I Will Be the Greatest Knight-Chapter 452: Rainy Return

After retrieving her armor and thanking the reeve for his quick hospitality, Irene found Sammy just where she left him. She scratched the horse behind his ears and quietly uttered, "Forgive me. We have another journey ahead of us."

However, his tail swaying and eagerness made her realize he had energy to spend. It made her feel less guilty to put him through it again, but compared to their first trip together—the trip to the far north—Irene knew that was the least he had been through.

She had never removed her saddlebags, so all she did was tighten them before mounting her loyal steed and squeezing her knees so he would head to the end of the village. It was going to be a cold evening, and she would be thoroughly soaked by the time she made it to the Duke’s Tower, but it was well worth the ’trouble’ on the other end.

Irene was grateful to have eaten a solid meal before she left. It was early for supper, but perfect for someone who was going to be traveling for the foreseeable future.

For an hour, all Irene was occupied by was the sound of Sammy’s heavy hooves beating the earth below and her thoughts rushing around in her head. She wondered if the Commander would take kindly to her unexpected neediness.

It was no longer about keeping her promise to him. That was certainly just an excuse. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

She very pathetically just wanted to see him again, even if it was inconvenient to her. Each morning and evening, she looked forward to his presence. Being able to see his health improve warmed her heart like nothing else.

Perhaps she was being clingy because she was seeking comfort from the storm brewing in her heart about her father.

Yes, that had to be what it was about, she convinced herself. There was no way in hell she would act like this otherwise.

With that in mind, Irene pressed on through the rain. It picked up after a while and she started to get nervous before she finally saw a break in the clouds that gave way to a beautiful, vivid sunset while the eastern half of the valley was still succumbing to dreariness.

She could finally breathe a sigh of relief that perhaps she would have a chance to dry just a bit before seeing the Commander, but before she could lie to herself, she did see that there were cloud formations over the mountains. The possibility of facing rain once more was getting higher and higher.

Instead of going through the small crop of trees that had resulted in finding a Nok and a slowly waking goblin nest, she opted to take the same turn that the wagon had taken before. It forced her to go over a hill, but it was better than risking anywhere else on her body any further.

Was that irresponsible of her? No, she figured that if something else was in the forest, it would have come out to attack her when everything else was. They even burned the goblin bodies and saw nothing else after taking half a lap around the forest.

In a measure to be sure she wasn’t shirking on responsibilities, the knight did slow down as she passed the forest, but by that point, it was too dark to see much of anything. Since she could at least live with herself knowing she put in the effort and there weren’t any settlements close to this place, she continued on her journey forward.

This time, the sky had gone dark purple, and the last light of evening was slowly disappearing. Shortly after that, the rain returned in short bursts, but because the clouds weren’t solid, she could still at least see the half moon in the sky to light her path and take her slowly upward until she made it to the place she had been seeking all day.

The Duke’s Tower would have certainly been in view if it were daytime. Knowing that, it caused her to squeeze her knees harder and no longer take to the sustainable trot Sammy had taken to.

"Just a bit longer," she assured the horse.

The closer they drew to the Duke’s Tower, the more Irene silently prayed that the lights of his bedroom would be lit up.

Upon the final hill that led to the valley around the Duke’s Tower, where most of the action during the monster war happened, Irene stopped and took off her helmet. A smile pulled at her lips when she saw that there were a few candles still lit in the Duke’s Tower, and the brightest ones were in Henry’s bedroom.

Irene’s red hair blew into her face, having come undone from her braid sometime far before.

She didn’t even pull back on her helmet as she took Sammy down the final hill and around the side of the Duke’s Tower so that she could take him to the stables and reward him with sweet oats and hay. She wouldn’t burden the apprentices so late in the evening, considering it was of her own volition that brought her there in the first place.

With Sammy taken care of, Irene rushed through the practice yard and into the back entrance of the tower. It was raining again, and her boots were covered in mud. There were knights guarding, but they easily recognized the woman with bright red hair and armor. After all, she was the only one of her kind.

She made sure to keep her boots and shin plates by the back entrance, promising to retrieve them later. It would be awful for her to dirty up the Duke’s Tower that had gotten so much cleaner ever since Jakob had taken the reins of the maid schedules.

Without further explanation, she rushed up to the Duke’s Room. There was no way he hadn’t eaten by that point, but she still wanted to make sure.

However, at the end of his hallway, she slowed down.

Her armor was clattering while she ran. While it was impossible to be silent while in armor, she slowed her pace so that it was far quieter than before.

When she finally made it to the Duke’s door, she raised a gloved hand and knocked.

Her heart was racing and shoulders heaved slightly at the rush she had been in.

"What is it? Come in."

Being there was embarrassing in and of itself. She had never done an action led entirely by feelings alone.

But she wanted to see him so badly, her guilty smile turned genuine when she saw the immediate excitement on his face at the sight of her from the moment she opened the door.

"I... Needed to fulfill my promise," she admitted softly.