My Mother, King Arthur Chapter 12

"Saxon King, this is another identity of mine. And I possess the authority to recruit knights from Britannia," Arthur said respectfully.

"The former comes from my granduncle, Vortigern Pendragon. The latter was promised by my Father King. And besides that, I came here not on Father King's orders, but at my own request."

"And the reason?"

"..."

Arthur did not answer immediately, instead giving Lucius a meaningful look. Lucius promptly waved his hand. "Leave us."

The attendants at his side, along with the lower-ranking ministers, all left the tent. At the same time, a Magic Barrier rose, sealing off the inside from the outside. Only Mordred remained beside Arthur, while Lucius kept only his tallest and strongest trusted general.

"Lord Pendragon, you can speak now, yes?" His tone was relaxed, as though he had complete confidence in himself and did not believe Arthur could threaten his safety.

"Of course." Arthur nodded. "Because my Father King is... immortal.

"Ever since he drew the Sword of Selection, ten years have passed, yet Father King remains as young as he was in his youth. And twenty years, thirty years, even fifty years from now, his face will remain unchanged. Your Majesty, you understand what that means, do you not?"

"It means Lord Pendragon cannot inherit Britannia's throne?"

"That is correct." Arthur lowered his head. "Britannia belongs to Father King—past, present, and future. Even after I die of old age, Father King will remain young and ageless.

"I love my Father King. But how can there be a crown prince for forty years? If I remain on the island of Britannia, letting jealousy and hatred gnaw at my heart, perhaps one day I will be unable to stop myself from crossing blades with Father King."

"So you came here?"

"Yes. That is why I came here."

"With expectations of power, wealth, and ambition?"

"With expectations of power, wealth, and ambition."

At that, Lucius rose to his feet and slowly walked toward Arthur. Beside Arthur, Mordred became alert, ready at any moment to clash with the Roman Emperor and protect Arthur as he escaped.

But in the end, Lucius Tiberius burst into hearty laughter.

"Excellent, excellent, Lord Pendragon! I like you very much! Hahahahahaha!"

He happily slapped Arthur on the shoulder.

"Ambition, desire? Of course there is no problem! Rome is generous! I am generous too! Whatever you want can be found and achieved in Rome—of course, there is one condition."

As he spoke, he lowered his voice and finally revealed his threat.

"You must remain loyal to me and to Rome."

"Of course, my lord."

Arthur swore without hesitation. "Naturally, I will swear allegiance to you."

"Bring your army here, then show me your talent, Lord Pendragon. I have a feeling you will become an excellent Roman."

Arthur bowed and took his leave. At the same time, the general beside the emperor lowered his voice.

"Your Majesty, are we truly going to accept this barbarian? He gives me a very dangerous feeling."

"Dangerous? Of course. Which barbarian leader here is not dangerous?"

"But his loyalty..."

"It does not matter. I have never cared whether they are loyal, as long as they can be used by me."

"I will keep an eye on him for you."

"Then I leave him to you, my beloved Sigrius."

At the same time, on the road away from the Roman camp, Mordred was asking questions as well.

"Um, Your Highness..."

"I told you already." Arthur said to her, "When no one else is around, you can call me brother."

"..."

That made Mordred very happy. She nearly forgot what she had meant to say next.

Of course, she remembered afterward.

"Brother, was everything you told the Roman Emperor true? About Father King..."

"Half of it." Arthur said. "I will not betray Father King. But I do indeed want to build a career of my own."

"Mm, mm."

What Arthur said matched what he had told Mordred before, so she did not doubt him. She then asked another question.

"Then what do you think of that Roman Emperor?"

"The Emperor?"

At that, Arthur quoted a famous saying.

"I could replace him."

Author's Note:

He does not look like a ruler.

I could replace him.

A true man should be like this.

The three classic lines for judging an emperor's qualities.

Also, if she did not die unexpectedly, Artoria's enhanced immortality would let her outlast even the current Queen of England. Arthur would never live to inherit the throne.

Chasing Humanity's Happiness

Good news arrived from Rome.

The grain embargo had been lifted. Britannia thus saved more cash flow and could breathe a little easier.

Of course, for certain people, this was nothing compared to the shock brought by another matter—the order of Artorius, King Arthur's son:

"To all people of the British Isles,

"To all those filled with ambition.

"To all those of outstanding talent who have long been dissatisfied!

"To all who wish to earn merit and establish great deeds!!

"The situation on the Continent of Europa is on the brink of explosion. War is our greatest opportunity! Come, follow me, unite beneath my banner! Follow me to Europa, follow me to the battlefield, and seize with military merit and achievement everything that should belong to you!"

The Saxon Commander's swift riders galloped across Britannia's lands, planting Arthur's will into every knight who had failed to find success. They stirred desires for conquest, land, and wealth to their utmost limit.

Second sons of nobles, youngest sons of knights, bandits of the forest, frustrated miners.

Like a plague, Arthur's will whipped up a storm across Britannia's barren and desolate land.

Hundreds of lances and longswords were raised high, mixed among them were bows and other crude weapons used by forest bandits and tribal folk.

Compared with King Arthur, Artorius may have underestimated himself somewhat.

In truth, his charisma as a leader was not inferior to anyone's.

It was simply that, compared to King Arthur's majesty and holiness, that silent bearing which could make people submit without a word, he was better at guiding people's fervor through another method.

He had tested the waters with Mordred, Gareth, and the others. This time, he made his formal debut across Britannia.

The stirring of fanaticism, desires that struck straight at the heart, and leadership charisma not much inferior to King Arthur's. Combined, the fervent atmosphere they created even surpassed that of his Father King to a certain extent.

Britannia's knights gathered from every direction.

But this time, the one they had come to join, the one they would soon swear loyalty to, the one who would lead them, was not King Arthur, but her eldest son, Artorius.

The war they gathered to wage was not one to reclaim land from foreign tribes or defend their homeland. Rather, as Arthur had said, it was to seize wealth and glory with their swords and spears.

The passion ignited by such intense desire even surpassed King Arthur's call.

Especially as Britannia's land grew ever more barren and its people ever more impoverished.

"Britannia's knights are the strongest!"

In Camelot, in the square before the Tower of White Chalk, Artorius stood amid the crowd and spoke loudly.

His voice rang out, ensuring every knight could hear him.

"We should use our swords and spears to seize the wealth and glory that belong to us!"

"This world is in such chaos. It is time to use our own methods to establish an entirely new order!"

"Second sons of knights and nobles, ordinary hunters and farmers, common people of the Saxon tribes—it does not matter, none of it matters! As long as you prove yourselves on the battlefield, no matter who you were before, you can become someone above others!!"

Cheers rose wave after wave.

The knights and soldiers around Artorius, even those fanatical commoners, all shouted loudly, "Long live Prince Artorius!"

"Long live the Saxon King!"

"Britannia's Dragon Child!!"

"They really do support Arthur, don't they?"

At the same time, on the highest balcony of the White City, beside King Arthur, her queen—or rather, her "best friend"—Guinevere spoke gently.

This girl, worthy in both character and beauty of being the mistress of the White City, wanted to ease her dear friend's heart.

Because everyone could see that Artorius had already embarked on a path completely opposed to his mother's wishes.

"Ambition, huh. What an incredible child~" At the same time, Merlin appeared from the other side and said casually, "But I do not dislike it~ Perhaps this child really can accomplish something great~"

"..."

If any other Knights of the Round Table had been present at this moment, they would surely have loudly rebuked Merlin for his frivolous behavior. But there was no one else here.

The Knights of the Round Table had either been recruited into Arthur's expeditionary army or dispatched on the one-way journey to seek the Holy Grail. The White City's military strength had now fallen to its lowest point in history.

Neither of the two girls here blamed Merlin.

The queen merely looked at Merlin with displeasure and said nothing.

Such an attitude meant nothing at all to Merlin.

As for King Arthur, as always, she only blamed herself. "If I had been stronger, if I had saved Britannia faster, perhaps Arthur would not have become like this."

More specifically, "become like this" meant "become an ambitious military leader."

From the perspective of a "guardian" and "savior" like King Arthur, Artorius was like another Vile King.

Only his target was not Britannia, but the broader and more chaotic Rome and Europe.

From the perspective of the King of Britannia, King Arthur had no reason to stop him. But from the perspective of a father, King Arthur did not want her son to become that kind of monster.

But...

She did not know what to do.

She had never been a good father.

She had devoted almost all her energy to war, governing the country, and balancing the factions within the Knights of the Round Table, using them to escape the responsibility of raising her child...

Because she had never known how to be a good father.

"Ah, on this matter alone, Your Majesty need not blame yourself so much." Merlin said casually. "Because even if you had devoted all your energy to raising him, Arthur would still have become that sort of person.

"I am a sage, after all. I only need to look at someone to know what kind of person they are.

"He is not your obedient little boy.

"Artorius Pendragon is a born Ambitious Figure. His ambition surpasses even Alexander, Attila, and Julius Caesar.

"People like him have only two endings: either they die, or they become greater than anyone else. There is no third path... Look, Your Majesty, your great son has already arrived. Have you decided how to say farewell to him?"

As Merlin spoke, Arthur had already finished his speech. The Knights of the Round Table guided the volunteers away. They would head south, board ships at Lundenia, then sail to Gaul, where they would land and join the Roman army.

Arthur himself turned toward the Tower of White Chalk, preparing to bid farewell to his Father King.

He had many things he wanted to say to his dearest "father."