The Emperor and the Knightess

“It is the biggest in the northern region but apparently, there is an even bigger one in the southern part of the continent.”

“Dammit. If we can’t even cross this one, how are we going to cross THAT?”

“It is supposed to be a very calm river, easy to cross with a boat. There is even a rumor that people have swimming competitions in it,” Poliana explained, and Donau shook his head in disbelief.

They decided to do more digging back in the village. On their way, they asked the same questions to everyone they saw, which were mostly farmers. They received the same answers every time.

Poliana saw a few farmers weeding a piece of steep land, which she found odd since there were plenty of flat lands nearby. She then asked, “That flat land over there, is it not our land? Why is it not being used for farming?”

“Oh, my good sir, that land is full of rocks.”

The farmer waved his hands. “The entire area over there is made up of rocks. It’s a useless piece of land.”

The farmer pointed at the land all the way to the river. Poliana followed his hand thoughtfully. Was there an answer here somewhere? She didn’t want to be disappointed again, so she stopped herself from becoming hopeful. All that she could do was continue her search.

Poliana called out to Donau. When they began to go towards the river, the farmer shouted, “Please don’t go into the river! There are many who drowned in that area!”

Hearing this, Poliana began to feel even more certain. She got onto the horse and Donau followed from behind, grumbling along the way. Soon, they arrived at the river. The current was strong, but not so rough that it brought down rocks and twigs as it did before. The water was also clearer.

Poliana checked the shallow area by stabbing it with her dagger. She heard a thud, pointing out that she had hit something hard.

It has got to be somewhere near here,” she murmured.

“Where the kelpie crossed? But if we tried to cross it right now on a horse, we will both die.”

Donau didn’t seem convinced. She then pointed him at the bottom of the river and explained, “This area right here, the ground feels different. It’s basically a giant piece of rock, but do you see that area where the whirlpool is? The ground must be softer there. I will bet that those people who died here got drowned in that area. The current is too strong in that spot.”

“So it means we can’t cross it on a horse.”

Poliana nodded and replied, “Because it’s still summer.”

“So what are you proposing?”

“Before we begin making plans, we better make sure.”

She then began to undress, making Donau’s eyes widen in shock. He screamed and covered his eyes like a blushing schoolgirl.

“What the hell! You are shameless, b*tch!”

“It’s nothing you haven’t seen before, so what’s the matter?”

“When did I ever see you like that?!”

“Oh, weren’t you there when it happened?”

Poliana assumed that every man in their camp had seen her on the day she fought her way out of captivity. She thought that everyone saw her naked that day.

Poliana took off her armor and her clothes, and she was left with only her sleeveless top and thin pants. Donau stared as she took her leather military boots off. He seemed embarrassed at first, but now, his eyes never left her.

Poliana considered taking her top off as well, but she decided against it.

“So why are you suddenly taking your clothes off?” Donau asked.

“I obviously need to go in.”

“Do you even know how to swim?”

“You Acreians… You think everyone in the world is like you guys.”

Donau finally nodded and took her clothes. He saw that Poliana’s skin was covered in old scars and discolorations from her various injuries. Hearing about her 6-year military service could be ignored but seeing the proof of it on her skin was different. When Poliana began to walk towards the river, Donau jumped in shock.

“You are going to go in just like that? Shouldn’t you tie yourself to something just in case?”

“Hmm…. You’re right. The current is pretty strong.”

They took out the rope they brought and tied it around Poliana’s waist. The other end was tied to a horse, not Donau, who could not swim at all.

As he tied the rope to the horse, Donau gritted his teeth. He swore to himself, ‘I will make sure I learn how to swim.’

He didn’t like Poliana at all, but to have a woman take her clothes off to swim because he couldn’t… It was such a shameful and embarrassing moment for him.

Ignorant of what Donau was thinking, Poliana placed her feet into the river. It wasn’t too cold, but the current was very strong. After checking one more time that the rope was tied well around her, she began to walk towards the middle of the river.

The water only reached her knees, but it already made it hard for her to walk. At one point, she almost fell, making her frown. As she got closer to the middle, it became harder and harder, and she almost fell a few times. Meanwhile, Donau made sure that no Bebero soldiers were spotted on the other side. Thankfully, this wasn’t an area that was heavily populated on either side of the river.

When the water got deep enough, Poliana dove in to check the bottom of the river. Afterward, she walked out safely with help from the horse.

She was panting heavily by the time she reached the land. Donau threw a dry towel on top of her. She wiped herself slowly. They only had one towel and it wasn’t enough, but she had to make do. As Donau watched her wipe her shaved head, he asked, “Why do you cut your hair so short?”

“My hair grows too fast, and I hate washing my hair. When it’s short like this, it’s so easy to clean it. I just have to wash it when I wash my face.”

“My god, you are so lazy. Definitely not a woman.”

Poliana laughed at Donau’s exasperated tone. When she was done drying herself, Donau came towards her and took the wet towel for her. She looked up at him in confusion. Why was he being so helpful?

Donau, acting grown-up like then replied, “Sir Poliana, I apologize for acting disrespectful towards you.”

“Hmm… You are being too nice… Could it be… that you were going to kill me by cutting the rope when I was in the river, but I came out too fast? And now you feel guilty?”

“Gosh! I am trying to apologize to you! I said I’m sorry! I was wrong, alright? I admit it!!”

“Hmm… You don’t sound too apologetic or respectful right now.”

“… Sorry.”

Donau hung the wet towel on the nearby tree branch. Someday very soon, Poliana knew that Donau would be able to beat her, and sometime after that, he would be able to beat her without even trying. But to become a true knight, winning alone wasn’t enough.

Only

For the emperor and for the kingdom, Poliana was doing everything she could think of to help, and Donau was slowly realizing her true worth. After seeing her body, he could no longer disrespect her, at least not as a soldier.

When he saw her without any clothes, what he mostly felt was sadness, sympathy, and respect. So many scars covered her body, and Donau could tell what kind of life she must have led as a knight for the past 6 years. If it was him… Donau wasn’t sure if he could have survived those 6 years.

She was definitely not a woman. Donau thought this, but it wasn’t a criticism. He announced to her, “His highness will become the true emperor of the entire world.”

“I agree.”

“That means he will be surrounded by many different kinds of people.”

“Of course.”

“So having an ass of a knightess probably won’t make any differences.”

It seemed that Donau has been thinking about this for a long time. He was growing up fast. Suddenly, Poliana realized that he was much taller than when she first met him. He was much smaller than her but now, he was about the same height as her. Soon, he was going to be taller and he would go places, leaving her behind. Somehow, Poliana felt angry, envious, and a little proud all at the same time.