The Emperor and the Knightess

The emperor said to his cousin, “Go ahead and enjoy yourself.”

“I don’t have the energy anymore. I am so tired because I wound up arranging this banquet and the parade.”

The emperor felt so bad for the duke. The two most eligible bachelors of Acreia sat on their chairs and enjoyed their food and drinks. The only entertainment they allowed themselves to was talking to a few people who approached them. Sir Bentier, who was being harassed by his grandfather and relatives, finally escaped and walked towards Lucius the First.

The emperor asked Sir Bentier, “Where is your wife?”

“Our child is still too young, so she decided not to come.”

Most noblewomen were not very hands-on mothers. They had nannies to take care of the children, so it was an odd thing for a noblewoman not to attend the biggest event of the year. Lucius the First assumed Sir Bentier’s wife must have an unusually close relationship with her child.

The emperor himself had a close relationship with his own mother, the former empress. He lost his mother at a very young age, but he remembered the deep love his beautiful mother gave him when she was still alive.

Lucius the First said to Sir Bentier apologetically, “I am sure that as a father and as a husband, your wife and your child would be the first people you would want to see, not your old grandfather and your father. How sad your life must be.”

“I’m fine, your highness. It’s better than not having anyone who would wait for you at home,” Sir Bentier replied with a gentle smile.

“Are you referring to me and how I am still unmarried?”

“Of course not, your highness. I am only talking about the unmarried lonely knights who drink themselves to sleep.”

During the war, the soldiers and the knights didn’t feel lonely because they had each other. Everyone treated each other like family. But after the war, those who weren’t married couldn’t help feeling lonely. Most of the unmarried men came together to go out and drink. This could turn ugly sometimes, so Sir Bentier voiced his concern. Lucius the First shook his head and explained, “I already thought of that and took care of it. They are probably all too busy having fun right now.”

Lucius the First turned to his cousin and told him to go and have fun. Duke Luzo nodded weakly and disappeared among the young people on the dance floor.

The emperor looked at the crowd and said to Sir Bentier, “It must be nice to be reunited with your grandfather after 10 years.”

“Yes, your highness. My grandfather is like my father to me.”

“You must have a lot to talk about. You are free to go back to him.”

“No, it’s ok, your highness. We will have a lot of time to chat later. We can talk at home.”

Sir Bentier chatted with the emperor for a long time before finally leaving. As soon as Sir Bentier left Lucius the First’s sight, he was again surrounded by his relatives. Lucius the First felt sorry for Sir Bentier. He knew Sir Bentier’s relatives would not leave him alone for a very long time.

After another hour, Lucius the First gave an excuse of being too tired and left. Only Sir Ainno followed him as his guard and the emperor returned to his room.

The emperor’s room.

In Acreia, the emperor’s room didn’t refer to the emperor’s bedroom. It referred to the room where the portraits of the previous emperors and empresses hung on the walls. The room was also filled with the previous emperor’s mementos.

Sir Ainno stayed outside the door. The emperor entered the room alone.

If someone wanted to assassinate the emperor, this was the perfect chance for one to do so.

Because the room wasn’t visited by anyone, it smelled musky despite the fact that the servants cleaned it regularly. The emperor walked around the room slowly. He looked at the portraits one by one and made eye contact with everyone on the wall. He even whispered out their names quietly. After he went around the room, he stopped in front of his parents’ portraits.

“I’m finally home.”

Lucius the First took off his crown. He was the emperor, the greatest being to every living person but here in this room, he was just one of their descendants. In front of his dead parents, Lucius the First was just their son and nothing more.

Only

Below his parents’ portraits was a table and on top of it was a ring box. There were two rings, one for Lucius the First and one for his future empress. They used to belong to his parents. The small ring, which used to be his mother’s, while the bigger one used to be his father’s.

Lucius the First thought quietly. He already had a woman he wanted to give the ring to, but he could not. He would not.

“Long live Acreia,” the emperor whispered.

With a sigh, he put on his crown again. He wanted to enjoy his life, but he couldn’t. He wanted to go out dancing and drinking with others, but this wasn’t the time. There were many who deserved to get a break, but unfortunately, there was still much more work to do.

‘I really hope Luzo’s hair can last a while longer.’

Baldness did not run in his family, so Lucius the First couldn’t understand why Duke Luzo was suffering from this condition. The emperor sighed again, feeling sorry for his cousin.

But there was so much more left to do, this wasn’t the time to rest.