The Emperor and the Knightess

Panting heavily, Lucius the First added, “There is no doubt that he is trying to steal all of Pol’s wealth! He is going to use it all up! He is trying to use and corrupt my innocent naïve Pol!”

Sir Ainno replied calmly, “Your highness, Marquess Winter’s wealth is so great that it would be very difficult to ‘use it all up.’ You must know better than anyone since it was you who rewarded her. And as for her ‘innocence’ and ‘naivety…’ Your highness, since when has Sir Poliana ever been innocent and naïve? You know very well what a rough mouth she has. You’ve heard her talk with men, right?”

Love was a funny thing. Poliana was called the “witch” by many for a good reason, yet the emperor, who was in love with her, called her innocent. In the past, Sir Ainno wouldn’t have understood how the emperor felt, but now, he was in love himself as well; Sir Ainno could sympathize with Lucius the First.

The emperor continued to rant, “Why him? Of all the good-looking noblemen, why did she choose that ugly man? Is it because he is blackmailing him? Does he know her weakness somehow? No, that can’t be! My Pol is so perfect that she would never let any man hold something over her! Wait, is it because she just doesn’t know men very well? She doesn’t have any experience with good men, so maybe that’s it! Oh, that must be it!”

Lucius the First grabbed his head as if in pain and added, “This is all my fault! I should’ve let her mingle with young high-ranking noblemen!”

The emperor wasn’t making sense anymore. Sir Ainno smacked the back of his head again. How could Lucius the First think Poliana didn’t know men and that she didn’t have any experience with men? This was a woman who spent the last 15 years in the military! What was Lucius the First talking about when he said to “let her mingle with young high-ranking noblemen?” There was no way the emperor meant this.

Sir Ainno asked, “Do you really mean that?”

“My Pol is the greatest woman there is! So why is she wanting to marry a poor nobody like Frau? Why doesn’t she just date some good-looking men instead! It must be all because she doesn’t have any experience with men!”

To Sir Ainno, the emperor wasn’t making any sense, but Lucius the First was actually right about one thing. It was true that Poliana wasn’t used to men as “men.” Because no man has ever approached her with a love interest, Poliana didn’t know much about love and dating in general. It didn’t matter that she was surrounded by thousands of men for years. Most of them were married and none of them were interested in her as a woman.

She was a classic target for a gold digger. Someone who only knew about her work and nothing else in the world… She was a gold digger’s dream.

Although Lucius the First was right, Sir Ainno couldn’t accept this logic. First of all, Sir Ainno didn’t care; he didn’t know much about Poliana for a reason. Also, the way the emperor was acting looked more like a tantrum, not a rational argument.

But Sir Ainno was the emperor’s friend. He was also a fellow man in love, so Sir Ainno decided to think carefully about what to say. After a short silence, he decided that this whole situation was the emperor’s fault. Sir Ainno said to him, “She said she made this decision because she was lonely.”

“…”

“That night when she visited you and you screamed at her to leave… You should’ve taken your chance with her, your highness. She realized that she had no one. Most of her guards were married, which meant that she couldn’t just barge into their home and insist on getting drunk with her. She didn’t even have a dog, so Sir Poliana decided that she will get a husband. And since there was only one man who proposed to her so far, she decided on Frau. He was the only one available to her.”

Lucius the First blanked out. He remembered that night and his face crumpled into an ugly frown. He covered his face with both hands; he didn’t want even his friend to see his expression.

Sir Ainno asked quietly, “Why did you do that?”

He was genuinely curious. Sir Ainno’s question stabbed Lucius the First’s heart painfully. If it was Sir Ainno, he would’ve taken such a chance without hesitation. If he was alone with the woman he loved… If he thought he had even the slightest chance to make her willing to be his, Sir Ainno would’ve taken it. He didn’t care if it was the wrong thing to do; he didn’t care if she didn’t love him.

Lucius the First screamed his excuse, “Did you think I made her leave because I wanted to?!” He was still hiding his face with his hands as he continued, “At the time, one of my wives just passed away from giving birth to my daughter! How could I have used that occasion to take Pol as mine? On top of that, Pol was Rebecca’s friend! She was suffering just as I was, so if I tried anything, I meant that would’ve been using her sadness against her. I could never do something like that! It’s just wrong!”

“If it was me, I would’ve. I always will take whatever chance that I can get.”

Only

“That’s you, not me, Inno! I am not like you; you know that! If I was in your situation… If I was an heir to a dukedom and not the emperor, I would’ve taken my chance! As the emperor, if I forced her into my arms, I would make Pol unhappy. If I didn’t stop myself that night… What would’ve been the point of waiting for this long? Even if she accepted me that night, it would’ve been only from her pity towards me. It wouldn’t be worth it at all. As a man who respects her will, I could never do something like that to her!”

It was such a long excuse that made Sir Ainno sigh impatiently. His friend was too nice, too kind, and too weak sometimes. His emperor cared too much about his wives, who he married for a political reason. His ruler cared too much about the snake-like elders too. It was no wonder that Lucius the First cared greatly about Poliana’s feelings. She was the woman he loved after all. The emperor’s kindness was one of the reasons why his subjects were so loyal to him, but his caring nature was acting like a poison in his love life.

“Your highness… You have a problem.”

“What?”

“You’re being ridiculous.”

Lucius the First pulled out his sword and attacked Sir Ainno, who grabbed his hand and pushed the emperor down on the floor. Sir Ainno said to Lucius the First, “You’re an idiot.”

Tears rolled down the emperor’s eyes as he whispered, “I know, I know that I’m an idiot.”