Seraphina enjoyed sharing a cup of tea with her brother. Thus, they met to do that fairly often. Allen visited once a week whenever he could. He was always a bit late, but today, he took even longer than expected. Seraphina almost worried already as the knock on the door finally sounded. She stayed seated and waited for her maid to open the door. A moment later, she made eye contact with her brother. “You are late today. Did you get lost in the palace again?”

Allen slowly entered the room and relaxed a bit as if he was relieved to be alone with people he could trust. After one of his sister's maids took his jacket, he walked over and slouched down on the chair while replying. “I...did.” He tried not to show it, but as he averted his eyes, it became clear that he was embarrassed.

Seraphina couldn't keep a small smile from forming on her lips. “Ah, I see. You are truly helpless. It's just like when you were a child. Do you remember how often you took the wrong turn at the western wing and ended up being too late for dinner? Mother and Father considered putting up signs to remind you.” She had made the joke while being fully prepared to have her brother get a bit sheepish because she reminded him of his most embarrassing times. But it seemed like she had accidentally caught him in a bad mood today.

Allen faked a little smile for her, but it wasn't very convincing. “I have to admit that it wasn't my proudest moment. But I was distracted on the way, so...” Something was wrong. His expression alone revealed that.

Seraphina worried far too much to keep quiet about that. A little frown formed on her face. “Did something happen?”

Allen didn't seem like he intended to reply at first, but when she kept staring at him, he finally opened his mouth. “Actually...” He lowered his gaze and added the rest quietly. “Lady Blanche helped me get here.”

That comment alone was enough to upset Clarissa, one of Seraphina's maids, who had been in the middle of pouring some tea. She furrowed her thick brows while speaking up. “That shameless woman causes far too many problems. It would be so much better if she was-”

Seraphina slowly lifted her hand to stop her maid from saying something troublesome. The mention of that woman never pleased her either, but she had to remember her position. As the empress, she was supposed to be the one keeping a cool head and dealing with all problems objectively. She would not speak about her personal dislikes too openly. She had to admit that she was still worried though. Whenever her family interacted with Lady Blanche, trouble usually arose. So, she made eye contact with her brother to ask for details. “Did you happen to run into her?”

Surprisingly, Allen didn't seem to be boiling. Usually when he met Lady Blanche, he got upset and had to vent his anger after. Now he was more confused than anything else. “Yes. She was in the garden. I don't know what she was doing, but she examined the bushes. She claimed to have lost some piece of jewelry.” That didn't seem too problematic. Lady Blanche had free access to the garden.

Seraphina slowly drank her tea before she stopped to reply. “I see. Normally, you would assume that her maid would help her search then.”

Allen weakly shook his head. “Her maid wasn't there.”

That did surprise Seraphina a bit. Usually, that young maid always accompanied Lady Blanche.

Once again, Clarissa immediately pointed out what her mistress had been thinking. “Maybe even that woman is sick of listening to that person's whims. I wouldn't hold it against her.” She quickly put the plate with cookies onto the table and then stepped back a bit.

Seraphina glanced at her but didn't comment on Lady Blanche's sometimes quite infuriating personality. She instead focused on her brother and tried to continue the conversation. “You met Lady Blanche there. And what happened after?”

Her words were enough to make Allen's expression darken even more. “Nothing much. She did look a bit confused when she heard that I got lost, but then she brought me here. She...” He paused and stared at the table for a moment. When he grabbed a cookie, he didn't eat it though but just stared at it. “Something was odd about her today.” And for some reason, he worried a lot. To some extent, it made sense. After all, troublesome matters within the palace could affect them too.

Seraphina had no details either. She did however have to agree with her brother. “I met her a few days ago. Back then, she was acting strangely too. I presume that was the case because His Majesty finally scolded her properly for what she did at the banquet.” It had been quite satisfying to finally hear that Theodore was scolding his lover for taking the empress' seat, even when he hadn't done it in public. This had been the first time he had ever held Lady Blanche accountable for her foolish ideas, so Seraphina had almost forgiven him for not standing up for his wife during the banquet itself. But even then, the emperor never seemed to be mad at his lover for a long time. As usual, he forgot the problem quickly. That upset Seraphina even more than the original problem had done it. Though, this had also done something good. “She did apologize for taking my seat. I do not quite trust that she will change her behavior from now on, but this is the first time she greeted me properly and apologized sincerely. Since it cannot get worse, I will allow myself to hope.” She picked up her cup to drink some tea.

A short moment of silence followed until Kate, another of Seraphina's maids, opened her mouth. As usual, she stuttered a bit while speaking and barely seemed to dare to bring this up. “Maybe she...was serious.” She began playing with her fingernails while adding the rest. “Rumors did say that...something has been bothering Lady Blanche recently. But it might not have been the banquet. After all, this only started recently. Ever since we met her in the garden, I have been hearing a lot. The other staff members mentioned that she seemed a bit...dejected and distracted. Some people really did worry.”

Clarissa furrowed her brows even more, her temper already showing as she thought about the person she resented most. “Well, they shouldn't. That woman is insufferable. After how much chaos she caused, I couldn't care less if she was unwell. Maybe she finally learned that life is not just a magical paradise and that even Lady Blanche sometimes has to cut her losses.”

She was a bit harsh when they didn't know what exactly had happened, but then again, Lady Blanche lived a sheltered life as the emperor's lover. She had probably never gotten to know any hardships. What should a person like her worry about?

Seraphina used her spoon to stir her tea slowly while replying. “I agree that we should stay out of it. This is nothing that would concern us.” She put her spoon down again while glancing at Kate. “There is no need for anyone to chatter about Lady Blanche behind her back either though. If the servants did notice, they should keep it to themselves unless she personally makes a request.”

Kate immediately tensed and bowed. “I apologize, Your Majesty.”

Seraphina hid a small sigh upon seeing how uneasy her maid still was. She got along well with the other two, but Kate was a different case. It wasn't like she disliked this woman, but she felt like the maid didn't fully feel comfortable around her. That made it hard to speak casually. She still tried to make it better. “You are not at fault. I was mainly referring to the people who spoke about this while you happened to listen. I am aware that the staff members of the palace love to speak about rumors and that it is hard to silence them at all times, but I hope that everyone can remember that gossiping is not a polite thing to do. We should stop speaking about this topic.” She faced the table again and intended to grab a cookie for herself, only to freeze in place when saw her brother's expression. “Allen?”

Allen flinched like he had been caught doing something bad and glanced at his sister. “I'm sorry. I was mentally absent for a moment. Is something wrong?” Something seemed to be wrong on his side. He couldn't hide how distracted he was.

Seraphina wasn't sure what concerned him, but she would rather discuss it now. She slowly turned to her maids. “Would you mind leaving us alone for a moment?”

That surprised Clarissa a bit, but she quickly nodded. “Of course, Your Majesty. We will be in the room next door.” With that, she withdrew.

Seraphina turned to her brother and searched for eye contact, waiting and hoping that he would speak about what troubled him. It seemed like he needed a bit more encouragement though. “Allen, I can see that something upsets you. I take you aren't just this dejected because you got lost in the palace.”

Even that small joke didn't make Allen smile. He just kept staring at the table. It took him a moment until he sighed and gave up on keeping a straight posture. Leaning onto the table, he buried his face in his hand. As he began rustling through his hair, he finally dared to whisper. “I...dreamed about Lady Blanche.” That shouldn't be such a big issue, but judging from his expression, it bothered him a lot. Somehow, that woman seemed to be the source of all problems for their family.

Seraphina decided to address it directly. “I take it was not a pleasant dream.”

Allen weakly shook his head. He hesitated for a short moment again before he began explaining. “She was...sitting in a cell. It looked similar to the ones in the cellar of the palace. She...” He had to swallow to keep himself from stopping and then forced himself to resume. “She didn't look good. She was pale and seemed like she hadn't eaten in weeks. She had dark rings under her eyes and looked like she was barely alive, just waiting for her execution. And yet... When I approached, she looked at me with such hatred. She asked me why I needed to ruin her life. She asked if you had ordered me to do it. I...” This time, his voice broke. He had to take a deep breath before resuming. “I don't know what I replied with. I just know that she begged me to tell the truth, and I... Everything hurt, so I just wanted to leave. When I did, I woke up.”

It seemed like the image of what he had seen still troubled him though, even when he knew that it had only been a dream.

Seraphina couldn't just tell him that he should forget this and hope that he would agree. Instead, she should probably remind him of why he didn't have to worry at all. She left a short pause and only spoke when her brother looked at her. “I see. That would be quite an unpleasant sight. I wonder why you dreamed something like that. Lady Blanche is a troublesome person, but I doubt that she would be treated as a criminal. All of her deeds have consisted of petty acts against me. If I could punish her, I would, but putting her in a cell might be too exaggerated. Needless to say, she does not seem like a criminal that would deserve the death sentence either.”

Allen's face just scrunched up more as he ran his fingers through his hair. “I know. Of course, I know that she isn't sitting in a cell right now. But...” His face shifted to reveal more dejection again. “It was so vivid.”

Seraphina could see that this would worry him for a while. She wished that she could take away his worries easily, but she might have to move a bit slower. “That must upset you a lot. It's good that that dream is over then. Now you can focus on reality. You saw her walking around as proudly as always, did you not? That should prove that it was only a dream.”

Allen wasn't convinced though. As he glanced to the side, he weakly admitted what bothered him even more. “She wasn't...doing too well today. She had dark circles underneath her eyes and seemed so...distracted. She kept staring straight ahead.”

“It is normal for people to have bad days.” Seraphina knew that coincidences like that might be upsetting, but needless to say, it didn't mean anything. Lady Blanche was as safe and comfortable in her position in the palace as always.

Allen knew that as well as she did. Yet, he couldn't keep gritting his teeth. “I wanted to get her out of that cell so badly.”

Seeing how her brother balled his fists finally made Seraphina reach over to grab his hand. She met her brother's gaze while addressing him directly. “It's only natural. That woman is someone who often offends me, but we would never wish her harm. And you can rest assured that she isn't in danger too. It was just a dream, Allen. Do not take it to heart. Do you truly think that His Majesty would let anyone imprison her?”

Seemingly, that argument finally convinced Allen. His face scrunched up as he remembered how lovesick the emperor usually was. “No.”

“See? What you saw was just a dream. Nothing that would trouble you or Lady Blanche. I understand that you are still a bit unhappy, but everything will be fine. You'll have nicer dreams from now on, and then you can forget this. How about you let me distract you for a bit?” Seraphina took a cookie to offer it to her brother while smiling at him. As she saw how he accepted it, she was a bit relieved.

Though, a hint of concern remained. Allen's dream was one thing, but it was a fact that Lady Blanche had suddenly changed her behavior. Seraphina didn't believe that someone could become a different person overnight, so she fully expected the other woman to plan something. She could only hope that whatever she might do wouldn't be too troublesome. Otherwise, Seraphina might have to get involved, and she doubted that any of them would like that result.