Chapter 14Poliana"s injuries were almost healed. Her nose ended up looking permanently crooked, and although her bones mended, she was still covered in bruises. Despite all that, she felt well. As long as she wasn"t going to be re-injured, she was going to be fully healed very soon.
Some parts of her skin were permanently discolored from being injured over and over again, but Poliana didn"t care.
She walked alongside the other injured soldiers to the capital. No men bothered her, most likely because they knew who she was. In fact, they ignored her completely and Poliana didn"t mind. She was used to being all alone.
Thankfully, the regular citizens of Aehas didn"t find it difficult to accept the new emperor as their own. The people of all northern kingdoms were of the same race with similar cultures and languages, so it made it very easy for the average men and women of Aehas to go on with their lives.
But it was a different story for the n.o.bles of Aehas. Their t.i.tles and lands were taken away. They still remained in their current positions temporarily until Lucius the First found the appropriate replacements from his own pool of people, but it was inevitable that they were going to be replaced soon enough.
The Cranbell"s land was on the way to the Aehas capital. Poliana visited her home to see her old knight, but she found out that he had pa.s.sed away. Rather than dying in his bed of old age, the old knight chose to face the death of a true knight. He apparently went to battle against Acreia and ended up being killed.
Thankfully, the old knight was given an honorable funeral by the Acreian soldiers, who valued such bravery from an old man. His grave was located near Poliana"s home.
Standing in front of his grave, Poliana reported to him, "I have found a dream."
When she thought back, the old knight rarely praised anyone. He never openly acknowledged her efforts and hard work, but still, his teaching had saved her.
"I will follow the emperor to the end of this continent. When I return from my victory, I will report back to you," she continued.
After a quick emotionless bow, she left.
Poliana returned to her home, which was now temporarily used to house the injured soldiers. Many of the Aehas n.o.bles" homes were forced to be used according to that purpose. It was Lucius" thoughtful idea to provide a comfortable place for the wounded, and this fact helped with the soldiers" morale.
Lucius the First had strict rules.
Soldiers should never go hungry and any injured men must not be left behind.
Poliana wholeheartedly agreed with his policy. When she entered her home which never really felt like one, its servants and its workers were shocked to see her. At first, they didn"t recognize her, but when they did, they exclaimed, "My lady!"
"You have returned! Are you here for good now?"
Because Poliana was still wearing her Aehas uniform, people thought that she has returned after losing the war to Acreia. She ignored their questions and went into the kitchen to start packing some food. She grabbed a few apples and cranberries.
She chewed on the as she walked away and their sour taste made her mouth water. She then thought to herself, "I should"ve grabbed the craisins, not this one."
Just then, she stopped when she spotted her younger stepsister, Liana.
It was a smart idea to be favored by the conquering soldiers and knights, so Liana, who hated soldiers and blood, was out pretending to help the wounded men. Instead of wearing her usual lacy dresses, she was wearing a simple robe.
In truth, she was no help at all, but the knights seemed to enjoy the company of a pretty girl, so they smiled and let her roam around.
Liana"s pride and joy, her long hair, was placed in a high bun, but she kept having it down to brush in front of the men. Every time her hair fell down like a brown waterfall, the soldiers drooled excitedly.
Something seemed different to Poliana. She studied her sister carefully and wondered, "This is strange. Why doesn"t she look pretty anymore?"
In her memory, Liana has always been a pretty lady. Poliana didn"t like her, but she still had to admit that Liana was good looking.
But today, she didn"t look pretty. Was it because she wasn"t as dolled up as before? But Poliana has seen Liana before getting adorned, and even then, she had always thought that her younger sister was attractive.
Poliana finished the last bit of cranberries when suddenly, their eyes met. Liana"s eyes widened and quickly, she walked towards her angrily.
"You!"
Liana continued to scream, "Why did you come here? Get out! There is nothing for you here!"
Poliana wasn"t here for anything. As Liana got closer, Poliana now was sure of her findings.
Liana was no longer pretty.
It was shocking to Poliana. Liana was of age when she was supposed to be the prettiest, so how could she have changed so much so badly?
"You have become ugly," Poliana said.
"WHAT?"
"You should do something about that."
Liana flinched and her hands covered her face in shock. Just then their father came out and when he saw his oldest daughter, he started to scream at her, just like Liana did.
Poliana didn"t care, especially now. She did have something she has always wondered about, so she finally asked her father, "So who was the one with the problem? You or my stepmother?"
Her father and her stepmother were still young when they had Liana, so the fact that they gave up having a son at the time meant that one of the two had a health problem. But before her father could reply, Poliana answered for him. "Obviously, you are the one with the problem, right? How badly did you take care of your body that you became impotent at such a young age?"
Embarra.s.sed and angry, her father raised his hand to strike her, but Poliana grabbed it before it reached her. She was about to go see the emperor, and she didn"t want to have any new bruises on her face.
"Why are you overreacting? It"s not like you have a family t.i.tle to give to anyone anymore. And why are you s.h.i.+vering so much? Are you cold? Is your home so old and crumbly that it"s drafty? Maybe you should build a new home or something," Poliana continued indifferently.
Her father fell to the ground in shock. Poliana walked away quickly and when she saw her stepmother come out from the house, she made sure to advise her loudly that she should divorce this impotent man. She also told her that she should take better care of her daughter, who was turning ugly.
Poliana thought to herself, "She isn"t a n.o.ble anymore, so her looks were going to be everything that she has. How could Liana lose her prettiness when she needs it the most?"
Poliana felt satisfied but as she reached the castle where she was to meet the emperor, she suddenly regretted her words. She didn"t expect to see her stepsister ever again, but if she did, Poliana decided that she should apologize to her.
It was because Poliana realized the truth. It wasn"t that Liana has become ugly; it was that Poliana"s standard of beauty had increased dramatically.
She spotted her emperor, Lucius the First from afar. The most beautiful man in the world. As he smiled, his whole face shone like the sun, blinding everyone around him.
It was no wonder that after meeting the gorgeous emperor, everyone else looked homely and plain to her.
The victory celebration took place for a few days and on the last night of the party, Lucius the First called for Poliana for a private meeting.
He offered her a drink, and she took it without hesitation. Even if it was poisoned, she would"ve taken it gladly. When she emptied the gla.s.s, Lucius the First said to her, "There has been a suggestion that you, Sir Poliana, should be the acting head of Aehas. You were born and raised here, and I believe that you would do a fine job. If you accept, I will make it happen immediately."
Poliana almost coughed in shock. The acting head of this kingdom? It was too much.
And it wasn"t what Poliana wanted. Putting down her gla.s.s, she kneeled in front of her emperor and begged him, "Your highness. My dream is to follow you to the end of this continent. Please do not abandon me here. I will protect you forever by your side as your knight."
Lucius the First smiled happily and asked Sir Ainno, who was standing behind him. "Did you hear that?"
"Well, she is obviously too ambitious for her own good."
"She just refused the posting of the acting head, so how could you call her too ambitious? Oh well, whatever you say, Ainno."
Poliana could guess what kind of conversation went between the knight and the emperor, and it seemed that she gave the right answer. As long as the emperor was happy, she was too.
Lucius the First picked up a cookie and continued, "As you have promised, Sir Poliana, it was a piece of cake to take over the two kingdoms. Therefore, I will let you have what you just asked for. You will follow me to the end of this world. You will be by my side to protect me with your life."
"Thank you, your highness."
"I will get the armor maker to make your new gears. You may pick any weapon you want from the armory. You should take some rest until your wounds heal completely to prepare yourself for your next battle.
Looking at silent Poliana, he continued, "We will have to cross the river very soon."