After not having to visit any lessons for the whole day, Blanche had suddenly regained an overwhelming amount of free time. While she was relieved upon the departure of Evelyn, she was now aware of how often she only sat around or took walks on the same paths. It was pleasant to have long conversations with Stella, but this wasn't exciting if she did it the whole day either. The concubine's schedule was monotonous, and she only tried to pass her time with some repetitive activities, which quickly made her realize that she didn't do anything productive.

So, it was odd that none of this bothered her too much.

Maybe that was because the highlights of her day were the meals with Theodore. He had kept his promise, and they ate together three times daily in the dining room. Blanche was overjoyed at the prospect of seeing her lover on a regular basis and savored the newly-won time with him. And it got even better.

Since the day Evelyn had left, Theodore had made it his ritual to declare his devotion to his lover after every meal. This was happily returned by Blanche, who felt euphoric upon hearing his words, even if he said them over and over again. Though it didn't change her general situation, she was much more confident that Theodore wouldn't hate her in the future as long as she didn't behave like an abominable person. It felt like they had become closer after the events of the last month too. Despite the initial distance she had felt when she had gained the book's memories, their relationship had become a bit better due to their talking. From the moment that he had found her crying in the pavilion onwards, he had given his best to secure her well-being, even more than usual. That had eased Blanche's worries about his feelings for her a bit.

Unfortunately, the problems with Northern Ocrea continued to persist. This didn't allow the emperor to spend more time with his concubine than he did while they ate. Still, those minutes were more than enough for her.

Due to these stressful circumstances, Leonard didn't have much free time either and had apologized for being unable to provide any lessons for the first days. Blanche didn't blame him for this and thanked him for his offer of teaching her instead. Though when an opportunity came up, and he suggested that they could start, she was motivated to begin learning. The biggest difference already became clear as they sat down in one of the guest rooms. The atmosphere wasn't as tense as it had been with Evelyn.

Leon had prepared a pot of tea, which was placed on the small table that stood between the two couches. Both sat on one of the sofas so that they could look directly at each other when he introduced his plan. “You already have some experience, so there is no need to deal with the easy things that you already memorized. And I won't cover the extraordinarily specific topics. We will focus on the things that are relevant in your life regularly. The most important part of your appearance in public is connected to speaking with other nobles. Consequently, the way that you address them is most important. At the last ball, you haven't made any errors in that field, which is why I believe that we don't have to concern ourselves with that for long. I assume Lady Lemares began with this topic as well.”

Blanche's face scrunched up at the memory of being forced to enumerate the list of titles hundreds of times.

Leon saw that and asked again, this time with a bit more skepticism in his voice. “Has she taught you something about that?”

She shook her head before she answered. “We talked about it, but she didn't teach me at all. She only made me repeat the things I knew or lines from a book until I memorized them for the day. A few hours later, I had forgotten most of the things again since they weren't important. And she acted like I wouldn't know which the most important rank is, which is ridiculous. By now, I spoke to some nobles already, so I'm not completely clueless.”

“I see. Then it is good that she left.” The secretary pulled out a thin handbook, which looked like it had barely more than fifty pages. “Did she give you this?”

The concubine took the book into her hands and opened it. The content consisted out of clear images and charts depicting specific gestures or the rank system of nobility. The short notes were giving the necessary information in easy words and were divided by headlines, which allowed the reader to find whatever they needed quickly. “No, she did not.” Blanche replied with suppressed anger in her tone. Evelyn had already hindered her progress by handing her a much longer and more complicated book. “Mine was a tome with a thousand pages.” She couldn't help but pout at that thought.

Leon furrowed his brows. “Handbooks of that length exist, but it's unnecessary for most aristocrats to read such tomes. These are only appropriate for tutors and not a student, especially not one that has only started attending lessons.”

The concubine flickered through the pages and skimmed the lines. “Do I have to memorize this?”

Leonard appeared to be taken aback by her question. “No, of course not. I am giving this to you so that you can always read up on a topic if you are uncertain. Though you can ask me about anything you need to know too.” Somehow it wasn't surprising that Evelyn's demand had only served as a way to upset Blanche.

The stark contrast between Leon's lessons and the previous teacher's ones was apparent after only a few minutes, and it became more obvious with every second. The secretary gave his best to explain the reasons for specific formalities that one had to pay attention to. At the same time, he left out the things that were minor details, which didn't concern the concubine when she had to appear during social gatherings. He explained all of that while he maintained a polite tone and never got upset about her questions.

After an hour of listening to him, Blanche had learned and understood more than in the week of continuous meetings with Evelyn. The change of the teacher had made a bigger difference than the concubine had even hoped for. At the end of the lesson, she still wasn't exhausted and felt like she wouldn't have trouble with remembering the important points that they had discussed today.

And it seemed like Leon was even more generous than she had expected him to be. He ended the lesson while being as respectful as before. “That was everything you need to know under any circumstances. If you are able to follow these rules, the basis for a good-mannered conversation is secured. I believe that this is enough for today. Is there still anything you didn't fully comprehend?”

Blanche shook her head. “I think that I understood everything. I knew a few things before, and you explained the rest really well.” Still, there was one topic, which Blanche deemed to be relevant, that they hadn't covered at all while making plans for the future. She wanted to know more about the general state of the country and the things that Theodore had to deal with the whole day. While she wasn't in any way required to know something about this, she wanted to learn. She felt like she was too ignorant of the world outside the palace.

Nearly all of her knowledge about Artias and its circumstances came from casual conversations. Everything was based on what her parents had taught her when she was a child or what she had picked up from her lover, servants or nobles at balls. Due to her sheltered upbringing, she had never experienced the real state of the country.

But she was a bit hesitant to address this. Leon had very little time, and other subjects were more important, especially since she had just begun learning. It would inconvenience him to ask for more.

Blanche opened her mouth but wordlessly closed it again. After Leonard stared at her for a few more seconds, she gave up though. “If you don't mind, could we perhaps talk about Artias and...politics? Later, I mean.” She got quieter with each word.

Leonard was definitely taken back upon hearing that. Would he make fun of her? Hopefully not.

The concubine quickly raised her hands. “Of course, I understand if we don't have time for that. It's a rather extensive topic. I know that I don't need to learn about this, but I would like to know more about the country I live in. It's alright if you don't agree though.”

Leon still looked a bit surprised, but after a short moment, he gave her a little smile. “No, that is a serious subject that shouldn't be neglected. However, I didn't believe that you would care about politics or economy. These are complicated issues, and it's helpful to have a fundamental comprehension of them, but you aren't required to put effort into learning this. Still, I am of the conviction that everyone should have come into contact with the general situation of Artias at least once in their lives. I will gladly tell you what I know.”

Blanche almost wanted to raise her fists in victory, but she only showed a wide smile on her face. “Thank you! I'll listen carefully and learn as much as I can.”

Leonard moved into a more comfortable position on his seat and grabbed his cup before sipping a small bit and glancing at the clock on the wall. “You don't need to thank me. I will always be happy to educate others about something like this. The time today has progressed a lot, so I can't go through very complex themes, but we still have a few minutes. Is there something you want to hear about now?”

The concubine didn't think long before voicing her initial idea. “Theo and you almost spend your whole day trying to deescalate the conflict with Northern Ocrea. I know about Ocrea's backstory and how that is related to Artias.” She had learned about some parts because of the war, the one that had been described in the novel. Thanks to that, she could even make an assumption about Ocrea's general military strategy, but she doubted that she knew anything others didn't know. “And Theo told me about the king and their letter exchange. But the last thing I heard was that you were in a dilemma regarding the king's demand of us giving up on providing the territories at the border. You can't do that, right? Theo said that the king has become paranoid, so negotiating with him will be difficult if not impossible. How will you attempt to prevent a war now?”

Leon leaned against the backrest of the sofa and put down his cup. “You are correct about that. We can't even consider letting these cities fend for themselves under any circumstances. Discontinuing to supply them is out of the question. That would be the equivalent of handing these territories over to Northern Ocrea wrapped in a bow.”

Leonard frowned at his own phrase and shook his head. “As Theodore said, the king has exhibited strange behavior for the last two months, and we can't trust that that man will regain his mind in time. Our best chance right now is attempting to contact another influential member of the royal family who is thinking more clearly. The king's oldest son is the crown prince and thus, the next successor to the throne. His father is rather old, so the son could take over within the next decade. We are trying to message him with an explanation of why war isn't what either nation should pursue. Maybe he can calm the king and steer us away from the approaching catastrophe.”

This plan was promising, however, in the novel it hadn't worked out. The main characters had been forced to lay out strategies for the war, and Theodore had even considered traveling to the battlefield himself. At the last moment, Seraphina had come up with a formation, which had saved the troops of Artias and prevented additional damages. Still, the consequences of this military conflict had been described as devastating.

Blanche could basically see the battlefield in front of her inner eye and smell the metallic fragrance of blood. The words in the novel had to have been pretty descriptive. She felt like the crown prince had been mentioned curtly as well. Wouldn't he attempt to improve the countries' relationship after his father's death? He would probably play a bigger role in the second installment then. Or would he die? She was almost sure that she had a vague memory of him being injured by something heavy, even though she didn't remember the exact scene. Maybe that had been described in one of the letters, which would explain why Blanche had a general idea despite the villainess not being in contact with Ocrea's crown prince even once. At that thought, a shudder ran down her spine, and she shook herself.

The concubine lifted her gaze again and forced herself to speak up. “Do you know how to come into contact with him? If the king interferes, you'll have a hard time sending his son letters.”

Leonard nodded. “We will try to bribe the messenger into delivering the envelopes directly to the crown prince in secret. Our method is dependent on his cooperation. I am more than uncertain about whether the messenger will agree though. After all, his life would be on the line if the king notices anything.” Maybe this was why the plan had failed. Consulting the enemy would count as treason and get the messenger executed, so Blanche couldn't even blame him for refusing.

But for some reason, the concubine still wanted to advise Leon to keep the messenger out of this. Involving more people sounded like it could cause even more problems. Of course, she didn't say that though. She just nodded and murmured her response. “I hope that it will work.” She knew that it wouldn't, but she still prayed for a change.

Seraphina had found the solution in a book in the library, and possibly the concubine could somehow make her find it earlier than it had been intended. At least if Blanche was alive and well at that point. But even that wouldn't prevent military conflict, would it? She didn't want to witness that war again, but it seemed to be impossible to prevent it when even Theodore was despairing. Blanche was really powerless in this regard, wasn't she?

Leon responded in a calm tone that let his exhaustion show. “We hope that too. Theodore has already written a letter to the prince, and we will try to persuade the messenger before he leaves. In the meantime, we are attempting to calm the king to delay any possible use of the military.” He rose to his feet. “This is why I have to return to the office now. If you are interested, I will tell you more about the other neighboring countries when I have more free time in my schedule.”

Blanche nodded excitedly. “Thank you very much. I would be happy to take you up on that offer.” She stood up as well to see him off. They said their goodbyes, and Leon hurried down the hallway, which reminded her to be thankful. He was sacrificing his little free time to teach her and also included topics that were irrelevant for a mistress, just because she had asked. She knew that, and still, she was impatiently awaiting the next lesson. Right now she wanted to learn in hopes of that being somewhat useful. But she couldn't change the fact that the royal advisor was busy either.

When Leon was unavailable, Blanche returned to her repetitious routine, which was only lightened up by the meals with Theodore. Every few days, Leon could make time despite looking exhausted though, and they discussed more of the fundamental rules and conduct that was required at social gatherings. Learning busied Blanche, and it was helpful for preparing for her next appearance in public. However, hearing about some conventions among the nobles, which she had more or less been aware of, made her embarrassed.

Prior to receiving the awareness that she was the villainess, Blanche had disregarded so many important things. More often than not, she had noticed what she was doing, but not all mistakes had happened to her knowledge. The novel had pointed out some of them, but Leon listed even more and sometimes gave examples of when she had behaved badly. She hadn't harmed anyone, but her actions had been incredibly rude and thoughtless. Along with her explosive temper, this had stirred up many conflicts because of small comments, which she should have ignored. Upon realizing how insufferable she had been, she was extremely grateful that Theodore hadn't given up on her.

Like this, Blanche tried to use the lessons to find clues on how she would have to act in the future while memorizing the mistakes she had made in the book and in the past to avoid them. But of course, Leon could only help her so much with his little free time. The lessons were over far too quickly each time.

At the dining table, the concubine often told her lover about what she had memorized during etiquette training. While they were eating, Theodore also used the opportunity to give her advice about her table manners. Naturally, Blanche didn't improve overnight because of the occasional references, but she felt like she eventually internalized the correct movements and made fewer errors.

However, aside from attending the meals and lessons, she still didn't do anything. After becoming bored with tracing the same path in the garden daily, Blanche was at a loss with what to do with her free time. Stella had realized this and prepared sweets for her mistress. The concubine adored all the different pastries, so they didn't last long. Stella had taken that as a sign to bring even more tasty treats the next afternoon.

Today the maid had brought a slice of cake with violet dots.

Without thinking about it much, Blanche grabbed a fork and took a bite. She hadn't expected more than the usual sugary taste, but time seemed to stop as a familiar flavor appeared on her tongue instead. She froze in place and stared at the slice on her plate. The yellow dough was filled with small violet balls. The flavor unmistakably consisted out of citrus and a small amount sprinkled-in blueberries.

What a coincidence this was.

Blanche finally brought herself to swallow after an eternity, and her memories wandered to her childhood. This cake had been the favorite recipe of her mother. Blanche had loved the dessert as well and developed an interest in baking early, mainly because of this cake. She and her mother had often stood in the kitchen for hours to perfect one exemplar and decorated it with different creams to combine all the flavors they enjoyed. This had become a ritual, and her mother and Blanche had made at least one cake each week. Her father and the twins had devoured the results of their hard work every time.

Until they were executed.

The concubine set down the fork and focused on the window to avoid showing how upset she was just after thinking about that.

“My Lady, do you not like it?” Stella sounded like she was ready to get a different dessert.

Blanche shook her head and waited for a second more before responding. “No, it's great.” It was just that this had reawakened old memories inside her, which inevitably made her emotional. Yet, another thought grew in her mind at the same time. Objectively, this version was superior to the cake that she had created with her mother, but she preferred the taste of her family's recipe. She had followed it so often that she was still able to list all ingredients in her mind without problems. The pastry in front of her incredibly tasty, nevertheless it wasn't what she longed to eat now. She desired the flavor of her family's recipe. The concubine jumped to her feet and almost knocked over her cup with her sudden movement.

Stella flinched at the clinking of the utensils that crashed against the plate and approached the table with worry. “My Lady?”

Blanche turned to the servant and met her eyes with determination. “I want to bake.”

“What?” A frown became visible on the maid's face.

The concubine approached the other woman and responded in a voice that didn't leave room for doubt. “I want to bake a cake in the kitchen. I can do that if I ask for the chef's permission, right?”

Stella opened and closed her mouth a few times while making odd sounds that didn't quite sound like words. After a few seconds, the servant managed to bring out a response. “I mean, most likely you could. But why do you suddenly want to go into the kitchen? You never made something yourself. Certainly, the cooks could help you with preparing something, but... Wouldn't it be easier if you asked them to make it for you? I'm sure that they will be glad to do that.”

Blanche shook her head and gazed at the cake for a moment before looking back to the maid. “It's not necessarily about a cake I want to eat. I just want to bake one myself.” Admittedly, she also longed for the taste of her mother's homemade blueberry-lemon-dessert, but she couldn't explain this to Stella.

Everyone in the palace believed that Blanche suffered from amnesia and didn't have any memory prior to awakening in the pavilion. To them, it would seem like the concubine was suddenly able to prepare a dish without ever having worked in the kitchen. Her surprising interest in baking would appear odd as well, so Blanche should probably avoid doing this. However, the need to reconstruct her childhood's favorite cake was greater than her caution.

“Let's go ask them, alright?” Blanche proposed that while already moving out of the room. Her servant had no choice but to agree and follow her mistress into the kitchen. When Blanche entered, the cooks weren't as hesitant as the last time, but they acted carefully nonetheless.

The chef came forward to greet the concubine and showed the same expression Stella had put on before when Blanche voiced her request. “If you would like to try baking, we'll provide all of our utensils. Should you require help-”

“No, no. I think I will be fine.” Blanche grinned as she received permission and immediately began. As she spread out the bowls and spoons on the work surface on the counter, many servants offered their assistance, probably because they feared her making a mess. She only let them show her where the ingredients were stored and insisted on doing everything else alone. While Blanche measured the scales, she heard the skeptical whispers, which questioned why she was capable of determining the correct amounts to form a dough.

None of the servants could guess how often Blanche had performed these exact same steps in the past. The movements felt natural, and she nearly mixed the ingredients without having to focus on her task at all. After she poured the result into a mold and sprinkled more berries on top of the dough, she put the baking dish into the furnace. The concubine stayed directly next to the fire and leaned against the counter in a spot that gave her an unobstructed view of the oven. Now she would have to wait for it to finish, which would take a few minutes. Still, she didn't dare to leave even for a minute to avoid burning her creation. As she stood there, her eyes wandered through the room.

Currently, the servants were preparing the dinner and scurried from the cupboards to the storage rooms and the big working table. A single person stood out though.

One maid rushed into the kitchen with a cart that was carrying a plate, which was empty except for some leftover crumbs. There was also an empty cup with a small spoon, which she gave to another servant to clean before speaking so loudly that everyone would hear her. “Her Majesty was very satisfied with the tea today. She liked it so much that she wants another pot.” So, this woman was one of Seraphina's personal maids. She leaned over to the man that washing the dishware and began blabbering happily. “And I have to agree, the tea today was divine. I think this one is my favorite flavor yet. You absolutely have to make this for me again soon.”

Her request was met with laughter by the male servant. “Surely not. You always demand things from me that force me to work more. If you want more tea, then how about doing something for me in return?”

The maid playfully sulked at her colleague before her gaze fell onto the concubine, and her expression fell. She was less than inconspicuous she moved closer to the man and whispered into his ear.

The other servant responded in a quiet voice too, just low enough that Blanche could hear that they talked but wasn't able to comprehend their words. Though she could guess what their conversation was about.

Just like her mistress, the empress' maid wouldn't have a positive impression on the concubine and fear that her presence would cause trouble. She actually looked rather angry, even though the other woman hadn't done anything.

Blanche didn't focus on that since she had expected this, but the statement that the maid had made baffled her. She turned to the chef that stood next to her. Maybe he was only here because he worried about her being discontent and causing a scene, but either way, it gave her a chance to question him. “Just now, that maid mentioned that she enjoyed Her Majesty's drink. How did she have an opportunity to drink the same thing as the empress?” That might be because Seraphina sometimes sat at the table with her maids, but Blanche suspected that there was another reason. This was probably connected to taste-testing, and she would like to know more about that.

The cook fumbled at his mustache while he answered. “Naturally, most people wouldn't know about this. To secure that Her Majesty isn't subjected to any harmful substances, we go through a few steps to confirm whether the meals are safe. I'm not allowed to elaborate on that, however, despite this, we can't risk being too careless. Thus, one of the maids will always eat or drink a small portion of the things we prepare before Her Majesty gets them.” Without a doubt, it was more likely to eliminate dangers this way.

But still, it didn't seem to eliminate all dangers. In “To Be Empress”, the heroine had been poisoned once, and another time there had been a poisoning attempt by Blanche. The first case was easily explainable since Seraphina's own maid had been the perpetrator. The maid could just have pretended to drink some of the tea instead of actually ingesting it.

However, Blanche was sure that there had been something odd in one of the last scenes in the novel. Back then, no one had taste-tested the liquid before it was offered to Seraphina. The villainess had tried to put something toxic into a cup and invited the empress to have tea. No maid had insisted on drinking that tea first, maybe because none of the three had been there. Everyone had probably trusted that Blanche wasn't as reckless to poison a member of the royal family when she would be found guilty immediately as the only possible perpetrator. Though even if the empress hadn't planned on drinking it, letting one's guard down in a situation in which Seraphina's archnemesis was involved was plainly stupid. But no one had ever bothered to question that, and the villainess was executed for treason anyway.

Blanche shuddered upon remembering that and forced herself to speak up. “I see. Do you do that for every meal? Even if, say, Theodore would be the one to hand it to her?”

This time, the chef hesitated. He tucked at his mustache again before responding. “I... We haven't had such a case yet, so I am unsure. Though I suspect that we wouldn't have to check the food then. His Majesty would never attempt to harm his wife.” He was pretty careless with his words considering the fact that he expected the concubine to be a hotheaded brat.

Blanche still didn't like hearing about Theodore and Seraphina's relationship, but she didn't say that. She just nodded absent-mindedly and inquired further. “Theo's meals too are tested by a servant too, right?”

The cook confirmed her suspicion. “Of course.”

“Then would you need to examine things that I give him as well?”

The chef's eyes widened at this question before he avoided her gaze. “That...uhm. This would... His Majesty's safety is the most important thing, so we can't...” He was visibly uncomfortable with affirming her suspicion. He probably feared her anger at this reply and continued to mutter vague phrases that didn't serve as an answer.

Blanche quickly calmed the poor man before he got too worried about her reaction. “That's alright. Naturally, Theodore's health is your priority, and you can't take any risks.” As she had guessed, it was strange that the novel's Blanche had been able to offer Seraphina a drink that hadn't been tested by another person. That probably proved that the heroine was intelligent once again since the empress had never planned on eating anything her nemesis was offering her. The villainess should have guessed that. Though thinking about that wouldn't help Blanche in any way since she wouldn't try to kill Seraphina, so she changed the subject. “Have you already planned what dishes you will prepare next week?”

It seemed like she had chosen a good topic.

The cook was happy to tell her which delicacies he had in mind and nearly didn't stop gushing about the spices and herbs he hoped to use. Seeing someone being so passionate about their work was refreshing, and Blanche gladly joined in on his speech to discuss their favorite meals. Time flew by while they chatted, and even Stella brought her own opinions into the conversation.

Seraphina's maid had eyed them with suspicion for a bit before her colleague surprised her with an extra cup of tea, along with the pot for the empress. Then she left after glaring at Blanche one last time.