I Will Be the Greatest Knight-Chapter 453: Trouble Has Arrived

Irene was surprised to find that the Commander was not only awake, but he was poring over some letters late at night at one of the chairs beside his fire. A mug of ale was sitting on a table next to him. There was no evidence of food nearby.

Before he could answer her, the sight caused Irene to ask, "Have you eaten this evening?"

As Henry eyed the red haired knight, he couldn’t help thinking that maybe it wasn’t about the promise at all that she was there. Perhaps she simply wanted to see him.

Never would he have expected that the once aloof Dame Irene Litharion would be so eager to see him. But admittedly, that was what he needed after such a hot and cold relationship as the one he was in before. If Irene could remain warm and never get cold, he didn’t think he would mind it so much.

Her eagerness was making him want to rush into things, but she was so young that he knew he should be more careful. She didn’t have experiences that made her know how to guard her heart. It seemed he would have to protect it for her, from himself.

"It’s late," he responded. "Of course I’ve eaten. Have you?"

He wouldn’t voice that he could only stomach about half his dinner before he asked for it to be taken away, but at least he was starting to eat more substantial foods and feeling less flat within his body overall.

"Actually, yes," Irene admitted. "Before I left the village."

The Commander stood up from the chair, and he walked slowly to Irene.

"I knew it even in the candlelight..." he trailed off. "You came all this way in the rain. You’re soaked."

His presence was far more intimidating since he was standing, but Irene resisted backing away.

"I’m as healthy as a horse," Irene insisted. "A bit of rain won’t take me out."

He breathed out a gentle sigh at the first woman he had met who was so resistant to being taken care of. Instead of arguing about the cold because he knew she was undoubtedly at peak health, he turned and walked back towards the fireplace, where he pulled the other chair he hadn’t been using a bit closer.

"You should take your armor off, put it on the stand, and get dry over here," he directed. "Even if you aren’t cold, the sight of you is making me cold since I’m a southerner who isn’t quite acclimated to this sort of environment."

The last part was said dripping with heavy sarcasm, but Irene found herself falling in line rather quickly as she began to unstrap her armor and place it where he indicated.

Her helmet and boots were still at the back entrance of the Duke’s tower, so the armor on the stand looked a bit incomplete, but it didn’t stop her from continuing deeper into the space and sitting by the fire.

Admittedly, it did feel good to be in the warmth after being soaked by cold rain for so long. She even let out a light shiver as she held out her hands towards the orange flame. It was late, so she probably wouldn’t stay there long enough to get fully dry, but at least she had plenty of other clothing to change into in her barrack.

Her focus had gone away from the Commander for a moment, which was why she was so shocked when she felt a towel go over her shoulders and head as he willed her to get dry more quickly. She sat there stiffly as she felt his hands go to her head, and he gently pressed the cloth against her hair. Long before, her hair had fallen out of the braid she had put it in. She knew she probably looked like a mess.

Her gaze traveled upward, and underneath the cover of red hair falling into her face and the towel, the Commander was met with the eyes that made him notice her so much in the first place. He found them so easy to fall into, as if he could find true solace in this hectic life he led.

Since it was he who had just told himself to go more slowly, he had to pull his eyes away as he removed the towel from her hair and then walked to the front of her so that he could wrap it around her shoulders. However, with his focus elsewhere, he finally noticed the fact that one of her sleeves was torn and her arm was wrapped with a bandage—now soaked—from her elbow to her wrist. He crouched in front of her to get a better look.

"What is this?" he asked in disbelief, his tone the darkest she had heard it since entering his space.

"Oh..." Irene pulled her arm back, feeling as if she had been caught getting into trouble. "I’ll visit Siverly once I go to my barrack. I saw that candles are still lit in the infirmary. I just wanted to catch you before you went to sleep first."

The Commander let out a light sigh as he stood back up to his full height. "I will summon a maid to get the mage," he explained. "I can’t let one of my knights go without proper care—"

Irene’s hand caught Henry’s as he began to walk towards the door. Admittedly, when he lumped her with the other knights, it had always gotten under her skin.

"Are you going out of your way like this because I’m one of your knights?" she asked, needing to know the answer.

A small smile pulled at his lips. Despite his insistence to slow down, he couldn’t help taking one more step backwards so that he could stand over her. He reached one of his hands and gently touched the side of her cold face. His thumb stroked her red cheek.

"If it were any other knight, I would have scolded them and told them to go to the infirmary immediately," he admitted. "But because it’s you, I want you to stay here where it’s warm and let me handle the rest."

"How have I become the patient when you’re the one who is supposed to be resting?" she asked as he pulled away and went towards the door.

It was only a few days before that she thought he looked so ill and was hardly able to hold a meal down. Now he was so energetic and would likely only go up from there.

In response to her comment, Henry shot her a more stern expression, and she immediately clammed up, unable to speak up any longer. She truly was pressing her luck of being one of his knights while also being someone he had taken a personal interest in. For now, it felt best to be quiet and allow him to do as he saw fit. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Despite how much she wanted to talk back to him and his expression.

With a few minutes alone, Irene settled a little heavier into the comfortable chair and found the warm fire at her face like a warm hug after a long day of travel. She couldn’t help that her eyes started to drift close as her head leaned against the side of the chair.

However, at a muttering and clearly upset mage fresh from the rain, she perked up again, hoping they didn’t catch her.