The Emperor and the Knightess

Chapter 314

Poliana’s face crumpled into an ugly frown. She has never been a reader of a romantic novel, which meant she had no idea how to deal with her current situation.

‘I better start reading some of those lady’s novels from now on.’

“First, I will marry the emperor.”

Sir Donau, knowing Poliana very well, finished her sentence for her, “And then you are going to divorce him. Fine, fine. I got it. It’s so funny how naïve you are, Sis. From now on, your nickname should be the ‘Witch of Naivety.'”

“Stop making fun of me.”

“Just stop thinking only from your perspective and start seeing this situation from his highness’s point of view. He is in love with you but because of many reasons, he wasn’t able to tell you about it for a long time. But miraculously, he ended up spending the night with you and you ended up having his baby. And now, he gets to marry you! Do you really think his highness will ever sign the divorce paper?”

“What if I tell him I will hate him if he doesn’t divorce me?”

Sir Donau coughed and asked, “What? Are you like three years old or something? Besides, do you really think you can hate the emperor?”

“No, I can’t. How could I ever hate him?”

She could hate her own parents, but she could never hate Lucius the First. This was one thing Poliana felt certain of in her life. The emperor did upset her by confessing his love to her, but this didn’t mean that her trust of him was lost. This was especially true because the emperor did not force his love on her or asked her to love him back in return.

Lucius the First was the first emperor ever to unite the entire continent. He was able to accomplish this in only 10 years. He ruled this world; he was the most powerful man in this world.

Yet this great man did not force her to accept his love. In fact, he kept his feelings hidden for her own happiness. Poliana was still uncertain if the emperor meant what he said, but… She remembered him hugging her tightly and consoling her when she cried.

Sir Donau said to her, “Good luck, Sis. I am always on your side.”

“You give me pretty words, Donau, but I prefer action over words.”

“Well, for now, you will have to be satisfied with my words.”

Even though Donau would’ve been happy to help her, he didn’t feel right getting involved. This was a matter of love and he wasn’t a part of it. In addition, this was also a political situation between the emperor and the powerful marquess.

When he thought about it, this case could be considered the most scandalous event of the century. A foreign knightess, Marquess Winter, bearing the emperor’s heir… It was a shocking story.

‘An unknown knightess from a small kingdom becoming the marquess of Acreia and eventually the empress… What a story. What a life for a woman.’

If the writers ever heard about this, there would be thousands of romantic novels written based on Poliana’s story. Those who didn’t know her closely would think her life was perfect. She might have had some difficulties at the beginning of her life, but she hit the jackpot when she gave birth to the emperor’s son.

‘But what’s the point of this? This is not what I wanted.’

This wasn’t the luck Poliana was hoping for. Donau knew this very well too. He knew that his sister would refuse such luck if it wasn’t something she wanted.

But no matter how you looked at it, this was such a sweet love story. The beautiful emperor falling madly in love with his knightess… Any ladies would die for such a life. Sir Donau suspected that the people of Acreia would be fascinated by Poliana’s story.

***

Poliana and Sir Donau arrived at Yapa in the middle of the day. The city gate was wide open and because it was daytime, those entering did not have to provide their identification. Poliana, however, made a point of going to see the gate guards because she heard in the previous village that Lucius the First finished his tour much earlier than expected and was already in Yapa.

For some reason, the guard couldn’t meet Poliana’s eyes. He covered his mouth with his hand and kept looking down on the ground.

Poliana thought to herself, ‘Well… Some guards are like that, I guess.’

Most guards were very proud of their positions, but in front of a real nobleman such as Marquess Winter, they knew they could not compare in terms of power or authority. Poliana did not blame the guard for looking weak and shy. She asked, “When did the emperor return?”

“About a month ago.”

Sir Donau was impressed, “He must’ve pushed hard to make it here so fast.”

Poliana was impressed as well. To travel that fast…

Another guard reported Poliana’s arrival to his superior. Poliana expected to be seen right away, but no one said anything to her. Poliana didn’t think too much about it.

‘I guess everyone is busy.’

The guards at the gate could not meet her eyes until she left. Poliana was a little disappointed at how weak the men were; they were supposed to protect the city, yet they couldn’t even look at her in the eyes.

Yapa, as the capital city of Acreia, was a very busy and well-developed city. The streets seemed to be even more crowded than Poliana remembered. She decided to go to the royal castle immediately. She wanted to see the emperor right away, which was why she even bathed in the previous village.

Only

Suddenly, Poliana saw a large crowd in the city center. It seemed that there was an outdoor theater going on. An actress holding a sword caught Poliana’s eyes. Was it a story about a knightess? Poliana knew a few of them and feeling curious, Poliana stopped her horse.

As she watched, Poliana gaped. She grabbed Sir Donau and stammered, “Donau… That looks like… Could it be…”

“I think you are right, Sis.”

Any story that gets re-enacted in the city center has to be something that is wildly popular. Most likely, every poet in the kingdom was singing about this story. It had to be the biggest tale that everyone in the city wants to watch in a theater.

Poliana and Sir Donau found a few Yapa bards and asked about it, and quickly, they learned that their suspicion was correct. Everyone in Yapa was talking about the love story between the emperor and his knightess.

The story went like this. The emperor and the knightess meet as enemies but the knightess swears her loyalty to the emperor because she sees him as the true ruler of the world. During the war, the emperor falls in love with the knightess. Their relationship continues to be platonic, but the emperor begins to see his knightess as a woman. The emperor suffers from heartache and in the end, he confesses his love to the knightess, who accepts his proposal.

The bards and the poets claimed that this story was fictional, but anyone who heard it could easily figure out the truth. It was obvious that the story was about Lucius the First and Poliana Winter.