I Will Be the Greatest Knight
Chapter 173: The King’s Decision

Chapter 173: The King’s Decision

One would think that a Duke who was loyal to the King until his dying day would receive a bit more respect. However, each time one of the apprentices checked the compartment in the mana pillar where a letter would be delivered, they were disappointed to find nothing there.

This went on for days.

Irene checked seemingly every couple of hours, and there were plenty more who were behaving the same. The girl would often pass others going to and from the tower.

The obsession wasn’t merely because they thought the Duke deserved respect, but because whatever the King sent to them was a deciding factor in how the knighthood would keep going forward. There wasn’t a knight, apprentice, or squire who wanted the Duchess to have any sort of decision making power when it came to the duchy or the knights.

Her instability while bringing various religious leaders to the tower to bless the place and plan the funeral was indicative enough of that.

Perhaps the strangest request she had was that she wanted the Duke to be cremated, which went against customs if the body was already blessed. She was insistent that there was still the possibility of necromancy.

The mysteries surrounding the woman only further piled on.

On the fifth day after the Duke’s death, Irene and Leif were sitting in the dirt after a practice that practically rendered them useless. The only cure wasn’t rest but a pile of porridge waiting for them inside the tower.

However, the two apprentices looked at one another and seemingly had the same idea.

"Want to go to the pillar?" Irene asked.

Leif nodded.

"We’re going to the pillar, Sir Gunnar," Irene told the knight who was just leaving the practice yard.

"Of course," he responded lightly, not expecting anything less from the kids.

Although he realized momentarily that he should stop thinking of them as kids. They were all teenagers. Even their youngest, Irene, was a teenager now.

The thought was fleeting. He pressed on.

Rather than merely walking to the pillar as was normal, Irene made it to the edge of the practice yard before she turned to Leif, who looked down at her somewhat confused. She then stuck her boot out behind his legs and pushed him so he landed on his backside.

She then immediately took off around the barracks and towards the open field of freshly green grass where the pillar stood, and hopefully waited with good news that day. It seemed that the more days since the Duke’s death, the worse Sir Gunnar’s mood became. She wanted the knight to be happy enough to go forward based on whatever the King told any of them.

"You cheat!" Leif cried as he caught up to the girl.

"I have to be clever since you’re all taller than me," Irene insisted.

She had already made it to the pillar and had her hand on the wooden door to the small opening that was surrounded by a concentration of mana stones as if to tell the sender, ’Deliver it here, please. ’ Rather than opening it immediately, she merely paused and let out a light sigh.

At this point, it was usual to be disappointed.

As she opened the door, both of the apprentices paused as they stared at a scroll sitting neatly in the center of the enclosed space. Their eyes found each other, and they both grinned. Disbelief was still evident on their expressions.

She finally picked up the scroll and slowly turned it so she could see the wax seal. Revealed to her was purple wax and the Royal Family’s coat of arms, depicting lions and a crown on a shield.

"We must get this to Sir Gunnar!" she cried.

"Let’s go!" Leif shouted.

They were both off once more, but rather than focusing on racing one another, they were running excitedly at the same speed. Occasional laughter fell from their mouths as they thought that what was in the letter would bring peace to the restless and directionless knights.

Since Sir Gunnar was spending quite a bit of time in the Duke’s Study, they knew exactly where to find him as they entered the tower, then bounded down the hallways, receiving looks of slight disapproval from the butler and a maid.

They finally began behaving themselves as they stopped at the closed door, and Leif took the lead by knocking firmly a couple of times with his gloved hand.

"What is it?" the knight on the other side asked.

They pushed through the door immediately and were met with the sight of Gunnar at the desk while Sven, Eitan, and Phillip were sitting on the finely carved couches in front of the fireplace, where they had a few papers placed and laid out on a table in front of them. They all seemed to be hard at work.

"A letter from His Majesty!" Irene cried. "See the seal?!"

Gunnar was first to his feet, but the others were soon after.

"Give it here," he ordered almost breathlessly as if he too was in disbelief of such a thing.

While it would be standard for the Duchess to see it first or at least be present while they read it, Gunnar threw caution to the wind and unrolled the letter.

His relief was fleeting the further he read. His eyebrows lowered and astonishment was replaced. He wasn’t even sure if the King himself responded to the letter until he finally read the closing statement and saw "King Alfred I of Peroda" written in a neat font at the very end.

Most of the words were inflated well-wishes that did nothing to decide the future of the duchy or give them guidance on how to go forth.

Gunnar looked around the room, but then his eyes went back to the page.

He began, "The late Duke himself has already chosen a way in which his honor will be passed, and the decision is well underway and out of my hands as I honor a very loyal subject’s final wishes. Her Grace is well aware of the handoff. There is nothing more that can be done.

"I give permission for the knights to perform their duties as they see fit. For now, the ranks stand as they are now. With a new Duke will come the assignment of a new Commander."

Sir Sven stepped forward from where he stood beside his apprentice while the letter was being read. He then placed a hand on Gunnar’s shoulder.

"Whatever you need us to be, we will be. That is all we can do for now."

The monsters were kind enough to hold off until the knights got themselves together because, shortly after it was decided that Sir Gunnar would be the second in command while they filled the Commander’s seat, monsters appeared in droves in the valley.