Chapter 28Lucius the First"s red cape danced around him with every step. He was wearing a pair of regular military boots, and his hair was as golden and as s.h.i.+ny as ever.
As soon as he entered his personal tent, the servants gathered around him to help him out of his cape. It was a hot summer after all. Before entering the emperor"s tent, the servants also swarmed around Poliana. They quickly took away her sword and daggers; they checked her entire body as well to make sure that she wasn"t concealing any weapons, and they even checked the bottom of her shoes. It was for the protection of the emperor. The greatest honor a knight could receive was being allowed to be armed around his or her sovereign. It showed that the emperor had a complete trust over that knight.
The servants brought out a few chairs and a table. There were three chairs, but Poliana hesitated sitting on one. She came because she was ordered to, but she wasn"t too happy about this situation.
The emperor then said to her, "You may take a seat."
"Thank you, your highness."
Her most beloved emperor has invited her to drink with him, but she was in fact unhappy about it all. She remembered her superiors before who claimed that drinks and tea tasted the best when served by women. During her time in her old army, she was once called to entertain the higher-ranking officials by pouring them drinks and "look pretty" while doing so. In the end, she was kicked out because of her looks. Some men even became angry, saying she was no woman.
There were two types of men at those parties; those who thought that an ugly woman was better than a pretty man, and the others who preferred a beautiful man over Poliana. In the end, she was never called to these kinds of parties again.
"What should I do…"
What was she going to do if Lucius the First demanded her of the same service?
Pouring her emperor"s drinks was not a problem at all, but to order her just because she was a woman… Poliana knew her disappointment in her emperor would be hard to overcome.
Lucius the First also invited Sir Howe and Donau. When Donau entered, Poliana noticed that he was wrapped in bandages. He wore various ornaments in a poor attempt to hide this fact. After the emperor saw Donau, he asked, "Did you get stomped by a horse? Are any of your bones broken?"
Donau did look badly beaten, but it was clear that it wasn"t by a horse. If it was, Donau wouldn"t have been able to walk around like this. The emperor knew this, but he was being sensitive and kind.
But Donau didn"t seem to realize this, he gritted his teeth in embarra.s.sment as he replied, "I haven"t broken anything, your highness. It is only a minor injury."
"I see."
Lucius the First smiled and patted Donau"s head, who smiled happily.
Just then, the servants brought the drinks and the food. The emperor mumbled, "There seem to be only four duck legs… But there are five of us."
Everyone stood up quickly and announced that they didn"t want the legs. Lucius the First waved them to sit down and replied, "I was just joking."
He grabbed a bottle of wine and announced, "I know I invited you for a drinking party, but all I can offer you today is just a watered-down wine. We are going to have a long day tomorrow anyway, so I think this is probably a good idea. Getting drunk would only make it harder to wake up."
He filled Sir Baufallo"s cup with half portions of water and wine. The emperor then turned towards Poliana, who flinched in shock.
"M, me too?!"
"Hmm? You are older than Sir Howe, isn"t that so? This means that you would be next to receive the drink. But of course, if you don"t like to drink, you are welcome to refuse it."
"No! Not at all, your highness! And yes, I am older than Sir Howe! By a whole year!"
"Alright then."
Poliana held the cup with both of her hands, looking nervous and honored at the same time. Lucius the First carefully poured the water and wine into her cup.
This was the first time Poliana had someone pour her a drink. Not to force her to drink but as an offer. Realizing the emperor didn"t invite her to pour drinks for them made her feel relieved.
After Sir Howe, it was Donau"s turn. The emperor made sure that Donau"s drink was much more watered. He ignored Donau when he protested.
Everyone chatted pleasantly. Lucius the First talked easily with Sir Baufallo, who used to be the former emperor"s knight as well. Meanwhile, Poliana asked Sir Howe, who she hasn"t seen in a long time, about how he was doing under Sir Rabi. Sir Howe said that his new position was an incredibly stressful one because of how picky Sir Rabi was.
Donau, on the other hand, was busy eating the ducks.
Lucius the First asked Sir Baufallo, "I"m sure you wanted to lead a more active department than a war supply unit, Sir Bau. Are you ok with your current position? I know you took it because I made you to."
"Not at all, your highness. I actually like my posting. It suits me very well, especially since I am getting pretty old. I believe it is time for the young men to get the chance for glory."
"Please, don"t think you won"t be recognized just because you are in a quieter unit. I know it may not be as obvious, but I am well aware of how important a supply department is."
"I know that very well too, your highness."
"And if you are unhappy about something I do, please don"t hesitate to let me know."
"How could I ever be unhappy with you, your highness? I am just honored that you allowed both of my sons to serve you."
Sir Baufallo looked at Sir Howe and continued, "I am only worried that my idiot sons might disappoint you, your highness."
"I guess I just feel very apologetic to your wife, Sir Baufallo… I took all of the men in her family into this war."
While Sir Baufallo and the emperor discussed things about the war, Sir Howe began to chat with his younger brother while Poliana just drank quietly. The ducks were cooked very well, but because she was so nervous, she couldn"t taste anything.
Poliana was born to an average n.o.ble family. She wasn"t raised as a lady either, it meant she wasn"t used to talking with such important people. She did meet with high ranking officers from time to time, but not in a friendly setting like this.
Poliana kept drinking fast to ease her anxiety, and soon, the bottle was empty. The servant immediately brought out another bottle. Donau, who has been busy with the duck dish, reached out to grab the new bottle, just as Poliana was doing the same. Their eyes suddenly met.
Since she had a higher rank, it was only right that Donau let her have the bottle first, but it was clear that he wasn"t going to. So, Poliana moved faster, she grabbed the bottle and poured Donau and herself drinks. This made Poliana look like a generous knight who kindly poured a mere help a drink. Angrily, Donau emptied his cup in one gulp and glared at her.
"That jerk!"
Donau"s obvious disrespectful behavior was shocking, considering that they were in front of the emperor. He was lucky that Sir Baufallo and Lucius the First were busy talking among themselves. They didn"t seem to notice what was going on between Poliana and Donau.
Just then, the emperor asked Sir Baufallo loudly, "so how is Sir Poliana doing?"