The Emperor and the Knightess

Chapter 309

Poliana became frustrated with Sir Donau’s argument. She had a good reason for believing the emperor’s words to be a white lie because she has been thinking about this constantly ever since Lucius the First left Sitrin.

“Listen, Donau. Our emperor is very kind.”

“I agree.”

“And now, he and I are going to be forced into an unwanted marriage. All because of my mistake, right? So, imagine how I would feel if he sighed and looked obviously frustrated. I would be upset, right? And knowing how thoughtful his highness is, don’t you agree that he would rather lie to me to make me feel better? He told me he loved me to spare my feelings and pride.”

“But that’s just your guess, Sis, and nothing more. The emperor I know is indeed very kind, but he is not the kind of man who would lie and make a false love confession just to make someone feel better, even if it’s you.”

“Gosh, Donau. You’re being too stubborn. I am not just one of his many knights; I am closer to him than most!”

“That is exactly why he wouldn’t lie about something like this.”

“Normally, he wouldn’t, but this is a special case.”

Poliana felt certain about her reasoning. She took a sip of water to wet her mouth. She bit her lips, feeling embarrassed to be talking about such a subject with her adopted brother.

Sir Donau remained quiet and waited for Poliana to continue patiently. This was an extremely serious and sensitive topic, and he wanted to get to the bottom of this even if it took all night.

Lucius the First was indeed a kind and gentle man. He was so caring that it sometimes annoyed Sir Ainno greatly. Most of the time in the past, Poliana thought Sir Ainno was being rude, but recently, she couldn’t help but agree with him. It was true that sometimes, the emperor’s kindness was too much.

The way he handled the gold digger situation… And now how he confessed his “love” for her…

A con-man named Frau Sneke almost succeeded in marrying Poliana. Unfortunately for her, Poliana really liked this man. He was ugly, fat, weak, and poor, but she still genuinely liked him.

Even before she decided to marry him, she thought Frau Sneke was a good guy. When she decided to have him as her husband, she grew to like him even more just because he was going to be her family. Poliana remembered giggling in happiness just thinking about him.

When she learned what kind of man Frau really was and what he planned on doing, Poliana punished him while still showing him mercy. She chose to be kind and let him live because he had a son.

Poliana was hurt very badly. She wasn’t sure if she would ever recover from betrayal like this. This was why she drank that night, which unfortunately resulted in an even bigger problem.

Lucius the First was with her the entire time. When she was in such pain, the emperor witnessed it and tried to console her. He was there to see her suffer, so didn’t it make sense that he was trying to be kind when he told her he loved her?

This was Poliana’s guess and she thought it sounded logical.

And… She hoped she was right.

Poliana said to Donau, “He was just trying to be nice because he knew about what happened to me with the gold digger. He felt sorry for me so he was being kind.”

“Sis, I know how traumatized and hurtful you must’ve felt about the whole Frau incident. Everyone who’s close to you knew about it. But Sis, think about it. You and the emperor have to get married no matter what, right? You two will be seeing each other every day for the rest of your lives, which means that if he lied about his feelings for you, he will be found out soon enough. You will know after a while, right? So why would he lie when he knows he will be caught? Why would the emperor do something so stupid?”

The two looked at each other intensely. Suddenly, Poliana burst into laughter and slapped the table. “You are kidding, right? Hahaha.”

“So, you still think his highness lied?”

“Of course! There is no way his highness likes me that way.”

“Sis…”

“Think about it.”

Poliana looked down at the table and continued, “I am ugly, old, and not at all lady-like. I am the opposite of his highness’s type, which is a proper lady who is fragile and beautiful. There is no one in this world who would ever look at me as a woman.”

Poliana thought secretly to herself, ‘This is why I got fooled by that jerk.’

Frau Sneke was the only person who seemed to see her as a woman, and this was exactly why she fell for him. Even though he was an ugly unattractive man, Poliana felt like a woman when she was around him. Every other man treated her either like one of them or a genderless being. When Poliana took her top off, the other knights covered their eyes, not for her or for propriety, but to protect their eyes from her ugliness. The other knights accepted her as a knight, but they, to this day, could not accept her as a woman. Poliana was fine with this because this was the only reason why she could remain a knight herself. She needed to remain a woman who did not feel embarrassed when taking her shirt off. She needed to be “one of them.”

“What man in this world would ever like me as a woman?”

“You are very mistaken about that, Sis. There are men who see you as a woman.”

“Where?!”

“You just have to trust me that there were, and there will be in the future too!”

“No, you’re wrong!”

Donau felt frustrated. Poliana was a very logical and objective person, but when she feels strongly about something, she could be incredibly stubborn. No one could change her mind, except perhaps the emperor. Sir Donau, however, did not think this was bad quality in her; in fact, it was her stubbornness that allowed her to become so successful.

Only

“Sis, I am serious. You may not know about it, but there had to be someone who was in love with you and just couldn’t confess his feelings for you.”

“No way.”

It was clear that Poliana couldn’t be convinced. She felt so strongly about it that her entire body was tensed up, making her look even uglier. Donau was annoyed and had to stop himself from slapping her back again.

Sir Donau used to have a crush on Poliana. He even proposed to her before realizing this truth. Poliana refused him, but if he had known how he felt about her before proposing… Perhaps they would’ve been married by now.

If Sir Donau was smarter and braver enough to admit that he saw Poliana as a woman… Things could’ve been very different. In the end, however, Sir Donau married Vanessa and was gifted with a beautiful daughter. Thankfully, Donau was very happy with his life.

As soon as he learned that he was to marry Vanessa, he gave up on his love for Poliana. Now, Sir Donau loved his wife and his daughter with all of his heart. Vanessa knew this very well, which was why she was understanding whenever Donau went out of his way to help Poliana.

Donau, frustrated, asked her, “Sis, if what you are saying is true, are you telling me that you are someone who could never be loved by anyone? And you are still insisting that the emperor lied?”