Evelyn might apologize for asking about the concubine's alleged pregnancy now, but she certainly didn't really feel sorry.

Blanche just held back the insults in her mind and forced her lips to imitate a halfhearted smile. “Of course. I would never hold a grudge, Lady Lemares. How could I be upset because of such a little rumor that hasn't even spread yet? There is only one thing I would like to ask for. Please do not mention such untrue stories. If others heard such things, they might misunderstand them and believe that they are the truth. However, gossip and reality are often very different from each other.”

Evelyn's eyes seemed to glow at that, and the concubine cursed herself. Apparently, that woman intended to use something that had just been said to her advantage in some way.

Luckily, Seraphina spoke up before her aunt could. “While it is kind of Lady Blanche to just look past this, I would still like to remind the person that voiced this sudden inquiry that she needs to improve her behavior in public. Lady Lemares, even though you normally are a paragon of proper etiquette of our civilized society and should know better, you made a grave error today. If I remember correctly, something similar has happened at the tea party as well. So, please think before you speak in the future, Lady Lemares.”

It was easy to see the switch in Evelyn's attitude. In one second, she went from a fake smile to a stiff expression, with only her eyes betraying that she was currently going mad with resentment. It was only logical that this sick woman wouldn't accept criticism from the daughter of the sister she hated so much. But she couldn't say anything in the empress' presence. So, she choked all of that fury down, and it would all surface later when she was alone with Grace. Evelyn took a few seconds to calm herself enough not to snap at Seraphina before replying. “Of course, Your Majesty. How could I reject your generous advice?” Even now her voice sounded like it was laced in poison, but no one except for Blanche truly seemed to notice.

The empress frowned for a second, which probably meant that she thought that her aunt wasn't trustworthy too, but she didn't do anything.

Evelyn didn't pay intention to any of that either way and just continued. “And while I agree that my rash approach was inappropriate, I would like to defend myself. I could not help asking since some rumors do have a true core. The ones about Lady Blanche, however, are very diverse, so it's hard to know what to believe. For example, the one about your acquaintances. You were extremely busy today, and there always seemed to be someone wishing to speak to you. I didn't expect you to be close to Lord Vasquez or Lady Lamont, but today, I saw you with both of them.”

Blanche grimaced before she could control herself.

That made Sophia hold back a giggle while Seraphina just calmly drank her cup of tea.

When the empress had set the cup down, she made eye contact with the concubine. “You do not seem to be very fond of them, even though they are some of the palace's usual visitors. Would you care to explain why?”

Blanche kept quiet for a moment as she tried to come up with something that would count as a reason not to like someone without being offending or revealing secret information. She spoke up after a few seconds. “I did not mean to insult any of them, but today was a rather stressful day, and they did not make it easier for me. I do not wish to offend them in any way though.”

The empress didn't seem to be patient enough to wait. “Naturally. Continue.”

The concubine nodded and began again, this time without any introduction that was supposed to keep her from appearing as insolent. “Lady Lamont is friendly most of the time, however, at the same time, she is...very intent on making a good impression on people, especially those with a lot of power. She is also very sensitive. She apologized for trivialities countless times even though I told her that it was fine. In the end, she only stopped when someone else came and said that she didn't need to worry as well.” That should have been enough to remind the empress of the situation at the first ball of this year.

Blanche paused for a moment to pick out the words for Luciano since he was a way greater threat than Fiona. One wrong word could trouble her later if the wrong person heard it, and Evelyn certainly would be happy to spread rumors that could harm Blanche, so she had to be careful. “Lord Vasquez is polite as well, but he is also extremely persistent. Discussing with him is almost impossible, and he has...” She didn't really know how to sugarcoat that he was scary. She pondered about that for a couple of seconds before just saying the first thing that came to her mind. “He is a little intimidating. It feels like he knows that too and doesn't care to change how he seems to others, which makes me uncomfortable in his presence on rare occasions.”

Sophia chimed in at that. She put down her cup with too much energy and nodded while swallowing her tea. “He is really impudent as well. You weren't at the ball anymore when that happened, but he stirred up a fight with Her Majesty. I could barely believe that he was this audacious, but he just began to run his mouth about how-”

Her sister cut her off with a glare.

Sophia cleared her throat and continued. “In any case, he is unpleasant. From what I have seen today, he seems to like speaking with Lord Sefare, so avoiding both might be good. Lady Blanche, if one of them ever bothers you again, feel free to come to me, and I will keep them away.” Seeing Sophia narrowing her eyes and speaking with so much determination was almost comical. Those emotions didn't seem to fit that gentle woman at all.

Blanche didn't have any time to laugh about that though.

Seraphina paused in the middle of drinking her tea and put down her cup before meeting the concubine's eyes. Her expression had become serious now, with a slight frown being visible on her forehead. “Were Lord Vasquez and Lord Sefare the ‘unpleasant men’ that Lady Ravillot mentioned earlier? The ones wishing to talk to you?”

It was like the temperature around them dropped.

Blanche nodded stiffly and tried her best to not show her panic on her face. Hopefully, the empress hadn't figured out that the concubine had been helping the emperor's enemies for a while. That was what Blanche had to avoid most of all, or she would lose her head quite literally. Her fingers began digging into the porcelain of her cup. Luckily, she didn't have to justify it just yet and could still come up with an excuse.

Seraphina continued immediately without letting her speak up. “How did you become acquainted with them? And what did they want from you?” The heroine realized what she had asked a moment later, and she forced herself to relax her posture and added another sentence in a quieter and calmer voice. “Of course, I will only ask you that if you are willing to share this piece of information.”

Blanche actually wasn't. But refusing would only seem suspicious, and she didn't need the empress to research anything. She had simple explanations for meeting Luciano, so talking about that wasn't a problem as long as she was calm. “Naturally, I have seen Lord Vasquez a few times at balls, but we never spoke for more than a few seconds to greet each other. But three months ago, I visited the capital for the first time after a while. There I met him, and he brought me back to the palace.” Shouldn't Seraphina know that already because of the interaction with Duke Duremont and Duke Vasquez?

Blanche wasn't sure, so she just forced herself to continue. “Then I met him at the ball for Your Majesty's birthday again, and he asked me to dance with him. I tried to decline, but unsurprisingly, I did not truly have a choice at that moment. Today, he approached me because he wanted to discuss something privately. I managed to refuse to enter the Vasquez family's tent, but he dragged me away from the venue. There Lord Sefare waited, and they wished to talk about...” She paused for a moment.

She couldn't admit the truth, so she would have to use some believable excuse. Something that would not spark any rumors, which Luciano could deny later to make her look bad. She recounted their conversation in a hurry and found herself thinking about the things he had said about Theodore. Even now she didn't feel comfortable asking about that as it felt like she distrusted her lover. But she didn't doubt Theodore's ability to lead at all. She was just curious about this apparent rumor that she had never heard about.

Blanche made eye contact with the empress as she carefully began. “They addressed a topic that I do not fully understand since they mentioned gossip I am not aware of. I have to say that their words were extremely disrespectful, so I do not wish to repeat them, but I would like to inquire whether one of you has ever heard about this. They called Theodore...” She stopped herself and considered correcting the title but let it be. “They called him a ‘tyrant emperor’, and I am unsure why they would do that.”

As soon as she had said that, the people around her seemed to stiffen, especially Elaine. Seraphina and Sophia appeared to be as taken aback by those words as Blanche had been upon hearing them, but the frown on Duchess Duremont's features made it seem like she knew what this was about.

Luckily, Elaine spoke up despite usually being rather quiet. “There has been a baseless rumor like that shortly after the previous emperor died and His Majesty was crowned at the very young age of twenty. He had barely been an adult when his esteemed father's death forced him to take over the great responsibility of ruling Artias and ensuring our citizen's well-being. At first, many people doubted him because of his age and spread gossip about all kinds of made-up stories that were supposed to prove that His Majesty wasn't fit to be the emperor. This had mostly been the fault of the aristocrats that wished to see His Royal Highness, the second prince on the throne.”

Elaine paused before underlining her next words with emphasis. “With the most influential supporters of that faction being the men Lady Blanche talked to. You should not believe a single one of the words that come out of their mouths. I assumed that the issue would be solved after His Majesty proved that he is a wise ruler by protecting us from wars and increasing the prosperity of not only us aristocrats, but also of the commoners. Seemingly, that isn't the case. Fortunately though, there are only few people who are spouting such nonsense now. So, this is nothing you have to concern yourself with.”

This was probably the first time that Blanche had heard Elaine talk so much, but she was more thankful about the explanation than surprised about the other woman's behavior.

Seraphina spoke up after a short pause. “I would like to express my gratitude for this information, Your Grace. I was not aware of the severity of those groundless rumors. I vaguely remembered some of those things, but the biggest part had been forgotten.”

“As it should be.” Elaine drank her tea with a grim expression.

The concubine took a mental note that the empress' mother seemed to back Theodore despite his trouble with the Duremonts before hurrying to respond as well. “Thank you for your help, Your Grace. I had never heard about that.” How could she have? She had been sixteen at that time and the daughter of a rich merchant. She had never learned much about the world outside her house and the part of the city that she had lived in. Blanche had never come in contact with politics and had just spent her everyday life playing with her siblings, talking to her parents and going out to eat or to take a stroll in the neighborhood.

And while she had been completely dependent on her family and had never lifted a finger on her own, Theodore had already been forced to process his father's death and rule a country. That would have been a burden that was great enough to crush most people. But additionally, he had dealt with countless political opponents and assassination attempts, which he even had endured since his childhood. It was no wonder that he was such a strong person now when his whole life had only been filled with the pressure of having to study to take his father's place later.

Blanche had grown up in a completely different environment, which only seemed to emphasize how incompatible the novel had portrayed them. She felt a bit dejected at that thought but quickly pushed it away. If Theo and she were happy together, what did it matter whether they were similar or whether the heroine was more like him? The only thing she needed to confirm was whether the emperor's feelings would stay the same or fade.

A second after she thought that, Seraphina pulled her out of her thoughts.“We are already talking about His Majesty, so I would like to ask you something, Lady Blanche.”

“Yes, Your Majesty?” While Blanche had said that, she could already feel nervousness piling up in her stomach. If the empress asked about Theodore, she would have problems answering the question.

Seraphina immediately resumed after receiving that reply. “When we spoke the last time, it sounded like he was hurt badly. If I remember correctly, you said that he was cut with a sword, but he is still participating in the hunt today. Did you perhaps stress the severity of his wound a bit, or is His Majesty truly careless enough to join despite his injury?”

Blanche didn't like that Seraphina was worried at all. In fact, she hated it. Even if the empress didn't seem too affected, she had still gone out of her way to ask for no reason. Theodore wasn't close to his wife, so why was the heroine concerned about his health? Hadn't he just humiliated Seraphina by taking his mistress' handkerchief instead of hers?

But Blanche choked all of that down and gave her best to reply calmly. “The injury was really serious, Your Majesty. All the doctor's assistants were present during the treatment, with the exception being the one that examined you, and all of them were rather nervous the whole time. They knew that the cut would not be deadly, but they even discussed what they would do if he didn't wake up by himself. So, it cannot be just a little injury. The sword slashed through his shoulder, and there was a flesh wound that had to be sewn. The thread was just removed last week. No one was able to explain why he is this unaffected by the injury though. Theo just said that he didn't feel any pain, so he insisted on participating despite the royal doctor and Lord Astame attempting to convince him not to join. As you can see, he did not listen to anyone.”

When she finished, Seraphina let a quiet noise that almost sounded like a snort. The empress drank some of her tea before responding. “That sounds like something he would do. His Majesty is just too reckless. What would he do if something happened to him now? He has always been stubborn, but ever since the attack, he seems to constantly overdo it. I assume that Lord Astame and the doctor also told him to work less?”

Blanche nodded, but that was only half true. After all, they had unsuccessfully tried to keep Theodore from entering his office in the first days after the assassination attempt. During the following week, he had been able to roam freely and had only worked three or sometimes four hours per day. That was significantly less than before, but he seemed to have become more efficient anyway. He had spent the rest of the time with his lover, which the others had supported. After all, he would take a break this way and actually come to the doctor since Blanche had forced him.

So, Seraphina's next words irritated her. “That should be obvious. His Majesty still spends almost the whole day in his office and works despite being injured. He saved my life during the attack, and ever since then, I have wished to express my gratitude to him, but he is busy from dusk until dawn. I have been unable to see him for longer than one minute when he...came to confirm whether I was unharmed.” The empress interrupted herself and corrected her words, most likely because she didn't wish to voice that the emperor had rushed into her room to drag his mistress out.

Blanche almost choked on her tea again when she heard that but managed to calm herself just in time. Had Theodore truly lied to his wife about working? Or rather, had he ordered the staff to lie to the empress? It was unthinkable that he could spend all of his time with his lover while Seraphina just wanted to thank him for saving her life. Admittedly, Blanche felt a little happier at that than she should have been. This meant that Theodore put her first and wasn't interested in the heroine, so she couldn't help but feel like her heart was melting in warmth. Still, she felt a bit guilty since the empress had been lied to. However, she wouldn't be the person to reveal that information.

Just when Blanche thought that, a realization made her pause.

Hadn't Seraphina mentioned that Theodore was clinging to his lover's side before, when they had discussed the alleged pregnancy? So, wasn't the empress contradicting herself?

Blanche looked up from her cup to make eye contact with the heroine, who was already staring at her with an emotionless face. This had been intentional. Had Seraphina tested her in some way as the empress did it often? Just when Blanche began to panic about whether she had messed up, the other woman already spoke.

“I didn't believe it before, but you truly-” Seraphina was cut off as the sound of a trumpet echoed through the venue.

Every single one of the guests was silenced immediately and looked around in confusion.

Blanche, as well as the other ladies at the table, turned around to catch a glimpse of the hunting podium. Normally, the trumpet was only played when the two hours were over to signal the hunters to come back to the starting point or when one person returned earlier. Usually, the second thing didn't occur since every participant wanted to use up even the last minute to get as many points as possible.

However, it seemed to be different today.

Seraphina asked her maid how much time had already passed, and it had only been one hour and a few minutes. So, whoever had finished now had to be convinced that they had scored enough points to win after only half of the competition was over. That person either had to be a prodigy at arching or an overconfident amateur.

In any case, the concubine was disturbed by this early arrival. That had definitely not happened in the novel, so her actions had to have changed the outcome yet again, without her knowing what she had done to cause this. She was straining her neck in an attempt to see who had come, but the crowd of nobles by the podium already obstructed anyone that might come out of the forest.

Apparently, the concubine's attempts to see had been so obvious that Seraphina spoke up. “The person arriving seems to be sure of their victory. Should we go take a look at them?”

Sophia was quick to agree, and the women stood up to climb down the stairs.

Blanche followed them while leaving a distance of a few steps between them, which caused her to walk next to Stella and Noah.

The knight gave her a soft smile again before greeting her. “Now it seems that we might be able to exchange a few words as well. How are you, Lady Blanche? Unfortunately, we did not have time to meet until now. Did you like the event up to this point?”

She returned the grin. “It's nice to see you, Sir Aldis. I'm fine. It was just a little stressful since there always seemed to be some trouble waiting for me.” She was about to ask about his day when Sophia turned around and gestured for her to come closer.

Blanche smiled at Noah one last time before hurrying to the countess' side. She already thought about whether to squeeze through the crowd or to take a detour to walk around them when the people noticed the empress and automatically made way for her. Admittedly, not having to wait for anyone to move was one of the advantages of traveling with a member of the royal family. Blanche gave her best to ignore the stares of the people that wondered why the concubine was with the group consisting of Seraphina's relatives. She just followed the women until they reached the end of the venue so that they had an unobstructed view of the forest.

Just at that moment, the empress froze in place, which made Blanche glad that she had maintained some distance. Otherwise, she would have run into the other woman, which certainly would not have been a pleasant experience, especially with all of those spectators. At first, she waited for Seraphina to continue, but when that didn't happen, she carefully stepped to the side until she was standing next to the heroine.

One glance at the person that had just arrived and was slowly striding towards the crowd was enough to make the concubine understand why the people were especially interested.

Theodore was the one leaving the forest. He was accompanied by Owen and Madeleine as well as eight guards and the horses that had been accompanying both hunters. But that wasn't the thing that made Blanche gasp. The huge red stain of the emperor's clothes was visible even from afar. It didn't take a genius to understand what that liquid was.

Theodore's whole shoulder was covered with blood.