The Emperor and the Knightess

“What was going on here?”

The royal guards were divided into two groups and they were fighting. Sir Jainno couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“You idiot!”

Poliana screamed as well, “Everyone freeze!”

Her husky piercing voice was enough for everyone to pause. They were too furious to realize the consequences of their fight, but now that Poliana was here, they froze in fear.

This was very bad.

Some of the knights tried to explain their situation to her, but Poliana didn’t even give them a chance. With the leather glove still in her hand, she began to slap them one by one.

Slap! Slap!

The loud painful noise that came around them made everyone flinch. Poliana then ordered, “Everyone involved in this fight will be arrested and sent to the prison immediately. I’ll get myself a detailed report about this incident later.”

No one protested. The men involved knew what they did was wrong, so they lowered their heads in shame and lined up to walk into the jail cell. Sir Jainno kicked them one by one in annoyance, but he froze when Poliana said to him, “You too, Sir Jainno.”

“… Are you talking to me, Sir Poliana?”

“Yes, you bastard.” Poliana continued to glare at him, daring him to protest. If he did, she was ready to kick him in the crotch.

Sir Jainno was smart, however, he saluted her and replied, “Yes, Sir Poliana. Right away!” He glanced at her hand, which was still holding his leather glove. When Poliana threw it at his face, it fell to the ground and without a word, Sir Jainno picked it up.

Sir Jainno looked apologetic and guilty, which was enough to make her feel less angry. Poliana turned around and asked one of the guards where Sir Wook was.

“Sir Wook went to work his shift. He is guarding the emperor right now!”

“Alright. Now, you know where Sir Ainno is, right? Go tell him I have a favor to ask. Once you relay the message, you will go to the jail cell as well.”

The knight’s eyes wavered. “M-me too?”

This was the knight who reported the fight to Poliana immediately after it broke out, so he couldn’t understand why he had to be jailed as well.

When he looked at her in confusion, Poliana said to him coldly, “This is the military, you’re in a single unit. One soldier’s mistake will cost everyone in the unit to be punished.”

‘Dammit!’

The knight frowned and ran to find Sir Ainno.

***

One-third of the royal guards were in prison now. Even Sir Ainno was shocked to hear it.

“I didn’t mean that she should send everyone to jail… Did she misunderstand me or something?” Sir Ainno became worried that perhaps Poliana thought he meant her to be this crazy and hard on the guards. All he wanted her to do was to get a better grip over the division. When he heard his own brother was in jail, Sir Ainno didn’t react much.

‘Oh well, going to jail isn’t that big of a deal anyway.’

To Sir Ainno, all the other knights looked weak and soft. To him, Poliana actually behaved tougher than his own brother Sir Jainno. Sir Poliana was the head of the royal guards. There was no question about it, and Sir Ainno had no complaints against her.

When one of her men came to him with a message, Sir Ainno visited Poliana and asked, “What kind of favor?”

“I was hoping you could work as the emperor’s personal guard for a little while.”

Sir Ainno agreed to do it without hesitation. He was the leader of the new knight’s order, but this was still an unofficial unit. Everyone in the order including Sir Ainno didn’t have much to do.

A soldier needed to always be busy, Sir Ainno was glad to finally find something that he could do.

***

Poliana ordered every single guard, even the ones that weren’t involved in the fight, to be imprisoned. The good-looking young noblemen entered the jail cell in a single file with a confused frown on their faces. The other soldiers and knights came to watch them as this was a very unusual occurrence.

“Sir Poliana, we don’t have enough room in this jail to accommodate all the royal guards…”

“Then start digging.”

One basic principle of any military unit was self-sufficiency. If they lacked something, all they had to do was make it. This was the most important notion in the military supply division, and it was taught very well to Poliana by Sir Baufallo.

If they didn’t have enough room in the jail, all they had to do was make another jail.

An underground prison.

The guards began to dig a hole to create their own jail cells. Was this a living hell?

Poliana didn’t question the guards right away. Instead, she gave them some time to reflect on their behaviors.

They were given three days, and during this time, they were given the bare minimum to eat. They also weren’t given much time to rest as they were ordered to dig their own jail cells. They slept in the cold and discomfort.

After three days, the first thing Poliana did was give them proper meals. Then, she allowed them to report to her about the details of what happened three days ago.

“So what was that fight about? What happened?”

Each guard stood in front of Poliana and reported individually and privately. Afterward, they were ordered to decide if they deserved to be punished. Whoever said yes were sent back to jail.

Poliana announced to them, “Those who do not think they are guilty of anything don’t have to go back to jail. Even if I find out you were lying and you were actually guilty, I won’t put you back in the cell. I will count on your honesty.”

Most confessed that they were guilty and returned to jail. Poliana got them to stay at the regular jail rather than the underground one. After listening to about twenty guards, Poliana figured out what happened that day.

When Poliana, Sir Wook, and Sir Jainno left after reprimanding the guards, the guards decided to go for a drink. While they drank, the men began to talk about women as usual. They also talked about Poliana and the jokes began.

“Gosh, Sir Poliana has quite a temper, doesn’t she?”

“Well, she is a spinster, after all. She is definitely a fierce one!”

“I know! She can be a real b*tch!”

Some of them began to tease those who offered to marry her out of pity. These guards who proposed to her shook their heads, claiming that it was a mistake. Then suddenly, Sir Navkin commented, “But it might not be the worst idea. I mean, she is the boss of all of us, but if she becomes my wife, I would become her boss as soon as we go home at night.”

Sir Navkin should’ve stopped right here, but he continued, “Maybe I should really propose to her, right? I can f*ck her while she moans my name every night.”

His inappropriate joke made everyone freeze. Before someone could protest, Donau moved quickly and without a warning, he punched Sir Navkin’s face with all of his strength.

Sir Navkin kicked Donau in response. Donau ended up falling on the ground, taking two knights with him as he collapsed.

The other guards protested to Sir Navkin, “What the hell! What was that for?”

“Sir Donau hit me first! You all saw it!”

“But that was because your words were unacceptable, Sir Navkin!”

The guards quickly divided into two groups. One that believed Sir Navkin’s joke was unforgivable and the other that claimed it was wrong for Sir Donau to punch Sir Navkin like that.

Only

Donau quickly stood up and slammed himself against Sir Navkin. This was how the fight began. At first, there were two clear groups, but within a few seconds, it became an unorganized and confusing brawl.

When it was Sir Navkin’s turn to report to Poliana, he couldn’t look her in the eyes. Poliana shook her head.

‘Stupid boy.’

If he couldn’t even face her like a man, why did he bother making such a ridiculous joke? When Sir Navkin offered to stay in jail indefinitely, Poliana agreed and sent him back for now.

And when it was Donau’s turn, Poliana studied him quietly. It was clear that Donau was in a worse condition than Sir Navkin. It made sense because Sir Navkin was bigger, stronger, and older. He had much more experience than Donau.

Sir Donau limped towards Poliana, making her upset. His eyes were black and blue and the rest of his face wasn’t in much better condition. He also lost a canine, making him look ridiculous every time he opened his mouth. He was covered in blood.

Poliana then ordered him, “Tell me what happened in your own words.”