The Emperor and the Knightess

Chapter 7

It took many days for the Acreian soldiers to capture Poliana. She had no idea if her men survived and at this point, there was nothing more that she could do for them.

As she was captured, she pretended to resist and waited for a sword or an arrow to kill her, but it seemed that the soldiers were given an order to capture her alive because all they did was to bind her with a rope.

“Did we get the right guy?”

“Yes, look at that helmet. It’s him.”

“Exactly. I’m sure it’s the guy we have been looking for, the guy who has been evading us for such a long time.”

They forced Poliana to kneel on the ground. One knight tapped her helmet and asked, “What is your name?”

“Just kill me.”

Thanks to yelling and screaming all those years during the war, her voice was rough. It sounded especially manly because she was still wearing her helmet.

The knight didn’t reply and turned around. It was clear that she was to be captured alive.

Poliana was dragged to her own military base, which was now completely taken over by the Acreian force. It was impossible to tell what had happened to her own people. Poliana was thrown onto the ground in front of the commander’s tent. Because of her armor, her fall made a dull sound. One knight then ordered, “Kneel!”

It seemed that she was to meet a rather high-ranking officer since her arms were bound behind, and because of her heavy armor, it was very difficult for her to move. She pushed herself up using all the strength she had left and as she struggled, she swore that she would swear at whoever was standing in front of her. But as soon as she laid her eyes on him, she froze.

‘So… beautiful.’

Poliana’s stepsister insisted on calling her light brown hair golden. In certain lights, it did shine, so at the time, Poliana agreed that Liana could be called a blonde. Her hair was her pride and joy, but if Liana saw this man who stood in front of her right now, she would have wept in shame.

Under the winter sun, the man’s hair shone like white gold and his face… He was the most gorgeous man Poliana had ever met in her life.

Suddenly, she realized who this was and she remembered the rumor of the new Acreian emperor who was supposedly a very handsome young man.

She assumed that it was an exaggeration, but it turned out that it was a complete and utter truth.

‘Well, at least I get to see something very pretty before I die.’

Her eyes feasted on such a beauty. He still had an aura of a man in him, making his face look unisexual but it wasn’t masculine or feminine either. Poliana was sure that he would get his dose of masculine magnificence once he matures but unfortunately, she would never get to witness it.

Because she was going to die today. Right here, right now.

Somehow, she felt like this was a fine time for her to die. She got to see a beautiful person and that was more than what she expected to see today.

At the emperor’s gesture, a knight took Poliana’s helmet off from her head. She was staring at the beautiful man when suddenly, she realized that she needed to smarten up. If they found out she was a woman…

But thankfully, she was no beauty. She wasn’t even feminine by any means, especially with her very short hair. No one noticed anything strange.

The emperor asked, “What is your name?”

“….”

She knew that her face wouldn’t give anything away, but her voice might. She remained quiet. The knight who took her helmet away then slapped her face for her insolence, making her cough out blood.

“Where are your men?”

“….”

The knight was about to slap her again, but the emperor stopped him. He continued calmly, “You evaded my men many times, and now, you get captured all alone… Did you send your soldiers to the capital for help? Because that would’ve been useless. It’s all over now. My men have taken your kingdom.”

‘So it really happened…’

She expected this, but now that it really happened, she felt devastated. It appeared that Acreia had been planning this for a very long time, and Aehas had been stupid and naïve.

When Poliana looked down, the knight who slapped her forced her to look up again. Now that she saw him more clearly, she could see that this knight was no average soldier. The armor and the cloak he was wearing were all of high quality.

So why did the emperor send such a high-ranking soldier to capture her?

“Or did you help your men escape for their lives?” The emperor continued.

“….”

The emperor was smiling as if he knew everything already. Poliana looked down again and this time, the knight didn’t force her to look up. The emperor laughed, making her clench her teeth since she couldn’t understand why he seemed so happy. Why was he laughing? She felt a sudden fear of it. She was ready for her death, but now that it was really about to happen, she couldn’t help it.

“I’m impressed. Very inspiring. I would like to know the name of such an extraordinary knight, so tell me your name.”

Poliana almost sighed in relief. It seemed that the emperor liked Poliana. She wasn’t so naïve that she expected him to spare her life, but perhaps he would let her die honorably as a knight.

She expected him to kill her in her armor and send her body to her home. This was what she wanted.

Lowering her voice as much as possible, Poliana replied, “Paul… Cranbell…”

“Paul, Sir Paul.”

The emperor smiled and Poliana felt blinded by his beauty.

He was such a magnificent man.

The knight asked the emperor, “Your highness, what would you like to do?”

Poliana tensed and waited for the answer. Was she finally going to face her death?

“Don’t you think it would be such a waste to kill him?”

“Then would you like us to release him?”

“Hmm… that would be a shame as well…”

“Then…”

Suddenly, Poliana bowed deeply and begged, “Please kill me.”

The knight, angry that she interrupted their conversation, kicked her. “How dare you!”

Then suddenly, the emperor yelled, “Ainno!” He stood up from his chair and to her shock, the emperor walked towards her.

Why couldn’t he just kill her and get it over with?

Poliana kneeled again and when she looked up, the emperor was standing right in front of her. She felt breathless after seeing his face up close.

While she gaped, the emperor asked, “Now, how about you become my kni…”

He seemed like he was in a good mood, but as he looked at her face, the emperor suddenly frowned. His sharp green eyes studied her and he took a step back.

“Could it be.. that you are a woman?”

‘Oh no! I’ve been found.’

Poliana closed her eyes tight. She certainly didn’t look like a woman, so how did the emperor figure it out? As soon as he blurted those words, everyone around them gasped in shock. Some thought the emperor was joking but when they saw Poliana’s reaction, they realized that it was true.

“It’s a woman?”

The soldiers started to mock her and her country for sending a woman to fight. They continued harshly as they talked about her appearance.

“A woman can’t be a knight! She must be a real knight’s mistress or something!”

“Or a prostitute wearing an armor!”

“But look at her! How could someone who looks so ugly seduce a man?”

“She must be a clown or a jester! Someone sent her to the bases to make the soldiers laugh!”

“Sending a woman to war? The men of Aehas must’ve been all cowards! Such losers!”

“If I was a woman born with her face, I would’ve killed myself.”

Only

Ugly words surrounded her but she was so used to it that she didn’t even flinch.

This was nothing.

She didn’t care about what they thought or how they felt about her and her country. What Poliana wanted to know was her fate.

What was going to happen to her?

The Acreian emperor appeared to have lost interest in her because he turned around and walked towards his tent. Did this mean that her fate now rests on the knight named Ainno?

When Poliana glanced at the knight, she realized that he was glaring at her coldly. She knew that other countries did not look kindly on women fighting in battles. In fact, they saw it as an insult. It was only her country, Aehas, that allowed it.

The emperor was about to enter his tent when suddenly, he turned towards her and asked, “By the way, are you still a virgin?”