Chapter 81: Girls
"Felix and I will scout ahead, sir," Irene insisted as they took to a mountain path on the eastern side of the duchy. "The path seems to curve off and there is uncertainty about what lies ahead."
Sir Gunnar gave a proud smile from where he sat on top of his horse to the apprentices who seemed to grow more each day in front of him. He had no family of his own but felt lucky to never be lacking considering he practically raised most apprentices by himself.
Irene gestured for Felix to come along and they both squeezed their knees to force their horses ahead and leave the carriage they escorted behind.
The trail they followed was a common path that led them to a few of the larger townships in the duchy. At the end of a long path ahead, there was even a merchant family who kept their township interesting because of those willing to migrate there and take advantage of the wares being traded from various locations.
It lay in the heart of intersecting mountain ranges. While it was rather protected because of the mountains because most monsters originated north, it still had its fair share of issues. It wasn’t entirely without monsters either.
Irene was relieved to put space between herself and the carriage they guarded because the passengers had been making her uncomfortable ever since they were picked up from a township in the northeast, just outside of Earl Auden’s lands.
It had been a few weeks of traveling around and perfecting their scouting and guarding. So far they had mostly guarded merchants and people transporting goods or materials, but that time was a different test with a real noble family inside of the carriage—the Dethorns.
They never had children of their own, but Baroness Dethorn spoiled her brother’s daughter as if she were her own child. That day, it was only the Baroness and her niece, Rose, there and, fortunately, they hadn’t been quite as fussy as the Duchess. They were polite to all of the apprentices and gracious in understanding when unexpected things happened.
However, there was something else entirely that bothered Irene about the way the girl kept treating her.