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“Sir Rabi put it on him, very cute.”

“Cute? You need to get your eyes checked, Sir Pol! A cute animal, by definition, should be furry. I hate snakes and any other kind of reptiles.”

“Oh, on the topic of Sir Rabi…” Poliana leaned towards the emperor to whisper secretively, “something crazy is going on with him.”

“Crazy? What is it?”

“I just witnessed it myself, your highness, and it is…”

What she heard between Sirs Rabi and Baufallo was so exciting that she desperately wanted to tell someone. It was such a sensitive subject that she knew she shouldn’t share it with anyone, except for one person. And that person was sitting right in front of her.

Lucius the First! Any high-ranking nobles needed to get permission from the emperor for their children to get married. If they didn’t, these marriages weren’t considered blessed by the royalty, which could result in loss of wealth and nobility.

“I think Sirs Rabi and Baufallo are planning to become in-laws.”

Lucius the First gasped and covered his mouth in shock, it was indeed big news. The two gossiped like old ladies outing on a brunch date. Juicy gossip was the best snack when drinking.

Nobles’ arranged marriage could be categorized as either strategic or contractual. The Bika family held a dukedom while Sir Baufallo’s family held a knighthood only. If Sir Rabi’s daughters married Sirs Donau and Howe, they would lose their noble ranks but of course, Sir Rabi was thinking ahead.

Lucius the First nodded in understanding. After this war, the nobles were going to receive even higher ranks and lands, while those without ranks were going to become newly honored aristocrats.

This was not a risky gamble for Sir Rabi. In addition, he knew Sir Donau and Howe very well. They were fine young men, and it was better to focus on these qualities than some random noble gentlemen who could be horrible human beings.

As Poliana and Lucius the First continued to chat, the topic of her own marriage came up. Poliana told him what Sir Donau suggested, which was for her to find a very understanding man and marry him. Lucius the First nodded because he agreed.

“Yes, if you can, you should get married.”

“But your highness, under the Acreian law, a woman cannot be a knight. This means my current status is barely tolerated, but if I get married on top of it all…”

“You are mistaken, Sir Pol. The law does not state a woman cannot be a knight. We just assumed that it was not possible.”

The reality for women could be harsh. Just as a man could not bear a child, everyone assumed and believed that a woman could not be a proper knight. But just as he stated, there was no specific law that said it was forbidden.

This meant that even after she got married, as long as her husband was ok with it, Poliana could remain a knight. The emperor hoped that this would be the case.

“Yes, indeed you should get married if you find a good man.”

A good man… Now, where was Poliana going to find a good man who was stupid enough to marry her? And if there was such a man, the right thing to do was to find him a proper woman.

She still didn’t feel like marriage was the right thing for her, but if she did get married… She didn’t want an idiotic husband.

“I don’t plan on getting married, your highness.”

“Why not?”

“If I get married, I need to take on my husband’s family name, don’t I?”

In Aehasian law, if a noblewoman married a commoner, the man had to take on the woman’s last name. Poliana thought there would be a similar law in Acreia, but she was wrong. In Acreia, only a man could inherit the family name, wealth, and rank. If a nobleman only had daughters, he needed to adopt a male relative and appoint him as their heir.

Poliana gave up her given family name and gained a new one from Lucius the First. It happened on that fateful winter day.

Poliana Winter.

It was the day when she was reborn. The day she got a brand-new life. If a marriage meant she would lose this name… She couldn’t even think about it without shivering.

Lucius the First replied firmly, “As long as you don’t marry the first-born son, you are ok to keep your own maiden name.” He seemed certain that this would not be a problem. The emperor then added, “If you bring me whoever you want to marry, I will convince him to let you keep your name.”

Poliana felt so blessed to have such a kind understanding emperor. She emptied her cup slowly. The drink tasted so much sweeter than usual.

They continued to chat about this and that. Serious topics, jokes, about people around them… Lucius the First felt proud of himself for acting normally around his knight even after walking on her when she was naked. It was a sign that he was a great man who treated her knightess as a human, not simply as a woman.

As they talked, the topic of Poliana’s infertility came up. The emperor put on a serious face and talked as if he was a proper healer.

“I feel strange asking you this question, Sir Pol, but I need to in order to know more about your condition. Have you had an unpleasant sexual experience in the past…?”

“You can just ask me if I have done it before or not.”

“Isn’t that too direct and rude?”

“But when we first met, you asked me if I was a virgin.”

“That is not the same thing!”

“And you also ordered a decent looking man to take my virginity so you could kill me.”

“Oh, come on!”

The emperor reached to cover her mouth. A ruler wasn’t supposed to apologize, but he knew what he did to her was absolutely wrong. And… walking on her tonight was also very wrong. He knew better than that. He had to apologize.

Why did he keep making mistakes around Poliana?

“Sir Pol, I was wrong. I apologize for what I did back then. At the time, I didn’t see you as a proper knight. I just thought you were some random woman who was pretending to be a knight.”

This was the second time the emperor apologized to her, and Poliana felt indifferent. She also was not angry or upset at Lucius the First.

The emperor emptied his cup because he felt a burning thirst. Poliana thought that since they were on the topic, she might as well tell him everything.

“When I was younger and still in the Aehasian army, there was an awful knight named Sir Batre. He was a decent strategist, and he had a very strange idea of being fair…”

As he heard the story, Lucius the First became pale. When she was done, the emperor covered his face with both of his hands and shook his head. Worried, Poliana reached out and asked, “Are you ok, your highness? Have you drunk too much?”

“No… I…”

Lucius the First sighed deeply and explained, “I am sorry, Sir Pol. I made you remember a very unpleasant memory. As an emperor, I shouldn’t be apologizing, but I keep making mistakes that force me to apologize to you.”

“There is no need to apologize to me, your highness.”

“Yes, I do. I made you remember something awful. I did something horrible to you when we first met. I keep mistreating you even though that is not my intention at all.”

Only

“Not at all, your highness. You have no reason to apologize to me, and even if you do, there is no need for you to say sorry. You are my emperor and I don’t care what you do to me. You can abandon me, use me, or even kill me. I wouldn’t mind it at all.”

Poliana stood up and kneeled in front of him. Lucius the First no longer felt drunk. Whenever his knights kneeled in front of him and swore their loyalty, he would always feel this heavy weight of burden and responsibility. He knew he had to repay them with everything he had.

Lucius the First didn’t want to disappoint them. He wanted to become a truly good emperor for them all.

Poliana added, “You are the one who will become the one and only emperor of this continent. If you will allow me, I will stay by your side as your knight, Poliana Winter.”

How could he ever repay her for her unconditional loyalty?

Lucius the First smiled uneasily but happily. He helped her up and offered her more drinks. The night no longer felt worrisome to him. He felt like he could fall asleep with a smile now.

If anyone asked him what was the greatest asset he gained from this war, he knew he could answer with complete confidence that…

…it was his loyal knight, Sir Poliana Winter.