The Emperor and the Knightess

Poliana sighed, she thought about punching the Ingreter brothers but decided against it. She was feeling pretty good because she saw Princess Luminae earlier.

Sir Aeke and Beke were both shocked that Poliana put on perfume. They never thought they would see the day when Poliana does something feminine like this. Poliana was the woman who kept her hair short because she was too lazy to wash her hair often. Until she became a royal guard, she used to wash herself only when absolutely necessary. Just like many soldiers, she used to believe that washing too often would increase the chance of getting caught by the enemy’s military dogs.

So to see Poliana wearing a perfume…

Sir Beke murmured in fear, “Sir Poliana… Could it be that you are very sick? Do you have an incurable illness or something?”

Sir Aeke asked, “Did Lady Rebecca’s will say you need to become more feminine?”

Sir Beke clapped as if in understanding, “Oh, that makes sense! Did Lady Rebecca give you her perfume as her last gift? Is that why you put it on? That’s it, right?”

The brothers seemed excited. Poliana tried her best to be patient, but she couldn’t help raising her fist, which shut the Ingreter brothers up.

Sir Beke finally whispered, “So… was the rumors true? We heard that you’re marrying Frau, who was kicked out from the Sneke family. The maids were talking and we didn’t believe them, but…”

The brothers stared at Poliana desperately. They prayed that the rumors weren’t true. Unfortunately, Poliana was really marrying Frau. She put her hand on her waist and replied, “It’s true. I will be marrying Frau Sneke.”

“But why?!”

“Why, Sir Poliana?! That man is a nobody; he isn’t even a knight!”

Sir Aeke and Sir Beke began to talk at once. They loudly nagged her and their reason for it was the same as everyone else’s.

“Sir Poliana, he isn’t good enough; his status doesn’t suit yours!”

“That’s right! You are Marquess Winter after all! Someone like him cannot marry you!”

“Sir Poliana! Why don’t you just marry one of the knights?!”

“Or at least a man who is good looking!”

“You can do so much better. He has no money, looks, and status.”

Poliana yelled, “Just stop!” She explained to them the reality of her situation. Poliana was 33 years old. She said that all of her colleagues were married with children, and pretty much most of the other noblemen that were slightly younger than her were also either married or engaged.

Those who weren’t married were either at least 10 years younger than her and Poliana refused to marry children. Those much older than her that might be interested in marrying her were widowed.

It was true that the continent was big and if she continued to search, she might find a better man that was more suitable for her. However, as she searched, she wasn’t going to get any younger. Poliana decided that it was time to compromise and this was the good time to do it. Unlike other ladies, Poliana had the right to choose her own life, so she was happy to do this.

Poliana was a powerful woman, and everywhere she went, people paid attention to her. This was especially the case nowadays because of the rumor of her marriage. Sir Ainno, who was walking far away from them, noticed Poliana and approached her. Sir Beke has been trying his best to avoid Sir Ainno, and when he noticed Sir Ainno, he quickly walked up to his boss and explained what he just heard. To Sir Beke’s shock, Sir Ainno replied, “I already know.”

Sir Ainno looked perfectly calm. He looked at Sir Beke coldly, making Sir Beke cringe a little. Sir Ainno also looked at Poliana coolly, making her yell at him, “Stop that!”

“What? What did I do? I didn’t say anything, Sir Poliana.”

“You were looking at me like you thought I wasn’t good enough. You made me feel bad!”

“Maybe that’s because you feel guilty because you have done something wrong, don’t you think so?”

Unfortunately, Sir Ainno was the best and the strongest knight of Acreia, which meant that Poliana couldn’t argue with him. She trembled angrily.

‘What a jerk.’

But she was partly glad to see him because she had been meaning to ask Sir Ainno for something. Poliana said to him, “By the way, I am sure you will fulfill your promise to me.”

“Promise? What promise?”

Sir Ainno asked in confusion. Poliana snorted, remembering the exact word Sir Ainno said to her before. She explained, “Don’t you remember telling me that you will be my groom’s best man at my wedding? I remember it very clearly, so thank you for your offer.”

Frau had the worst reputation among men, so Poliana knew that her future-husband had no one to stand by his side on their wedding day. She heard that Frau had no friends because any friends he had left him once he was kicked out from his family. Having the best knight of Acreia as his best man was going to only improve Frau’s reputation.

Sir Ainno looked at her unhappily.

‘At the time, I thought Lucius would end up winning her…’

Even if the emperor didn’t, Sir Ainno thought Lucius the First would never give his permission to Poliana to marry anyone else. Sir Ainno was only joking when he offered to be her groom’s best man, but now, it was too late. This was all because of his stupid friend.

Sir Ainno tried to back out, and Poliana refused to let him off. As they argued with each other, the Ingreter brothers grabbed them and exclaimed, “We have an idea, Sir Ainno! You must marry Sir Poliana, you must save her from marrying Frau Sneke!”

“That’s right, Sir Ainno! Just marry her for a year and then you can divorce her; this is a perfect plan!”

Sir Aeke and Sir Beke continued to insist that Poliana should marry Sir Ainno. They hated the idea of her marrying Frau and the more they talked, the bigger Poliana’s frown became.

Only

Of all people in the world, why would she willingly marry Sir Ainno?

Sir Ainno also had an ugly scowl on his face. Of all people, how could Cekel Ingreter’s own brothers tell him to marry someone other than their sister?

Only Lucius the First and Poliana knew about Sir Ainno’s proposal to Cekel Ingreter. Sir Ainno decided that this was a perfect time to announce this so that everyone could now. Then, Sir Ainno placed his arms around Sir Aeke and Sir Beke. He did it in a friendly manner, but his arms felt like a prison to the Ingreter brothers.

Sir Ainno said to them, “I have something to tell you.”

“B-boss? W-we’re sorry we said you should marry Sir Poliana. We will never say such a thing again.”

“T-that’s right, Sir Ainno, we’re Sorry. We won’t do it again, so please don’t hit us…”

With a scary smile, Sir Ainno said to the brothers, “In one year, I will be marrying Lady Cekel. We’re going to be family, my brothers. I hope we get along.”