Theodore pulled his lover closer and cradled her head. As soon as she stirred and looked up at him, he used that chance to tilt her head up and press his lips onto hers. He melted as much as she did. It took all of his self-control to end the kiss, and he carefully leaned his forehead against hers. He considered taking her along again, but that might end with her knowing that he remembered too. Would she still hold him like this then? Or would she look at him with fear? He wouldn't be able to take the latter.
He would like to keep quiet about this completely, but she didn't deserve any more lies. Theodore would tell her. In a few months, when he had proved that he showered her with love despite his memories. He was well aware that he came to that conclusion because he didn't want to think about it at the moment, but he wouldn't risk hurting her by revealing it now and scaring her.
She wouldn't lose him again. To make sure of that, he needed to prepare some things though.
Blanche couldn't be accused of any crimes. The empress had to die and all the lackeys by her side as well. The war with Ocrea couldn't happen. There was so much to do. That meant that he needed to take care of some things immediately. That was the only reason why he couldn't give in and stay here now.
Theodore carefully stroked over the back of Blanche's head before speaking up in a soft tone. “I know that you're worried about me. But I'm perfectly fine. I can go the few steps to-” He didn't get to explain that he wanted to visit his office.
“No!” Blanche shook her head vigorously as tears streamed down her face. “How can you be fine? Some man cut open your shoulder with a sword! You haven't even rested for a full day and given your body time to regenerate. You'll make it worse again and hurt yourself. No matter what you can't go to...” Her eyes widened as she noticed that she had almost revealed it and pressed her face against him again.
Theodore didn't allow her to worry for longer and reached for her cheek. He gently made her look up at him before he replied. He would calm her down as much as he could. “It might sound odd of me to say this, but I truly don't feel that bad. The doctor did his work phenomenally, so the threads will stay in place. If they wouldn't, I would have started bleeding again because I hugged you so fiercely after waking up. I will just go to my office and tell Leon to take care of two things. Then I'll immediately return.”
She didn't listen to him once again and shook her head. “Why aren't you just telling a servant to get Leon? He will come here without complaining, and you don't have to go out.” She looked up at him with puffy eyes, which made him reconsider.
Blanche was right.
Theodore knew exactly what would happen during the next three years. If everyone else around him knew too, it wasn't an advantage. But he and Blanche could also be the only ones. In that case, they would be one step ahead of their enemies. There was no need to rush out and leave behind his angel, who feared that he would meet another woman. He had enough time to take it slow. After all, the most important thing was Blanche. He had promised that, so he should take care of her first.
He gently began stroking over her head, only for Blanche to tense. She was scared of him ignoring her words, wasn't she? He had always been a stubborn idiot. He should have been more like this when she had needed his protection and less like it when she had wanted to tell him something. That thought stung. He quickly spoke up to calm her. “Alright.”
Blanche lifted her head and stared at him with wide eyes. “What?” Was it really that surprising that he listened to her after she begged him to stay? He would definitely need to change a lot from now on.
Theodore spoke in the softest voice he could muster while continuing to pat her head. “You're right. I don't have to leave now. I'll send someone to fetch Leon and do the rest later. Just because it doesn't hurt as much, I shouldn't disregard my injury. You said that I was attacked with a sword, and I think I vaguely remember how it happened too. It's not a dangerous injury, but if I keep reopening it, it might get infected and confine me to bed for even longer. So, I'll listen to your thoughtful advice.” He hadn't listened to her way too often in the past. Now he would relish hearing her every word.
Blanche looked as she was shocked at that. She was silent for a few seconds before whispering. “Really? You will stay with me?” That she was in disbelief about that hurt more than this injury.
Theodore nodded at her and gently moved a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I won't leave your side. I will ask for a person to get Leon now, and then I'll lie down again.” He wouldn't let go of her for one second.
Just at that moment, steps sounded from the doorway, and Owen spoke up, which made Theodore lift his head. “I can inform Lord Astame.”
Blanche whipped her head around and got red upon seeing the knight standing there. “Since when have you been there, Sir Maillont?”
Theodore had to hold back not to kiss her again when she was this adorable. He gave her a little smile as he replied. “He's been standing there for a while now.”
His lover turned to him, with a mix of emotions on her face and embarrassment being the main one. “You...noticed him already? Why didn't you say anything? Then we wouldn't have...you know.”
He couldn't help but grin at that. “He doesn't watch when he knows that we aren't in danger. He probably came running after you tipped over the chair.”
Blanche furrowed her brows at him. “You were awake at that point already? So, I didn't imagine you moving back then.”
Theodore had been wide awake, so the noise of a chair scraping across the floor hadn't left much room for interpretation. He just had contemplated how to tell Blanche that he would kill himself because he had expected this to be the same grim world that he had lived in for two years now. But it wasn't that world. He was here with his angel. He beamed at her while swallowing his regret about not having opened his eyes earlier. “I'm sorry for not responding immediately. My mind was a bit hazy, so I was convinced that I was dreaming for a moment.”
After all, Blanche shouldn't have the chance of being with him anymore. But she was here.
Theodore gently stroked over her cheek before addressing his guard. “Would you please tell Leon to come here this instant? He needs to bring a book and a pen as well. Or since I'll have to write down quite a bit, two books, three pens and a few separate sheets of paper might be better. Oh, and you should maybe change your clothes before coming back.”
After all, Owen was full of blood right now. The emperor would have liked to say a lot more to the other man, but he couldn't do it at this moment. Informing his two closest confidants of his plans would have to wait until tomorrow.
A faint smile that no one but Theodore would notice appeared on Owen's lips as he nodded. Then he spun around and left the room to tell Leonard about what happened and give the couple privacy.
Even now, Theodore could only grin. Owen was doing well and could still fight as before. This second chance wouldn't just be good for him and Blanche. He would help everyone. Except for the people that wished to harm them. He would crush those like bugs under his heel. A radiant beam lit up his face as he pulled his lover onto his lap and kept staring at her.
Blanche was beautiful. He had always known that, but right now, it became even clearer that nothing could compare to her. Just how she smiled at him made his heart melt, even if it also worried him a bit that she believed such a small victory to be grand. In the future, he would need to listen to her way more often. He would give her all the gifts she could ever want, and he would shower her with attention. He would change the future in a way that made her the happiest.
Of course, Theodore needed to orientate himself a bit for that before he jumped to conclusions. He sorted his thoughts for a moment before speaking up. “If the banquet was yesterday, the hunting festival should be in a few weeks, right? My wound might not be healed until then.” He added the last part to hide the fact that he suddenly addressed this topic, but his mind was already focused on the festival.
That day, the vile empress had made it her task to trample on Blanche's feelings by giving her handkerchief to him while his lover was watching. His angel had made one too but hadn't had the courage to give it to him afterward. And the idiot that he was hadn't noticed that until he had found the handkerchief lying in her room months later.
Theodore could feel his blood boiling at that, and yet, something like satisfaction rose inside him. He would correct that error now. This time, he would only accept the handkerchief of the woman that deserved to give him hers. The empress could watch as the whole noble society saw how the emperor happily asked for his concubine's gift and offered his victory to her. That would crush that woman's fragile ego.
Blanche had no idea that he was thinking about all of that and replied with a nod. “Yes, the festival is in about two weeks. Though, you won't be able to participate now. Just like you said, your wound won't be closed by then after all.”
Theodore had been through worse and had still fought in a war. He couldn't let this small cut stop him from twisting the story how he saw it fit. This hunting festival would be amusing. For him and Blanche at least. The empress wouldn't be able to smile that day. He couldn't help but grin at that thought. “We'll see.” He would definitely participate. This time, he would win with his new skills and prove that the emperor wouldn't yield just like that.
Wouldn't Cedar's guard show up too? That bastard had bragged about watching Theodore during that event later. That was the very same man that had blinded Owen. Maybe it would be good for the emperor to give him a gift in return. After all, it would be good to eliminate the enemies' best people first. There wouldn't be any causalities on their side this time, but the same couldn't be said for the dowager empress' one.
Theodore stopped his flow of thoughts at that point. He was thinking too far ahead. He needed to clear his mind and take one step at a time. But just as he went through his memory, he realized that something was wrong.
He remembered things...differently. There were some events of which he had two sets of memories. He had barely noticed before, but thinking about the empress' birthday ball made it clear. Blanche originally hadn't fainted during that event. This time, she had had a panic attack, and he had caught her as she fell to the floor.
Theodore scanned his lover's expression before slowly speaking up as his smile faded. “I'm still a bit drowsy, so I have trouble sorting my thoughts. I remember you collapsing at the last ball. That did happen, right?”
Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.
Blanche wasn't even surprised and just nodded at him. “Yes, that happened. But I'm perfectly fine now. I slept for two days, and you stayed with me during that time to feed me whenever I awoke. I was a bit weak at first, but after a couple of days, I recovered fully.”
If Theodore wasn't so worried about his lover, he might have been happy about having been able to show whom he really cared for in public for once and about taking care of Blanche. But the fact that this had happened even though she had been fine last time was odd. That wasn't the only thing that was different though.
If Theodore remembered correctly, he had found a letter while Blanche had recovered. She had written to Sefare saying she wouldn't help him hurt her lover and told that man to break off all contact with her.
And this world's Theodore hadn't been stupid for once. He had continued to take care of his angel and had burned that letter so that no one could frame her for anything.
Theodore slowly stroked over Blanche's back as he tried to remember more that was different. “We went on many walks so that you wouldn't be so prone to sicknesses. Then we sat in front of the fireplace and talked about...an unpleasant person.” He grimaced when he thought about Luciano. That bastard truly dared to touch Blanche while she had obviously tried to get away from him. That man always seemed to try to make the emperor jealous. This time, Theodore wasn't indifferent though. He was brimming with fury. Someone would regret that evening soon enough. “And a few days later, the doctor came to you again because your maid wasn't able to wake you up during a nightmare...” He looked into her eyes as he waited for her to add something.
Again, Blanche just nodded. “Yes, but he didn't find any problem with my health, so he left quickly. Since I had a few of those dreams in the last months, the doctor prescribed me some herbs that I can drink as tea in the evening. They will help me calm down so that I have fewer nightmares. In the morning after that last dream, you came after he told you and comforted me for a few hours. The herbs arrived two days ago, so I'm fine now.”
It only took Theodore a second to understand. Of course, this world had changed drastically. Blanche had gained her memories before him. She had altered the story already in an attempt to change the ending. She had told him about a nightmare about him leaving and executing her.
That hadn't been a nightmare.
And his careless self had just told her not to worry after she experienced all of that herself.
So, Blanche had distanced herself from him. She had been scared of the empress and tried to blend into the background in public while avoiding any troublesome people. Sometimes, she had had more nightmares, and all of them depicted scenes from their past.
Theodore cursed himself. He seemed to have reacted at some point by spending more time with her. He had eaten with her daily, and they had had a long talk about her worries after she had broken down. So, this version of him had done something right. Still, it wasn't enough. He would fix everything from now on. He took a deep breath before meeting his lover's gaze. “I hope so too. But if you ever have another nightmare or something that resembles one, tell me, and I'll run to you no matter when.” He ignored the small scraping in the background that made it seem like someone had stood up in the neighboring room and gave his angel his full attention.
Blanche pinched his cheek at his comment. “Oh, in the near future, you won't run at all. I'm glad that you aren't in pain, but seemingly, the doctor gave you too much of the medicine. It is supposed to make it hurt less and not numb the area completely. If you aren't feeling anything, you will ignore the wound and just move around like you normally do. It might be better to give you a smaller dose next time.”
Most likely, the doctor was the person that had moved at the other end of the room.
Theodore glanced to the door and warned his lover so that she wouldn't be surprised about the visitor. “I'm pretty sure that you can tell him that directly. I heard a chair scrape on the floor, so I assume that someone finally woke up. That took him long enough. We were chatting for a while already after all.”
To his surprise, it wasn't the doctor but one of his assistants that entered. The man yawned and then froze in the doorway, only to raise his voice in a shrill tone. “Your Majesty!” With that, he turned back and woke up the rest of the people that were sleeping there.
Theodore rolled his eyes and groaned before cuddling his face into his lover's neck. “Great. Now they'll create an uproar at six o'clock in the morning. They probably made every single person in the palace worry about the incident by keeping quiet about the wound not being life-threatening. I bet people are already going to gossip about what would happen after my death.” He let out a low chuckle. “A few individuals will be disappointed to hear that it was nothing serious.” Once the dowager empress found out that he was doing this well, she would probably tear out their hair.
He wouldn't have to deal with that now though. His greatest enemy at the moment would be the overly protective doctor and his assistants. Even though he wasn't seriously hurt, they would probably want to tear Blanche away from him. They could try that if they insisted, but they certainly wouldn't succeed.
Theodore spoke up with a smirk on his lips. “I hoped that the doctor would leave us alone for a bit longer, but I doubt that he will be kind enough for that. He will probably scold us for hugging already and ask me to let go.”
Blanche gazed at him with skepticism. “Can you blame him? He would definitely be right about that. Someone tried to kill you. That was an assassination attempt on the emperor and the empress of Artias, so you shouldn't downplay it too much.”
Just hearing that woman's title made him sick. Theodore swore to himself that Blanche would be empress in just one or two years, and by then, the former holder of that title would be six feet under. He shouldn't have saved that person during this attack. Then he would have one less problem. But like this, he could at least show the empress that only his angel deserved his love and affection very clearly. The whole country would know, and the proud empress would boil.
The emperor only noticed that he was glaring into the distance too late and quickly put on a smile to reply to his lover. “It's actually better to emphasize the events to some extent.”
Blanche almost looked like she was hesitant to speak but did so anyway. “Won't that encourage others to try something like that too? This incident showed them that the royal family is vulnerable in some rare cases. Your opponent could attempt to attack you the next time that you leave the palace as well.”
There was no need for her to hold back. He would listen to all of her ideas, and he would explain his plans to her as well. Theodore immediately began with the latter one. “As you just said, the ambush was successful, but the assassination only remained an attempt. So, everyone can know that, despite those men being prepared and able to creep up on the royal guards, they didn't defeat us. They had the advantage of surprise and still didn't manage to kill any of us, and I'm pretty sure that I'm the one that got hurt the most. Admittedly, that was more because of my negligence than the enemies' skill though.” He had been stupid enough to jump forward to save a cold-hearted witch after all. “I definitely shouldn't let down my guard like that in the future.” The next time, he would let the empress receive all the attacks that were aimed at her. “But the public won't hear about that. They will only find out that the carriage was attacked with no causalities on our side while all of our opponents are dead.” Last time, he had used a different strategy, and news about the attack had still spread. That had made it seem like the emperor feared being seen as weak and had only caused people to believe that attacking him was easy. This time, he would make sure that everyone saw what it meant to challenge him.
Blanche didn't look too shocked, but she was still a bit surprised. “Really? The knights killed all of them?” In the past, he hadn't admitted something like this to her, had he?
Theodore was still a bit reluctant to let her see too much misery, but she had been to war with him. There was no need to traumatize her more, but he wouldn't hide anything unless she was in a bad condition. So, he spoke the truth without holding back. “Yes. In case of an attack, the main priority is protecting the members of the royal family. If the enemies are keen on threatening me, they will be killed as soon as there are doubts that the knights might be able to catch them alive. It's better to get rid of them instead of risking that one runs away with more knowledge of our fighting style and starts another attempt. I would rather avoid further incidents like this. Still, it is regrettable that we didn't manage to arrest at least one man. Even though I already have a pretty clear picture of who is behind this, I would have liked to get a testimony.” Who else but Camille Estien could be responsible? Theodore let out a sigh. “Unfortunately, this leaves me with nothing to use in a trial now. We'll still have an investigation, but I doubt that there will be a single piece of decisive evidence.” There wouldn't be anything. He had tried hard enough last time. He should tell Leon to take it easy during the investigation so that the other man wouldn't over-exhaust himself.
Blanche seemed to be lost in thoughts for a moment before she pulled her lover closer. “That's awful. I wish we could just put the people who did this on trial and prove that they-” She stopped herself when unwelcome visitors chimed in.
The doctor and some assistants rushed in. The elderly man immediately spoke up to complain. “Your Majesty! With all due respect, you can't just sit up already. Lady Blanche, I must ask you to let go of him this instant. We can't risk reopening the wound.”
Theodore almost snorted at that. As soon as his angel tried to loosen her hold on him, he tightened his. He was much stronger than she was. She had no chance to escape his iron-like hug. She couldn't let go of him, just like he would never let go of her. He showed the doctor a blinding smile. “No.” Then he turned to his lover. “I won't allow you to let go, so you can ignore his words.” He kissed her forehead and relished in the way that she looked at him. She was too adorable when she was confused.
Unfortunately, some people seemed to be keen on distracting him from his angel. One of the assistants immediately refuted him. “But we have to check the wound, Your Majesty!”
A second one chimed in a moment later. “We have to replace the bandages and disinfect the cut again! We cannot risk you becoming sick!”
The doctor glared at the emperor, but he knew well how stubborn the other man was. After huffing out some air, he used a different tactic, one that had a much higher chance of success. “If that is Your Majesty's wish, we can't do anything about it. Still, I'll give myself the right to repeat that it would be much safer to let us take a look at the injury for five minutes. We don't want something to go wrong at the last moment.” He stared at Blanche at that.
Blanche's expression quickly filled with determination. She put her hands on her lover's cheeks and got serious. “You can't neglect your health like this. You barely sleep and work all the time, so an infection is the last thing you need. How is anything supposed to function in Artias when the sole ruler is confined to bed because he didn't allow his personal doctor to examine him?”
Theodore was well aware that it wasn't good to let a wound get infected. He had seen what happened to others with infections a few times. Even if he was used to fighting, this could seriously knock him out. He didn't need that right now, so he definitely intended to let the wound be washed. But that could wait another hour so that he could cuddle with Blanche first. He wasn't ready to let go of her after all. He pouted at his lover as he responded. “I'm not forbidding it, I just want to do it later. We can do that in a few hours when-”
His angel didn't give him a break and instead raised her voice at him. “Theo! In the beginning, the wound has to be disinfected multiple times, and they need to confirm whether the thread is positioned correctly.” Objectively speaking, she was right.
Theodore sighed at that. He glanced at one of the assistants, who dared to look at Blanche with displeasure because of her harsh tone, and corrected his attitude with a little glare before deciding to listen to her. Maybe he could prove that he was enamored with his lover if he used opportunities like this. He would never let anyone doubt his devotion again. So, he would show everyone that he only obeyed when she spoke. He made eye contact with her. “Will that make you feel better?”
She confirmed that with a nod.
Theodore reluctantly loosened his hold on her. He still wasn't willing to let go of her completely, so he would have to get her to stay close to him in another way. A grin came onto his face as he had an idea. “Alright. You'll have to hold my hand the whole time though.”
Blanche's face was immediately flooded with concern. “I thought you weren't in pain.”
Theodore couldn't help but laugh at that. He gently brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles until she couldn't deal with the tickling anymore and pulled her hand away. That only made him smirk more. “I'm not in pain. I just refuse to let go of you.”
His lover rolled her eyes, but a soft smile appeared on her lips too. When she remembered that they weren't alone, she quickly became embarrassed though. Her cheeks got a bit red, which was definitely so adorable that he could eat her up, and she climbed off the bed. “You'll have to give me one second. I'll pick up the chair and hold your hand again.”
It had been more of an impulse, but he had only tightened his hold when she tried to step away. Theodore couldn't bear to stop touching her now. He had lived two years without her. Cuddling for the next two years wouldn't be enough to make up for that, so he couldn't let go now.
Blanche attempted to reach for the chair, but she wasn't able to move far enough. She glanced back to him with slight annoyance on her features. “Are you serious?”
Theodore smirked at her. He was very serious. “Yes. I just survived an assassination attempt, be a little patient with me.” That didn't mean that he would let go of her any time in the future either though.
His lover let out a deep breath as she sat down on the mattress next to him. She interlocked their fingers and caressed his hand while responding. “Normally, you're the one who is patient with me, so I'll manage for a few days. I will play along with all of your requests under the condition that you accept the doctor's advice and let him treat you whenever he asks you to.”
“Even though it's unnecessary?” The emperor would rather like to spend the time doing more useful things than letting the doctor treat a wound that didn't even hurt anymore.
A glare from his lover was enough of an answer though.
Theodore chuckled quietly and gave in. “Alright, alright.” He turned towards the doctor while inwardly hoping that it wouldn't take too long. “You can begin.”
The doctor and his assistants stormed into the neighboring room to gather their instruments and returned quickly to begin the examination. It wasn't a surprise that the threads had moved thanks to Theodore's rushed awakening, but he didn't care much. As expected, it didn't hurt even when he used a hand mirror to inspect the gash. It was a rather big wound but a clean cut, so it was fine. It was a bit annoying that the doctor and the assistants acted like he would die because of this. Theodore mostly ignored their comments and only focused on his lover.
Seeing Blanche worry about him wasn't annoying but just upset him. She was truly an angel for staying at his side even though he had treated her so horribly. He smiled at her the whole time while the doctor disinfected his wound, which caused her to watch him with concern painted onto her face. Seeing her unhappy was much worse than his injury had ever been though.