I Will Be the Greatest Knight
Chapter 161: Completely Choiceless

Chapter 161: Completely Choiceless

Being the honored guests were something the Crown Prince and Princess were used to. People fussing over them was a familiar aspect of their lives. All they could do was simply sit there and take it with polite smiles on their faces or it could be reported to their father that he was raising ungrateful children.

However, the truth was that those things mostly only applied to the Princess. She was the one forced to act a certain way. If her eldest brother was displeased with something in his surroundings, he was allowed to voice it.

This knowledge made him rarely hold back.

As the two esteemed guests sat at the table in the front of the room alongside Earl and his wife, they were waited on hand and foot. Their plates were never empty, nor were their cups.

As customary with events such as that, the Crown Prince was the one who decided the pacing in which things happened. Only when he got up to dance would they begin dancing.

That also meant the heavy burden of him finding a suitable partner. His decision would be important to the way people perfecieved him or considered his true reason for being there.

Already promised to a princess in a southern kingdom, he wasn’t there for romance and didn’t care about the girls who fawned over him. He could have them if he wanted, but they could never have him.

Since the Prince wanted to dance, it was made as such.

He stood up and perused the room for someone suitable. He then settled on Baroness Dethorn whose husband wasn’t in attendance that day.

Considering her age compared to him, she was a good choice because it wouldn’t be scandalous but seen as a way for him to bridge the gap between southern and northern nobles.

Princess Marie’s maid stood along the wall, occasionally going forward to fuss over the girl.

"Why don’t you dance as well, Your Highness?" she suggested. "Your father would appreciate you interacting with the others a bit more."

"There isn’t anyone I want to dance with here," the Princess insisted.

"Are you implying that there is someone else you would dance with given the choice?" the maid asked, suddenly more interested.

The comment about the Princess dancing was more of a passing thought and she hadn’t paid it much mind until the girl actually responded in a way that the maid could possibly find a solution to.

"That red headed apprentice," Marie insisted. "He was so fun to dance with. If not him, then I will not dance."

Earl Auden happened to overhear the conversation unfolding.

Ever the opportunist, he wiped his lips with a cloth napkin and placed it on the table.

"If I may, Your Highness, are you referring to Iro Litharion?" he asked. "Lord Litharion’s eldest son?"

The Princess turned at the interruption and even though her face seemed bothered at first, she heard the name Litharion and knew that’s who she was talking about and the expression was wiped away. Her face lit up.

"Yes!" she exclaimed gleefully. "I find him quite fun even if he’s quite small."

Since the Crown Prince was already gone, he couldn’t object to what she was saying. He didn’t like her penchant for being interested in those far below the title she held. There were plenty of other noble teenager in attendance with far more promising futures in politics and economy.

Unfortunately for Prince Alfred, the Princess was more interested in fun than politics.

"Iro and his knighthood are guarding the estate," the Earl explained. "It wouldn’t be impossible to bring him in here if that’s what you wish."

"It’s what I wish!" she shouted enthusiastically causing a few eyes to turn in their direction.

The Earl flagged down one of his knights and the plans were set in motion which caused Irene to be pulled inside and someone else to take the duties for her in the meantime.

Since she was required to wear a jacket nicer than she would prefer for patrolling, she was asked to remove her armor before going into the celebration hall. The maids assured her they would bring it to her guest room.

It was a bit of a whirlwind, being pulled inside and forced to take off her cloak and armor to be suitable for the ballroom environment.

A maid came forth to the apprentice before she could step foot into the room and brushed her hair backwards so it was off of her face.

"Much better," the young maid gushed. "You look quite handsome."

"Ah... thank you," Irene responded, finding it uncomfortable to be called handsome but not wanting to argue the reason for that.

With a gentle push in the right direction, the apprentice was led into the ballroom where people were already seemingly waiting for her arrival. At least that’s what it felt like considering she caught the gaze of a fair few people.

"Right this way," another maid direction and brought her all the way to the head of the room.

The girl passed her family’s table and shot them an expression of confusion that matched the ones they gave her in the first place.

She was then led to the Princess who was eagerly sitting there.

"So your name is Iro?" she asked. "I was bored and asked if you could dance with me."

The Princess grinned and held out her hand.

Irene knew that she was the one who got herself twisted up in that situation in the first place so all she could do was reach outward and take the hand offered.

Uncomfortably, she kissed the back of the girl’s hand.

"Then shall we dance, Your Highness?" she asked.

It seemed there was other choice since so many others were clearly enjoying the situation based on the murmurs she was hearing.

Earl Auden stood off to the side, grinning happily at the exchange. He loved when the royals got what they wanted under his guidance. It would buy him more points with His Majesty and that’s all he ever wanted.

"We shall!" Marie exclaimed.

It was more her pulling the apprentice to the floor where others had begun dancing at the guidance of Prince Alfred than the other way around.

Customs were out the window anyway. There were two girls dancing with one another—although most still were unaware of this fact.