The Emperor and the Knightess

But all she received was the same words from the emperor.

“Very impressive.”

‘Is he mocking me? Is he being sarcastic?’

Well, she agreed that the scene she created must be impressive. She was sure an emperor such as himself would’ve never seen a girl standing with her entire body burning with pain.

But even though the agony, she felt satisfied. She was sure the emperor was going to kill her now for her insolence. It wasn’t going to be the death of a knight but that of a captive, but that was good enough for her.

“Very impressive indeed,” Lucius repeated himself and it was the third time he said the same words. How many times was this man going to mock her? This needed to end. Poliana’s mouth was filled with blood and she felt dizzy but she pronounced her words carefully.

“A resentment from a dead virgin’s ghost is no match for that from a raped woman’s soul. If you kill me right now, I will never haunt you and your men, so please end this.”

“Won’t you join me?”

The emperor wasn’t using any difficult words and there was only a little difference between the Acreian and Aehas languages.

But even then, Poliana couldn’t understand what the emperor was saying to her. As she gaped at him in confusion, the Acreian soldiers protested loudly.

“Your highness, you can’t! You mustn’t!”

“What are you trying to say, your highness?!”

Poliana still couldn’t comprehend what was happening around her. Was the emperor making fun of her?

The emperor explained slowly, “This woman, a knightess, has fought and lasted three hours against all of you. A woman naked and weaponless.”

Three hours? To Poliana, it seemed so much longer. But what shocked her more was the fact that Lucius the First addressed her as a knight.

Knightess… He was acknowledging her status, and not in a mocking way compared to what most men did.

“She is small and her swordsmanship is average. Yet, through hard work and effort, she improved herself as a soldier. Look at her now, what she has accomplished so far is impressive, especially because she is a woman,” he continued.

‘I don’t understand what he is saying…’

Polina stared quietly. It felt surreal to see the emperor smiling happily while all the men around him complained loudly.

Ignoring his soldiers, Lucius continued, “I read the reports written by you, Knightess, and I could see how talented you are. You made calm and shrewd decisions even during dire situations. You showed that you are not afraid of defeat and you care more about your men than victory, which means that you are a good leader. How many times have you read the ‘Battle Tactics and Strategies’ by Usher? Did you memorize the Fielm’s book ‘The Importance of Supplies during Wars?\'”

It was true, she read these books and others countless times. When people learned about her efforts, they just called her stupid.

“Won’t you become my knight and follow me?” Lucius asked her once again.

“If you are mocking me…”

“I like those who make an effort, because I myself am that type. I have worked my hardest to get this far.”

The emperor was praising Poliana for her endeavor, but it didn’t make her happy. She couldn’t be, because all the hard work she did in her life meant nothing without a purpose.

But something strange started to happen. Her foggy mind began to clear and although her body still felt awful, her eyes felt stronger. The ringing sound in her ears stopped and she was able to hear the emperor clearly.

Poliana raised her head and saw the Acreian emperor beaming down at her. He gave her a gentle and beautiful smile.

A smile that could embrace all of her.

“I have a dream. I will continue to move down south and conquer the entire continent. I plan to become the first-ever emperor that was able to unite all the nations in these lands. I have tried my best to get this far, and I will continue to do so to make my dream come true. So, how about it? How about you, Knightess, follow me and reach the end of the world?” Lucius the First continued.

To unite all the nations.

To become the emperor of them all.

It was such a crazy fantasy.

An astounding ambition.

A dream.

And this emperor was offering her this dream. He was asking her if she would share it with him.

The men around them began to protest again and this time, it was stronger, but despite the noise surrounding her, Poliana couldn’t hear a thing. Inside of her, a storm was brewing.

She finally realized the truth. She thought she didn’t have a purpose but in fact, she did.

More than anything in the world, Poliana wanted to be recognized and accepted.

That was her goal in life. She wanted to be acknowledged, she wanted to be praised. She desired for someone to realize how hard she has tried to learn and survive in this world.

And right in front of her, right at this very moment, the Acreian emperor was doing exactly that.

Her emperor. Her leader.

She was his.

“Get… Get me a sword!” Poliana yelled.

She didn’t care who gave it to her. She didn’t care what kind of sword it was. Poliana just needed a sword to swear her fealty as a knight. The soldiers who were holding her down wavered. Forgetting her injuries and pain, she stood up tall. When the soldiers tried to push her down, the emperor gestured them to stop.

“Get me a sword!” She screamed once more after being freed.

She looked around and found that no one offered her a sword. They all glared at her sharply and silently. For a moment, Poliana felt fear. Was this just a dream? A hallucination?

When she was about to give up, a man in front of her suddenly handed her his own sword, and Poliana was now certain that this wasn’t a dream.

This was real because the man who handed her the sword was the emperor himself.

He gave her his own sword.

Poliana took it out from its scabbard and kneeled in front of him. She announced without hesitation, “I will never betray you and will protect you with my life. I will follow you like your own shadow. I will never fail and protect your honor. With my life, I will follow you and your order, even if it is to the depth of hell. I, Poliana, swear my loyalty to the Acreian emperor.”

“I, the Acreian emperor Lucius the First, will become the very first to unite and rule all nations. As of today, I acknowledge you as my own knight. Will you continue to use your old family name?”

Poliana shook her head. Her country was gone and her family name was now meaningless.

“If your highness would give me a new name, I will consider it the greatest honor.”

Only

“Excellent. A new beginning requires a new name! Now, what should I call you?” Lucius the First contemplated when suddenly, he noticed Poliana’s bare shoulders trembling. It was the dead of winter and the almost-naked Poliana was shivering uncontrollably. Lucius the First smiled and announced, “My knight is shivering. Yes, it is indeed very cold here. It is winter, after all. Therefore, I will give you the name of Winter to celebrate this day.”

“Stand up and raise that sword, Poliana Winter. As of this moment, you are my knightess,” Lucius continued.

This was the moment.

The moment she has been living for all her life.

Poliana bit her lip to stop herself from crying. She knew that the other men would mock her for crying. They would most likely despite her for NOT crying either, but she didn’t care.

She didn’t let her tears flow because this was the happiest moment of her life and she didn’t want to ruin it.

This great day, the day when Poliana Cranbell became Poliana Winter, was not a time for tears.