The Emperor and the Knightess

But the truth was, the other ladies in their thirties still did their best to look fragile and feminine. Even some married women with three kids still wore veils to emphasize their girlishness, while here was Poliana, who was a single woman but needed to “show off” her maturity. Poliana couldn’t help feeling a little sad about it, but she also couldn’t deny the fact that Lady Siming and the maids were correct in their assessment.

Poliana was the type that improved in appearance as she became older. Unlike some women who bloomed beautifully in their teens and twenties, Poliana maintained a constant solidity as her charm. She was unchanging and steadfast, which was what the maids focused on when they dressed her.

It was always a good thing for the emperor and the empress to be beautiful. However, Lucius the First had more than enough beauty for both of them, which meant Poliana didn’t have to worry about her own appearance.

The final result of Lady Siming’s work was a lady who looked formidable and unwavering. Poliana’s posture was straight and her manners faultless from serving the emperor for such a long time. The woman who stood in front of the mirror was not conventionally beautiful, but everyone in the room could see that Poliana was going to make a majestic empress.

***

The day was getting dark and Poliana was finally escorted to the emperor. When he saw her, Lucius the First became speechless. After a few seconds of silence, he finally said to her, “There were times when I thought you might not look suitable to stand next to the emperor, but I was very wrong.”

Indeed, although she didn’t look beautiful, Poliana looked magnificent. The emperor, however, seemed a little disappointed, “The only thing is that I wish they emphasized your cuteness a bit more.”

“Pfft.”

Poliana covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing. She felt embarrassed as she replied, “Your highness…”

“My eyes are perfectly fine, Sir Pol. See? I can see that I’m holding two fingers.”

Lucius the First quickly replied as he waved two fingers in front of his eyes. Lucius the First asked Poliana for a whole day to spend with him, but it took her half a day to get ready. Now, what was going to happen? Poliana waited patiently for the emperor’s order.

It was dinner time already, so they ate together. Poliana, still worried about gaining weight, so ate less than she usually did. The emperor looked at her with concern as he said to her, “We will be working out all night, so you should eat up.”

Oh my god. Poliana blushed uncontrollably.

‘He must be talking about…’

It could be only one thing. Poliana regretted agreeing to do this. This man was asking the woman he loved to get dolled up, eat dinner with him, and “exercise” all night… What else could it be?

It had to be…

‘Why did I say yes? So are we really going to sleep together? Just like that? Really? Will it be possible when we aren’t drunk?’

Poliana could no longer eat.

***

After the dinner, Lucius the First held her hand and escorted her out of the dining room. Poliana felt confused and nervous, not knowing what she should do.

‘Will we go right to bed? Or will we go for a walk first? Are we really going to do this? Are we going to drink first? We aren’t even married, so is this ok? Well, we already have Gerald together… And we are going to get married anyway… So I guess it doesn’t matter? So is it really ok for me to sleep with his highness like this? I mean, I always thought the emperor could have everything for me, but this feels different… I don’t know what I want…’

The truth was, Poliana’s body wanted Lucius the First. There was denying that her body craved him, but her heart seemed uncertain.

When Lucius the First took her outside the building, Poliana became tense.

‘Outside?!’

This was only their second time sleeping together and it seemed that the emperor wanted to do it outside! How daring!

Poliana began to sweat profusely. Her entire body was becoming wet. The makeup and her styled hair were all being ruined, but there was nothing she could do about it.

Poliana tried to think positively, ‘We already slept together once. We even have a baby together, so there shouldn’t be any problem, right? Yes! That’s right! We should sleep together and that way, I will know for sure how I feel!’

Only a short while ago, Poliana argued that she should not be treated as a loose woman, yet now, it seemed that she was ready to jump into the emperor’s bed.

Poliana and the emperor finally arrived at a beautiful stone gazebo. Poliana clenched her fists. So they were really going to do it outside! She pictured what they might be able to do here. If Lucius the First knew what she was thinking… He was going to die of a heart attack.

He said to her mysteriously, “I won’t let you sleep at all tonight.” He let go of her hand and walked up to the gazebo. Poliana rubbed her hands nervously like a fly waiting for its meal. Her hands were sweating as well as she yelled, “Should I take off my clothes now?”

“What?”

Lucius the First, who was about to ask Poliana to dance with him, froze.

‘Oh my god.’

It was clear that the emperor was acting like a perfect gentleman asking a lady to dance. Suddenly, Poliana realized that she made a mistake. It was only her whose mind was in the gutter. She was completely wrong about her assumption for tonight and the emperor’s intention.

Lucius the First, who never imagined the woman he loved would ever ask such a thing to him, seemed confused.

“Just what did you think we were going to do tonight?”

Only

“I thought you were talking about the type of ‘exercise’ that is done naked…”

“What! How could you?! I mean, it’s not that I don’t want to, but we aren’t even married yet!”

The emperor acted like a blushing virgin bride on her wedding night. Normally, he enjoyed imagining spending erotic nights with her. However, recently, he has been trying to control his dirty thoughts since he was in the middle of courting Poliana. So, for her to bring up this subject all of a sudden… Lucius the First felt a little angry that Poliana misunderstood his gentlemanly intention. Did she still think he was only lusting after her rather than truly love her?

Poliana argued, “But it was you who said strange and suggestive things, your highness!” When she was embarrassed or surprised, Poliana tends to become angry and aggressive. She yelled at the emperor, strongly believing that this situation was largely Lucius the First’s fault.

“But I didn’t do anything!”

“You asked me to spend my whole day and night with you. You told me you won’t let me sleep tonight. You said it will be a vigorous night.”

“I was planning on dancing with you all night!”