The Emperor and the Knightess - Chapter 113

“We love it!”

In the world of aristocrats, there was no such thing as dating or love marriage. All marriages were arranged by the parents. Poliana thought it would be best for the twins to hear only about the positive aspects of the boys, and it seemed that Poliana’s plan was working. The girls seemed happy about the possibility of getting married to Sir Howe and Donau.

Of course, the bigger the expectation was, the bigger the disappointment was going to be, but fortunately, the Ribo brothers were genuinely outstanding people. Poliana was certain that Sir Howe and Donau would not disappoint the Bika twins.

Poliana was having a nice chat with the twins when a maid entered and announced that there was a guest for her. Poliana nodded, realizing that it was about time for her to receive Sir Wook’s daily report through a messenger.

‘Just how long do I have to take a break like this… When can I go back to work?’

Sir Rabi was as busy as ever nowadays. Even the knights who were staying in the guesthouse left one by one as they received new postings. Either they moved down south or they were assigned to a new position in the capital. There were only a few men left in the guesthouse now.

Donau and Sir Howe both received good titles. Poliana saw them looking excited and proud. They returned home recently, and they promised that once their relatives were gone and their house was empty, they would invite Poliana there.

Everyone was busy except Poliana. She was on an indefinite vacation, but at least, she got a report from Sir Wook every day, which kept her in the loop. Based on what she heard from Donau, it sounded like everything was going ok at the royal castle. She was told that Lucius the First was even busier than Sir Rabi. He was so busy that Donau rarely saw him nowadays. Apparently, Duke Luzo was more overworked than before, and he was often seen crying.

Because he was still unmarried, and he also didn’t seem to be in a hurry to find a wife, there was also a rumor that Duke Luzo might be more interested in men than women.

‘It must be hard to be a man too.’

When a woman wasn’t married by the time she turned 30, people would assume that something was wrong with her. A woman over 30 was not expected to get married, so there was no point in nagging her about it, but it was different for men. In a way, a woman became free of strange rumors once she was labeled a spinster, but not for a man. For men, until they got married, people refused to stop speculating the reasons why they weren’t married yet.

Poliana shook her head.

‘People are so strange.’

Sir Rabi assigned a quiet room for Poliana’s use. She always received the messenger in this room. When she entered, she saw that the messenger was already here. He was wearing a helmet and the blue guard’s uniform.

Poliana stopped when she saw the man. His body and the way he stood seemed too familiar.

‘Who is this?’

What bothered Poliana the most was the way this man behaved in front of her. The fact that he was wearing the blue uniform meant he had to be her subordinate, yet he didn’t salute her. He didn’t even straighten up or introduce himself.

Poliana decided that when she returned to her post, she needed to retrain all of her men again.

‘I can’t believe that the guards have relaxed this much since I’ve been away.’

The war may be over, but a soldier needed to always act like a soldier. This was bad.

Poliana ordered coldly, “Straighten up.”

“…”

“Introduce yourself.”

“…”

The guard in the helmet remained quiet. Poliana couldn’t believe what was happening. Was this guard purposely disrespecting her? If so, the best medicine she could give to him was a kick in the nuts. Poliana clenched her fists and got ready.

But then… Something didn’t feel right. This man looked oddly familiar, so Poliana stopped herself. Although he looked familiar, he also looked very strange in the blue uniform.

Perhaps he was Sir Jainno’s guard, in which case it made sense that he didn’t recognize her. In fact, maybe this man was shocked and confused to see a random strange woman walk in and order him around.

Yes, that made sense. It was especially plausible since Poliana wasn’t wearing her military uniform. She was wearing a woman’s gown, so the messenger probably thought that she was some mad woman.

‘But even then… He would’ve been told what to expect before being sent here… that I was a woman… Hmm… He must be a little slow.’

Not the sharpest tool in the toolbox… Poliana shook her head sadly. With all the patience she could muster, Poliana introduced herself, “I am his highness Lucius the First’s head of the royal guard division. My name is Poliana Winter. Now, tell me your name. I will count to three and if you refuse to answer me again, I will have no choice but to punish you as your superior. One, two, three…”

“W, wait! Wait! It’s me.”

Even his voice sounded familiar, but because of his helmet, the sound was muffled and Poliana couldn’t be sure.

“I don’t have a man named ‘Me.’”

“It’s your emperor.”

The man finally took his helmet off. His beautiful blond hair fell out and his gorgeous face was revealed. A pair of amazing green eyes looked at Poliana intensely. As soon as she realized who it was, her eyes widened.

The most beautiful man in the world…

Lucius the First.

Her one and only emperor was here, standing in front of her.