The Emperor and the Knightess

Chapter 186

Sir Deke looked at Cekel, hoping to find out more about what happened to Poliana and Frau, but Cekel remained quiet. He was the head of the Intelligence Unit and Cekel hoped Sir Deke learned to find his own information whenever possible so he could become better at his job.

What bothered Cekel right now was whether or not she should tell Poliana about what she heard today. Poliana was a noblewoman so Cekel was certain that Marquess did not involve personal feelings when it comes to her marriage. Cekel guessed that Poliana liked Frau’s honesty. The fact that he straight out told her why he wanted to marry her seemed to have impressed Poliana. When Lady Rebecca heard about this proposal, she became so angry that she refused to see her.

What happened to Frau and the servant happened over 10 years ago, so it felt odd to bring it up to Poliana. If the servant was still alive and Frau was still visiting her, it would’ve been a problem, but according to Sir Deke, the woman in question was dead.

Even if Frau was still in love with that woman, this wasn’t a problem. It couldn’t even be considered cheating. The fact was, even if a man did cheat on his wife with another woman, this usually wasn’t enough for a woman to ask for a divorce.

Sir Deke offered to Cekel, “If you want, I can find out more about Frau.”

Sir Deke did his research in Yapa only. He suspected that those living in Nanaba would know more about Frau. He could send a message to his contact in Nanaba to request help if necessary. Cekel shook her head.

Sir Deke thought in relief, ‘I guess she is going to give up on him. Good. I’m glad. It would be better for her to become a second wife to someone more reliable than marrying someone like Frau Sneke…’

Sir Deke grinned as he pictured Frau. To him, someone like Frau wasn’t a proper man. Doctor Frau was too fragile.

Cekel said her goodbye to her brother and began to return to the lady’s quarters. She thought hopefully, ‘I’m sure it’s all fine.’

She walked slowly as she assessed the situation. If she thought Poliana was deeply in love with Frau, Cekel would’ve stopped her, but this wasn’t the case. Poliana only wanted Frau as her legal husband and nothing more.

The problem, however, was the Cekel had no idea what was really going on. Poliana and Frau were meeting each other often for dates, and because Cekel didn’t know about this, she didn’t think much of the situation.

Cekel sighed deeply, thinking that perhaps it would have been better if Sir Ainno and Poliana got married to each other. It would be a union of two powerful people, which meant some nobles may object, but no one could deny that their statuses were equally matched. Besides, both Poliana and Sir Ainno were famous for worshiping the emperor; perhaps they would make a great couple. Cekel could imagine them waking up every morning and bowing to the giant portrait of Lucius the First.

Cekel sighed again, knowing that she was being silly. She knew something like this would never happen in real life. Both Poliana and Sir Ainno were powerful and intelligent people, so Cekel decided that there was no need for a mere maid like herself to be worried about them. They would make the right decisions for themselves; she had to believe this. There was nothing she could or should do at this point.

She needed to focus on her own life now that all of her brothers returned safely from the war. She was no longer the head of the family. She didn’t have to work so hard to survive anymore; she just had to live her life.

***

Sir Ainno reported to the emperor of his protection plan details for the journey to Nanaba. Since Sir Ainno had been doing an excellent job so far, Lucius the First didn’t object to anything; he gave him his approval without another word. After the official business talk was over, Sir Ainno said to the emperor, “I am planning to get married, your highness.”

Sir Ainno looked overly calm as if this wasn’t a big deal. Lucius the First asked in surprise, “With who?” The emperor was already aware of what was going on between Sir Ainno and Lady Cekel. Sir Ainno was pursuing this woman without any success. Apparently, Lady Cekel was doing her best to avoid Sir Ainno.

So what was happening here? Sir Ainno was getting married? This didn’t make sense at all, but the emperor knew his friend very well. He knew that Sir Ainno wouldn’t bring up something like this unless he meant it.

Sir Ainno replied, “It’s Lady Cekel Ingreter.”

“But as far as I know, nothing has been happening between you and Lady Ingreter. Also, the Ingreter family is well beneath the Seki family, and most of all, didn’t you tell me that you wanted me to find you an appropriate wife? Am I not remembering our conversation correctly?”

Lucius the First feigned his ignorance. He didn’t want Sir Ainno to know that he knew anything. The emperor enjoyed watching his friend suffer, just as Sir Ainno secretly liked the emperor squirm. This was how they could remain best friends all these years.

Suddenly, Sir Ainno replied coldly, “You already know everything, so why are you pretending to not know? I know that you know, your highness; you should stop this.”

Lucius the First grinned and Sir Ainno clenched his fists, wanting to punch him. Sir Ainno added, “Didn’t you think I never noticed how Sir Poliana laughed hilariously whenever she sees me? And every time she does, I know you are doing your best not to burst into laughter too.”

A similar thing happened when Lucius the First revealed to Sir Ainno that he was in love with Poliana. For a long time, Sir Ainno used to burst into laughter whenever he saw Poliana.

Lucius the First wanted to play this game a while longer, so he asked innocently, “What are you talking about, Inno? Does Marquess Winter laughing have anything to do with this? How? I don’t understand what you are trying to say.”

Only

“I know Sir Poliana told you about me and Lady Cekel. I’ll bet you were the first one she told, weren’t you? Everyone knows that you and Marquess Winter love to gossip together.”

Lucius the First shook his head with an arrogant expression. He waved his finger and replied, “You are wrong, Inno. It was me who told Sir Pol.”

Sir Ainno thought in annoyance, ‘Why does he look so smug about this?’ When he continued to look irritated, Lucius the First finally decided to congratulate his friend.

“I had no idea you were able to gain Lady Cekel’s affection already. I know how much you love her, so I am glad it worked out. Congratulations, Inno. But I am curious as to how you were able to capture her heart. Can you tell me?”

Lucius the First was in a similar situation and he wanted to know the secret behind capturing a woman’s heart. He knew he might not be able to use the same tactic on Poliana, but the emperor still wanted to know.

Sir Ainno shook his head in surprise. He replied, “What are you talking about? Nothing happened, Lady Cekel still doesn’t like me.”

“What?”