The next morning arrived quicker than it should have. The concubine awoke to her lover tickling her until she stopped complaining and opened her eyes. When she saw that he was already dressed, she realized that it was later than usual, so she hurried to change into a new attire as well.

During the last days, sleeping in wouldn't have been a problem, but starting from today, they would eat in the dining room. Arriving when Seraphina had already begun would be rather uncomfortable. Blanche didn't want to be impolite by interrupting the empress' meal, and being tardy was too close to the original storyline to be to her liking.

Theodore didn't seem to be affected by her attempts to rush downstairs though. He linked their hands and strolled through the hallways at a leisure pace, which forced her to slow down as well. Then he also had the nerves to calmly ask her to move even slower. “You shouldn't run on the stairs. We don't want you to trip after all.”

Blanche gave him an annoyed look. “Theo, we are late. The empress won't like being disturbed. If she complains, you will be the one to tell her that we were on time until you decided to brush my hair for half an hour.”

Her lover grinned at that. “If I start touching your hair, I can't help wanting to run my fingers through it for longer. It's so soft.”

“My hair also won't disappear during breakfast, so you could have satisfied your needs after eating.” She tried to pull him to increase his pace a bit but was unsuccessful again. She gave up hurrying after that. They were late already, so a minute more or less probably didn't matter much now.

In the end, that did matter.

They arrived at the dining room twenty minutes past nine o'clock, so Seraphina had definitely begun eating. After all, the emperor and his concubine hadn't appeared for any meal during the last two days, so the empress probably didn't expect them to come.

Blanche braced herself for the uncomfortable situation that would follow while the servants opened the door. She gave Noah a little smile before trying to neutralize her expression. She ignored the glares of the heroine's attendants and how they lowered their heads when Theodore looked at them as she just focused on coming up with a polite excuse for their tardiness. Of course, she and her lover were still holding hands, which was a bit provoking, so her words had to be flawless.

The dining room was mid-sized with a round table with eight chairs around it. Only the spaces in front of three seats had been prepared with plates, dishware and cups. The empress was sitting on one of the chairs and seemed to have chatted with Gloria until the door opened. She turned to the people that had entered and faced them with an indifferent expression. While the head maid looked like she merely tried to seem calm, Seraphina appeared to be fully composed with only a few traces of annoyance that she had covered up. No one that hadn't lived for provoking the empress and didn't know how she reacted to the concubine arriving late would have been able to notice that.

That didn't bother Blanche though. After all, the other woman had the right to be frustrated after having waited for twenty minutes. The bad part was that Seraphina hadn't touched her food, which only served to make Blanche feel worse. It seemed like the empress had known that the couple would join her due to the way that the table had been set. Thus, Seraphina had been forced to wait for the other participants of the meal to be respectful.

Theodore didn't pay attention to that though. His beam didn't falter for a single second while waltzing into the room as he still held his mistress' hand. “Good morning.” Even his voice sounded cheerful, which made the concubine cringe. Why didn't he simply voice a small apology?

Seraphina gave him a polite smile that was definitely forced. “Good morning, Your Majesty. Have you slept well?”

Theodore led his lover to their seats, which were next to each other on the opposite end of the empress' chair, while replying. “Of course. The pillows here are so soft that you don't want to leave the bed at all. We just should have slept earlier instead of letting ourselves get distracted. Well, it's our vacation, so it can't be helped.”

The empress blinked twice before hiding her irritation at the ambiguous statement. “That is good to hear. Good morning, Lady Blanche.”

The concubine hinted a small curtsy that might have been more graceful if the emperor had let go of her hand for a second, but she did her best. “Good morning, Your Majesty. I sincerely apologize for-”

Theodore chimed in before she could even begin. “We overslept. That's why we came later. But since it's our vacation, that should be fine.” He ushered her to her chair and put his hands on her shoulders while she sat down before taking a seat next to her.

Blanche had to restrain herself from asking him whether he was purposefully provoking the empress now or whether he had just slept too little. Her glare had probably asked that question anyway.

Seraphina stared at them with a slight frown before neutralizing her expression again. “I see. As I do not have any fixed appointments, I did not mind waiting a couple of minutes during one morning.” Even though she had empathized that this was alright if it happened only once, the concubine doubted that the emperor had listened to her.

Theodore already waved towards Gloria, who seemed to be the one attending them during the meals. He turned to his lover before instructing the head maid though. “Do you want to try the orange juice? I heard that the fruits were taken from a plantation in the area. The juice is freshly pressed too, so it might be on a completely different level than the one we have in the palace. I'm curious.”

Blanche nodded. “Yes, me too. That sounds delicious.”

The emperor addressed Gloria again. “Would you pour us a glass?”

“I would be glad to do so.” Gloria bowed her head before taking a carafe with an orange liquid and filling two glasses, which she placed next to the couple.

Blanche thanked the other woman before lifting the glass to her face and breathing in. It already smelled fantastic, so it would taste just as good. She took a sip, and her assumption was proven to be true. The fruity flavor was as sweet as she liked it and so fresh that she could have bitten into an orange as well. She set the glass down onto the table as she turned to the head maid. “This tastes great. Please tell the kitchen staff that they did well.”

Gloria nodded, but her slightly sour mood was still obvious.

Blanche couldn't do anything about that though. She turned her head to the table again and was about to decide what she should eat when her lover's motion caught her eye. He grabbed the napkin that was lying by his plate and folded it before facing her and lifting it to her face. Reflexively, she held still to allow him to dab the area around her mouth. She only realized that doing this in front of the empress wasn't a good idea when her lover lowered the napkin and beamed at her.

She wouldn't make way for the heroine, but antagonizing Seraphina hadn't been her goal either. Being disliked by the empress might be enough for this world to recognize her as a villainess, and if that was the case, she could forget her happy end. Blanche stiffly turned to Theodore and glared at him, but his bright smile still didn't fade.

Instead, Theodore grabbed the glass with juice and tilted it slightly while inspecting the liquid inside “You said it's tasty, right? Let me check.” He drank a sip before swallowing it and pausing for a moment. Then he turned to smile at his lover. “You definitely were right. I should trust your judgment in the future.” He set down the glass next to her plate, and only now, she realized that he had taken hers.

Before her shock at that became visible on her face, Blanche lowered her head and stared at the table. For a moment, she just prayed to the gods that the heroine's frustration wasn't enough to make her the villainess. Otherwise, she would be in big trouble because of that. Especially since she felt a pang of satisfaction. In the novel, the villainess had always been the person that sat at the side while the others chatted. She wanted to return to favor, even if Blanche was a bit worried about whether her stance here might not cause her more problems. It would be best to hold back.

She forced herself to look up to grab a croissant from the layered cake holder and took some fruit and the yogurt. As long as she ate, there wouldn't be much that her lover could do to ruin the mood even more. At least she had thought that.

Theodore ate his pudding quietly for a while until he suddenly addressed her. “I'm surprised that you haven't taken a piece of cake yet. Sweets are normally your favorites. The pudding is great. Don't you want to try some of it?” He held the filled spoon up to her mouth with an innocent expression. “Open up.”

Blanche blinked at that. Did he truly have to do that in front of Seraphina? A memory from yesterday crossed her mind just when she began to question her lover's sanity. Hadn't he mentioned making the empress want to eat by herself? Was this his way of achieving that? If this was how he intended to eat until the empress gave in, which she probably wouldn't since she was as stubborn as him, they definitely had to continue to have their meals in their room. This was insufferable. The concubine's heart already beat out of her chest as she remembered how Seraphina's hatred could ruin her life. Now she also had to decide how to react to the spoon in front of her lips.

Trying to refuse wouldn't undo Theodore's attempt at feeding her, and she wasn't sure whether he would even take a no in this situation. So, it might be better just to go with it. And maybe she was also a bit happy to show Seraphina that Theodore was hers.

Just a tiny bit.

Blanche didn't feel proud, but she hurried to let the spoon disappear in her mouth and retreated seconds later. She quickly swallowed and smiled without gazing into the empress' direction. “You're right. It's good. I'll take my own bowl.” She focused on eating after that, even though her stomach was complaining at first. The heavenly treats quickly made her forget how unpleasant the situation was though. She was only reminded of the issues when the emperor chose a slice of cake and put it between them so that they could share it. She made the mistake of glancing at Seraphina for one second after that and was met with a cold glare that caused her to lower her gaze immediately.

This was just great.

The heroine was angry at the villainess even though Blanche hadn't done anything.

Blanche just looked down at the cake for the rest of the meal and occasionally glanced at her lover whenever he addressed her. Chatting with him while the empress was eating across from them in silence made all of this so much stranger, especially when she glanced up one more time and saw that Seraphina was finished. To not be disrespectful, one would wait until the others were done as well. But judging from the fact that Theodore offered his concubine another piece of cake from his fork, it seemed like they would still take a while.

It felt like an eternity had passed, in which Blanche had given her best to stay calm despite her lover's persistent attempts at making the situation worse until Theodore was finally done as well and spoke up. “It was as delicious as always. Gloria, you have to compliment the chef for his work.”

The head maid had a cold expression on her face, which revealed how angry she truly was about the emperor's attitude towards the empress, but she replied as courteously as she normally did. “I will make sure to inform the kitchen staff of that, Your Majesty. Should I instruct them to clear the table now?”

Theodore rose from his chair. “Yes, please do so.” He faced Seraphina with a smile as if he hadn't just spent the entire duration of breakfast provoking her. “We'll retreat to our room then. I hope that you will have a pleasant day.”

The empress gave him a polite smile that didn't reach her eyes. “I thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. If this day is anything like the morning, it is destined to be wonderful. May you have an enjoyable time as well, both you and Lady Blanche.”

The concubine clenched her jaw at the remark that had hinted that this morning, in fact, wasn't wonderful at all and restrained herself from glaring at her lover. “I don't doubt that this day will be just as magnificent as the last ones. Please do enjoy yourself, Your Majesty.” She just wanted to leave as soon as possible to avoid giving Theodore another chance to do something that would infuriate Seraphina. So, she quickly grabbed his hand when he offered it to her before trying to pull him out of the room.

But Theodore seemed to take his time again and walked so slowly that she felt like they were barely moving.

When she finally managed to usher him out of the room, Blanche's patience was used up. She waited until the doors were shut behind them before turning to him. “Why did you do that? Are you insane? Do you have any idea how furious the empress is right now?”

Theodore shrugged with an indifferent expression on his face. “That was the point of this meal. We want her to eat in her room so that we have our privacy.”

Blanche began gesticulating wildly with her hand but forced herself to stop when the guards by the door gave her an odd look. “We're eating here now to avoid troubling the servants that would have to carry everything up the stairs, right? If the empress has her meals in her room, that won't solve the problem at all.”

“Surely not. But the people having to run up and down the stairs will be her personal maids. They don't have any duties but to look after the empress. So, they aren't in a hurry and can't complain about other tasks that they have to take care of. That means that it doesn't matter if they move around a bit more. It might cause them to swallow some of their baseless pride.” That didn't sound like an objective view.

Blanche could understand this to some extent, but still. She massaged her temple with her free hand and closed her eyes for a moment before replying. “That makes sense in some way. But that doesn't justify making us the empress' enemy. She didn't do anything, and ruining her day like this will only cause her to despise us, especially me, even more.”

Theodore guided the hand he was still holding to his face and pressed a kiss on it. He looked at her with an expression that was much more serious than he had acted during breakfast. “Didn't I tell you? What other people think doesn't matter. Especially not her. If she wishes to be our enemy, she will be the one regretting that. After all, we didn't do anything that could justify her being angry. We were in private with no one there that didn't know about our relationship. We were overly considerate of her from the moment that you moved in with me to not instigate a fight with her strong-willed father, but there is a limit to that. We're in the middle of our vacation far away from the capital. No noble will see us here, so we are free to do whatever we want. If she has a problem with us, I don't care. I never cared about that in the first place, and the more time passes, the more I feel like ignoring Duke Duremont's unreasonable fury completely. So, you don't have to concern yourself with that family either.”

He sounded awfully confident for someone who could lose his biggest supporter because of an affair. During the past twenty months, they had hidden their relationship, so giving up now would not only render all of that useless. It would also infuriate the Duremont household more than anything the concubine had done until now.

Blanche let out an inward sigh and put her hand on the side of her lover's face. “What am I supposed to do with you? You don't seem to think before you act anymore. You might create some big issues for you if you lose Duke Duremont's backing. For the previous emperors, conflicts like this might not have been a problem, but there is a different political situation right now. There will be a dilemma that comes with the increasing tension between the poles of the people that support you, or...” She paused shortly and spat out the next words. “That horrible dowager empress. So, please think twice before you do something this reckless. I worry about you.”

Theodore put his hand on top of hers and looked into her eyes with determination. “It might not always seem like that, and I made unforgivable mistakes in the past, but I know what I'm doing now. Trust me. I wouldn't do anything that would benefit the dowager empress. That's obvious, right?”

It wouldn't make sense for him to risk giving that woman an advantage just because he wanted to eat without Seraphina. He hated his birth mother even more than Blanche did. Thus, he would never want to see the dowager empress or the second prince in a position of power. Losing political support could cause that scenario to become real, so he certainly wouldn't ruin his relationship with Henry. Even though his actions had seemed careless in these past weeks, he was still the same Theodore. The wise emperor that had led the nation to prosperity and peace ever since his coronation. It was clear that he knew more about politics and diplomacy, so she should trust him more in that regard.

Blanche kept quiet for a few seconds before replying. “I trust you. Just don't make the empress hate me and then leave me alone with her.”

A frown appeared on her lover's face at that. “Are you that scared of her? I won't let her hurt you in any way. She can't do anything to you, no matter how much she could possibly want to. The empress' authority is limited and my patience as well. As soon as the slightest hint indicating that she intends to trouble you shows up, I will step in. Plus, I'm sure that she will end up hating me more than you, so you don't have to fear her. If I'm protecting you, she is powerless.”

That was why Blanche would only be in danger if he fell for the heroine after all. Then she would be the lonely villainess with no one backing her. So, whether he would stay on her side was the actual problem. Just as she was about to say something that summarized that in an understated version, a movement in the corner of her eyes caught her attention. When she glanced over to the side, she just saw that the door to a little storage room that bordered on the dining room was pulled shut from the inside.

Theodore followed her gaze and breathed out in annoyance. “These servants have too much free time. Makes me consider continuing to eat in our room without acknowledging them having to walk up and down a dozen times. If they use trays, they'll manage. I should ask Gloria to instruct them to stop eavesdropping during every single conversation.” He shook his head. “Anyway, do you want to return to our room with me or grab the ingredients for the cake now that we are already on the first floor?”

The concubine glanced over her shoulder to see whether her maid was still waiting there before responding. “I'll quickly go with Stella. In the meantime, you need to find the correct decoder in the midst of all the other ones, right? You can go ahead, and I'll be with you in five minutes.”

Theodore didn't seem too pleased by that idea. “Are you sure? I can also come with you.”

She shook her head. “You don't have to. In fact, it would just confuse the kitchen staff when the emperor suddenly waltzes in.” Since Seraphina was fuming right now, she also didn't have to worry about her lover bonding with that woman while she was gone. So, she could leave his side for a short time to let him focus on his work.

Theodore didn't look like he was convinced, but he gave in. “Alright. I'll go straight to our room and wait for you. But don't leave me alone for too long.” He planted another kiss onto her hand before slowly letting go of her. “I can't stand being without you.” He was exaggerating, but she couldn't deny that she was happy about him not intending to use his vacation to talk to his wife.

“I'll move as fast as possible. But you told me not to run on the stairs, so I won't do that.”

A smile graced her lover's lips. “It's better like this. We'll see each other soon.”

When he climbed up the stairs to the second floor, Blanche waved to him for a moment before turning to Stella. “Now that we are alone, I feel like it's been a while. We haven't had a chance to talk ever since we departed from the palace, have we?”

Stella crossed her arms and pretended to sulk. “Yes. I'm deeply hurt by that. How come that His Majesty has twenty-four hours of your time and I don't even get a minute?”

Blanche felt a smile spread across her face. “I'm sorry. Theodore was just there, so I talked to him so much. You did chime in a few times during a conversation, but that seemed to be odd to you.”

Stella stopped acting and gave her a nervous smile. “Well, you see... Talking to a couple that can't stop cuddling and saying how much they love each other makes you feel like an intruder already. The fact that His Majesty is there only causes me to want to hold back to not interrupt you even more. As a maid, it's a bit strange to think about chatting with the emperor of Artias. That's why I was glad that Sir Maillont was there. He is nice once you start to speak with him. Though, he would be even more friendly if he showed some expression on his face. I never know what he is thinking. But I don't seem to be good at that either way. You said that Her Majesty is rather expressive, but I don't see it at all.”

The concubine let out a small noise of surprise at that. “Now that you mention her, we should get moving. Theo overdid it today, so I assume that she is boiling right now. I don't want to meet her like that.” She walked behind Stella to put her hands on the maid's shoulders and gently pushed her toward the kitchen.

Stella complied but glanced over her shoulder to make eye contact with her mistress. “What did His Majesty do?”

Blanche allowed her frustration to show on her face and sighed quietly. “The better question would be ‘What did he not do?’ in my opinion. He truly gave his best to infuriate the empress. He held my hand while entering, made me share food with him and talked to me the whole time while ignoring her. And as you know, we arrived twenty minutes late so that she had been forced to wait for us before that. You can imagine that she isn't pleased.”

Stella sucked in air through her teeth. “That does sound like she'll be angry. But I won't complain. You know that I think that she deserves to get reminded that she can't be hostile towards you for no reason.”

Blanche's smile returned at that. Despite the original storyline, her maid was on her side and hadn't become Seraphina's attendant. If she managed to diverge that much from the intended course, she could influence others too. It seemed like it worked for Theodore too. That simply made her happy. “Don't overdo it, but thank you for supporting me like that.”

“Gladly, My Lady.” Stella was silent for a moment before her lips formed a small “Oh”, and she grinned at her mistress. “I just remembered something else when we're talking about this topic. You slept during our carriage ride, remember? His Majesty used that chance to question my loyalty to you.” That this had happened wasn't surprising in the slightest. It was just strange that Stella was still grinning.

The concubine raised an eyebrow at her. “Why are you happy about that? Shouldn't you be upset that he didn't trust you?”

Stella shook her head. “No. He asked the others too, so I already expected him to approach me at some point. It just proves how much he cares about you. He said that he won't accept anyone ever harming you, or he will crush them. Then he asked about what I think about Her Majesty and was pleased when I honestly said that I feel like she treats you unfairly. So, he noticed that as well, which means that he will take care of any problems that might arise because of her in the future.”

Blanche took her hands off the maid's shoulder and stepped to the side to walk next to her. She was relieved if the people close to her supported her unconditionally, but she was still unwell with the thought of them provoking Seraphina. The empress might reach the limit of her patience at some point, and what would happen then? “I'm surprised that you dared to voice something like that. Doesn't that border on-”

“Wait!” A voice called out to them and made them turn around. Clark was the one hurried towards them, and the concubine immediately remembered how he had seen her kiss with Theodore. This could only get embarrassing.

Blanche just hoped that he wouldn't address it, but seeing that sly grin on his face made her give up on her trust.