I Will Be the Greatest Knight
Chapter 216: Relieved

Chapter 216: Relieved

While the day was drawing late and Irene had been feeling tired for hours, she was suddenly reenergized at the sight of the encampment that looked more like a small village of tents.

If the Knights of Hydrogia were there, that meant the others had more help. She hoped that they had been there a while, but considering the long time it took to travel between the two places, she understood that it likely wasn’t the case.

The apprentice’s knees squeezed her horse’s sides, and she felt Sorrel become more invigorated as well. Did the sight of the place make him know that he was finally going to be able to eat well and rest? He was an old horse and had served her family so well for the past few years. She hadn’t expected to take him away from her father, but it somehow turned out like that, and no one ever said anything about it.

Irene rounded the southern side of the encampment and went right to the shabby stables. Well, shabby if it weren’t for the fact that they had been made larger and extended. There were presently apprentices and squires working to secure posts into the ground and make the space more expansive and comfortable for the horses. Since the Knights of Hydrogia arrived with a lot more men, they would need all the space they could get.

An apprentice she didn’t recognize took her horse, and she gratefully let Sorrel go, knowing that he was in safe hands. She only took off the saddlebags.

Before she could respond more appropriately to the situation, Irene heard footfalls rushing towards her. The moment she turned around, she was shocked to feel the hard hug of someone wearing armor. It seemed like a gesture from her father, but when she returned the hug after rebalancing herself, she realized the person she hugged was much smaller.

Only when the man grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her away did she realize Sir Gunnar was hugging her, and she was surprised at the gesture he had never made before in the time they had known each other.

"Sir...?" she asked in disbelief.

"I am so relieved to see that you have succeeded in what you set out to do," the knight explained his actions. "The Knights of Hydrogia have already lost an apprentice to the poison. It reminded me of the first time you experienced it and how unknowledgeable we were at the time."

All she could manage was a crooked smile at the knight since she was still in shock at his gesture, but he was soon called away to attend to something else. She could only be understanding.

The mages and the rest of the apprentices soon arrived, and rather than burdening the Hydrogian apprentice with all of their horses, she decided to lend a hand in getting them put away.

The night had set in, but the place was still lit up, considering the torches that had been raised. It was certainly a gift from the Knights of Hydrogia, who had clearly brought them so much already. The golden fire amidst the cold darkness made everything feel a bit less bleak.

As Irene walked between the tents and supplies, she found their original tent, which, when it was first erected, looked so massive against the ancient wall and empty field. Yet now that she saw it amidst so many other impressive tent structures, she realized it wasn’t all that big.

Was she allowed to be hopeful like this at the front lines of an impending war? Her competitive nature made her want the Knights of Chemois to take credit for everything, but the Knights of Hydrogia turned out to be their angels. Now that they had the mages there as well, perhaps things would continue on in their favor.

One life was lost that day amongst many more from the Knights of Chemois, even before they were cast out and forced to live outdoors.

Her eyes went to the tower standing in the distance. Even though she could hardly see it, it still loomed so heavily. What was once a place of solace had become anyone’s worst nightmare.

Once inside the tent where their beds were still set up, Irene placed down her saddlebags unceremoniously and immediately went back outside so she could lend a hand wherever she was needed. If that meant staying up all night to stand guard on the wall, she would do it.

Since Sir Gunnar and Commander Lothian were in the same area of the field, that was the direction the girl headed. They were looking over goblin bodies and lighting up a few dry sticks so that there would be something to light the goblins on fire. She could hear that others were following her forward as well.

"Sir Gunnar," she called. "Where shall the mages stay?"

Surprised to see Sir Gunnar, instead, turn to Commander Lothian, she realized that the Commander must have demanded a lot of respect from others. She couldn’t help but bow even just slightly.

"We can divide the infirmary tent into two for now if their intention in being here is to heal," the Commander explained. "Otherwise, we will have another tent for them built because there is no doubt the infirmary will fill."

The sentiment dashed her hopes, and she looked up at the large knight in unveiled surprise. When her green eyes landed on Sir Gunnar, he wasn’t in disagreement. It had been rough for all of them.

"Listen to the Commander," Gunnar suggested. "All of you."

Irene finally turned around and was surprised to see not only Leif and Felix following her but all of the mages. It seemed that she had unknowingly found herself an entourage of mages who wanted to be protected. They were undoubtedly receiving looks of hatred from the southern knights.

Since people generally accepted mages in the north, but it was the churches who sulleyed that for everyone else, it wasn’t a surprise to her they were frightened. The south was even more prejudiced. As she looked up at Commander Lothian, his eyes were already on her and the ones who followed her.

It seemed the Commander had somewhere else he wanted to go because he went past Irene, but not before he leaned down and said something to her under his breath.

"You ought not to bow to a peasant-born knight," he insisted. She reminded him of a few of his own who insisted on bowing to him despite his lack of notable history.

She abruptly turned in the direction he headed, but he didn’t look back at her. It seemed he was serious when he said that.

He would be someone who took a long time to get used to.