I Will Be the Greatest Knight
Chapter 169: The Search Begins

Chapter 169: The Search Begins

Gunnar seated himself in the leather chair that the Duke once sat in at his large, polished wood desk. The view from that angle was strange. The only other person who had ever sat there was Arthur—rightfully so.

As the knight then took in the scene in front of him, the very child of that knight sat down across from him and waited for instruction on what to do next. He placed out quills and paper for them to begin.

The first on Gunnar’s list of things to do was to pen a letter to His Majesty with thinly veiled begging to be more decisive when it came to the north. There was a heavy emphasis on the suffering of common folk, how monsters would take advantage of their disorganization, and how the apprentices needed more decision-making power as knights.

He read and re-read to ensure he hadn’t said something offensive, something that may make the King further drag his feet. If anything, he decided he ought to seek out Sir Eitan to read over the letter and be sure that it was something that would be taken well by the ever-sensitive King.

Meanwhile, Irene stared at the paper in front of her for quite a while before even deciding how to begin a letter like that to her father.

It was the earliest point of spring, which meant he was officially no longer a knight. Was she meant to refer to her own father as Lord Arthur? It felt unbelievably cold, but she knew that the situation perhaps called for it.

After a while, she began with ’Lord Arthur, my father’ and hoped that it was alright.

"Be sure to tell your father that the message to him isn’t to put the idea in his head that he needs to come to the Duke’s Tower immediately," Sir Gunnar reminded her as he stood up from the large, comfortable chair. "We are not in a state of emergency, merely trying to figure out what we must do next. We will hope that His Majesty decides not to toy with us any longer. The sooner we have a commander for our knights, the better."

"Yes, sir," Irene responded, and she put her head down to finish the letter.

While she was working, Gunnar began to go through the bookshelves that stood in the corner of the study. While there were mostly books, there were also a few wooden boxes containing papers that likely meant something.

For the most part, all Gunnar could find were communications between Duke Arlin and other nobles. Even his letters from the King were filled with a bit of nothing.

"For being so loyal to His Majesty, the King never gave our commander much of anything," the knight realized in disappointment. "He was practically a useful fool to both the King and his wife."

Irene had finished her letter, and she decided to stand and join the knight.

"What can I help you with, sir?" she wondered.

"Look through the desk to see if there’s anything useful," Gunnar requested. "Communications with His Majesty or the will itself."

"Yes, sir," she responded.

As Irene sat on the floor and began opening the drawers at the desk in hopes of finding something that would be useful to the knighthood, she couldn’t help feeling it wasn’t she who was supposed to be there doing something like that. She felt underqualified to reveal a dead man’s secrets. If he ever hid anything in there intending for no one else to see it, it was about to be revealed.

From what she could tell, at least, the man was pristinely organized inside his desk. Everything was in place, and the papers were a jumbled mess but in neat piles. That much she was relieved about.

However, her searching revealed nothing, and all that was left was the top drawer of the desk.

Before she could rummage further, there was a knock at the door.

Gunnar moved quickly across the room to see who dared interrupt, but he was pleased to see that it was a few of the knights and apprentices he felt he could trust the most—those who had been there through every mystery they had faced so far.

He opened the door wider, allowing entry, before shutting it once more.

Irene peered around the desk to see Sven, Eitan, Leif, and Felix enter the study. They looked as somber as she felt, and she stood up to greet them.

"We have taken heed to your prior advice," Sir Eitan began. "Sir Sven and I have chosen these two as our apprentices. It is better to do it now. Even if Felix could be a knight tomorrow, it’s best we have a support system within the knighthood."

"We believe things will only get worse while we wait for His Majesty to decide what will happen next," Sir Sven added. "Let us take matters into our own hands for now."

"I am relieved to see the two of you have come to this decision," Gunnar admitted. "In this room are the greatest apprentices our knighthood has to offer."

Irene felt a bit bashful at that, but she managed to hold her expression in. While she wasn’t quite yet the greatest knight she wanted to be, that was only attainable if she succeeded as an apprentice.

"What are the two of you doing?" Eitan questioned.

"You have impeccable timing, sir," Gunnar admitted. "I have penned a letter to His Majesty about the Duke’s passing. I would like you to read it to ensure it is appropriate before I request the mages send it to Central Hydrogia."

"Of course," Sir Eitan responded.

The blonde knight then went to the desk where Gunnar indicated the letter was, and he read over it for a while as the others got back to various tasks. The apprentices and Sven helped in the efforts to scrub the entire study for any information regarding the will. Since the desk and bookshelves were covered, they went across the space to the bookshelves on the walls by the fireplace.

Before anything worthwhile could be found, there was an urgent knock at the door.

One of the butlers who normally attended to the ducal family rushed into the room after Gunnar opened the door.

"The mages are leaving," he spoke urgently.

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