The Emperor And The Knightess

The house Poliana was invited to belong to one of her guards and his wife. The wife was a widower with a child, which meant that this was her second marriage. A soldier returning from the war didn"t always insist on marrying a young pretty girl. There were many men who offered to marry their fellow soldiers" spinster sisters or daughters. Sometimes, they also decided to marry the widower of their fellow soldiers who pa.s.sed away in the war. The emperor strongly recommended such marriages.

It was a good dinner. The food itself wasn"t great, but the atmosphere was pleasant. Poliana could see that this was a happy family. The wife, although clearly not in love with her new husband, seemed pleased with him because he showed great respect for her. Her son, who was still very young, didn"t remember his own father so the young boy obviously saw his stepfather like his real biological father. As long as this boy didn"t become too rebellious as he grew up, this family was going to lead a pleasant life.

Most soldiers and guards of Poliana"s age all had similarly aged children. It was because they all married around the same time and had children at the same time as well. High fertility rates were a good thing for a kingdom, especially after a war. Perhaps the government officials responsible for planning and maintaining the city"s infrastructures may not like it, but this didn"t concern Poliana at all. She liked seeing lots of kids in a family.

The guard"s wife was currently pregnant, and he"s praying for an easy birth.

"Since I already have a son, I don"t care if it"s a boy or a girl. I just hope he or she is born healthy."

Poliana asked, "Is it ok that your son isn"t actually your real son? He isn"t your blood."

"Oh, you"re funny, Boss. Don"t you remember that we, who were part of the recent war, are all brothers? Our camaraderie and friends.h.i.+p are stronger than any blood."

The soldiers did often say that their best of friends were the ones they made during a war.

Poliana felt proud of her guard. She took a sip of her wine and grinned as he joked, "If it"s a boy, I hope you will consider him as your potential heir!"

The emperor"s favored knight, Marquess Winter, was single without her own heir. Whenever someone nagged her about needing to get married and have her children, Poliana always replied, "I can just adopt someone. If I find a boy who isn"t the firstborn and has good talents, I will appoint him as my heir."

She was half-joking, but she"s half-serious as well. Poliana grinned and joked back, "I won"t take in just any boy. There are at least twenty parents who are dying to get me to adopt their sons. At this rate, I am going to have to create a test so I could take my pick fairly."

"Oh, that sounds fun. It could be called "Marquess Winter"s Heir Selection Contest.""

"I don"t like the sound of it."

"No, it will be so fun. You should really consider it, Boss."

"Hmm… Maybe, but I really mean it when I say I am not going to take in just any random boy."

"Of course, Marquess."

A position of a marquis; it was an amazing opportunity. Even if for some reason Poliana was demoted, she was still going to remain a very high ranking n.o.ble. It was also a well-known fact that she was incredibly rich. On top of various pieces of land, she also had a mine and a port. It made a perfect sense that she should adopt the best boy possible as her heir.

"I can"t give my name to just anyone. After all, it was given to me by the emperor."

The heir to Marquess Winter was going to create and lead the Winter family after her death. She had to be very picky, so she would select the best person for the job. The guard then asked, "Boss, are you really serious about not getting married at all?"

"Well, there are rare times when I do want to get married, but I think what I need is a wife, not a marriage."

"ha! Of course! So that means that you want a man who isn"t really a real man, huh? Someone who would be happy to have you wear the pants in your marriage? Then you will never be able to get married. What man would want to give up being a man?"

Poliana was a guest in this house and the guard"s wife was present. She didn"t want to embarra.s.s the guard for his rudeness, so she quietly did sign language to him.

-If you keep talking, I am going to make YOU give up being a man.

The guards grinned and told her that he was only joking. His wife, who has been quiet so far, suggested, "Marquess Winter, I really hope you marry a handsome young man!" The wife"s eyes sparkled as she continued, "A man who is handsome, rich, and a high ranking n.o.ble." The guard"s wife explained that a successful man often married a young pretty n.o.blewoman, so why not Poliana do the same?

Poliana just laughed quietly.

***

Lady Rebecca and Poliana were having their usual afternoon chat. When Lady Rebecca looked bored, Poliana told her about her dinner last night. Poliana mentioned how her guard"s wife hoped Poliana would marry someone rich and handsome. Lady Rebecca gave her a nod. "I totally agree."

Rebecca even added a few more conditions, "And this man must be intelligent and would never cheat on you."

A handsome rich n.o.bleman who was intelligent and completely faithful to her? This was becoming too absurd. Poliana then asked, "Why would such a perfect man be willing to marry me?"

If she did meet such a good man, the best thing she could do for him was to introduce him to a good woman. Rebecca shook her head and replied, "Poliana, you just don"t get your own position. You are the only woman in this kingdom who has the right to choose your own husband. You have achieved enough success that you can do this."

The right to pick her own husband; it was a kind of a reward for being so successful.

Successful men often took in young beautiful trophy wives. In theory, the same logic should apply to Poliana"s situation. At first, the Acreian n.o.ble"s society denied Poliana"s existence because they couldn"t understand it. They pushed her away and only contacted her if necessary. But as time pa.s.sed, people got used to this idea. They became used to her and now, seeing her in the blue uniform with the gold stripe was considered a perfectly normal thing. Poliana also helped in matchmaking a few times to several very influential families, which made her an even more respected figure. She was also incredibly wealthy, which made her look even more attractive. There were plenty of people who wanted to get close to her. Lady Rebecca asked, "Don"t you get marriage offers?"

"Yes, but nothing that makes sense. Mostly young boys…"

Poliana frowned unpleasantly. In the past, she only received marriage offers to older men. For example, Lady Bika suggested a man in his fifties or was it in his sixties, who already had grandchildren. At the time, this was the best Poliana could dream of because she was an ugly spinster who was rumored to be barren.

But now, things have changed. Her position as the leader of an entire military division and her wealth made her look more attractive. So lately, Poliana noticed that she received many portraits of boys in their late teens. Of course, she hated the idea of people actually thinking she might marry a young boy. If she ever got married, she wanted to marry someone her age. Not someone who was much older or much younger than her.

It was insulting that the people thought she would even consider marrying such young boys when Lucius the First publicly denounced any marriage with big age gaps. At first, Poliana thought that the portraits were jokes, but they kept coming. When she made it known that she would never marry someone so young, she began to receive portraits of slightly older men, but they were still much younger than her.

This was because most men her age were already married. Any men her age who weren"t married were either much higher-ranked n.o.blemen or someone not worth considering. Both types wouldn"t work for Poliana"s situation.

And most men who offered her marriages were either third or fourth sons of poor low-ranking n.o.ble families. It seemed that these people saw Poliana as a goose that could lay golden eggs.

Lady Rebecca asked, "Don"t you have someone you like? Any man you are interested in? If you offer marriage to that man, I am sure there is a good chance he will accept it."

"Nope. I don"t have anyone."

There were a few men Poliana may have been slightly interested in, but they were all married with kids. Besides, she never really liked them that much. And anyone younger than her… Poliana could not see them as men at all. Lady Rebecca nodded in understanding, "Well, I guess any men your age are probably all married by now."