The Emperor and the Knightess

“I’m fine, Sir Wook, I want to hear what happened.”

“Sir Pol… You should really return home for now and rest. I will order my guards to take you home.”

“I’m not that tired. In fact, my horse is in much worse shape than I am. Can I borrow one of your horses?”

“Alright, go wash up first and I will have a horse ready for you.”

Poliana nodded and went to the washroom that was used by the royal guards. She got herself clean and borrowed herself a set of uniforms. By the time she was done, the sun was already set and the sky was dark. Most shops were closed by now. Sir Wook was gone and Sir Jainno was waiting for her outside.

Sir Jainno announced, “The castle entrance has closed. You can go there tomorrow morning when it reopens.”

“Hmm… Is that why he got me to wash up first? So it would be too late for me to enter the castle?”

Sir Jainno shrugged and replied, “How would I know what Sir Wook was thinking?”

Sir Jainno offered her to have dinner with her and Poliana didn’t refuse. She ate a big meal while Sir Jainno explained to her what had happened in Yapa during her absence.

Lady Rebecca’s health deteriorated slowly after the emperor left the castle to visit Nanaba. Her blood pressure went up drastically and it refused to come down to normal. Her abdomen became filled with fluid, which meant she couldn’t eat well. Lady Rebecca ended up losing her consciousness. Duchess Nani arrived soon after and tried her best to take care of her daughter, but it was no use. Lady Rebecca did regain her consciousness a few times, but when the last coma lasted for two days, the doctors decided to send the message to the emperor in Nanaba. There was a good chance for the mother, the baby, or both of them were going to die, and they needed the husband to be present.

When Lucius the First arrived, the doctors informed him that it was going to be impossible to save both the mother and the baby. The emperor was furious and devastated. He ordered the doctors to save both of them, and it was then that the doctors delivered him the will Lady Rebecca wrote while she was still conscious.

After reading it, Lucius the First chose to save the baby.

The minimum a baby could be born relatively healthy was at the eight-month mark. When the emperor arrived, Lady Rebecca was seven months pregnant. Somehow, Lady Rebecca kept herself alive for another month so she could deliver her daughter safely. The lady passed away immediately after birth.

Lucius the First, distraught, planned her funeral himself. But even after the funeral, he could not bring himself to see his baby daughter.

His daughter cost him his wife’s life.

He never held her once, which worried the baby’s nurse and Duchess Nani.

After the funeral, the emperor continued to do his work but most of the time, he kept it to himself. After Sir Jainno finished telling her what happened, Poliana stood up. Sir Jainno shook his head and stopped her.

“Just go to sleep and go in the morning.”

“Step aside, Sir Jainno.”

“Listen to me. You look awful and you are even losing your voice. Just rest tonight and go tomorrow.”

“I’m fine.”

“This is a bad idea.”

Sir Jainno insisted but he could not stop Poliana. She began to walk towards the inner castle and thankfully, a horse was already prepared for her. It seemed that Sir Wook knew she could not be stopped.

The patrols were guarding the gate, questioning anyone approaching them. Most people wouldn’t have been allowed to enter, but the leader of the Second Division was one of the few exceptions. The guards still weren’t allowed to open the main entrance, but they allowed her to enter through the side door. One of the guards asked, “Are you going to see the princess?”

“No, I am going to see his highness.”

Poliana did not go to the princess. It was not a good idea for a newborn baby to have too many visitors and besides, Poliana was here to see the emperor.

She knew how sensitive and caring Lucius the First was. Poliana could imagine how ravaged he must be. It had to be worse for him than Poliana. After all, she lost her friend, but Lucius the First lost his wife.

The emperor’s marriage was certainly not that of an average person. He married three women all at once, and he married them for a political reason. Although it wasn’t a love match, Lucius the First always tried to do his best for his wives.

The emperor tried to become the best ruler he could be. He tried to be the best husband he could be. There was no doubt that he was fond of all of his wives.

In the past, Lucius the First told Poliana that he liked all of his wives for different reasons. He liked Tory because she was intelligent, while he liked Stra because she was kind. He liked Rebecca because she was greedy.

Poliana felt the same way; she also liked Rebecca because she was greedy.

***

As she walked, Poliana got closer and closer to the emperor’s residence. All the servants she saw looked upset and anxious, most likely because they were worried about their emperor.

Master Chail, who was guarding the door to the emperor’s room, spotted Poliana.

“Marquess Winter? You are here. So does that mean Lady Tory and Lady Stra are here as well?”

“No. I came here alone. They will follow later.”

It seemed that Master Chail did not receive the message of Poliana’s arrival. When he saw her, Master Chail looked relieved. Poliana asked, “Where is his highness?”

“He’s inside.”

Only

When Poliana tried to walk in, Master Chail stopped her.

“Marquess Winter, he ordered me to stop anyone from entering tonight.”

He shook his head at her, but he continued to stare at Poliana expectantly. Marquess Poliana Winter was one of the emperor’s closest people, which meant that she was given a lot of special privileges, and one of them was to be able to visit the emperor even when he did not want any visitors.

It was, however, unwise to abuse her power, so Poliana asked, “Did the emperor also order Sir Ainno not to enter?”

“No, Sir Ainno is allowed to see his highness.”

Poliana felt that if Sir Ainno was given an exception, she most likely would receive the same right. When Poliana refused to change her mind, Master Chail grabbed her again. He had served the emperor for a long time, so Master Chail was excellent at reading Lucius the First. Usually, Chail would’ve been thrilled to have Poliana drink with the emperor and make him feel better, but for some unknown reason, Master Chail had a feeling that it was a bad idea today; and in most cases, he was right about these things.

So, Master Chail asked Poliana again to return in the morning.