The Emperor and the Knightess

Lucius the First, worried for Poliana, helped her stand up. He came here to see the woman he loved and missed terribly. He did not come here so the woman he loved would apologize to him. Lucius the First could not hide his confusion and in turn, Poliana’s face became rigid.

‘D-does he not know? Did I just confess for no reason?’

“What are you talking about? What do you mean a prince?”

‘Dammit…!’

Poliana finally realized that the emperor did not know anything about Dog Stew. This meant that she confessed for nothing. It was unfortunate, but it was also too late. She already said the words, and now, she needed to own up to them. For a second, she considered telling him she was only joking, but Poliana quickly decided against the idea. There were things you could joke about, and there were things she should never joke about in this world. Giving birth to a bastard son was not an appropriate jest material.

She could make up another lie right now. Perhaps tell him she misspoke and that she gave birth to a son who was fathered by someone else. Poliana knew that her emperor, such an understanding and kind man, might just believe her.

But this only meant that she really needed to tell him the truth. She could not lie again to the man who trusted her so much. She needed to come clean.

***

The innermost room of the country house was a luxurious yet cozy bedroom. There were two beds here, one for the mother and a crib. The crib looked elegant and extravagant. Although the baby was born in secret, his mother was still the powerful marquess while his father was the emperor of this kingdom. Poliana, though did not feel any affection towards him, tried her best to give Dog Stew the best of everything. Her son laid in the crib sleeping peacefully.

Because of the sleeping baby, all the curtains were drawn to keep the bright sun out, but the room was still light enough for Lucius the First to see the baby’s face. He rubbed his eyes over and over again. He came here to see the woman he loved, but in addition to reuniting with Poliana, he also found a baby that looked just like him.

“C-could he be…”

While the emperor stuttered in shock, Poliana’s frown became uglier.

‘Dammit! I should’ve found out more before confessing like an idiot!’

“Could this be my son?”

Lucius the First’s smile became wider by the second. The emperor and Poliana accidentally slept with each other. It was a drunken mistake, yet here was a result of that night. It was the greatest and most unexpected gift. Lucius the First was confused and overjoyed at the same time. He could not hide his smile.

Ever since he achieved his dream of uniting the continent, the emperor knew he was a pretty lucky guy. In fact, since he was a baby, luck was always on his side. Lucius the First was born the only son to the Acreian emperor, which meant that he had no competition to the throne. The only possible rival was his cousin, who was such a docile man with no ambition.

Within 10 years of becoming the Acreian ruler, Lucius the First became the emperor of the entire continent. The only thing he thought was lacking was luck with women, but it turned out, this was not true. In fact, it seemed that he was especially lucky in this aspect as well. Perhaps, those hard times he had to endure was all for this very moment.

Lucius the First closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

‘How can my fate be so kind to me? I am actually a little scared right now.’

His luck was so great that the emperor felt like he was dreaming. Lucius the First continued to keep his eyes closed and meditated for a minute to control his excitement. Meanwhile, Poliana watched in horror because she believed the emperor was so angry that he was trying to calm down.

She begged him, “I have done a terrible thing, your highness! I swear I did not mean to hide your son from you forever. I was just blinded by the fact that I might lose my power… No! No, I mean! That is not what I meant! I just thought that since we agreed on forgetting about what happened that night, it would be wrong of me to bring up that topic again. I did not want to upset you, but when the baby turned out to be a boy… And he resembles you so much… I was planning on telling you the truth…! I really did!”

She tried to emphasize the fact she never actually lied to him! Poliana kneeled on the floor again. Lucius the First inhaled deeply, trying very hard not to act too enthusiastic.

The emperor replied, “Yes, I can see that the boy looks just like me.”

“Yes, that’s right! And he is extremely healthy.”

Poliana, thinking to lessen her guilt, stressed how healthy their son was. If the emperor realized how she kept the baby strong and healthy, perhaps his anger would lessen. Besides, it was true that the baby was extremely well. He even survived the intense training when he was only a few weeks old growing inside her tummy.

Lucius the First frowned and replied, “Why are you talking only about the baby’s health, Pol? What about you? How are you? Have you been resting well after giving birth? It is very important to take it easy, so why do you keep kneeling on the cold floor? It kills me to think of you having our baby all alone without me, my heart aches for you.”

The emperor took off his cloak and put it around Polina’s body. He gently helped her stand up and sit on the chair next to the fireplace. The way he acted around her was filled with love and happiness. It has been so long since she felt the emperor’s affection. It was not just Lucius the First who missed Poliana. Poliana had not realized how much she missed him. She felt her eyes filling up with tears.

Only

Even though Poliana committed such a huge crime, the emperor was just as kind as ever. He did not blame her for anything.

Poliana has become uglier while the emperor was still gorgeous. He was indeed the true treasure of this kingdom. Her cheeks were flushed, but Poliana wasn’t aware of it. Even if she did, she would’ve just thought it was because she was so thankful for the emperor’s generosity.

Lucius the First murmured in joyful disbelief, “I never imagined you would conceive a child from that one night.”

“Yes, your highness. I was very shocked as well.”

“Haa… I can imagine how scared you must’ve felt. Why didn’t you tell me, Pol? It kills me to think how worried you must’ve been…”

“Your highness…”

It was true that Poliana has been distraught all through her pregnancy. When Lucius the First consoled her, she became emotional. Just as she thought, her emperor wasn’t going to abandon her. Even though she did something so terrible, he wasn’t blaming her; he was actually worried about her.