Chapter 295: Chapter 295
Chapter 295
What Poliana didn’t realize was the fact that by the time she visited Princess Luminae for the first time, she was a few months old already. Poliana was being unfair when she compared the newborn Dog Stew to Princess Luminae. Poliana, however, did not realize this fact. All she could feel was annoyance and despair. She didn’t have the patience to understand her baby; she didn’t even make an effort.
When Poliana obviously looked frustrated, the nanny took the baby outside. Alone in the room, Poliana finally had some peace and quiet to think clearly. This was when she realized that she was being unfair to innocent Dog Stew. Her son didn’t even do anything, yet Poliana, his own mother, was getting angry at him for no good reason.
‘I’m the worst.’
She could imagine how disappointed her emperor would be if he saw her like this. He would be especially upset at how his own flesh and blood was being treated.
But to Poliana, Dog Stew was the emperor’s son and the source of her misfortune. At the moment, she could not see her baby as her own son or her family. She did not feel any love for him at this point.
In the noble society, there was a clear priority set for the firstborn son as the heir to the family. After the third son, the rest of the children were considered expendable. This was the same for Poliana; she couldn’t remember being ever loved by her parents.
She might have carried him for 10 months and went through excruciating childbirth, but Dog Stew still did not feel like her family. He was an unwanted and unfamiliar figure; a royal prince and nothing more. She would’ve felt more affection towards him if he did not resemble Lucius the First so much.
What Poliana wanted was a family. She wished for a family that would greet her when she returned home from work. But even though she now had a son of her own, Poliana didn’t feel any joy at all.
Then one day, a guest arrived at Sitrin. Poliana could refuse most visitors from entering her land, but this particular guest was no ordinary visitor. It was not Sir Donau, the person Poliana has been hoping to see. She still hasn’t heard anything from her adopted brother yet.
This guest was actually the man Poliana dreaded to see the most.
It was the emperor, Lucius the First.
***
With the First Division knights’ protection, the emperor visited Poliana’s Sitrin. As soon as the royal visitor arrived at the Sitrin castle entrance, Poliana was informed of the news. She jumped in anger at how lax her land’s security system was. One would need to have a few days of traveling to get to the Sitrin border to her castle, so how was it that none of the Sitrin patrols reported to her in advance?
“What were the patrols and guards doing?!”
“They were all captured and ordered to guide the party to the castle safely.”
“It was the First Division that escorted the emperor? Dammit, it now makes sense since that unit is made up of the worst jerks…”
The patrols guarding the Sitrin borders approached the party to find out who was coming into the land. When the patrols realized it was the emperor, they were surprised and tried to get to Poliana as quickly as possible, but before they could leave, the knights of the First Division apparently grabbed all of them to prevent any of the patrols from reporting to the castle.
It was obvious that the emperor wanted this visit to be a surprise. Poliana didn’t have to see it in person to know what happened.
‘So his highness came in person… Is this a sign that I should confess to him?’
Officially, the emperor was touring the entire kingdom now that Acreia was stable. However, the real reason was that Lucius the First could no longer be patient. He could not endure another day without Poliana so he came to Sitrin to take her back to Yapa.
Not wanting her to figure out his true intent, Lucius the First made a point of visiting the other lands first. He toured the kingdom for 6 months before visiting Sitrin. The reason why Poliana was unaware of the emperor’s tour wasn’t because of the work by the Intelligence Unit or Poliana’s lack of sleep. It was because the vassals felt that they had nothing to fear from the emperor’s visit. Since Sitrin’s administration and accounting were clean as the snow, the vassals believed that there was no point in reporting the possibility of the emperor’s visit to their mistress. They truly believed that there was nothing to hide inside Sitrin.
Of course, what they didn’t know was the fact that Poliana recently bore Lucius the First’s son.
Poliana also hasn’t been interested in anything happening outside of her land. She didn’t pay any attention to the rest of the kingdom, and the result was the shockingly unexpected visit from the father of her secret son.
And Poliana, who mistakenly overestimated the power of the Intelligence Unit, believed that the emperor must know about her secret.
‘His highness… He must know everything!’
She thought that the Intelligence Unit found out about the existence of the royal baby! Poliana became paranoid, wondering if there was a spy inside her own land, possibly even inside the country house!
‘There is no point in lying to him anymore.’
Poliana invited Lucius the First to the country house. She knew she had to show him the baby, and because Dog Stew was too young, he could not go outside for a while longer.
On his way to the country house, Lucius the First could not stop smiling. He was finally going to be reunited with the woman he loved. On the way to the country house, the emperor was briefly informed of Poliana’s situation. All he heard, however, was that she remained inside the country house and did not leave the place for a long time. The emperor became worried that she might be suffering from a serious illness.
“Poliana!”
The person he missed the most. The woman he loved. Lucius the First opened his arms to hug her.
Even though she has been vacationing at the country house with a hot spring, Poliana looked awful. Her skin and her hair were dry and rough, but thankfully, she seemed to be walking fine. The emperor, however, was curious why Poliana looked so tired and worried.
Poliana kneeled in front of the emperor and confessed, “I have done something terrible! I deserve to die, your highness!”
“Huh?”
Lucius the First became confused. It was true that Poliana’s vacation lasted much longer than expected. Was this really a crime? Not to the emperor. Lucius the First gave her permission to take all the time in the world. Even if she took 10 years off, the emperor would’ve never gotten angry with her.
Poliana bowed deeply, hitting her forehead on the floor. Lucius the First asked in shock, “P-pol?”
“I lied to you and tried to hide the birth of a royal prince! You saved me by making me your knight, yet I ended up replaying you with lies and disloyalty! I deserve to die!”
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Chapter 296: Chapter 296
Chapter 296
“Pol! Calm down! What happened? Whatever you did, I will forgive you!”
Lucius the First, worried for Poliana, helped her stand up. He came here to see the woman he loved and missed terribly. He did not come here so the woman he loved would apologize to him. Lucius the First could not hide his confusion and in turn, Poliana’s face became rigid.
‘D-does he not know? Did I just confess for no reason?’
1
“What are you talking about? What do you mean a prince?”
‘Dammit…!’
Poliana finally realized that the emperor did not know anything about Dog Stew. This meant that she confessed for nothing. It was unfortunate, but it was also too late. She already said the words, and now, she needed to own up to them. For a second, she considered telling him she was only joking, but Poliana quickly decided against the idea. There were things you could joke about, and there were things she should never joke about in this world. Giving birth to a bastard son was not an appropriate jest material.
She could make up another lie right now. Perhaps tell him she misspoke and that she gave birth to a son who was fathered by someone else. Poliana knew that her emperor, such an understanding and kind man, might just believe her.
2
But this only meant that she really needed to tell him the truth. She could not lie again to the man who trusted her so much. She needed to come clean.
***
The innermost room of the country house was a luxurious yet cozy bedroom. There were two beds here, one for the mother and a crib. The crib looked elegant and extravagant. Although the baby was born in secret, his mother was still the powerful marquess while his father was the emperor of this kingdom. Poliana, though did not feel any affection towards him, tried her best to give Dog Stew the best of everything. Her son laid in the crib sleeping peacefully.
Because of the sleeping baby, all the curtains were drawn to keep the bright sun out, but the room was still light enough for Lucius the First to see the baby’s face. He rubbed his eyes over and over again. He came here to see the woman he loved, but in addition to reuniting with Poliana, he also found a baby that looked just like him.
“C-could he be…”
While the emperor stuttered in shock, Poliana’s frown became uglier.
‘Dammit! I should’ve found out more before confessing like an idiot!’
“Could this be my son?”
Lucius the First’s smile became wider by the second. The emperor and Poliana accidentally slept with each other. It was a drunken mistake, yet here was a result of that night. It was the greatest and most unexpected gift. Lucius the First was confused and overjoyed at the same time. He could not hide his smile.
Ever since he achieved his dream of uniting the continent, the emperor knew he was a pretty lucky guy. In fact, since he was a baby, luck was always on his side. Lucius the First was born the only son to the Acreian emperor, which meant that he had no competition to the throne. The only possible rival was his cousin, who was such a docile man with no ambition.
Within 10 years of becoming the Acreian ruler, Lucius the First became the emperor of the entire continent. The only thing he thought was lacking was luck with women, but it turned out, this was not true. In fact, it seemed that he was especially lucky in this aspect as well. Perhaps, those hard times he had to endure was all for this very moment.
Lucius the First closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
‘How can my fate be so kind to me? I am actually a little scared right now.’
His luck was so great that the emperor felt like he was dreaming. Lucius the First continued to keep his eyes closed and meditated for a minute to control his excitement. Meanwhile, Poliana watched in horror because she believed the emperor was so angry that he was trying to calm down.
She begged him, “I have done a terrible thing, your highness! I swear I did not mean to hide your son from you forever. I was just blinded by the fact that I might lose my power… No! No, I mean! That is not what I meant! I just thought that since we agreed on forgetting about what happened that night, it would be wrong of me to bring up that topic again. I did not want to upset you, but when the baby turned out to be a boy… And he resembles you so much… I was planning on telling you the truth…! I really did!”
She tried to emphasize the fact she never actually lied to him! Poliana kneeled on the floor again. Lucius the First inhaled deeply, trying very hard not to act too enthusiastic.
The emperor replied, “Yes, I can see that the boy looks just like me.”
“Yes, that’s right! And he is extremely healthy.”
Poliana, thinking to lessen her guilt, stressed how healthy their son was. If the emperor realized how she kept the baby strong and healthy, perhaps his anger would lessen. Besides, it was true that the baby was extremely well. He even survived the intense training when he was only a few weeks old growing inside her tummy.
Lucius the First frowned and replied, “Why are you talking only about the baby’s health, Pol? What about you? How are you? Have you been resting well after giving birth? It is very important to take it easy, so why do you keep kneeling on the cold floor? It kills me to think of you having our baby all alone without me, my heart aches for you.”
1
The emperor took off his cloak and put it around Polina’s body. He gently helped her stand up and sit on the chair next to the fireplace. The way he acted around her was filled with love and happiness. It has been so long since she felt the emperor’s affection. It was not just Lucius the First who missed Poliana. Poliana had not realized how much she missed him. She felt her eyes filling up with tears.
Even though Poliana committed such a huge crime, the emperor was just as kind as ever. He did not blame her for anything.
Poliana has become uglier while the emperor was still gorgeous. He was indeed the true treasure of this kingdom. Her cheeks were flushed, but Poliana wasn’t aware of it. Even if she did, she would’ve just thought it was because she was so thankful for the emperor’s generosity.
1
Lucius the First murmured in joyful disbelief, “I never imagined you would conceive a child from that one night.”
“Yes, your highness. I was very shocked as well.”
“Haa… I can imagine how scared you must’ve felt. Why didn’t you tell me, Pol? It kills me to think how worried you must’ve been…”
“Your highness…”
It was true that Poliana has been distraught all through her pregnancy. When Lucius the First consoled her, she became emotional. Just as she thought, her emperor wasn’t going to abandon her. Even though she did something so terrible, he wasn’t blaming her; he was actually worried about her.