The Emperor and the Knightess

The emperor and his wives tried to get her to stay, but Poliana refused. She smiled knowingly before leaving quickly. Poliana was trying to help the royal family. They were all newlyweds, the royal couples, so she wanted to give them as much private time as possible. When she looked back at them one last time, she could tell that the emperor’s wives looked expectant and pleased.

‘I wish they would have some babies soon. A beautiful princess would be so nice.’

The emperor and his wives were all beautiful, so their children had to be beautiful too. Poliana felt happy just thinking about some little royal babies filling this castle.

“Marquess.”

Suddenly, one of the maids called her name from behind. When Poliana turned around, she found out that it was Cekel. Cekel Ingreter, now officially a spinster, recently announced that she would never get married. Despite her rather low-born status, she was somehow hired to become one of Tory’s maids.

All of the three Ingreter brothers followed Lucius the First into war, therefore, they were soon going to be given significant promotions. Their family was close and had a stable future ahead, so there was a good chance that Cekel could’ve gotten a marriage offer from a noble family, but for some reason, Cekel decided to give up on finding a husband. There were many rumors about her ever since, and most of them weren’t good. Poliana didn’t want to hear about it, so she stopped listening to them a long time ago.

Poliana was familiar with all the brothers, Aeke, Beke, and Deke, as well as their sister, Cekel. The Cekel Poliana knew was nothing like the ugly rumors suggested. Cekel was certainly not a feminine affectionate woman, but it was obvious that she took great care of those around her. Poliana liked her a lot, so whenever she spotted Cekel, Poliana approached her for a small chat. Cekel appreciated this, especially because her status in the castle was a confusing one. She was technically a maid since she was a noblewoman, but she also was not from a prominent family, so some saw her as a servant.

“Marquess Winter, you should put some medicine on your injury.”

“It’s ok, Cekel. It’s already done.”

“Oh, I didn’t know because the cut hasn’t been bandaged.”

“Well, it’s really hard and annoying to bandage one’s face. It looks worse than it really is, so don’t worry, it’ll get some scabs very soon.”

“Are you going to see the emperor right now?”

“Actually, I just left him. He is with his wives, so I wanted to give them some privacy.”

While they talked, Poliana noticed that Cekel’s outfit was a bit disarrayed. Poliana knew immediately that something wasn’t right. Ever since she became the head of the guards, she made sure to keep herself neat and clean. She was also very strict with his guards’ looks. They didn’t have to look pretty, but they better always look immaculate.

Poliana narrowed her eyes as she noticed how Cekel’s clothes looked like it had been creased recently. It was obvious that Cekel made an effort to straighten her outfit very recently. Cekel’s cheeks were also faintly flushed and she was breathing heavily. Poliana grabbed her and took her to a quiet corner before asking, “Lady Cekel, did something happen to you today? If so, you must tell me. I am responsible for the safety of everyone in the lady’s quarters and so, I will take care of this situation.”

“It’s nothing you need to worry about, Marquess. Besides, it didn’t even happen inside the lady’s quarters.”

Poliana raised her fist in determination. Any man who mistreated a lady just because she was a spinster needed to be taught a serious lesson.

“If anyone caused you any troubles, please tell me honestly. I will go and beat him up for you.”

“I already did it.”

Cekel showed Poliana her palm proudly and Poliana saw that it was redder than her face. Cekel looked annoyed as she continued, “And you know what he said to me after I hit him?”

“What? What did the bastard say?”

“He told me that I was the first person ever to slap his face.”

Poliana frowned angrily. She examined Cekel again to make sure she wasn’t hurt. Thankfully, Cekel looked very annoyed but otherwise healthy. Poliana then asked, “Was he crazy?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he was.”

“I can’t have a crazy idiot walking around the castle freely. Is it someone I know? I can take care of him right away…”

“It’s ok. I slapped him pretty hard, so I don’t think that I need to ruin his reputation too. I just won’t talk to him anymore.”

“Good idea, but if he ever bothers you again, you can kick him in his balls. I will make sure you don’t get in trouble.”

Poliana began to teach Cekel some basic self-defense moves. Anyone could kick someone’s crotch, but the important thing was one’s attitude. Many women often didn’t hit as hard as they could, and this was a big mistake; not hitting your assailant hard enough would just make them angry. The key was to kick the man in the crotch as hard as one could. There was no need to worry if he would die because he won’t.

It was also helpful to scream as loudly as possible. Cekel nodded and paid attention to her as she listened carefully to Poliana’s heartfelt advice.

***

Only

A few days later, Poliana and Lucius the First walked down the hallway together to visit Sir Ainno, who apparently was seriously injured. Poliana didn’t feel much about it, but the emperor seemed very upset. Poliana could see his eyes watering.

She said to him, “Your highness, please don’t worry so much. I heard it isn’t anything serious. He just fell off the horse and is suffering from a muscle cramp.”

“But I have never seen Inno get sick…”

Sir Ainno once got stabbed. At the time, he didn’t even stop; he continued to ride his horse to fight on. He was that tough, so for him to be confined to his bed was indeed very scary. Poliana was told that he didn’t even break any bones, so how serious of a muscle cramp was it?

The messenger wouldn’t give the emperor many details, and this even made the emperor more upset. Before opening the door to Sir Ainno’s room, Poliana and Lucius the First looked at each other nervously. After taking a deep breath, they walked in.

“Inno!”

Sir Ainno looked perfectly fine, but the emperor didn’t even notice. He ran towards his friend and hugged Sir Ainno passionately. Poliana watched from behind and her eyes began to water as well.