The Emperor And The Knightess

Lucius the First knew exactly what Sir Ainno was trying to say, but he believed that his situation wasn"t hopeless. After all, he didn"t see Poliana as a woman until recently. Something changed inside of him and he fell in love with her, so the same thing could happen to her too.

When the emperor pointed this out, Sir Ainno answered in frustration, "That"s different. You are crazy, while she isn"t."

Shocked, Lucius the First became speechless. With a sigh, Sir Ainno continued, "So just do what you want."

"What?"

"I am telling you this as your friend. Do what you would like. I will always be on your side."

But even as he said this, Sir Ainno knew the truth.

"She will refuse you."

He couldn"t say this out loud to his friend, but Sir Ainno added, "However, you need to remember this. There have been many rulers in history who became tyrants because they couldn"t control their emotions. Lucius, you aren"t like the other kings. You are the emperor of the entire continent. What do you think will happen if you become a tyrant? A tyrant who has absolute power over this world… If you ended up entering the wrong path, I will kill you, Lucius. And afterward, I will put poor Luzo on the throne. That is what I can do for you as your true friend."

The three of them, Ainno, Lucius, and Luzo, were childhood friends. Sir Ainno continued, "I trust you. I know you. I know you aren"t the type that would become corrupt because of a woman, so do what you want. I will make sure there aren"t any obstacles on your way."

"Inno…"

Sir Ainno always thought of Lucius the First as someone that needed to be protected since their childhood. If the emperor wanted something, all he had to do was take it. He certainly deserved everything.

"Just go get her! Take her!"

"What? She is a person, not a thing. What are you talking about?"

"Then go tell that to her. Confess your love to her. You are an emperor, Lucius! Are you going to suffer this one-sided love forever?"

Sir Ainno stood up in annoyance. He moved towards the door because he couldn"t take this love c.r.a.p anymore.

When Lucius the First called his name, he shuddered and answered, "Don"t ever tell me about your love story again, Lucius! It"s so corny and gross! Besides, I am not interested in love and dating and all that. I will marry whoever you decide for me and that will be the end of it!"

"Inno…!"

Sir Ainno clearly lived his life only for the emperor and Lucius the First felt grateful. When the emperor opened up his arms, the knight grumbled but hugged Lucius the First back.

When Sir Ainno finally left the emperor"s room, his frown became bigger and uglier. He couldn"t understand what was happening. This world was full of beautiful women, so why was Lucius the First set on her?

Sir Ainno accepted Sir Poliana as his fellow knight, but not as a woman. All the other knights felt the same way. In the Acreian army, Poliana Winter was accepted as a genderless knight. Not a man, but not a woman either.

So for the emperor to fall in love with her… Sir Ainno couldn"t imagine Poliana as a concubine. Strangely, however, Sir Ainno hoped that Polian would accept the emperor. He couldn"t imagine her rejecting Lucius the First, she couldn"t. In fact, he expected her to fall to the floor for such a great honor. She would be considered the luckiest woman in the world.

The emperor"s heart.

There was nothing more precious than that on this continent.

***

Alone in his room, Lucius the First finished the rest of the drinks.

"That"s right. The first thing that I should do is to confess to her."

Cupid was such a cruel being. His arrow hit the emperor"s heart. Lucius the First had no chance in h.e.l.l.

He knew it wasn"t Poliana"s fault at all. If she knew, she would be flabbergasted and confused. She didn"t do anything to cause this. It was his heart that lost its mind.

The emperor tried and failed in ignoring his feelings, so now, the only thing left for him was to confess to her. He was determined that this was the right course of action. After talking with his friend, Lucius the First felt optimistic.

"I should confess my feelings to her."

Sir Ainno was right. Poliana didn"t see Lucius the First as a man. She saw him only as her emperor. She didn"t mind showing her naked body to him.

At this rate, they could never become more.

The emperor knew there needed to be a major change in their current relations.h.i.+p. He was the one in love, so he was the one who needed to make the change.

And the biggest change could be made by him confessing his love for her. This was going to change everything between them. Unfortunately, Lucius the First was too blinded to realize that his confession could also ruin their relations.h.i.+p forever.

Normally, he would have spent a long time planning this out before making his move, but a sudden burst of courage, along with a bottle of wine, made him reckless.

He decided that it needed to happen tonight.

"Let"s do it!"

He walked out of the room, but suddenly, he realized that he reeked of wine. This wouldn"t do. It wouldn"t be romantic at all for a drunk man to confess his love.

So the emperor headed towards the bathhouse. He gestured for these guards not to follow him. He was only going to the bathhouse, but the guards refused to stay behind because they could smell the alcohol on him.

In Acreia, bathhouses and saunas were very common. Many men drank before enjoying these facilities and sometimes, this ended in their deaths.

Lucius the First promised the guards that if he felt dizzy, he would call for a servant. He promised that he would not fall asleep in a bathtub and finally, the guards agreed to wait for him from outside.

But when Lucius the First entered the bathhouse alone, he saw a strange figure on the floor. There were several bathhouses in the Sitrin castle, and this particular one was the most luxurious one designated only for the emperor"s use.

So who was this person on the floor?

Lucius the First"s first guesses were either an a.s.sa.s.sin or a woman. He slowly walked towards the person without calling for his guards. When he got closer, the emperor quickly realized who it was.

It was a woman"s body covered in scars and had short light brown hair.

It was Poliana.

"Why is Pol here?"

Lucius the First was confused and concerned. He had seen her naked a few times before. He even saw her coming out of a bathtub before, but at the time, he didn"t feel anything. But now that he was in love with her, the emperor wasn"t sure if he would be able to act gentlemanly around the naked woman who was the recipient of his secret love.

Quickly, Lucius the First placed his cloak on top of her naked body and looked around the room. He suggested that she should take a nice bath before going to bed tonight, but he didn"t tell her to wait at his private bathhouse. He would never ask a woman, especially his own knightess, of such a thing.

So… what was Poliana doing here?