I Will Be the Greatest Knight-Chapter 446: Breaking Her Promise

It was yet another time Irene felt divided between duty and heart. She wondered if there was a possibility to choose both, to go with the knights to help the people, but still be able to see the Commander at the beginning and end of each day.

As she scaled up the steps and towards his chambers yet again, she forced herself to move more slowly. She knew she could get too eager, and her heart was already racing plenty from the quick journey there. The porridge wouldn’t cool down too quickly. She could feel the heat in her palms that carried the bowls since she had taken off her gloves.

However, she stopped dead in her tracks at the door.

Was he even awake? Shouldn’t she allow the patient to rest as much as he could?

The woman turned around and looked down the hallway. There were a couple of maids on the other side.

At her gaze, one of them rushed towards her and when she was close enough that Irene wouldn’t have to speak loudly, the knight asked, "Is the Commander awake?"

But there was an answer before a maid could even open her mouth as she felt a hand go to her shoulder and she was faced the other way. It seemed someone had already heard her footsteps approach the door.

"Awake," Henry responded. "And waiting for my breakfast."

There was strength she hadn’t seen in him since before she left for central Chemois. When she got a good look at the man, she could still see a darkness under his eyes and a paleness to his skin, but for once he wasn’t lying in a bed, and she considered that a good thing.

Unbeknownst to her, Siverly, who was ever the night owl, had visited the Commander late in the night and suggested a few things to improve his digestion of food. Even up until that point, he was able to keep down only about half of what he ate. One suggestion was sitting in a chair while he ate and hoping that it made the food settle far enough into his stomach before he lost energy and was forced to lie down again.

That meant that the Commander requested a bath the moment he was awake enough to hear the sure sound of wooden swords clacking together in the practice yard, so he could get ready for his impending visitor. His dark hair was nearly black at that moment since it was still weighed down with dampness.

"Ah..." Irene uttered. "Thank you," she said to the maid before following the older knight into his room.

There, two armchairs were next to the fireplace connecting to one of the largest chimneys in the Duke’s Tower. It went all the way to the first floor, starting at his study, but wide enough that even the second floor could access that chimney as well from one of the guest areas.

"You’re sitting up?" she asked, a bit worried as he settled heavily into one of his chairs.

"A move approved of by Siverly, no doubt," the Commander assured her. "I’m taking steps to return to normalcy. Someone like me isn’t meant to be bound to a bed all the time."

"I understand," she responded. "I’m not either. The first time I was poisoned and the next time when I was injured during the war, everyone went to great lengths to ensure I remained in bed."

As she spoke, she handed him his bowl.

He quietly thanked her, to which she responded, "The maid thought a bit of honey would be alright even if they’re trying to make sure the porridge is mild for you."

Henry was simply relieved she was there to eat with him and not to watch him eat as she had the last two times. It made him hyper-aware of his stomach and its acceptance or rejection of whatever he was putting into it.

"Not quite sure which I despise more," he admitted. "The lying around all the time or the bland food. I could use a bit of meat, but know better than to try."

"Bear with us for now," she requested quietly with a timid smile. "It’s just because everyone is so worried about your safety. Both because they appreciate you for you and because they don’t want to face a knighthood without a Commander ever again."

"It’s burdening, really," he admitted quietly. "There was a time in my life when my death would have meant nothing except for a burden to the village I grew up in. Nowadays, it means catastrophe since I don’t have an heir. I have lived two different lifetimes, it feels."

Irene didn’t want to argue, but she couldn’t imagine him ever being someone who wasn’t important to others. She insisted, "I doubt that no one would care if you were gone even back then. I have heard your kindness far precedes your noble title."

It was his turn to get nervous as he turned to his bowl of food for a distraction. "I suppose you’re right," he responded. "My mother who isn’t known for her survival skills would have been lost without me," he joked.

She laughed at that. Strangely, she wanted to see what sort of family he came from. Did he look like his father or mother? He had natural skill with a sword. Was his father perhaps involved with blades as well, even though he wasn’t a knight?

The mood felt lighter. Irene felt it was all right to begin eating since he had started to first. Even though he was the least likely to care if others ate before him, old etiquette habits died hard, no matter how rough around the edges she was those days.

"Commander," she began, but at his slightly stern eyebrow raise, she corrected herself. "Henry... I’m worried that as quickly as I made the promise to make sure you’re eating, I might not be able to uphold it."

He found her hesitance quite cute, and he wondered if he was of the few people who could consider her to be that. Still, he was interested in the reasoning for her admittance.

"And why is that?" he wondered, tempering his response and hoping not to pressure her one way or another. He took a bite of food and dropped his gaze so that she could gather herself enough.

He had noticed long before that she was perfectly fine if they weren’t in a situation where it was just the two of them. Otherwise, that was when he could finally see that she did get nervous like anyone else. It also warmed his heart a bit that he was the one who was able to see her in a new light. There was a part of her only available to him and not someone else.

He internally sighed, knowing he needed to be patient enough to heal while also patient enough to not overwhelm this pure woman who had dared to take a chance and see what he could offer her.

"Felix has asked if I could help them with the rebuilding of a barn at a neighboring village," she explained. "I wouldn’t have agreed if it didn’t seem to be detrimental to the people."

Her explanation gave him pause.

"Are you worried that I would be disappointed in you?" he wondered.