It was clear that only one person would smuggle a letter into the concubine's room without any warning.

Every fiber in Blanche's being strove to throw that letter into the fireplace and burn it as fast as possible, but she knew that she couldn't do that. With shaky hands, she picked up the envelope and ripped it open to read the message. She ignored her maid's doubtful warnings to focus on the letter.

Only a single line was written onto the center of the page.

Blanche read the sentence a couple of times before repeating it out loud. “Sometimes, the only way to sort the turmoil in your head is to plunge into the darkness of the labyrinth of your own fears. Signed by ‘S’. The rest of the page and the backside are empty.”

Stella walked over to her and glanced over her mistress' shoulder to read the message again herself. Then she looked at the concubine with a skeptical gaze. “What does that mean? And who is ‘S’? We should really get a guard and report this to His Majesty. An unknown person intruded into your chambers and left this here, so we have to make sure that they get found.”

Blanche wished to do that. She really did. But she knew who had written this letter, and that made it hard to do something about it. “This was Sefare. Or at least one of his lackeys. He used to send such cryptic notes when he wanted to meet me. This means that he will be inside the labyrinth after dawn.” Blanche felt her stomach churn as she voiced that out loud.

Usually, Sefare had just written her by placing his envelopes in the tree, in which Stella would put hers and return with the marquess'. Naturally, the maid hadn't checked the spot for three months, so Sefare had to have resorted to other devices. But how was he able to smuggle something into the royal palace that was filled with alert knights that only waited for something extraordinary to happen? He definitely had employed someone that was skillful enough to hide from every single one of the guards and enter the third floor, which was the one with the most knights patrolling around. Most likely, he had hired a servant that wasn't even aware that they were helping a dangerous man. The knowledge that he was able to order a person to bring any item into the palace was alarming, especially since it seemed like entering the concubine's room was easier than she had thought.

It took a while before Blanche could tear her gaze from the letter and lift her head to observe Stella.

The maid looked at her with wide eyes and pressed her mouth into a line. Most likely, the servant had the same distressing thought as her mistress. They were quiet for an uncomfortable while before Stella hesitantly spoke up. “Are you going to meet him?”

Blanche didn't want to. In fact, she wanted to do nothing more than run to Theodore and lock herself in with him in hopes that the situation would just pass. But that wouldn't happen.

Sefare wouldn't simply ignore it when his tool didn't comply anymore, especially since Luciano had warned her already. At this point, they still kept the pretense of being her friends upright, but she didn't know how long that would last. Power-hungry people like them wouldn't bother to pay attention to morals or empathy on their destructive path. Others didn't matter to them, and when bystanders became obstacles, they would get rid of them without remorse. Their leader, the dowager empress, who had attempted to kill her own son to make Theodore's brother the emperor, was the perfect example of that.

Blanche didn't have the strength to face their anger, but she would be forced to in any case. She could only delay the conflict for another month and risk being even more entangled in their intrigues by then, which would lower her the chances for survival that she had tried to raise with so much effort. No, she couldn't just ignore Theodore's enemies and hope that they would leave her alone. She had to meet Sefare one last time and break off all contact with him. Since the marquess was only a lackey to the Vasquez family, he had less power than them. So, it would be better to tell him than to discuss the matter with Luciano or Claude.

Being on the palace grounds was also better than meeting him outside, not only because she could try to figure out how he would try to enter. Blanche was relatively safe here, even inside the labyrinth. After screaming for one second, hundreds of guards would come running, and Sefare wasn't stupid. He wouldn't hurt her while being the only possible suspect and having no way to flee, so she was safe regarding physical attacks. Despite that, her hands were shaking, and she couldn't ignore the voice in her brain that warned her that this was dangerous either. Still, she had no choice.

“I have to go. This might be the only opportunity I'll get to tell him that I won't help him anymore. If I don't do that soon, the Vasquez family might get more involved with me, and I need to avoid that. Plus, I can use this to find out how he is entering the royal estate.” Blanche had intended to put more determination into her voice, but even she heard that she had failed miserably.

Stella seemed dejected at her decision but didn't try to argue with her. The maid didn't have the whole picture, still, her knowledge was big enough to understand that her mistress was in a dilemma. So, she gave her best to support the concubine for the rest of the day.

Waiting for dawn was the most unnerving thing that Blanche had done in a while. Every few minutes, she glanced outside, but the sun didn't seem to set. Time passed slower than it should have, and even Stella's attempts to distract her with board games didn't keep her calm. Her hands were beginning to sweat, and she knocked over the playing pieces multiple times in each round. In the end, she was relieved when her maid suggested a hot bath.

Blanche dipped into the warm water, with care not to wet her hair to avoid getting sick due to the cool air later but immersed the rest of her body completely. She stayed like this for a while, but the anxiety kept creeping back into her mind. Even after going through a thousand scenarios of how the conversation might develop, she didn't feel any better. Instead, it got worse.

The chances of Sefare being generous and letting her go just like this were close to nonexistent, and no matter how much she hoped for him to be understanding, it wouldn't happen. That man might have been something like her adoptive father at some point, but that relationship had been a pretense. He didn't actually care about her. The concubine couldn't forget that.

When Blanche stepped out of the bath, the whole room felt cold in comparison to the water, which made her shiver even more than before. She couldn't be sure whether the temperature difference was the only reason, but she wouldn't admit that she was trembling in fear. She changed into a thicker dress and pulled over a long coat, which still didn't help much but allowed her to cuddle into something to calm herself. Though that didn't stop her from rethinking the possibilities of the future interaction.

When the sun was finally setting, Blanche couldn't wait to get it over and done so that she could stop worrying. The only things on her mind were the words that she wanted to tell Sefare. It would be best if she could state them and immediately run away, but on the other hand, observing his reaction might be important to estimate how strongly he would oppose her from that point on too. So, she was busy pondering about that and thus didn't pay much attention when she opened the door to leave her room.

Luckily, she didn't hit anyone again, but a person moved into her field of view seconds after she looked outside, which made her jump in surprise.

“I'm sorry for startling you, Lady Blanche. I didn't mean to.” That person immediately apologized in a familiar voice, which was certainly relieving.

Blanche took a second to focus on the present again and recognize Noah, who was scanning her with concern written on his features. “Sir Aldis. Good evening. It's fine, I just didn't expect anyone to be here this late.”

Noah glanced at the second knight, who stood next to him and observed the conversation with mild confusion before he looked back at the concubine, his usual calming smile still missing. “There are always guards standing by your door throughout the whole night. Haven't you noticed before?”

Naturally, Blanche was aware of that after living in the palace for eighteen months. Right now, she just hadn't thought this through logically. She needed to get past them without seeming suspicious, but a bad premonition told her that Noah's protectiveness would allow him to let her go out alone. “I was a bit absent-minded, that's all. That's why we will take a small walk inside the palace to take a few things off my mind.”

She could basically feel how Noah inspected her from head to toe before he spoke up. “You do intend to go out, correct? Your attire seems rather warm to wear inside.” Of course, the attentive man wouldn't ignore such a detail.

Blanche held back a groan and shifted her weight onto her other foot. “I'm cold, so I put the coat on. I might go outside but only a few steps to get some fresh air so that the guards by the door will still see me.”

“Are you sure that that is a good idea? You have just recovered from the incident at the ball. It's wonderful to see that you seem to be feeling better again, but you shouldn't risk over-exhausting your body.” With the worried tone in Noah's voice, he sounded exactly like Theodore when he had urged her to be more careful during her recovery.

In other situations, Blanche might have been grateful for his care, but at this moment, she couldn't waste any time arguing with him. “I'm completely fine again. The royal doctor attested that I am healthy on multiple occasions, so there aren't any doubts left. I won't stay outside for long either.”

Her reasoning didn't seem to convince Noah in the lightest. He crossed his arms and stared at her for a moment like a father that was scolding his child for their irresponsible actions before he gave in with a sigh. “If Lady Blanche says this, it must be true. Since it is still quite late, please allow me to accompany you.” It shouldn't have been surprising that he would propose this, and usually, she wouldn't mind, but today there was no way that she could agree.

Blanche straightened her posture to seem more confident than she actually was and gave him the brightest smile she could muster. “I appreciate your consideration, Sir Aldis. However, I wish to go alone tonight since the purpose of this walk is to sort the thoughts in my mind. It would be better to do this alone, and I am already compromising by taking Stella with me. Another person, no matter how kind their intentions are, will distract me too much. So, I have to turn down your offer.”

Noah stared at her for a moment before blinking a few times. A frown appeared on his features a few seconds later. “I would have trouble being at ease with the knowledge that you are running around in the garden alone with no chance of protecting yourself. I promise to not disturb you. I will stay a few steps away from you and won't speak. It would truly worry me if you'd go alone, so please listen to my objection.”

For a second, the concubine considered taking him with her. In the unlikely case that Sefare would try to attack her, it would be beneficial to have Noah in close proximity. However, she threw that thought away immediately. She would have to enter the labyrinth alone, and Noah would definitely question why he couldn't follow her or even insist on accompanying her then. By letting him come with her, she would just delay the discussion a few minutes to have it in front of the labyrinth. That wouldn't gain her anything except for her seeming suspicious in front of one of the most loyal knights in the palace. If Noah told the emperor about her nightly trip, it would cause Theodore to ask her about it, and she didn't need that.

So, Blanche really didn't want him to cling to her, even if she knew that it would be hard to convince him to change his mind. “I'm sorry, Sir Aldis. But I truly can't allow you to come with me this time.”

Noah wasn't too happy about that. “Lady Blanche...” It seemed like he intended to continue, so she silenced him with a raised hand.

The concubine hurried to voice something that might grant her a small chance of victory. “Since we have conflicting interests in this matter, I would like to propose a deal.”

Noah closed his mouth and listened to her without objections, so she resumed.

“Today, you will let me go out alone, and I will be back within half an hour. In return, I promise to never demand to leave the palace at night without taking a knight with me ever again. In the case that I wish to visit the garden in the dark, I will inform you so that you can accompany me.”

Her compromise was actually rather unfair. Blanche knew that Noah would become the empress' personal guard very soon, and after that, he would barely leave Seraphina's side. This meant that he wouldn't have any time to come with the concubine anymore and also wouldn't be stationed in front of her door to keep an eye on whether she broke her promise. He couldn't be aware of this yet, but still, he seemed skeptical. She already thought that her attempt would be rendered useless, so she was taken aback by his response.

“Alright. But you have to swear to keep your promise.” Noah didn't seem like he was lying about that, which was more than surprising.

Blanche's initial thought escaped her lips before she could prevent it. “You actually agreed?”

Noah nodded at her with a serious expression. “I don't know how often you plan to go out in the future, so it's a small sacrifice to allow you to leave on your own once if you won't refuse my help in the future. It's half an hour, and after that, I can make sure that you are safe no matter when. But if you aren't here by the named time, I will search for you.”

She blinked at him in disbelief while she tried to process her unexpected victory. Noah was such a protective person that he had to be really uncomfortable with letting her go out alone, and still, he complied because she had begged him to. This thought brought a smile onto her lips. “Thank you very much, Sir Aldis. This means a lot to me. We will take our leave now.”

Noah nodded at her. “Be careful. The royal estate is safe, but you can never be completely sure. Remember to come back within half an hour.” His worry was visible on his face, so she quickly promised him that she would be on time.

Blanche bid him farewell again and hurried down the corridor away from him to avoid that Noah suddenly changed his mind. “I can't believe that this worked.”

Stella only caught up to her when she reached the stairs but still managed to hear that sentence. “Me neither. And you just lost your right to go out freely at night.”

Blanche rolled her eyes at her maid. “He has no way of knowing where I am the whole time. If I go out and he isn't in front of my door, I won't wait for him to show up.” She was glad that Stella didn't point out her lie because she felt guilty enough for deceiving the trusting, loyal knight already. But she didn't think about that for long since her concerns regarding Sefare came back with full force as soon as she reached the first floor.

Her legs felt like they might give in, and she began to look around nervously. No one except for the knights were wandering around at this moment, and they wouldn't question her, so she didn't have to fear being found out. Still, her mind was being unreasonably frightened of the possibility.

When the two approached one of the side entrances, the guards gave them an irritated look, but they opened the door wordlessly and allowed the women to step out. The concubine and the maid paused on the steps so that Stella could light up the candle inside her lantern, which her mistress would need in the labyrinth, with a match.

After that, they walked to the terrace in silence, which Blanche was thankful for. She fully concentrated on finding the right words to convey her intentions to Sefare in the most humane manner in hopes of not making him angrier than he would already be after listening to her.

Blanche almost wished that the way to the maze was longer so that she could postpone the distressing conversation a bit more, but they arrived at the entrance quickly. She hugged herself and took a deep breath before turning to her maid. “Can I borrow your lantern? It will be pitch black inside, and I don't want to break my bones at the last second.”

Stella glanced at her with confusion. “Don't you want me to accompany you? It will be safer like that. I wouldn't feel content with sending you inside to meet that suspicious man alone.”

Blanche shook her head. “He wouldn't talk if he sees another person there. In fact, he would even become furious because I told you about my connection to him. I don't plan to upset him any more since he will get angry as soon as I inform him of my decision.”

Stella seemed to bargain with herself for a little while before handing over the lantern. “I will come running if I even hear a small noise. Be careful.”

“Noah said the same thing. Don't worry. Sefare isn't suicidal. He won't harm me at a place where I can call for help and be surrounded by knights within seconds.” Blanche might have spoken to her maid, but the words also served to calm herself down. She knew that she wouldn't be able to fight against her reluctance anymore if she drew it out even longer. She held up the lantern and entered the labyrinth with slow steps while trying to ignore the thumping of her heart that seemed to echo in her head.

The decision to take a light source with her quickly proved to have been intelligent. The high hedges of the maze only allowed a faint glint to pass through their leaves, which made it almost impossible to see anything inside without a lantern. Blanche had only taken a few steps into the labyrinth, but she already wanted to turn around again. She didn't understand how this unnerving location could be Seraphina's favorite spot within the royal estate. In the daylight, it might serve as a calm, unobserved place, but in the dark, it looked like a location from a nightmare.

She struggled to keep the hand that was carrying the lantern steady and forced herself to put the free hand against the left side of the hedges and used them to orientate herself within the maze. If she remembered correctly, Seraphina had always done this to find the shortest way to the center, where Sefare was probably waiting. With the same strategy, Blanche followed the hedges' course and began to doubt that she would arrive anywhere like this but trusted the heroine's judgment. She wasn't disappointed.

Soon the rippling of water sounded faint, which proved that she had gotten closer to the smaller fountain. And sure enough, after another few turns, she reached an arch with roses that sat over a gap in the hedges.

Blanche braced herself and took another deep breath before stepping onto the stone tiles. She ducked to avoid brushing the plants with her head, only to realize that that hadn't been necessary at all. But she didn't have any time to think about that because she was already busy looking around.

The center area of the labyrinth was a medium-sized square with four benches and a fountain in the middle. In the novel, the heroine had often sat on the ledge and pondered about her problems or met her brother, who had given her secret information about her enemies.

Right now, a different person was sitting at that exact same spot. As soon as Blanche came into view, he rose to his feet and gave her a bright smile. “There you are! I was already thinking that my letter was too ominous this time. But of course, a clever girl like you had no trouble finding me.”

Even though she hadn't seen Sefare in over three months, she didn't have to look twice to recognize him. He hadn't changed one bit from the last time that they had met, so there was no way that she wouldn't be able to identify him. This was the man that had saved her life and taken her in for two years to teach her how to charm the emperor.

Sefare was in his forties but still handsome with his platinum blonde hair and amethyst eyes. Despite some women swooning over him, he had never made any attempts to marry. It had never made sense to Blanche, but now she knew that he only cared about gaining power and didn't have time for human interactions because of that.

In retrospect, it was so obvious that he had only ever seen the concubine as a pawn, a tool to break apart Theodore's marriage and then kill him. But in the past, Blanche had thought that Sefare actually cared about her, and his words reminded her why. He had always praised her and treated her as if he was a proud mentor. Along with saving her life, a few kind words had been enough to win her over. She had truly believed that he was a generous person that had only wished to help her because of his goodwill. How wrong she had been.

Sefare seemed to notice that she was lost in thoughts since he addressed her again quickly. “Blanche? Is everything alright? You seem so different. Calmer, and the look in your eyes is more mature too.”

A part of Blanche had been sure that her whole behavior had changed because of the book's memories, and seemingly, this had been true. If Sefare could determine this with one glance, she had to seem like a truly different person.

But he wasn't just acknowledging this for no reason. He was trying to flatter her again with a fake grin on his lips, which was obviously not honest. He wasn't an exceptional actor like Harris nor did he seem unsettling like the members of the Vasquez family.

He just seemed normal.

Sefare's acting was as good as any ordinary person's would be. His smile looked like the smile anyone would show when others expected them to be happy. Maybe he was really gleeful to see the concubine though. After all, she was proof that his plan had worked up until this point, and should it succeed, he would without a doubt be rewarded with a huge amount of power and wealth. She was going to take expectation that away from him now, so she couldn't expect him to not resent her afterward.

Due to her silence, Sefare spoke up again. “Are perhaps feeling unwell? I saw that you collapsed at the ball and sent a few letters to wish you a fast recovery, but you never picked them up. Could it be that you are still a little sick?” He stepped toward her and pressed his lips into a thin line.

His half-baked pretense of concern annoyed Blanche enough to make her reply. “I'm completely fine, Lord Sefare.”

Sefare's eyes widened at that. “Before we brought you to the palace, we had to cure you of calling me ‘Julien’ in public, and now you use my correct title in private. You truly have grown up.” He gave her a warm smile, which made her want to roll her eyes, but she held herself back to not alert him even more of her changed personality.

Instead, Blanche looked around to make sure that he hadn't brought anyone else with him, but there was no other person close to them. Slowly, she stepped closer, just enough so that she could speak a little quieter to avoid someone overhearing them. “I was a bit surprised by your sudden visit. How did you even manage to enter the royal estate? The security measures should be more than satisfying, and you still passed by without alerting anyone.”

Sefare's smile widened, but his eyes had an ominous glint when he responded. “I have my ways. But that isn't actually important, is it? I am more concerned about how your life has been. We haven't met for a while, so this is a great opportunity to exchange some words.” His smile faded to show how uncertain he pretended to be. “Do you know how worried I was when you simply stopped sending letters without an explanation? I feared you might have been hurt, but Claude saw that you were fine at the last ball. I only had the chance to see you at the second one, and then you suddenly collapsed before we could talk.”

In the past, Blanche would have believed in his concern. After all, he was the man that had freed her from prison so that she wouldn't be executed alongside her family and allowed her to stay in his home. Though she could barely see him as that person anymore. To her, he was just a power-hungry follower of the dowager empress that wished to harm Theodore. Thus, she didn't have any intention of chatting with him or revealing any sensitive information to him.

But Sefare didn't seem to notice that. He didn't stop talking despite her obvious disinterest. “Say, how have the things inside the palace developed? I heard that His Majesty has no qualms about showing anyone how much he loves you. He touched you in front of others like at the ball, which only proves that you are the most important thing to him. Aside from that, the occurrences inside the palace don't really reach the outer world.”

Blanche stayed quiet still and just blankly stared at him.

Maybe it was too dark for Sefare to see her face properly since he ignored her current mood. He sat down onto the fountain's ledge and pointed to the spot next to him. “Come, sit with me. We have some time to make up for. I must say that I was quite surprised when Luciano told me about meeting you in the capital. It was dangerous for you to go alone! You know that His Majesty would always allow you to go out with some royal guards, so you should take him up on that offer. We can't risk you getting hurt after all. You also have to tell me how you left the estate without anyone noticing you. Is there some secret way that you used? If that is the case, you simply have to-” He was as terrible as the Vasquez family with his inability to shut his mouth, if not even worse.

Blanche listened to the first seconds of his speech before letting him ramble on without focusing on his words. But after some time, she couldn't take it anymore. “Lord Sefare. I have something to tell you.” The seriousness in her voice appeared to be new to him.

Sefare lost control of his expression for a moment as pure surprise became visible on his face. It took a few seconds before he collected himself again. “You seem oddly serious, but of course, I'm always willing to listen. Go ahead.”

She concentrated on inhaling and exhaling a couple of times before voicing some of the words that she had come up with earlier. “I thought about this for the last months, so I have had enough chances to reconsider, but I am certain that my conviction is the right one. I sincerely thank you for saving my life, allowing me to live with you and teaching me some basic knowledge. But from this point onward, I do not wish to have any contact with you, the Vasquez family or any of your allies.”

And just like that, she had done it.