The Emperor and the Knightess

“Pardon? What did I do…?”

“What you said earlier… You were being rude to Sir Poliana.”

“What did I say? Oh, wait… Oh no!”

Lady Bika suddenly realized her mistake. She turned towards Poliana and exclaimed in horror. Poliana was used to this kind of reaction. No matter where she went, it seemed that the people around her would always forget that she was a woman.

Lady Bika apologized sincerely, “I didn’t mean to offend you, Sir Poliana. I am truly sorry.”

“I know you didn’t mean anything by it, Lady Bika. You were only talking to your daughters, not me.”

“Oh my goodness… I was so nervous that I didn’t think clearly…”

“It’s totally understandable. I’m fine, it’s alright.”

“You are so kind and forgiving, Sir Poliana. I can’t believe how nice you are.”

“It is all thanks to his highness, of course.”

A good knight never misses a chance to praise their emperor.

***

Poliana over-ate at the dinner so she decided to go for a short walk. She ended up walking with Sir Howe and Donau, who were on their way to the guest house.

As soon as Sir Howe and Poliana saw that there wasn’t anyone around, they grabbed Donau and kicked him. Donau screamed, but Sir Howe and Poliana had no mercy.

Poliana gagged Donau with the handkerchiefs she got from the twins and whispered, “You are such an idiot, Donau!”

“That’s right, you almost ruined everything!” Sir Howe added.

“Arrggghh! …!”

Donau became upset. “What did I do? What are you guys talking about?”

Poliana then replied, “Why did you bring my name up when Sir Howe was talking about the Bikpa incident?! He was trying to make you look good, and you almost ruined the whole evening! Don’t you want to get married?”

Sir Howe too added, “I don’t care if you don’t ever want to get married, Donau, but don’t ever be in my way to have a good marriage!”

“What are you guys talking about?!”

Poliana sighed in frustration. She thought Donau was a quick and smart young man, but obviously, she was wrong. Why was he having such a hard time figuring this out?

Sir Baufallo only told Sir Howe about the potential marriage deal because he wasn’t sure if the double marriage was a good idea, but it seemed that this was exactly what Sir Rabi wanted.

Most men would have figured it out by now, but Donau seemed genuinely confused. Poliana finally explained it to him, “Sir Rabi wants you and your brother as his sons-in-law.”

“WHAT?”

Sir Donau stumbled and fell on the ground. Sir Howe grabbed his younger brother and helped him stand up.

Sir Howe exclaimed excitedly, “I know! I know! Sir Rabi! The man I respect so much! That man could become my father-in-law! He must really like me!”

Sir Howe jumped around happily. It wasn’t a done deal yet, but he couldn’t hide his excitement. Poliana frowned at his loudness.

Donau still couldn’t understand the situation, “This can’t be! Our family is not good enough!”

Poliana replied, “It looks like Sir Rabi believes that you two will be promoted to great positions. He thinks you two have potentials.”

“But still, the difference between our two families is too big! I mean, we are so poor, and Sir Rabi is so wealthy.”

Poliana nodded. “Yeah, I kinda agree with that, the Rabi twins are too good for you boys.”

“That’s not fair, Sir Pol! We aren’t that bad!” Sir Howe protested.

Donau, however, agreed with Poliana. “Right? They are too good for us!”

One brother was all for the idea, while the other was flabbergasted and adamantly against it. But in the end, how the brothers felt about it didn’t matter at all. The final decision was going to be made by Sir Rabi, not the Baufallo brothers.

How funny an arranged marriage could be!

As the person who now knew both the twins and the brothers, Poliana had a clear view of the situation. Personally, she was on Sir Howe and Donau’s side since they were her friends, almost like brothers, but objectively speaking, she had to admit that the Rabi sisters were too good for the Baufallo brothers.

Sir Bika was a count while Sir Baufallo was just a knight. Even if the Ribo family received a title and lands, there was still a huge gap between a well-established aristocrat and a newly appointed noble. This was going to be a great honor for the Baufallo brothers, yet it seemed Donau was unhappy about it.

Poliana then asked, “Why are you complaining?”

“A marriage should be between two people who like each other…”

Before Donau could finish his sentence, Sir Howe and Poliana rolled their eyes and replied, “What are you talking about? You’re dreaming!”

“You are such a naïve boy.”

Marriage was decided between the parents, not the actual people involved. It was an arrangement and nothing more. A love marriage was just a dream; it was something that one could read in a romance novel and if one wanted love, they could learn to love their other half.

Poliana had no idea that her adopted little brother had such a dangerous idea about marriage. She then muttered, “Wow. I had no idea you were so ambitious. A love marriage?”‘

Sir Howe added, “I know! I’m shocked and a little scared. Who thinks like that?”

Sir Donau frowned and replied, “Whatever. All I know is that I am against this marriage.”

“Donau, it’s not your decision! Sirs Rabi and Baufallo will be the ones who would have the final say here! Besides, I keep telling you that you are the one who will get the most out of it!”

“Even then, I don’t want it!”

Suddenly, Sir Howe’s eyes widened. “Donau, could it be… Do you have someone you like? There many beautiful ladies in the royal castle… Is that why?”

When Donau looked at Poliana desperately, she frowned because she didn’t understand what he wanted from her.

‘Is he asking me for help…?’

She didn’t get Donau sometimes and in this case, she knew that even if she asked what he wanted, he would deny that he was asking for help.

‘What a strange boy.’

When Donau remained silent, Sir Howe stopped teasing his little brother. He sighed and murmured, “I was always so envious of Sir Rabi, but I guess no family is perfect.”

Poliana asked, “What do you mean? They are a perfect family.”

“I’m talking about Lady Bika. To have your firstborn a girl is bad enough, but twin girls?! Then, she didn’t have any more children for years. Imagine how she must’ve felt when she heard about the upcoming conquest! Her husband might be leaving to follow the emperor and she still didn’t bear a son… That sounds scary!”

Donau nodded in agreement, but when Poliana looked confused, Sir Howe explained to her their customs.

Only

Firstly, twins were considered unlucky. Poliana understood this part perfectly. Since women could not inherit family wealth, daughters were considered a burden because fathers needed to pay a handsome dowry for their daughters. This meant that having two daughters at once would be seen as an expensive burden. There was no doubt that Lady Bika would’ve gone through terrible stress when she bore her twin daughters, and to not bear any more children for years afterward…

Based on what she saw today, Poliana could tell that Lady Bika’s mother-in-law was not a kind understanding woman. Poor Lady Bika…

Sir Howe claimed confidently, “I do think having a son is very important, but if I could become Sir Rabi’s son-in-law, I wouldn’t mind even if I only have daughters.”

Donau said quietly, “I don’t care about having children at all. It would be fine for me not to have any kids.”

Sir Howe turned towards him with a frown, “Hey! You can’t say that! One of us needs to have at least one son to carry on our family name!”

Poliana watched as the brothers argued. In Acreia, a woman could not inherit the family title or wealth, which meant that a son was a must.

Every family needed to have a son.