Chapter 13
Seating on Aehas’ throne, Lucius the First read over some various paperwork. The maids and the female servants of the Aehas castle blushed excitedly as they stared at their new and beautiful young conqueror.
Aehas and Kukda’s emperors offered their daughters to Lucius to marry. Lucius the First never refused a woman, but he also didn’t plan on having bastards all over the continent. Because he was an emperor, he couldn’t sleep with a common woman. Only the women of noble birth and who knew their places had the honor of warming his bed.
Theoretically, he could take in the princesses of the conquered kingdoms as his concubines, but he feared that these women could turn against him at any time. They could also work as spies for their fathers, who were the former emperors of their kingdom.
Lucius the First decided early on that he would forget about marriage or concubines until he accomplished what he had set out to do. The same decision was made by the emperor’s closest and best knight, Sir Ainno.
“Your highness.”
“Yes, what is it, Ainno?”
“Your highness, that girl is no longer useful to us, so it would be best if you give her an appropriate reward and dismiss her. I’m sure that she would be more than satisfied with that.”
Lucius the First stopped reading the documents and murmured, “Hmm… An appropriate reward…”
“A piece of land would be the best.”
Indeed, the biggest reward a knight could receive was a title and land. When Aehas was conquered, all the Aehas nobles lost their titles and their lands were to be awarded to Lucius’s men.
In Acreia, women could not inherit family titles or lands, so the fact that Sir Ainno made this suggestion meant that he greatly valued Poliana’s input in their recent success. He was being very generous.
“Same for me too, your highness.” Sir Baufallo, who was standing nearby agreed.
Sir Baufallo was the oldest knight among all the emperor’s knights, but he was still only 40 years old. He was very detail-oriented and he was the head of the war supply division.
The emperor then asked, “Really? Sir Bau thinks so too?”
“Yes, but for a slightly different reason.”
“Tell me.”
“Sir Poliana is of Aehas, born and raised. The biggest worry after conquering a kingdom is the threat of a rebellion by the locals. If you have Sir Poliana as the head of Aehas, I believe that she will be able to control this kingdom very well.”
What Sir Baufallo said made perfect sense and Lucius agreed to it, but Sir Ainno disagreed, stating that it was too much.
“For a mere girl, that would be too big of a reward and a promotion.”
It was indeed a huge promotion for a mere knight, but Lucius the First seemed interested in Sir Baufallo’s idea. The emperor then stated, “She did after all greatly help us in conquering two kingdoms. I have no doubt that she will do a good job of controlling Aehas.”
Based on his assessment, Poliana was very intelligent and had a talent for leadership and politics. Lucius had a long road ahead of him, which meant that he couldn’t be worrying about his already-conquered kingdoms. He also couldn’t spare many of his men to be left behind to control the citizens. The emperor definitely needed someone who knew Aehas very well.
He knew Poliana would be a perfect fit to become the head of Aehas on his behalf.
But…
Although Lucius the First agreed with the two knights’ suggestions, something didn’t feel right to him. Sir Baufallo was right, Poliana was going to be able to take excellent care of Aehas in his absence. Aehas allowed women to hold titles, so there was a fair chance that the locals would accept her as their new head despite the fact that she was a woman. They may call her a traitor, but Lucius was sure Poliana could handle anything.
But something felt wrong…
The emperor wondered why he felt so bothered by the idea. While he contemplated, the scribe Momo, who has been recording the conversion, suggested, “If I may ask, your highness. If the knightess refuses her reward and asks to follow you to the war, would your highness accept her decision?”
Sir Baufallo frowned and replied, “You have been reading too many fictional novels, I see.” Sir Ainno agreed as he needed.
For a knight to refuse such a huge reward, a land as well as a title, and opt to follow into a war, where he could be killed, was a rare occurrence. Only the bravest and the most loyal knights would make such a risky choice.
Only
Of course, a woman may make this decision, but not because of loyalty but because of her own stupidity.
Lucius looked at the scribe, who looked down when the two knights glared at him. Suddenly, he smiled as if he thought of something funny. He suggested, “Why don’t we start a bet?”
“Pardon?”
“I will take Momo’s side. Let’s bet to see whether or not Sir Poliana will choose to follow me or stay behind in Aehas. If Momo wins, you two knights will have to accept Sir Poliana as your subordinate. If you guys win…”
“Then please take away the new family name you gifted her, your highness. That was unnecessary and too big of an honor for her.”
“Yes, I agree with Sir Ainno, your highness.”
The scribe’s eyes widened nervously while Sir Ainno and Baufallo left after the conversation. Lucius the First hummed happily as if he just found an entertaining game.
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