The Emperor and the Knightess

The Bika twins expressed their sadness to Sir Deke regarding the recent passing of Lady Rebecca.

“Sir Pol told us she was a very kind lady. We were both very saddened by the news.”

“We are just glad that the princess is doing well at least.”

Sir Deke replied, “I am just happy to hear that you’ve delivered your babies safely. Everyone in Yapa was glad to hear about it.”

Everything seemed great in the south. Sir Deke was satisfied with what he saw. There was nothing that would worry the emperor here. Sir Deke was also pleased on a personal level. When he first heard about his friend, Donau’s marriage, he was worried because it seemed that Donau was being sold to Sir Rabi. Thankfully, Sir Donau looked very happy. It looked like their wives were the ones in control in their relationships, but both Sir Donau and Sir Howe seemed happy. Sir Deke never thought it would be possible for a man to be happy to live with a woman stronger willed than him, but in truth, it was very possible.

Both Sir Howe and Sir Donau also had a great relationship with their brother-in-law, Bardo. It was Bardo who approached his new brothers because he was so happy to finally have male siblings; they became best friends right after.

The conversation over dinner continued pleasantly and finally, the topic of Poliana was brought up.

Sir Donau mentioned, “Sir Pol must be out of her house by now.”

Sir Deke replied, “I only heard about her self-punishment after I left Yapa.”

Donau smiled bitterly because he knew very well how determined and serious his adopted sister could be. He said, “I was so shocked when we stopped receiving letters from her.”

Sir Baufallo added, “Of all people, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised Sir Pol would do something like this.”

Sir Rabi nodded in agreement. Sir Howe muttered, “I can guess what must’ve happened. I’ll bet his highness said whatever she did was perfectly fine, but she probably insisted on punishing herself. It’s an easy guess, knowing Sir Pol.”

“Well, her determination is also one of her strongest qualities.”

“She should’ve at least sent us a message to explain why she won’t be sending any more letters for a while.”

The Bika twins grumbled, “We were so worried when we didn’t hear from her after Lady Rebecca’s passing.” They looked genuinely upset and disappointed in Poliana, so the knights sitting around them shook their heads, explaining to them that it would have been strange for Poliana to explain her own punishment.

Donau asked Sir Deke for a favor, “When you get back to Yapa, can you deliver some gifts to Sir Pol?”

“Gifts?”

“It would be faster for you to deliver them than us sending them through a messenger.”

Sir Deke was confused. He tried to remember if he was missing something. Did something happen to Poliana?

‘Why is Sir Poliana getting gifts?’

Sir Deke assumed something must’ve happened while he was traveling all over the kingdom. He didn’t really care what happened since it sounded like whatever happened was something good. If Sir Donau, who lived in the south, knew about it, everyone in Yapa must’ve known about it by now. Although he didn’t care what happened, Sir Deke felt a little ashamed that he, the head of the Intelligence Unit, didn’t know about it. This was embarrassing.

Sir Deke asked, “Why? Did something happen? Did she get promoted? Is there any position higher than the head of the division? I didn’t know that.”

As far as Sir Deke knew, Poliana was at the highest level a knight could achieve. Suddenly, Vanessa interrupted him to answer, “We heard that she’s getting married. Sir Pol has been so kind and generous to us when we had our babies. We know there is no way for us to repay her, so we thought it would be a good idea to send her a small gift as quickly as possible.”

Vaxi added, “We would obviously love to attend her wedding, but I don’t think it will be possible.”

The twin sisters sighed in disappointment, and Sir Deke gasped.

‘Sir Pol is getting married? What?’

It wasn’t just Sir Deke who looked surprised. Other than the young couples on the table, everyone else seemed shocked, too.

“What? Sir Pol is getting married?”

“To who?”

“When did this happen? When did you get this news, Vanessa?”

Sir Rabi, Sir Baufallo, and Lady Bika’s eyes widened as they asked all at once, and Sir Donau answered them calmly. The letter from Poliana arrived that very morning. It was the first letter she sent since she went into her self-confinement, so when he saw it, Sir Donau opened it happily. Inside the envelope was a message that she was getting married.

Lady Bika exclaimed, “Oh my! Marquess Winter is getting married?!” She clapped in joy; her cheeks even flushed.

“Wow. Sir Pol is really going to marry someone?”

“Did the letter say who the groom is?”

“Yes. It is the fifth son of former Duke Sneke. His name is Frau Sneke; he’s a doctor, and he’s the same age as Sir Poliana.”

Sir Baufallo, Sir Rabi, and their wives frowned unhappily. It was clear that they did not approve of Poliana’s choice. They had the same reaction from most people in Yapa when they heard this news. Sir Baufallo and Sir Rabi both remembered Frau being kicked out from his family. They were also unhappy about his job as a doctor. The only thing they approved of was his age.

Sir Deke remembered his sister asking him to investigate Frau, so he was even more surprised. How did this happen?

‘When I get back to Yapa, I will have to find out what exactly happened.’

Only

Why would Sir Pol marry a man who was clearly after her money?

Sir Rabi announced quietly, “Frau Sneke is clearly not worthy of Sir Pol… I don’t like this at all, but if this is Sir Pol’s decision, I will have to respect it and congratulate her.”

Sir Baufallo shook his head slowly. In the past, he told the knightess that if she wanted to remain a knight, she should never get married, but time has changed. Now, he knew that she could get married and still be accepted as a knight. She worked hard and she earned her place in this world. People around her respected her.

Sir Baufallo always thought she would live alone, but it seemed that she was getting married. This was a good thing, but he really did not like her choice for her husband.

“Frau Sneke is not the right man for her…”

It didn’t sound like it was a love match either. When Sir Baufallo looked upset, Vaxi and Vanessa replied, “We agree with you, most people feel that way.”

“But since this is what Sir Pol wants, we decided to congratulate her.”