"Would you like me to be honest or would you like me to be objective?" Irene immediately asked the knight who spoke up.
However, her eyes went to the rest of the room, where other knights looked on expectantly. It was clear they were waiting for an answer to something they were afraid to ask themselves.
She nodded, accepting that their barely patient silence was her cue to go forward.
"Both…" she realized. "Then you require both." She let out a sigh. "I am terrified of being handed a Duke who does not know the ins and outs of the north," she admitted, her voice remaining strong. "But is that not our job to teach him the ropes so that our outcome is a positive one? Knowing he has been a hero to us once is enough for me to cast aside my own prejudices. He cannot bring us worse fortune than what we have now."
The old knight shifted in his seat and spoke up once more with a toss of his hand towards the girl.
