The Emperor and the Knightess

Chapter 171

Lady Rebecca’s pregnancy angered the elders and high-ranking nobles still living in Acreia. Unfortunately, their frustration affected Duke Luzo, who currently resided in the Nanaba castle.

Duke Luzo tried to cover up what happened at the feast, but the emperor already knew about it; it was the Intelligence Unit that delivered the news.

Lucius the First thought secretly, ‘I better go and take care of this…’

The National Day was coming up and the emperor decided to go visit the Nanaba castle in Acreia and deal with the Acreian nobles who have been incredibly rude to Duke and Duchess Luzo.

To do this, the emperor was going to leave Yapa for the next two months. There was going to be a huge celebration in Nanaba which was going to last for 15 days. The travel time alone was going to take over a month unfortunately because there would be a huge number of people going with him. Last year, the emperor’s wives did not follow him, but this year, they planned to attend the celebration as well.

Of course, Lady Rebecca was going to be an exception.

“Will Lady Rebecca be going as well, your highness?”

“Of course not. Can you imagine how hard it would be for her to travel that long in a carriage? She will be staying here.”

What mad man would take his pregnant wife on a long journey, especially a fragile one like Lady Rebecca?

He would’ve hated to be absent when his wife would go into labor, so Lucius the First thought carefully about his schedule. If things worked out according to his plan, he could return to Yapa by the time Rebecca was just a little over 8 months pregnant. It was very rare for a woman to give birth this early, so he felt sure that this would work.

‘I don’t care if it’s a son or a daughter as long as the baby and the mother are healthy.’

Lady Rebecca was informed of this decision immediately. The emperor sent a servant to relay the message, and after hearing the news, Rebecca nodded. She knew better than anyone that she could not go with the emperor on such a long journey.

Everyone was leaving for Nanaba except for her. Lady Rebecca felt a little lonely just thinking about it. She was having a difficult time with her pregnancy, both physically and emotionally, and she didn’t want to be left alone in Yapa. She knew she shouldn’t be complaining, but to Poliana, who was her friend, Lady Rebecca grumbled honestly, “I don’t want to be left alone here.”

Poliana’s expression became awkward. As a friend, she should’ve stayed, but as the leader of the Second Division, she needed to go to protect Ladies Tory and Stra

Poliana replied, “I want to stay here for you, Lady Rebecca…”

Suddenly, Rebecca interrupted her, “You must go! Of course, you must! Were you even considering staying here? If you don’t go, those against me are going to try to use the emperor. I can’t go for an obvious reason, but you can, Marquess. Just because I said I wanted you to stay doesn’t mean you should say yes; we have a better friendship than that!”

Poliana was about to nod, but she still hesitated. No matter how hard she thought, it didn’t feel right to leave Rebecca alone. When Poliana couldn’t answer, Lady Rebecca nagged her, “Come on! You want to protect me because I am the emperor’s wife, right? But I will be perfectly safe here! It’s not like I’m going to run away or something! Why are you so hesitant about this?”

Was it because she was going to become a mother soon? Lady Rebecca’s nagging was becoming better and better every day. Poliana raised her hands in defeat.

Luckily, everything worked out in the end. The next day, Tory and Stra came to visit Rebecca. Tory talked to Rebecca’s doctor while Stra brought another pair of knitted socks.

Tory said to Rebecca, “I asked the emperor to bring Duchess Nani here for you.”

“Oh!”

Duchess Nani used to be the queen of Nanikun, one of the kingdoms Lucius the First conquered. After the continent was united, Queen Nani was given the rank of a duchess. Rebecca used to be one of the princesses of Nanikun, which meant that Tory made an arrangement to bring Lady Rebecca’s mother to her while the other ladies were away. Rebecca’s eyes teared up. Stra also seemed very impressed. Lady Stra complimented Tory, “Wow, you are so thoughtful, Lady Tory. I didn’t even think of that.”

Rebecca thanked her as well, “Thank you so much, Lady Tory.”

Rebecca’s mother, Duchess Nani, had three sons and four daughters. Having a mother who had many successful pregnancies made Lady Rebecca feel relieved.

Lady Tory had heard that Poliana was hesitant about going on the journey because of Rebecca. With a kind smile, but in a firm tone, Lady Tory said to Poliana, “So now, you needn’t worry, Marquess. I know you and Lady Rebecca are very close, but who will protect us, Lady Stra and myself, if not you?”

Lady Stra added, “That’s right! You should’ve told us if you were worried about Lady Rebecca. We could’ve discussed it together.”

Poliana gave them a nod. It seemed that Poliana was definitely going to Nanaba after all.

***

The servants became busy packing for the journey. They were divided into two groups; those who were going and those who weren’t. Poliana was busy as well. The main guard duty during the travel was to be taken care of by the First Division, but a few men from the Second Division were to accompany them as well.

Poliana thought, ‘I feel like I keep losing to that bastard lately…’

She was referring to Sir Ainno. Just like Ladies Tory and Stra, who felt disappointed that Poliana didn’t consult them often, Poliana felt the same way towards Lucius the First. It has been a very long time since she spent much time with the emperor. It almost felt like he was avoiding her, but Poliana knew better. She knew very well that Lucius the First had been incredibly busy with his work.

Poliana remembered the good days when she never left the emperor’s side. She used to enjoy admiring his golden hair. Just watching him used to make her feel happy. It wasn’t that long ago that she was his personal guard, but it certainly felt like it was a lifetime ago.

On the list of maids from the lady’s quarters who weren’t going on this journey, Cekel Ingreter’s name was present. Poliana blinked in surprise. Even if Cekel didn’t attend the castle celebration, Poliana was told that Cekel would still be going to Nanaba to visit her relatives. Because Cekel was only a maid, she wasn’t required to attend the royal celebration, but… It bothered Poliana that Cekel wasn’t going at all.

‘Could it be… Is it because of that bastard Ainno? Is that the reason why she isn’t going?’

The way Sir Ainno acted was shameless. It seemed that he was so confident that he truly believed no woman could resist him.

‘What an idiot.’

Because Sir Ainno spent his entire life by the emperor’s side working, he was ignorant when it came to the topic of love. He may have been the greatest knight in the world, but he was the worst at seduction.

Poliana went out to find Cekel in the maid’s rest area. Even here, all the maids were working busily. Some were packing while others were writing letters. Poliana found Cekel alone in the corner. Unlike the other maids, who were chatting with each other, Cekel was alone.

As soon as the maids saw Poliana, they smiled and greeted her. The women quickly surrounded the knightess and exclaimed, “Marquess Winter! What brings you here?”

“We have some snacks here, would you like some?”

“Would you like me to pin a pretty flower on your uniform?”

“I was making an embroidered handkerchief for you! What kind of flower do you like?”

Poliana enjoyed all the attention from the pretty girls that surrounded her.

‘I can’t believe how popular I am.’

There was a simple reason why Poliana was so popular among the ladies. Poliana was the only knight who the ladies could gift handkerchiefs and flowers without damaging their reputations. Besides, Poliana was becoming a very important figure in the matchmaking field in Yapa, which meant it was not a bad idea to be on her good side.

Only

One of the maids asked Poliana, “Marquess, have you heard about what Lady Tory said for Lady Rebecca?”

“About bringing Lady Rebecca’s mother here? Yes, I heard about it today.”

“Oh, so you didn’t know about it either until today! We were all so surprised to hear about it. She didn’t even tell us, her own maids, about her plan! We only found out because Lady Rebecca’s maids told us. We were so shocked. I wish Lady Tory would’ve told us about it.”

Another maid agreed, “Totally! I know Lady Tory wanted to surprise Lady Rebecca, but we would’ve kept her secret safe!”

‘Her own maids didn’t know about this?’

This was supposed to be a surprise just for Rebecca, which meant that Lady Tory didn’t have to keep this a secret to her own maids. There was no need for Lady Tory to not trust her own maids. All the women serving Lady Tory were quiet trustworthy girls.

‘Could it be…’