The fourth day of lessons was focused on the repetition of the ranks and greetings that Blanche had already learned. She hadn't concerned herself with that topic since the first lesson and thus, had to memorize it again until she could go through it without hesitating. That almost took the whole day. Just when she stood up to leave, the tutor stopped her and made her sit down again.

Evelyn's voice made the concubine upset already, and her words made it even worse. “Before you go back to your chambers, let me ask you a question. Since I gave you this task three days ago, I would like to know how many chapters of the handbook you have read already.”

The concubine's face fell upon being reminded of the forgotten tome.

Evelyn took this as her cue to add another sentence in a mocking tone. “I presume that you did start already.”

Blanche pressed out her answer through gritted teeth. “No, I have not. Not only do I have doubts regarding the efficiency of learning by reading instead of discussing the topics, but I also didn't have any time for that. You would know why.”

Evelyn leaned back and crossed her arms. She looked at her student with narrowed eyes, which revealed that she didn't even attempt to hide her disdain anymore. “Using excuses and putting the blame on anything but yourself is a childish thing to do. You should stop doing that at your age. If I remember correctly, you left earlier yesterday. What happened during those hours? You can't waste your time and then say that you didn't have any room for important duties. And you don't have anything to do except focusing on your lessons when His Majesty doesn't call for you. Stop being lazy, and do what your competent teacher requests.”

Blanche tapped her fingers onto her lap in an attempt to calm down as she listened to the lecture.

Still, Evelyn wasn't finished. “I told you that we are on a tight schedule on the first day, so you will have to finish the book in a week.”

The concubine immediately refuted that. “I won't be able-”

Lady Lemares cut her off before she could bring up any arguments. “No excuses. Now go to your room and start reading. This will be very demanding for your brain at first, but if you put in the slightest bit of effort, you will memorize the crucial facts fast.” It was infuriating to hear how safe the tutor felt. Her attitude towards Blanche was openly hostile at this point, and anyone watching them could attest to this. She didn't even attempt to hide her insults by putting on a polite facade and sprouting sweet words now. Though this didn't make much sense.

While Blanche didn't have much power, she was the emperor's lover. Why did Evelyn risk angering her just to satisfy her need for revenge and validation? Had the jealousy gnawed so strongly at that woman's mind that she couldn't think of the possible consequences anymore?

Before gaining the novel's knowledge, Blanche wouldn't have agreed to attend etiquette lessons at all. But if she had met Evelyn, she would have thrown the other woman out of the palace after the first minutes. Lady Lemares was only lucky because her student needed to improve her conduct as fast as possible and didn't wish to trouble Theodore with having to find another teacher.

The emperor had been busy for the past days, which was why Blanche hadn't seen him since visiting his office. Seemingly, the issue with Northern Ocrea was taking up all of his time as he hadn't requested his lover's presence once.

Blanche missed him and wanted to give him an opportunity to rest from all of his duties so much that she had considered simply going to meet him. She would be thankful for any excuse to miss the lesson with her teacher and spend time with her lover instead.

Every fiber of her being resented being forced to endure another minute with Evelyn, and Blanche bargained with herself about whether she should complain to her lover despite her earlier refusal to do that. But she knew that asking Theodore for a new teacher would only take away more of his already sparse free time.

Maybe that was why the teacher was so hostile. Evelyn had to have noticed that the concubine wouldn't tell on her. So, she didn't veil her hostility towards the emperor's lover in the slightest and still didn't seem worried about being confronted by Theodore.

Blanche quickly came to a conclusion after she thought about that for a moment. She would endure it for the remaining ten days and then insist that she had memorized the fundamentals and would like another teacher when Theodore had more time. In the worst case, she might even force herself to read the handbook she had received if that helped her improve. That should work out, right. Bearing Evelyn's presence for two weeks was possible if Blanche was guaranteed to never see her again after that.

During the next two days, the women repeated dancing and table etiquette. The hours passed by slowly since Evelyn berated her student for almost unnoticeable mistakes, which was completely unnecessary since the concubine made enough major ones.

But Blanche couldn't improve herself either since all the teacher did was observing her and pointing out errors without offering an explanation of what the concubine should do instead. When she asked the tutor to show her how to do it, Evelyn declined and referenced the book.

It seemed like the teacher used a different strategy on the emperor's lover than on her previous students. Otherwise, there would be no way that they had been content with her lessons.

In the evening, Blanche attempted to read the tutor's handbook but fell asleep after a few pages. Though she couldn't bring herself to care as the tome only consisted out of information that she already knew or so specific guidelines that she could be sure that she wouldn't ever need them. Along with the useless lessons, this meant that she hadn't learned anything important after the first week.

Most likely, Evelyn was doing this on purpose because she had been infuriated by Blanche's resistance. Should the concubine be unable to show progress now, most people would assume that it couldn't be because of the successful teacher. They would believe that Blanche simply hadn't had tried to improve from the very beginning.

But that wasn't the case. The concubine really did give her best to memorize the important parts, but that wasn't easy when Evelyn flooded her with unnecessary knowledge and badly disguised insults. Still, Blanche tried to hold on and made one last attempt to gain something from these lessons, only for her to notice that her previous plan might not help much.

On the seventh day, the concubine finally addressed her concerns, which elicited a shrill laugh from the teacher.

“So, you doubt that my lessons are letting you progress? That is rather discourteous when I am doing everything imaginable to help you despite your lack of understanding of even the most elemental rules. I shouldn't need to remind you of the other students that I educated. They were all very satisfied, so why wouldn't work for you?”

Blanche sipped her tea while scanning the other woman's smug expression. Evelyn thought that she was on the winner's side in any case. But the concubine was too annoyed to back down. “That would be questionable if you taught the others the same way you taught me. I doubt that you treat all of your students like this.”

Evelyn snorted as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. “I don't wish to step on Lady Blanche's toes, but I do have to change my schedule a bit to adapt it to the student's pace.”

“Even though you said that we need to hurry since we don't have much time?”

Lady Lemares set down her cup with an audible clank. Her voice was more strained when she responded. “At that point, I couldn't have known about your rather slow learning process. Surely, I can speed up the pace at which we are discussing the different topics, but I am unsure whether you will be able to follow then.”

The concubine tapped onto her cup with her fingernails to calm down a little. She took a deep breath and answered. “Maybe I would make progress if you'd demonstrate the motions and explained the information that you expect me to know instead of watching me try to guess what you want and criticizing me.”

“I wouldn't be required to do that if you wouldn't make so many errors.”

That made Blanche roll her eyes. She excused herself and returned to her chambers. Discussing with the woman wouldn't lead to a change. Even if she forced herself to endure this treatment for another week, she wouldn't learn anything like this. So, she would probably waste the last seven days as well. Was she really ready to do that when she desperately needed a capable teacher at the moment?

The answer was obvious.

In the following morning, Blanche asked Stella to announce that she was feeling unwell and went to the emperor's office instead, with her servant trailing behind her. Aside from the knights, Owen and two maids also stood in front of the room. The concubine recognized the women as the heroine's attendants. Blanche could only hope that didn't mean that Seraphina was present too, even though it was to be expected, especially since Owen had left the room. She approached him and greeted him shortly. “Good morning, Sir Maillont. I hope that you are doing well at the moment.”

For once, Owen actually returned the greeting in a vocal form. “Good morning, Lady Blanche. I cannot complain. I hope that you are in a good mood as well. His Majesty will be ready to see you in a moment.” He turned around and knocked on the door. He waited and went in when the emperor allowed him to enter. Owen returned seconds later and held the door open for someone to step out.

The empress' gaze was icy as usual, and upon noticing Blanche, she averted her eyes. Seraphina passed the concubine, who was making a curtsy and had intended to greet her, without hesitating. She almost stormed down the hallway and disappeared. Her maids followed her in a hurry, which left Blanche standing there in confusion.

This was kind of good? Blanche wasn't sure, but if Seraphina was upset, the heroine surely hadn't had a nice conversation that could advance her relationship with Theodore.

But the concubine didn't have time to think about the incident for long since Owen motioned for her to enter. As soon as she came into the room, her eyes fell onto Theodore. He was standing at the window near the balcony and stared outside with his hands behind his back. When she approached him, he turned around and smiled at her.

Blanche reached her lover and hugged him immediately. She had missed him for the last week and thus, was ecstatic because she could visit him for a short time. Though, admittedly, she also felt the need to search for his comfort after dealing with Evelyn for so long. Another reason might have been the infuriating tingle of jealousy that she had felt upon seeing Seraphina leaving his room after the empress had been alone with Theodore. In any case, she was overjoyed to see him.

But as Blanche lifted her head and looked at her lover's face from close proximity, her grin died down and was replaced with a frown.

Theodore's eyes were underlined by dark rings, and at the moment that she saw him, he let his head fall forward and buried his nose in her hair. “I'm so glad that you're here. I feel like my head will burst if anything else happens.” He whispered this in a hoarse voice. He wasn't sick, right?

Blanche carefully stroked over his back and pulled him closer. “Did you fight with someone? You sound like you were screaming a lot.”

There had been a time during which the emperor had spoken like that often after the arguments with some ministers. Luckily, he had exchanged them, and the new ones generally didn't yell so much. But now it sounded like he had needed to raise his voice again.

Theodore sighed and took a few deep breaths before responding. “I guess, I did. I got loud and, admittedly, overreacted a little. But she kept insisting and didn't back down. After a while I... The empress is overly sensitive, did you know that?”

The concubine's expression darkened upon hearing that.

So, Seraphina had started another fight with him. Why did the empress need to trouble him when he had enough difficulties regarding the conflict with Northern Ocrea? The way that Theodore had phrased it didn't make it seem like it was an important topic, so Seraphina should have shown some compassion. She could have waited until the emperor wasn't an exhausted wreck anymore. Why was someone as inconsiderate as her the heroine? She should be able to keep a little inconvenience to herself for some time to unburden the man she was supposed to love for all eternity.

“What did she want?” Blanche already asked before thinking. She only realized that she would force her lover to keep thinking about the unpleasant issue after that. “Or if you don't want to talk about that even more, it's fine too.”

Theodore loosened his hold on her to look into her eyes. “Unfortunately, your doubts have proven to be justified. It's about the painting.” His gaze focused on the portrait.

It was easy to guess what had bothered the empress. Seraphina feared the rumors surrounding the emperor favoring his lover too much, and those were already famous enough, so her worries were logical. But those doubts could have waited for a week or so.

The emperor sounded like he was trying to keep himself calm despite actually boiling. “Apparently, one of my ministers ran his mouth about it hanging here. I didn't make a big deal out of it being here and most of the men didn't either. I believe that even they didn't think much about it and only wanted something to gossip about. Or the empress' father told her. Either way, she had to make a scene out of this. At first, she was reasonable to some extent. She requested for me to move the painting to my own chambers in a calm manner. But when I refused, she didn't stop trying to persuade me. I told her that this is my office and that she doesn't have any authority to decide how I furnish it. Still, she talked and talked, and then...”

He looked back at Blanche with a dejected expression. “That woman often begins saying rather upsetting things about our relationship when she is angry. But this is actually none of her business. The political predicament I'm in stresses me enough already, and I don't need her to insert her stubbornness into my schedule as well. Though I believe that I was harsher than necessary too. I'll have to apologize later.”

Blanche felt unwell at the thought of letting him visit Seraphina and reconcile with her. But even if Theodore didn't go to the empress personally and wrote a letter instead, it would be as sweet as the ones he gave to his lover, and that would unsettle her as well. Reconciling could give the spouses an opportunity to become closer either way, which Blanche didn't like one bit. But a scene like that hadn't existed in the novel as far as she remembered, and all the moments in which the romance of the main characters progressed should be included in a book. So, it would probably be safe for now. Ending the argument in a peaceful conversation would also ease Theodore's worries, which he didn't require any more of. That meant that she would have to accept it. “I see. So, you'll try to make up?”

Theodore forced herself to give his lover a little smile. “Yes. But I'll have to wait before doing that. I'm still angry after all. Enough talk about my problems. How are the etiquette lessons going?”

Blanche's face fell before she could attempt to hide it. While she had come here with the intention of addressing her troubles with Evelyn, she had banned all of those thoughts after seeing her lover's state. She wouldn't be as selfish as Seraphina and push her troubles onto Theodore while he was busy preventing a war. Though her expression had already betrayed her real emotions.

The emperor's slight smile faded and gave way to a frown. “Is something wrong?”

The concubine shook her head. “No, it's fine! I'm really exhausted. That's all.” Her lies were never convincing, but she had often succeeded in fooling her lover when he was tired and concerned with other matters. Nonetheless, that didn't seem to be the case this time.

Theodore narrowed his eyes slightly. “That's not true, is it? Don't lie to me if there is a problem. I have a lot to do, but I will definitely find the time to take care of it.”

For a second, Blanche considered telling him the truth, but another gaze at the rings underneath his eyes quickly made her abandon that idea. “It's not a problem. I'm just tired. Lady Lemares insisted on having lessons the whole day to make sure that we can discuss all important topics. But that might be a bit much for me. The first topics were all boring, which might be why it feels like I focused on more than I actually learned. I've been stressed for the past week, not as much as you though. I'll ask her to reduce the hours, so it'll be fine.”

The emperor stared at her for a while. His face revealed that he didn't completely trust his lover's words. “Learning the whole day seems excessive, doesn't it? Are you certain that I don't have to approach her about that?”

The concubine responded with a nod. “I can do that alone. Lady Lemares will listen to me if I ask politely.” Theodore didn't need to know that her previous attempts had been shot down without hesitation. “Besides, it's only one more week.”

He bowed forwards and leaned his forehead against Blanche's. “Alright. If it goes wrong, you can send her to me.” The emperor straightened his back again but didn't let her out of his embrace until she agreed. His face lit up with a smile. “Good. Since there don't seem to be any disturbances now, could we eat breakfast together?”

Blanche hadn't had a meal yet because she had wanted to address her problems as fast as possible, and she had only left her bed minutes ago, so it wasn't a problem. Her lover, however, had certainly been working longer than that. “Since when have you been here?”

The lack of response only affirmed her worries.

“Theo, even if you don't have a lot of time, you have to eat. Your health is more important than the few minutes the work will be delayed for.”

The emperor quickly refuted that. “I have eaten, not much, but I did take a few bites. Besides, I'm young and don't have any sicknesses, so I can endure skipping a meal.”

Blanche put her arms around his neck. “You won't stay healthy for long if you don't take care of yourself properly. Let's eat together now.” She turned around and was ready to pull him to the dining room, but they were interrupted.

Someone knocked and was allowed inside a moment later. Leonard was pinching his nose with his fingers while he came in. “The ministers insist on another meeting right now.” He spat that out in a low voice.

“Now?” Theodore and Blanche had almost spoken synchronously.

The emperor resume in a louder voice than before, which caused him to sound hoarse again. “In this very moment? How are they here already?”

Leonard narrowed his eyes as he responded. “They seem to have arranged the appointment in advance. All of them are waiting in the foyer.”

Theodore closed his eyes and murmured some incomprehensible words that most likely were insults. After a moment, he gave his lover a sad smile. “I tempted fate by saying that everything was calm today. I'm sorry, but I won't be able to accompany you. I will make it up to you, I promise that.”

The concubine put on a smile to soothe him and moved closer to him to give him a small peck onto his nose. “Then I look forward to your compensation. Don't work too much. Goodbye.” She hugged him one last time before walking to the door. She waved towards her lover once before she left the office and headed for her room.

However, she didn't even reach her destination before Stella tugged on her sleeve. Blanche stopped, and her eyes followed the maid's pointing finger.

In one of the corridors, which branched off from the one she was in, two figures were standing across from each other while seemingly being invested in their conversation. The majestic navy-colored dress identified one of them as the empress. The other person turned out to be Evelyn. It seemed like the people that the concubine didn't like the most were gathered in one spot.

Blanche quickly passed by the hallway and hurried towards her room when a voice called for her. She turned back to see Seraphina, who was glaring at her aunt. The resentment for the tutor seemed to be one thing Blanche had in common with the heroine. Hearing Evelyn's voice immediately made the concubine recall why she felt that way.

“Lady Blanche, it is such a pleasure to meet you here.” Evelyn had to be one of the five most annoying people in this whole world. Why was she like this?

The concubine grimaced before she could prevent it. Running into the instructor was worse enough, but the other woman even laid out a trap for her. Blanche ignored that and walked over to the two people. She made a curtsy and looked at the person that came first in rank instead of the one who had spoken to her.

This time, the empress didn't ignore her. “Good morning, Lady Blanche.”

Blanche quickly hurried to respond in a polite tone. “Good morning, Your Majesty. It is a pleasure to meet you.” Then she turned to the teacher, who hid her sour mood with a fake grin. “Good morning, Lady Lemares.”

Evelyn immediately continued. “It appears that I was misinformed. Weren't you sick? At least your maid explained that to me. She said that you couldn't visit my lessons for that reason. Or have I perhaps misunderstood?”

“No, I'm really feeling unwell. This is why I visited Theo. Meeting him makes me feel better.” Blanche had responded on impulse and only realized that she might regret that statement now. Though to be honest, she hadn't lied as she had searched for her lover because she had been stressed, and the person that was responsible for that stood in front of her.

Evelyn put on a skeptical expression and spoke while overly emphasizing every word. “Oh, shouldn't you rather ask for the royal doctor in that case? Walking around isn't good if you are unhealthy. And you might infect His Majesty if you aren't careful. You need to be more aware of your actions before doing something like this. Isn't that right, Your Majesty?” So, she wanted to get the empress' help now?

Blanche wasn't naive enough to be unable to comprehend what the other woman was trying to do. Evelyn intended to play Seraphina off against the concubine because she knew that the two women disliked each other.

Judging by the glimmer of anger in the empress' eyes, Seraphina had realized that as well. But surprisingly, she didn't go along with it. “While Lady Blanche is young, she is old enough to decide for herself. Whether she feels well enough to walk around or not is her decision to make, not a teacher's. Besides, not every illness confines you to your bed, nor does it necessarily need to be a contagious sickness.”

Evelyn's face fell immediately, which put a beam onto the concubine's lips before she could conceal it. But Lady Lemares quickly restored her friendly mask and cleared her throat. “Naturally, Your Majesty is right. I hadn't considered that. I was mentally focused on her absence today and didn't think any further. My apologies, Lady Blanche. Though you seem like you are feeling well now, so maybe we could continue the lessons.”

Definitely not. Blanche didn't want to lose her free day. So, used a talent she had often employed to evade unwanted tasks. She whined. “Oh, no. I don't think I will be able to learn anything today. My head is already spinning when I'm just standing here. And I have been nauseous ever since I woke up. I will follow Lady Lemares' advice and lie down. Maybe that will help me. But I can't guarantee that tomorrow will be any better.” Blanche put her wrist against her head and added another line to her dramatic goodbye. “I think I have a fever too. I should lie down quickly. I have to excuse myself now.”

Evelyn opened her mouth, but Seraphina preempted her. “You are dismissed.”

The concubine made another curtsy and thanked the empress before walking down the corridor at a slow pace. As soon as she rounded the corner, she almost began running until she reached her chambers.

Stella followed her mistress and let out a huff when the doors closed behind them. “That teacher really seems to be an unpleasant person. Even when she doesn't insult you, she is unbearable. I can understand why seeing her face alone would be exhausting.”

Blanche nodded in affirmation and sat on her bed. “Then you can imagine how she behaves when we are alone. She thinks that I'm too dumb to understand her insults and throws them at me all day. I don't get why she is so insistent in trying to make me uncomfortable. I didn't know her before she came here, and still, she hates me. Though the sentiment is returned.”

Stella contemplated her mistress' words for a moment before responding. “Maybe she wants to make you seem like an incapable student because that will benefit her niece. If you are put in a bad light, Her Majesty might be depicted as even more courteous. Or Lady Lemares could just dislike you for being her His Majesty's favorite rather than her niece.”

That might have been the case if Evelyn cared for Seraphina, but the empress was her resented sister's daughter. Why would Evelyn wish to help her niece?

Though Blanche couldn't admit to knowing that. “Maybe. But no matter what her reason is, it's annoying. Can't she release her pent-up stress elsewhere?” She sulked for a moment before continuing. “At least I'm free today. Still, we shouldn't go out, or we might run into her again.”

Stella's gaze turned to the nightstand, and her mistress mirrored her motion. The handbook of manners was lying there. It was still opened from the last time that the concubine had attempted to read. Stella opened her mouth to address the tome but closed it again upon seeing Blanche's expression.

The concubine hurried to change the topic. “How about we have some tea together? We haven't had that in the last few days. I would really like to eat some cake again.”

The corners of Stella's lips lifted, and she made her way to the kitchen after promising to come back with the most delicious sweets.

For the rest of the day, the women didn't do anything except for eating, drinking tea and chatting.

It had only been a week of lessons, but Blanche had needed that rest. She realized that when she woke up the next day with the knowledge that she would have to visit the teacher today again. Without thinking much about it, she lay down again. “Stella, please tell her that I'm still sick. I will visit her tomorrow again.”

The maid nodded and left, only to come back later with a frown. “Lady Lemares wasn't very joyful. She insisted that you were acting, which you are, but well...”

The concubine sat up and crossed her arms. “What did she say?”

Stella answered in an annoyed tone. “I believe that she'll complain to His Majesty if you miss even one more day.”

Blanche let out a snort and raised an eyebrow. “What is she going to say? How terrible I am for not coming to her unnecessary lessons because I feel sick? Theo won't get angry at me for that. She can get as upset as she wants. Besides, I will come back tomorrow. She doesn't have to be so aggressive about this.”

True to her word, she didn't visit Evelyn that day. She stayed in her chambers the whole time and talked with her maid. In the evening, she slept early without glancing at the handbook once.