The Emperor And The Knightess

Poliana realized why Sir Ainno frowned in annoyance. It was Duke Luzo"s hair, which was styled with so much oil that it looked s.h.i.+nier than the ladies" jewelry. He was talking with the emperor and it was nice to see the two young n.o.bles together. Poliana could now see a slight resemblance between the two of them. Duke Luzo, now married and slimmer, looked much better.

"But I guess the receding hairline would be his permanent feature now…"

It was incredibly sad to see that his lost hair was never going to come back. Because Sir Ainno refused to be the emperor"s best man, Duke Luzo almost became one instead. In the end, however, Lucius the First decided not to have a best man at all. Poliana turned towards Sir Ainno and asked curiously, "Why didn"t you accept being his highness"s best man?"

The Sir Ainno she knew would insist on being both the emperor"s personal guard as well as his best man. She expected him to claim he could do it all because he was awesome but instead, he refused the offer, stating that he needed to focus on his job. Everyone who knew him was surprised to hear this news.

Some thought he refused because this was the wedding between the emperor and his wives, not his empress, but these people obviously did not know Sir Ainno well.

The Sir Ainno Poliana knew would have insisted on being the best man for all of the emperor"s wedding. To be fair, Poliana thought this made sense because Sir Ainno was the best knight of Acreia. He was the emperor"s right hand as well as his best friend.

Sir Ainno replied vaguely, "I will be the best man to your groom when you get married, Sir Poliana, so don"t worry."

"Why is he trying to change the subject?"

She was curious, but she did not pry. She suspected that there must be a good reason for his decision. It was very likely that it was actually Lucius the First"s decision not to have a best man. Perhaps the emperor didn"t want one because he was getting so many wives all at once and he thought it would be best to have the smallest wedding party he could have. This made sense because if the emperor had a best man, each of his brides would have to have a separate maid of honor.

Sir Ainno murmured, "So… His highness is finally getting married…"

"As expected, of course."

"Don"t you feel anything about it? Anything at all?"

Poliana was confused. Her emperor was getting married as he should, and that was that. So what was Sir Ainno trying to ask? What should she be feeling? It was such an odd question and Poliana didn"t feel the need to even answer it.

"Wait a minute!"

Poliana covered her mouth in shock, making Sir Ainno feel confused. He asked her, "Sir Poliana, are you trying to burp or something?"

"Sir Ainno… Could it be… I can"t believe it, but…"

Poliana couldn"t hide her shock. She had always known that Lucius the First and Sir Ainno were great and close friends, but this was beyond her wildest imagination. The fact that they have a "special" relations.h.i.+p…

She felt awkward as she asked, "Sir Ainno, is that why you haven"t gotten married yet? Does his highness know about your feelings? Wait…! He must know since you are telling me this right now… So does the emperor feel the same way about you?"

"Dammit! What should I say to him?"

It wasn"t unheard of for men to fall in love with each other in male-oriented groups such as the military. A friends.h.i.+p can quickly turn into love and affection. There were even some knights who continued this kind of relations.h.i.+p even after they got married. It was rare in the northern regions, but not so much in the mid and southern kingdoms. In fact, there used to be a time once when it became fas.h.i.+onable for knights to have a boyfriend.

There were rumors that Lucius the First and Sir Ainno were more than just friends, but Poliana never believed it.

But now… Perhaps she was wrong!

Suddenly, Sir Ainno realized what Poliana was talking about. Without hesitation, his fist headed towards her. Thankfully, Poliana was quick. She was able to dodge his punch, and to her relief, Sir Ainno did not try to attack her again.

Probably because they were at a wedding.

Poliana said quickly, "I will keep your secret safe, Sir Ainno."

"It"s not like that."

"I will consider it the most important military secret."

"I am telling you that it"s not like that!"

"I"ve seen it happen sometimes. Very rare. Very, very rare."

"It"s not like that!!!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I"m sure."

Sir Ainno was clenching his teeth, so it didn"t seem like he was lying. When Poliana looked at him with suspicion, Sir Ainno posed to strike her again. Poliana knew he would never intentionally make a scene, so the fact that he seemed so angry and frustrated… Poliana realized what was happening here.

If someone asked her if she was in an inappropriate relations.h.i.+p with the emperor, Poliana knew she would feel very angry. She would be annoyed if her pure and genuine loyalty looked like something else to others. She could understand why Sir Ainno was denying it so adamantly.

Sir Ainno gagged in disgust. How could anyone think he and the emperor had that kind of a relations.h.i.+p?

Poliana apologized immediately, "Sorry, Sir Ainno. It"s just that you were asking me such a weird question. So… Why did you ask?"

"…"

He glared at her in annoyance. She was trying to make this his fault for some reason.

"I was just curious because you are a woman and I thought that perhaps you felt different about this wedding than I did."

"Why would I feel different just because I was a woman? I am his highness"s knight just like you are, Sir Ainno. You need to stop thinking that women would feel more than men."

"I am well aware of what a cold woman you are, Sir Poliana."

"Good."

There were indeed many people who thought she was emotionless. It was because when they were standing at the cliff after their final victory in the south, Poliana was the only soldier who did not cry.

Since then, her nickname became "the woman who didn"t cry or bleed." When she first heard the soldiers calling her by this name, she made sure to teach them a lesson they would never forget.

Idiots!

Sir Ainno explained, "I was just thinking that because you are the closest woman to the emperor. That is why I asked."

"I am his highness"s knight and nothing more. I am just like you, Sir Ainno."