The Emperor and the Knightess

The emperor said to Duke Luzo, “Pol is very upset right now, so it wouldn’t be right for me to propose to her any time soon. I plan on waiting until the royal death period is over before doing this.”

“I think that is a wise idea, your highness. You need to do this when she feels better. If you are sure this is what you want to do, then you must do it. And you can just have one or two wives for an heir.”

“Oh, about that… My wife will be Pol and Pol only. I will not marry anyone else.”

What was the emperor saying? Duke Luzo looked shocked and Lucius the First understood. The emperor knew very well that he needed his cousin for his plan to work. To be exact, Lucius the First needed Duke Luzo’s son…

The emperor explained, “Pol is barren, so I will not be able to get an heir from her. This is why…”

“Your highness, then what are you going to do about your succession… W-why are you looking at me like that, your highness?”

Duke Luzo trembled and took a step back, but the emperor continued to stare at him expectantly. Duke Luzo wondered, ‘Could it be… Is he trying to make me his heir? He can’t! He wouldn’t dare!’

If Duke Luzo was an ambitious man, he would’ve taken over the throne while Lucius the First was away on his conquest. Instead, Duke Luzo worked tirelessly for his emperor for 10 years, fighting against the elders to keep supporting Lucius the First and his dream of uniting the continent. During this time, Duke Luzo ended up sacrificing his hair.

Duke Luzo did his part. He served his emperor to his best ability. He has done more than enough. When Duke Luzo looked at him suspiciously, the emperor shook his head. He was only a year older than his cousin.

“Luzo, our age difference isn’t big enough.”

“T-then… You…!”

The person Lucius the First wanted was Duke Luzo’s son. When he realized what the emperor wanted, Duke Luzo could not believe it. To marry a barren woman, his cousin was trying to steal his son away from him.

What a thief! Duke Luzo was willing to sacrifice his hair, but not his own son. He shook his head hard and screamed, “No way!”

“Don’t be like that, Luzo. Your son will become the next emperor of this kingdom! How amazing would that be!”

“No! Never! You can’t! My son is very docile and kind just like me! If he becomes an emperor, he will have a very unfortunate life! He will suffer from severe ulcers and lose his hair from the stress of running the kingdom!”

No baldness ran in his family. No baldness ran in his wife’s family either. So if his own son became bald, what would people think? They will think it began from Duke Luzo! The truth was, his baldness came from the stress of working too hard, but people will believe that he was naturally bald if his son was bald too, especially since his wife had such luscious hair.

This wouldn’t do. Duke Luzo cannot have people think baldness ran in his family. He couldn’t bring such a shame to his family and his bloodline. He said forcefully, “If you refuse to marry additional wives, I am against you marrying Marquess Winter! I will oppose it as a member of the royal family! I will oppose it as hard as I can!”

Lucius the First was shocked to see his cousin, usually so obedient, rebelling against him. Duke Luzo has always been a very submissive man, but it seemed that he has changed ever since he became a father. The emperor begged him, “Luzo, come on…”

The duke covered his ears and replied, “I refuse to listen to you, your highness! I know what you are going to say. You are going to tell me that I can always get more sons, right?”

“Don’t be like that, Luzo. My daughter and your son can marry each other. This will make your son a proper and official heir to this throne.”

“Your highness… You will have me abandon my son for your love? Are you so blinded by your feelings that you will make me do this? You will sell your own daughter for this?”

It was such a shocking thought that Lucius the First became upset. The emperor loved his daughter and his nephew, which was why he thought it would be a good idea for them to marry. He never imagined that Duke Luzo would feel this way about his plan.

Perhaps he was too rash and selfish about it all. Lucius the First realized that he needed more time and planning. The emperor felt bad about it, so he apologized to his cousin, “I think I was being too hasty. They are still only babies, after all.”

“I agree, your highness.”

Only

Duke Luzo looked at his cousin resentfully and the emperor looked down guiltily. Then suddenly, Duke Luzo thought, ‘Something doesn’t sound right.’ During this conversation, something was nagging him. Duke Luzo has been so distracted that he didn’t figure it out immediately, but it didn’t take him long to realize what he was missing.

‘Marquess Winter… Didn’t she get her menstrual cycle back?’

Duke Luzo remembered clearly how the doctors were flabbergasted when Poliana began to bleed again. This news wasn’t very important to him, so Duke Luzo didn’t think too much about it at the time, but now…

He considered telling Lucius the First about it, but he kept his mouth shut. Marquess Winter was the same age as himself. What was the chance that a woman, who spent half her life on battlefields and without periods, be really fertile even if her bleeding began again? There were women who safely had children after turning thirty, but these women usually had multiple children beforehand. For a woman over thirty to have her first child… Things could become very ugly.

What will happen if Poliana died while giving birth?

At the scariness of it, Duke Luzo shivered. Lucius the First already lost one wife to childbirth. If it happened again, especially to the woman he loved… The emperor may not recover from it. Duke Luzo decided that it would be best for the emperor to never marry Poliana. This way, there would be no risk of something so tragic. Duke Luzo said to the emperor again, “I am against this marriage. You need to know this, your highness. I am against you marrying the marquess.”

Duke Luzo turned away from the emperor. His objection may hurt the emperor now, but it was for his own good. Duke Luzo hoped that someday, Lucius the First would realize that what he did came from love.