Chapter 257
Poliana realized the big and stupid mistake she made. The moment Frau revealed that he was after her money, she should’ve walked away from him. She should’ve known that he had an ulterior motive. Even if she didn’t suspect this, she should’ve never accepted him. He was clearly unethical and rude, so she should’ve dumped him.
Why? Why did she go on like she did? Why did she believe him? Why did she trust him? Why did she act so foolishly?
Poliana thought he was a naïve innocent man. She thought he just didn’t know how to converse properly. But the truth was… If he was truly a good man like he thought, he would’ve never married for money. The only excuse Poliana had was the fact that she was so shocked by his proposal, she didn’t think clearly and logically. Looking back, there were so many warning signs, but she was blinded at the time.
Poliana was so embarrassed. She was ashamed and mortified. She wanted to die, especially because she made her emperor go through this much effort for her. She felt guilty and she didn’t know how to express her regret. The emperor recently lost all of his wives one by one, and with the current political turmoil, Poliana was well aware of how busy he was with his work. Unfortunately, it seemed that Poliana created even more work for him, which was the worst thing a knight could do.
‘Why? Why is this happening to me? Why me?’
All of her colleague knights got married without any problems. They married well and they lived normal lives, so why did Poliana have to go through such a hardship like this? Everyone got married easily, so why couldn’t she?
Poliana didn’t know what to say to the emperor. She was ashamed that she still wasn’t married. She was ashamed that she provided a reason for people to ridicule her. She was ashamed that she created a situation where her emperor had to come to her rescue. She was embarrassed that she was such a bad judge of a character. She would’ve rather lose a battle than going through this right now. She could not be any more mortified.
Poliana murmured, “I… I will… make sure… s-something like this… never happens again… Your highness…” It took everything she had not to cry. During the last few years, Poliana ended up being nude in front of the emperor many times. But this incident… It was much worse. She felt more embarrassed and humiliated now than when he saw her naked body.
Lucius the First, watching how tormented Poliana was, swore to himself silently, ‘I will not let that bastard die easy.’ The emperor said to her, “You can cry, Sir Pol.” He reached out, trying to hug her, but Poliana stepped back. The shock and sadness quickly became replaced by fury. She was now a hunter and her prey needed to be punished. She was ready to hurt Frau very badly.
“Die!”
She ran towards Frau with all the strength and speed she had. She swung her scabbard as hard as she could, making Frau fall to the ground with his son still in his arms. The child began to cry, and Frau looked around in confusion. When he finally spotted Poliana, he stammered, “M Marquess… This… This isn’t…”
“You bastard! How dare you con me?!”
“Marquess! This isn’t what it looks like…!”
“What! You will make your son into the next Marquis Winter? Do you think you have the power to do that?! To make a bastard son of a servant the next Marquis Winter? You have lost your mind, haven’t you? You are a nobody pretending to be a nobleman!”
She didn’t need to hear his excuse or explanation. She heard everything she needed to hear. Poliana kicked Frau’s chin hard, disappointed that she wasn’t wearing her usual metal-studded military boots. Poliana then used the back of her sword to hit Frau’s mouth, making his lips bleed and breaking his front teeth.
The child, who got up from the ground, ran after Poliana.
“Why are you hitting my dad! You are a bad person!”
“It’s your father who is a bad person; he has done me wrong.”
Poliana thought about kicking the child away, but in the end, she just pushed him away gently. The child tried to attack her again, but the old man grabbed him. This woman, who appeared suddenly, was clearly no ordinary woman. The way she moved… Her fighting skills… The old man immediately realized who she was and became pale.
Poliana put her foot on Frau’s chest. His face and mouth were now covered in blood, and when she stepped on him, Frau coughed. The blood splattered onto her dress, but Poliana didn’t notice. She took out her dagger from her pocket and placed it on his neck. Frau trembled in fear as Poliana said to him, “Marquis? You were going to make that bastard of yours a Marquis after me? Did you really think you could get away with this? Tell me, Frau Sneke. How stupid did you think I was that you planned something like this? Me! The head of the Second Division and the emperor’s close acquaintance! Have you forgotten that I am Marquess Winter?!”
“P-please… Just spare my son…”
“I hate liars.”
Poliana moved her dagger from his neck to Frau’s mouth. Frau could taste the bitter taste of the blade as it hit his broken front teeth. When Gali the Third lied to the emperor, Lucius the First ripped his mouth open and killed him. The king of Kopi ended up losing his genitals. What Frau didn’t know was that the one who cut off the Kopi king’s genitals wasn’t Lucius the First; it was Poliana who did it. Poliana was a woman who did not show mercy, even to a king. This meant that she would have absolutely no mercy for a conman.
Poliana contemplated for a second before removing the dagger from his mouth. Frau sighed in relief but Poliana quickly stepped on his nose for a second before coming down. Poliana threw the dagger on the ground beside him.
Only
“Cut it off.”
“…?!”
“Cut it off.”
Frau stood up, shaking uncontrollably. When he picked up the dagger and brought it to his mouth, Poliana shook her head. Frau was only a nobody, which meant that he did not deserve the same kind of punishment as Gali the Third, who was a ruler of his own kingdom. Frau deserved much worse.
Poliana pointed at his crotch and said to him, “Cut it off.”
Frau’s eyes widened in understanding. The child continued to wail loudly while the old man was on the ground, kneeling and begging desperately for mercy. The villagers, by now, surrounded them and watched curiously. Then suddenly, one of the brave bystanders yelled, “Hey, that man over there is Master Frau. He is the son of the former Duke Sneke.”
The villager could see that Poliana was no ordinary woman, but Frau was the brother of the current Duke Sneke. The man thought that if he saved Frau, perhaps he would be rewarded later.
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