Irene knew she needed to hold back, after all, it wasn’t as if the apprentice she was speaking to was in charge of this decision.
It likely had to do with His Majesty. The man’s decisions seldom made sense to anyone in the north. His need to drag his feet whenever it came to decisions about Chemois made little sense as well.
When Leif saw that she was side eyeing the apprentice a bit disdainfully, he couldn’t help stepping sideways from what he was doing.
"We’ll talk to Sir Gunnar about this later," he assured her. "He must know more about this than we do. I don’t quite believe they would make a decision hastily. Or if this is a mere rumor meant to stir us up."
Irene let out a short sigh, but then she straightened out and fixed her expression. Follow current novels on N0velFire.ɴet
"You’re right," she admitted. "It will only divide us if I let it get to me."
Leif seemed somewhat proud, and he felt like he could get back to his tasks as they filled a pot that was already boiling down broth from deer bones. They were going to have venison in the stew that night as well.
The richness of it made the apprentices’ stomachs growl. Their meal schedules were all thrown off since they woke up late in the day and had their final meal while others were headed to bed.
When it was finally their turn to have a meal, the apprentices went further away and sat down in the grassy field where many battles had happened, although only a few had gotten so close to their encampment.
There were tables set up, but it seemed that only the mages and the Royal Knights ever wanted to use them. It was quite amusing since the two groups in particular couldn’t stand one another. Yet both groups also held themselves much higher than everyone else.
Bread had been delivered to them from a nearby village and Irene was savoring each bite of the soft bread before it could harden and they would only be able to use it if it was dipped in broth or hot water. Her favorite things were rolls and loaves. They had been deprived of that since they had no way to bake that sort of thing.
Sir Gunnar was walking past them after finishing his food. He was going to deliver his wooden bowl to the box where other dirty dishes would be stacked so the apprentices could handle them later.
However, he was stopped in his tracks as Leif and Irene called to him, both having the same thoughts about getting to the bottom of the rumors.
"Yes?" he asked the apprentices as he stalked over to them.
Irene gestured for him to come a bit closer and she glanced arond to make sure the other apprentices had kept their distance.
"There is a rumor that Sir Williamson is in consideration for the Duke of Tenetium," Irene quietly explained. "Is there truth to this?"
Sir Gunnar observed Irene’s questioning gaze for a moment. He searched whether or not she was upset about it or not. Either way, he was going to choose his words carefully.
"The knight’s family originates from the north," Gunnar explained. "And he is of the few who understand the ins and outs of managing an estate. He and Commander Lothian became knights at a similar time. Even if those of us left here don’t understand everything, I believe it’s best we wait and see. Even if he isn’t our choice, he is still a formidable warrior."
"I will try my best, sir," Irene assured him.
Yet the knight couldn’t help his true thoughts about the situation slip out considering who was in front of him.
"I thought for certain your father would be the ones taking the reins," he admitted. "If the King knew anything of how the north operates, it is the only decision that would make sense." He sighed. "Please don’t repeat what I’ve said... Either one of you."
Irene couldn’t help agreeing with the knight. Even though her father had been forbidden from participating in true knight duties, he was still someone they all went to for advice. He often had a good second opinion since he had separated himself from the knighthood. He could approach things in a less biased manner than someone else who was living through a certain situation.
At the very least, she hoped that her father would continue guiding where he could. Whoever the future Duke may be, she hoped that they would listen to her father.
"You don’t have to worry about us, sir," she assured him. "We only speak to each other."
Sir Gunnar merely smiled at that before excusing himself from the two apprentices and continuing on with the task he was originally set out to do.
He spared the two one last glance.
Since he felt doubly responsible for his apprentice because of the secret she carried, he couldn’t help being paranoid when boys got close to the girl. He didn’t think anyone knew of her secret, but the way certain people treated her, he wasn’t so sure that was the truth.
Particularly Leif who had grown nervous in the presence of Irene those days. He seemed quiet and self-conscious.
The knight merely hoped it was the awkwardness of being a teenager that was getting to the kid. There were a few uncomfortable years before everything would level out for him.
It was merely a matter of reaching that point. Once they finished off this battle, it was going to take months of cleaning up the Duke’s Tower and hopefully cleansing what was left of the magic.
He could only look forward. That was all anyone could do.
However, something about the seasons changing and the summer turning to autumn brought out monsters in full-force, the same way it did the year before.
What was it about autumn that made the monsters so invigorated?
They all believed that there must be an answer for everything.