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‘More like Sir Ainno was an as*hole that that is why no woman wanted to marry him,’ Poliana thought secretly.

Being busy and getting engaged were two separate things. Most of the time, noblemen and women’s marriages were arranged by their parents. Sir Ainno wasn’t just any knight or lowly noble; he was the first-born son of Marquis Seki. It was obvious that he wasn’t engaged because Sir Ainno didn’t want to be.

Sir Ainno had a rather unpleasant reputation. The men hated him for being too perfect and overconfident, and the women didn’t like him either. It made sense just based on how he treated the women around him.

Perhaps he would make an acceptable husband due to his station, but he was definitely not a knight that the maids would want to give their handkerchiefs to.

But the emperor explained earnestly to Poliana that Sir Ainno just didn’t know how to treat women. Lucius the First insisted that Sir Ainno was a man of few words and this was why the women mistook him as rude.

Poliana finally nodded and hesitantly handed Sir Ainno one of her handkerchiefs. “I am just lending one to you. I’m not actually giving it to you, ok?”

“Fine.”

“You need to promise me that you will return it to me.”

“Fine.”

“I am only doing this because of his highness. I don’t actually want to do this.”

“Just give it to me!” Sir Ainno grabbed the handkerchief from Poliana and stuffed it inside of his shirt. He grumbled loudly, but it seemed that he was superstitious as well after all.

Most, if not all, northern men did, including the emperor.

Suddenly, Sir Ainno’s eyes moved the Poliana’s head. She knew why he was staring because it has been happening all day. Half the people she met today told her she looked good with the handkerchief on her head, while the other half told her to take it off.

Lucius the First, Sir Howe, and Sir Rabi thought it suited her. Sirs Baufallo and Aeke thought that she looked ridiculous.

“Did you finally realize your gender?” Sir Ainno asked her coldly.

“Sir Ainno, I have known that I was a woman all my life. Even without the handkerchief, even with the armor on and with me holding my sword, the fact that I am a woman won’t ever change.”

This was the truth. Poliana had never considered herself anything other than a woman. She had lived as a woman, and she will die as one. No matter what she wore, no matter what she did for a living, Poliana Winter was and would always be a woman.

She could be fighting in the war, or she could be home sewing. She might not have beautiful hair like her stepsister, and she might have a special knack for kicking men’s balls, but despite it all, Poliana Winter as a woman. No one could deny it, no one had the right to deny it.

“Sir Ainno, you also saw me naked too, didn’t you? I have always been a woman,” Poliana added.

Even if she received a severe internal injury and was no longer able to bear children.

Even if her breasts were cut during a battle.

No matter what, her gender would never change.

She was forever a woman.

Until death.

Sir Ainno seemed awkward and confused at the same time. There were people in this world who considered certain types of people “different.” For example, children, eunuchs, and women like Poliana.

‘Did Sir Ainno think that way?’

Just then, he nodded in agreement and replied, “True. Even the ugliest women are still women, I guess.”

‘Bastard.’

Sir Ainno saw Poliana’s face and ran away quickly, afraid she might take her handkerchief away from him.

The tournament field was very clean and neat. It didn’t have the luxurious or extravagant structures, but it still had proper seats and the podium for the champion.

Because this game was a special occasion, two VIP seats were provided; one for each emperor. Lucius the First sat in this seat and watched Gali the Third, who was sitting across the field from him. The Bikpa king was a middle-aged man wearing a golden crown. He looked ordinary.

But the Acreian knights were used to the most beautiful emperor, which meant that they were harsh in their judgment. Wearing expensive crown and clothes didn’t change the fact that Lucius the First was far more gorgeous.

“Our emperor is definitely the most magnificent man in the world.”

“Gali the Third looks even uglier than the king of Bebero.”

Poliana didn’t know what the emperor of Aehas looked like. She heard that he was a fat old man with a huge belly. His children, according to the rumor, were cute, but then again, all children were cute.

Poliana knew enough not to judge someone by their appearance but so far, most of the people she met seemed to have personalities that matched their appearances. For example, Poliana saw that the royal members of Bebero and their looks matched their lack of charisma.

The king of Bikpa, Gali the Third, also looked too ordinary. Perhaps he looked especially worse because he was compared to Lucius the First but still, the expensive cloth that he wore looked gaudy and ugly.

Of course, if the Acreian emperor wore the same cloth, his knights would have praised him for it.

But the girl sitting next to Gali the Third was pretty. Was it his wife or his daughter? She looked to be in her late teens. Her cheeks were rosy and her eyes shined like the stars. Her long smooth hair was braided with a silk string.

It had to be Gali the Third’s daughter since she looked so much younger than him. If she was his wife, then the Bikpa King would probably be worse than what had everyone expected. The princess was staring at Lucius the First with widened eyes, and this made Poliana feel proud.

The moderator first announced the names of each kingdom’s leader. The two men waved at the audience and the knights.

Only

They then called out the knights who were participating in the tournament. When their names were called, each man entered the field, holding the flag that had their family crest embroidered on it. Sir Ainno’s flag was bright red and was the most noticeable of them all. To be allowed to have such a deep color meant that his family, Seki, must’ve been very powerful in Acreia.

Before this day, Lucius the First had the knights gather to decide the order of their participation. The rule of this tournament was simple; the winner was to continue fighting until he was defeated. This meant that it could be 1:10, 2:10, or 10:10.

Lucius the First was obviously concerned about his knights getting injured. All of the Bikpa knights were champions with great skills. If the Acreian knights, who were inexperienced in this game, fell off the horse and got stabbed, they could be severely injured or even killed.

It was a game, but a very dangerous one. After all, the knights were to hold long sharp lancets and ride towards each other on horses.

Sir Ainno wanted to be the first one to enter the tournament. He was determined, but Lucius the First didn’t think that it was a smart idea. What if they send out their strongest knight towards the end of the tournament?

So Lucius the First contemplated carefully before making the decision based on the experiences and advice of the knights.

And finally, the very first Acreian knight to be sent out, in the end, was decided.

Sir Rabi.