A normal routine wasn’t going to return to the apprentices so easily.
Once they were finished eating what was supposed to be dinner, there was a pause as they all decided what their next move would be.
Irene’s green eyes went to the tall window that had been covered by oiled paper and then thick woolen curtains for the winter showed no sign that there was even a bit of sun left over. It was to be expected anyway. When she woke up she was encompassed in darkness.
"It’s too cold to do anything outside," Irene observed.
"Welcome back to winter," Felix mocked. "I will not be stepping foot out of this place unless it’s explicitly in my duties."
Luckily, only the squires had outdoor duties at that moment because they didn’t have to participate in the monster culling winterization. Otherwise, that would change when all that was left in the Duke’s Tower were apprentices and a few knights.
"Then I will go to the library," she said. "I’m not tired and since I can’t sleep, there’s no better way to pass the time."
Even though the others didn’t state their intentions to come with her, she found herself being followed after giving her plate to a maid and leaving the dining hall.
When the others were on either side of her, she asked, "Has anyone seen my brother? Father says he was supposed to be in the dining hall."
"Haven’t seen him since much earlier," Leif admitted. "Is something the matter?"
"Not as far as I know," she admitted with a shrug.
Few was shared between them as they took to the stairs along the wall of the highest tower and they found themselves on the second floor where the library was located.
Considering the season, every door in each hallway was tightly closed to preserve the warmth. The hallways remained cold because they were much harder to keep warm.
Irene felt a shiver strike her as she finally stepped foot on the second floor and she began to move much more quickly. Find the newest release on NovelHub(.)net
"You’re kind of a wimp for being Sünsto," Felix taunted when he caught up to her.
"Unfortunately, I couldn’t dispel all of my mother’s traits," she muttered. "She is even more susceptible to cold than I am."
"Your face looks like hers as well," Leif insisted when he made it to the door as well. "Your brother looks like Sir Arthur. Besides the red hair, things were split between the two of you."
Irene lowered her eyebrows at that. She didn’t know if it was a compliment or an insult because her mother was very much a feminine woman. He was faintly suggesting that she had a feminine face and she wasn’t sure if she liked that so much.
It would be better if she was as rough in appearance as her grandmother. There was no doubt that the woman was Sünsto.
Since the other two were behind her, Irene was the first to open the door to the warm library but what was in front of her surprised her enough that the other two had to push her in and shut the doors so the place wouldn’t lose its warmth.
"Arne?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"
Poring over a large book with a quill and paper in front of him, he was slumped over in annoyance at having to be there in the first place.
"Since you’ve been gone, mother has been forcing the duties of father’s heir onto me," he explained begrudgingly.
The kid then slammed the quill onto the table and shut the book.
"It’s so dull," he explained with a groan. "Why do I care about the formation of the duchy? Why do I care about the King at all?"
"Arne!" Irene shouted. "Being defiant towards the Royal Family is one thing when you’re alone but perhaps hold back when you’re in the home of one of his vassals. Perhaps you should read more books. It seems you don’t know the natural order of anything."
"Natural order," the child mocked with a groan. "I’m going to lay by the fire and read an adventure."
The girl shrugged. She was there to do just about the same so it seemed they were all in agreement to what the night held for them.
While there was a fireplace lit, the apprentices opted to steal a bit of the fire’s flame and light candles so they could go off in their own areas while they read.
Felix found a comfortable chair while Irene and Leif shared each end of a couch. She decided that, if she was forced to stay up late at night throughout the winter, she would bring dire wolf fur with her to keep warm.
In no time, Irene was captured by an adventure story regarding a mage who was friends with a dragon. It was a tale about a mage with fire mana attracting magical beasts that he had to keep hidden in his room until the dragon grew too large and was kicked out of the town. Only when the dragon proved itself not dangerous by rescuing the township from monsters did they believe that it was a good dragon and not a bad one.
The story was a bit sappy, but it made Irene smile regardless. The tales her grandmother told of wyrms even though they were supposed to be extinct made her wish she was a mage who had magical beasts attracted to her as well.
Her mind wandered further and she wondered if there were ever mage knights. 1
Hours of reading later, the only thing that could possibly knock her out of her thoughts was someone coming into the library.
Based on her father and mother’s expressions, she imagined that it was time to talk to the Duke and see what the next steps were for a knight who had been convinced he was rendered useless. She still couldn’t look at her mother without feeling a bit of resentment so she didn’t bother stepping close.
However, as Arne and Irene were led out of the library, she was shocked to see Leif and Felix joining in as well.
When the family turned to look at them, Leif was the first to speak up.
"Are Felix and I allowed to join, Sir Arthur?" he asked. "We are only going to offer our support."
"By all means," the knight responded.
And with that, they were off to the meeting room where the Duke supposedly waited despite not having been seen for a few weeks.