I Will Be the Greatest Knight-Chapter 423: Recovering from the Banquet

The following day was a day of recovery for many of the banquet guests, it seemed. Most of the common areas where more people had been during mornings before were practically deserted, and a lot of maids or servants were busying themselves with bringing light meals to those who were feeling rather sick that day.

However, Irene hadn’t drunk enough for her to feel bad. Such was the gift of still being quite young.

As she left the guest area, she wore more casual clothing than the night before but still far less casual than what she would wear if she was attending to her usual lazy winter routine. That was the biggest pain of being somewhere that was so unbelievably upscale. Gilded chandeliers and gold-threaded tapestries stared down at her. No matter where she was in the Audens’ estate, she could at least try to make herself presentable for the world around her.

Although perhaps there was a bit more reason for her preparedness. The possibility of seeing someone who her mind was already so unbelievably full of occurred to her, and her eyes never stopped nervously searching around each corner or scanning the long hallways as she walked along. Fortunately, she could hide this in the presence of others. It wouldn’t be good for a knight to wear such an uncertain appearance. Now that the banquet was over with, she was simply one of the knights again—and she preferred it that way.

Even though she knew the advisors had meetings with the Duke, there was still a ridiculous hope that she might at least see him one more time before they parted ways for the couple of months that lay ahead. However, in her outward endeavor to find her father, she was secretly searching for someone else.

There was a midday meal presented to those still in Auden’s Estate, and Irene decided to attend. It would likely be her last hope, considering the supper meal was reserved for the advisors yet again.

However, a face Irene was surprised to see was in the form of a blonde-haired knight with his hair tied back from his face. He seemed deep in thought as he sat at a table with his food untouched in front of him.

She had been so occupied with her own thoughts, it had practically slipped her mind that she caught Felix kissing Eira in the hallway. The other knight and maid were so distracted with one another, they didn’t seem to notice her before she could slip away.

Even more, she wondered if she could talk to him about it or if it would make him feel ashamed because of her connection to Agnes. It was then that she decided she had better gently guide him towards that type of conversation.

Irene decided to get her own food before she greeted him. If she couldn’t see the Commander, her dearest friend was a wonderful trade-off.

"A meeting even you can’t attend, huh?" Irene asked as she sat down beside the second in command.

Felix seemed startled at the realization that she was there. He turned to her first with his eyebrows lowered, then he softened his expression.

"Something to do with finances and far beyond anything I care to discuss," Felix admitted as he glanced down at his food and finally decided to start eating.

"Fair enough," Irene responded. "I couldn’t help noticing that you seemed particularly deep in thought. Were the other meetings eye-opening?"

"Monster movement, things like that," Felix answered shortly. "I’m sure your father will have more to say than I because he was the one leading the conversation."

Irene’s eyebrows raised at that, but she disagreed. "I would prefer it to someone who won’t sugarcoat it when explaining it to me. Even though I’m a knight, he still talks to me as if I’m a child."

Felix sighed, and he bowed his head for a moment before straightening out his posture again. "It isn’t specifically the meeting occupying my head today." Then he glanced at Irene. "Eat your food. It’s going to get cold."

She rolled her eyes but did as she was ordered. Her stomach was growling.

Between bites, she drank a bit of the watered-down ale that sat at the table.

"Then what is occupying your head?" she wondered.

Felix elbowed her in the ribs. "Something I won’t talk about here while people surround us." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Irene let out a "Hmm..." before she continued to eat her food. She could live with him telling her later if he did tell her at all. Was kissing and telling against their friendship? He had always been against it when it came to Agnes, but the way he was behaving was so distracted, she could imagine that there was more he wasn’t saying—even though talking to her would be as good as talking to a wall. After all, she had no experience, while Felix had much more.

Afterwards, their meal was a silent one as both were lost in their thoughts. The night before had been eye-opening to both of them for different yet surprisingly similar reasons. Two people who had both sworn themselves to a life lacking affection were surrounded by it all of a sudden.

Irene finished the last bite on her plate, finally feeling perfectly full, but before she could decide what was next for her lazy day, the knight at her side stood up suddenly.

"I’m feeling like a good spar," Felix stated. "Won’t you join me?"

Irene’s head snapped up, and she saw flames behind Felix’s gaze. She was up for a challenge. It would be nice to finally blow off some steam. Even more likely, her mother wouldn’t say anything to her if someone else of a higher rank than her was with her.

"Get ready to sweat," Irene responded, and she stood up from her spot.

The maids were quick to take the plates. Despite them having plenty of people to wait on, they were perfectly trained to make sure there was never an unoccupied plate or mess to be found.

Unlike the Duke’s Tower, where knights had to manage their own plates by giving them to the kitchen, it wasn’t so bad not having to clean up after themselves because it allowed Felix and Irene to escape the dining hall and get outside that much more quickly.

As Irene stepped foot outdoors, she was immediately struck by the two practice swords that were already sitting on the ground, and she realized that she and Henry had forgotten to put them away. Along with the disturbance from the dragon and the emotional moments they were dealing with, they must have forgotten about them completely.

"Surprisingly disorganized for something managed by the Earl’s family," Felix observed as he picked up the wooden weapons. His blue eyes scanned them, seeing if they were in bad shape. When he realized they were fine, he handed one off to Irene. "These will do."

She seemed particularly guilty, but Felix was absorbed enough in his own thoughts that it didn’t occur to him to question her.

Words were unneeded as Felix held up his sword. Irene met him with a show of good sportsmanship. Unlike usual, however, she didn’t step back and remained in Felix’s space.

They parried twice, and Felix began circling. Irene’s defensive stance was strong, but she was required to turn slowly so that he wouldn’t get the upper hand.

Felix lurched forward but didn’t move his sword. When Irene almost misread what he was doing, he brought down his sword in a true downward slash. She managed to parry it away at the last second.

"You might be stronger, but you’re slow today," Irene observed as she righted her sword. "Drink a bit too much the night before?"

Felix huffed, but he smirked. "Something like that."

He used both of his hands to do a forward thrust. Since the impact point was small, Irene could dodge rather than having to parry it away.

While the knight was a step too far forward, Irene used the opportunity to elbow him in his side, which caused him to bring down his arm. She used him, protecting his ribs to slice and try to break through the weakened hold on his sword.

However, with his other hand, he held his sword’s blade, preventing it from being broken through.

"Treat it like a real sword!" Irene cried. "Isn’t that what you tell the apprentices all the time. If the blade were metal, it would have hurt your hand."

"I don’t feel like playing fair," he responded as he thrust forward his sword, which was met with another clash, and Irene stepped to the side so they wouldn’t be locked together, trying to overpower each other.

"Why?" Irene wondered, worried that someone had slighted him the night before. Perhaps what he was so worried about didn’t have to do with Eira.

Irene’s concern let her guard down. Felix took advantage, showing her her weak point as he knocked her sword out of her hands, but she let it happen. Of course, he wouldn’t hurt his friend further, so they called the match a loss for both for the time being.

Although they both soon righted their swords and pointed them at each other. The parries between them became less serious and merely something to distract their hands while they spoke.

"I’m a horrible bastard," Felix admitted. "I truly am no better than any of the others who do the same thing I did."