The Emperor and the Knightess

Chapter 207

The princess, who couldn't even breathe well when she was born, now looked better. When Lucius the First visited his daughter, the maids and the wet nurse sighed in relief.

The emperor, now seeing that his daughter was doing better, decided to finally name her. When she opened her eyes, she looked a little cross-eyed. There, the emperor announced, “I will call her Luminae.”

Everyone sighed in relief. They have been worried that the emperor has been refusing to visit the princess, but now, it seemed that he was ready to face his daughter. Lucius the First played with the princess's tiny fingers, studying her carefully. Just like her mother, Lady Rebecca, Princess Luminae had black hair and black eyes. She had pale skin like her father, but she was also covered in fine hair. When the emperor showed concern about the fuzz, the wet nurse reassured him that they will fall out later.

“Her highness will become a great beauty, your highness.”

“Your highness, it makes sense since her parents are such beauties themselves.”

“She is becoming so much stronger too, your highness.”

Lucius the First gave a small smile and replied, “Yes, I can see that she resembles me; I can also see Rebecca in her too.”

“Yes, your highness. Princess Luminae resembles both of you.”

“Rebecca was a greedy woman. I am also a very ambitious man, so I think our daughter will become a greedy girl.”

“We did notice that the princess is always hungry for food.”

“Good, good. She needs to eat a lot since she was born two months earlier than she should've; she needs to eat as much as possible.”

The wet nurse informed the emperor that the princess was constantly hungry, keeping her busy. Lucius the First was relieved to learn that his daughter was eating well. Perhaps it was Princess Luminae's greed that kept her alive.

The emperor murmured to her, “You need to grow up selfish. You need to take what you want for yourself. You need to live long, and you cannot die before me.”

Lucius the First hugged her, almost too tightly. He lost his mother, his first girl, and his wife too early. The emperor didn't think he could endure losing his daughter too.

Duchess Nani was furious when she was forced to leave Yapa. The southern regions protested aggressively at how she was treated, but Lucius the First ignored them. He claimed that this was a family business.

Lady Tory was relieved to see Duchess Nani gone. After a long day, she was finally able to relax when she was alone in her bed. Tory couldn't relax even when she was with her own maids. From early in the morning till late in the night, Lady Tory could not relax at all.

No one asked or ordered her, but Lady Tory became the unofficial mistress of the castle. Lady Stra, trying to help, took it upon herself to raise the princess. Some of Lady Rebecca's maids left with Duchess Nani back home. Whoever remained helped Lady Stra take care of the princess.

Anyone who came from the mid-continent clearly supported Lady Stra. Those from Acreia, on the other hand, were clearly on Lady Tory's side. Most of Tory's maids were young ladies she grew up with in Acreia. They were her relatives or family friends. During the last few years, some of them left when they got married, but they were quickly replaced by other equally qualified ladies from Acreia.

The ladies served Lady Tory faithfully. Tory felt thankful to them, and she worked very hard to repay them. Just like the elders wanted, Lady Tory tried to live as a perfect lady. She was able to take control over the lady's quarters in the Yapa castle just as the elders desired. Lady Tory was kind to everyone including the other wives of the emperor. She always had a smile on her face and acted in a perfect manner.

This was her job. This was what everyone expected of her. She was the perfect wife of the emperor, the future empress; the lady that represents Acreia.

Lady Tory needed to do what was necessary so she wouldn't disappoint Marquis Seeze, who handpicked her himself for this role.

This morning, one of Tory's maids said in passing that Lady Stra missed her period. It was her time for her monthly bleeding, but nothing happened so far, which was worrying many of her maids. After her phantom pregnancy, it wasn't uncommon for Stra to skip her period, so there had to be a reason why her maid mentioned this. This was no accident.

Tory took out the bottle of ice wine from the cabinet. It was the one Marquis Seeze gave to her before she left Nanaba. There was a huge shortage in farmlands in Acreia, which meant most available lands were used for grains and vegetables. Fruits were considered a luxury, and this was why Marquis Seeze was the only one in Acreia who had a winery. The grapes grown on his land were of a different variety than the ones grown in the mid-continent and the southern regions. His wine was considered a very important export item in Acreia. Marquis Seeze's wine was considered a luxury item.

Tory shook the bottle lightly and watched the liquid dance inside. There had to be more than just wine in this bottle. She wasn't naïve enough to believe that the bottle Marquis Seeze gave her only contained simple wine.

‘Should I just drop it and break it?'

If she made it look like an accident and destroyed it, another bottle would be sent to her shortly. If she broke it again, there would be another bottle. If she continued to break it, soon, it won't be bottles of wine that would arrive but another lady who would replace Tory herself.

Even if she knew this was wrong and she wanted to stop, it was not possible. She couldn't go against the will of the elders. She couldn't even try to hide her intention because her own maids reported her every move to Marquis Seeze. The only reason Tory became the emperor's wife was thanks to her family. The only reason why Tory was able to take control of the Yapa castle was due to the help from her maids, who were only following an order from her family. Just as her married maids were easily replaced by other ladies, Tory knew she could be replaced just as easily.

‘Rebecca, Stra…'

Tory thought of Lady Rebecca who died and Lady Stra, who was still alive. Lady Tory wasn't sure if it was a good thing that she came to be close to these ladies. They were very kind to her, and it seemed that they genuinely liked her. Tory wasn't sure if they really meant to be her friend, because, at the end of the day, they were destined to compete against each other.

“For my family. For Acreia. For his highness.”

Stra was kind and genuine. Rebecca, the oldest of them, used to be sickly but was very dependable. Tory could never be truly genuine like these ladies. Tory's smile was fake, unlike theirs. Their husband, the emperor, often praised her for being smart. It was a surprise because the only compliment Tory ever heard was that she was obedient and docile.

Lady Tory wasn't sure if what she needed to do was really for the emperor and for Acreia. The problem was, she could never report her situation because she was in the middle of it. She was in the same boat as her family. If her family was destroyed, so would she.

The emperor tried his best to be fair to all of his wives, but Tory knew that of all the ladies, he kept his distance from her the most; it was obvious.

Tory didn't know anything about politics. All people wanted from her was her obedience, so she had no choice but to follow their orders.

‘But I know the truth…'

She knew, but she had to feign ignorance. Her family told her whatever they asked her to do was for her own good. Tory knew this was a lie, but…

A proper lady was never supposed to doubt her family's intentions.

“For me.”

Tory lied to herself out loud. She closed her eyes and buried her face on her pillow. There was nothing she could do to change the situation. Just like all the other ladies, Tory was raised to become obedient.

Chapter end