I Will Be the Greatest Knight-Chapter 458: A Sweet Confession

The red haired knight kept her head down as she rushed towards her barrack, hoping that the Commander didn’t pick that moment to peer out of his study and see what she was up to. It was clear what she was doing, but equally as shameful for someone who normally didn’t give this sort of thing a second thought.

She had been sweating at practice after having the opportunity to spar with a couple of apprentices. Her hair hadn’t been tied into a braid that morning. There was no doubt she would only be able to offer him an unkempt appearance.

After witnessing him at the Winter Solstice banquet, she knew just what sort of neatness he was capable of and the sort of women who could easily pull him in. Yet somehow, he was giving her a chance—the roughest woman he could have possibly ever settled for. None of it added up in her head, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to give him her best.

It would be too obvious to change her clothing entirely, so all Irene did was pull a brush through her hair and put a bit of her mother’s homemade lilac oil in it so that the natural waves would be tamed. She even washed her face, making sure not to drip any of the water on her tunic, and waited for her face to calm down before she exited her barrack once more.

However, this time, she walked south instead of through the practice yard. It would be a longer path to enter through the front entrance at the Duke’s Tower, but at least it would give her a few moments to collect herself. There was no doubt she would calm down, but cooling off was probably a good idea after her ridiculous thoughts that morning.

All they would be doing was talking. It wasn’t as if they could get as comfortable as they were in his bedroom. The study was a far more public space with any number of people who could come to those doors.

As she stepped foot into the front entrance, she nodded at who was guarding the front tower that morning. A short while later, she paused as she saw Bren coming from the Commander’s study’s door. It just proved her previous thoughts that anyone could access that area, so she needed to be careful.

"Getting to your duties rather quickly," Irene lightly joked.

"I’m going to prove myself to him," Bren insisted. "He will be the greatest knight in history."

She tried not to allow her competitive nature to flare as she smiled at the younger teenager.

"You’ve already proven yourself enough," she assured him. "Though I’m sure he appreciates your attentiveness." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

There wasn’t much more to say as the two left one another behind.

All Irene could do then was take a deep breath before she raised her hand to knock on his door.

"Yes?" She heard the Commander from the other side.

As she entered the room, she was surprised to see him stand for her. There was an urge to tell him he didn’t need to stand for someone of a lower rank, but the moment he said, "Irene," she knew that she wasn’t there as a knight, even if just for that moment.

"Would you like to sit down?" he asked her.

Irene was stunned into silence for a few moments, although she did at least nod so that he knew her answer.

Admittedly, she didn’t want to sit down, actually. She wanted to run away instead, but she knew it was important for them to talk.

Fresh in her mind were her parents’ words that her Commander could be in love with her. Was that really it? She tried to convince herself it would be okay if his attention was a passing curiosity because she knew she was unusual.

Since she was momentarily quiet, Henry persisted by walking towards her and gently grasping her hand.

"Come on," he directed.

He took her ever so carefully to the couch, where he allowed her to sit, but to her surprise, he sat on the floor at her feet as if it was natural.

"You shouldn’t be on the floor," she insisted, her concern finally bubbling over. "You have only just recovered. What if someone comes in and sees the Duke sitting below one of his knights?"

The small smile he had been wearing since she walked into the room grew wider, and since their hands were already joined, he lifted up her small hand and kissed the back of it.

"The door is closed, and no one would dare open it without knocking," he assured her. "And I have trouble thinking I would ever put myself above the woman I have unknowingly given my heart to."

Her heart had been unwell ever since he came into her life. It only got worse as he said such tender words to her. She had to lift her free hand and place it over her chest as if it would prevent the organ from beating its way out.

"That scares me so much," Irene practically whispered, brutally honest as ever.

Even more to her shock, he pressed her hand against his chest. Her palm was against his tunic, but her pale, freckled fingers were firmly against his warm skin.

More than that, his heart was racing just as fast as hers, if not faster. It was hard to believe that she could make a man like him nervous.

"I’m only pretending to be confident," he assured her. "I don’t know what I’m doing. All I want is to tell you how I’m feeling. I can only hope it doesn’t scare you away or cause you to ignore me again."

The moment his expression even hinted that hew as upset, Irene couldn’t help wanting to assuage the hurt she had created before, and she slid to the floor beside him. She grabbed his shirt, causing him to focus on her and her determined expression.

"It’s just that I’ve never liked someone like this before," she admitted. "I don’t know what I’m doing or what I’m supposed to say." Her gaze fell, and her eyebrows knit together. "Am I allowed to like you? You’re my Commander."

"If you’re alright with it," he began, causing her eyes to lift to him again, "I want to push all of that to the side for now. It took so long for you to allow me to get to know you, and now that I know you more, I can’t stop thinking about you. I’m afraid if I don’t be honest with you as soon as I can, I will miss an opportunity. I don’t want to live with regret like that."

What was unsaid was the fact that she was constantly in the presence of other men. It would be idiotic to think that one wouldn’t snatch her up one day.

Since he didn’t want her to sit on the floor any longer, the Commander helped her back to the couch, but he sat beside her so she wouldn’t feel burdened by it.

More than that, he pushed a bit of hair away from her face so that he could get a better view of this woman who had ensnared him so easily.

His touch made her timid. But each place he touched left her wanting even more.

"Then what happens if I say I return your feelings?" she wondered quietly. "What do we do then?"

He had to faintly smile at that. It seemed as if she was answering him without answering him.

"If you return my feelings, I want to spend time with you outside of the knighthood. I want to do so many things with you."

Unbefitting of the confident knight he knew her to be, he was shocked when she lifted her hand to place on her own blushing cheek as she tried to will away this response he seemed to elicit so easily.

"I like you so much, Commander," she admitted. "I don’t know what to do about it. I’m afraid you’re going to find how inexperienced and clumsy I truly am."