The Emperor and the Knightess

Marquis Seeze cried sadly, making people feel sympathetic towards him. But it was Tory who wanted to cry. What she did just now… Tory betrayed her own world. The problem was, she was part of this world. She was a member of it and therefore, the destruction of this world meant that she was destroying herself.

She contemplated and hesitated about this for a very long time; she was raised to be obedient. She was expected to remain quiet and do as she was told. By doing this, what she accomplished during her entire life was going to be destroyed. Just like that ice wine that was spilled on the floor, what she just did could not be taken back.

Tory finally revealed the last weapon she had, “Duke Jimi, Viscount Speal, and the other eight high ranking noblemen… They all have the same secret desk in their libraries. This is because Duke Jimi commissioned a very talented woodworker to make the same desks for all of them.”

As soon as she finished the sentence, Tory became dizzy. She staggered a little because she no longer had any energy left. In Acreia, women were condescending but at the same time, they were overprotected. In such a kingdom, Tory left as a proper lady who was praised as the best example of what a woman should be. She smiled, danced, sang, and sewed. The people she could talk to were very limited. The topics of her conversations were always monitored closely. Even as the wife of the emperor, she never directly ordered anyone other than her own maids, who were on Marquis Seeze’s side.

So for her to make such a dramatic accusation in public… Tory was not used to this. She was fearful as she felt so many men glaring at her with deadly anger. Her legs shook and it took everything she had to remain standing. This was too much. She wanted to cry. Tory leaned against the table and continued, “I am not crazy! My mind is perfectly sane! Those noblemen committed crimes, and therefore they are traitors. Yes, all of them! Guards! Go arrest them right now!”

She yelled out the order, but no one moved. An awkward silence fell in the room, and Tory looked down. She was done. She gave up everything she had, but the guards refused to follow her order.

It couldn’t be helped. Tory understood that a woman’s words were meaningless. Women could not tell the truth from the lie. A woman was too emotional and therefore could not make logical decisions.

From the beginning, Tory was just a tool. She was going to be used by men until she was no longer useful. She was going to be thrown away because she was disposable. If Lucius the First punished Marquis Seeze, Tory was going to be punished along with him. If Tory didn’t do what Marquis Seeze wanted, she would’ve been replaced by another lady by her own family.

Either way, she was going to be abandoned, so if this was her fate, why not just say what she wanted to say? This was the reason why she decided to make such a public accusation. If she was going to be disposed of in the end, she wanted to at least show everyone what she could do. People might think of her as a tool, but she wanted them to know that she was a living person. Tory learned so much recently, but deep inside, she knew what her new knowledge wasn’t going to save her from her fate.

Since she made her decision to do this, she has been feeling so many different emotions. Guilt, regret, sadness, and fear… The only people that helped her keep going were Stra, who tried her best to help in any way possible, and Poliana, who gave up a lot of her time to talk to her.

‘This is it. It’s over for me.’

When Tory closed her eyes in resignation, Poliana suddenly shouted, “What the heck do you think you are doing?! Guards! Obey Lady Tory’s order immediately!”

Poliana didn’t ask Tory anything. She didn’t demand an explanation from the lady. Poliana took Tory’s side without a word and when Poliana ordered, the guards, who have been remaining still like statues, began to move quickly.

Poliana moved to stand by Tory’s side. All Poliana did was stand next to her, but the relief Tory felt was immense. Tory felt safe because she knew Poliana would protect her. No one would’ve followed her order except for the fact that Poliana did.

Some of the royal guards stood in front of all the exits to prevent anyone from escaping while the others grabbed the ropes and divided the noblemen into the guilty and innocent groups. The noblemen protested, but…

Only

Over half of the guards present in the banquet hall were from the First Division, which was made up of the crazy bunch of men Sir Ainno handpicked himself. When the noblemen tried to fight back, these guards threatened, “Shut up! Do you want me to beat you up? I am going to bind you, either way, so you can choose how you want it done. I would love to punch you a few times, so just try me!”

“F*ck you! Are you resisting me because I used to be a commoner before becoming a knight? How dare you!”

These guards did not hesitate to use violence against the noblemen, who were technically still innocent until proven guilty. When these guards acted viciously, some young noblemen argued, “How dare you act in such a vulgar way? You are a knight, so don’t you think you should act accordingly?”

“What? Do you think I became a knight because I wanted to? I was forced to become one by Sir Ainno and I can’t even retire! Do you know what kind of life I have right now?!”

A knight of the First Division could not leave his unit until he found a replacement. Sir Howe was an exception, thanks to his powerful new father-in-law. Even if the knight brought a suitable man to replace himself, it never worked out because the new replacement needed to be approved by Sir Ainno, who had an incredibly high standard. This was why most of the knights in the First Division, including Sir Mahogal, were forced to remain in their position.

These knights of the First Division were frustrated and angry. They knew no mercy and because they were the best fighters in the kingdom, the noblemen had no chance against them. Even when four young noblemen attacked a single knight all at once, the knight had no problem restraining them with ease.

The men of the First Division did not hesitate to arrest the noblemen, but it was a different story for the knights of the Second Division.