The Emperor and the Knightess

What a lovely man this was!

This man was begging for her to love him. He was asking her to accept his love. His body was burning with lust, yet he has been keeping his distance because his love was greater than his desire for her. This proved his respect for her and he was pleading for her permission to continue.

Her emperor was the loveliest man in the world. His love for her was true. Lucius the First felt that he wouldn’t mind drowning in his love for Poliana.

Today has been such a traumatic and upsetting day, but Poliana, who has felt the greatest betrayal she has ever felt in her life, was suddenly able to regain a little bit of her faith in humanity.

At the very least… This man in front of her would never betray her. This was a fact and she knew this very well. Poliana was hungry for love and affection. She needed warmth. She needed someone… But not just anyone. She didn’t need the prince charming on a white horse. All she wished was a man who accepted her as she was. Someone who respected her.

This man, who was standing in front of her and begging her to accept his love… Poliana knew that he was the one man in this world who truly understood her. Unable to fight her own emotions, Poliana hugged Lucius the First tightly. This was the unspoken consent he has been waiting for, and happily, the emperor continued to confess his love for her.

His confession went on all night.

***

The sun rose brightly the next morning after a night of passion and drunkenness. Poliana woke up early just like any other day. As soon as she sat up, her hand reached for her mouth as she gagged. Considering how much she drank the night before, this was actually a very mild hangover. Her head was spinning, and her body spun with it. She closed her eyes and waited for it until it finally stopped.

She gagged again, feeling like her head was hit by a hammer a few times. There was a constant buzzing deep inside her ears and the intense headache tormented her. She wasn’t sure if it was the ringing in her ears that was causing her headache or the other way around. It didn’t matter in the end, however. The end result was the same; she felt like she was dying.

Her stomach felt awful, her mouth dry, and her throat scratchy. These were all the signs that she most likely vomited a few times during the night. She licked her dry lips, but they refused to moisten because her mouth was so dry.

These were all typical symptoms of a hangover. Poliana looked around in confusion. She was still not fully awake and because her eyes were swollen, she could not see very clearly. Poliana could see, however, that there were vomits all over the room along with pieces of clothes everywhere. The barrel was still standing, but it was half empty.

‘I drank all that…’

She gagged again and regretted, ‘I shouldn’t have done that…’

Her headache was getting worse. She had no memory of what happened last night. The last thing she remembered was rolling the barrel upstairs into this room, but afterward… Things were unclear. Poliana wasn’t worried because it looked like she stayed in this room all night, which meant she didn’t create any major problem outside the inn.

‘Oh, wait! His highness…’

This wasn’t the time to think about herself. What if something happened to the emperor while she was drunk? Her eyes opened fully, and she suddenly felt wide awake. To her relief, Poliana found Lucius the First sleeping beside her soundly. His hair, spread on the bed, shined like pure gold against the morning sunlight. The most beautiful gold ring could not shine like his hair did just now. Poliana grinned, admiring him. She woke up to find herself beside a man on the same bed, but Poliana wasn’t surprised. This wasn’t the first time something like this happened. Besides, of all men in the world, nothing could’ve happened between herself and her emperor. Poliana didn’t remember anything, but she was certain of this.

“Argghh…”

Poliana stretched her arms and groaned. She felt even more awake when she noticed that both herself and Lucius the First were naked. To her credit, Poliana, again, was not surprised. There has been more than one occasion in the past when they fell asleep drunk and naked. Both Poliana and Lucius the First had a habit of taking their clothes off when they’re too drunk. They fell asleep naked together before and every time something like this happened, Sir Ainno would flinch in disgust. He warned them more than once to be careful.

But what was there to be careful about? Nothing was ever going to happen between them. Poliana and Lucius the First were in a pure relationship free from the typical gender restrictions. They loved each other as human beings, not as a man and a woman.

Poliana reached down the bed to grab her sword. She tried to stand up when suddenly, she felt an odd sensation. Something was very different. This feeling… This was not something she felt in the past after a wild night of drinking.

Strangely, her back and waist ached. It felt odd between her legs as well. Poliana also noticed that her body was covered in red marks.

‘Hmm… Maybe this inn is infested with bedbugs or fleas?’

This was a remote village inn where hunters frequented, so it couldn’t be helped. It actually made sense. Feeling annoyed, she lifted the blanket to check the bed.

‘Or maybe my period began? Dammit.’

If this was the case, she was going to feel so embarrassed. To have her emperor witness her period… How awkward! It was one thing to be naked in front of him; it was quite another to have her period in front of him. Poliana looked around the room again and saw that there was no blood. She sighed in relief but then she noticed something between her legs. It was whitish, dry, and sticky… She knew what it was.

“…”

Poliana’s brain stopped working.

Only

‘Wait a minute…’

Poliana brought her hands to cover her mouth. She breathed in and out deeply a few times. It helped her headache a little, but the panic inside her began to grow.

‘Wait, wait, wait…. Oh, f*ck! Wait a minute!’

Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out…

Poliana tried to calm down by breathing slowly. Her body trembling slightly, Poliana checked to see again who was sleeping beside her.

It was a man in his thirties with the most beautiful appearance in the world. It was a man she knew very well.

“F*ck…” Her voice shook. She prayed and prayed, hoping she was mistaken, but her prayer was not answered. The man sleeping next to her naked was Lucius the First, her one and only emperor.