Chapter 103
Lucius the First expected this, but not this quickly. What a snake Marquis Seeze was. The emperor hid his disgust and greeted the young girl.
Tory Seeze bowed respectfully. She was a very distant relative of Marquis Seeze and was adopted by his youngest son recently. Her bow was simple, yet she looked elegant and beautiful. The single knights nearby all gaped like idiots at her.
Tory blushed as if she was shy and disappeared with the other ladies. In the northern region, the nobles did not believe in occasions where young men and women spent too much time together. They did not approve of the extravagant balls that the mid and southern continents enjoyed.
But even so, it was odd how shy Tory Seeze appeared to be. While Lucius the First was away, Tory Seeze had become the most eligible and coveted bachelorette in Nanaba. The emperor found it sad that he had to pretend not to notice what this old man was trying to do.
Lucius the First said to Marquis, “What a polite young lady.”
“She is a good girl. My youngest son adopted her recently so we could arrange a good marriage for her. I am hoping to find her an appropriate husband.”
“Haha, she is beautiful and well-behaved, so I am sure you won’t have any problem.”
“I agree, your highness. Now, this old man is getting very tired, so I will be going now. Have a wonderful evening, your highness.”
When Marquis Seeze left, the other nobles surrounded the emperor like vultures. Lucius the First knew they were planted by the Marquis himself. The nobles said to the emperor, “Your highness! It troubles everyone in the kingdom that you do not have a wife yet. You need to get married as soon as possible for the health of this nation.”
Lucius the First glanced at Sir Bentier, who was standing nearby and talking to his grandfather, Marquis Seeze. They looked like they were having a nice family chat, but in reality, this wasn’t the case.
The nobleman in front of the emperor added, “Don’t you think this is the most important task at hand, your highness?”
Lucius the First smiled and evaded the question easily. “Actually, I did hear about how the unmarried ladies of Nanaba have been complaining for the last 10 years because I took away all the eligible young men. Now that the men have returned, I am sure things will settle down.”
“Your highness, your own marriage is what we are concerned about! Not the other men’s!”
“Haha, I am still very young, and I am happy to enjoy my life a little while longer with many different women. I am not in any hurry at all.”
In reality, the emperor should’ve been more worried about it. Lucius the First was in his early 30’s and he still didn’t have any children. If his mother was still alive, she would’ve been very upset. But Lucius the First feigned his ignorance, the emperor had no intention of marrying a woman who had strong ties to any of the elders.
He would, of course, get married eventually, he had to. He was the ruler of the entire continent after all. Searching for an empress only from Acreia would be considered unfair. The best thing would be to widen the search to include the entire continent.
The emperor sat down on his throne and didn’t move. Standing behind him were Sir Ainno and the commander of the guard division Sir Wook. Duke Luzo sat down next to the emperor and chatted with Lucius the First, but he didn’t come down to the dance floor either.
There were plenty of returned soldiers that the ladies didn’t lack dance partners, but the unmarried women were still very disappointed that the most eligible bachelors, Lucius the First and the Duke, seemed to have no interest in any of them.
The emperor said to his cousin, “I think it would be best if I hold off on enjoying myself for now.”
“If you wish, you are welcome to go and dance with anyone here, your highness.”
“Here, I am prey, not a hunter. I am not scared of the ladies, but I am fearful of their fathers, grandfathers, and uncles, who are looking at me like I am a prized bull.”
Sir Ainno offered a solution, “If anyone tries to hunt you, your highness, I will get rid of him immediately.”
Duke Luzo said to the emperor, “Your highness, I wouldn’t mind being hunted, but I waited this long so I could get the best wife I possibly could. Have you thought of anyone for me by chance?”
Lucius the First patted Duke Luzo’s shoulder affectionately. He was thankful and apologetic that men like Duke and Sir Ainno didn’t get married for the emperor’s sake. They also didn’t have control over who they could marry.
Lucius the First decided to be generous. He said to the Duke, “If you have a lady you like, I will let you marry her.”
Only
“Do you mean it, your highness?”
“Of course. I am the emperor and I would never say things like this lightly. Of course, there are some obvious and common sense conditions. She can’t be too young or too old and she can’t already be married. She can’t be a widow either and she needs to be a noblewoman. She couldn’t be from a family that has a criminal and she cannot have any genetic disorders or illness. I will allow a barren woman, but that means that you will have to take in a concubine. Oh, and of course, she can’t be from a family that has a history of madness.”
Duke Luzo looked hopeful but when the emperor stated all those conditions, his face fell. He sat down quietly. Trying to find a suitable wife was a lot of paperwork. Usually, there would be a need to go through the profiles of all their potential ladies, and Duke Luzo was too tired to do it. What he needed were rest and stability. He believed that once he got enough rest, his lost hair would come back and he would look his age again.
In a high society, marriage meant business. It could be a business of finances, politics, or both. It was a very important matter and therefore, it needed to be done with the utmost care.
When Duke Luzo looked disappointed, Lucius the First felt even more apologetic. This was what the emperor had been feeling towards his cousin ever since he returned home, he felt sorry and thankful for him.
10 years ago, Duke Luzo was a beautiful young man. Not as handsome as the emperor but still very good looking. Duke Luzo was also a great hunter, a horseman, swordsman, and an athlete. He had a great muscular body. But in the last 10 years, during the time when the emperor was at war, the duke was left behind to take care of the administrative duties. It was a lot of work, and because of it, Duke Luzo lost his looks. He lost his hair and muscles. He gained more weight and turned into a round man, rather than a slim fit young man.
It was such a sad thing to watch.
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