I Will Be the Greatest Knight-Chapter 312: Showing Off

Despite how curious Irene was about this person who had convinced Felix that he was worthy of the hefty title he had been bestowed, Commander Henry disappeared into his room or study for the rest of the day. Each time she thought she might be able to get to know the man she was only two positions below, she didn’t see him another time.

It had occurred to her early on that he may be unaware of her existence entirely. The times they worked alongside each other as apprentices, he thought she was a boy. Even when they were in the practice yard together, she had been wearing her armor.

However, she came up with another conclusion that Felix must have explained the situation to him, she decided. They had traveled with one another for nearly twenty days. There was no way he wasn’t filled in on the fact that one of his highest-ranked was a woman.

How she wished she could have been a fly on the wall while that conversation happened.

She had been warned about men from the south and the way they perceived women. If Chemois had only just had their first female knight, she could imagine that Hydrogia wouldn’t have one for another hundred years.

Since Commander Henry hadn’t voiced any qualms about the situation so far, she hoped that it was because he was accepting of who she was. Even if he disagreed, she hoped he was honorable enough to allow the already established hierarchy to remain. After all, someone couldn’t come in and turn their world upside down without any pushback from others.

With her own conclusion to comfort her, Irene was up bright and early with her armor ready. It was time to practice with the others and show the Commander and a few of the Knights of Hydrogia just what they were made of.

While she couldn’t speak for the others who had been off on all sides of the map and practically only living to survive after the war’s conclusion, she had kept up with practicing. Even when she was in the far north, she would occasionally swing her sword just for the satisfaction of it and because it would make her feel a bit warmer.

To show the new Duke her sword skills was something she was looking forward to. Perhaps then he would have no room for doubt within him that she wasn’t equally, if not more, capable than all of the other men on the practice yard that day.

Before, she had noticed that the practice yard had been cleared and carved out a bit more properly. She hadn’t seen it that way since far before the war. Everyone’s priority stopped being to practice but to try and keep the apprentices practicing.

Eighteen knights in full armor stood closest to the Commander, and their apprentices were along the back of them—a few more than they had before, considering the rest of their apprentices were brought back from the south. They looked forward at the man who had Sir Felix on his left and to his right Sir Alix, Sir Maximus, and Sir Trenton.

The knights were eager to prove themselves to everyone standing at the front. They had been the ones to survive for a reason.

Irene had brought Leif’s sword with her that morning, as if to introduce him to the Commander she hoped would carry them to new heights. She recalled all the times he comforted her whenever she was worried about who they would choose in the future. He had his own worries, but he always held strong.

Her gloved hand grasped the hilt, and she gently felt where Leif once held the blade with such determination. They would get through it together as they always did.

"It’s time to officially introduce you to Duke Henry as your Commander," Felix announced. "Many know him from the war or time spent in Hydrogia, but the apprentice you remember is now a knight who has given his sword to Chemois. We will be better off with him guiding us."

There it was again, Irene realized. That hope that Felix seemed to have discovered on their trip back to the north.

"Yes, sir!" rang out in unison amongst the Knights of Chemois. It was such a beautiful sound to hear them so motivated early in the morning.

"Commander," Felix addressed the man. "Whatever you want."

The young Commander nodded.

"I want to run drills and test your sharpness," the Duke explained. "I need refined shows of skill and no energy spent on unnecessary movements. Then I want you to pick sparring partners. If I see anyone who catches my eye particularly, I want to spar with you myself. We have enough practice swords for everyone."

It was no wonder the Commander had been having apprentices carve more swords. The knights were less likely to use them, but it seemed a precedent he was trying to set was the knights themselves practicing more, which Irene didn’t mind.

The Commander turned to Felix once more. "Sir Felix, if you could lead them. I want to be able to observe them from all angles." freewebnøvel_com

"Yes, Commander," Felix dutifully responded.

Seeing Felix stand before them, Irene nodded before she got into the mindset of giving the Commander her best. When the practice sword was in her hands, she performed a few strikes before letting out a small huff of air. She was ready to give her best. Perhaps it would be enough to get noticed.

Overhead, sideways, and upwards strikes. As they performed these various movements, Commander Henry moved slowly around the group with Sir Alix.

Irene recalled the blonde knight’s skill, and she made sure to remain particularly polished because of him.

Next, they would get into footwork and dodging, which meant they would have to partner up with one another. By that point, the Commander was at the front of the group once more.

"I already knew the Knights of Chemois were fast, but, despite clearly not having practiced in quite a while, I find myself impressed," Henry announced. "Do you have any comments, Sir Alix?"

Irene sought Sir Alix and practically held her breath at his response.

"I think you all need more refinement and more practice," Alix admitted, dashing Irene’s hopes. "This will be very achievable since your Commander’s focus is first on the knights because deft knights will reflect in the people they protect."

The commander nodded and continued. "Then I suppose now it’s time to spar. Show me what you’re made of."

Irene hoped that this was where they shone. As they partnered off, she turned to Sir Sven and was glad to have someone she was more familiar with as a partner.

"We haven’t fought one another in a while, have we, sir?" she asked eagerly as she raised her practice sword.

"Suppose I’ll be proving myself to two people today, then," Sir Sven admitted. "Show you youngsters that we older ones aren’t as rusty as they’re making us sound."

His visor was up, and she could see the smile in his eyes before he pulled it down and raised his sword as well.

After their sword tips gently tapped against one another, they backed up at about the same pace and distance. They regarded one another knowingly, wondering if they could draw from past experience regarding what the other one would do first.

Since Irene was feeling like a bit of a show off, she decided she ought to be the one who attacked first. She sprinted forward before feinting at Sven’s left and then twisting around to offer him another swing that was further strengthened by the change of her feint.

Their wooden blades crashed against one another.

She wanted to see if Commander Henry was acknowledging their spar, but she knew she couldn’t break her focus or Sven would certainly get the upper hand.

Her goal was speed, while Sven seemed to be trying to overpower her with strength since he was quite a bit larger. However, she wasn’t interested in allowing him to even get a strike on her.

Irene’s strikes and parries were fast and strong. She made sure that there wasn’t any wasted movement as the Commander had directed.

They were circling one another, and Irene decided on a strong, downward strike. Her heart was racing, and the thrill of battle was coursing through her veins. She was starting to enjoy herself more than she was focused on showing off now.

The knight raised her sword again and nearly took off, but...

She stopped in her tracks when she heard the Commander behind her.

"The Cub of the North," the Commander called. "I would like to test your skills first."

What the... Were the Knights of Hydrogia that far behind the times? Her father had been retired for ages, and she thought she had finally crawled her way out from underneath the assumptions that she was only there because of her father’s influence.

Before she could react, Sir Sven ceased his actions. "Commander," he greeted.

Rather than waiting to correct the narrative, Irene pulled her helmet off as she turned towards the man. Her true thoughts were thinly veiled, and she stared at the man for a few moments.

At some point, her braid had come undone, and her wavy hair cascaded around her shoulders as it fell from her helmet.

The astonishment on Commander Henry’s face was so evident as she watched a variety of expressions flit across his features.

Oh no, she realized, horrified. The Commander didn’t know that she was a girl at all.

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