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Lucius the First asked, “Inno, do you not know Lady Ingreter?”

Even as he asked, the emperor felt confused. There was no way Sir Ainno didn’t know who Cekel was. Lucius the First was well aware of how Sir Ainno barged into many of his unmarried guards’ homes to force them to drink with him after all of his closest knight friends got married. The emperor was certain that Sir Ainno visited Sir Beke’s home as well, which meant he would have been introduced to Cekel at the time.

Sir Ainno’s face became rigid as he answered, “I don’t know that woman.”

“Didn’t Sir Beke introduce you to her? Well, that won’t do. Now that you know her, don’t forget to greet her the next time properly, okay? You will be seeing a lot of her from now on since she works in the lady’s quarters.”

“I don’t know that horse-like woman.”

Sir Ainno replied calmly, but something wasn’t right. He pretended like he wasn’t interested. He was looking at the emperor, but he flinched every time he heard Cekel’s footsteps. The wise emperor immediately realized what was happening. Lucius the First covered his mouth to hide his gasp.

This was shocking news.

***

Poliana and Lucius the First loved to gossip, especially when it was about someone’s love life. It was so rare to find love because most marriages were arranged for political or financial gain, so this news of Sir Ainno and Cekel was an exciting development. Poliana and the emperor didn’t keep many secrets from each other, and whenever one found a juicy gossip, it was shared without delay. They loved to share their findings with each other.

After visiting Stra, Lucius the First gave Sir Ainno a break and went to visit Poliana alone. When Poliana heard the news about Sir Ainno, she couldn’t believe her ears.

‘Oh my god!’

Her eyes widened as she exclaimed, “That is crazy! Are you sure it’s Cekel? Cekel and Sir Ainno? Are you sure, your highness?”

“I saw it with my own eyes.”

“Oh my god.”

Poliana clenched her fists in excitement. She felt a little guilty to admit it, but Poliana found this topic much more interesting than the news about Vaxi and Vanessa’s pregnancy.

Sir Ainno and Cekel?! Who would’ve guessed!

“Are you sure? Oh, I’m not doubting you, your highness. I just… Sir Ainno dating? It just doesn’t make sense…”

“He ignored the lady he obviously knew and pretended he had never met her before. Inno even insulted her, calling her ‘horse-like’ to me! It is very unlike him to act this way. Something is going on between them and it could be a good or bad thing, I just know it.”

‘Horse-like?’

Suddenly, Poliana remembered something that happened recently. When she became speechless, Lucius the First urged her to share whatever information she had with him. Quickly, Poliana told him about the conversation she had with Cekel a while back before Sir Ainno “fell off the horse.”

Poliana explained, “At the time, I thought there must be a crazy bastard who roams the castle trying to take advantage of the maids… But now I am certain it was Sir Ainno. It has to be! I told Cekel to kick the man’s balls if necessary. So if Sir Ainno tried to do something and Lady Cekel did as I taught her… It makes perfect sense that Sir Ainno ended up stuck in his bed for a week.”

It wasn’t such a farfetched story, especially because Sir Ainno called Cekel “horse-like.” Besides, how could anyone injure their groin by falling off a horse? Poliana suspected that although he would’ve felt incredible physical pain, Sir Ainno’s pride would’ve been damaged even more by Cekel’s kick.

Lucius the First grabbed a wall and laughed uncontrollably.

“He… He said, ‘You are the first person ever to slap my face?’ Are you serious? Hahaha! Inno did? Hahaha!! Cough cough…”

“Your highness, you are laughing too hard, are you okay?”

“Inno did… Hahaha!!!”

The emperor laughed so hard that he began to cough. When he finally calmed down, Lucius the First wiped away his tears and complimented his two favorite knights, “Marquess Winter and Inno… You two give me such pleasure. I am a very lucky man indeed.”

Poliana wasn’t sure if it was a compliment or an insult, but she didn’t care. As long as the emperor was happy, she was happy too.

The emperor and the knightess were truly happy for Sir Ainno. They would never get involved to either help him or stop him, but they would watch from nearby and pray for him. It was going to be such a fun time to watch what happens.

Lucius the First found it hilarious that his friend, who always acted like he was immune to human feelings, fell in love. Poliana agreed and it was even funnier because Sir Ainno fell for someone like Cekel. Lucius the First swore to Poliana, “If Inno somehow wins over Lady Ingreter, I will make sure he can marry her.”

It would’ve been more beneficial for the emperor to have his best knight Sir Ainno Seki marry for his own political gain, but Lucius the First promised that he would give his permission should Sir Ainno come to him to marry Lady Cekel.

“But your highness, there is a chance that perhaps Sir Ainno doesn’t have an honorable intention. You’re assuming that he wants to marry her.”

“Pol, you have known Inno long enough. Do you really think he would let a woman hit him twice without hitting her back?”

Poliana shook her head emphatically. She opened her mouth to show the emperor her missing molar and explained, “My missing molar and crooked nose are all thanks to Sir Ainno.”

“Exactly.”

Poliana knew better than anyone what kind of man Sir Ainno was. He was the type that would not hesitate to fight back and beat up anyone, both man and woman. So would someone like him let a woman slap him and kick his balls?

Never, unless he was in love with this said woman. Poliana nodded in agreement. Either this was true love for him, or Cekel was blackmailing him somehow.

Lucius the First asked Poliana, “By the way, have you thought of what you are going to give as a gift to the Baufallo and Rabi families?”

Only

“Not yet, your highness.”

“Sir Donau is missing a front tooth, right? It would be a shame for the new father-to-be to look so ridiculous. Why don’t you get him a fake ivory tooth?”

“I would like to get the couples something for the babies.”

“Then I will get Donau the fake tooth as a gift.”

Poliana looked at the emperor sadly. On top of having a terrible sense of humor, Lucius the First also had very unfortunate gift ideas. The emperor, on the other hand, looked at Poliana happily. She looked very displeased this morning, but she looked okay now. She seemed very focused on finding the perfect gifts, and it made him very happy to see her feeling better.

‘Love is such a powerful thing.’

Just watching Poliana made him grin, but suddenly, his smile disappeared. He was free to love whoever he wanted, but didn’t he decide to give up on Poliana? The only thing he could do for her was to pray for her happiness. As long as Poliana was happy, Lucius the First knew he would be alright.