"Then we will see the Duchess," Gunnar responded firmly.
While Ingrid was the epitome of a strong northern woman, she wasn’t going to stand in the way of a knight who was very obviously irritated at the situation.
"By all means, Sir Gunnar," the maid stepped to the side. "I will request Her Grace in the meeting hall."
"Best tell her to hurry."
The knights who went along on the journey followed Gunnar after handing off their things to apprentices as well.
Irene, Felix, and Leif, as usual, were stuck in place as they looked at each other. There was an urge to go forth and follow the knight.
A sense of entitlement to see how their commander was doing struck all of them. Would they be in trouble as they were when they followed the knights and mages into the forest?
Breaking the tension, Irene spoke first.
"I will take Sir Gunnar’s things to his room first," she explained. "Then I’m going to follow them."
"Do we have anything else we must do with the Crown Princess and Prince?" Leif asked, worried.
Their eyes then went to Ingrid.
"We will handle their highnesses," she insisted. "You all are better off going with the knights."
For days, the situation felt entirely out of her hands. Even though she knew she had burdened the knights and apprentices, she felt like the responsibility became theirs instead. She brushed her fingers through her brown hair in the usual neat bun at the base of her neck that she always wore.
Without another word, the three apprentices sprinted as quickly as they could while managing multiple saddlebags. Of course, it was easiest for Felix to move in such a way.
They went to the knights’ quarters first, placing their things down carefully. As usual, they gave their best to the ones they served.
However, once they dropped their own items into their own rooms, it was a far different story. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ ⓝovelFire.net
Irene knew nothing was breakable in her saddlebags, so she merely threw them onto the floor. She didn’t even bother starting a fire as she might normally.
It seemed they were all intent on getting to the meeting room before the Duchess because, when Irene was finally outside, she was running behind the other apprentices.
Her frustration was at peak levels. She knew she was emulating whatever Sir Gunnar was feeling. She couldn’t get the look of disrespect that man felt out of her thoughts. He was meant to be the highest-ranked knight now that her father wasn’t there. Yet the Duchess insisted on keeping him in the dark and treating him less than.
His frustrations were justified.
When the apprentices made their presence known in the meeting room, Sir Gunnar looked up quickly, and his mouth opened as if he were going to say something in objection. However, he quickly clamped it closed and gestured towards the many empty chairs at the table.
He needed all the support he could get because it seemed that the ducal couple were unwilling to listen to him.
Silence took over the meeting hall until the Duchess entered the room with one of her maids at her side.
Irene’s eyes narrowed slightly. She didn’t recognize the young maid the Duchess was bringing along with her.
The Duchess, as usual, seemed as if she had something better to be doing. Her eyes darted around, and she lifted her skirts as she went towards the head of the table where she gingerly sat down. Her maid stuck to the wall by the door, clearly uncomfortable about being there at all.
"I have been summoned," she began. "Please keep it quick. As you know, my husband is unwell."
Irene decided in that moment, she needed to practice better control of her expressions because the way the Duchess was behaving as if they were all some sort of annoyance was making her mad. If they lost the Duke, did that mean they were suddenly forced to listen to the Duchess? She had all the connections to the southern nobles and His Majesty. If they were found to be in opposition, all of them would be in deep trouble with the crown.
None of them would survive such a thing if they wanted to stay in the Kingdom of Peroda.
"Your Grace, I have been told that I am not allowed to meet with our Commander," Gunnar spoke first. "What is the meaning of this? If his health has declined, it is within my duties to make an assessment."
"You need not worry yourself over things that don’t involve you, truly," the Duchess responded harshly. "On that chance that this illness takes my husband from me, I need you to know that you will be reporting to me, and we must have a relationship of understanding."
Sir Gunnar’s jaw clenched.
"Is he truly bad enough that you’re even considering his untimely death?" the knight wondered. "If that is the case, we must have the healers look at him. Stanley is the most trust—"
"That will NOT be happening!" the Duchess suddenly shouted.
Her eyebrows were lowered, and her eyes darted around the room at all the faces staring at her in shock.
"They have already tried, but I refuse to trust mages like that," she insisted. "I have mages from the south who are already handling the situation. You need not worry, knights. I will solve this all on my own."
The Duchess stood up and she brushed away some of her untamed hair that had fallen in her face.
"I have it under control," she persisted, despite no one arguing.
"Your Grace, what are you doing to ensure a positive outcome?" Gunnar asked, also standing and walking towards the Duchess.
"I have hired more maids in the meantime," she went on. "I have this under control!"
Irene’s eyes went from the empty doorway that had been left open, then to Sir Gunnar who sat down once more. He seemed defeated for a moment.
His hand wiped over his mouth as he tried to get himself under control. If he had to be honest with his feelings for a moment, he was pissed off.