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‘Maybe I should’ve bought Inno with me after all?’

Although Sir Ainno could be annoying and smug, he was an amazing hunter. Lucius the First was certain that if he brought his frustrating friend, they would’ve caught something good.

Just as his hunting dog looked like it gained some weight due to inactivity, the emperor’s hunting skill was not what it used to be. He should’ve kept himself sharper, but his recently sedentary life had ruined his abilities. On top of this, all the people he brought with him today weren’t decent hunters. Poliana was no good at bows and arrows and they only had a short amount of time.

Poliana was also frustrated with her mediocre hunting skills. She needed to catch something, anything, as gifts for the ladies. Lately, Poliana received so many presents from various ladies, including the emperor’s wives themselves. Handkerchiefs, flowers, perfumes, cosmetics, clothes, and shoes… Poliana had been thanking them gratefully, but it was about time she became the one who was giving. It could be anything, even a pretty bird or a squirrel would do.

Poliana did sometimes give out local specialties from her land, but she needed to do more. Besides, the most popular local product from her place was brimstone, and who would want that?

Poliana could of course buy something, but that would look less genuine. An expensive precious stone would be a great gift, but there were too many ladies she needed to gift and therefore it would cost her too much.

‘The emperor’s three wives and their maids and ladies-in-waiting… And of course, I have to send something to Vaxi and Vanessa since they send me gifts all the time too!’

If she gifted them with some precious stones, she couldn’t just give them the raw stones. They would have to be worked on by the jewelry maker, which would cost a pretty penny. Although Poliana’s land was a productive and rich property, she didn’t feel wealthy because she didn’t get to actually see its physical money. She only got to read the reports of the tax collected from her land.

In this kind of situation, the best and the safest present was an animal she caught herself. For a gentleman, a fresh fish was also a good idea, but the ladies usually didn’t like it.

If she could just catch a rabbit… A rabbit’s foot was a popular gift idea while something nice could be made with its hide. Rabbit meat was also great for stews.

Poliana diligently shot her arrows, but she wasn’t successful at her attempts. Some other people caught at least some small prey such as rabbits and birds, and even then, they grumbled in disappointment.

“Oh man, today’s hunting trip sucked.”

“It’s because you guys didn’t pee before entering the forest.”

Lucius the First turned to his men and said in annoyance, “I told you to empty your bladder before the hunting starts for good luck! I told you!”

Poliana looked at them in frustration.

‘Ungrateful idiots.’

She knew she could never be as good as these Acreians, who were born as hunters, but she couldn’t help feeling disappointed. She was at least very good at catching those lizards, but they were useless for the ladies. And besides, it was getting cold and the lizards were nowhere to be seen.

In the end, Poliana had to return home empty-handed.

When the emperor suggested that she should eat dinner with him since the cook was going to make a rabbit stew, Poliana accepted and entered the castle with the emperor. They were talking quietly, and the others walked behind them without a word.

“Sir Pol, you look upset. Not all hunting trips can be productive, so you shouldn’t feel bad.”

“But your highness… I was hoping I could bring something for her highnesses…”

Lucius the First looked at Poliana with an odd expression. The woman he loved and couldn’t have got along very well with his three wives and the emperor didn’t know how to feel about this strange situation. They say it was a lucky man whose wives and concubines got along well together, but…

‘What do I love about you…?’

They were entering the inner garden on their horses when several people from the castle ran towards them and hurriedly greeted them. They looked so relieved to see him and the emperor became annoyed, saying, “You people act like I ran away or something.”

Well, he did it once to change the capital, but didn’t they know he wouldn’t do something like that again?

Then suddenly, one of the royal guards ran towards them.

“What is it?”

“Your highness! Your highness! Your highness!”

“Yes, I’m here. Just breathe first and talk to me.”

“Her royal highness, Stra, is pregnant!”

Lucius the First felt his world flipping upside down.

Thud!

The emperor fell off his horse. He slumped on the ground as Poliana and the guards gasped in shock. It seemed the emperor couldn’t respond and the people couldn’t tell if it was because of the shock from falling off his horse or hearing about his pregnant wife.

“Your highness! Are you alright?”

Lucius the First sighed deeply and stood up. Then with his calm voice, he ordered, “Stop overreacting.”

To everyone’s relief, it seemed that their emperor was ok, especially for someone who just fell off a horse. Slowly, he began to walk towards the lady’s quarters. Poliana realized that although Lucius the First looked perfectly calm, he must’ve been shocked. He was pretending to be indifferent, but he forgot to get back on his horse. It was clear that he was absolutely surprised by this news.

The emperor’s well-trained horse remained where he was without moving, and Poliana coaxed it as she pulled its rein. She began to follow the emperor and suddenly when Lucius the First began to run, she tried to do the same. However, she spotted Chail, who was at the front door and looking so unhappy.

Chail was the emperor’s personal valet as well as the head of the servants in the Yapa castle. When she saw his face, Poliana knew something wasn’t right. Poliana ordered her guards to follow and protect the emperor while she went to Chail. There, Poliana asked him, “What’s wrong, Master Chail?”

Only

“It’s great news, of course, but… It happened too fast, don’t you think? Aren’t you nervous about it?”

“We are talking about a perfectly healthy young man and woman, Master Chail. It’s definitely a good thing, I think. Wasn’t it you who let people know of this? I mean, isn’t that why the news traveled so fast? What did the doctor say?”

Poliana subtly criticized Chail, who should’ve kept this kind of sensitive news a secret until later. To have a random guard shout out that the emperor’s wife was pregnant… This was not the way to release a piece of important royal news.

Chail then replied, “The doctor is examining her right now.”

They began to walk towards the lady’s quarters, which was filled with different people waiting for the doctor’s confirmation. The people whispered excitedly, but when they spotted Poliana, they moved aside to create a clear path for her.

It was good to be a powerful woman.

Chail exclaimed, clearly impressed, while Poliana shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. Then suddenly, Chail and Poliana could hear people murmuring loudly. Chail grabbed one of the ladies-in-waiting and asked what was happening and she replied quickly, “It’s a false alarm. Apparently, it is just a phantom pregnancy.”