The Emperor And The Knightess

All the nations in the continent were united into a single empire.

Acreia...

And it belonged to Lucius the First...

The first thing he did was to a.s.semble and rea.s.sess his army. A recruitment announcement was also made, and quickly, many men from different colonies applied all at once.

Unfortunately, not all of them could be accepted because there were too many of them. In the end, only those with vast military experience and high ranks were selected. Although all the southern kingdoms surrendered to him, Lucius the First still wanted to continue to the end of the continent. He wanted to physically set his foot on the land he now owned. Those who were lucky enough to be chosen were to follow him on his final journey.

From the uppermost part of the northern lands to the farthest part of the southern lands… Lucius the First stood at the cliff and looked out to the South Sea.

The sea that never freezes even in winter.

The waves danced while the seagulls cried loudly. The sun shone hotly, and the sand invaded his shoes and his clothes as he entered the beach. The smell of the ocean was very different from that of a river. The salty air stuck to his skin.

His horse grumbled as it walked on unfamiliar sand. Even though he has reached his final destination, Lucius the First wandered around like a lost child. He kept riding his horse around the beach aimlessly.

The emperor took his time, but no one complained. As they followed him, they reached another cliff and there, the emperor looked out quietly and unmoving.

A gentle wind blew, making Lucius the First"s golden hair dance around him. It would have been nice if he was wearing a cloak because that would have made a prettier picture, but no one said a word. No one called out to their emperor.

Lucius the First didn"t look back at his men. His soldiers, feeling an overwhelming sense of happiness, stared at their emperor against the beautiful ocean, cliff, and the sky.

The shockingly blue sky, clear s.h.i.+ny water, and their emperor...

It was a scene they would never forget. Suddenly, the soldiers realized what this moment meant.

This was what the Acreian soldiers have been fighting for for the last 10 years. They followed Lucius the First to this place, and finally, they were being rewarded. Just watching their emperor standing at the end of the earth… It was an overwhelming moment for all of them.

Acreians, the children of hunger...

Acreian men had different reasons for volunteering to follow Lucius the First on his war. Some wanted the physical rewards that they would get afterward, such as t.i.tles and lands, while others wanted the experience and honor. Some were forced to enlist by their parents.

What everyone received as rewards for their services was more than they could have imagined. Just watching their great emperor at this moment…

One by one, the soldiers began to cry.

"Your highness! We have always believed in you!"

"We knew you could do this from the very beginning!"

"We will take this experience as the greatest honor! We will tell our children of this victory for generations!"

"Now, we get to go back home!"

"Long live Lucius the First!"

"Hooray for Acreia!"

"Long live Lucius the First!"

"The one and only emperor of this land!"

"Your highness!"

He was now the emperor of the entire continent. He owned the whole world.

"Hurray for the emperor!"

"Long live Lucius the First!"

The knights and soldiers took out their spears and swords and held them up high. Their cries and the clanking of their weapons filled the air, drowning out the sounds of the ocean.

At this moment, the men didn"t care if they didn"t receive any t.i.tles or lands. They were Lucius the First"s men and belonging to him alone was enough of a reward.

Lucius the First turned around. His blonde hair looked beautiful against the blue sky and the almost-green ocean. Then suddenly, the emperor bowed to the men standing in front of him. He announced humbly, "Thank you, everyone, for getting me here. To help me arrive at this place… It is all thanks to you. I know that it must"ve been hard for you to believe in me, and that is why I am thanking you now. This will be my first and only time bowing to anyone."

He raised his head again, and shrugging his shoulders, he added, "As the emperor, I must never bow to anyone anymore."

Turning towards the ocean again, he ordered, "I will be staying here for a while longer, so you may return without me." The men realized that the emperor wanted to be alone, so they began to leave. Some still remained, wanting to enjoy the moment a little longer too, but in the end, everyone left and there were only three of them.

Lucius the First, Sir Ainno, and Sir Poliana.

Poliana planned on staying till the end with the emperor, and she a.s.sumed Sir Ainno was going to do the same but after a while, he turned around too. When Poliana raised her eyebrows, Sir Ainno patted Poliana"s shoulders affectionately.

Not to disturb the emperor, Poliana whispered her question. "Aren"t you staying? Are you going to make me leave?"

"Of course not. You are the head of the personal protection division, aren"t you?"

Poliana was shocked, she was sure Sir Ainno would insist that she should leave. When she became speechless, Sir Ainno grinned and added, "I"m sorry I took your place last time in that room."

His voice sounded a little strange, and suddenly, Poliana realized the truth. When everyone was crying, Sir Ainno remained dry-eyed. It was obvious he hated showing his tears to anyone, and now that he couldn"t control his emotions, he was running away.

So finally, it was just Lucius the First and Poliana on the cliff. Like his shadow, she remained by his side to protect him.

When everyone cried, Poliana didn"t. It wasn"t because she was afraid of what others might think of her tears. She was just so overwhelmed that she couldn"t even cry.

Besides, she knew the truth. This wasn"t the end. It was only the beginning of something even bigger.

Uniting all of the kingdoms didn"t mean the end of the world. Poliana, Lucius the First, and everyone else was going to live on in this new world. Even if she died right now, everyone else would continue on without her.

The sun began to set and Lucius the First finally turned around.

"Let"s return to our base now before it gets too dark."

"Yes, your highness."

Becoming his knight was the best choice she ever made in her life. She smiled brightly, unable to hide her happiness and joy. Lucius the First was standing with the sun behind him, and Poliana couldn"t see her emperor clearly because of that blinding light. But even so, she continued to smile at him. It was ok if she couldn"t see him. It was ok even if she lost her sight. After all, Lucius the First was like the sun to her and she was only happy to be by his side.

And because she couldn"t see his face, she missed the change in his expression. For a moment, he lost his poker-face, and he looked… emotional.

"Finally…"

He has done it. Finally… He was here at the end of the earth. It was all his. The entire continent was his.

He should have been ecstatic, but instead, he felt… burdened. Whenever his men kneeled before him, Lucius the First felt the unbelievable weight of his mounting responsibility.

He could have been the worst dictator, and even then, he knew no one would blame him or dare to deny him anything, but the problem was that he wanted to be a good emperor. This was why he felt so burdened and troubled.

"Well, it"s a good thing at least that I won"t be alone."

Ever since he was a young boy, he dreamt of becoming the emperor of all. And in this dream, he was never alone. He had a woman, an empress, by his side. She didn"t have to be beautiful, but she needed to be wise, generous, and kind. She needed to be the mother to all the people in this world.

A woman who was intelligent… She didn"t have to come from the best of the families as long as she wasn"t a commoner. They also needed to have children, so it would be best if she came from a large family. She needed to be healthy and could never be jealous of his concubines.

It wouldn"t be easy, but Lucius the First was sure that he would find the perfect woman.

He wanted to be alone, and that was why he asked everyone to leave, but even without looking, he knew there would be one person waiting for him.

"Sir Pol!"

He smiled. The knight with the "winter" as her last name has been his most loyal knight. She served him well despite all the hards.h.i.+ps she must"ve gone through as a female and a foreigner. Lucius the First was well aware that she deserved a great reward.

"Our first meeting was so unforgettable…"

The whole world turned orange as the sun continued to set.

"Let"s get going, Sir Pol."

"Of course, your highness."

The loyal knightess looked up with a beautiful smile, and suddenly…

Lucius the First lost his smile as he saw Poliana.