I Will Be the Greatest Knight-Chapter 479: The Honored Guest

Henry felt a bit bad that he could recognize the weight the man had lost as well as how slowly he was moving. Wasting no time, he rushed forward.

"What do you mean awake?" Arthur asked in a rough, strained voice as he came down the stairs. "I'm ready to eat. I have guests."

Irene winced as her father coughed. Even she could recognize that he wasn't moving around as easily as he once did. It was an unbelievably hard sight to take in. The only silver lining was the fact that she got to witness Henry being so attentive to the first man she loved.

They were bickering gently as Henry helped the older man into a chair that he sat heavily down in. However, it was a good sign, in Irene's eyes.

Arthur insisted Henry shouldn't bother since he was of a higher status, yet Henry was insistent that he didn't want to be there as a duke.

This led to them moving to the dining room as soon as a maid went to retrieve them.

Arthur was at the head of the table, while Henry sat to his left, and Rochelle would be at his right. Irene sat next to Henry. It caused her to notice that there was an empty place for Arne.

Irene didn't have to wonder for long if he would really make it to dinner, because the teenager himself loudly strode through the front door, letting his presence be known right away.

"You're right, sis," Arne greeted Irene first thing before he could even sit down. "His Grace is much younger than I was expecting."

Irene's head felt hot at his comment. She knew he was doing it on purpose and she was falling for his bait, but she couldn't help saying, "I would draw my sword if we weren't at the table."

"I'm not afraid of your sword," Arne taunted, as if he hadn't been taken out with it the last time. I'm afraid of making you emotional and having to deal with your crying. I can't take another visit of you crying over this duke every day."

Irene gasped and her face turned red. She knew Henry's gaze was burning into hers with unbridled curiosity as well as amusement.

"I was not!" Irene persisted. "It was because I found out father was sick."

Surprisingly, it was Arthur who refuted this statement.

"If I remember correctly, you did cry a bit for the Duke," her father explained in a strained voice, but he was clearly amused by his own words. "Trying to pick your old man over a man you were pining for."

All Arthur added to the chaos proved that Irene was generally a defensive person because of situations like this, where she was ganged up on. It was starting to become even less fair, considering Arne would soon be taller than her on top of everything. He was proving to make up for what Irene lacked in height despite being taller than the average woman.

For the first time since arriving, Irene sank lower, and her elbow sat on the table where she placed her palm on her forehead, relenting that she had no comebacks in this situation.

"Just eat…" she asked of the others who seemed so smug at putting a cease to her words.

In silent support, Irene was surprised to feel Henry having reached towards her and gently offer a comforting hand on her upper back as she leaned forward. As she glanced at him, she saw a warm smile on his face and couldn't help wondering what he was thinking.

He seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself, which was all she wanted at the very least.

Fortunately, there was enough time for the topic to change because Irene heard her father clear his throat before he asked, "How are rebuilding efforts going in the northwest region? I have heard that you finally started construction on the wall. What do you hope the outcome will be once it's finished?"

"I would like to move more people to the region closer to the Duke's Tower and create a new hub of trade with Chemois," he explained. "With the proximity to the knighthood, I also want the people living there to know they will always be protected whether it's by knights or a dragon."

Arne's eyes lit up at that.

"So it's true that a dragon follows you around," Arne observed, being sure not to interrupt the adults' conversation.

Irene couldn't help smiling faintly at that. Her family wouldn't believe that she had ridden on the very dragon during one of her and Henry's evenings together—that she was starting to miss very badly.

"The mages say she imprinted upon me in Polona after I stumbled upon her egg," Henry explained. "Hasn't left me alone for long ever since."

"How has Chemois been handling this… adjustment?" Arthur asked, unable to project his voice very loudly, but remaining curious nonetheless.

"I'm surprised each time my words are enough to assure the townspeople that she will not harm them," Henry admitted. "Some children in the villages have even offered her gifts as if a dragon's greed and interest in shiny objects might make her choose again about harming anyone."

"It's better than someone trying to bring harm to her," Arthur admitted.

"She's relentless," Henry insisted. "I would like to see someone attempt to take her down for her mana orb when she's in a stubborn mood."

Arthur laughed at that, but the last laugh was cut off by coughs coming from such a deep spot in his chest that his chair creaked while he did.

Irene flinched at her father's coughing and was surprised to feel Henry's hand cover hers where it sat on her leg. She had been clenching her fist—apparently he noticed.

Rochelle had been quiet for most of dinner, finding the conversations to be outside of her knowledge. To break up the silence that had settled over them after a coughing fit that alarmed the guests, Lady Litharion perked up.

"Shall we partake in a bit of sweet wine before you go?" Rochelle asked. "We have a few sweets that would make for a nice dessert as well."

"I would appreciate that," Henry responded. "Thank you, my lady."

Since the maid was gathering plates so that the family could enjoy their dessert, Irene's parents were surprised when they saw Henry take care of Irene's things as if it were natural for him to do that. He checked off more lines on the list of who would be an ideal son in law.