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What was the cleansing ritual? It was a superstitious event that was carried out to destroy the evils and bad luck. Different regions had different ways of doing it, but all of them had one thing in common; it required items that were hard to acquire.

The rituals usually involved alcohol, salt, and oil. In some poorer regions, people substituted these items with animal blood or grains. Northerners were notorious for being superstitious and the Acreian men were the worst of them. There were many rituals in Acreia and the most popular one was the ceremony that took place before hunting. It was a common practice for the hunters to empty their bladders before entering the forest. In Acreia, an unmarried man’s urine was considered the best thing to protect oneself from an evil spirit.

When people heard that Lucius the First wanted to do a cleansing ritual, everyone rejected the idea.

“No, you mustn’t, your highness.”

Lucius the First glared at them. Everyone must’ve believed that he meant to use the urine of the unmarried men for this ritual. How could they think he would do something like that? He admitted he was superstitious, but he would never do something so putrid.

“In Acreia, it was easy to clean it up afterward since the urine would just freeze. We are in Yapa, so how could you think I would do something like that?”

But everyone, especially his servants, knew him very well. Master Chail tried to make the emperor feel better, but Lucius the First was upset and annoyed.

“I may like these superstitious rituals, but you people really thought I would do something so disgusting? How dare you!” The emperor muttered. It took a very long time for him to stop grumbling. That’s when he looked around and announced, “I’m going to use alcohol.”

To pour expensive alcohol around the castle walls? The servants, of course, knew that this was one way to do the ritual, but they all thought that the emperor would choose urine instead because he loved to drink and wouldn’t want to waste good wine. What they didn’t know was that the emperor cared much more about good cleansing rituals than good drinks.

The story of Lucius the First falling off his horse could’ve been a lovely story if the people cared about the full story. He fell because he was so surprised and happy about the news that Stra was pregnant. But in the end, it turned out that she wasn’t really pregnant and the only thing people now remembered was just the fact that Lucius the First fell off his horse. The story of how Sir Ainno also fell off his horse became famous too.

When people heard that the emperor was planning a cleansing ritual, different rumors began. Many believed that the ghosts of the Bikpa nobles and the Bikpa princess who were hung upside down on the wall were haunting the place. Some even thought that Lady Stra had a miscarriage from the shock of seeing the ghost of the Bikpa princess. No matter how many times the officials stated that it was a phantom pregnancy, the people didn’t care, they preferred the shocking story over the truth.

This meant that the emperor needed to remain calm and objective. It would fuel people’s fear if Lucius the First carried out the cleansing ritual, but the emperor refused to listen to some of his councilors. Those from Acreia were actually in agreement with the emperor, so in the end, it was decided that the ritual will take place soon.

Lucius the First prepared for it with excitement. He got some cheap but strong alcohol for the event because he didn’t want to waste expensive wines. When some even more superstitious councilors protested that the ritual wouldn’t be as effective if they used cheap items, the emperor replied, “It’s your heart that counts, not the price of the alcohol.”

The next thing they decided on was the person who was going to pour the alcohol around the inside and outside of the castle walls. The rule was simple. The best candidate would be an unmarried virgin male, but such a man was very hard to come by. Only very young boys would qualify, so the emperor decided on finding unmarried men who have a good personality, talent, and came from a good family.

“If I wasn’t married, I would do it myself…”

“Your highness, please… You mustn’t…”

Master Chail shook his head in horror. In the end, several acceptable men were chosen including Sir Ainno to carry out this ritual. Sir Ainno was almost in his mid 30’s and it was very rare to find a firstborn nobleman of his age who was still unmarried. Sir Ainno grabbed the jar full of alcohol with his usual displeased expression. He was the only one in his 30’s. The rest were in their late teens to mid-twenties, making Sir Ainno stand out.

Poliana murmured, “If it was me, I would die of embarrassment.” Her words were cruel, and as soon as she said it, Poliana looked around nervously, worried that someone might have heard her. Thankfully, only Rebecca and Cekel were present.

Since Lady Rebecca was her friend and Cekel hated Sir Ainno, it was ok. Poliana sighed in relief. Looking at Cekel, Poliana shook her head. The emperor swore he would let Sir Ainno marry anyone he wanted if the lady agreed, but it seemed that things were not going well for him regarding Cekel.

Only

Poliana knew this because Cekel sometimes asked her obvious questions. For example, one day, Cekel asked Poliana how to attack a man who tried to get close to her. Based on her observation, Poliana guessed that Cekel already kicked and slapped Sir Ainno a few times already. She was also sure that Cekel kicked his crotch a few times as well.

At this point, Poliana could think of only one last option, and it was a shocking and cruel one.

“Lady Cekel, I have one last move, but it should be your last resort. If you are willing to lose your reputation as a lady to get rid of this man, then you can use this.”

“Yes, Marquess. He is a persistent one, and I need to get rid of him. What should I do? Please tell me.”

“Okay, here is what you do. You grab his groin and laugh at him. You then tell him, ‘Too small for me.’ Got it?”

This tactic was to be used only as of the last resort when all else failed. Poliana had rarely recommended this skill. It was emotionally easier to kick a man’s crotch because legs weren’t as sensitive as hands. Grabbing someone’s balls was an awkward thing to do. It required determination and courage. To be most effective, one had to grab them long enough to make a point. There was also a risk of being attacked afterward.

Although Poliana taught her this skill, she didn’t think Cekel would actually go ahead with it. But to her surprise, it seemed that Lady Cekel did carry it out. Unfortunately, her expression showed that things didn’t go very well. Unable to overcome her curiosity, Poliana asked, “So… Did you do it? What happened?”