The Emperor and the Knightess
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Chapter 300

Those working for Poliana in the country house could not hide their anxiety as if they were the ones who committed a crime. They made sure to appear as inconspicuous as possible so they would not annoy the emperor or the knight’s order.

Their fear was well-founded. Everyone who saw their mistress’s baby has been admiring the newborn. Their new master was a beautiful baby and they have been wondering who the father might be, and now… they knew.

There was no doubt that the mistress’s son resembled his highness the emperor. It was an uncanny likeness.

A few months ago, when their mistress confessed that she got drunk and took advantage of a man, everyone thought it was just a joke. But now that they saw the emperor’s face, the staff knew that Poliana’s story had to be true.

It was impossible to guess what their mistress was thinking when she ran away to Sitrin. Poliana herself didn’t know what she was thinking at the time. Since she tried to hide the emperor’s son, she could be considered a traitor. In the worst-case scenario, Sitrin, the place that helped her hide, could be punished. Every citizen of this city could be forced to become slaves as a result.

It wouldn’t have been a surprise to see the emperor’s knights attacking and arresting Poliana at this very moment, but for some reason, everyone in the knight’s order remained quiet.

Lucius the First brought only a few of the members of the First Division for his safety. When these knights saw Dog Stew, who looked just like their emperor, they were so shocked that they could not even move. The knights all stood still and murmured among themselves, “Why do you think Sir Pol did this? What do you think?”

“I think the problem is that she wasn’t thinking.”

“But that doesn’t sound like her…”

“Dammit… I can’t believe our very first empress after the conquest is going to be so ugly…”

“How do you know for sure she will become the empress?”

“Didn’t you see that baby? It’s a son! And she isn’t just any lady. She is the marquess, which means she has to be made the empress. I can’t believe Sir Pol is going to be the symbol of Acreian ladies! Man, she is such a lucky woman. To become a royal member just by having a baby… All thanks to her being a woman; this is what women do.”

Slap!

Sir Beke hit the knight who badmouthed Poliana. When it seemed that there was going to be a fight, Sir Mahogal yelled, “Everyone just shut up.”

The very first knight’s order of the kingdom. The members of this unit were selected solely based on their skills. There were many knights who were both very talented and well mannered, but for some reason, most of those chosen by Sir Ainno had terrible personalities. They were infamously aggressive and rude.

The second in command of this unit, Sir Mahogal, was thankfully a kind and decent man. There were many days when he wanted to quit, but he knew that his presence was necessary to control this angry group. Even Sir Beke, who was a normal guy, acted horribly when he was around the other knights of the First Division thanks to their bad influence.

When Sir Mahogal heard that Poliana gave birth to the royal prince, he didn’t know what to think. The other knights’ unthoughtful comments, however, made him angry. He shook his head as he asked, “Think about it. Do you really think this incident will make the marquess’s life better?”

“Of course. She will be the empress of this kingdom. There can’t be better promotion than that, right?”

“Totally. I mean, perhaps we could have worded it kindlier, but it’s true. This is the best thing that could’ve ever happened to her.”

Most of the knights thought Poliana was lucky in having the emperor’s son, but Sir Beke didn’t agree.

“I disagree with the others, Sir Mahogal. Why would Sir Pol ever want to become the empress…”

Sir Mahogal nodded, “Exactly. For an average lady, becoming the empress would be a great honor, but do you guys really think this applies to Marquess Winter? If she becomes the empress, she will have to give up being the head of the Second Division. She will also have to retire from being a knight. She will lose all of her personal properties as well as her status to the royal family. In addition, she won’t be able to be armed at all times like she can right now.”

An orphan foreign woman, who was unmarried, was allowed to carry her weapon and roam the castle freely. But what about the empress? As an empress, Poliana would never be allowed to have this kind of freedom again. Just for having a baby, she will be, in effect, imprisoned and no longer allowed to serve as a knight.

What Sir Mahogal said made sense, but the knights of the First Division still seemed confused.

“It’s not like Sir Pol was a talented knight anyway.”

“But she made more effort than any of us.”

“Who cares? Hard work without a talent means nothing.”

These knights were selected purely based on their physical skills, which meant that talents were what they valued the most in a fighter. The rude men continued to chat, “His highness had three wives and he only got a princess out of it. Sir Pol, however, was able to provide a son from just one drunken night? She must be a natural! Maybe she will be able to give births to many princes!”

“Dammit! Do you really want to serve the royal princes that look like Sir Pol?”

“But the newborn prince resembled the emperor…”

“This time, but what about the next time? What if all of the children Sir Pol has afterward resembled her?! Gross!”

Smack!

Sir Beke, unable to tolerate anyone insulting Pol, hit the knight again. This time, the rude knight fought back by kicking Sir Beke. A fight finally broke. Sir Mahogal was out of patience at this point. He was about to punish them all when Sir Ainno entered the room.

Sir Ainno, who recently got married immediately after the royal death period ended, was unhappy that he wasn’t home right now. He should’ve been Yapa with his new bride and enjoying their honeymoon, but instead, he was dragged out of the capital to tour the kingdom with the emperor.

“I heard everything,” he announced.

Sir Mahogal was good at controlling the men, but Sir Ainno was much more feared by the knights. They straightened up nervously, expecting to be punished severely.

To everyone’s surprise, there was no violence. It seemed that he was about to say something, but he decided against it. Instead, he warned the men, “That is our future empress you are talking about. How dare you be disrespectful?”

“We apologize. It won’t happen again!”

Only

The knights immediately became docile, making Sir Mahogal sigh. Sir Ainno glared at him in annoyance.

Sir Mahogal asked, “So you think they will get married?”

“Of course, they have a kid now.”

Sir Ainno answered nonchalantly. Even the commoners usually had to get married if a child was born out of wedlock. Things became more complicated when it happened to the nobles, but normally, marriage was the ultimate result. This was especially the case since Lucius the First did not have an heir yet. A son was finally born, so the logical step was to legitimize him.

Perhaps a mean uncaring man may have insisted that it was not his child, but Lucius the First was not like that. Besides, this was a golden chance for the emperor to marry the woman he loved. Only an idiot would miss this opportunity.

‘I told both of them to be careful with drinking together.’

Sir Ainno exhaled deeply at the irony of this situation.