The Emperor and the Knightess

Chapter 287

Those working for Poliana in the Sitrin castle were anxious ever since they heard the news about her visit, but now that Poliana was here, they finally had the chance to prove their worth to her. The officials sought her out actively, making Poliana’s life very busy.

Poliana had enough to worry about, but she did not avoid her responsibility. In a way, she was just like her emperor; Poliana was a workaholic. She visited Sitrin partly to rest, but she was barely given a chance to sit. Poliana, however, didn’t mind. Her plan was to get forged papers and to do this, she was going to need help from the local officials and the vessels.

Poliana prioritized the requests and worked efficiently to the officials’ delight. It was supposed to be her vacation, but in the end, it was her accompanying knights that ended up getting a break. They enjoyed the hot springs, the wonderful food, and the time off. Just to keep in shape, they did the bare amount of training.

Most royal knights were from a good family with good looks and talents. The women of Sitrin, both the ladies and the maids, admired the knights from the capital city.

The young men loved being appreciated by the ladies.

“This is like heaven.”

“We don’t want to go back to Yapa.”

Even in Yapa, the royal guards were respected, but there were plenty of them in the capital city. In Sitrin, they were considered rare. In fact, they were the only royal guards in Sitrin castle, so the locals reacted excitedly around them.

After being revered for a few days, the knights looked well-rested and pleased. When Poliana saw one of them, she grinned. The knight looked very well; his skin shined brightly.

Poliana asked, “You must be having a good time, huh?”

“Yes, Sir Pol! The hot spring here is amazing. When the people in Yapa learn about it, they are all going to want to visit.”

Sitrin was already a rich land. If people learned about the hot springs here, there would be an increase in visitors from all over the kingdom, which wasn’t what Poliana wanted. She wasn’t interested in making Sitrin into a tourist spot.

There was a reason why Poliana asked one of her men to come see her. It was time for her guards to return to Yapa.

“Why do you think I called for you today?”

The knight suddenly felt scared, and he didn’t know if he did something wrong. The knight tried his hardest to remember, but there was nothing that came up in his brain.

‘D…did I not train enough lately? Does she know? But the other guys didn’t do much either. Is she going to make an example of me?’

Poliana asked again, “Do you not know?”

The knight shivered. His entire body tensed, but he knew what to do. The knight straightened and replied, “My apologies, but I don’t know! If you tell me, I will fix it immediately!”

“Do you know what the Intelligence Unit is?”

“I am not aware of such a group, Sir Pol!”

“You must know.”

“Is it a newly formed unit? I am sorry I do not have any information on it! I will find out right now!”

“So you are going to pretend ignorance? Who do you think recommended Sir Deke to his highness for this unit?”

When Poliana continued to push, the knight stared for a little while before grinning. His bright white teeth shone as he stopped pretending and replied, “So you knew about it, Boss?”

“Just a little bit.”

“You are definitely the best among all the bosses of the divisions, Sir Pol.”

Poliana shrugged, enjoying the flattery. It was indeed Poliana who recommended Sir Deke to lead the Intelligence Unit. Over time, although she didn’t know the specifics of this secretive group, Poliana could guess who might be part of it. And one of them was her own guard standing in front of her. He was a member of the Second Division, but he also worked for the Intelligence Unit covertly as well.

‘I’m going to have to get him fired from the Intelligence Unit.’

As part of the Intelligence Unit, he should not have admitted his position to Poliana even if she prodded him. Because this unit was created in a hurry, it seemed that its men weren’t trained properly. However, it seemed that the members at least did a decent job gathering information.

“So you must now know why I called for you.”

“Did you need something from me?”

“The real reason I came here isn’t for a vacation.”

‘I actually came to have a baby.’

Poliana trusted her guards. She believed in their loyalty to her, but the problem was, all the royal guards, including herself, were loyal first to the emperor. And it was Lucius the First who was the one she had to keep her secret from.

Poliana believed that all secrets eventually get revealed in this world. This was why it was best to keep the number of involved people as small as possible. The more people there were who knew about the secret, the faster it will be for the secret to be exposed.

Poliana said to her guard, “I came here to run away.”

The knight’s eyes sharpened at her confession. The powerful Marquess Winter running away? From what?

When telling a lie, it was most convincing when one would include as much truth as possible. Poliana decided to tell the guard the truth about what happened with Frau as the reason for her stay in Sitrin. She told him about how embarrassing it was to find out that a gold digger almost fooled her into marrying him.

It was such a tragic story that the guard quivered angrily.

“And what did you do to that bastard, Boss?”

“I chopped it off.”

Did she mean his neck? When the knight pointed at his neck questioningly, Poliana shook her head. The knight thought about the other body parts that could be cut off, and he suddenly remembered Poliana’s nickname.

The knight nodded in understanding and Poliana said to him, “Revenge isn’t what really matters right now. There is a bigger issue.”

“What is it?”

“I am too embarrassed.”

“…”

Her guard frowned and nodded. It was true that such an incident was humiliating. She called off the wedding, but people still talked about it sometimes. If it wasn’t for Sir Ainno’s and Cekel’s upcoming wedding, Poliana’s failed marriage plan would’ve been the talk of the town.

Most of the people in the kingdom didn’t know what really happened, but those who mattered most to Poliana knew. Perhaps it would’ve been better for the strangers to make fun of her rather than those close to her to pity her. Poliana said to him, “I am just mortified.”

“I understand.”

“It’s too embarrassing.”

“Yeah…”

Only

“And as time passed, my embarrassment became bigger. This is why I ran.”

“Boss…”

“I forgot to tell his highness, but I am planning on staying here long term.”

The guard nodded and Poliana continued, “So you guys should return without me.”

“But who will guard you here?”

“Sitrin castle’s guards will protect me, so you will return without me.”

“But Boss…”