The Emperor and the Knightess

The first thing she did was to check if Frau had bad eyesight. Unless he was blind or had horrible eyesight, he was clearly lying, and this made him a horrible person who was trying to take advantage of her. However, Frau did say she looked better than the rumors. There were many rumors out there about her and some of them indicated that she looked like a monster. So, if he meant that she didn’t look like a monster and that she looked better than these ugly rumors, then Poliana supposed that he wasn’t lying.

Poliana studied the man’s expression. He still had the kind look on his face, and it was enough to calm her down a little.

Baron Redikal, realizing that Poliana might have taken Frau’s words as an insult, explained, “Marquess Winter, this young man isn’t lying or making an empty compliment. I believe he really means what he said because I have seen him many times admiring your accomplishments. He also told me more than once that he wished to meet you someday.”

It was a common occurrence for many well-known knights to acquire a few fans here and there. Not wanting to look like an ignorant bumpkin, Poliana nodded nonchalantly and replied, “Hmm… alright, but just make sure you think before you say things like that next time.”

“Thank you, Marquess. Baron Redikal, I will be going now.”

Frau walked away quickly, leaving Poliana feeling confused. The first thing she wondered about him was his status. She asked Baron Redikal, “A son of the Baron Sneke is a doctor?”

The Sneke family was a well-known name in Acreia. Even Poliana, who hasn’t lived in Acreia very long, had heard this name. It wasn’t as influential as Sir Bentier, Sir Rabi, and Sir Ainno’s families, but it was still a powerful family.

A son from such a family didn’t have to work as a doctor. Even if the son had a great interest in medicine, he could just study it as a hobby rather than a profession.

Baron Redikal then replied, “He is the fifth son of that family.”

“Ah.”

He didn’t have to say anything anymore, it now made perfect sense. Even a wealthy family often found it hard to take care of more than three sons’ futures. The title and the lands all went to the firstborn and the rest of the sons usually had to find their own ways in the world. So, the fifth son of any family wouldn’t get much of an inheritance, which meant Frau made a good choice by entering the field of medicine. It wasn’t as lucrative and respected as a high-ranking government official or a knight, but a career in medicine would provide him a stable life.

‘Frau from the Sneke family…”

After returning home that night, Poliana felt a little strange. She might have had many years of battle experience, and she trained every day, but Poliana knew she would not be able to win a fight against many men of her age. But… for some reason, she felt certain that she could beat up Frau Sneke if she tried. There was a distinct vibe she got from him and she could tell that he was weak.

Yes, she was sure that she could win against him in a fight.

Baron Redikal told her that Frau and she were of the same age.

‘Hmm… It’s strange because I have seen many physically slight men before, but…’

She was acquainted with many scribes, who were small men. There were plenty of physically weak men in the world. She just forgot about this fact because she was so used to interacting with strong knights and soldiers. But even the smallest and the weakest men around her would never say something like that to her like Frau.

‘He said he respected me… I can’t believe a man said he respected and admired a woman!’

Frau Sneke was clearly not in his right mind. If she didn’t know he was a doctor, she would’ve suggested that he should go see a doctor and get himself checked. He wasn’t saying that he respected his mother or his grandmother, which would’ve made sense. He was telling her that he respected her, a woman he didn’t even know. A woman who was his age.

And he said it in the presence of another man! Poliana was shocked.

Lying in her bed, she remained wide awake and unable to fall asleep.

Only

“Respect…”

Was it because she heard it from a man who wasn’t a knight? Poliana kept hearing Frau’s voice over and over again in her head. Suddenly, she sat up and walked towards a mirror nearby. She studied herself carefully. Her face, which was very familiar to her, looked back at her.

‘Hmm… I do look much better than before… Yes. Definitely a lot of improvement over the past few years…’

This was true. She used to look much uglier before. Poliana clenched her fists as she thought that she didn’t look that bad. She was indeed ugly, but not so ugly that people would scream and run away from her.

Most of all, Poliana looked very clean. Her spotless uniform certainly helped a lot too. As a woman, she might have failed in her looks, but as a person, she looked alright.

Turning thirty helped a lot too. People generally were more interested and sensitive about a woman’s look when she was young, but they became more lenient and uninterested when the woman became a spinster. Because of this, Poliana didn’t mind the wrinkles on her forehead. They were from her walking around with a frown all the time, and Poliana thought the wrinkles made her look more regal and impressive.

Poliana pushed on the wrinkles to deepen them, hoping that someday, her face would be full of wrinkles even when she isn’t frowning.