I Will Be the Greatest Knight
Chapter 84: Spar

Chapter 84: Spar

Felix knew that he was taking out some of his frustrations by demanding a spar, but he couldn’t help what he had seen a few times in the Duke’s Tower that was unexplainable to him.

There were times he thought that Agnes wanted to pay a little more attention to Iro than she wanted to pay attention to him. Even though he knew that she wouldn’t be romantically interested in a boy so much younger than her, he couldn’t help the jealousy that ate at him whenever he experienced it.

Not only that, but the situation where Iro didn’t even want the attention of Rose and brushed it off as if it were nothing rubbed him the wrong way. In his mind, it was inconceivable that the other apprentice would be immune to the girl’s advances, particularly the cute noble girls who were openly showing their favor.

Even when Felix was twelve, he remembered how nervous girls made him. Iro was so unusual and it bothered him for a variety of reasons.

At that moment, it felt like he was fighting for the girl his heart had already claimed for his own.

Meanwhile, Irene was already irritated at Felix and she was willing to play offense first if it meant she could catch the older apprentice by surprise.

With a solid right feint, the girl was fast enough to swing her sword down from another direction and meet Felix’s sheathed sword low on his handle. If she were a bit stronger, she knew she would have certainly made him drop it.

Felix pushed the girl away with the blade already locked with hers and he then forward thrust, making sure that the tip of his sheathed sword at least met Iro’s thigh. However, she was quick to dodge to the side and she used both hands to drive her blade downward and hit Felix’s sword in a particularly weak place.

Her blade met the part of Felix’s sword facing him and she was hoping that her downward motion was enough to knock the blade from his grasp. However, he had a height advantage and he pulled the weight of her sword and his upward movement made it so she had to back off or risk losing her only weapon at that moment.

They then pushed away from one another and she glared at him from where she stood with her back toward the small stove in their room. Her sword was in front of her once more and she decided it was time to go on the defensive because he looked like he was going to explode as he returned the glare and started slowly stalking forward like a wolf and its prey.

"You’re pissing me off," Felix said through clenched teeth.

"Speak for yourself," Irene responded. "You’re taking this far too seriously."

The trouble with Felix and his years of experience more than Irene was that he had developed a way to be ambidextrous so he could throw off those who might get used to his sword style otherwise. He was a frustrating adversary because his seemingly random decisions had meaning and justification in his mind. He was the epitome of organized chaos. There would be few other swordsmen who could take on such a person.

As he approached the girl, both of his hands held his blade, but he lurched forward quickly, taking the blade in his left hand which he slashed, but he also grabbed the handle of Irene’s sword with his right hand. She tried to right herself and he pushed her to the side with his sheathed sword.

If he hadn’t changed her direction again, she would have fallen into the stove and gotten burnt. Instead, he threw her to the floor which then caused him to lose his balance and he wound up on top of her with his knees on either side of her as he stared down at her with his eyebrows lowered. He pressed the flat side of his sword into her chest with one hand on the handle and the other against the leather sheath.

"You’re dead."

For a moment, there was force as he pressed her into the wood floor but she stared up at him calmly and it pissed him off in a new, unexpected way.

He scoffed and released the pressure.

"Are you finished?" she snapped. "You accused me of being upset with you, but you’re fighting as if you’re mad at me."

Felix lifted his sword off of the floor before he moved quickly towards his bed and sat down heavily. His blue eyes eventually drifted to Irene who had stood up. She glared at him and her arms were crossed. One of her hands was still hanging onto the sheath of her sword.

"Forget it, Iro," Felix muttered. "I was simply irritated at your high and mighty attitude for a moment."

The girl wanted to respond and defend herself but the door to their room swung open and Sir Gunnar stalked into the room.

"What fell against the floor?" he snapped in disbelief. "There were complaints on lower floors."

Irene wouldn’t let Felix have the last word so she responded first.

"Felix dropped his sword," she said, deciding for once she wouldn’t defend him or try to cover for him.

Sir Gunnar’s stormy expression turned to Felix and he lowered his eyebrows. It seemed unlikely that his apprentice closest to knighthood would be clumsy enough to drop his sword but since no one said anything to correct it and his best-behaved Leif was still in the bathroom, he had no evidence to refute their statement.

"Be careful," the man muttered before going to his things and getting ready for a night in the inn.

Once the apprentices were finally settling down, he decided to take a final bath after having to bother a maid for more water one last time. After that, he entered the room and blew out the candles of the candelabra, leaving only a small fire in the stove at the corner of their room.

It would be enough to stave away the early stages of cold since autumn was settling in. It would only get worse the further north they traveled.

The next day marked the beginning of their winterization trip around the duchy. While Sir Gunnar was more than qualified and experienced to successfully take on the burden, the apprentices were a bit greener. In terms of their careers, Irene was barely a seedling while Leif was a sprout. Felix was at least a plant, but Sir Gunnar was a tree with deep roots.

They hoped that he would instill his knowledge in them because they would be out for three more weeks as they went around the duchy.

Only time will tell.