I Will Be the Greatest Knight
Chapter 116: Firm In His Decision

Chapter 116: Firm In His Decision

It wasn’t as simple as packing their things and going.

Unfortunately, Arthur knew that he had to face the knighthood if he was going to make such a drastic decision. Most importantly, it wasn’t something he could do without the Duke’s approval. Considering he was the Commander, his word was the only one that mattered.

As much as Arthur resigned himself to retiring and remaining as an advisor to the Duke as well as support for the knights whenever needed, he couldn’t do whatever he wanted. The Duke was one of the King’s vassals. Disobeying the Duke was a mere step away from disobeying King Alfred.

Irene woke up in the evening to a warm guest room. It was the longest she had slept in quite some time and she felt groggy for a while. Waking up without the sun to greet her was difficult as it was.

When the days shortened and the coldness fell over them, everything seemed a bit meaningless whenever the dark days seemed to last forever.

The girl rolled over, checking to see if Arne was still laying with her. It turned out that the bed was empty but the room was not.

"Dad," Irene called to the large knight sitting on a chair close to the fire.

Arthur was quick to seek out his daughter. He walked quickly towards her and sat down on the bed.

"What is it, my sweet girl?" he wondered.

She sat up and searched his face for any sign.

"Has anything changed?" she asked even though she really wanted to say ’Have you decided to stay with the knighthood?’

"His Grace is already sleeping this evening," Arthur explained. "I will meet with him first thing in the morning when he can accept visitors. He has been particularly under the weather since the Duchess arrived while you all were in the mountains."

Irene’s hesitance regarding the Duchess made her a bit conspiratorial because whenever the she was around, the Duke seemed to get more sickly.

The apprentice could only nod but her back curved as she looked at the intricate bedspread she had slept underneath. She didn’t want to face such a thing.

"I haven’t even finished putting back together your armor since they cut it off of you," she muttered.

"There’s no need for that," her father explained.

She squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath.

"When I had a dream about dying at the hands of a goblin, I was twenty and you were still a knight," she explained.

"In that dream, you weren’t part of the knighthood," Arthur reminded her. "In reality, you’re in the knighthood so I had to witness an ogre threatening to swing his stone weapon at you which would have undoubtedly killed you. If I had to do it all again, I would have made the same decisions."

Irene buried her face in her knees as she hugged them. She didn’t want her father’s conviction at that moment.

His words only confirmed that her selfishness to change the future had now taken her father away from his life as a knight. Was this the universe’s way of telling her she made a wrong decision? There was no going back.

The bed creaked as Arthur climbed onto it further and he placed his hand on his daughter’s small shoulder.

"You are my replacement in the knighthood," he explained. "Go and be a better knight than I ever was."

Irene wanted to argue but it didn’t feel like it suited the moment.

Her father was giving her his blessing and he wasn’t one to speak in a flattering way that suited people’s feelings. He was being honest that he believed she could become a better knight than him even through the legacy he would leave in the Knights of Tenetium.

Even though she felt like crumbling and giving in, she straightened her posture. If her decisions that far had made her father lose his hand and ultimately the order, all she could do was make it up for him in every decision she made from that point forth.

"I will," she responded quietly.

Perhaps one day the response to his insistence would be met with more confidence. She needed a bit more training than that.

"Very good," Arthur complimented her.

The girl pushed the blankets away and climbed out of bed. She went to the window where she pulled the curtain a bit and saw that it was certainly dark outside.

"What of the other apprentices and Arne?" she asked her father.

"They slept for a long time as well," he admitted. "However, they ought to be eating right about now."

The girl debated it for a few moments.

"I will wash up then I will join them," she explained, half asking permission.

"Do whatever you need to do to remain in sync with your knighthood," Arthur said.

She nodded, still feeling resistant to the situation but having no choice but to move forward.

It seemed that truly was the trick all along. Just keep going forward. No matter what it was, if she was still alive she could keep going.

These thoughts led her down the hallway and to the stairs after she finished washing up. She stopped for a while, staring down the stairs before she took what felt like her first step towards making up what she took from the knighthood. Her father was worth more than mere effort. The results would only be seen when she had to face monsters.

Within the hard decisions she had to make despite how rigid and resistant she felt, the path led to Felix and Leif who sat at their usual table. They lit up when they saw the other apprentice and she soon joined them to eat an unusual breakfast—the supper everyone else was having.

"Is everything alright?" Felix wondered.

"Everything will be fine," she said. "Somehow."

The older apprentice grinned at the girl.

"That’s always how it must be," he agreed. "You’ve learned quickly, unlike Leif here who thinks everything will not be fine and never has a smile on his face. Well-behaved children don’t smile."

"I’m a teenager!" Leif corrected him.

However, Leif’s voice cracked badly the more forceful he spoke and he opted to put his head down in his arms.

"And nobody is doubting that, kid," Felix mocked.

The other apprentices elicited a laugh out of Irene and she suddenly felt so much lighter. Whatever the future may be, she had more people willing to face it with her than she did in the life she remembered.

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