I Will Be the Greatest Knight
Chapter 151: Not Monsters

Chapter 151: Not Monsters

The lessons in perseverance that Irene was continuously handed were weighing heavily on her, but because of her experiences thus far, she managed to hold her head high as they moved on to the next.

Luckily, the village was only a short distance away.

They made it to the inn where Leif and Irene were off of their horses first and headed to the stables. They all offered to walk the horses of the knights to the stables as well, but they were met with words of resistance from all but the Knights of Tenetium.

The Royal Knights and their apprentices remained on their horses to go back into the forest and gather the corpses. On the other hand, Sir Sven and Sir Phillip went into the small inn to say they had arrived. Sir Gunnar decided to branch off even further and took to the town on foot, looking for the village leader. They were likely to be close by since the village was so small.

As the Crown Prince and Princess were ushered out of the carriage by the maid, onto the long runner placed out before them, and into the warm inn, some of the Royal Knights stood off to the side on horseback, tensely guarding the Royals considering what had just befallen them.

There was a rush of action but it calmed down quickly.

After ensuring the horses given to them so far were safely in the stables and had all the feed and water they could want, both of the apprentices tightly shut the stable doors and headed to the inn themselves.

No words were shared between Leif and Irene and a heavy feeling weighed on them greatly. Their footsteps in the crunchy snow were all that was heard for quite a while.

Thankfully, once they made it inside, the rooms they would sleep in were ready even though it was only late afternoon.

As always, they were assigned to a communal room with all of the others from Tenetium. The Royal Knights would have the other communal room and the Royals would be bestowed the nicest room in the inn reserved for the most esteemed guests—luckily they were given fair warning about who their guests would be during the winter.

After being directed where to go, Irene and Leif went up the stairs and found their large room easily.

When the door was shut behind them, Leif turned to Irene as he placed his saddlebags as well as the one from Sir Sven’s horse on the floor next to his bed.

"You alright?" he asked. "Shouldn’t we eat something?"

Irene did the same, putting down her saddlebags and Sir Gunnar’s as well. It was assumed her knight would likely sleep close by—she was also most comfortable with that arrangement considering he was the only one privy to her secret and sworn to keep it as much.

She then turned to Leif, feeling a lack of response would be more alarming.

"I’m tired," she responded lightly as she took off her gloves and tossed them onto the bed. "I would rather rest for a while first. Don’t know if I can stomach anything after being sprayed in my face with blood."

She removed her armor and felt stiffness in her left arm but didn’t think much of it. Then went her cloak that she hung on one of her bedposts and then her outer coat.

When she finally had her outer coat in her hands, she slipped her small fingers through the holes created and sighed.

"I suppose I will need a needle and thread to repair this before we leave tomorrow," she uttered.

However, Leif turned to his fellow apprentice and his eyebrows lowered in shock.

"Did you even know you’re bleeding?" he asked incredulously.

Rather than merely asking the maids for a needle and thread, he requested bandages and ointment as well.

"You’re fussing over nothing," Irene insisted. "We have all of those things in our packs—at least Sir Gunnar normally forces us to bring that sort of thing with us."

"Of course I have some as well, but we ought to save it for emergencies," Leif persisted.

Despite Irene’s argument, a maid returned quickly with all of the items requested. It seemed that they were on top of their game in terms of service. Since the Royal Family arrived, everyone was buzzing with energy, unaware of the tragedy that had befallen them on the outskirts of the village in the forests.

"Thank you," she said to the maid who gave a polite curtsy before making herself scarce once more.

The girl held out her hand for Leif to give her the items. However, he refused.

"You think you’re going to wrap your shoulder on your own?" he asked.

"I’ll figure it out."

"Good God, you’re so stubborn," Leif muttered. "Roll up your sleeve or I’ll tell Sir Gunnar you’re refusing treatment."

It was enough for Irene to relent. After all, every knight or apprentice alike needed to be in top shape to protect the dukedom to the best of their abilities. If Gunnar found out she was being stubborn for the sake of not being doubted, he would be irritated with her.

"Fine," she muttered as she rolled up her sleeve.

As she moved, she felt air on her shoulder anyway. It seemed she would have to sew up her shirt once she was in her nightclothes as well.

There was no other choice but to sit on the edge of her bed as Leif pulled up a wooden chair from the corner of the room and he waited patiently for Irene to get herself together.

However, the girl had forgotten an important detail that would be hard to explain herself out of if she was flustered.

Revealed to Leif was her still freshly tattooed shoulder. The three intertwining triangles that protected her soul from spirits were easy to see even though the light was dim.

"What’s this?" the older apprentice asked in surprise.

He reached for her arm, trying to angle her shoulder in a way that he could look more closely at the tattoo. Irene wrenched her arm out of his grasp and stared at him in complete shock, she was at a bit of a loss for what to say.