Stella cleared her throat at some point. “Your Majesty, the guests are there.”

Theodore pulled back with reluctance and rested his forehead against his lover's for a few seconds. “It seems like we have to delay this a bit. I love you, my angel.”

Blanche grinned at him and tapped his nose. “I love you too. But we can't let them wait for too long.” She slowly let go of him and took a step back.

The emperor linked his arm with hers before they turned to the nobles, who unfortunately seemed to have arrived at the terrace already. They were met with different kinds of expressions. Some of the guests were smiling at them, and some just looked a bit annoyed. It was kind of entertaining but also a bit embarrassing.

Blanche quickly showed them a bright smile and greeted them. “Good afternoon to all of you. It is a pleasure to see that you decided to attend our party today. Let us take a seat before we begin chatting.”

Thankfully, she wasn't met with any complaints about this strange beginning, and the atmosphere became light soon. After greeting every single person and receiving their congratulations regarding her pregnancy, the topics became rather simple. Some mentioned gossip from the capital, some spoke about their families.

It was especially nice to hear how happy Sophia was with her husband and Grace. The little girl had recently celebrated her first birthday and was still as energetic and bright as she had been in the very beginning. Sophia was eager to talk about her angel and just as eager to promise that Grace and Blanche's child could become friends. It was definitely sweet that the other woman was thinking about things like this.

It only became sweeter when Sophia talked about how Rebecca should join them too. Selena almost seemed a bit flustered as if she was unsure about how to deal with such a kind invitation. But after a few minutes of talking, she was captured by Sophia's soft smile as well and happily agreed to let their two girls meet when they were older. Luciano was content with that idea too and watched the whole interaction with a small grin.

Henry tried to hide it, but he beamed behind his hand whenever his daughter gushed about his granddaughter. Elaine and Allen, even if his expression still didn't reveal too much, didn't hold back and just showed how content they were with sitting here with their family.

Duke Lamont was quiet as always but smiled at the group while Fiona happily joined in. By now, her smile also seemed real and not like the fake mask she had put on in the beginning. Apparently, the prospect of being able to lead her family alone had been enough to lighten her mood. That was understandable since she didn't have to worry about finding an influential husband anymore.

For a while, lighthearted topics were the core of the conversation until it seemed like Theodore had to say something. Blanche already knew that when he took her hand and looked at her as if he wanted to warn her. But his smile revealed that he was confident about knowing what the response would be. She knew what he would speak about. She had helped him prepare some of the things for this, which meant that she could be confident when it came to this idea being accepted. So, she wasn't nervous when he spoke up.

Theodore showed the group a polite smile as he waited for a pause so that he could begin speaking. When that came, he quickly used his chance. “We have mainly discussed personal matters until now, but there is one other topic that I would like to address. I originally wished to do this later, but due to the recent events, there will have to be one thing that happens a bit sooner than planned. As all of you heard by now, Blanche and I are having a child.” He squeezed her hand while talking. “Of course, it is possible that this will be a little princess. In that case, there are some things that need to be set in place before she becomes older. I often hinted at this idea, but I never announced it publicly until today. I won't over-complicate this matter and just say it outright. I would like to change the law so that women can succeed their households too. At the same time, I want to enable a princess to ascend the throne as an empress that has the same rights an emperor would have.”

For a moment, everything was quiet at that.

This reaction was already what proved that his idea would be accepted though. Otherwise, many people would have raised their voices and told him that he couldn't do something like that.

Still, it was obvious that the Duremonts were rather surprised. They were alone with that though. Theodore had already told the Vasquez family about this a few times, and he had announced that Fiona managing the household was a good idea to the Lamonts. Those two families had probably expected the news at some point.

After a short pause, Henry spoke up first. “That is a rather daring idea, Your Majesty. Are you sure that you will get backing for this from the nobles? I am sure that many men do not wish for additional competition when it comes to the succession of their households. There is no guarantee that they will agree, and then it would be hard to pass this law.”

Theodore smirked at him. “Your Grace, I told you this a few times now, didn't I? I can do pretty much whatever I want. That is why I will make sure that the position of the empress is as powerful as the one of the emperor. I hope that this will send some kind of signal regarding equality to the other nobles. Then female heirs should gain the right to succeed their households. I would like to take care of the within the next five years. Since this is a big chance, I agree that we will need to move slower. I wanted to implement the laws over the years and then carefully reveal one thing after the other. I already drafted some paragraphs with Blanche. We will present them during the next minister meeting.”

Duke Duremont still seemed a bit skeptical. “Are you sure that you will get the others' approval? There is the chance of them refusing you even if you present your idea.”

Blanche spoke up at that. “I would like to mention that there is no problem here either, Your Grace. Do you remember the law that enables the emperor to ignore the minister's decision if he feels like it will endanger the nation's well-being? In the worst case, we can apply this here. I sincerely hope that it will not be necessary though. After all, our ministers are all intelligent men.”

Just like his wife, Theodore was completely unaffected by the duke's comment. He took her hands in between his while replying to Henry. “I can only affirm what my angel said. I am rather sure that we will get the laws' approval without needing to use our special rule too. After all, I will have the support of the ducal families, won't I? Certainly, Lord Bellfaux would like to hand over the reins to his daughter as well, and Lord Astame is on our side no matter what. That means that the five most influential households in the capital choose to support this law, and the Ravillots appear to be content with this decision too. Your Grace, I'm pretty sure that your acquaintances will also go along with your decision, so you don't have to worry too much about this law. As long as you are honest about how you feel about it, the others will immediately join our side. I will just tell them a bit about how important this matter is to me, and it should be fine. I can be convincing if I want to.”

Theodore had already written down enough things he wanted to say about this matter, so he could probably talk about the advantages of this law for hours at a time. Blanche listened to him talking with confidence and smiled at him while stroking her thumb over his hand. Her lover was passionate about this topic, much like she was. She didn't show it in public as much as he did yet, but she wanted equality for her children and for anyone else too.

So, supporting these future laws was natural for her. She had given her best while writing the proposal with Theodore and Leon. She wanted it to be accepted under any circumstances, and she was sure that her emperor would talk until that wish came true.

It was a huge gamble to announce this plan to the public already, but as expected, the present people seemed to be fine with it.