I Will Be the Greatest Knight-Chapter 482: Everything Changes

Irene wiped the dirt at the tip of her blade against one of her thighs before sheathing the sword in one smooth, practiced motion.

"It's alright," she explained to her massive company. "You just scared me a bit, is all."

At that, the dragon's wings lowered, and her long neck stretched outward until her massive head was a few feet away from Irene's boots.

"Can you understand me?" Irene quietly wondered. "I feel like you either can understand me or you know how to read people really well. Regardless…" 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The red-haired knight crouched, and she extended her hand forward very slowly. The dragon's golden eyes followed her movement and accepted it when Irene's hand met her head, offering a sigh as if she carried the burdens of the world solely on her shoulders.

Never would Irene have thought she could be somewhat comfortable around a dragon, but this exact situation had happened multiple times in the past, the more time she spent with Henry walking around the lands surrounding the Duke's Tower.

"You must be missing Henry like I am since he's in the village and you're not allowed in," Irene realized. "We have more in common than I realized."

Before Irene could pull her hand away from the massive beast, she heard a shuffling of the grasses and a voice.

"What the hell?!"

At that, Sylaron rushed to stand on her back feet, and she raised her head tall, trying to look intimidating. Her wings were splayed rigidly, and she looked larger than before. What was more alarming was the smoke rising out of her nostrils as she stared at whoever interrupted the quiet moment.

Irene stood up just as abruptly, and she raised her arms.

"Sylaron! It's alright. This is my brother. Do you see the resemblance? He is my family."

Rather than pretending he wasn't scared, Arne stepped forward until he was behind his sister. Even though he was fully aware of the dragon that followed around Henry, facing her was a different story. No one ever expected the sheer size of her.

At least her landings were much softer than they used to be, so she wouldn't scare everyone in the vicinity for miles.

"Show her that you're putting away your sword," Irene insisted.

Conjuring his bravery, Arne stepped to the side so the dragon could see him. He then slid his sword back in its sheath, and he held his hands up. However, it was different in the way that Irene did it because he seemed to be in more of a surrender rather than making himself big so he would seem scarier to the dragon.

"It's okay," Irene assured the dragon.

Instead of lowering her guard, the dragon took to the sky, causing another rush of wind that sent all the grasses in their surroundings bending to their limit until the wind ceased, and they went mostly back to normal.

At that, Irene fell onto her backside in the soft grass and let out a sigh as their surroundings quieted down. Again, she was able to focus on the stars above. She hadn't fully recovered from her quick but efficient workout. At least it was enough to calm her racing thoughts.

However, as soon as she felt the grass settle a short distance away from her, Irene's thoughts felt heavy again. She hadn't been able to talk to her brother just yet.

For a while, there was silence as the two siblings stared at the night sky. It seemed that they were having mutual chains of thought because there was an underlying heaviness that lingered.

"How are you handling… everything?" Irene asked quietly, genuine concern in her voice.

The grasses shifted as Arne seemed to be uncomfortable with this question. But he didn't make Irene wait for too long.

"Last year was for being upset," he admitted. "This year is for accepting that I can't change anything. I can only do the best I can until I'm needed."

"That's… surprisingly mature of you," Irene admitted.

"You're out doing your best, I should do the same, shouldn't I?" But Arne paused for a few moments. "But it seems you'll be even busier than I will be, anyway. Being the Duchess is probably a busy job."

At that, Irene ripped out a bit of grass with her fingertips and threw it at her brother.

Even though she had admittedly daydreamed about a future between her and Henry, she didn't foresee it happening until the far future.

However, the blades of grass that fell from her fingers as she threw them at her brother were let go just as quickly as the expectations of her life.

Only one year later, it all changed.

Irene and Henry had a cozy winter together, where she even went so far as to move into the Duke's Tower so that she was just down the hall from the man she adored. By then, the knighthood was fully aware of what Irene and Henry were to one another.

They were surprisingly accepting of the budding relationship. They all knew how guarded Irene was. It was unlikely that someone of her character was going after their Duke for his riches, and even less likely it was she who pursued him.

Then spring came, and their love continued to bloom like the flowers they saw each time they looked out their windows; the progress of the massive wall was a backdrop to their usual view.

And then summer came again, and the knights were tasked once more with touring around the duchy to ensure Henry remained connected with his people.

But this year took a turn early on as they received an urgent letter from the Litharions.

Their bubble of happiness burst as news that Arthur's sickness had gotten much worse.

The future Irene had envisioned for herself crumbled away the moment she and Henry were at her father's bedside and hearing him say the words, "I want to see… my daughter wed before I go." The former knight paused to wheeze. "A traditional Sünsto wedding."