Chapter 96A few days after her conversation with Sir Bentier, Poliana had a similar talk with the emperor. When he warned her of the elders, Poliana clenched her fists and announced bravely, "I will take care of them all, your highness!"
Sir Ainno, who was standing next to her agreed, "I will help her. I agree that this would be the best option for us."
Lucius the First looked at his loyal knights proudly and answered, "Don"t bother. They are old and will die soon enough."
Sir Ainno insisted, "But your highness, if they bother you, please let me know. I can go ahead and get rid of them. It"s no problem at all."
"Inno, you are the best and the strongest knight I have. I can"t have you use your skills on something like this."
"It"s ok. I am happy to do it for you, your highness."
"Hahaha."
Lucius the First laughed bitterly. He knew he was acting too hesitant when it came to dealing with the elders, but he couldn"t help it. Lucius the First did not like them, but they didn"t hate them. They were just old men, so how long could they live?
For example, his biggest problem Marquis Seeze was over 70 years old. Once he dies, his entire forces will be weakened. It was only a matter of time and Lucius the First didn"t want to get his hands dirty at this point. Time was on his side.
The emperor said to Poliana, "And this is why I can"t take you with me to the castle, Sir Pol. Please don"t be too upset."
"Not at all, your highness."
"You must understand that I do not want to leave you behind, Sir Pol…"
Poliana wasn"t upset at all, but it seemed Lucius the First was the one who was unhappy about it. The emperor was still unmarried and having a foreign knightess by his side as he returned to the castle would cause an uproar. Lucius the First did not want his favored knight to have to go through the trouble of being ridiculed and treated unfairly…
Lucius the First continued, "I mean, I don"t care what they say about me, but I would never want people to talk badly of you, Sir Pol. What if it affects your chance of marriage in a negative way…"
"I won"t get married."
"Don"t say that. If you meet a decent man, you should get married. I will give you more lands and horses when you get married."
But even though as the emperor encouraged her, his face clearly showed how upset he was at the idea of her marriage.
"Ha!"
Sir Ainno smirked suddenly, making Poliana tense. Sir Ainno was laughing quietly and she became worried. Sir Ainno rarely smiled and always looked disappointed at everything and everyone.
"What is wrong with him?"
Poliana asked him, "Sir Ainno, are you ok? Are you choking or something?"
"Sir Poliana, when you get married, I will make sure to attend your wedding. Maybe I will stand as the best man for your husband. Hahaha."
It was clear Sir Ainno found something very funny and ironic. Poliana wondered if he was laughing at her. Was he trying to pick a fight again with her? Besides, the best man was usually the groom"s best friend, so why would Sir Ainno think he will be given the honor? Why was he making the decision all by himself?
"b.a.s.t.a.r.d."
Sir Ainno was indeed a jerk. He was over 30 years old, so one would expect him to have some maturity, but Sir Ainno lacked the most basic manners.
Lucius the First stopped him, "Inno, stop saying some nonsense."
Sir Ainno finally closed his mouth. The emperor continued to talk to Poliana, but he was basically repeating himself over and over again. He continued to tell her how unhappy he was that she couldn"t accompany him. He seemed desperate for her to know that this wasn"t what he wanted. The emperor told her he would miss her terribly.
Poliana listened patiently. This conversation was becoming boring, but she was grateful for her emperor"s thoughtfulness. She understood why he was worried about this situation because it was unthinkable for the head of the protection division to leave the emperor"s side.
Poliana felt determined to overcome this problem. She belonged here behind the emperor. She had no intention of giving up her position.
Lucius the First continued, "So, with respect to where you would stay…"
This was another problem. A powerful man providing a separate place to live for an unrelated woman… This only happened when that said woman was his mistress. Having Lucius the First provide her a place to live outside the castle would mark her as his mistress.
The emperor became angry at his uselessness. He couldn"t have her in his castle nor could he provide her a place to live. What should he do? Poliana had no family or friends in Acreia; Lucius the First was the only one she could rely on.
Another problem was that there was no empty house in Nanaba. It was the capital of Acreia after all. All the inns were full because of the upcoming victory ceremony.
Lucius the First glanced at Sir Ainno knowingly, and Sir Ainno immediately refused and said, "No way."
"You are an a.s.sho*e."
"I don"t care, even if you order me, your highness. Besides, I am an unmarried man as well, so I can"t have her in my house either."
Poliana quickly chimed in, "I don"t want it either, your highness. I can find my own place to stay, so there is no need for you to worry." She felt confident because she knew plenty of men she fought with for the past 10 years. The first person she thought of was Sir Baufallo. He was her very first supervisor and he took care of her very well this entire time.
But to her disappointment, Sir Baufallo answered awkwardly, "I can"t…"
The first thought that crossed Poliana"s mind was that perhaps it was because Sir Baufallo"s two sons, Donau and Sir Howe, were both unmarried. Having her in his home with his sons might damage their reputations but to her surprise, this wasn"t the reason why he refused her. Sir Baufallo explained, "My house is outside of the Nanaba castle, and it is unfortunately very small…"
There was no room for Poliana to stay. Sir Baufallo was only a knight from a poor and unknown n.o.ble family. There was no doubt that he would be rewarded greatly very soon but for now, all he had was a small house.
Poliana frowned and replied, "I"m good to sleep in the living room or even in the barn."
"Those s.p.a.ces have already been taken by my relatives."
Suddenly, Sir Donau offered, "My brother and I can set up a tent in the garden and stay there while Sir Pol can take our room."
But Sir Baufallo handed him the letter from his wife and replied, "Even the garden has been taken. We have no room to spare anymore." Apparently, several tents have already been set for his relatives to stay. Poliana realized that this wouldn"t work.
But thankfully, she soon received many offers. Many of her guards from her division came to her and invited her to their homes. The problem, however, was that they were all handsome unmarried n.o.blemen. Having her in their homes could jeopardize their potential marriage prospects in the future. Poliana had no choice but to refuse all of them.
"If I stay in your homes, you might have to marry me!"
"That"s ok, Sir Pol!"
"No way!"
"This isn"t going to work. I can"t stay in an unmarried man"s home."
Rumors could be vicious and damaging, and Poliana couldn"t risk it for any of her men. Her only option now was to find a married man and ask for a favor.
The first person she could think of was Sir Bentier.