CHAPTER 277: ASSUMPTIONS

Irene was tense at such a question.

"When will you tell us that Sir Felix is someone you’re interested in?" her mother had asked.

Irene could only stare at the woman who looked so much like her in disbelief. Her eyebrows lowered as she internally processed the strange question that had just been posed to her.

"Sir Felix is not someone I’m interested in," Irene insisted. "It would be inappropriate for the two of us to travel alone if there was something strange between us."

The girl distracted herself by pushing her hair over her shoulder uncomfortably. She didn’t know how to handle such a question. It wasn’t as if she had ever been someone desired or knew what it was like to desire someone. However, it didn’t change her mind that she and Felix couldn’t have been closer in the most platonic sense possible.

"The way the two of you rely on one another and stay up late simply to talk to one another," Rochelle persisted. "I’ve never seen a man and a woman so close to one another without feelings involved. I don’t believe man and woman can simply be friends when there’s such a level of closeness."

Irene grimaced at that.

"We rely on one another because we saw what it was like for the other to lose some of the most important people in our lives on the battlefield," Irene continued, defending herself. "I believe that man and woman can be friends because I’m not a woman. I’m a girl and he is a man. We must be close to one another to understand how to back the other up on the battlefield."

She imagined her mother would also romanticize the way the two of them fought back to back while taking care of the goblins a couple of towns over. It made her shake her head and sigh.

Rochelle crossed her arms as if to nonverbally tell her daughter that she didn’t believe a word of what she was saying.

"Down the line, if he ever confesses his feelings to you, I will try not to tell you ’I told you so,’" Rochelle explained. "I’m not quite sure why you’re so resistant to someone liking you. Especially someone with such a fine seat in the knighthood. He will likely be set for life, holding such a prominent position at such a young age.

Irene balked at that. She wanted to shout, ’What about the prominent position I hold as a teenager AND as a woman?!’ but she managed to hold herself together. They were still close to the back door. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to think that those in the practice yard might hear her and her mother squabbling if it got to that.

"Mother," Irene said in disbelief. "I was at his side moments after he found the love of his life with a sword through her chest. I helped him dig the hole where we placed her corpse inside. It is disrespectful to Agnes’s memory that you are insistent on this." Except she wasn’t finished there. "As for his title... Is that what it’s about? You’re still set on marrying me off to someone you find socially suitable? Are you still hoping I settle down?"

Her voice started to rise at the end of her questioning, and, in that moment, Felix also walked into the back door.

Despite it being closer to winter now than the beginning of autumn, he was sweating from the vigorous activity he had been participating in outside. Irene had an urge to offer him a towel, but she knew her mother would read into it the wrong way, so she resisted.

"Forgive me for interrupting," he told the two women. "Sir Arthur is teaching Arne a bit and suggested I come inside for refreshments."

Rochelle easily slipped into a mask that Irene was used to seeing.

"Of course," the woman responded. "Let me get something together for you."

"Thank you very much, My Lady," Felix responded.

Before Rochelle could get down the hallway and into the dining area and kitchen, Felix turned to Irene and realized she wore a strange expression.

"Is everything alright?" he asked her, stepping closer.

Irene witnessed her mother glance over her shoulder before she walked into the dining area. If Irene wasn’t mistaken, the woman had a small, knowing smirk on her face. It irritated her to no end, but she was going to try to hold back.

"Ah, nothing," Irene insisted. "Just having a talk with my mother. Now I have something I need to do upstairs."

Felix looked at her a bit strangely, not quite believing her and wondering what she suddenly couldn’t tell him. Since it had to do with her mother, he decided not to press on.

Irene didn’t want to leave the house any longer, so she opted to go into the library and try to read, but it resulted in her merely sitting there and stewing in the thoughts her mother stirred up.

While she believed completely and totally that there was nothing between her and Felix, she couldn’t help the fact that having to address that at all was irritating to her. It caused her to wonder if others were having the same thoughts. Whenever she and Felix went off on their own, did everyone assume that they were up to something unsavory?

On the other hand, she felt sorry for Agnes. Everyone in the knighthood knew how Felix felt about the girl, but she was being discarded as if her death weren’t still fresh. Grass still hadn’t completely covered her grave. The thought made Irene feel awful.

Was there someone she could talk to about this? Her father and Felix felt out of the question. She didn’t want her father to question Felix, and she didn’t want Felix to be forced to think of something he didn’t want to or be uncomfortable around her.

Fortunately, the next day, they were set to go back to the eastern township where help would hopefully be coming soon.

The two knights decided to go to bed shortly after supper so they could sleep for as long as possible. For Irene, sleep was a bit restless, and she tossed and turned before finally being able to get a few hours late into the night.

Her goodbye to her family was a bit brief, but she tried to act as normally as possible.

When they were stocked up with necessary supplies so they wouldn’t have to bother a township close to ruin, the knights were able to set off.

They were at the edge of her father’s lands when Felix gestured for Irene to stop. She did as she was told, but looked around in shock, hoping that there wasn’t something she was missing.

Felix removed his helmet, as did she.

"What’s the matter?" she asked.

"You tell me," Felix urged. "Something has been weighing on you since yesterday. Is everything alright?"

She cautiously looked at the second in command, but was met with only his genuine concern. She knew she could trust him.

"Please, don’t take this too seriously," Irene requested.

"If you wish."

"My mother accused us of having something between us, saying that it’s inappropriate for us to travel together alone," she explained, finishing with a sigh. "She doesn’t understand the bond of two in an order of knights who have faced battle together, but I hope this doesn’t mean others are thinking the same."

Felix gestured for Irene to come a bit closer, and she didn’t hesitate to listen to him.

When the girl was close enough, Felix placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I will always defend your honor," he assured her. "I hope you will do the same for me."

"I will," Irene promised. "I merely don’t want you to be dragged down by the assumptions of others."

"I won’t be," he continued in his assurances. "I don’t personally care what others think. All that I know is you’re a good knight, and I’m relieved they chose you as the third."

"Thanks, Felix," Irene responded. "I will keep your words in mind whenever I feel insecure."

Even though his genuine smiles were fewer and farther between than they used to be, Felix cracked a smile.

"Should I be offended that others thinking you’re attached to me is so repulsive to you?" he joked.

Irene, however, could stand on her own two feet and didn’t like to be teased if she couldn’t tease back.

Irene held her helmet up to put over her head, but before she did, she said, "You’re an old man now. Of course it’s repulsive." With a smirk, she placed her helmet on her head and squeezed her knees hard so Sorrel would take off.

"Hey!" Felix shouted and followed after her.

They chased one another for a while before knowing they ought to slow down and pace themselves because the journey would be long and they would arrive at night when there would likely be goblins about.

What they weren’t expecting was that, along with the goblins, they also came upon a town scheming with knights when they arrived.

It seemed that their knights and the Knights of Hydrogia had arrived. Cleaning up the goblin mess was going to be easier than expected.