I Will Be the Greatest Knight-Chapter 302: Escape the Cold

Irene’s research on wyrms for her presentation back when she was an apprentice was a bit lacking, to say the least. This was only because the most comprehensive research on the creatures had been done by the Sünstoian people and was not available in most libraries. After all, these beasts’ natural habitat was in the cold north, where they could hibernate for long periods of time in the snow.

But Arthur knew. It was information he didn’t expect to have to bring with him into adulthood because the last Sunsto who existed in this region were convinced they had slayed each and every beast.

Since they were unlike their dragon counterparts in warmer climates and didn’t have wings, they needed a place to go where hiding was possible, and a place covered in snow was perfect for that.

At that thought, Arthur recalled the children speaking these legends to one another and every single one of them believing that it wasn’t so. If wyrms ever existed, it was ages before—reduced to a scary campfire story that children told one another to elicit a terrified reaction.

The beasts evolved their snake-like bodies to be white enough to remain camouflaged, have mana orbs spread evenly through their bodies to keep themselves warm, and cast spells on those who looked directly into their orbs so that they could be lured back and preyed on. However, those affected by the spells had to be within a certain distance of the creatures, or the effects of the curse wouldn’t show.

Arthur hadn’t recalled this magic aspect he was experiencing, but the girl he once held in his arms, who stared up at him with no recognition and only disgust, he knew there was something magic to explain the unexplainable.

When the serpent had moved close enough to Irene’s father’s home-village, the curse was activated, which was why Irene then left her grandmother’s old residence and did all she could to go after the beast. Once the curse was activated, she had no sense of right or wrong. That was why she was so keen on going after the wyrm and not staying with her father.

Arthur could only guess that a spell was the reason for everything. Mana was present on the girl. It matched the purple spots on the underbelly of the monster that he was only able to experience for a few short moments before he had to slice the creature in half and rip Irene from the snow.

He wasn’t so foolish to think that one slice was enough to defeat a beast so feared by his ancestors, but he did know for certain that distance was what was going to save him and Irene’s lives. It was a shame she was going to make it difficult to keep her safe, which was all he wanted.

Even though Arthur only spent a small fraction of his life in this area, he knew enough that he would have to stop Irene at all costs. A wyrm wasn’t something he could handle on his own. As much as he prided himself on being a formidable warrior, attacking it without backup was a suicide mission.

Rather than continuing to ride and risking his horse, Arthur jumped off his steed when he was over his daughter. He tackled her into the snow until she was writhing and struggling underneath him.

Irene hit him wherever she could reach. When there was a hand near her face, she even went so far as to bite down.

The struggle lasted for a few moments, Arthur trying to use his strength and size to his advantage, but she seemed particularly uninhibited and reckless. It was making her difficult to control.

Rather than letting it go on for longer, realizing her clothing was soaked and her lips were faintly blue as her body practically froze in real time, Arthur brought down his left hand against her neck. Knocking her out cold was the only thing he could do to save her.

When her head finally lulled to the side and her body went limp, he removed the cloak he had worn over his entire ensemble and wrapped his daughter in it, acting as if she were a baby he had once swaddled. He was momentarily taken back to the muslin cloths that he and Rochelle wrapped her in each night before they placed her in the rocking bed that soothed her to sleep the best.

It was no time to reminisce. The girl who used to be so small and innocent was going to die if he didn’t get her back to warmth and assess the full damage of what he had just witnessed.

Arthur summoned his horse with a whistle, and he gracefully mounted the grey steed with Irene in his arms.

Since he didn’t feel safe staying there, he would go to the next village, which was the very one he used to live in. Since the sun was setting, he knew that he was going to run out of sunlight and have to go on memory once everything blended into the dark void.

Recognition of his surroundings started to kick in as lumps in the snow started to appear. He would recognize the shape of his former home anywhere, even though it had been nearly two decades since he had returned.

The pace of his horse slowed as he searched for signs of whether his daughter had been there before.

Fortunately, it wasn’t all that difficult to see where Irene had set up her original camp when Arthur wandered further and saw a home with the door uncovered. However, the biggest sign that this was where Irene had stayed was the horse pathetically leaning against the outer wall, trying to hide himself underneath the A-frame roof.

"So you had been here, after all," Arthur realized.

There was a thump as he dismounted his horse with additional weight since his daughter was still in his arms. The snow crunched the rest of the way as he went to the stoop.

The burly former knight pushed the door open and was relieved that it seemed the place hadn’t grown completely cold. She had likely been using hard wood to keep the fire lasting, even if it was only a small fire.

"Mother’s house," he muttered to himself as his head swiveled, taking in the chaotic yet familiar surroundings. It had looked the same for as long as he could remember. There were her relics as a Volna, and all the things she found hard to part with because she placed such importance on items that connected her with others.

However, Arthur’s attention shifted, and he placed Irene down on the bed she had clearly occupied before, considering it wasn’t made. She felt cold as he held her, and once her boots were removed and she was under blankets, he pulled furs over her so he could start a bigger fire.

His only objective was warmth now. Warm up the house so he could warm up the girl. At least these small dwellings were only one large room that he had to deal with. It was strange to come back to this, having gotten used to a kingdom where families were separated by walls, and you could heat up one room in a home at a time.

This sort of open home was familiar but something he was no longer used to.

Once the fire was at a good spot to sustain, he turned towards his daughter once more and fussed over her with great care.

"What happened, sweet girl?" he muttered as he assessed the damage.

Again, he moved the blankets, but this time it was so that he could make sure she was uninjured. First, he removed his own gloves so that he could feel her woolen socks. They were soaked and needed to be removed. Her pants were in much of the same state, so he covered her with blankets in order to remove them as well. Shirt was the same. Gloves even worse.

Not only were her gloves soaked through, there were holes in some of her fingers. When he removed them to toss them into the fire since there would be no use for them any longer, he saw that she had varying degrees of frostbite and he grimaced.

Some of the patches were red, but there were a few starting to blister and her skin seemed to grey a bit in these areas as well. Fortunately, none were black because that could mean something far more dire.

Regardless, he needed to keep her wrapped in blankets and return the heat to her body. Being out there so carelessly could have had dire consequences.

Yet he was understanding that it seemed not to be her choice in the first place.

Once all of the blankets were back over the girl, Arthur then put back on his gloves and went outside to bring the horses in. Sammy was more pathetic as he huddled against the wall, Hrett was in a bit better shape but exhausted nonetheless.

The pen in the corner of the building was crowded, but having additional animals indoors would allow the temperature of the entire place to rise quite a bit.

Once he got himself together, Arthur sat down with a heavy sigh on his own bed and he rested his elbows on his knees as he stared across the fire and towards his daughter.

He was beginning to regret allowing her to go in the first place. Even though it was an important trial she wanted to put herself through, he couldn’t help wishing she would stay put and be safe.

Only when she woke up could he figure out exactly what had happened or if she remembered anything at all.

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