The Emperor and the Knightess

Chapter 5

Acreia’s northern region was too cold for anyone to survive while it’s eastern and western borders were surrounded by icy seas.

Only its southern border faced other nations, namely Aehas and Kukda. Unless Acreia was planning to go to war against the polar bears, the only possible foes for Acreia to wage war against were pretty clear.

Kukda and Aehas have been carrying on their war for centuries, and now, the third country, Acreia, was about to join in.

Acreia’s lands were unproductive. If it planned on going to war, which meant redirecting their limited resources to their military division, its goal was very obvious.

It was to conquer another nation.

Poliana gave up the rest of her vacation and returned to her base. She immediately reported to her superiors about her findings, but they ignored her as usual.

“Acreia? Do you think Acreia is going to attack us? Are you stupid? Only a woman would think of such a ridiculous story.”

“But it’s the truth. It is so obvious, sir. If you would only look at Acreian military movements, you should be able to see this. We need to send the scouts to learn more about their plan.”

“This isn’t your first year here, girl. You have survived here for 6 years, so even an idiot like you should’ve learned how things work around here. We have no soldiers to send away. Our battle with Kukda is just about to start! The last and biggest battle of our history!”

“The battle you’re expecting won’t come!”

“Did you not hear about the order from the capital? Our emperor suspects Kukda to be planning something big this year. This winter will finally be the time when we defeat Kukda once and for all!”

“That is what we say every year! Every winter, we say it’s going to be the last and the biggest battle, and every spring, we get disappointed as we go into a truce. You know this, sir! You know this war will never end!”

No one even knew the reason for this war anymore, either side no longer had a goal as to why they’re moving on. It was only and all about pride.

But such vanity was causing the deaths of countless soldiers. The nobles enjoyed their extravagant lives in the capitals while the low and middle-class citizens suffered.

Her captain snorted and replied, “You are so stupid. As of today, you will no longer be allowed to lead your army. You will return to being a simple knightess so you can learn what this war really is about.”

Everyone in the tent fell silent before the men sneered at her. It was her captain who promoted to the platoon leader because he saw how talented Poliana was in tactics and reading maps. If it wasn’t for him, she would’ve never been given such position. She would’ve remained as one of many nameless knights.

But now that her position was taken away and she was a nobody again. That meant that she also lost the privilege of participating in these meetings.

She returned her platoon leader’s dagger and was about to leave the tent when she heard the words that were so familiar to her.

“This is why we shouldn’t work with women.”

Poliana closed her eyes and left the tent quietly. She wished that it was indeed her imagination, but she knew it wasn’t the case.

Acreia was coming.

In her own tent, Poliana laid down on her bed. Knights weren’t allowed to have private tents, but because she was a woman, she was given one that she could use for herself. All the other knights complained about it.

No one ever helped her set up her tent. There were constant bullying and abusing just because she was a woman.

The past 6 years have been horrible. Thankfully, she hasn’t been raped again since Sir Batre, but the abuse she had to endure from the men around her was just as bad as a rape.

If she got hurt, they called her weak. If she didn’t get hurt, they would become angry and call her a coward. If she won a battle, they would say it was just luck but if she lost one, everyone would blame her for it.

If she sent a letter to her home, they said she was too emotional. If she didn’t send anything, they called her a cold b*tch. If she walked out of her tent, they spat at her but f she remained in her tent, they would call her lazy.

No matter what she did, she was despised and it didn’t matter how hard she worked for it.

She was a woman, and that was more than enough of a reason to hate her.

Male soldiers who had served 6 years in the army became a commander, which was a higher rank than just a platoon leader. It was a miracle that Poliana even got promoted even though she served them just like the others along with her multiple and notable accomplishments.

Even as a platoon leader, her own men oftentimes refused to take her orders.

Poliana wondered, ‘Why do I bother? What am I living for?’ Then, she remembered her teacher, the old knight’s words.

“A lack of goal in life can ruin a person.”

Only

Poliana now knew that this was the truth. She was working for nothing. The fact that she was trying so hard just to be ignored and despised killed her.

Survival alone was meaningless now. She needed a reason to live and revenge was useless. Even if she survived the rest of her term, return home, and inherit the family title, Poliana knew that she wouldn’t become happy. The life of a lady was not what she wanted.

If she remained here as a knight, Poliana knew that she was going to die here either by a sword or an arrow. And she wasn’t going to die a hero; she was going to die a nameless soldier and disappear. No one was going to mourn her.

She didn’t want to die, but she also didn’t have a meaning for her life.

‘Bastards.’

Poliana went into the forest and punched a tree in anger. This was her way of relieving stress, and when one of the patrols saw her doing this, he muttered, “dumbass.”

As expected, Poliana’s warning was ignored by her superiors and soon enough, it became clear that Poliana was right. Of course, being right wasn’t a good thing in this situation.