Blanche couldn't help asking. “Why are you so kind to me?”

Her question made Sophia's beam fade. “Huh? What do you mean?”

Blanche stared at the floor to sort the words that flowed into her mind before she met Sophia's worried gaze. “Until today, we never exchanged more than a few sentences with each other. So, you have no reason to care about me. But still, you followed me, for which you had to leave the party, just to distract me and say such compassionate things. Aren't I your sister's nemesis? Shouldn't you hate me just for that? I'm not a good person either, so my behavior couldn't make you see past that.”

At first, surprise flickered on Sophia's face. Then she returned to a calm expression. Despite this, her eyes showed a determination that didn't seem to fit together with her normal gentle attitude but somehow created a perfect match. “I don't hate you. And needless to say, my sister doesn't either.”

Blanche was unable to keep quiet about the ridiculousness of this statement and laughed in a bitter tone.

Still, Sophia's expression didn't let room for doubt that she was being sincere. “I'm not joking. I have to admit that your interactions haven't always been the most friendly ones, and she is very sensitive when it comes to you. Believe me, I know my sister better than anyone else, and while she...” She hesitated for a moment. “Doesn't consider you her best friend, she doesn't despise you either. But I'm of the conviction that your strained relationship only developed because you met under unfavorable circumstances. You two share a few traits that might have allowed you to form a friendship in another situation. Even now, you can still turn the tide. For some time now, you have changed your behavior a lot, did you notice that?”

The other's eyes held something in them that made Blanche respond without hesitation. “I am trying to become a better person, so it's nice that this is noticed by some people.” At least if that actually helped in the future.

Sophia leaned forward slightly without breaking eye contact and put on an encouraging smile. “I am not the only one who noticed that. My sister also addressed this when we met three weeks ago. At this point, she is still wary of you, but I promise that she will warm up to you if you continue to be respectful. I don't know whether you can completely prove her doubts wrong since she is the type of person that never forgets the first impression, but you could certainly get along well. I mean, even though we never exchanged more than a handful of words, our conversation today was rather pleasant, wasn't it?”

In the presence of such a caring person, the concubine felt undeserving of her charity. With every word, the sapling of an idea in her mind which made her consider saving Sophia's child sprouted into a firmly anchored tree that would survive every storm. Blanche would do anything in her power to save the little girl from Evelyn's foul clutches and spare her mother all the pain that would follow the infant's demise. For a second, she forgot about the fact that she couldn't share knowledge that she shouldn't possess and opened her mouth. “Sophia? There is something I would like to tell you. Will you listen to me?”

Sophia was clearly surprised by the other's change of tone but agreed nonetheless.

Blanche took in a deep breath of air before she started to carefully address this unstable topic. “As you probably heard, your aunt, Evelyn Lemares, was my tutor for a short time before she was asked to leave. Even though I only had these few interactions with her, there always was a stinging feeling in my stomach when she was there. She was asked to leave because she entered my room without permission and started insulting me for no reason, which makes me worry about her state of mind. I don't trust her. Not just that, I truly fear that she will do something terrible in the future.”

Sophia's smile faltered as she listened to Blanche's words. Yet, to the other's relief, she didn't interrupt but listened closely until the very end.

“Naturally, I won't ask you to believe me and end your connection with her. You don't have to act different in any way. But I'm begging you to keep this in the back of your mind. Please be careful when she does anything that seems strange to you, especially when it's around your child.” A long pause followed, in which the concubine held her breath while she viewed the other woman's face.

Sophia only responded after what felt like an eternity while casting her gaze downward. “I can't mistrust my aunt just because of your words...but I won't forget what you told me.”

As Blanche heard the reply, relief flowed through her body and allowed air to return into her lungs. “Thank you.”

After another few seconds of silence, Sophia stood up and glanced at the other woman, which almost made Blanche think that she had ruined it. But then Sophia spoke in her usual gentle voice again. “I should go back to the party now. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed our conversation. Maybe we could repeat this in the near future?” A soft smile appeared on Sophia's lips, which the concubine gladly mirrored.

“I would like that very much.”

They bid each other farewell and Sophia walked down the path that led back to the terrace while seemingly being lost in thought.

Blanche remained on the bench and watched the other woman until she disappeared behind the hedges. For a moment, she stayed there to admire the roses to think. This had gone pretty well. Sophia might actually keep an eye on Evelyn now, and Blanche could take care of the rest on Theodore's birthday. That was the best she could do now. With that in mind, she motivated herself to go back to her chambers. She used one of the side entrances that couldn't be seen by the guests of the party and entered the palace.

The hallways were a little more populated than normal since servants were running around with the tea and snacks, which needed to be brought to the terrace. Though this only applied to the first floor. The others were as empty as always with only a handful of royal guards who were patrolling the halls.

As she entered her room, Stella, who was cleaning the windows, whirled around fast enough to almost drop the cloth she was holding. “My Lady! What are you doing here this early?” The servant's gaze flew to the clock and then back to her mistress. “Isn't the tea party still ongoing? Did something interrupt it?” Blanche's grimace had to have sufficed to show what was wrong since Stella stopped her work to approach her mistress. “It wasn't a good afternoon, was it?” Her tone revealed that she actually didn't need a response at all.

“It was terrible.” The concubine's answer couldn't have been more curt but truthful at the same time. She walked over to the bed, let her body fall onto the soft blanket and buried her head in the pillow. The fact that Sophia had taken her warning seriously had distracted her momentarily. But if she recounted the day now, it still had been catastrophic despite that little victory. Everything that could have gone wrong had ended up causing trouble.

Blanche turned onto her back and blankly stared at the ceiling. “I don't want to talk about it much. Just imagine the worst things that were possible, and you have an impression of my afternoon. Lady Lemares was there. She addressed the royal couple's childlessness, which completely ruined the empress' mood. One person hinted at my relationship with Theodore and another one at the painting in his office. Then I ran into someone and made her spill tea on her late mother's dress, for which I apologized, but she wouldn't let it go. She almost insulted me, and then Lady Lemares barged into the conversation and repeated her stupid lies. I got angry and said that she was the wicked one. Then Her Majesty graciously got involved and wanted to make me apologize to that old hag that calls herself a paragon of good conduct. I refused and got send away.”

With every event that she listed, Blanche opened another finger of her fist, only to realize that one hand wasn't enough to count her narrations. She dejectedly dropped her arms back onto the bed and glanced at her servant. “I surely told you a lot for not wanting to talk about it. Well, this is the summary. Be assured that this was way more uncomfortable when it happened right in front of me. Oh, and the Duchess of Vasquez, who revealed that she is pregnant, made me take a walk with her. So, I would argue that this was the most awful party of the year.” Hopefully, the novel's progression wouldn't give her another bunch of these events. Her execution, in case that she wasn't able to prevent it, would certainly surpass the amount of distress she had faced today though.

Stella replied with a deep frown. “That sounds horrible.”

Blanche sat up and dangled her legs over the bedside. “It was. Thank the gods that the next of those gatherings for ladies will only be in a year. If I'm lucky, the empress won't even invite me. This party already satisfied my need for gossip for my entire life.” Depending on how long her life would go on. She stretched her back and got onto her feet to approach the bathroom. “I'm going to take a very, very long bath now, and it will be the last thing I do today. I deserve a break after this dilemma.” However, before she could touch the door, her maid stopped her.

“But don't you still have to join His Majesty for dinner?”

“Oh, I forgot that.” Blanche's fingers continued to float above the handle in front of her like she was frozen in place. She reluctantly returned to her bed after a couple of seconds and lay down again.

It would be better if she could avoid Theodore for the day. He would inevitably question how the tea party went, and then she would have to lie or tell the discouraging truth. But upon finding out how Seraphina had treated her, Theodore would probably mad and confront the empress. In the end, this was similar to the novel, in which Blanche had complained to her lover about every single inconvenience and expected him to take care of it.

Doing this wasn't part of the concubine's plan, much like initiating a fight between the spouses or driving a wedge between them shouldn't be her goal. Being the villainess was the one thing she couldn't even come remotely close to. So, she would have to lie to the emperor. She neither wished to do that nor was she confident in being able to keep a straight face while denying the unfairness she had experienced, so that was bad enough.

And in addition, she had to change her strategy now.

To avoid the public's animosity, she needed to ensure that no rumors about Theodore's affair with her spread. Or rather, she couldn't give the nobles any more evidence that supported their conviction and made them spread their gossip in the empress' presence. Blanche had to refrain from giving such talk a foundation with her behavior. She had known that she would have to attempt to seem inconspicuous before, but today's events had proven that she needed to hold back even more. This included staying away from the emperor when he was in public, especially if he was accompanied by his wife. Though it would allow the fated couple to come closer without obstacles, which she would have to observe from a distance, it was a necessity.

Because of this, a part of Blanche dreaded seeing Theodore. Once again, he wouldn't know what troubled her while her mind was filled with the knowledge that she had to withdraw from him more and more as he fell for another woman. For the thousandth time, she cursed the author of “To Be Empress”, the book that seemed to ruin everyone's future just to ensure that the main characters got their happy ending.

It would be awful to not be able to get as close to her lover as before, but not seeing him at all hadn't an option from the beginning either. A life without Theodore would break her even more than him not being hers. So, she should get used to the idea of being alone.

Blanche didn't even dare to think about that. She wrapped her arms around her pillow and struck up a light-themed conversation with her maid to distract herself until it was time to leave. She forced herself to leave her bed and let Stella brush her tangled hair before going to the dining room.

As the concubine stepped into the corridor that led to her destination, she could see Theodore from afar. He was in the middle of entering the chambers and didn't notice her uncertain waving, which confused her. Normally, she was here too early and had to wait for him to arrive, but this time he had come already. That was unusual.

Blanche approached the room and Owen opened the door for her, for which she thanked him. While entering, she dismissed Stella, who stayed in the hallway along with the head knight. As soon as she heard the clicking that signaled the door closing behind her, arms were wrapped around her from behind.

“Good evening, my angel.”

A smile spread on her lips, and Blanche leaned her head back to look up at her lover while laying her arms onto his. “You're here early, Theo.”

The emperor pressed his lips onto her forehead for a short kiss and gazed at her with a little grin that faltered after he heard her words. “I wanted to make sure that I'm on time today. Something like last week won't repeat itself.”

She gently loosed his grasp to turn around before pulling him closer again. “That wasn't your fault. Who could have known that someone would tamper with your clock? Since we are talking about this topic now, did you find the responsible person?”

The cold look in Theodore's eyes served as a satisfying reply even before he opened his mouth. “No, we haven't. This is frustrating in itself, but we also haven't found a single piece of evidence. No one forced their way into the office or left any clue at the clock. This only proves that the perpetrator has free access to this room and can enter alone without anyone else noticing. So, it has to be one of the head servants, which I suspected from the very start.”

“That makes sense, but to think that someone with such an esteemed position would throw it away for a joke like this... They must have worked in the palace for years just to reach this rank and still care so little for it. I don't understand that.”

Theodore shook his head. “I don't either. I will remember to ask the person when I dismiss them from all of their duties. But at this point, I can't do anything else except for waiting for the investigation's results, so let's talk about something different.” His face relaxed when he changed the topic. “How was the tea party?”

Blanche was only able to keep her true feelings from showing on her face because she had expected him to inquire about the event and prepared a response already. “Pretty normal. The tea was a little bitter for my taste, but that was it. Nothing special happened. As usual, the ladies chatted about all kinds of gossip. The only important thing that came up was that, apparently, Selena Vasquez is pregnant.”

“Great. Another member of the family that opposes me at every chance they get. They have an heir already, so that won't change much, but if their son's development is any indication, this child will be unbearable too. And since it's my cousin, I'll have to visit their baby party and spend time with these people as well. I'm overjoyed.” Theodore sounded more annoyed than anything else, which was quite calming.

This reaction assured Blanche that her answer had been chosen well. She had stressed that nothing had occurred and focused on distracting her lover with unfavorable news. Now he probably wouldn't ask about her afternoon anymore.

Theodore loosed his arms and led her to the table before sitting down on the other side. For another moment, he stared into the distance until his smile returned. “Well, it's not like we can change that, so we don't need to get upset about this. That's all that happened at the gathering? It sounds even more boring than I imagined it to be.”

“It was.” Blanche began cutting the meat on her plate. “I sat in front of Duchess Vasquez and next to Lady Lamont, who had brought a friend with her. All of them were engaging in superficial talk about the newest rumors, so I only sat there wanting to leave as soon as possible. I'm really thankful it's over.” She hoped to seem more convincing by adding unnecessary detail and make him drop the subject

Instead, Theodore froze and assured himself that she looked at him before speaking. “The empress put you between some very unpleasant people, didn't she? She should know that the Vasquez household isn't our closest ally, and she was also present at the last ball, where Fiona Lamont troubled you.” The accusing undertone in his voice was audible throughout all the sentences.

Blanche was quick to stop him from continuing. “She has to put them somewhere at the table too. I bet that it was just a coincidence that they were seated close to me. If that only happens once a year, I can deal with it. I mean, at least Lady Lemares wasn't with me.”

The emperor remained silent long enough to make her shift around on her chair. Then he spoke again. “If you want to, I can also talk to the empress and ask her to avoid placing those unpleasant people directly next to you. I mean, the table outside does have enough other chairs.”

That would only cause the heroine to hate her husband's lover even more. Seraphina already thought that Blanche was being pampered too much, and the concubine being unable to sit beside a person she didn't like would amplify this. The dislike between the two women was already big enough to not need any more fuel.

Hurriedly, Blanche waved her hand in the air and shook her head. “No, no! It's fine, really. In noble society, you have to interact with every aristocrat, regardless of whether you have a good relationship with them. You do that all the time too, right? Duke Vasquez tries to provoke you with every sentence that he speaks, and still, you listen to him. Your ministers annoy you, but you still argue with them to convince them of your plans. You have to endure them at every single event, so I can do it for a tea party once a year.”

As Theodore listened to her, the gentle smile on his lips returned. “I see. Then I'll drop it. You've become really considerate of things like this. I'm proud of you.”

That was enough to make blissful chills run down Blanche's spine. Her face was lit up by a beam before she knew it. Normally, she hated it when her body responded without her permission, but this time she didn't care. Being praised by her lover would always let a surge of euphoria wander through every part of her. She wanted to give back a bit of the joy he made her feel, so she spoke up. “I'm proud of you too. You do far more admirable things than I do.”

His grin widened at her remark. “I'm honored to hear that, but I'm unsure what I did to deserve it.”

She reached over the table to grab his hand and squeezed it once before replying. “You're working so much to keep the nation safe. No matter what happens, you always keep a cool head and outweigh all the options to decide for the one that is best for everyone. You're never egoistical or ignore your citizens, even if that means that you barely have any free time left for yourself. You're the greatest ruler that Artias could ever have.”

Her lover's response followed immediately. “Though I wouldn't claim to never be selfish, I do my best to be fair and work hard. I shouldn't be complimented for doing this. To protect our country is my duty as the emperor after all.” He said this, but the shining of his eyes betrayed him. He loved being praised as much as she did. When he was done, he stroked his thumb over the backside of Blanche's hand in an affection gesture before letting her go so that they could eat.

During the rest of the meal, an unfaltering beam stayed on Theodore's face until they parted ways. Before he left, he pulled Blanche into another tight hug and kissed her long enough to make her head spin. As they stepped out of the dining room, they wished each other a good night, and Blanche watched her lover walking down the corridor towards his office with more energy than usual. Contrary to the tea party, the meal with her lover had gone extremely well. Maybe the gods had had some pity for her after the catastrophic afternoon.

After the incident with the empress, Blanche's mood had been terrible, and now she was feeling like she soared through the air. The way back to her chambers passed in an instant.

But as every mountain was followed by a valley, this high also ended sooner than she would have liked it to.

Everything was fine when Blanche went to bed. However, as the candles were extinguished and Stella left her alone with the silence, the memories of the tea party wouldn't stop repeating in her mind. If she didn't want to be treated this unfairly in the future, she couldn't let her affair with Theodore be known to the public.

When people, especially nobles from outside the palace, were watching them, she had to be careful to act distantly. It had to seem like she was merely an acquaintance of the emperor and not his lover. This shouldn't be too hard since Theodore had always been careful with showing their relationship to others. In front of anyone but his closest confidants, Leonard and Owen, he attempted to limit displays of romantic affection to protect Seraphina's honor, especially when they were under the public's watchful eye.

It was already bad enough that the empress' husband had taken in an unknown woman and made her a baroness, which caused the nobles to assume that she was his mistress. But if he officially introduced Blanche as his concubine or touched her in front of gossipy members of noble society, the empress would be humiliated.

Not only would it seem like Seraphina wasn't satisfying the emperor so that he needed another lover, but this woman also wasn't even from an aristocratic background. This concubine was just a girl that suddenly appeared in the palace, and no one knew where she came from. If a person like that was recognized as the mistress of Seraphina's husband, the empress' reputation would be shattered into tiny fragments.

Needless to say, Theodore didn't wish for that to happen. He couldn't risk losing the Duremont's support and naturally also didn't want a woman who had never attempted to harm him to suffer.

Blanche playing along with this would only help him to achieve that goal, so he wouldn't mind, right? To support her lover and protect herself, Blanche would only have to stop clinging to him in public and postpone hugging him until they were alone.

Previously, she had often wrapped her arms around his arms and refused to let go, even when a great number of people was watching. Sometimes even because many were observing them. She had done this often after he appeared with his wife and tried to show some sort of claim on him in that way.

In retrospect, this was an example of a ridiculous attempt at dealing with her jealousy, which had to have embarrassed both Theodore and Seraphina deeply. By refraining from acting similarly even in front of the servants, Blanche could confine the rumors surrounding the emperor's affair more. If nothing new spread, the nobles would soon get bored of discussing their ruler's concubine, right?

But even though she was aware that she had to sacrifice some interactions with her lover to save her life, if she was truly honest, she didn't want to. The heroine would go on walks with him, hold his hand, hug and kiss him. And while all of that happened, Blanche couldn't? It was unfair, even if this was for her survival. It was cruel, even if she knew that Seraphina was the empress and Theodore's wife, while Blanche was nothing more but a mistress without any power on her own.

As she fell asleep with all of this in her mind, another dream came to her. Like the last time that she had dreamed, it wasn't pleasant.