I Will Be the Greatest Knight
Chapter 148: The Unforgiving Cold

Chapter 148: The Unforgiving Cold

Irene would learn quickly that escorting Duchess Arlin was only the tip of the iceberg in terms of high-maintenance travelers.

The apprentice was happy to see that, after she got into warm clothing, armor, an outer coat, and a cloak, the entire entourage was on time. Even the Princess and Prince were already headed into the carriage when the apprentices pulled their horses around to the front of the Duke’s Tower.

They set off early in the morning to ensure they were settled into the next destination by the time the sun set. Their travels would take them along the edge of the entire mountain range until they got to Earl Auden’s home nestled against the last of the mountains where his world-famous mine stood behind his large property.

While Prince Alfred and Princess Marie didn’t ask for a lot or interrupt the travel, it was their helpers who went to great lengths to ensure a comfortable trip. They required stops to start fires and warm the stones that they would place under the seats since the passengers were so cold.

The maid even came out occasionally to demand they stop for snacks and drinks since the meals they ate during travel weren’t large.

When the maids were in the carriage and they were slowly moving forward, Irene leaned into Leif and muttered, "If they kept the carriage doors closed, there would be less of an issue about the temperature inside."

The older apprentice grinned in response then pulled his scarf over his face.

"You’re going to get us in trouble," he responded lightly.

Irene shrugged and then squeezed her knees to push Sorrel forward. The horse huffed in disagreement but he always listened to whatever she demanded of him.

The apprentice’s green eyes continued scanning their surroundings, ensuring that there was nobody approaching the carriage. Since monsters were unlikely, Sir Gunnar said that thieves were more of an issue.

The carriage boasted the Royal Family’s family coat of arms and the purple and gold was unmistakable against the white backdrop of snow. It felt like they could be seen from miles away but, luckily, most people weren’t idiotic enough to venture out in the cold. There were too many risks involved in the outdoors during the coldest season.

Irene shivered from atop her horse but she made sure her posture didn’t falter. The only measure she took otherwise was keeping her hands tucked on the inside of her knees so that it wouldn’t feel like they could break off at any moment.

Times like that, she thought of the way she could have been coddled in life instead of what she was experiencing. But would that sort of life be satisfying to her?

She had seen the way the entire carriage was padded with soft material. It was insulated and the windows had oiled paper and wool put over it so the coldness wouldn’t even touch them. Not only that, but the stacks of blankets on the seat and placed over the princess were enough to cover a large bed.

It might be nice to travel like that, but Irene couldn’t stave away the thought that if the Princess wasn’t surrounded by all these people, she would be a sitting duck. On the other hand, if Irene were caught in a precarious situation, she could at least fight someone off. Her sword skills were better than the average person’s.

Rather than dwelling on situations she had already decided on, she focused on the task at hand.

They pressed on for a few more hours uninterrupted and it was the longest stretch of travel that day.

Their trek put them at the top of the triangular valley and Irene had to keep her eyes elsewhere when she realized they were going towards the battlefield in which her father lost his hand. She had heard that the people in the area were forced to move elsewhere until a more concentrated effort could be put into repairing the buildings there.

The thought made her unbelievably miserable.

Without all of the monster bodies lying around, all that was left was an impressively large clearing in the trees with a few broken buildings on the northeastern side. That’s all it was. She needed to tell herself that to keep going forward.

Once through the trees, they found themselves at a village nestled against foothills leading up to the more forested parts of the mountain. However, once the forests ended, they went to parts of the rocky mountains that went straight up. Rather than being worried about monsters coming from the mountains, they were protected by such a steep rock face.

Since each place they visited had been warned that the Royal Family would be coming through, the inn they pulled up to was prepared beautifully for the important children to go to.

It was much of the same for their entire trip.

Each place they went to made sure to put their best feet forward. They saved their best meals for the Royals and wore their nicest clothes.

Irene thought it was kind of sweet the lengths they went to, but the more she got to know the Princess and Crown Prince, the more she realized how regular they were. They were merely humans with nicer clothes than the rest.

It wasn’t until the midpoint of their two-week-long trip that things began to get a bit more interesting.

Monsters weren’t around but that didn’t make any of the knights less diligent in their observation of the surroundings.

Each time there was a curve in the trail or something blocking the straightforward path ahead of them, the apprentices were tasked with scouting ahead with whichever knight was assigned to them.

Whenever they got to more precarious paths where they weren’t sure if the ground was stable or slippery from ice, someone would have to test it before the carriage could go forth.

However, the carriage slowing posed another risk.

As they neared a road that seemed to be muddy and would risk the carriage wheels getting stuck, they had to slow down and get off of their horses to observe.

Leif and Irene were the first to notice a few men creeping forward with swords drawn. Her heart was in her throat and the thrill of battle rushed through her veins.

Irene unsheathed her sword. Lief did the same.

In a chain reaction, all that was heard for a moment were knights and apprentices readying their weapons.