I Will Be the Greatest Knight

Chapter 514: A Lesson in Overconfidence

It felt so good to get her body moving again. Despite Henry’s insistence that she didn’t need to get started right away, she was up when he was and ready to stand by Felix’s side as they took on the apprentice’s practice for that day.

Rather than merely stand there and call out orders, she joined them with a practice sword of her own. Not only to warm up, but she sparred with anyone willing to challenge her.

As usual, the more experienced apprentices were smart in not doubting her or believing they could beat her because of her size. They only sparred with her upon her request. However, it was the newbies who were in over their heads.

While word of Irene had reached far and wide in Chemois, there was still plenty of doubt from those who weren’t there to see her firsthand.

With the busy late summer they had had, she missed out on greeting some of the new apprentices. But now was her chance as a twelve-year-old named Hugh bore his sword to the knight.

"I would like to challenge you, dame," he requested after finishing his own spar with little issue, taking his opponent down as if it were nothing.

"Challenging the knights could be seen as insubordination," Felix warned from where he stood towards the practice shed.

After their spars were finished, he was planning on cleaning up and moving on quickly. Nothing of note was likely to happen, so he imagined they would get back inside for breakfast quickly—until the apprentice decided to challenge Irene, of course.

"I won’t take it as such," Irene decided. "As long as this is the first and last time it happens."

There was a particular glint in Irene’s eyes that Felix took note of. She was eager to prove herself to a new face, and he wasn’t going to get in her way if it was what she really wanted.

"Very well," the second in command relented. "I will be here to observe."

And also because it was satisfying watching smug children earn their keep in such a way.

"Then it would be my pleasure," Irene finally responded to the apprentice. "What was your name again?"

"Hugh Arber," he answered confidently.

Irene’s light eyebrows rose. This was a last name she had heard before, which could only mean he was from a notable family in Chemois. Perhaps she had come across his parents or otherwise at a banquet or in her touring around the duchy.

"Well, it’s nice to officially meet you," she answered. "Let’s begin."

There were a handful of tests in her head that she often referred to whenever faced with apprentices. First, she made sure they showed her good sportsmanship with their first action. Fortunately, he had that much down as he met the tip of her wooden sword with his.

Then, Irene would stay planted and watch how they reacted. Would they move fast, or would they overanalyze the situation?

Hugh backed away from her, seeing that she was holding strong in her position. She could tell the moment he decided her left side was weaker by the way she held her sword so strongly in her right hand. However, she wasn’t going to give him a hit that easily as she quickly changed her position and blocked his sword with a smack of hers.

He recovered well from the parry. It seemed that his confidence wasn’t out of thin air, so that was a relief.

However, she noticed that he hadn’t yet learned the importance of slowing down because he didn’t wait to attack again. This was a lesson that she learned the hard way considering when they got older, she had to rely on speed rather than strength a lot of the time when her opponents were so much bigger than her.

As the child threw his body around so that he could get her with a hit that had strength inside of it, she was met with a forceful blow, but it wasn’t enough to knock her out of her strong stance.

For a moment, they were sword locked after she caught his strike and pushed back with her own force. She then threw him backwards, causing him to stumble more easily than she had expected.

Again and again, the kid relentlessly attacked. It seemed that his strategy was that if he hit her a lot, one had to eventually land.

However, they were locked once more, and she could see visible frustration as his eyebrows knit together and his jaw clenched. She stepped between his legs in his strong stance and pushed him backwards once more.

"Your stance is too wide," she commented.

At this point, it was habitual that he offered more slashes before they got into a sword lock again.

Since it was no longer fun for Irene, she pushed him harder this time, and he fell onto his backside, allowing her to disarm him easily as she clipped his sword with hers and sent it flying.

"Not one hit landed!" one of the apprentices at the sidelines shouted.

Hugh was visibly frustrated as he turned to glare.

"Let this be a teaching moment instead," Irene explained. "Having a few purposeful strikes is far better than many, especially when they are poorly planned. You never took a moment to analyze the situation, which is why I have the upper hand." Despite allowing him to stay on the ground, she offered her hand. "I must say, your strikes are powerful. Once you hone them, you will do well."

By that point, he acted more ashamed as he accepted her help and got to his feet.

"Thank you for the spar, my lady," Hugh stated quickly before putting away the swords—even Irene’s—and retreating to the dining hall for breakfast.

As Irene and Felix observed the kid shamefully escape, Felix nudged his friend.

"If you haven’t made enemies, you’ve at least made fans," he admitted.

The other apprentices put away their swords, but as they retreated into the Duke’s Tower to join the others for breakfast, they discussed the amazing spar with animated expressions and loud voices as they went.

"That’s better than someone doubting me," Irene joked. "The new ones will get used to me eventually."