I Will Be the Greatest Knight
Chapter 136: When the Snow Stops

Chapter 136: When the Snow Stops

The following day, Irene woke up to more snow piled on the roof, but the sun shining down on them was far different than the days before.

Before going to sleep, Sir Gunnar told her that if the snowstorm was behind them, they would leave that day.

The thought of having to leave caused her to sit down for a moment. Despite how motivated she was to return to the Duke’s Tower, there was a bit of sadness that her father wouldn’t be coming back with her, nor would he be there when spring rolled around and the floodplains filled.

She collected herself enough to know that these thoughts weren’t going to motivate her and there wasn’t time to wallow in self-pity when there were so many duties ahead.

No longer was she merely an apprentice training to prove herself as a knight, she was the highest-ranked active knight’s apprentice which meant that she needed to stick to Sir Gunnar and do whatever he asked of her.

Her duties would likely change to things that supported him. She would have to prioritize much differently.

That was enough to push her forward.

There was no hesitation left within her as she took a quick bath and cleaned herself up. After that, she got back into the traveling clothing that Ella had washed for her in the time she was there. Luckily, it felt completely dry so she wouldn’t have to worry about freezing in the cold winter temperatures outside.

When she finally left her room and bounded down the stairs with her saddlebags over her shoulders, Sir Gunnar was sitting in a chair in the front sitting room and was surprised to see Irene up and ready.

"You must have seen outside already," he realized.

"Yes," she responded. "I am ready to leave after we eat something."

"Very good. Let us eat something to fill our stomachs before we’re limited on food for the next couple of days."

With a nod, Irene turned on her heel and went to the kitchen. She relieved herself of her saddlebags next to the door and sat down at the table where her father was already seated. Sir Gunnar followed her in and took a spot across from Arthur.

"Good morning, father," Irene greeted her dad. "Sir Gunnar and I will be leaving today."

The knight wore a thoughtful expression and he nodded.

"It seems you will," he agreed. "We will give you supplies to tie you over until you reach the tower. Although you should go to the inn so you aren’t freezing at night."

Even though it was an obvious thing for them to do, Irene still took heed to her father’s words.

"Of course," she responded lightly then thanked Ella when there were bowls of food placed in front of them.

That morning there was porridge, fresh sausage, and the last of the apples that weren’t preserved.

However, when Rochelle came to the table, she was already fussing over her daughter.

"Where is that vial?" she asked. "Your grandmother said that you ought to apply more to the tattoo today. You haven’t forgotten, have you?"

"Of course not," Irene said. "It’s in the saddlebags over there."

Rochelle got up and went to the place requested. Since she could hardly carry the saddlebags herself, she merely sifted through until she found what she was looking for.

"Pull up your sleeve," she directed. "Use your right hand to eat."

Irene merely did as she was told.

Since Sir Gunnar was sitting to her left, he looked on in interest as Irene pulled up her sleeve to reveal a bandaged and freckled shoulder.

"It could hurt," Rochelle reminded her.

Irene nodded.

Her mother then unraveled the bandages. By the time she got to the last layer, it certainly was sticking and she grimaced. To Irene, it felt like a scab being torn off of a wound.

Everyone in the room leaned in to see what was revealed.

"I’m going to dab it a bit before I apply more numbing," she explained. "There is a bit of blood mixed with ink that had dripped off of it at some point."

"Probably when Arne slapped me," Irene realized with a sigh.

Once her mother had cleaned up what she could, she was careful as she applied the mixture.

Irene flinched at the feeling of her mother’s cold hand and the initial scraping of ground cloves. Luckily they were fast to numb her arm. It felt much less painful only after a few moments.

To distract the girl, the knight began speaking.

"Quite impressive," Gunnar admitted. "Your grandmother did all of that?"

The tattoo was only about three inches wide and tall, but it took up a lot of space on Irene’s small shoulder.

"She is the last remaining Völna of our culture," Irene explained quietly. "They were the only ones with the blessing to do this protective marking on a girl’s shoulder. I wanted to be the next Völna but... Well, things change sometimes."

Since her ultimate motivation for wanting to be a knight so badly despite all she would have to sacrifice was kept close to her chest, she couldn’t say much more than that.

"I bet it isn’t too late," Sir Gunnar insisted. "There are many knights who pursue multiple endeavors even after being knighted." However, he couldn’t leave it at that and joked, "But of course, only after I am able to take advantage of your talents as my apprentice."

"I’ll be sure not to disappoint you, sir."

Irene perked up at that—even more when her mother finished wrapping her arm once more and she was ready to leave.

Not a half hour after that, she and Sir Gunnar stood in front of the Litharion’s home and were packed up with more supplies and wearing thick outer coats and cloaks that would conceal them for the most part.

"You said you will start writing," Arne reminded his sister.

He still had the evidence of sleep in his eyes and his hair was a mess. It was still early for him to wake up but Rochelle forced him when Irene was leaving.

"I will," she promised.

It was then Arthur’s turn.

"I will see you whenever I possibly can," the warrior assured his daughter as he wrapped her in a tight hug.

He then turned to the other knight.

"Protect her, Gunnar," he said. "Now that I am no longer there, I’m relying on you."

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