I Will Be the Greatest Knight

What started as her attempt to subtly convey her appreciation for his willingness to cater to the mages who were important to their order, despite being a southerner, evolved into a device the Commander used to catch her off guard. It was the entire reason she tried to only speak to this man about things involving her work as the third in command.

"Actually, Siverly decided that he was going to stay behind," he had said.

Irene fixed her expression, knowing she had faintly come undone. She didn't receive a solid answer on whether or not the Commander was for or against mages. Even if they were now being given a place to stay, was it perhaps because he wanted them further off? They were clearly useful to the order, but that didn't mean the highest man in their duchy had to live under the same roof as thim.

She became more cautious, returning to the way she normally was around him and not realizing it was alienating him further.

While she did feel a bit guilty to still test someone who had been improving their lives for weeks, she had to carefully brooch this topic or she wasn't going to be satisfied.

"Are you happy about that, Commander?" she asked.

Felix stood off to the side, wanting to sigh or roll his eyes that Irene was being so combative. He hoped that it was only because he could read her so well that he was picking up on this.

"Of course," the Duke responded without hesitation. "Out of all the mages I've worked beside, he is by far the one I'm closest to. Even if his willingness to stay is merely because he's amused by knights, he is still quite useful for our order."

Irene pushed a bit further.

"Then it is you rather than he who wants him to stay?" she asked in thinly veiled disbelief.

Commander Henry's expression became warm as a small smile pulled at his lips. He and most mages were in a bit of a cat and dog relationship. He seemed to be the large dog who was always chasing the small cats around who wanted to hide.

Occasionally he would catch one of the cats, but it was usually only when they allowed him to.

"Who can control a mage?" he asked in response. "He's only staying here because I will ensure that he is paid well."

Irene offered a smile conveying that she had, in fact, been caught off guard. She still didn't like allowing someone else the upper hand in such a way.

She had noticed that the armory had been filled even more since the Commander's arrival. It was guarded during all hours of the day. She tended to wonder what he had hidden in there, but it wasn't her place to ask such questions.

Perhaps one day, if they were closer with one another… But she quickly pushed that thought away, knowing that there would always be hesitance around a noble from her end. It would never be his fault but she didn't want to get involved in noble politics.

"Very good, Commander," Irene relented. "Then I look forward to further working with Siverly. He has done a lot for our order since I first arrived."

Seeing that she had receded back into herself, the Commander found only small satisfaction knowing that he had found something she liked.

It was his goal to get comfortable with those in the order because, if they couldn't trust one another, it was hard to wield a sword and stand on the same side. They needed to be a unified force in the face of monsters and, from what he had experienced in the north, he knew that there were plenty of monsters to go around despite all of his efforts to get cleaning up the forests and mountains.

"You ought to eat then," Commander Henry insisted. "Knights on the job will be less effective if they are starving themselves."

"Yes, Commander," Irene responded first, relieved that she would finally get to fill her growling stomach.

She had taken to waking up early and practicing as hard as the apprentices did because she wanted to ensure that she was keeping up with her skill as much as the apprentices were being forced to. It also didn't help that, in the back of her mind, all of the growing apprentices made her realize they likely had a higher threshold to grow stronger and larger than her.

She needed skill and speed to keep herself in the running.

The second and third in command then went inside the Duke's Tower after the Duke himself had gone off in the other direction, likely to have his own breakfast in his study as he already said he would.

A few days later, Irene found herself in the same position, putting away practice swords with Felix and ensuring the apprentices were cleaning up the yard as they were supposed to after practice and before breakfast. They finally went inside the tower which felt surprisingly cooler than the outside since the early summer sun had started to fall over them.

The maids and servants around the tower had taken to opening and closing windows at certain times of day so that the temperature indoors would remain cool as breezes came from the north and pushed air through the hallways. It smelled like fresh grass through the place and, while the gardens weren't particularly manicured, the greenery that lived there already smelled fresh.

That day, there was a particular bustle Irene couldn't help noticing as they went to the dining hall.

"It's rather busy today," Irene observed. "What is the meaning of all the rush?"

Before Felix could report to the practice that morning, he had been informed that the Duke's advisors from all corners of Chemois were going to arrive at the Tower in a few short weeks.

"Earl Auden has told our Duke that the advisors will meet here this year," Felix explained. "I believe the maids must have heard similarly because they are taking care to get the place ready. It seems that His Majesty has sent an entire wagon of supplies to decorate the place. Doesn't seem like it was high on the Commander's priorities to decorate until this moment."

At that, Felix lightly chuckled and shook his head. It was very typical of their Commander to care more about what the knights were up to rather than making sure that his home looked pretty. Even the previous Duke was more about the knights than how things were situated. It was the Duchess who took care of those things—at least up until a couple of years before she died.

There was a time when it was clear just where the care stopped. He had no desire to go back to those times.

"My father included?" Irene asked in disbelief.

She had been living too long trying her best to avoid nobles because, if there were people who disapproved of her most, it was them.

"If he accepts the invitation, then yes," Felix admitted.

"I suppose then we will see what happens," Irene relented. "But for now, I'm starved."

However, it wasn't the end of her thoughts on that topic. She stewed for hours as she went through her various duties of patrolling their surroundings with a few apprentices, and came to a conclusion that caused her to seek Felix out just before supper.

"Could I talk to you for a moment?" she asked the knight who had stayed behind that day to attend to a few duties of his own that had to do with the Commander.

"Of course," Felix responded, not a bit of hesitation.

"I would like to begin night patrol next," Irene explained. "I know that we will be changing schedules very soon and I would like to do it next."

Felix regarded Irene for a moment.

"Is this having to do with our conversation earlier about the advisors?" he asked.

"I admit that it does," she confirmed. "I don't particularly want to have to be faced with those who understand why I would want to be a knight the least. I grew up around their families and my mother always wished we grew closer which made the connection strained in the first place."

"Good enough reason," Felix responded. "I will tell the Commander that you and the other apprentices in your group will begin tonight. It will be rough but I will make sure that you can begin late and only have a few hours at first so that your sleeping can adjust."

"I really appreciate it, Felix," Irene responded, relieved.

"The least I can do," he responded. "All I ask is you continue to help me with practices early in the morning."

"That will be easy enough for me," she assured him.

With that, the plans had been set in stone and the following night she had to join apprentices who were hesitant for night patrol. It caused her to remember all the times she complained to Leif about how tired she was.

It put a smile on her face as she went into the night.