Chapter 317  

The noblemen of Yapa were concerned; they were more worried about the emperor’s marriage than their own children’s lives. They did not believe him when Lucius the First claimed that he would take care of his marriage plan.

It was understandable that the emperor was hesitant about remarrying. He lost all of his three wives tragically; one died while giving birth to his daughter, the other was divorced, and the third left him and their marriage was annulled. Lucius the First was indeed extremely unlucky when it came to marriage. It was no wonder he didn’t want to get married again.

So why, all of a sudden, was there a rumor about a romantic relationship between his highness and Marquess Winter?

The nobles believed that it was a political agenda. They thought that the emperor was trying to strengthen his authority by uniting with the powerful Marquess Poliana Winter. To them, that had to be it!

Those who did not see the emperor’s sad expression believed this logic, however, those who heard him talk about Poliana believed the rumor. They had no choice because they saw the true feelings on the emperor’s face. Of course, when these men claimed that the emperor had to be truly in love with Marquess Winter, people laughed at them.

Things got even more interesting when Duke Luzo and Marquess Zeese sided with the truth. These two noblemen stated that the rumor was indeed true, but their claims began to be seen as a political move. Many noblemen began to believe even more that the union between the emperor and Poliana had to be a political move.

Things have been calm after the incredible removal of the Acreian nobles and elders and Sir Ainno and Cekel’s wedding, but now with the new rumor about the emperor’s love life, Yapa was again buzzing with excitement.

Everyone had their own interpretation and guesses, and people were dying to know the truth. Was it really a political move? Or if it was really true love, then how the heck did Poliana capture the emperor’s heart?

And then… Poliana returned to Yapa. As soon as she entered the castle, Poliana sighed. She could feel everyone, both the servants, the knights, and the high-ranking noblemen staring at her.

People greeted her as if everything was normal, but none of them could hide their intense curiosity. Poliana preferred those who believed that the emperor was making a political decision. People who believed there was something more personal going on between the emperor and Poliana smiled at her knowingly, which annoyed her. These people tried to hide their smiles by looking down or covering their mouths, but Poliana could still tell what they were thinking. She wanted to punch all of them in the faces.

“Sir Pol!”

The knights of the Second Division came out as soon as they heard she was in the castle. Most of them had knowing smiles on their faces; Poliana’s men believed in the rumor.

Poliana showed them the cutthroat gesture. It wasn’t one of the official sign languages used among the guards, but it was enough to let the men know that they better keep their mouths shut. The knights of the Second Division flinched. They looked at each other quietly before leaving Poliana alone.

Poliana was giving off a vicious aura and the men knew not to annoy her when she was like this. She was here to visit the emperor, which was why she was dressed neatly. If she was holding her sword in her hand, the knights knew there could’ve been a bloodbath.

Poliana pouted angrily, but Sir Donau said to her, “You need to think positively. I mean, everyone’s reaction is actually better than I expected.”

“Hmm…”

“Sis, nothing you worried about has come up yet.”

“So far anyway. You never know.”

“Sis, you need to feel more confident about yourself. This means that people are accepting you.”

“Hmm…”

Poliana nodded grudgingly. It was strange how people were not reacting the way she expected. Poliana thought her old nicknames would come up. “The witch who seduced the emperor” and “The ugly wh*re.” She expected people to say that this was all because she was a woman. She thought people would say that this was why a woman should not be allowed to become a knight.

These ugly words… Poliana used to ignore them because they weren’t true, but now… She expected what happened to confirm what people were thinking, but it seemed that she was wrong.

There now appeared to be two groups of people in Yapa. Some who thought the rumor was true and some who thought the emperor had a political agenda. One good thing at least was that no one called her a seductress anymore. She was too powerful all on her own now that she no longer had to seduce anyone for power. It was nice to realize that she had become so influential, but it was still annoying that people seemed to have so much fun with the gossip at her expense.

Poliana said to Donau, “It’s still too early to tell how people are going to react.” She had only met a few noblemen in the castle so far.

The relatively positive reaction from the public was due to two reasons. One was because Poliana was now a powerful figure, but more importantly, because the emperor made sure the rumor focused on his one-sided love for her. Many didn’t believe this based on Poliana’s looks and personality, but surprisingly, there were some who thought this was possible. The woman who spent the most and the longest time with Lucius the First was Poliana Winter. They traveled the entire continent during the war and some people believed that the deep comradery could have developed into something more.

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Most noblemen married for political or financial reasons. It was very rare for a noble couple to begin with love. In most cases, the husband and wife learned to respect each other over time and develop affection towards one another. This was how most noble marriages worked.

So this rumor of the emperor and Poliana was considered scandalous. Poliana used to love gossip like this, but now that it involved her, it wasn’t fun at all. Her confidence in getting what she wanted out of this situation dropped significantly, and when she saw the emperor’s servants outside his room, she lost all of her assuredness.

Master Chail and all the other servants bowed to her respectfully when they spotted Poliana. They were all very polite people to begin with, but their behavior towards her was especially formal. The way they bowed to her was usually reserved only for royal members, for example, the empress.

Master Chail said to her ceremoniously, “I do apologize to you, Marquess Poliana, but unfortunately, I must humbly ask you to wait just a moment outside. Please forgive me.”

“Humbly? Forgive you?”

“It is only right to behave respectfully in front of a very important lady, of course.”

It seemed that Master Chail was ready to begin calling her “Your highness.” Poliana wanted to reply sarcastically, but she stopped herself. It was obvious that Master Chail knew about the existence of Gerald.