The Emperor and the Knightess

So far, the stories they talked about were the versions that were popular among the commoners. What really mattered, however, was the version that was going around among the nobles. Poliana asked the butler, “I won’t get angry at you so just tell me the truth. What are the details of the story his highness spread?”

Poliana was the main character of the rumor as well as the victim. She had all the right to know everything about it. When she looked at him persistently, the butler looked away and replied, “It was nothing that would hurt your reputation, Mistress…”

“Just tell me right now!”

Poliana promised not to get angry, but she ended up screaming at him. She hated how she lost this battle. She should’ve expected the emperor to make such a move. In addition, Poliana was also displeased at how the commoners seemed to cheer for the romance between the emperor and herself.

Did the knightess really have to become the empress for the story to be considered a happy ending? Was that really the only way?

“There haven’t been any rumors about his highness the prince. I have only heard about how the emperor is in love with you…”

Argh!

Poliana covered her face with both of her hands. She was about to slap herself in frustration, but instead, she changed her mind and punched the wall. Sir Donau tried to stop her from assaulting the building.

“Sis, you need to stop. You are going to hurt your hand.”

“Let me go!”

“You need to do what the doctor told you!”

Before leaving Sitrin, her doctor begged her to be careful with her body. It could take years before her body healed completely from the recent childbirth, so she needed to minimize any vigorous movement. It wasn’t a difficult order for most ladies to follow, but it seemed that it was an impossible task for Poliana. She knew she should take care of herself better, but Poliana couldn’t help punching the walls. Her butler told her that the general public didn’t hear anything about the baby, but it was clear that the butler himself knew about the existence of Gerald, which meant that Lucius the First told the truth to those who were close to him.

This secret was bound to be known to everyone in the near future, but Poliana was disappointed. The emperor should’ve given her time to prepare herself. If she knew that he was going to do this, she wouldn’t have come to Yapa.

She screamed his name with respect and resentment, “Argh! Your highness!”

“Sis, just calm down.”

“How can I calm down?”

“But Sis, you must realize that if his highness didn’t care about you at all, he could’ve just ordered you to marry him. He wouldn’t have done something so subtle and unnecessary if he didn’t care.”

It was true that if Lucius the First was a callous man, there would’ve been no reason for him to spread such rumors. He would’ve just ordered her.

When Poliana began to look more relaxed, the butler added, “Overexcitement isn’t good for you, Mistress.”

Sir Donau pulled her towards a chair while the butler offered her a cup of warm water. Poliana drank it slowly on purpose and by the time she emptied the cup, she felt a little better.

She asked, “So who knows?”

Since Sir Ainno and a few knights of the First Division were present in Sitrin when the whole thing happened, their names did not have to be mentioned. Poliana could imagine a few people that would’ve been told about it. This wasn’t just a matter of marriage but also about the next heir. Most likely Duke Luzo, Sir Bentier…

‘Oh wait. It’s not Sir Bentier anymore. He is now Marquess Zeese.’

After the removal of Marquess Seeze, the Seeze family no longer existed. Sir Bentier was “forgiven” thanks to the hard work he did for the emperor, and in return, he was given a new name and a title. The same letters from the old name were used to create the new name of Zeese. He wasn’t given the dukedom right away to keep up the pretense of him not being involved in the removal of old marquess Seeze, but it was only a matter of time before he became Duke Zeese.

Poliana could guess a few names. She insisted on her butler to answer the question, and he finally replied, “All I know is what the emperor told me. I do not know anything else about this situation.”

“You look like you know more…”

“I am telling you the truth, Mistress. I know you are disappointed in me for not informing you of the situation in Yapa sooner, but I hope you know that everything I do is for you. Everything we do in this household is to make you happy. Your happiness is our own happiness, Marquess Winter.”

Poliana knew this. She knew that her butler kept silent about the rumors because he knew that they would not harm her. The butler, and everyone else in Yapa, probably was happy for her. She was hurt by a gold digger recently, and now it turned out that the emperor was in love with her. This had to be wonderful news for her, right?

Everyone wanted a happy ending. People around her truly hoped for Poliana’s happiness. She felt grateful for their loyalty, but…

Even though she should’ve been happy, Poliana could not smile.

***

Lucius the First injected a single rumor to the Yapa society.

The emperor’s desperate one-sided love for Marquess Winter.

At first, no one believed this story. The members of the Intelligence Unit, who were ordered to spread this rumor, had a difficult time convincing people of this tale. The situation, however, changed after the emperor returned to Yapa.

Everyone knew how Lucius the First enjoyed romance gossip, so one of the noblemen said to the emperor as a joke, “Your highness, there’s a rumor that you’re in love with Marquess Winter. Isn’t that hilarious?” There were two reactions people expected from Lucius the First.

1) “You shouldn’t say such a thing! Such a rumor would upset Marquess Winter. She is a single lady while I am divorced and a widower! It wouldn’t be fair for her to be treated this way!”

2) “Haha, it is true that Marquess Winter is very dear to me!”

Instead, Lucius the First decided to help legitimize this rumor. With clear sadness and loneliness on his beautiful face, the emperor replied, “How did you know?”

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The noblemen gasped in shock. So it was true?! This ridiculous rumor was actually true?!

They didn’t want to believe it. Every nobleman wanted to deny it and they began to analyze everything that happened recently.

It has been over a year since Lady Rebecca’s death. The royal mourning period was finally over, and immediately after the year ended, Sir Ainno and Cekel got married. The noblemen of various regions sent their best ladies to Yapa as the candidate to become the emperor’s next wives. Some of these women were those who did not make it during the first round. They have remained unmarried all these years in hopes of trying again.

But when the emperor was asked to choose his next wives, Lucius the First refused, “I will be the one who makes the decision about my marriage.”