The Emperor and the Knightess

Chapter 33

“In Aehas, a nobleman cannot inherit his or her family name and wealth without serving in the military.”

“Then why didn’t you just ask for some land from his highness? Why did you follow him here?”

“I am his highness, Lucius the First’s knight. I don’t need to get permission from someone like you for anything.”

Poliana laid her head on her arms when suddenly, she thought of something. She said to Donau, “I guess it won’t be long until I can treat you this way. Soon, you will become a knight and since your family is favored by the emperor, you will most likely become promoted to an important position quickly. Perhaps you will even become my superior.”

All of Poliana’s colleagues were promoted faster than she did. Even those who were much younger than her received quicker and higher promotions than her. When she was given her position as a platoon leader, which was a minor promotion, the other men protested angrily against it.

There never was any true friendship between herself and any other men, but some odd times, some men showed comradery towards her. For example, when they were surrounded by the Acreian men, her Aehas soldiers followed her. One thing Poliana learned during her service was that no one was 100% good or bad. Bad men could show goodness sometimes and vice versa.

She remembered Sir Batre. He was a dirty old man and a rapist, but she had to admit that he was a talented strategist. In fact, he had never lost a battle he led personally.

And then, there was Donau, who was a total jerk and a bastard. To her, he was an as*hole, but to Sir Baufallo and his wife, he must be a treasured son, to Sir Howe, a beloved younger brother, and to the emperor, the youngest son of his trusted knight.

To Poliana’s surprise, Donau stammered, “I, in the military, the amount of time you served matters the most! E-even if I become your superior, I won’t be able to mistreat you!”

This was an unexpected answer from him. Poliana then wondered, ‘Hmm… where is this coming from?’

Was Donau finally becoming more mature? Or was he losing his mind?

Donau suddenly added, “Don’t fall in love with his highness.”

Poliana sat up in surprise. What the hell was this boy talking about?

SMACK!

She punched him in the shoulder and when he stood up in pain, she kicked him in the bum as well. She yelled, “What the hell are you talking about?”

“H-his highness is out of your reach. D-don’t even dream about falling for him! Do you have any idea what kind of an amazing man he is?”

“Of course, I know that.”

“And do you know how many women fall for him?”

KICK!

Poliana kicked him again. She punched his head as she answered, “Have you lost your mind? Or do you think I have? Do you really think his highness would see me as a woman?”

“No.”

“And do you truly believe that I would want him to?”

“You never know.”

“I am his highness’s knight. I will live and die as a knight. You have much more than I do, you have a well-to-do family that will give you a bright future so please, show me some kindness. You need to learn to be humble and generous for your own good.”

When Poliana glared at him, Donau didn’t say anything. She laid down on the floor again and added, “Besides, his highness told me that I am so ugly that he would rather take a dirty prostitute to bed than me. Let’s be honest here. Our emperor has eyes, just like we all do.”

Poliana was no beauty, but she never thought she looked that bad. So when Lucius the First told him this, it was such a shock to her. If he was an ugly man, it wouldn’t have hurt her so badly, but her emperor was the most beautiful man in the world.

Lucius the First was an incredibly important man and therefore, he did not lay with just any woman. There were plenty of prostitutes out there, but there was no need for him to take them because countless noblewomen would just throw themselves at him for the honor of it. Some kings preferred prostitutes, but Lucius First, who was unmarried and without an heir, made sure to stay far away from them. Or perhaps it was because he was superstitious.

Donau readjusted his body to find a comfortable position and again, he said, “Just remember not to fall in love with his highness.”

“…”

“Your life is bad enough that you don’t need that kind of trouble.”

“Idiot.”

“What?!”

“Just shut up.”

The next morning, Donau was still annoyed. He pouted and refused to say a word to her. Watching him acting like a child, Poliana could now see the resemblance between Donau and Sir Baufallo.

The village the old man told Poliana about was a bit bigger. It was closer to the river and it also had a decent dock. Men sat around fixing their nets and fishing rods. When the Acreian soldiers first conquered the kingdom, the villagers became covered with fear, but when they realized that they weren’t in any danger, the people relaxed quickly. They, in fact, were happy to have the foreign soldiers who would sometimes come to make a purchase.

When Poliana and Donau arrived, the villagers welcomed them happily. They claimed that they preferred the Acreian soldiers over the Aehas military, who forced their men to serve in the army.

Poliana and Donau sat down at the local restaurant where both food and alcohol were served. It was a good place to eat and also ask questions.

The restaurant owner announced, “Hello, sir knights! I should let you now that we don’t sell women here. If you are here for that, you should go across the street to that house with the wooden sign.”

Donau coughed as he blushed, but Poliana remained calm. It wasn’t a surprise that some soldiers visited the nearby villages to find a company of prostitutes.

Poliana shook her head and asked, “Is there a boat owner in this town with only one leg?”

“No, why?”

“It doesn’t have to be a boat owner. Any one-legged man around here?”

“No. There used to be one, but he died. And by the time he died, he was childless, so the other families took his boat. Wait! Do you have to pay taxes on something like that? Is that why you are here?”

The restaurant owner asked nervously. Poliana didn’t know the Acreian law very well so she turned towards Donau, wondering if he about it and to her surprise, he shook his head confidently.

“I am not here for the taxes. If that man had no offspring, then I would like to talk to whoever knew him well,” Poliana replied to the owner.

Only

The owner explained that unfortunately, the one-legged man died young. But at least, he died after his father passed away. The son never got married, and he left everything to those who worked for him. A handsome gravestone was placed on his grave.

Regrettably, no one really remembered much about his life and because he was a commoner, there wasn’t any public record of him either. The only other relevant person in this myth was the doctor, but if he was still alive, he must’ve been in Bebero.

All the information that the villagers could tell to Poliana was useless.

“Apparently, the kelpie crossed the river in a blink of an eye!”

“They say that it was such a sight!”

Leaving them behind, Poliana explored the area near the river. She checked with her map to make sure that everything was accurately recorded. And then, she remembered the story.

The father needed to get the doctor right away for his dying son, which meant that he had to cross the river not too far away. An hour or two at most from his house.

The spot he crossed the river couldn’t have been too far from where she was standing but even though she carefully explored the area, she couldn’t find anything useful.