The Emperor and the Knightess

Chapter 329

Lucius the First went in search of Poliana. It wasn’t a very difficult quest since Poliana Winter was the most famous figure inside the Yapa castle at the moment. Everyone who spotted Poliana remembered her and talked about her. Lucius the First followed her trail easily. When he asked people where they last saw her, they answered and gossiped about it afterward.

Meanwhile, Poliana was chatting with her guards. They asked her, “Boss, what is your secret to success?”

“Boss, tell us everything that happened!”

“When would you like us to give you your retirement party?”

Poliana has been feeling guilty for abandoning and neglecting her Second Division due to a personal reason. When she visited the Second Division breakroom, she was swarmed by her men.

They welcomed her and closed the door quickly. They had so many questions for their boss, and because Poliana felt guilty, she let them trap her in the room until their curiosity was appeased.

Let the questioning period begin!

Poliana was shocked to find out that her men were true believers of the rumor. The guards of the Second Division were in love with the story of how Lucius the First fell for their boss. When they prodded her for details, Poliana was flabbergasted as she replied, “You really believed that rumor that his highness is infatuated with me? You men are the royal guards of Acreia, so how could you be swayed by such a silly story?”

“But boss, we are indeed the royal guards; we are the knights who provided personal protection for the emperor! We have heard and seen the truth, so how could we not believe it?”

When the guards of the Second Division heard the rumor, they actually were suspicious of it. It wasn’t because Poliana was their boss but because they knew her well. Her guards knew Poliana much better than most of the high-ranking noblemen. While the nobles knew Poliana as the marquess, her men knew her as their boss as the head of the Second Division. In reality, Poliana was more a knight than a marquess. So when the men first heard the rumor, they assumed that it was spread for a political purpose. They were sad to see Poliana retire, but if it was what the emperor wished, it couldn’t be helped.

But then… These knights learned the truth soon after. The First Division was returned to their old posts and the Second Division knights were called to provide the emperor and the princess their protection. When the knights worked close to the emperor, they quickly learned that Lucius the First was indeed in love; he didn’t make an effort to hide his feelings.

The emperor was really in love with their boss!

Of course, there were still a few in the Second Division who were suspicious of the emperor’s true intention. Unless his highness had a strange taste, how could he fall in love with such an ugly woman as Poliana? This didn’t make sense at all!

But the face the emperor made whenever Poliana’s name was mentioned clearly indicated that his feelings for her were deep. So how was it that no one realized this until now?

‘We had no idea!’

The knights didn’t know. Poliana herself was ignorant of it. Even though Poliana spent so much time with the emperor, she never suspected a thing.

According to Lucius the First’s confession, his love for Poliana began at the cliff after he conquered the world. No one knew about this until the emperor explained the details.

No one except for Stra.

Although some of the guards were still doubtful, no one in the Second Division was against this marriage. To be honest, Poliana felt a little betrayed when the men asked her, “So when will be the wedding?”

‘I thought they didn’t want me to retire!’

Since the empress of the kingdom could not also be the head of a military division, her marriage meant she had to retire. In the past, whenever she joked that she was going to retire, her men used to protest, “But Boss! You need to stay here for another 30 years! You need to be here for a long time so you can teach my son when he becomes a knight himself!”

She missed these times.

Her second in command grinned, asking if he was going to be the next head of the Second Division. She understood his excitement since she herself used to be in his shoes. It was a good thing to give young men a chance to climb the ladder.

But Poliana couldn’t help feeling upset. She asked, “I thought you guys didn’t want me to retire.”

The men, dense as usual, said with smiles, “Boss, it’s time you become happy.”

This again! Happiness… Stupid happiness… F*cking happiness…

The knights told her it was time she became happy. She needed to become happy. So did this mean she has been unhappy this whole time? Poliana asked, “So marrying his highness will make me happy?”

“Well, why wouldn’t you be? The young and beautiful emperor is in love with you!”

Poliana wanted to ask them if a young and beautiful lady’s love will make them happy, but she didn’t bother. She knew the answer. She knew all of the men would nod and say such a thing will certainly make them ecstatic.

“Boss! Think about your age! This is going to be your last chance that a man falls in love with you!”

“Come on! Be serious! This is probably her FIRST and the last chance!”

“But what about that doctor?”

“He was after her money! His highness is genuinely in love with her!”

“I just can’t believe why! The emperor has such a strange taste! Why did he fall in love with the boss?”

“When a man and a woman spend a lot of time for a long while, sometimes love can develop.”

“But we never fell in love with the boss even though we spent a lot of time with her!”

“Love does not require logic or reason. You love someone just because you do. Period. His highness loves our boss so much that he doesn’t even notice her face; it must be true love.”

‘Bastards.’

They knew she was no longer going to be their boss, which must’ve been why they were talking so rudely.

Only

Poliana thought in annoyance, ‘I was going to be nice to them because I have been absent for so long, but this won’t do. They need to be taught a lesson.’

She was about to order them to straighten up when suddenly, there was someone at the door.

Knock knock.

The door opened with permission but none of the knights could become angry at the intruder because the one who entered the room was the most beautiful being in the kingdom. The golden figure resembling a fairy appeared and asked, “Is Sir Pol here?”

All the knights kneeled immediately and yelled, “Greetings to your highness!” The men thought in shock, ‘Oh my god! Did his highness come all the way here to see our boss?!’

The men were excited about this unexpected event. They were also excited to tell their wives about it when they returned home tonight.

While the guards couldn’t stop grinning, Poliana couldn’t look directly at the emperor. She thought she was now used to his beauty, especially after witnessing him yesterday when he was dolled up, but she realized that she was mistaken. Lucius the First was even more beautiful today.