The Emperor and the Knightess

Book 4.

Story 20. If you make trouble, I will take care of it

Chapter 259

Poliana and Lucius the First grabbed their things from the inn. It was getting late and the nearest town did not have an inn. This meant that they would have to travel to a farther village and if they wanted to get there before the sunset, they had to move fast.

The sun set fast in the mountainous areas. The villages in the area built walls around themselves for protection against wild animals as well as strangers. The entrance to the different towns closed at night.

The nobles could enter the villages even after the doors closed if they could prove their nobility. However, it was time-consuming to do this, so it was best to get to the town before it got too dark.

The emperor rode his horse quietly. It wasn’t just because he needed to ride fast; it was more because his companion was not interested in having a conversation. Lucius the First did not have to see Poliana know how upset she was. He could feel it on his skin.

When was the last time Poliana was this upset and defeated? Never. Lucius the First could not remember the time when Poliana wasn’t robust and confident. The emperor knew what he had to do first as soon as he returned to Yapa.

Revenge!

Poliana’s punishment for Frau was too mild. It was not even close to being enough to satisfy Lucius the First. He wanted to do much more, but the emperor needed to respect Poliana’s wishes. If he did something back in the village, it would’ve made Poliana look weak. If he punished Frau further in the future, this would also make Poliana look soft.

However, he could still punish others involved in this scheme. Thankfully, there were people back in Yapa he could hurt.

The Sneke family didn’t do anything to stop the marriage between Poliana and Frau even though they must’ve known the truth about Frau.

A decent nobleman would’ve let Poliana know what kind of man Frau was. After all, the Sneke family itself disowned Frau. However, Duke Sneke didn’t say a word. If someone from the Sneke family said something, would the situation have gotten this bad? It wouldn’t have been hard to let Poliana know. Just one word… That would’ve been more than enough.

‘I am going to make them regret it.’

Lucius the First gritted his teeth quietly. He could tell that his knightess was in pain and knowing how hard she must be trying to hide her sadness was killing him. He swore to himself that someone would pay for this.

Lucius the First’s emotions changed from anger to sadness over and over again. His face showed what he was feeling while Poliana’s expression remained emotionless. Knowing how much pain she must be going through… The emperor’s heart ached.

Poliana Winter has always been strong and confident. Even when she was about to be raped by the enemy soldiers, Poliana never gave up fighting. So to see her so defeated like this… It was hard to watch.

‘She must be extremely upset, which means…’

At this moment, who would be able to understand how Poliana felt? Just thinking about her made Lucius the First want to cry. He desperately wanted to hug her, but he stopped himself. He wasn’t sure about what he should do.

Should he hug her? Should he not?

While he contemplated, Poliana was feeling hopeless.

‘Dammit. I want to kill myself.’

The emperor was the most important person in the world to her. She always wanted to look good in his eyes, yet what happened today ruined everything. It made sense that she was suicidal. Of all people, why did something like this happen in front of his highness?

No one could be perfect all the time, but everyone wanted to look perfect in at least one person’s eyes in the world. To some, it could be their parents. To others, it could be their spouses. To Poliana, it was Lucius the First.

Her emperor took her in and changed her life forever. To him, Poliana wanted to always remain a good knight. Just like a child wanting to be praised, her motive was pure yet obsessive.

‘Sh*t… Should I just really kill myself?’

Poliana really wanted to die at this moment. She wanted to drown herself or hang herself. If she didn’t do something, Poliana suspected she might die from embarrassment.

Only yesterday, she was smiling and giggling while planning her wedding. Now, Poliana was humiliated about the small happiness and joy she felt for her future. Was she being punished because she desired something she didn’t deserve? Something that did not suit her?

Unable to endure the overwhelming humiliation, Poliana suddenly slapped herself.

Slap!

It was such a loud sound that Lucius the First jumped in shock.

“W-w-what was that?!”

“I’m sorry, your highness. I was falling asleep, so I slapped myself to wake up.”

“You are an excellent rider who can ride in your sleep, Sir Pol, so don’t ever do that again.”

“Yes, your highness!”

Poliana replied emphatically. The slap actually helped because she really did feel awake.

Only

‘What the heck am I thinking? Punishment? What punishment! F*ck it! It’s that bastard who conned me! I didn’t do anything wrong!’

Poliana gritted her teeth, and the emperor told her to stop or else she would hurt her teeth. He was right, of course. Poliana was missing a molar, which meant that she should take extra good care of her remaining teeth. But right now, she was so furious that she couldn’t help gritting her teeth again.

She has been wrong. She shouldn’t have to feel embarrassed. She wasn’t being punished for anything. The universe was on her side. Poliana realized this because first of all, she was Lucius the First’s knight. On top of it, she was a powerful noble. Power was justice and since she had all the power in the world, justice was whatever she decided it to be.

Poliana didn’t do anything wrong. All she wanted was justice and nothing more. But despite this truth, Poliana still couldn’t help feeling embarrassed. She has never been this humiliated in her life. It would’ve been less humiliating to enter the training hall naked. Poliana wondered, ‘Did highness feel like this that night?’

She remembered the night Lucius the First rejected her. It was after she returned from Nanaba. Sir Ainno explained that the emperor told her to leave because he didn’t want her to see him in distress. At the time, Poliana didn’t understand what this meant, but now she realized what Sir Ainno was talking about.

She understood perfectly because, at this very moment, Poliana wanted to reject Lucius the First! If she wasn’t the head of the Second Division… If she wasn’t the only guard present to protect the emperor… If there was just one more royal guard with them… She would’ve run away from Lucius the First.

It wouldn’t have been as bad if what happened today occurred in front of anyone else in the world. But of all people… She never wanted her emperor to see her humiliated like that. Of all people… Why did it have to happen in front of her emperor?