The Emperor and the Knightess - Chapter 160

When her last resort didn’t work, Cekel focused on avoiding Sir Ainno. She didn’t even return home most of the time. Instead, she ate and slept inside the lady’s quarters. This was a good idea because since Sir Ainno was Sir Beke and Deke’s superior, he could visit their home often if he wished.

At this point, Poliana wondered if Sir Ainno was truly interested in Cekel in an honorable way. Lady Cekel didn’t think so and she felt certain about it.

Cekel explained that when they first met, it was very awkward. But when they were left alone, Sir Ainno kissed her. Ever since that day, whenever he got a chance, Sir Ainno made advances on her. He would hug her or push her against a wall so he could trap her with his body. He did many things that could compromise her reputation, yet Sir Ainno never publicly declared his interest in her and asked to court her.

Cekel could think of only one reason why he would act this way.

‘He has no interest in marrying me, he just wants to get me into his bed.’

Cekel was a spinster who swore to never marry. She was also a sister of his men, which meant that he outranked her entire family. Cekel believed that Sir Ainno was trying to take advantage of her.

Cekel had no intention of becoming his plaything. She spent most of her spare time with the other maids and made sure to avoid Sir Ainno as much as possible. The only one who knew what was going on between the two was Poliana. Cekel suspected that Poliana knew the identity of this “persistent bastard,” but she never once said his name out loud. She never planned to confirm his identity to Poliana unless it became absolutely necessary.

It was entertaining for Poliana to watch Sir Ainno struggle. It was clear he had never courted anyone before, and Poliana had no intention of helping him. Even if he was genuinely in love with Cekel with an honorable intention, it was still very wrong of him to try to force his affection on her.

Besides, if he was sincere, he should’ve publicly made a marriage offer to her.

‘He should try reading a romance novel or two to learn how to do this right.’

Sir Ainno spent his entire life serving and protecting the emperor, which made him an idiot when it comes to love. Was his love so true that his head wasn’t working well? Was that why he wasn’t thinking and acting clearly? Or was he so entitled that he thought he could do whatever he wanted?

In the aristocratic society, there were two options for a man and a woman to date. They either could date each other after marriage or after an official engagement. Sir Ainno wasn’t a young man of twenty with hot blood; he was a mature man who should have known better. So why was he acting like an idiot?

All he had to do was to offer to marry her. This way, Cekel would know Sir Ainno really cared for her, and Sir Ainno would get to marry the woman he loved.

After the preparation was completed, the emperor signaled the chosen men to begin. The young men carried the large jars of alcohol on their back and using a wooden ladle, they splashed the liquor on the castle walls. They had to do this on every inch of the wall by the end of today, so it was going to be hard.

The men finished before the sunset. When they returned, the emperor praised their hard work and offered each of them a cup of wine. It wasn’t the cheap stuff they splashed on the wall; he brought out the best wine for them.

The first one to accept the drink was Sir Ainno. He emptied the cup quickly as the emperor said to him, “You will have a very lucky year, Sir Ainno.”

“All of my luck belongs to you, your highness. I pray that you and the kingdom will have a successful year.”

That was the end of the cleansing ritual. Lucius the First wished everyone good luck and good health, and the feast began. People drank late into the night and wished for a good year for the emperor and the kingdom.

The one who received the most attention at the feast was Lady Tory. Although the whole continent was united, no one forgot the fact that Lucius the First came from Acreia. Accordingly, the night’s feast was prepared in Acreian style.

The servants wanted Tory to take the lead as the head of the ladies because she knew the Acreian culture better than the other wives. Tory was, in fact, an excellent hostess. She was trained by the best thanks to Marquis Seeze, who groomed her to become the next empress.

Everyone believed that Lady Tory was going to become the empress as soon as she became pregnant. It didn’t matter if she had a boy or a girl as long as she was pregnant with the emperor’s child.

Stra and Rebecca aided Tory efficiently. There was no power struggle between the wives as expected by many.

There were many people attending the feast. Since it wasn’t an official banquet, there was no formal invitation; anyone who wanted to attend it could walk in and join them. As the unofficial mistress of the castle, Tory was supposed to oversee everything and greet everyone, but there was only one of her. Thankfully, Rebecca and Stra shared the responsibility and took care of different sections of the feast for Tory. This meant that Poliana had to walk around constantly to make sure all the ladies were safe.

“Marquess, there is no need for you to be on your feet all night. You can sit down and rest, we’re all fine.”

“This is my job.”

Poliana walked around the area and returned to where Tory was sitting. Lady Tory was entertaining a large table, which was filled with mostly the important noblemen from Acreia.

There was no planned seating arrangement, but the people ended up sitting with the others they were familiar with and comfortable with. There was a clear division among the tables.

Poliana shook her head. ‘This isn’t good, but I guess it can’t be helped.’

There was no way Lucius the First wasn’t aware of what was happening, which meant that he was ignoring it purposely. This wasn’t Poliana’s concern, so she focused on her own job.

She looked around when suddenly, she spotted someone familiar hiding behind a column, unable to join the Acreian group.

Frau Sneke.

He was clearly from Acreia as well and belonged to a prominent noble family. He was also a doctor, which was a very respectable job, so there should’ve been no reason why he could not join the table full of Acreian nobles. Yet, he was standing and looking at the table hesitantly.

Why?