The Emperor and the Knightess

Yes, it was indeed unfair; it was very wrong. Sir Bentier was Marquis Seeze’s direct grandson as well as his heir, yet he was given the chance to decide for himself which side he wanted to be. Because Sir Bentier showed his loyalty to the emperor, he was going to be pardoned even if and when the entire Seeze family was punished for Marquis Seeze’s wrongdoing.

On the other hand, Lady Tory wasn’t going to be given a chance to prove herself. It was very likely that it wasn’t even her choice to marry the emperor. She became the wife of the emperor because of Marquis Seeze’s power. If Lady Tory did something that caused harm to him, Lucius the First wouldn’t have felt guilty about removing her from her position when the time came. But the truth was that Lady Tory didn’t do anything wrong. In fact, she did an excellent job as his wife. The only reason Lady Tory wasn’t pregnant was because Lucius the First did not visit her as often, thinking that she wasn’t going to be by his side for too long. But despite it, Lady Tory took her responsibility as his wife very seriously. She served him very well, maybe better than some of his men.

‘Was it wrong of me to distance myself from her?’

If she became pregnant, it would’ve been a good enough excuse for Lucius the First to keep her by his side even in the worst-case scenario. The emperor regretted his actions. He had been treating Lady Tory as a member of Marquis Seeze’s family, not as herself.

An intelligent kind lady.

His own wife.

It wasn’t her fault that she belonged to that awful family. Lucius the First felt guilty, ‘This must be why Rebecca left that will for me.’

Her will was filled with the legality of her death and the birth of her child, but in the end, there was a single sentence she wrote personally. It was heartfelt and at first, Lucius the First thought it came from her as a mother. Now that he thought about it, her words must’ve come from her as a woman on behalf of all the other women in his kingdom.

The emperor murmured, “Tory is such an intelligent woman… It would be such a waste.” He thought suddenly, ‘I feel like I had a similar feeling about someone else before… When was that…?’

Sir Ainno interrupted the emperor’s thought, “What does it matter? She is a woman, so who cares if she’s smart?”

Sir Ainno approached the emperor. He came here because there were two things to report. Sir Ainno didn’t have the patience to wait any longer. The emperor asked, “Did you have something else to tell me, Inno?”

“Yes, your highness, but this doesn’t involve the chancellor, so please leave, Sir Bentier.”

“Of course.”

As soon as the chancellor left, Sir Ainno asked the emperor, “Your highness, did you know?” He asked the question, but Sir Ainno knew the truth. The emperor clearly didn’t have any idea about what happened to Poliana. That was the only reason why Lucius the First was sitting in his chair calmly. If he knew, Sir Ainno didn’t doubt that the emperor would’ve made a scene.

Sir Ainno said to him, “Apparently, Marquess Winter is getting married.”

Lucius the First’s eyes widened in shock. He didn’t even have the sense to ask if this was true. The emperor turned rigid and silent, and just to make sure, Sir Ainno repeated himself, “Marquess Poliana Winter is going to get married.”

“What!?”

Lucius the First stuttered as he stood up. Sir Ainno quickly pushed him down, so he sat down again. It was a good thing because the emperor’s legs were shaking badly. Lucius the First began to bite his fingernails as Sir Ainno repeated himself one more time, “Marquess Poliana Winter is going to get married.”

Three times. Sir Ainno said the same thing three times just so that the emperor could not deny reality. Lucius the First shook his head and insisted, “You, you, you, you, you, you are too funny, Inno. What an awful joke.”

“Your highness, why would I tell you such a joke when I know how you feel?”

“Who is it? Who is she marrying?”

Lucius the First could not believe it. His Poliana was getting married? Marriage? Poliana, who didn’t even see the most handsome man in the kingdom as a man? She was getting married?

Sir Ainno replied, “She is marrying Duke Sneke’s younger brother, Frau Sneke. Apparently, she is marrying him. She will come to you for your permission to get married after a year from now.”

Lucius the First shook his head faster and faster, making Sir Ainno worry that he might hurt his neck. The emperor muttered, “No… No, no, no… this can’t be. I know about that man; Pol will never marry someone like him, and Pol told me herself that Frau is too ugly. Inno, you know how my Pol loves beautiful people!”

Lucius the First refused to believe the truth, and Sir Ainno had no choice but to be cruel to make him understand.

“Your highness, it’s not like she is going to marry you even though you are the most beautiful man in the kingdom.”

“Nooooo!”

The emperor screamed desperately. From the outside, it must’ve sounded like the emperor was being attacked. One of the servants knocked on the door quickly. Sir Ainno opened it and the servant asked, “What is going on? Is his highness ok?”

“A huge problem has occurred. We need some privacy to discuss this so make sure no one comes near this door.”

The servant asked worriedly, “Is it something very serious?”

Sir Ainno lied smoothly, “It is something that can affect the entire kingdom.”

This wasn’t technically a lie. Lucius the First always said that he was the kingdom itself and since this situation affected the emperor, it meant that it might affect Acreia as well. After closing the door behind him, Sir Ainno grumbled, “Your highness, people are going to think I hurt you. I didn’t punch you or cut you, so why did you scream so loud?”

“Your news… It hurt more than being cut by a sword.”

Lucius the First held his hands together tightly and looked down.

“I… I… I… I…”

Only

He kept repeating himself like a parrot. Clearly, this was a serious problem for him. To wake him up, Sir Ainno smacked the back of the emperor’s head. He apologized immediately afterward.

“I’m sorry, your highness, but I had to do it.”

“It’s… ok. I needed that.”

Lucius the First touched his head and asked, “Inno… Is this really true? Are you sure?”

“Like I said many times before, yes, your highness. Sir Poliana apparently announced this to Lady Stra, Lady Tory, and their maids, so it can’t be a lie. I was told that she even asked them how to plan a wedding, which means that she wasn’t joking either.”

With a sigh, Sir Ainno added, “I think Sir Pol will be coming to see you any time now.”

“But…!”