Chapter 276

Chapter 276

Poliana covered her face in shame. There was no way she could see the emperor's face. She wasn't a horny teenage boy, and yet Poliana couldn't stop thinking about that night. She wished she could remember what happened clearly, because if she did, at least she would know exactly what happened. But the reality was, she remembered very vaguely and mostly how she felt, not the detail of what really happened. And how she felt... It was embarrassing to admit it, but she remembered feeling good.

'Dammit! I think it was really good.'

If it was an awful experience, all she would have to do is forget about it. This was especially the case since Lucius the First ordered her to forget as if nothing happened. The problem was... Poliana couldn't forget, probably because it was such a shocking event.

They both agreed to forget, but they both knew that they couldn't. Both Lucius the First and Poliana knew they would never be able to forget that night. This was partly because if they didn't, they might lose each other. Their relationship might get ruined, so at the time, both believed that pretending to forget was the best option.

'It's never too late. I better snap out of this.'

Perhaps it really was too late, but Poliana decided not to think this way. It wasn't too hard for her to do this since she had a strong will. She had always believed what she chose to believe, and she was going to do the same thing in this incident too.

'I have been acting too weakly... I was seduced by the comfort of my new life... This is why I made such a huge mistake... This is the worst. I deserve to die. People can be such a lazy and greedy being, but I can't be one of them! I need to be better!'

This was why Poliana decided to go through special training. Since she no longer had much work to do, she filled her daily routine with intense training. Poliana announced that she will no longer drink. She no longer accepted dinner invitations just like the way she used to when she was a skinny young girl, Poliana trained like her life depended on it.

Poliana was interested in how the First Division, under Sir Ainno's order, trained so intensely. Sir Ainno may have been less interested in his best friend the emperor because he was busy with his love life, but Sir Ainno never acted lazy about his work. The Knight's Order's training was always one of his priorities.

When Poliana visited the First Division to ask about the training, the guards replied rudely, "It will be too hard for you, Sir Poliana."

Everyone knew all the knights of the First Division were jerks, but this was too much. If Sir Mahogal was here, things would've been in better order, but he was on vacation. Poliana smiled brightly and kicked the rude guard viciously.

The knights of the First Division shivered in shock. They knew they had no choice but to acknowledge Poliana as the head of the Second Division, but they had no responsibility to accept her as their own boss. But... Poliana's kicks and punches were shockingly painful. When Sir Ainno punched them, the guards feared for their lives. When Poliana did it, they feared becoming debilitated. The guards knew they would not suffer an immediate death, but to suffer for a very long time and very painfully... It was a scary prospect.

Poliana knew that violence was not the answer to everything, but these jerks kept forcing her to use it. She was able to gain some control over the guards, but Poliana still felt upset. When she continued to pant angrily, Sir Beke walked up to her. He kicked his colleague, who was on the floor in pain, and said to Poliana, "Sir Pol, our training may be too difficult."

With his eyes, he silently said to her, "This is hell."

Poliana replied bravely, "That's exactly what I want." Poliana clenched her fist and raised it up in the air. When she looked determined and ready, Sir Beke kindly explained to her what their training involved.

***

After the training, Poliana collapsed to the ground. When Sir Ainno spotted her, he walked up to her and asked, "Why are you here?" The royal guards of the First Division saluted their boss immediately while Poliana remained on the ground weakly. When she couldn't seem to answer him, Sir Ainno asked the guards instead, "Why is the head of the Second Division here? What was she doing?"

"She has been going through our training with us, Sir."

"Did she do well? Was she able to keep up?"

"No!"

Poliana's eyes wavered, but she still gritted her teeth when she heard the guard's answer. 'Jerks.' Why couldn't they give a little white lie and say she did well?

'Honest jerks.'

Both the guards and their bosses were assh*les. Sir Ainno looked down at her with his usual disgruntled look. Poliana, feeling upset, asked, "What?! Why are you staring at me like that?"

"No, it's just... His highness has been acting strangely lately, so I was wondering if you knew anything about it."

She knew a lot about it, but Poliana couldn't answer. When she remained silent, Sir Ainno assumed that Poliana didn't know anything. He looked away and ordered his guards, "Take care of her. Help her return home or something." He left, leaving his guards feeling frustrated.

"What should we do? Who should help her?"

"Let's just get one of the guards from the Second Division. She is their boss, right?"

"I agree!"

"Me too!"

"But if the boss finds out we didn't help her ourselves, he is going to be furious."

"Oh, maybe, and she's a woman, so we might get in trouble..."

"Wait! Isn't Beke her friend or something?"

"Oh yeah! Sir Beke is her close acquaintance, so... Wait a minute! Where did Sir Beke go?"

"He ran away as soon as the boss appeared."

"Well, that's understandable. Sir Ainno is going to be his brother-in-law, right? That sounds horrible. I would've run away too if I was in his shoes."

The guards of the First Division chatted leisurely while surrounding Poliana. Just then, a random dog appeared and walked up to Poliana with its tail wagging. The dog began to lick Poliana's face, perhaps wanting her to play with him. Poliana was feeling too weak to push the dog away.

When the guards continued to discuss what to do with her, Poliana used every strength she had left to raise her hand and said to them, "I... I will take care of myself, so... Go away."

Only

"Yes, Sir Pol!"

The guards left immediately, leaving Poliana alone with the dog. Somehow, Poliana pushed herself so she laid on the ground on her back. Looking up at the sky made her feel a little better. The dog continued to lick her face, and soon, Poliana realized that the dog was after the saltiness of her sweat. He wasn't licking her because he liked her. She was fine with it except for the fact that the dog had awful breath.

'I'm going to die here like this...'

Poliana felt too tired to move. Perhaps it was a mistake to dismiss the guards. She didn't want to do anything. She couldn't. She was regretting her decision to join the special training when Sir Beke returned.

"Umm... My brother told me to invite you to dinner when I see you, Sir Pol."

Sir Aeke told both Sir Beke and Sir Deke to invite Marquess Winter for dinner when they got the chance to see her so the family could thank Poliana for giving her wedding items to Cekel.

But today wasn't the day for a dinner invitation. Poliana was too weak, so Sir Beke helped her get home.