I Will Be the Greatest Knight

Chapter 520: Ready to Begin

The winter came faster than Irene wanted. Even though she was thrilled to return to the Sunstoian lands, this trip came with a whole new slew of issues that the last one didn’t have. Before, her only issue was lack of time because of her grandmother’s health. This time, they would be searching for a monster.

However, there was a very big upside to this trip that she didn’t have the last time: companionship. And it wasn’t the companionship of just anyone but her husband and arguably the greatest knight of their duchy, if not the entire kingdom—a point she felt a bit competitive about, but knew she could only push herself to be better rather than taking it out on him.

Irene stood in her room in the Duke’s Tower and adjusted her belt and where her sheath sat on her waist. She wore it a bit looser, knowing it would be more comfortable on a long horse ride. The outerwear and armor she wore was the same leather and metal she wore to the north the first time. Even though she was a bit sad she had certainly stopped growing some years before, that meant she would be able to wear her grandmother’s armor forever.

Henry soon strode out of the bathroom where he had been getting himself together as well. Irene went to him and began adjusting his straps—an excuse to touch him, perhaps, but he didn’t seem to mind.

"I’m glad they were able to get the armor finished in time," Irene said. "Plate armor isn’t suitable for how cold it gets that far north. It will take all the heat out of your body no matter how much wool you wear underneath. I wouldn’t have let you leave that way regardless."

Henry affectionately ran his hands over her sides and felt the layers of metal and leather she wore. As a child, his mental picture of the woman he would marry wouldn’t have been a warrior, but now that he was in this life, it was his ideal reality.

"Thankfully I have such a thoughtful guide leading me into the snow," he teased.

Just one kiss, Irene decided as she got onto her toes and offered him her lips.

"This sort of armor suits you," Irene complimented when she had let go of him and was on her heels once more.

"Things less polished tend to," Henry explained. "Perhaps that’s due to my lowly background."

Irene became defensive on his behalf.

"That wasn’t to say that everything else doesn’t suit you," she insisted.

"I know," he admitted. "I just like to hear you say nice things about me."

Irene rolled her eyes. "One wonders how I will spend so much alone time with you on this journey if you plan to act like this the whole time."

"The red on your cheeks says you don’t mind it all that much," Henry went on smugly.

At that, Irene huffed and turned to walk away so she could get her already prepared saddlebags. They had been brought up the evening before so she could put together the final things like extra clothing and her Volna kit.

Before she could make it far, her husband caught her and hugged her from behind. He pressed a kiss against her cheek and made her flustered enough that he was able to get his saddlebags and to the door before her. With that, he threw a cheeky grin over his shoulder.

Her haughty facade was gone. She couldn’t help grinning at him in return as she followed him.

As Irene and Henry walked out of the Duke’s Tower with their saddlebags in tow, they found most of their men already by the stables where apprentices got their horses together.

Sammy would be coming all the way to the north, while her brother had agreed to meet them on the trail to trade horses with Henry and give him one of Sammy’s brothers who was more equipped for a trip through a harsh winter that led into even harsher climate.

Under the eaves of the stables, Henry addressed his men as they crowded together in the snow. While it wasn’t currently snowing, it was still cold and windy enough to want to stay out of it. Ironic that that was the opposite of what Irene and Henry would do.

"In one week, the knights I have chosen to go over the pass will leave to follow us," he reminded them. "You will take your place on the ridge over the valley and wait for us there. If it has been longer than a month from today and there is no sign from us, only then should you dare go further into the northern lands, but I am confident that it won’t be needed. Blade travels well in the snow, so I imagine that will be how I reach out to you, telling you to go back or telling you that we need help."

He didn’t want to say it out loud, but even in such a harsh winter environment, he thought that Sylaron might follow him even if he had repeatedly told her he didn’t want her to.

"We believe in you two," Felix assured his Commander as he stepped forth and offered his hand. "Regardless, I wish you safety and ease in your journey. It is for all of us that the two of you have taken this on."

Henry clasped Felix’s forearm in a sign of trust. Felix then turned and offered Irene the same thing.

"Don’t worry about us," she assured the others. "We will be cautious knowing what’s at stake."

Not being ones to bother others over things the two of them could do themselves perfectly, Irene and Henry strapped on their saddlebags before offering the knights one last goodbye and hitting the trail.

On all sides of them, everything was white except for the sky. At least the storms were holding back long enough for them to get ahead and out of the valley.

Before they could escape the Duke’s Tower’s lands completely, Henry sidled up to Irene and reached out a gloved hand from where he sat on his horse. With his free hand, he pulled down the scarf that covered the lower half of his face.

"There isn’t another I would rather be doing this journey with, truly," he said.

Irene clasped his hand and offered a smile as she pulled down her own scarf, if only for a moment before the cold was too biting.

"I feel the same," she responded.

It was truly time to go as they both cast the Tower one last significant glance and pressed forth.