I Will Be the Greatest Knight
Chapter 158: Uncomfortable

Chapter 158: Uncomfortable

Arthur entered the library only to see his daughter asleep at one of the tables and the other apprentice sitting on the floor with a book forgotten in his lap as his eyes stayed on Irene.

The door was closed, but the Earl was proud enough in his upkeep of the house that there wasn’t a single noise as he opened the door.

He didn’t quite like the gaze the young apprentice had on his daughter.

The knight cleared his throat, catching the attention of the two others present.

"Sleeping, Iro?" the redheaded knight asked. "I was told to summon the apprentices for supper."

Meanwhile, Leif’s head snapped forward and he quickly stood at attention. He had been lost in thought for a while and he didn’t know how it must look to the father of the girl who had fallen asleep while reading.

"Yes, sir," Leif managed. "I will go to the dining hall immediately."

Even though Leif didn’t know precisely where he was headed, he still quickly placed the book back on the shelf and speed walked out of the library after offering a bow to the knight.

Arthur was amused as much as he was still a bit worried. Perhaps he was merely reading into the situation too much. After all, he had only just walked into the library.

He wanted to pretend that Irene would tell him if someone was looking into her a little bit too much.

Irene was just waking up to the sound of her father summoning them. She sat up and rubbed one of her eyes.

"I was more tired than I thought," she admitted with a yawn.

She watched as Leif sped out of the room and her eyebrows rose. Maybe he was hungry.

Before she was able to go with the other knights and apprentices, she was forced to detour where her mother was in the guest room with Arne.

She immediately went forward and embraced her mom—a surprising greeting considering how tense things were a short few months before.

"Mother," Irene greeted. "Have you been well?"

Rochelle seemed particularly pleased by this and she gave a slight smile. She squeezed her daughters shoulders as she looked over the girl. Each time Rochelle saw Irene, she thought she was starting to look more and more like a girl. It caused her to wonder when the whole charade would be over. She wasn’t sure if she wanted it to happen or not.

"Hello, Irene," she responded. "I have been perfectly fine. The Countess has been spoiling me as my husband goes off to play with knights as he always seems to."

"As if I’m not standing right here," the knight objected.

"Regardless..." her mother brushed off his comment. "Have you eaten supper? I have had plenty in town but Arne might like to go with you downstairs. He’s been complaining that there wasn’t enough to eat at the tea house."

"That’s where I was headed next," Irene admitted. "Arne. Let’s go."

"Eat well, children," Rochelle called after the two.

Irene noticed that her parents stayed behind, but she wasn’t sure how she felt being around her mother while being around the other apprentices.

Not only had she not shown them the best side of herself, but Irene knew she was starting to look more like her mother the older she got. It happened almost scarily fast. Each time she saw her mother again, it seemed like she looked more like her.

Standing beside her would certainly make people question a lot and she wasn’t willing to subject herself to that.

Arne was eager to get out of the room so he followed his sister without question.

"Do we get to sword fight today?" he asked. "I have been practicing with father. I think I could beat Felix."

Irene narrowed her eyes at her brother, but it seemed she didn’t have to answer because Felix took it upon himself as he walked by.

"I doubt it, kid," the oldest apprentice insisted. "If your brother can’t best me despite how much he tries, I don’t think you will be able to either."

Felix grinned, it only becoming wider when he caught the glare from Irene that she once gave to her brother.

"I’ll be waiting for you to surpass me," Felix persisted.

"Oh, get away," Irene spat with a shake of her hand. "I’m too hungry for this conversation."

Rather than serving themselves as they were used to, when the apprentices and Arne were at the table, food was brought out to them by well-trained maids.

"A bit different than the Duke’s Tower," Arne observed. "Although I suppose he isn’t going to great lengths to boast his wealth these days."

Irene took that moment to elbow her brother in the ribs considering there weren’t only apprentices in the dining hall. It elicited a grunt of pain before the kid realized he ought to focus on his food.

It was lucky that there were no nobles around to bother them. She hoped it remained that way for most of the time until they were able to leave once more.

As they ate, Irene noticed that Leif had fallen particularly quiet.

"You were hungry, weren’t you?" she asked the slightly older apprentice.

However, Leif seemed alarmed that she was speaking to him which was a surprising reaction considering they had only just been in the library together.

"Ah—yes!" he responded a bit awkwardly.

"Are you alright?" she wondered.

"I’m tired," Leif insisted. When her expression changed he added, "As if you weren’t just asleep in the library."

Irene bit the inside of her lip as she held back a grin.

"Perhaps you should have been napping as well," she retorted.

The apprentice lightly sighed in response but he merely continued eating as if having nothing much more to say. That’s how they continued on for a while. Leif was relieved that they weren’t at the Duke’s Tower where Irene would likely be able to tell that something was amiss with him.

For days after that, it was much the same with all of the apprentices. Leif somehow managed to keep to himself all the thoughts he was having.

At least it didn’t show up in their morning practices because Sir Gunnar insisted they still attend. When they went to the courtyard where the personal knights to the auden’s practiced, the knights of Tenetium were shocked at what the courtyard boasted.