Chapter 265: A Nice Surprise
It was the dawn of their winterization trip, and Irene had been too giddy to sleep. At least it didn’t reflect in her tenacity going forward, because she still found herself easily getting up and getting into traveling clothing.
Was she supposed to dress up or down? Would they take her seriously if she wore something shabby or otherwise?
She thought of the Royal Knights who were always put together. Whether it be the cleanliness of their armor, the lack of dirt and grime that covered them, finely crafted clothing, or gilded weapons, they were always outshining everyone else on the battlefield.
It was a running joke that they were able to remain so pristine because they never lifted a finger out there. Whether or not it was true was something she would try not to discuss. All she knew was that they never left more of an impression on her than being pretty.
Even though they were knighted, there weren’t enough resources for armor readily available. It had been discussed that they might commission a blacksmith on their trip, but funding for a full suit was also up in the air.
Regardless, Irene pulled on her apprentice armor and left the guest room that was her temporary home for a while.
She felt a bit bad that she was still afforded such a large space when her father had already left, but the other rooms were now full. All other rooms, except for the Duke’s personal quarters, at least.
While everyone used the Duke’s personal guest rooms, no one dared use the master’s space. It was the same as when they wouldn’t sit at the head of the meeting table when there wasn’t a Duke there. Something about it felt disrespectful. No one wanted to overstep.
The girl’s brown leather boot touched the bottom step, and she looked around once before heading directly towards the back entrance. She and Felix both decided to eat on the road. It meant they would try and ride through the day to get to the first town where there was an inn. Samson’s town. They would get there late.
However, she was only expecting to see Felix waiting for her, but there were a few other knights as well.
They seemed to be eagerly waiting her arrival, and she looked behind herself and then back to the onlookers.