Chapter 328

Lucius the First writhed in envy at Sir Ainno. He continued to chew on his lower lip until the emperor realized a b.l.o.o.d.y lip wouldn't help his beauty. He stopped immediately.

Meanwhile, Cekel slapped her husband's hand as he continued to kiss her. She then approached the emperor and made her report. Currently, Cekel was serving two positions. In addition to being the head of the maids, unofficially, Cekel also was a member of the Intelligence Unit. Lucius the First decided that Cekel would do a better job than her brother, Sir Deke, who could be absent-minded sometimes. The emperor already gave jobs to Stra and Tory, so he thought it would be perfectly alright to hire Cekel secretly.

So far, Lucius the First was pleased with Cekel's work. She was a logical and sensible woman who did not believe in silliness. She did not waste her time gossiping with Master Chail or enjoy sending cryptic messages like some members of the Intelligence Unit did. So far, Sir Deke was the one who mainly collected the information and Cekel mostly worked as the middle person who reported to the emperor. Cekel was a very efficient messenger and never wasted the emperor's time.

Cekel said to him, “Your highness, Marquess Winter is headed towards Lady Rebecca's grave.”

“Hmm… I see.”

A bitter smile appeared on the emperor's face. In the royal grave site located in the old capital city of Nanaba, there were many graves of his ancestors. In Yapa, however, there was only one. It saddened him greatly that it was that of his young wife.

Lucius the First couldn't help feeling guilty. His wife died giving birth to his daughter… And now, he was courting her best friend. At least, he had one excuse. His love for Poliana began long before Rebecca and Poliana became friends.

“Lady Cekel, how are the n.o.bles reacting to the rumor?”

“Most of them are showing positive reactions. Those who genuinely wish for the good of the kingdom are worried about Marquess Winter's bareness, but they are not against the marriage itself. Those who are more suspicious believe this whole thing is a scheme to strengthen your power, your highness, but even these people are not against the marriage.”

The one who had the most power in the suspicious group was Duke Luzo, but once he heard about Gerald, he kept quiet. As soon as he learned that Poliana gave birth to the emperor's heir, he was all for the marriage.

When Sir Bentier heard about Gerald, he sighed and asked about the wedding plan. Lucius the First wanted his and Poliana's wedding to be the biggest and the most extravagant event ever. Now that the elders were gone, there was no one who would disagree with the emperor, which was a pleasant surprise to Lucius the First. But this was how things were supposed to work. He was the emperor of the entire continent, which meant he should be treated with the utmost respect.

Lucius the First, however, could not help but feel suspicious of the n.o.blemen's reaction. They were talking about the emperor's new wife, which was a huge deal, yet no one had an opinion about it? If this trend continued, it meant that whatever the emperor decides to do in the future will not be met with opposition. Lucius the First decided that this did not mean he should relax. It just meant that he should put more thoughts into his decisions. He needed to become more careful and alert.

“I never forced any of the n.o.bles from keeping quiet…”

“Your highness, everyone believes that you have a thoughtful logic behind this decision.”

Sir Ainno chuckled and muttered, “Thoughtful logic? That's funny.”

What a rude knight! To be rude to the emperor like this, especially in front of his wife! Lucius the First threw a paperweight at Sir Ainno. The royal paperweight was very heavy with a pointy end. It could be very dangerous to throw such a thing at someone, but Lucius the First wasn't trying to hurt his friend. It was their habit of throwing this paperweight around. Sir Ainno always caught it and threw it back at the emperor as a joke.

Smack!

The pointy end of the paperweight hit the middle of Sir Ainno's forehead! The knight groaned loudly, “Argh!” Lucius the First yelled in shock, “Inno!”

Cekel ran towards her husband in shock, “Husband! Oh my G.o.d! Are you alright?” Sir Ainno slowly but purposely leaned towards his wife, so he was in Cekel's embrace. Sir Ainno's movement was so natural that the emperor almost fell for it.

‘Wait a minute! There is no way that Inno would stagger like that just from the paperweight!'

The emperor saw right through his friend, but Cekel had no idea. She caressed her husband as she said to the emperor, “Your highness, I understand that my husband's comment was rude, but I don't believe throwing the paperweight at him was the right punishment.”

The play of throwing the paperweight back and forth only happened when the emperor and Sir Ainno were alone. Lucius the First found this situation so unfair that he couldn't even come up with an excuse.

“I… I…”

Cekel continued, “You could've suspended him, or if you found him unforgivable, you could even order him whipped. But throwing the paperweight like that… That was uncalled for, your highness.”

“But he…”

Sir Ainno was Cekel's husband now, so she naturally took his side. In addition, if one only saw what happened just now, everyone would agree that Lucius the First was wrong in this situation. Even if he was the emperor, throwing things in anger was not a good habit.

Sir Ainno, still happily in Cekel's arms, put his hand on his forehead as if in pain. The emperor could tell his friend was only acting, but he couldn't say anything.

Sir Ainno was clearly doing everything possible to gain Cekel's sympathy and affection. Everyone knew that Sir Ainno was the toughest man out there. He often said that a man should never show that he was in pain, yet here he was, groaning and moaning.

Sir Ainno said to his wife weakly, “My dear, it's okay. It is all my fault.”

“I can't believe it hit you right in the forehead… Are you ok?”

“I think I'm feeling a little dizzy.”

“Oh no…”

Sir Ainno gave a knowing look to the emperor. They were friends long enough for Lucius the First to know what Sir Ainno wanted from him. The emperor gritted his teeth. He used to joke about how Sir Ainno was the type who would betray his friend for love, and it seemed that this was really happening.

The emperor s.h.i.+vered in loneliness, envy, and frustration. Lucius the First murmured finally, “You should both go home early today. If you don't feel better by tomorrow, you may stay home, Sir Ainno. You too, Lady Cekel. You are his wife so you should be by his side to take care of him.”

Indeed, the honeymooners should stay in bed all day tomorrow perhaps.

The emperor scratched at his desk in loneliness. He needed Poliana, not just because he was lonely, but he also wanted to gossip about Sir Ainno with her. If Poliana was here, she would've told Cekel what was happening. Poliana would've told her exactly how Sir Ainno was lying to his wife's face. Cekel trusted Poliana, so she would've believed the knightess.

The emperor needed his most loyal knight. His knightess Poliana Winter.

He needed to get to work immediately. There was no time for him to mope around. Look at his friend! Sir Ainno was doing whatever it took to make his wife like him. He even betrayed his emperor and friend! Lucius the First wanted to hit Sir Ainno, but he also knew there was much he needed to learn from his friend.

‘Poliana!'

There was no time to be patient now.