Chapter 58Lucius the First loved to play. He loved the parties. He loved to drink, eat, and play games.
And most of all, the Acreian emperor loved to dance. He wasn"t obsessed or addicted to it, but he found it pleasant to put his arms around a lady and dance around to beautiful music.
But if he stood up to dance right now, he had to dance with the Bikpa Princess out of politeness. And if he did this… Lucius the First was certain that he would be bullied into marriage before this night was over. It made sense for the princess to be ambitious; she wasn"t just an average lady but a royal member of a kingdom. A small kingdom, but still, she had the right bloodline to aim high.
Lucius the First also had a big dream and he wasn"t ready to get married yet.
Besides, the Bikpa Princess was not his type. She had bright curious eyes and innocent laughs, which were all well and good, but she was not the one.
But if he chose to dance with another woman of lower birth, and every woman in the room of lower ranks than her, it was going to be considered rude and even insulting to the princess. And of course, there was the risk of whoever he dances with visiting him stark naked tonight.
"Hmm… not that I don"t like naked women visiting my chamber…"
If it happened in any other kingdoms as an offering or gift, he would have accepted the gesture. In fact, similar things have happened to him during this war, and Lucius the First never refused it even once. But here in Bikpa"s castle… He didn"t feel like it. He felt uncomfortable.
He was contemplating what to do when he spotted Poliana approaching him in a dress. Lucius the First smiled in relief; if he danced with his own knight who was there to protect him, the princess could not claim to be insulted, and he could dance all night!
"Yes! Let"s dance!"
Lucius the First smiled brightly and was about to stand up when suddenly, Poliana said to him, "I don"t dance."
"Sir Poliana?"
"Sis!"
"I apologize, your highness, but I do not want to dance."
Poliana said her words with firmness and walked away awkwardly from her emperor. She grabbed a chair and sat behind Lucius the First.
Curious, Lucius whispered to Sir Donau, "Umm… Is Sir Poliana going through her period right now?"
"As far as I know, she has been very irregular so it has been many years since she had her last monthly bleed…"
"Oh."
Suddenly, Lucius thought he figured it out. He knew that a woman, who has been in active battles for the past 10 years, would have health problems, such as irregular periods. After all, wars involved stressful and unpredictable situations. A soldier also was often malnourished and suffered from lack of sleep and good hygiene. In truth, it was probably better to not have periods.
It was certainly much cleaner and easier on the body.
So perhaps, Poliana was surprised by an unexpected period today. This definitely explained her rigid face and strange walks.
After the emperor mentioned the word "period," Sir Donau"s head was filled with strange thoughts. He realized that what if she really began her period? The young man"s face reddened in embarra.s.sment.
Lucius the First sent Sir Donau to take care of Poliana. He thought sympathetically, "I hope her period becomes regular, so she doesn"t become barren. If she is unable to have children… how sad."
The emperor studied Poliana"s face carefully, trying to figure out how she was feeling. Poliana, in turn, had her eyes on her emperor and refused to look away, but the way she stared at him was different than how the Bikpa Princess looked at Lucius the First. Poliana was his personal guard, and in her eyes, Lucius the First could see her clear determination to protect him despite her obvious physical discomfort. Lucius the First was truly impressed and grateful.
He decided that he needed to promote his loyal knightess. Considering how long she has been a soldier, it was well overdue. The other knights in his army also seemed to accept her as their own, so he didn"t expect anyone protesting.
Well… except for Sir Ainno.
"By the way, when is Inno coming?"
It was normal for the champion of the day to appear the last to his own banquet in Bikpa. Lucius the First found it an odd tradition because, in Acreia, everyone appeared on time to every event no matter the rank or station.
"Hmm…"
They were waiting for him for a long time. It was strange, because Lucius did not think it would take this long for Sir Ainno to get ready. After another few minutes, he finally turned to Gali the Third and asked, "When are my champion and my knights coming to this feast?"
"Never. They will never arrive."
When Gali the Third began to laugh evilly, the door to the room closed firmly. The Bikpa guards and knights took out their swords and their spears menacingly.
"GYAA!!"
The princess of Bikpa screamed in shock and her maids surrounded her for her protection. Gali the Third sneered and his men looked at the Acreians angrily. The Bikpa n.o.bles were also grinning expectantly, suggesting they were all on this plot.
The few Acreian knights that were present hastily reached for their swords, but they were unarmed. The knights froze in their position. Lucius the First, however, remained calm. He looked around, coldly calculating the situation. From the look of it, the princess was the only Bikpan who didn"t know of this scheme. It made sense. He wouldn"t have expected someone like Gali the Third to confide or trust his own daughter. Or perhaps, the Bikpa king wanted to maintain the possibility of his daughter seducing Lucius.
Either way, the feast was over and Lucius the First was unhappy.
"I didn"t even get to dance once."
Lucius the First glared at the Bikpa king. From the beginning, he detested this weak selfish man who abused his own people. And this tournament? He came up with this stupid idea and when he lost, he plotted against him.
This man was no king.
What surprised Lucius the First the most was the fact that Gali the Third already signed the doc.u.ment of surrender. The Acreian emperor then roared, "What is the meaning of this?!"
"You have just been captured," Gali the Third replied.
"You have already surrendered to me. You signed the doc.u.ment. Do you not remember?"
"That piece of paper? I will just rip it into pieces!"
"You know as well as I do that it is not just a piece of paper."
A doc.u.ment signed by royal members were considered a binding contract according to the continental law. Such a contract could be made only by the royal members or high-ranking n.o.bles. An average joe could not create one even if he or she could read. If one party broke the contract, the punishment was clear and severe; they would lose their family"s wealth and t.i.tle for three generations.
Gali the Third sneered. "I can just destroy the doc.u.ment and kill the witnesses! Or I can force you to sign another doc.u.ment that states that you surrender to me. You stupid b.a.s.t.a.r.d! You have made a huge mistake coming after me!"
"You are the one who has lost his mind. I trusted you because I believed you could not be this stupid, and I guess I was wrong."
"Just how long do you think you can remain confident like that?"
When Gali the Third stood up, his guards and knights began to surround the Acreians. Lucius the First became furious as he yelled, "To attack the very people you invited! How dare you! You are unforgivable."
Lucius the First looked around the room with his eyes blazing. He looked like the true emperor with his charisma and strength. Lucius then continued, "Drop your weapons! This man standing here is no longer your king. Are you all willing to remain loyal to a man who is deceitful? Who is willing to break his words?"
Some of the Bikpa men seemed hesitant at Lucius"s confident words. The Acreian emperor continued boldly, "This man gave away his own kingdom! He didn"t protect his own people! His idea of winning this war was to open a tournament! He stole from all of you and your families! Do you really think he is worthy of your loyalty? Bikpa is no longer an independent kingdom. Even if you kill me tonight, you will all still be punished by the other kingdoms. The other kings won"t let this man get away with it. They will also punish all of you for breaking the sacred contract! You and your family will be enslaved or executed! Listen to me carefully. Your king has abandoned you, so drop your weapons!"