The Emperor and the Knightess

Chapter 327

The emperor refused to take his eyes off of the mirror. Inside, a man of perfect beauty was smiling back at him. People sighed in ecstasy as they admired him, but to Lucius the First, what he saw in the mirror was not enough.

Firstly, his skin did not shine as much as it used to. After he got married, he worked constantly, wanting to forget Poliana. During this time, his skin aged terribly, and the emperor regretted his bad decision. He should’ve known better.

A new chapter in his life was beginning and he needed to make himself more beautiful in order to seduce Poliana. Lucius the First believed that his beauty was the greatest weapon he had to make Poliana fall in love with him. Everyone knew that Poliana was the knight who was most proud of the emperor’s looks. Lucius the First was ready to use whatever was necessary.

Sir Ainno shook his head and argued, “I hate to disagree with you, your highness, but I really don’t think the marquess is going to fall for it.”

No! That can’t be! Lucius the First wanted to deny it, but Sir Ainno shook his head again. If Poliana was going to fall in love with the emperor just for his beauty, she would’ve done it a long time ago. She would’ve, in fact, be seduced by him the very first moment she saw him.

The emperor replied, “It’s okay even if she isn’t madly in love with me. What is most important is to make her feel good whenever she sees me.”

Lucius the First’s plan was simple. He was going to show her the things she never experienced before. He was going to make her feel the kind of happiness she never felt. This was his strategy. His hope was that slowly when she learned how great is to be loved, she would be more accepting of him. She might even come to love him.

Poliana was a noblewoman who had never felt the love of a family before. This was probably why she did not know how to give love as a family. Just look at how she treated Gerald. Poliana showed much more affection towards Princess Luminae than her own son!

Poliana loved power and wealth. To make her want to marry him, the emperor should’ve enlightened her about the kind of power she would wield as the empress rather than confess his love to her.

He was going to let Poliana know the kind of power she never had before.

The power of a high-ranking noble lady.

Currently, women did not hold much power in Acreia. Normally, an empress would be respected as the most important lady of the land, but she still did not have any authority.

This was, however, going to change. If necessary, Lucius the First was willing to actively make it happen. When Tory ordered the guards, no one obeyed. But the emperor was going to make sure that Poliana, as the empress, would have the same power over the guards as he did. She would be the very first empress to hold such power. The emperor was certain Poliana would be an amazing ruler.

Sir Ainno said to him, “Good luck.” He still did not think the emperor could pull this off. In history, women have always belonged to men, first to their fathers and then their husbands. Poliana was a rare exception. She achieved her own power as an independent woman, and she loved being who she was. She would certainly gain a little more power when she became the empress, but would this be enough? Normally, Sir Ainno always tried to think positively when it came to the emperor’s suggestions, but in this matter, he couldn’t agree. Sir Ainno believed his friend was making a mistake. Instead of trying to win her over, Sir Ainno thought that the emperor should try to trap Poliana. A man must do what he must for love, right?

The emperor said to his friend, “And the thing is, my Pol has no immunity against men. Except for that jerk Frau, she hasn’t had much experience and I am going to use this to my advantage. She has begun to see me as a man and she will be mine.”

Lucius the First remembered very well how Poliana used to blush when the handsome royal guards treated her like a lady. It took everything he had to hide his jealousy and envy.

Now, he finally had a chance to be with her. He knew better than any man how to treat a lady right and he was going to make her blush.

While the emperor imagined all the things he was going to do, Sir Ainno watched him curiously. It was a rare sight to see Lucius the First acting like a lovesick schoolboy. The emperor was acting abnormally, and Sir Ainno finally looked away.

Why did the emperor love Poliana so much?

Sir Ainno, in the past, wouldn’t have understood the emperor at all, but now, he had to admit that he could sympathize with Lucius the First, even if just a little. Love was such a scary illness. Even though a man knew he was acting stupid, a man in love was helpless in stopping himself.

‘Pool Lucius…’

Sir Ainno looked at his friend and thought secretly, ‘I hope he gets dumped.’

Even if he does, Poliana would have no choice but to marry the emperor. Because she gave birth to a prince, marriage was necessary to make him legitimate. The first-born son of the emperor could not remain a bastard. If Poliana wanted to get a divorce later, that was her choice.

Suddenly, a bell rang, indicating someone was here to visit the emperor. With Lucius the First’s permission, Master Chail entered and informed the emperor who was here.

“It’s the first Lady Seki.”

“Let her in.”

There were two Lady Sekis living in Yapa. One was Sir Ainno’s wife while the other was Sir Jainno’s; Duke Seki the Senior’s wife, Sir Ainno, and Sir Jainno’s mother, lived in Nanaba now.

To avoid confusion, people called Sir Ainno’s wife the first Lady Seki while Sir Jainno’s wife was the second Lady Seki.

Only

Cekel entered and bowed respectfully. Sir Ainno, whose face has been like a cold statue, lighted up immediately. He walked up to his wife and asked politely, “Dear wife, please give me the honor of allowing me to kiss your beautiful hand.”

“Please stop doing this in front of his highness.”

“Who cares, wife? He is a friend.”

Cekel couldn’t help feeling awkward and embarrassed. ‘But he’s your friend, not mine!’

Sir Ainno didn’t care. He enthusiastically and lovingly kissed the back of Cekel’s hand and looked up. Before Cekel could stop him, he also kissed his wife’s two cheeks and her forehead before tucking her hair behind her ear.

“You look so lovely as usual, my wife.”

Sir Ainno was clearly in love. This honeymoon phase was suiting him very well and Lucius the First watched in jealousy. Was his friend acting this way on purpose in front of him? The emperor chewed his lower lips and thought, ‘I am dying of envy! I am going to do the same thing with Pol! Soon! Very soon! You’ll see!’