The Emperor and the Knightess

Lucius the First began to focus on stopping her.

“You haven’t done anything wrong, Sir Pol. Nothing at all. It is clearly all my fault.”

“No, your highness! This is all my fault! If I didn’t bring that cursed barrel of alcohol… If I didn’t get so drunk… I wouldn’t have committed the heinous crime of taking advantage of you!”

“But hear me out. There is no proof that you did what you believe, Sir Pol. I am sure it was me who took advantage of you.”

“Your highness! You once told me that you would rather sleep with a dirty wh*re than with an ugly woman like me! You meant what you said and I have never forgotten your words. So for me to do something like this to you… I have broken your trust in me…”

Lucius the First shut his mouth. He didn’t remember the words exactly, but it was obvious that Poliana did.

‘Gosh, she still remembers that? She has been thinking about that until now? Dammit! Why can’t she just forget about things like that…’

If he could go back in time, he wanted to beat up his young self and punch himself in the mouth. If only he knew at the time how important this woman would become in his life! If he knew that he would fall in love with this woman in 10 years, he would’ve approached it differently!

For some reason, there were so many things the emperor needed to apologize for when it came to Poliana. Was this fate? Did this mean they were meant to be?

Lucius the First flinched, feeling his body becoming cold. He could not take back what he said in the past. If he told her now that she was beautiful, Poliana would not believe him.

Poliana continued, “Your highness! I know very well that you will never see me as a woman unless every other woman in this world dies! That is the truth! Besides, you prefer fragile beauties than a sturdy woman like me! I know this! So how dare I take advantage of you! I must’ve lost my mind…!”

She continued and there was no way for Lucius the First to stop her. The emperor wondered what would happen if he confessed his love for her right now and asked her to marry him.

It wasn’t going to work.

Poliana’s self-esteem was already rock bottom because of that bastard gold digger. She would never believe his words at this point. The emperor knew that Poliana would think he was proposing just because they slept together, and he was trying to be responsible. She might even think he pitied her.

Lucius the First said to her, “Listen, Sir Pol. I was very young at the time. I misspoke. I mean, you are very cute and pretty. I like the way you look. To me, you look very lovely.”

Poliana shook her head emphatically. She already made up her mind and she refused to listen to him. Poliana firmly believed that it was her to take advantage of the emperor last night. She replied, “In the military law, raping another member of the army is considered s serious crime. If a knight sleeps with the lady he serves, he loses his title and is exiled to a foreign land…”

“Poliana, snap out of it! You aren’t making any sense! First of all, this continent is one single kingdom, which means there is no ‘foreign land.’ In addition, this isn’t the wartime anymore! So…”

Lucius the First suddenly figured out a solution to this situation. It wasn’t a big plan, but he thought it might be the best one he has. The emperor continued, “Remember what I told you before? I told you that if you cause any trouble while drunk, I will take care of it! I told you many times! And now, it is time for me to do this for you! I will fix it! I will take care of this situation!”

Poliana couldn’t understand or accept the emperor’s offer. To her, this situation had a clear victim and the attacker. So how could he say that he, the victim, would take responsibility? It didn’t make any sense. It didn’t follow any kingdom’s law. It certainly did not follow the Acreian law.

Poliana rejected the idea, “Definitely not, your highness!”

“Sir Pol! You need to calm down! We both do!”

Poliana at least agreed with his last words. It was true that they needed to remain cool and think clearly. She tried her best, even though her heart was racing, and her breathing was uneven. Poliana took deep breaths in and out to calm down, but it only made her feel even more emotional.

“Your highness! I don’t think I should be forgiven!”

“Sir Pol, I am telling you that I do, so why do you keep trying to punish yourself?! I am telling you that I am fine!”

“But even if you forgive me… It doesn’t change the fact that I have committed a crime! Your forgiveness still won’t make it ok!”

“But I am telling you! Sir Pol! I forgive you!”

The situation was getting out of hand now. Neither of them was in their right minds, and Lucius the First continued to babble. He was so desperate that he ended up blurting out the truth. “Sir Pol! It’s all fine! It’s fine because I probably liked it! I am sure I enjoyed it!”

“That can’t be! I forced you, your highness…!”

“All men enjoy these things!”

“That’s not true! Donau told me that it’s not always good for men!”

Poliana’s adopted brother was an outstanding and proper young man. Knowing him allowed Poliana to believe that not all men were slaves to lust. She has met plenty of men who could not control their sexual desire, but there were exceptions in this world.

Only

Lucius the First could not argue with her. If he told her she was wrong, it meant that he was saying all men in this world were slaves to their lust. He was the emperor of this entire kingdom and a man himself, and as such, he could not make such a claim.

So in the end, the emperor had no choice but to claim it for himself only.

“I am like that!”

The situation was becoming stranger. The “victim” was claiming that he enjoyed being “used,” while the “attacker” was rejecting the idea. In the end, Lucius the First came up with logical proof. He said to her, “Look at our bodies, Sir Pol. Does it look like we only did it once?”

Poliana thought for a moment. She did as he asked and examined their bodies. Slowly, she realized that the emperor was making some sense.

“…”

“See, Pol? You have to admit that we clearly have done it more than once. I mean, it looks like we’ve done it at least three times…”