I Will Be the Greatest Knight

Irene walked the hallways after breakfast, eager to hear what the Commander and Felix had gotten up to. There had been so many days of peace that she was dying for something interesting to happen. However, interesting often came with risks.

It was strange to be a knight who was cautious of danger but eager for adventure. There would undoubtedly be a compromise.

She looked through the windows that gave a view of the southeastern end of the valley and internally sighed. The season was beautiful, but it was a bit too hot for her skin. Already, she knew that the freckles on her face had multiplied that season even though she tried to keep herself covered.

What was worse was that freckles were certainly not fashionable unless you were a child. She wanted to be taken seriously as a woman and not coddled. So far, Felix had never done such a thing, but the Commander had been going easy on her since their first and last sword fight.

Perhaps it would be better if they could meet with their swords once again.

The woman had made it to the end of the hallway, and the door to the Commander's study was closed. She tucked her riding gloves into her belt and knocked twice before waiting for a response.

"You may enter," the Commander called.

When she entered the room, she saw that the two were sitting at his desk, looking over a few papers. Unlike normal, another chair had been brought where Felix sat, and Irene assumed that it was for her.

"The two of you needed to see me?" she asked as she continued forward.

Two sets of eyes landed on her, and Felix pushed out the chair with his foot so she could sit down. She read the environment as being casual, but she couldn't bring herself to force that sort of feeling, so she would act accordingly to the situation.

"Please, sit down," the Commander requested. "Sir Felix and I were going through communications with a few reeves and nobles throughout the duchy. Your father was included in some of these letters and I believe he had some of the most sound advice despite never having met the man before."

Irene did as requested and she scooted herself in. Her green eyes brushed over the letters before landing on the Commander who was speaking to her.

"What was his advice, Commander?" she wondered.

Since the letters were between Felix and Arthur, the Commander gestured for his second in command to fill Irene in on the first part.

"He has said that the Duke needs a face recognizable to even the smallest in the duchy," Felix explained. "It's important for everyone to know who leads them and who they can look to for all their troubles, considering there are plenty. Unlike the way our past Commander handled the knighthood and all of his business, the current Commander should show how active he is and how the duchy won't be forgotten under his care."

"Of course, your father also said going into his region would be unnecessary because he has everything covered. The same was said when the last couple of knights went through that area. There weren't monsters to kill which means he must be going out quite often to handle them himself."

The two others laughed at this, which caused Irene to smile.

"My father certainly has never known what retirement is truly like," she admitted. "Much to my mother's regret, I'm sure."

Felix shook his head, recalling the way her mother had stormed into the Duke's Tower in the past. She was certainly where Irene got a bit of her fieriness from, but he would never tell her that. It was clear she wanted to be more like her father than her mother, even if her face did not lie.

"That's where the next idea comes in," the Commander continued. "I have decided to tour the duchy with the knights and make it a yearly event where we go through and offer our hand in any task, no matter how menial it seems. If they want someone active as the head, I will show them that I am just that. However, with more discussion, I believe that it's best to leave a few knights, apprentices, and squires at the Duke's Tower. Since the apprentices follow you and Sir Gunnar the most, I believe the two of you should run things until we return. I don't believe it will take more than a month."

For a moment, Irene looked between Felix and the Commander, searching the two of them for more information, but it seemed that they had given her all they had planned to. She was a bit disappointed at first, but then she reframed her thoughts.

"Admittedly, I will be disappointed to miss out on any action that might come your way," she confessed. "I believe most monsters have moved east due to our constant culling of this area. However, I should also thank you for entrusting me with the place that is yours while the two of you are away."

"Thank you for understanding," the Commander responded, somewhat relieved.

"Of course," Irene responded easily.

Commander Henry and Felix both knew that it would be a lot to ask of Irene. It wasn't because she was lacking in any way but because she deserved to be on the road just as anyone else. However, the few squires they had acquired since the Commander's arrival and the apprentices who were still figuring out the ropes all looked to Irene for many things.

Perhaps it was because she was Sir Gunnar's apprentice before. After all, he was once the one the apprentices looked to for all things before the structure of the knighthood changed after the war.

With that conversation finally passed, the top three knights were all in agreement on how the summer would pan out. That meant they could get themselves together and prepare for the journey ahead.

Eight knights would be in the traveling party while four were already in the duchy, keeping track of the monsters' movement and making sure the people were satisfied with the level of protection they were receiving.

That would leave six knights and five apprentices with Irene in the Duke's Tower. There were only three squires but their duties often changed and they would only spend a few weeks at a time in this region before returning home.

As Felix and the Commander prepared their horses, Irene, of course, lent a hand.

"Where will you be going first?" she asked, unable to help her curiosity.

"Southeast," the Commander responded. "However, Felix is going to lead our charge. He knows this duchy far better than I do."

Irene turned to Felix as she helped strap his saddlebag on, and her eyebrows rose.

"Who would have thought the biggest jokester would be so important one day?" she asked. "This was something I never could have predicted."

The Commander was talking to one of the other knights who had approached him with an update, but he heard the last bit of this conversation as the other man left.

"Biggest jokester?" he questioned. "You must have changed quite a bit."

The Felix the Commander knew now was more serious. It took him weeks to even thaw out the man enough to have a conversation with him at first.

"The war made Felix serious and me a girl," Irene quipped. "Quite a lot changed, I suppose."

The Commander offered her such a disarmed smile that she felt satisfied that it would be their last conversation for about a month. Considering the man still caught her off guard and they never had any one-on-one conversations between them because of his hesitance around her, she thought it was only fair.

Not long after, they had their horses together and Irene went to the front of the Duke's Tower with the apprentices to see the travelers off. The other knights in the tower were busy with their own tasks, and she was going to have to take them to the library, then the armory next anyway.

"Be safe," Irene said to the knights. "This place will be looking forward to your return."

"I appreciate it, dame," the Commander spoke to her genuinely, with a small smile on his face.

Even though she had caught him off guard, it still felt like they were making slow but certain progress. Perhaps he would return to this end of the duchy more level-headed and understanding of her. She at least hoped that Felix would talk about her enough that he would have no choice but to get used to her even if she wasn't there to do it herself.

As the knights rode off into the valley, Irene turned to the apprentices.

"Are you ready to go to the library, then?" she asked.

They seemed to dread going to a place where they would have to use quills rather than swords and she smiled, having known the feeling well herself.