The Emperor and the Knightess

Chapter 135

Now that the emperor was established, different colonies began to send extravagant gifts and beauties to Yapa. Every colony hoped that the emperor would take a woman from their region as his wife. The young emperor was still unmarried and all the noble families with unmarried daughters prayed that they would be chosen.

Sir Howe and Donau would be married soon. Sir Beke and Sir Wook would marry in the near future. Everyone had to get married, including the emperor.

Different colonies sent the most beautiful ladies they could find, hoping to take the position of the empress. Even becoming the emperor’s concubine was a huge honor. All the ladies that were sent to the emperor had to go through strict processes to be qualified. The first thing was that they could not be too young. When a thirteen-year-old girl was sent to him, Lucius the First became furious. She was immediately sent away.

“Did they think that I am some kind of a pervert?!”

The emperor couldn’t believe what was happening in his country! Enraged, he set an official guideline. No lady under the age of 20 was to be sent to him. A lady who was engaged could not break the engagement just to be sent to the emperor. Lucius the First believed that a good marriage could not happen when there was a huge age gap between the husband and his wife.

Unfortunately, there were too many perverted old men who looked for teenage wives.

Then, a new rumor began that involved Lucius the First. Then people began to think that he was more interested in middle-aged women because he lost his mother at a very young age. To prevent the Yapa castle from being filled with women, the emperor announced that he would only allow the ladies who were officially selected as a potential wife to the emperor to stay in the castle. This was enough to stop the pretty girls from being sent from low-ranking noble families. Only those ladies from the rich and influential families arrived in Yapa with big dreams.

Poliana stood in front of Lucius the First. She was recently given the responsibility of protecting these ladies who were accepted to the castle. These were very highborn ladies, and because they were, they arrived with many personal servants. Each lady brought at least three ladies in waiting, ten maids, two guards, four attendants, seven servants, a groom, and a nurse.

The hope was that everyone entering the castle would have pure hearts and wanted the best for the emperor, but this was obviously not going to be the case.

The emperor explained to Poliana, “Countless people will be arriving from different colonies, which means there will be some who would bring some ugly intentions with them.”

The possibility of a spy or an assassin entering the castle as part of a lady’s entourage was not unlikely. One of the perfect places for these dangerous figures to hide would be the lady’s quarters.

The emperor was sure of the presence of spies and assassins in his castle because it was exactly what he did. He sent many of his own spies to various colonies so he could keep a close eye on them.

Poliana then replied, “Yes. We will have to be very vigilant, your highness.”

“Some of these people will try to establish themselves here, and that is why I would like you to be responsible for guarding the lady’s quarters.”

Lucius the Frist loved Poliana, so having her protect his future wives was an odd thing to ask. But despite the strangeness and awkwardness of it, the emperor had to admit that Poliana was the perfect person for the job.

“Because you are a woman, these people will feel more relaxed around you. They will trust you more because they will underestimate you.”

“You are right, your highness. You can count on me.”

“Are you disappointed?”

Being the emperor’s personal guard was the most honored position for any knight, which meant asking Poliana to guard his wives could be considered a demotion. Poliana shook her head as a response.

“I do not care what I do as long as I get to serve you, your highness. If I could be any use to you, that is all I need.”

It was decided that the First Division will take care of the emperor’s protection. Poliana looked at Sir Ainno with distrust. She knew that he was the best in terms of skills, but because he was also the emperor’s friend, Poliana noticed that Sir Ainno sometimes distressed the emperor.

She said to Sir Ainno, “Please take care of his highness.”

“This used to be my job, so I know what to do. Marquess Winter, this is none of your business now.”

“…”

Sir Ainno and Poliana glared at each other. Feeling left out, Lucius the First announced, “Hmm… My neck feels very sore.”

Sir Ainno, who was already standing behind the emperor, quickly began to massage Lucius the First’s neck. Poliana glared at him, upset that she wasn’t faster. The emperor then said to her, “Just in case it comes up, let’s make sure we could come up with a story. The official reason for your ‘demotion’ will be because you did something wrong, Sir Pol.”

“Of course, your highness. What did you have in mind?”

As long as it wasn’t treason, Poliana didn’t care. Suddenly, Sir Ainno blurted out, “What about we say you threw up on the emperor’s face?”

Poliana became pale. She remembered the time when she vomited in the bathhouse and Lucius the First ended up cleaning after her. The emperor glared at Sir Ainno and said to Poliana, “Sir Pol, do not be worried about what happened in the past. Like I said before, I am happy to take care of you when you are drunk. I meant what I said.”

This was not what she wanted. She hated how people must think of her. It only happened once, but it made her look like a common drunkard. She, of course, could not protest to the emperor, so she turned towards Sir Ainno and complained, “Sir Ainno! It’s… It’s not like I get drunk every day and vomit all over the place! In fact, compared to the other knights, I have a much better drinking habit.”

‘Jerk.’

She wanted to punch him, but she knew that she would lose anyway to Sir Ainno. Plus, she was in the presence of the emperor, so she had to be on her best behavior. In the end, Poliana nodded and replied, “Fine. I accept it.”

Poliana bowed and left the room. She frowned, not looking forward to the fact that she now had even more work to do. Until now, she only had to focus on protecting the emperor, but everything changed now. She would have to protect the ladies and all of her entourages as well as spying and monitoring them.

Finally, now alone with the emperor, Sir Ainno asked, “Are you sure you are ok with this?”

Only

“Does it matter?”

Lucius the First continued to stare at the spot where Poliana was standing just a moment ago. Sir Ainno was unhappy that the most powerful man on the continent could not have what he wanted the most. Even with all that power, the emperor could not even marry the woman he loved.

How ironic…

Sir Ainno thought that the emperor was too cautious when it came to Poliana and dealing with the elders. When he expressed his opinion, Lucius the First replied, “What would you have me do? Kill all the elders like you wanted to? And take Pol to my bed even though I know that is not what she would want? Inno, that is not how things should be done. I have caused enough bloodshed so far and I do not want that anymore.”

“But your highness, you have me. Your Ainno will do anything you ask of me, including killing anyone if necessary.”

Lucius the First smiled weakly and replied, “I always end up distressing Sir Pol, always disappointing her. She doesn’t show it, but she must be upset that she is being demoted.”

He sighed unhappily.