Chapter 71A celebration was allowed, but since they were still in the middle of a battlefield, drinking was not allowed but despite this rule, the tent smells heavily of alcohol. Why? Because they poured the drinks on themselves.
The knights looked like drowning mice. Poliana was already wet, but Sir Rabi poured another cup of hard liquor on top of her head. Her hair, which was now right above her ears, was dripping.
They only drank water, but the heavy smell of alcohol made it feel like a real party. The knights felt drunk and happy.
"Our own Sir Pol became the head of the guard team! Wow!"
Sir Rabi, who used to be her former superior, announced excitedly. Sir Baufallo, who was her first superior, smiled proudly as well. Poliana looked for her current aide while her previous subordinates complimented her as well.
"Sir Poliana, you will be remembered as the ugliest personal guard in Acreian history!"
In the past, Poliana would have ignored it and controlled her anger, but not anymore. She now held a lot of power in her hand. She also now had the responsibility of teaching her rude subordinates how to treat their superiors properly.
This was a military after all.
Poliana placed her arm around the rude knight and whispered, "If you continue to act this way, I can make your face much uglier than mine."
"I apologize, Sir Poliana! I will never do it again!"
The young man ran away quickly.
Poliana scratched her neck, which was wet and itchy from the alcohol dripping down from her hair. If she wanted, she could have punished him, but this was a party and she didn"t want to make a scene.
Soon, the conversation became filthy, which was expected when men gathered around in one place. It began with the married men, and the talk quickly became more and more inappropriate.
When Poliana looked indifferent, one of the young knights asked her, "Are you ok with this? Aren"t you uncomfortable?"
"Are you kidding me? Do you know how many years I have served in the military?"
She had heard much worse from the perverted Acreian n.o.bles in the past, this was nothing. The conversation here was actually rather tame for her taste.
In addition, she had the best story that was based on true events. In fact, it was from her own experience. She knew this story would shut all the men up from ever talking dirty in front of her.
The incident with Sir Batre… How so many boys and herself were sodomized by him… It certainly was not a common story, and such stories were definitely never told by the victims.
The men laughed and talked about their experiences with prost.i.tutes and their previous lovers. Sir Donau, however, seemed to be upset. When he stood up to leave, the other knights grabbed him.
"Sir Donau! Where do you think you"re going?!"
"Oh, I just needed a minute."
"No way! Can"t you take it like a man? Are our stories upsetting you?"
"Sir Donau! Is this true? Are you feeling uncomfortable? That can"t be!"
Donau could take a lot, but this area was one of his few weaknesses. He felt awkward and when the other men realized it, they began to tease him mercilessly. Watching the other knights bullying Donau, Poliana realized that perhaps being a man wasn"t all good.
She wondered what would have happened if she reacted as Donau did just now. They would have blamed it on her being a woman, but they would have also understood why. But if one were a man, like Sir Donau, it was a different story. If one were a man, he needed to be able to enjoy these unsavory stories.
Because that"s what a man was supposed to be.
Poliana hasn"t realized until now that the s.e.xism she experienced as a woman wasn"t just one-sided, it worked both ways. She could see clearly now that her position changed. Now that she had power and her life was better, she could see that some men suffered from s.e.xism just as she did.
"Hmm… this is strange…"
She thanked her promotion for her new-found awareness. Being the head of an entire division felt much different than being a mere commander. Now that she had more authority, she wanted to protect her people. This was what she learned from her beloved emperor.
"Take care of those around you."
Poliana announced with a frown, "I am the star of this party, aren"t I? So must you all talk about these shady and sleazy topics?"
Immediately, the men stopped. The conversation changed suddenly into other more mundane subjects including their families, positions, training, and hobbies. If their superiors weren"t present, the lower-ranking officers would have spent a chunk of time badmouthing them.
Sir Rabi was especially loud about his wife and his children. He also bragged about his new pet fawn. Then suddenly, and loudly, as usual, he asked Poliana, "By the way, Sir Pol, do you not get monthly bleeding? I remember my wife suffering greatly whenever she got her period every month."
Everyone heard this question and turned towards her for an answer. Sirs Donau and Baufallo, who knew the answer, gave Sir Rabi a warning look, but Poliana didn"t care.
"Why do men overreact about things like this? It"s nothing to be ashamed of."
"I haven"t had a period in a very long time, Sir Rabi."
"Oh… Are you very irregular? Is that it?"
"No, actually I haven"t had one in about 8 years now."
She had minor bleeding a few times, but it never enough to call it a period. In fact, she saw more blood from her hemorrhoids. Thankfully, she was fully recovered from it, but she remembered how hard it was to go to the bathroom when she did suffer from it.
Sir Rabi then asked, "That sounds very serious. Have you talked to a healer about it?"
"No, I don"t have any discomfort, so I never thought to seek a healer for it."
Besides, what would a military doctor know about gynecology? It would be more useful to go to a local midwife.
The other knights froze awkwardly, but Sir Rabi seemed genuinely concerned. He talked about his wife again, and it was clear that he was very much in love with her. This was one saving grace for her view of Sir Rabi. Poliana smiled faintly.
"Even if you don"t have any pain, you might have a cyst growing inside you. You need to go talk to a healer," Sir Rabi continued.
"I will when I get some time. When things aren"t so hectic…"
"Even my daughters… They are just like their mother, so they suffer from monthly cramps too…"
It seems like yesterday when Sir Rabi"s daughters were only babies but now, they were all grown up. They were women now.
The other married knights teared up as they talked about their own fast-growing children. Meanwhile, Sir Rabi continued to focus on Poliana as he asked, "Aren"t you worried that you might be barren?"
"I don"t have any plans to have children."
"Sir Pol, you need to rethink that, marriage can be amazing."
Sir Rabi was a powerful n.o.bleman, which meant his marriage was most likely arranged. Yet, it seemed that he had a great loving relations.h.i.+p with his wife. It was clear based on the way he talked about how much he loved his wife and his children.
Poliana sighed and replied, "To be honest, I have never considered marriage for myself. When I was in Aehas, all I could think about was to survive, and after I became his highness" knight, I became busy adapting to my new situation. Getting married and having children when we are in the middle of a war… I can"t imagine myself doing it."
"I understand, but from now on, perhaps you can think about it. Even if you don"t want to have children, marriage can still be very fun."
Poliana grinned.
She was ugly. Her face and body were badly scarred. She now had longer hair, but she planned on keeping it above her ears at all times. Her fingers were manly and thick, and her hands were rough and calloused. Her nails were destroyed and her voice was rough. She behaved like a soldier, not a lady and on top of that, she probably couldn"t have children.
So who in his right mind would marry her?
"I like things the way they are right now."
Poliana was satisfied with her current situation. She had the emperor"s trust and she now could call the other knights her friends. Her men were loyal to her too.
She had everything she would ever need. If she acted greedily now, she could lose everything. She knew her place and she needed to be thankful for what she had, which was more than she deserved.
Because she was going to have a long day tomorrow, she left the party early. The other knights didn"t protest. As she walked out, she noticed Sirs Rabi and Baufallo whispering to each other privately.
"What"s going on?"