Chapter 79Sir Ainno had a reason for insisting on the guarding duty today. Lucius the First wanted Sir Ainno to form the very first Acreian knight"s order made up of the 27 men specially selected by Sir Ainno himself. There wasn"t any formal order of knights in Acreia, so this was going to be an exciting occasion.
Sir Ainno was to be the very first leader of the order, which was a great honor, but it also meant that he now had more work and responsibilities.
"This knight"s order business is becoming very troublesome, your highness."
"Are your men not following your orders?"
"I am just worried about what I should pick to be the order"s symbol."
Lucius the First became annoyed. Here he was, busy with international negotiations, while his knight"s main worry was picking out a symbol for the order. Lucius the First threw the cup at him, and without even looking, Sir Ainno caught it easily.
"Your highness! This is a very important decision! This is your first knight"s order. I need to pick a symbol that no one has ever used before. It needs to be something different and amazing."
All the good symbols were taken by the knight"s orders of other kingdoms; the bear, wolf, and even the deer. Sir Ainno"s new order needed to have something meaningful as its symbol. It couldn"t be something that another group was already using.
Sir Ainno pulled on his hair in frustration.
"Isn"t the emperor supposed to pick the symbol?"
This was true, but because Lucius the First was so busy, he had Sir Ainno take over the decision. Sir Ainno asked around to get some good ideas, but he wasn"t satisfied with any of them. Some men suggested a plant as the symbol, but Sir Ainno was adamantly against it. A plant… It looked and sounded too weak.
"What did the other knights suggest?"
"Sir Rabi keeps insisting I use either a dog or a deer, your highness."
Sir Rabi ended up keeping the deer. It was all grown up now, and he was about to release it back to the wild when he noticed that the hunters were waiting to kill it. The deer was young and plump, and many of the Acreian men were waiting to hunt it down. As long as the deer remained in Sir Rabi"s protection, no one could harm it, but once he released it… It was in anyone"s game.
Realizing his deer would die immediately after it gained its freedom, Sir Rabi gave up liberating it. Instead, he officially announced the deer as his pet and even named it Rosy. He made a collar with the name on it so the deer could wear it. He claimed that he was going to take her with him back to Acreia and raise her in his garden.
"Sir Rabi is so funny," the emperor murmured.
Sir Rabi looked surprisingly feminine and moody, but he had such an open personality. He came from the most powerful knight"s family, but he was kind and easy-going. Despite his wealth and power, Sir Rabi got along with everyone including the lowly foot soldiers to the high-ranking officials. He was essential in helping everyone come together as a team in the Acreian army.
Lucius the First continued, "And Sir Bentier is also a great guy." Sir Bentier was ordered to follow the emperor by the Acreian n.o.blemen who didn"t trust Lucius the First. In turn, the emperor kept a wary distance from the knight at first. But it has been 10 years since they set out to conquer the world and now, the emperor felt closer to Sir Bentier.
Suddenly, Sir Ainno nodded decisively.
"I have made my decision."
"Deer and dog?"
"Just the dog."
"But you said a dog was too common, Inno."
"Yes, but it"s still a very st.u.r.dy and sensible choice. A dog is loyal to its master. It is a great hunter and protector. It guards its master and the livestock. It never betrays its owner and it is also very cuddly."
"Well, if you are sure, then get up now."
But even though his problem was solved, Sir Ainno still refused to stand up. Annoyed, Lucius the First threw a book at him, but Sir Ainno caught it again without even looking. He then replied, "I still have something important to think about."
"What is it?"
"…"
Sir Ainno finally sat up and narrowed his eyes at his friend. Sir Ainno never doubted him, but it still felt strange that they were finally here. He murmured, "So… you are finally becoming the emperor of the entire continent. It"s really happening."
Sir Ainno closed his eyes. He knew this day would come because he trusted and believed in his emperor. Lucius the First was a good man to follow. He was kind and generous, yet also very objective, rational, and cold when he needed to be.
Lucius the First often told his men to stop dreaming nonsense, but in truth, he was their dream. He was everyone"s hope.
Sir Ainno wondered what happened to the young boy prince he grew up with. The boy who lost his mother at a very young age, and his father, the former emperor, a few years later… The boy who had to grow up fast and become an adult to rule an entire kingdom…
That boy was now gone and a man, an emperor, stood in front of him. But sometimes… Lucius the First still smiled at Sir Ainno like a little boy. Would he still be able to smile like that when he officially became the ruler of all? Sir Ainno was a little worried about his friend.
Lucius the First replied with a faint smile. "Yeah… I guess you are right. The emperor of all of the continent…"
"What are your plans now?"
"Well, there is a lot to do now, of course."
Winning the war was the easy part. Now, the real battles were going to begin. To rule, to fight against the other n.o.blemen with laws and policies…
The political war was about to begin.
Lucius the First continued, "And I need to get married too, I suppose."
When the news of his success reached Acreia, the first message that came from his homeland was an insistence on him getting married as soon as possible. The official wife needed to be selected and approved by the Acreian government, which meant it could not happen until the emperor returned home. However, he could take a few concubines in the meantime and began to bear future heirs.
The emperor murmured, "And as soon as I return, I will have to reward my cousin…"
Duke Luzo didn"t directly partic.i.p.ate in this conquest, but without his help and sacrifice, Lucius the First knew he wouldn"t have been able to even begin his war. To that, Sir Ainno nodded in agreement.
Even if the elder n.o.blemen pushed Duke Luzo to take over the throne, Lucius the First wasn"t concerned. He could just take it back. He just felt sorry for Duke Luzo, who wanted to get married but was waiting for the emperor to return.
"And of course, I will have to reward all who went through so much for me."
This needed to happen sooner rather than later. The morale and the continued loyalty of all of his men depended on it.
The more he thought about it, the more work Lucius the First had. He felt the heavy burden of it cras.h.i.+ng down on him. He was surprised that he was still standing and remained sane. Being an emperor was not an easy task.
He added, "I also want to change many of the old and outdated laws and change the capital city, but I don"t think I can. I already have too much to do, so it will have to be done by those after me."
"I can tell you that it would be best if you change the capital soon."
"And take on even more work?! You"re Crazy!"
Lucius the First laughed loudly, but slowly, his laughter died down, and he nodded. It was true; it had to be done now. It was too big of a burden to leave for the next generation. It was essential to establish the capital of the entire continent, not just of Acreia.
This was necessary to maintain the peace and stability of his new land. In fact, it needed to be on top of his priorities. Just like any man, Lucius the First loved to be lazy and enjoy life, but for now, he knew his responsibilities came first.
He decided he will have plenty of time to play later. It was time to get to work.