The Emperor and the Knightess

Poliana was absent for two months in these ladies’ lives and she felt horrible about it. Lady Stra and Lady Tory, however, told her that there was nothing to apologize about. They tried to stop her, but Poliana kneeled on the floor and continued, “I may be serving you per the emperor’s order, but I take it my honor to work as your protector. You are my ladies, which means I am guilty of not doing my job. From now on, I will do my best to serve you even better.”

“Please, Marquess, there is no need for this. You don’t have to apologize or feel guilty.”

“That’s right, Marquess Winter. You don’t have to be so nice to us…. You are going to make us cry…”

Stra took out her handkerchief and wiped away her tears. The loyalty and determination Poliana showed them felt almost burdensome. The ladies wondered how Lucius the First dealt with so many people pledging this kind of devotion to him.

“Please stand up, Marquess. To us, you are the best knight we could ever hope for.”

“That’s right, Sir Pol, please stand up; It’s time for you to go greet the princess now.”

“Her highness? The princess?”

Poliana’s eyes shined with excitement. Princess Luminae was born premature, so even though she was over 2 months old, she was still very much a newborn. Poliana was told that the princess had a rough few weeks but was finally in a stable condition. There was a strict rule on limiting the number of people that could visit the princess for her health.

Poliana asked, “Are you sure I am allowed to see her highness?”

“Of course.”

“You were her mother’s friend, so you have all the right to visit the princess.”

Poliana immediately changed her clothes for a cleaner one and washed her hands. She also covered her nose and mouth with a clean handkerchief before following Lady Tory and Lady Stra.

Lady Stra was the one who spent the most time with Princess Luminae. Lady Tory was too busy taking care of other things. It was commonly believed that a newborn should have minimal contact with strangers. After naming his daughter, the emperor wanted to see her frequently, but the wet nurses, the maids, and the doctors asked him to wait a while longer until she was older. Lady Stra and Lady Tory, however, were free to see the princess as often as they wished because they were her mothers. No one would ever dare to stop a mother from seeing her own child.

Princess Luminae, who was laying on her bed, tried to flail around. She was tightly wrapped in a blanket, and it seemed that she was unhappy about it, given by the frown that she wore on her face.

Poliana was the first and only noble who was allowed to see the princess so far. She stared at the baby with obvious joy. She laughed, which sounded a little creepy, but the wet nurse and the ladies watched her with a warm smile.

‘Well, this proves Marquess Winter is indeed a woman. Look at how much she likes a baby.’

Some people in the room were thinking this way, but this wasn’t really the truth. Poliana was happy to see the princess, not because she liked children, but because the princess was a child of her close acquaintance. Poliana did like children, but she always felt awkward around them. She never had a chance to interact with children, which meant that she didn’t know much about them. All she knew was that babies are very fragile, and they could die easily.

Poliana laughed again creepily. She has always dreamt of Lucius the First having beautiful princesses, and it finally happened. There was a tragedy to get this baby to this world, but this didn’t mean that the birth of the princess could not be celebrated.

It has always been Poliana’s wish to see a princess that resembled her beautiful father. Her dream finally came true.

Poliana asked excitedly, “So, she is breathing well!”

“Of course.”

“To be honest, this is my first time seeing a baby this close.”

“Would you like to hold her, Marquess Winter?”

“Can I?”

“As long as you can support her head well, you can. Here you go.”

Lady Stra gestured to the wet nurse, who brought Princess Luminae to Poliana. Poliana’s hands shook as she received the baby. As soon as she held her, Poliana exclaimed, “Oh, she’s so warm!”

“Yes, babies have a higher temperature than us adults.”

Poliana laughed again happily, and this time, the princess began to cry. Looking awkward and not knowing what to do, Poliana looked around to ask for help.

‘Help!’

The wet nurse immediately took the baby away from Poliana. When Poliana relaxed but looked awkward, Lady Tory consoled her, “You don’t have to feel embarrassed about not knowing how to hold a baby, Marquess Winter. Most royals and nobles don’t raise their babies anyway. They have the maids and wet nurses for that.”

Lady Stra added to make Poliana feel better, “Princes Luminae cries even when I hold her, Marquess Winter.”

The wet nurse quietly took the baby to the next room so the ladies and the knightess could talk in private. Lady Stra stated that she needed to get used to hearing the baby cry, so she followed the wet nurse to the next room, leaving Poliana and Tory alone.

Poliana thought to herself, ‘The baby was so warm.’

Lady Tory asked hesitantly, “Umm… Marquess…”

“Yes, Lady Tory.”

“If I ask you about something… Even if it’s about things I shouldn’t be asking…”

Poliana raised her fist gallantly and replied, “Lady Tory. You are the wife of the emperor, which means you deserve to know anything you wish to know in this world. Did someone tell you that you shouldn’t be asking questions? Just tell me who it was, and I will go beat that person up for you.”

Lady Tory began to look more relaxed. She asked Poliana to move to a corner away from the door to make sure no one eavesdropped. Lady Tory didn’t want anyone knowing about this conversation.

Only

She asked Poliana, “Even if it’s about the military?”

“Of course. If you want to learn about something, I will tell you as far as I know. Oh, but of course, I cannot tell you any national secrets”

“What about the topic of law?”

“I don’t know much about it, but I will answer you as best as I can.”

So, Lady Tory began to ask some basic questions. She felt silly for feeling nervous about asking Poliana these questions.

‘I guess there was no need for me to be anxious about it.’

Slowly, Tory began to mention Marquis Seeze. Poliana answered as best as she could, but she realized that she couldn’t help but give a calculated answer. Poliana felt guilty and apologetic. In the past, Poliana asked Sir Bentier to trust Lady Tory, yet here she was, not fully trusting the lady herself.