The Emperor and the Knightess

Chapter 166

Lady Rebecca changed the subject, "Oh, would you like to have dinner with me tonight again?"

"Oh, I'm sorry but I already have plans," Poliana replied.

In some circumstances, Poliana would've changed her plans to accept Lady Rebecca's dinner invitation, but tonight, Poliana was supposed to have dinner with Sir Bentier. Although he was never her director superior, He used to be the deputy commander during the war, and he was currently the kingdom's chancellor. He was clearly a very important figure who deserved great respect.

It would have been unwise of Poliana to cancel on someone like Sir Bentier. In fact, she should've been honored to be invited by such an important person.

'This must be why.'

Things like this were why Lady Rebecca felt the invisible wall that most women had to endure all their lives. She herself was one of the three wives of the emperor, but in reality, she didn't have any practical power or authority as Poliana did.

Rebecca, however, did not feel disappointed or jealous. She was actually a bit curious. She asked, "Oh, you must be well acquainted with the chancellor?"

"Not on a personal level, but we saw each other sometimes during the war."

It was a secret that Sir Bentier was now on the emperor's side rather than on the elders' side like most people believed. Poliana had to make it look like her relationship with Sir Bentier was an awkward one so people continued to believe this façade. It was also important to look like they are maintaining a diplomatic connection as the two top officials in the kingdom.

Unfortunately, Poliana couldn't tell Lady Rebecca about these details, so she offered the same official explanation she gave to everyone else.

"Since he is related to Lady Tory, I think Sir Bentier just wants to thank me for doing my job."

"Haha."

Rebecca suddenly began to laugh, making Poliana nervous. Was her lie too obvious? Poliana asked, "Did I say something funny?"

"No, it's just… I remembered the rumor that Frau's dinner offer was rejected by you several times. You could be a bit nicer to him, but I heard you are quite cold to him. Is that true?"

"I didn't reject him. I just told him I couldn't accept his invitation because I already had plans."

"Well, to the others, it looks like you are saying no because you don't like him. At least that is what everyone is saying."

Poliana knew this, but it wasn't her job to care about a mere doctor's feelings. She was the leader of the Second Division and therefore too important to worry about these things.

Of course, she was still a human. She couldn't help feeling guilty about the situation and that was why she promised herself that the next time he asked her, she would make sure to make a dinner plan with him.

Rebecca added, "I think you are doing the right thing. You need to make sure not to interact with him on a personal level."

Lady Rebecca was fragile, which meant that she saw the royal doctors often. She had a friendly relationship with Frau, so it was a surprise to Poliana that Rebecca talked badly about him. Only a few days ago, Lady Rebecca rewarded him a small gift for being such a caring doctor.

Poliana wondered, 'Did he do something wrong?'

The Frau Poliana knew was too docile to do anything that might upset such an important lady. She asked Lady Rebecca, "Did he do something wrong to you?"

"Not to me, but to you, Marquess Winter. As a doctor, Frau is excellent. He is very kind and he knows how to comfort patients."

"So why wouldn't you want me to…"

"Don't you get it, Marquess? He is showing his interest in you."

Poliana understood immediately what Rebecca was talking about. To Rebecca, it must've looked like Frau was being an ambitious jerk who was approaching Poliana for her money and power.

'But Lady Rebecca is mistaken.'

Half the world population were men, and different men had different tastes in women. However, Poliana was no one's type; she knew that with absolute certainty.

"I know what you are saying, Lady Rebecca, but that is not the case."

"To me, it looks like it."

"But to me, it doesn't feel like it."

"It doesn't matter, but I want you to know that Frau isn't the one for you. I mean, how dare he? He has nothing. He has no rank and no money. He is barely a noble at this point, so how dare he even try to get you, the one and only Marquess in this kingdom? I can't believe it."

"Umm… I thought he was a nice guy… Isn't he?"

Poliana found herself defending the doctor for some reason. Perhaps it was because she felt sorry for rejecting him so many times. She remembered how sad he looked as he walked away every time.

Rebecca, who looked determined to convince Poliana, replied, "In terms of personality, yes. I agree that he is a nice guy. He is also a great doctor who takes his job very seriously. He is also very kind to his patients. I have no complaints with him as my doctor. But Poliana, have you ever thought about why?"

"Why what?"

"Why he still isn't married?"

Poliana remembered Tory explaining to her Frau's situation. How he was kicked out from his own family, and how all the other noble families refused to interact with Frau because they are afraid to anger the Sneke family…

When Poliana told Rebecca what she heard from Tory, Rebecca shook her head and replied, "If that is all, why wouldn't he, who has a decent job, be unable to marry? That's not it at all."

This was true especially during the war. There was a huge shortage in men, so any healthy man could marry above their station easily. Rebecca said to her, "Frau doesn't have the most important thing a man needs to have."

"Oh, is he a eunuch? Or can't perform his nightly duty as a husband?"

Rebecca flushed and Poliana apologized for her callousness. Rebecca explained, "A position of a doctor isn't a bad one. Sure, it's not as good as a knight or a government official, but it's still a decent career."

"Yes, I agree."

"And he is the student of the royal doctor, which means that if he tries hard enough, he could become a royal doctor too. And if he does, he will get a noble rank as well."

Any noble rank that came with a job had to be returned after retirement, which meant that such a rank could not be inherited to one's heir, but one could still lead a respected life of a noble.

Poliana nodded, "Yes, that sounds right."

"But the thing is… He has no ambition. Frau has no intention of pursuing his career to the fullest. This is why he has a bad reputation. Even the other students of the royal doctors look down on him. On top of that, I heard that Frau likes to hang around with the commoners."

"Oh."

Being nice was one thing, but not being ambitious… It was one of the worst qualities a man could have. A docile woman was considered attractive, but a docile man? No woman would find such a person attractive.

This was especially true in the aristocratic world. One thing the most nobles had in common was ambition. A fiery need for power and wealth. The nobles had huge pride and egos for being themselves, and they didn't look kindly on anyone among themselves who didn't have the same qualities.

Apparently, Frau even treated commoner patients. For an average doctor, this would've been considered a kind deed, but for a royal doctor, this was seen as a horrible act. A royal doctor should only treat noble and royal patients, so how dare he see commoners?

Poliana tried to make an excuse for Frau, "But helping those in need should be praised…"

Rebecca shook her head and sighed.

"He got paid for it. Frau accepted money from the commoners for his service, and this was why Baron Redikal made it public that he doesn't even consider Frau as his successor."

There were more commoner patients than the noble ones, but a doctor could make much more money treating the nobles and the royal family. Frau probably enjoyed interacting with the commoners more. If he treated them for free, he would've been teased and nothing more, but he charged the commoners for his service and this was a problem. This ended up costing Frau his career and his life.

If he had only shown even a fake ambition, he would've been able to marry by now. Most likely a commoner, but perhaps even a noble lady.

"Hmm…"

Poliana changed her mind about Frau a little bit. If he acted the way he was supposed to, he would've led a much better life. So why did he treat the commoners? Why did he ruin his life?

Now no one was going to marry him. He was still Baron Redikal's student, which was the only reason why he was allowed to remain in the castle, but what will happen once Baron Redikal retires?

Rebecca said to Poliana firmly, "Do you now get it, Poliana?! Even if you have your own power, if you marry someone like him, it will not end well for you. So please, you need to make sure to stay away from him! Don't give him the idea that he might have a chance with you. Just being associated with him will cause you troubles."

Suddenly, Rebecca began to cough. Poliana offered her a glass of water and replied, "It's nothing like that, Lady Rebecca. You don't need to worry."