The Emperor And The Knightess

Acreian knights" initiation ritual was brutal as expected. All military men were known for their roughness and callousness. It was especially worse in the Acreian army because most men were also hunters, who had their own separate rituals on top of everything.

For example, new young hunters were ordered to bring back rabbits in the middle of a snowstorm or bring back a deer with only a small dagger.

Poliana and Sir Donau"s initiation was far from over even as the night deepened. Acreia was known for its strong drinks because of its cold weather. In the past, there were a few occasions when men died during the ritual, which took place outside. The men froze to death after the drinks were poured on them over and over again. Later, the emperor ordered that any initiation must take indoors to prevent this kind of meaningless deaths.

Because they were safe for now, Lucius the First gave his permission for this tradition to take place. Another big reason for his permission was because the emperor was curious.

Lucius the First was born a prince and became an heir and an emperor at a very young age. He has heard about these knight initiation rituals, but he has never seen one before. If they were still in Acreia, they would have had more food and perhaps even a fool or a poet for entertainment.

But they were in the middle of a war, so they had to make do. Luckily, Lucius the First was very generous, and he allowed an unlimited amount of alcohol to be used from the storage.

He also planned to visit the men and surprise them. On his way to the room, he saw Sir Donau busting out from it. Thankfully, Donau was able to avoid b.u.mping into the emperor, but he ran into Sir Ainno, who was walking right behind Lucius the First.

Sir Donau, who suddenly collapsed, began to vomit uncontrollably.

"Arrggh!"

With a disgusted look, Sir Ainno grabbed Donau and placed him in a corner. Lucius the First remembered Sir Ainno looking awkward when he was told that the emperor was going to make a surprise appearance. Lucius thought to himself, "I guess it"s not what I expected…"

But he was already here, and he couldn"t go back. Sir Ainno, with a frown, kicked the door open and announced loudly, "The emperor has arrived!"

Everyone, who was now drunk, stood up quickly. Sir Ainno looked around and when he saw that Poliana looked awake and normal, he was shocked. Lucius the First was surprised as well. She had to be the one who drank the most in this room; they were certain that the other knights wouldn"t have been kind to her just because she was a woman.

The emperor said to her, "Hmm... You look perfectly fine."

"It"s because I know the secret to staying sober."

Calmly, Poliana stuck her finger in her throat and vomited on the floor. She then rinsed her mouth with alcohol nearby and smiled at the emperor happily. She announced, "This is how you remain sober, your highness!"

Suddenly, Lucius the First and Sir Ainno realized that they were mistaken. Poliana"s eyes weren"t focused at all; she was obviously intoxicated. She just looked better than other men because she was standing while most of the men were on the floor.

The emperor then replied, "Sir Poliana, if you continue this way, you are going to die."

Poliana, meanwhile, tried unsuccessfully to kneel for Lucius the First. Feeling sympathetic, the emperor took away the bottle from her hand, which made her fall on her side. There were bowls and buckets of vomit all over the floor, and naturally, she fell into one of them.

Her face, body, and hair became covered with disgusting pukes. For the first time since he met her, Lucius the First thought it was a good thing that Poliana cut her hair so short.

This was no place for an emperor. Sir Ainno, still frowning, begged, "Your highness, you should return to your tent now."

The emperor loved to drink and enjoyed drinking with his knights, but what he saw tonight was too shocking for him to understand. He rubbed his face and looked up at the ceiling.

How was he going to conquer the continent with men like this?

***

The next day, the knights used different methods to cure their hangovers. Some took cold showers, while others sparred or exercised to "sweat" the poison out. A few men chose to remain in bed because they claimed that moving too much was going to make them feel worse.

Those who felt ok were as cruel as ever. Sir Rabi and Sir Bentier came to the tents of the knights still in bed and kicked them.

"Get up, you lazy b.a.s.t.a.r.ds!"

The knights grabbed their heads and looked around desperately for water. Thankfully for Sir Donau, Poliana was quick in getting him up before being kicked out from his bed. She woke up earlier and was feeling better after a cold shower.

"My eyes won"t open…" Donau murmured.

Indeed, his eyes remained shut and he waved his arms around pathetically. Poliana replied in annoyance, "Yes, I can see that you aren"t quite awake yet. Alright."

She took Donau and pushed him randomly into one of the knights" tents. She tried her best, and now, he had to figure out what to do next on her own.

Sir Howe stood beside Sir Rabi and kicked the men still in bed, or crawling on the floor, including his own brother. As the weakened men tried to get dressed, some screamed because they found vomit in their boots.

Poliana watched them with a smile. She wasn"t weak like those men. She was better. She drank so much, more than most and yet, she was walking and talking fine. She felt so proud of herself for getting up early and not breaking her routine.

But her happiness disappeared quickly when she was spotted by Lucius the First. The emperor, who rarely approached a woman, broke his own rule and walked towards Poliana. He tapped her shoulder to get her attention and said to her, "Sir Poliana, please don"t ever drink like that again. You will end up killing yourself that way."

"Y, your highness! I apologize!"

"Or if you must get drunk, just fall asleep or lose consciousness like a normal person. I can understand many different things, but what I saw last night… I cannot."

Sir Ainno nodded, "I agree with his highness, Sir Poliana. It was horrible."

Poliana was so sure that she has done very well last night but apparently, she was very much mistaken. With her face turning bright red, she ran out to the forest and began to beat up a poor tree out of frustration.