The Emperor and the Knightess

Chapter 248

Lucius the First shook his head, “No, that’s not why I haven’t proposed to her. Well, first, I have to admit that it was one of the main reasons, but not anymore. Stra, the moment I marry Marquess Winter, she will lose everything she had achieved so far.”

Her honorable knighthood, wealth, lands, rank, and even her last name “Winter…”

Lucius the First did not want the woman he loved to be unhappy. This was why he gave her up. The emperor continued, “I really want the marquess to be happy. For that, I am willing to give her up. I can also wish her the best when she marries another man. I can even be okay with her putting herself at risk to do her job…”

The emperor’s eyes darkened, making Stra feel sad as well. Now that she heard Lucius the First’s reason, she could understand. He was right, of course. The Poliana they knew would not be happy to hear the emperor’s proposal. Poliana would probably become concerned that Lucius the First was losing his sight and call the royal doctor immediately.

Stra realized that the emperor truly loved Poliana; she felt both impressed and jealous.

Meanwhile, Lucius the First remembered the times when Poliana put herself in danger. She used her body to shield Stra from the deer and Tory from the knife thrown by Marquis Seeze.

The woman he loved… She was a knight. This meant that when she risked her own life to save her ladies, Poliana should be praised. However, after the deer incident, Lucius the First was clear about his order. He told her to never risk her own life again.

He asked her to live.

The woman he loved almost died in front of his eyes. It happened not only once, but twice. Lucius the First truly wanted Poliana’s happiness. Whoever she chose as her husband, he decided to accept it even if the man was a gold digger.

But Poliana continued to risk her life, even though she was expecting to get married. If she died… Nothing would matter anymore. Lucius the First trembled before standing up suddenly.

“You are right, Stra. I do love Pol.”

Stra stared in surprise as the emperor continued to murmur. He looked like he just had an epiphany.

“I have no luck with women. My mother died when I was young, and my first girl died young too. One of my wives died from birthing my daughter and the other two wives will no longer be my wives.”

Lucius the First’s eyes darkened as he continued, “And Marquess Winter almost died twice already this year.” The emperor now looked determined.

“I am a selfish bastard, so I won’t back down anymore.”

“Your highness?”

“I am going to go and propose to Marquess Winter now.”

The beautiful man declared in front of his soon to be ex-wife. He walked out into the sunlight, blinding Stra’s eyes.

***

Poliana was not in the royal castle today. Lucius the First gave her some time off because of her injury. Normally, Poliana would’ve insisted on continuing to work, but after the upsetting night after Lady Rebecca’s death, Poliana has been following the emperor’s order without arguing.

Lucius the First, without his guards, left the castle and headed to Poliana’s mansion. Inside his pocket was his mother’s wedding ring he forgot to leave in Nanaba.

When Poliana’s butler opened the door, he gasped, “Y-your highness! I will let the marquess know immediately.”

“It’s alright. Don’t bother her. She is a patient after all.”

The butler’s eyes moved down to the wildflowers in Lucius the First’s hands. They were obviously plucked from the royal garden. The emperor was also holding the dainty ring that probably won’t fit Poliana’s finger. These were the two things Lucius the First brought to propose. Confidently, he walked in.

Whatever happened, he was going to do this today!

Lucius! He was the man! He will propose to Poliana!

‘I don’t care what happens anymore!’

Who cares if she was barren? Lucius the First had a very healthy nephew who could take over his kingdom. Of course, he knew that appointing his nephew as his heir was going to create a lot of controversy and uproar, but he had a plan. Instead of his original hope, which was to retire early, he was willing to work till his death.

If he could only have Poliana… He was willing to give up his lifelong dream of retirement. He was ok with working until his dying day. He was ok with working his entire life. Lucius the First loved Poliana Winter. He was willing to give up his plan for her. He was going to make her his empress so nobody could look down on her. No one will be allowed to doubt his love and trust in her. If anyone protested, he was going to ruin that person and his or her entire family!

Lucius the First was serious about this situation. He has been behaving like a perfect gentleman, but this was now not the time to be patient. This needed to be done now.

Standing in front of Poliana’s bedroom, he inhaled the flowers deeply. The sweet scent made him feel wonderful.

‘This is it! I am going to do this! I swear I will make her happy!’

The emperor opened the door and walked in confidently.

“Your highness, what a nice surprise.”

Poliana was shocked to see the emperor walk into her bedroom unannounced. But she knew how to look calm when she felt surprised. Poliana put on a relaxed smile and greeted the emperor.

Unfortunately, Lucius the First could not smile himself. This was because there were two people in the room. In addition to Poliana, there was a man beside her. On top of that, Poliana had her top off.

Frau jumped in shock and stammered, “Y-y-your highness!” He kneeled before jumping again the second time. Frau looked around in confusion before grabbing the nearby tablecloth to cover Poliana’s upper body. Poliana smiled quietly and said to him, “His highness has seen me naked many times before, so there is no reason for me to cover up. Oh, wait, am I not supposed to say things like this to you?”

“Oh, I-I-I-I guess, Marquess Winter.”

Only

“The doctor is right, Pol. And I shouldn’t have walked in like this.”

Poliana said to the emperor, “Oh, you needn’t worry, your highness.”

When she tried to get up, Lucius the First took a step back and said to her hurriedly, “Don’t move, I came here just to see how you are doing. Oh, and this is a gift for you.”

When the emperor opened the door, Frau was in the middle of examining Poliana’s recent injury. Just seeing them together was enough to diminish Lucius the First’s confidence. The biggest problem was how happy Poliana looked. While he was falling more and more in love with her, it seemed that Poliana was beginning to fall for another man.

Poliana exclaimed, “Wow! Flowers! You love flowers, your highness. Did you know that every time you give me something, it’s always flowers?”

“Is that right?”

“Yes, your highness, but the thing is, I prefer food! Hahaha.”