The Emperor and the Knightess

Poliana left her work early to return home. There, she expertly put on a dress and wrapped her hair with a handkerchief. Since the day she decided to get married, Poliana chose not to cut her hair. It was now long enough to touch her shoulders.

Should she cut it now? Should she not?

Poliana glared at the mirror for a while before deciding to keep it because she knew the handkerchief looked better on her with long hair. Her butler asked, “Mistress, are you going out?”

“Yes.”

The butler was happy to see Poliana in a dress because it meant that she wouldn’t go too far…. Well, actually, this only meant that she wouldn’t go out training like a maniac. Poliana didn’t get on her horse. Instead, she chose to walk. She asked around and found the place she was looking for. It wasn’t the market but an area in the suburban area. After taking a deep breath, Poliana walked in. The owner of the place was an old woman.

The old woman’s job was something women needed in every village. She was a professional who had extensive experience and knowledge that could help women with their health.

She was a midwife. Because most doctors did not have much knowledge of women’s health, the midwives were necessary. Although they did not have official and organized schools and research, the midwives’ experience helped in keeping down the death rate of pregnant mothers and their babies.

The old woman asked, “What brings you here?”

“I’m wondering if I’m pregnant.”

Now that she said it out loud, Poliana felt dizzy. The midwife asked her to have a seat.

“I haven’t seen you around here.”

“I just had some business to attend Yapa recently.”

The midwife didn’t get on with the examination immediately. Poliana showed her frustration, but the old woman didn’t seem to care. Poliana might have had 20 years of battlefield experience, but the old woman had 50 years of experience as the midwife of this town.

The old woman asked Poliana many personal questions. Where did she live? How old was she? When Poliana refused to answer them, the old woman grumbled but examined her nonetheless. After a little while, the midwife said to Poliana, “Congrats, you’re pregnant.”

“F*ck!”

“A pregnant woman should not swear like that! If you do, you will end up having a baby with a cleft lip. You’re old enough to know better!”

The old woman slapped Poliana’s back a few times.

Slap! Slap!

The midwife was shockingly strong, and in the end, the head of Acreian Second Division Marquess Poliana Winter surrendered.

“Dammit! Argh! Fine! Fine! I’m sorry!”

Poliana ran out of the door and sighed deeply. She didn’t know what to do.

“Your highness… Lucius the First… My dear emperor…”

It seemed that even her emperor’s sperms were amazing since it only took one time to get Poliana pregnant. She wondered why it took so long for Lady Rebecca to get pregnant and why the other two ex-wives never did.

Poliana kicked the wall hard, and the midwife inside yelled at her, “Why are you kicking my home? You’re pregnant, which means you should be more careful, be kinder!”

“Alright, alright! Sorry, I’m sorry.”

Poliana wanted to cry. Why was her uterus suddenly working so hard when in the last thirty years, it refused to work at all?

Why? How? What the hell!

She wanted to believe that it wasn’t Lucius the First’s baby, but it was not possible. The only man she slept with was the emperor, so it had to be his. Poliana leaned against the building wall. She felt too dizzy to stand straight. Both of her legs began to shake.

Pregnant. She was pregnant!

People say that it was easy to miscarry at an early stage of pregnancy, so how did her body endure such hard training while pregnant? Poliana found it difficult to believe what was happening. She watched Lady Rebecca bedridden during most of her pregnancy. She needed the doctor’s permission just to get the chance to sit on a chair, yet compared to that, Poliana’s body seemed like it was invincible.

Poliana believed that her life was alright. Some may believe she led an unfortunate life while others believe that she should’ve been greedier for more in her life.

But today… Finally… Poliana believed that a true calamity occurred in her life. Something was going very wrong here. Was her life destined to be destroyed this way?

Immediately after she was born, her birth mother passed away. Her own father and her stepmother wanted her to die. Poliana lived many years living and surviving without having a clear goal. She lived an unappreciated life for decades. She almost died many times before finally meeting the emperor who acknowledged and accepted her as a true knight. She was given a new name and she worked hard. She made many notable accomplishments. She was finally respected; she even had colleagues who liked her.

The only thing left for her was to live a happy life, so why was this happening to her?

It was one thing to be fooled by a gold digger, but to get pregnant by Lucius the First? Of all men… Why did it have to be the emperor?

Lucius the First currently did not have an heir.

‘Well, that’s not true.’ Technically, Duke Luzo and his son were next in line. Duke Luzo was a truly loyal cousin and ally to the emperor. If Lucius the First did not get an heir, the next option was to have Princess Luminae marry the Duke’s son and have him become the next heir. It wasn’t a bad idea, though the new emperor’s legitimacy wouldn’t be as strong as if it was Lucius the First’s own son.

The emperor united the entire continent. He dreamt of a strong unified kingdom and he didn’t plan on it falling apart after he was gone.

In this complicated situation, Poliana Winter became pregnant with the emperor’s child. The gender of this baby was obviously unknown at this point. So as the loyal knight of the emperor, what should Poliana do?

She could think of four options.

1. Honesty. She tells the emperor the truth.

2. Escape. She runs away.

3. Abortion. She gets rid of the baby.

4. Suicide.

5. This has to be a dream. When she wakes up, she will realize that it was only a nightmare, so there is nothing to do. Nothing to worry about.

Only

Poliana chose option 5. She was too tired, both physically and emotionally, that she needed some rest.

***

The next morning.

Considering it was such a traumatic event yesterday, Poliana slept rather well. With a clearer head after a restful night, Poliana contemplated what happened.

“Why is this happening to me?!”

Poliana despaired at the fact that she wasn’t dreaming. She was truly pregnant with the emperor’s child. This was really happening. Although it was hard to accept the truth, she could no longer just sit still and feel miserable. Now that she could think a little better, a thought popped into her head suddenly.

‘Wait a minute! That midwife may have been wrong, right?!’