Chapter 110
Sir Rabi protested, “Father! Sir Poliana is the head of the royal guards and my honored guest! You are being rude!”
Poliana calmly replied to Sir Rabi Senior, “I didn’t bring any weapons with me to this dinner, because I didn’t think it was necessary. These walls are covered in weapons and armors. I saw that the weapons are all well-sharpened too.”
Sir Rabi Senior’s question was indeed very rude. Poliana could have answered it more diplomatically, but she didn’t feel the need to do so. She also didn’t think she deserved such rudeness.
Besides, it was true that the walls were decorated with excellent weapons. Behind her were maces while the wall in front of her held two large swords. If necessary, she could take them down and use them rather than making an effort of bringing her own to the dinner.
Poliana added, “I also trust Sir Rabi. He is one of the best and honorable knights I have ever met. He is also very kind and generous to his men. I have great respect for him.”
This was the truth. Poliana did have great respect for Sir Rabi. She could understand why Sir Howe considered Sir Rabi to be his favorite superior. Sir Rabi looked sly, but he was actually a very honest man. He could also be very kind, although not during his training.
It was clear that he loved his men, and everyone looked up to him.
Poliana asked Sir Rabi Senior, “I don’t know if you asked me that question to insult me or if you were truly curious, but it doesn’t matter. I felt insulted, so I would like you to apologize, Sir.”
Poliana looked like she was ready to duel the old man if necessary. Sir Rabi Senior glared at her before stating, “Your eyes tell me that you have killed before.”
“Obviously.”
“When was your first kill?”
“When I was 12 years old, my teacher brought me a man on a death row so I could practice.”
“Hmm… A wise teacher.”
The old man laughed and coughed before adding, “Not all murderers are knights, but all knights are murderers. I couldn’t control my curiosity and ended up being rude to my guest. I apologize, and I apologize to everyone here.”
With the old man’s sincere apology, the conversation resumed naturally. Poliana wasn’t upset and she continued to enjoy her meal.
Sir Rabi’s family was frank and honest, and Poliana liked them. The twins were kind and beautiful, and she thought that perhaps they were too good for the Baufallo brothers.
‘Hmm… But Sir Rabi must have a really good reason for pursuing this marriage plan.’
There had to be. There was too big of a gap between the families in terms of wealth and position. The fact that Donau and Sir Howe were good men and that they had a good future ahead of them wasn’t enough.
The conversation went on smoothly. When there was a pause, Lady Bika Senior asked Poliana, “So are you retiring soon?”
“No. I am on a short vacation.”
“Oh, no. Then, when will you get married?”
Poliana knew the best answer here was a vague one, an honest answer would make them nag.
“I will when I meet a good man.”
A man who would be willing to change his last name to his wife’s, a man who wouldn’t mind his wife working with other men, and a man who would be ok with his wife being barren; that’s what she would consider as a good man.
The lady said to Poliana patiently, “It is best for any woman to get married as early as possible. That way, you would have a better chance of bearing many healthy children.”
If Poliana answered honestly that she was barren, it was going to stop the lady from nagging, but she would have to go through the standard sympathy speech. Poliana wasn’t in the mood, so she remained quiet.
The elderly lady continued, “My daughter-in-law here… She got married at a very young age, but she had difficulty bearing a son. I am so thankful that she was finally able to have Bardo.”
Bardo Bika, the only son of Sir Rabi and the heir to the Bika family. If he wasn’t born, there was a good chance that Sir Rabi could have never joined the emperor in this war.
If Sir Rabi wasn’t there… Things could have gone very badly for Acreia. Poliana didn’t even want to think about what might have happened if they didn’t have Sir Rabi with them.
Thank god Bardo was born.
Lady Bika smiled kindly and said with a nod, “Yes, that’s right. A woman’s life begins only after she bears her sons.” She then turned towards her twin daughters and added, “You need to listen carefully, girls. A woman’s life depends all on the men around her. A lucky woman is born to a good father, is married to a good husband, and gets to bear good sons. You girls were very fortunate to have such a great father and he will find you good husbands. After that, all you have to do is bear good sons and raise them right.”
“Yes, mother.”
“Of course, mother.”
Poliana turned towards Vaxi and Vanessa, who have been quiet the entire dinner. All they did was smile blankly. However, Poliana noted that Sir Rabi wasn’t smiling. In fact, he looked upset, even more so when he had an argument with his father.
Poliana saw that Donau was about to protest to Lady Bika, but she glared at Donau to stop him. With her eyes, she ordered him not to say a word.
What Lady Bika said to her daughters could be considered rude to Poliana, but Poliana knew the lady had no intention of insulting her. All Lady Bika was doing was trying to teach her daughters a lesson she thought was very important, this was what Lady Bika believed.
A mother taught her daughters the wisdom she learned from her own mother; mother to daughters, sister to sister.
Lady Bika didn’t mean to offend Poliana. It was obvious that the possibility didn’t even cross the lady’s mind. In her defense, this was all she knew. This was how Lady Bika lived her life.
The twins smiled in agreement. They were good obedient daughters, this was their choice.
Just as Poliana didn’t choose to become a knightess, the twins didn’t have a choice when it came to how they lived their lives. The only thing they could do was to try their best to enjoy whatever lives they were given and find any sense of happiness they could so it would be bearable.
This was exactly what Poliana’s sister, Liana, did. Liana grew up listening to her mother who taught her a woman’s happiness was to find a good man and get married and being an obedient daughter, Liana did just that. She made sure to spend her every effort to make herself presentable and learn feminine skills such as music. Then, when she got the chance, she married the best man she could possibly find.
When Poliana was reunited with Liana, she didn’t think Liana was unhappy. Her stepsister didn’t look overly happy, but there had to be a small sense of happiness somewhere in her life.
Only
‘Besides, I gave her a house as a gift too.’
Healthy children, a nobleman as her husband, healthy parents, and a free house. Liana’s life sounded very decent. And because Poliana understood that way of life, she wasn’t offended by Lady Bika’s words. The lady didn’t mean anything by it.
Besides, Lady Bika has been very kind to Poliana throughout her stay. What she felt was her genuine kindness, and whatever she said tonight was just a simple mistake. Poliana could see that Lady Bika was nervous tonight, probably because she was sitting in front of her potential sons-in-law.
This made sense. Sir Rabi knew the men as well as their father, Sir Baufallo, very well, but Lady Bika didn’t know much about them other than what she heard from her husband. Her daughters’ lives depended on what kind of men Sir Howe and Donau were.
Poliana glared at Donau again, silently ordering him to behave himself.
Thankfully, the dinner ended in a good mood. The elders left the room the earliest and next were the twins. Bardo wasn’t present at the diner because he was too young.
And finally, Sir Rabi turned to his wife and pointed out her rude mistake towards Poliana.
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