I Will Be the Greatest Knight-Chapter 429: Setting Up

Despite doing it multiple times in the past, riding horses over a frozen lake never got any less nerve-racking.

The two slowed their horses as they approached the edge of the lake and cautiously pressed forward, making sure they were on a deeper entry into the lake rather than a gradual one with a shallow beach because that could easily cause the horses to break through the ice since it would be thinner in a gradual point.

However, moving slowly on the edges also wasn’t the best idea either. That meant they had to somehow find the perfect entry point while also keeping their momentum forward.

Even though Irene did so without hesitating, her heart was racing and she felt her hands become clammy. She was more surprised than anything that her brother followed her without a second thought as well.

Even though they moved slow, they maintained consistency all the way across the lake until they were at the lump that certainly meant the fishing cabin had remained standing. It didn’t seem to be leaning either.

"It turns out, we were right," Irene told her brother as they approached.

She cast him a grin over her shoulder as she pressed onward, feeling eager but trying to make sure Sammy didn’t feel it and take it as a sign to gallop. The horse huffed in disagreement to the slow movements, but she had to do what was best rather than what she wanted for now.

The transition from the frozen lake to the opposite shore was as effortless as it was getting onto it.

Irene was then able to get off her horse as she approached the cabin. She fell backwards into the fluffy snow with a loud sigh.

"We managed to survive, but the fun can’t begin just yet," she expressed. "Time to clear off the cabin and drop off our things. I hope the post for the horses is still there so the horses don’t wander on the ice while we’re here."

"I’ll handle the post," Arne volunteered as he dismounted more gracefully and continued his trek towards the cabin.

Irene sat up and watched her brother go on without a hitch. A faint, contemplative smile pulled at her lips as she watched him. He felt like he had grown up so much, but was there a reason for it? All while she was trying to become the greatest knight, he seemed to have evolved and grown so quickly. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The young woman was soon on her feet, and she followed him towards the cabin.

After assessing the situation, she wandered further along the shore until she found a sturdy and long enough to knock the snow off of the roof. Even if the place hadn’t collapsed yet, it didn’t mean they were completely safe.

While her brother used the back of an axe to hit the horse’s post into the ground so that they could be tied up before the two could fish, she got to work on the roof.

Fortunate for Irene, this place was much smaller than she recalled and reaching the highest point of the roof wasn’t much of a trouble. At least if she disturbed it from the front, most of it seemed to slough off quite easily. When they started a fire inside as well, the rest was sure to melt off when the heat rose and the roof got warmer. Unseen from her angle, the top contained a metal can acting as a chimney, but she knew it was there from past experiences.

A tool that was already supplied for them, which Irene didn’t have to improvise, was an extremely rusty shovel that would help them dig out a path to the front door and break up the ice that could be inhibiting them from opening the door. It was her next task as her brother chopped one of the horizontal posts so it was more secure and would actually hold the horses.

While she made a path to the front of the house, she turned to see Arne retrieving the horses from where they had wandered—luckily not onto the ice because it seemed they were aware about what was ice and what was solid ground. The knight turned back towards her own tasks, realizing she didn’t need to micromanage her brother the way she did apprentices; it was just that each time she interacted with the apprentices, it felt like she was spending time with her younger brother, since he had been all of their ages before and she could picture him in each phase.

Fortunately, there hadn’t been water present because the door, which likely shrank a bit due to the freezing temperatures, was extremely easy to open once Irene had the snow around it clear. She was then able to begin making up the fire, first and foremost, so that their space would remain warm while they explored outside for a while. While fishing was best in the morning, and it was likely past midday—although hard to decipher because of the thick clouds in the sky—it didn’t mean they weren’t going to give it a try that day to see if they would have a fresh meal at night or simply the jerky and dried bread Irene had brought along.

There was a rule her family always followed when going to that place. That was leaving it the way you found it.

Luckily for Irene, that meant that chopped wood was stacked high and it seemed extremely dry. It was a relief when she was able to snap off a few small pieces of bark and branches by hand. It would be perfect kindling for their fire.

As she began to build up the small stove with a fire that would sustain for at least a few hours, she always had her ears cautiously listening to her surroundings. With them came her brother, approaching the small cabin. His footsteps were heavier than normal, and his pace was slow. She could only assume...

He nudged the door open, and her head turned. It was just as she suspected.

Arne came into the cabin with all of their saddlebags over his shoulders. It seemed that with his height came strength. As much as she was annoyed that her father shared none of his height with her, all she could do was smile and utter her thanks.

"Shall we set up our sleeping arrangements before we go fishing?" she asked. "I’m taking dad’s bed."

In the cabin were a set of bunks and a single bed. That meant Irene was going to sleep on the bed her father normally would use when they were there.

"Well, I’m going to sleep on the bottom one then because I think I’ll break the top if I attempt it," Arne decided.

"Yeah, you have gotten ridiculously large," Irene joked.

"Size won’t be what helps me when I out-fish you," he insisted.

And with that, Irene was fueled to shame her brother into eating his words.