The Emperor And The Knightess

The conversation changed to the topic of Stra and her older brother, who lived in the nearby area. After hearing about how close Poliana and her adopted brother Donau was, even though he lived very far away, Stra regretted not being diligent with her letters to her brother.

"I live very close to where my brother lives, yet I haven"t been sending the letters often to him. I feel ashamed."

Poliana then replied, "Well, it"s funny how these things work. Sometimes, you drift apart when you live so close because you think you can see him any time you want. Yet you actually don"t."

"Yes… From now on, maybe I should write to him more often…"

"I feel bad…"

Poliana felt terrible because any letters the emperor"s wives wrote were examined before being sent out. This was part of Poliana"s job and she hated it. The letters were written for the ladies" friends and families, which meant that these were personal. It was very rude to invade the ladies" privacy, but it couldn"t be helped. The other guards thought this wasn"t a big deal since Poliana was also a woman, but this wasn"t true. In fact, Poliana felt worse because of it.

Stra smiled pleasantly and innocently. Stra cried a lot, but she also smiled often too. She asked Poliana, "Was there anything else on Sir Donau"s letter?"

"No, nothing much. He just asked about any news in Yapa."

"It"s too bad there isn"t any good news in Yapa. Well, I guess there is that crazy development, but…"

There was indeed something new that happened in the Yapa castle, but this wasn"t something Poliana was free to disclose. Besides, she was sure that a message about this event was already sent to the south by now. It meant that Donau probably knew about it already.

"I wonder if it will be a girl or a boy…"

No one knew yet, of course. Some believed that if the upper portion of the pregnant woman"s belly was full, it was a son, but this was only a myth. Even the emperor, who loved superst.i.tion, didn"t believe this one. Besides, her belly wasn"t big enough yet.

Rebecca said to Poliana, "In the south, men often wear bracelets or anklets too. If you fas.h.i.+on it like this, it should be fine."

Rebecca rubbed her belly, which was a new habit for her. She was still in the early stage, so it didn"t show at all. Poliana stared at Rebecca"s belly expectantly.

Everyone will find out in a few months if there will be a new prince or princess.

***

When it was confirmed by the doctors that Rebecca was pregnant, Lucius the First did not fall off his horse this time. The emperor told everyone over and over again to be careful with his pregnant wife. Lady Rebecca needed to remain relaxed at all times.

Of course, it was easier said than done.

The emperor loved to tell people over and over again, "I will be a father very soon." There was no need for him to announce this to everyone since everyone already knew, but he did it anyway.

As expected, everyone"s attention turned to Rebecca. The biggest question people had was why it was Rebecca, out of the three wives, who got pregnant first. She was the most fragile of them after all.

Of course, Rebecca might have been delicate, but her health wasn"t bad enough that she couldn"t get pregnant. Rebecca, however, did go through a very unstable period at the beginning where it looked like she might have a miscarriage. The doctors recommended that she needed to rest as much as possible. Once the wife of the emperor became pregnant, her body was no longer her own. As soon as the doctors ordered her to rest, she was forced to become bedridden. She was ordered to stay in bed at all times unless she needed to go to the washroom.

Stra and Tory visited her regularly. Last week, Rebecca was finally given permission to get out of her bed from time to time. Poliana visited her and after confirming that Rebecca was taking a nap, she went to see Stra and Tory. Her guards reported to her several times a day about how the ladies were doing, but Poliana liked to visit them to see how they were for herself.

Tory already visited Rebecca earlier that day. After Poliana told her that Rebecca was taking a nice nap, Tory nodded at her elegantly. She looked worried.

"I am glad to hear that Lady Rebecca looked ok today. I really hope she continues to be healthy."

Tory sighed quietly and added, "I am very worried about her."

Tory was the unofficial head of the emperor"s wives. She always looked so elegant, but today, she ended up showing tears. Poliana consoled her as best as she could. Rebecca"s pregnancy wasn"t an entirely a good thing for Tory, so for Tory to be this worried made Poliana feel scared.

She said to Tory, "But the doctors said she"s okay."

"The baby will continue to grow. Once it becomes too much for her because of its weight, Lady Rebecca will have to be bedridden again. She was ok before she got pregnant, but now…"

Tory became dizzy just thinking about her worst-case scenario. Poliana tried to console her, telling her that it was all going to be ok and that Tory should try not to think about it. "You need to think positively, Lady Tory. The doctors are doing their best and Lady Rebecca is getting better slowly, so I am sure everything will work out. Please try not to worry."

"Yes, you"re right. I need to think positively."

Tory gave Poliana a weak smile. The relations.h.i.+p between Tory and Rebecca was an awkward one. If Tory looked too worried, people would talk. They would think that she had ill wishes towards Rebecca, so Tory had to make sure she didn"t show her concerns too much.

Poliana tactfully changed the subject. She thanked Tory again for helping her pick out gifts for the new babies. Tory shook her head and replied, "Oh, you"re welcome. Besides, it was my honor to help you. Please let me know anytime if you need some help."

"Oh, then I don"t mind if I do! I would love to hear your suggestion about what the next set of gifts should be."

Tory smiled brightly and her maids clapped in excitement.

"Oh, it"s so nice to see how close you are, Lady Tory and Poliana!"

Tory listed her gift ideas and Poliana wrote them down. Before the babies were born, it was hard to pick the gifts because they didn"t know the gender of the babies, but now that they knew, it was going to be easier. Tory gave specific ideas and Rebecca helped them as well. Poliana was happy to see that her list was long.

Tory offered, "For a boy, a toy bow and arrow would be a good idea. If he starts playing with it when he is young, it will help strengthen his arms. For a girl, how about an embroidery book? It usually is very colorful, so most kids love it. Different materials are used for embroidery in the north and southern regions, so I think you should get an embroidery book from the southern region to send."

This time, Tory did not suggest sending many sets of the items, but Poliana thought of Vanessa and Sir Donau. Poliana knew that Donau would get upset if his daughter didn"t receive the same toy bow. He would insist that his daughter could play with the bow just as well as any boys.

Poliana decided to purchase two sets of each gift so she can send them to both babies. She could certainly afford it.

Tory added, "Oh, and it would be nice for you to send some gifts to the new mothers too."

"Of course!"

Poliana grinned eagerly. She completely agreed because after all, it was the mothers who had to go through the birth of their babies. Poliana already sent medicinal herbs that were recommended for the new mothers, but she didn"t send any gifts yet. Tory advised her that Poliana should put more effort into picking out the gifts for Vanessa than Vaxi.

"Because Vanessa probably feels disappointed that she had a daughter."

It was most likely that because she married the second son, Vanessa was probably getting lesser gifts than her twin sister. Tory told Poliana of the stories she heard before about the new mothers who were treated poorly because she had a daughter instead of the coveted son.

Tory whispered to Poliana, "Can you imagine risking your life by giving birth and your husband looks so disappointed because you had a daughter? What a nightmare that would be… It would feel so awful."

Tory didn"t have any children yet, so the stories she knew were probably from her mother, sister, grandmother, or friends. Luckily for Vanessa, Poliana knew Donau very well, which meant he would never be disappointed just because he had a daughter. Poliana could imagine Donau holding his wife"s hand and crying as he thanked her for their beautiful new daughter. Both Sir Howe and Donau were taught very well by Sir Baufallo. They were kind young men, so Poliana was certain that they would treat their wives with respect and affection.

"But I guess Vanessa"s mother-in-law might have said something nasty to her."

Poliana could see Lady Ribo saying something pointed, but thankfully, the Bika family was much wealthier and higher-ranked than the Ribo family. Even if Lady Ribo was disappointed with a new granddaughter, she would"ve never said anything too bad to Vanessa. This was specifically why Sir Rabi wanted his daughters to marry Sir Howe and Sir Donau.

Poliana couldn"t even imagine how horrible it would feel to be criticized for having a daughter.