The Emperor and the Knightess

Poliana didn’t think that Frau lived near the royal castle. He probably couldn’t afford to. She wondered if she should bring out her horse when Frau gave her an unexpected answer, “I could never allow myself to bring you to such an unworthy place like my own home, Marquess Winter. I made a reservation at a restaurant…”

Frau sounded uncertain and hesitant, annoying Poliana. If he was one of her men, she would’ve reprimanded him for being so weak. She could understand why Frau failed the knight’s training.

‘Hmm… A restaurant…’

It was customary to serve a guest at one’s own home for dinner. Going to a restaurant was definitely something new for Poliana. Nobles invited guests to their own homes so they could show off their mansions and what their chefs could do. All wealthy nobles had professional chefs in their homes. They could afford the best ingredients, so it was rare for a nobleman to go out to a restaurant to eat especially when a guest was invited.

Even the commoners did not go to the restaurants often. The ingredients, especially in Aehas, are very expensive, which meant that the cost to go to a restaurant was even more expensive. It was much more affordable to just cook at home.

In Aehas and Kukda, the commoners were mostly poor because of the ongoing war. They were in a better situation in terms of food shortage compared to Acreia, but not by much.

This meant that most restaurants in the northern regions made most of its money from travellers. And most restaurants included a bar inside, which meant that they were not appropriate places to serve an important guest.

Poliana took her men sometimes to a pub a few times before but only to drink, not to eat. The restaurant Frau took her to was different than the ones Poliana was used to. She was surprised that it was filled with customers.

Poliana looked around the restaurant with interest. Frau immediately noticed her curiosity and began to explain. After Yapa became the new capital, its population grew exponentially. The city walls were furthered out to expand the city and various infrastructure projects began, attracting even more people to the area for the new job opportunities.

Yapa was always short on housings, and when more and more people poured into the city, the housing price went up significantly. To accompany this new influx, the landowners started building houses without proper kitchens. The house, of course, included a brazier for heat, but most of these houses were occupied by single men who did not know how to cook to begin with.

It wasn’t that the restaurant culture was well developed in the mid-continent, but with the increased population and cooking ingredients, the people began to use the restaurants more and more. This change was, however, still at an early stage so most restaurants weren’t high end or luxurious. Frau chose the most expensive restaurant in Yapa, but he still felt embarrassed. He explained, “I know the proper thing to do is to serve you at home, but I couldn’t afford a chef and I can’t cook myself, so I thought this restaurant would be the best option…”

“It’s alright.”

Frau, being from a noble family, knew better than anyone that he was being unconventional, but Poliana genuinely didn’t care. She looked around carefully. If it wasn’t for Frau, she would’ve never visited a place like this. It actually felt refreshing to experience something new again.

When Poliana continued to look around, Frau assumed that she was unhappy with the place and their situation. He looked down and said to her in a sad voice, “I know this place is not worthy to serve someone so important like you, Marquess, but…”

“It’s fine. It’s actually better than the pubs I sometimes take my guards to.”

Poliana meant what she said. It was difficult to find a pub that felt comfortable serving a bunch of large muscular men, who drank loudly. At first, Poliana considered inviting her guards to drink at her own home, but she didn’t have enough maids and servants to serve them. She lived alone and she didn’t need many servants. She thought about hiring more just so she could entertain more, but her butler rejected the idea, telling her it would be a waste of money for her.

She also considered perhaps designating one of the guards’ homes, but none of her men had a big enough home that was well stocked like the Bika family’s mansion.

In the end, it was decided that they should just use a pub.

They did not consider many factors when choosing the perfect place for them. They didn’t care about the quality of the drinks, the location, or the safety of the area. The only thing they considered was the size of the pub. It had to be big enough to house many guards.

After they chose a place and frequented it often, the pub expanded quickly to become specialized in entertaining large groups. It used to also run a small lodging, but the pub gave it up and focused on its pub business. The entire three-story building became a one large tavern.

Poliana realized that the city had changed a lot since the last time she explored it.

‘Oh, I can see there are even more taverns now.’

There were also many more restaurants. Becoming a capital of the kingdom seemed to have caused many changes to the city. Poliana felt disappointed in herself for not realizing this sooner. She had been so focused on her work that she had no idea what was happening outside the castle.

It was the Third Division’s responsibility to protect the city, so she hasn’t been paying any attention to it. The Third Division was run by Sir Wook and Sir Jainno, who used to be her own men. They were now her colleagues, and it seemed that she hadn’t been interacting with them at all.

‘I better fix that.’

Sir Baufallo and Sir Rabi, even after Poliana left their units, continued to look out for her. She should’ve done the same for her own men. She felt ashamed of herself.

The food quickly arrived and it tasted better than what she expected. Poliana was a good eater to begin with; she could eat basically anything that wouldn’t kill her; she did miss her adopted brother’s cooking sometimes.

‘I wonder if he got my gifts.’

It was unlikely that someone would raid the gifts sent by Marquess Winter to the family of a Viceroy, but one never knew. Sometimes, the gifts would also get damaged during the delivery.

Poliana didn’t say a word. It was her habit to become fixated on things that are new to her, such as new food or places. Normally, when invited to a nobleman’s home, she would’ve carried a social conversation with the mistress of the house, but today, her mind kept a busy stream of random thoughts.

‘Oops.’

After finishing off her place, Poliana suddenly realized that Frau was still sitting in front of her. He was sweating uncomfortably. She coughed and Frau flinched noticeably. She looked at him directly and asked, “So, how much were you thinking?”

“Pardon?”

“Tell me what salary and conditions you were hoping for. And when can you start working? I can provide you housing in my own home, but if you insist on having your own place, I can make that happen too. Of course, it will have to be a place very close to mine in case I need you for a quick treatment.”

“Marquess, I…”

“I won’t try to underpay you, but I also can’t overpay you. I asked around so I know what the going rate is. The thing is, I don’t really need a personal doctor since there is just me in my family. However, I am willing to offer you a position since you seem like a good man who works very hard…”

Only

“Umm, Marquess… I think you are mistaken.”

“Hmm?”

“I asked you to have dinner with me because I wanted to get to know you. It wasn’t because I wanted to become your personal doctor.”

“You want to be better acquainted so you can become my personal doctor, right?”

“N-no, It’s not like that.”

“Then why? Why would you want to get to know me? You should know that I am not the kind of person you can bribe or use. Just because you and I become better acquainted doesn’t mean I will use my power to further your career or something.”

Frau’s face turned bright red, and Poliana assumed that he was embarrassed because she figured out his intention. She was about to tell him that it was okay, when Frau blurted out, “I asked you here so I can propose to you!”