My Mother, King Arthur

After saying that, Arthur turned around and pulled Mordred toward the banquet hall. "All right, we still have plenty of time... Mordred?"

Naturally, Mordred did not budge. She was still standing where she was, head lowered.

"Um... all right, if you don't want to go, I certainly won't force you. Then should you head back to the Barracks first?"

Arthur asked her this. At the same time, Mordred was feeling terribly conflicted... Normally speaking, as his younger brother, she had neither the right nor the reason to meddle in her elder brother's private life.

But the moment she imagined letting go, and her most beloved elder brother being put through seventeen or eighteen different positions by those ravenous Roman beauties before being thoroughly devoured, Mordred felt an intense surge of anger and dissatisfaction.

The feeling was so strange that Mordred could not understand it.

"..."

"Mordred?"

Seeing that Little Mo neither obediently went back nor said anything else, but merely stood there with her head lowered, Arthur stopped as well. Concerned and curious, he turned around to look at her. "What's wrong? Is there some other problem?"

"I..."

Mordred did not know what she should say. She only felt wronged, so miserable that she wanted to cry.

"All right."

Arthur smiled and removed her helmet, looking at the delicate face as beautiful as his mother's. Her exquisite chin, eyes shining like morning stars, and innocent, childlike expression.

"I won't go, then."

"Mhm, mhm!"

Only after hearing Arthur say that did Mordred smile again. Happily, she took Arthur's hand and led him back to the Barracks. As usual, the two siblings removed their armor and lay down in the same tent, under the same blanket, relying on each other's body heat to stay warm through the cold night. This had been their routine ever since coming to Europe from Britannia.

Before falling asleep, Artorius, as the elder brother, would tell Mordred bedtime stories, such as Little Tadpole Looking for Mom, The Candy House, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

As the "younger brother," Mordred would always be awed by her elder brother's quick mind and wild imagination, wearing a look of longing.

From childhood until now, this was the first time Mordred had received "affection" from someone else.

Her mother had only ever desperately drilled hatred into her, while her fellow Knights of the Round Table did not like her either.

Her half-brothers by the same mother, such as Agravain, had always regarded Mordred as a threat, even an enemy. Arthur was the only one who treated her this well.

But.

"I'll probably find a Roman woman to marry."

But right now, Artorius was describing a future where her elder brother would be taken away by another woman.

"Of course, a German woman would work too. It'll depend on our future plans. Or perhaps, like King Solomon, I could marry several wives to win over other tribes... Hmm, right, the Church wouldn't allow that... So, Little Mo, you need to work hard too."

"Me...?"

Listening to Arthur talk about marrying wives was already troubling enough for Mordred, but it became even more troubling when he extended the topic to her.

"I don't want to get married!" Mordred said in exasperation. "I want to stay by Elder Brother's side forever!"

After leaving Britannia and getting away from King Arthur's side, Mordred's mindset had subtly changed.

The person beneath the spotlight, dazzling beyond compare and making her heart race with longing, was no longer her Father King, Artoria, but her elder brother, Artorius.

This was a more wonderful world for Mordred.

Unlike Artoria, who had been forever beyond her reach.

Her elder brother cherished her, liked her, and took care of her. All of it made Mordred feel incomparably fulfilled.

But now, Arthur was telling her that they would part ways someday. They would separate and form different families.

Other women would replace her at Arthur's side, enjoying his tenderness and affection.

At that thought, Mordred's negative emotions swelled to an unbearable degree.

"Heh heh heh..."

"I'll stay by your side forever." Naturally, Arthur took Mordred's words as nothing more than a child throwing a tantrum. He did not take them seriously.

"All right, all right, I understand. It's getting late now, so let's sleep." Arthur's words made Mordred feel awful.

"I'm serious!"

"Mhm, mhm, serious, serious."

Arthur's voice was a little drowsy, as though he was about to fall asleep.

That made Mordred feel so miserable she was nearly crying.

Even she knew how dangerous this situation was. If she did not do something, if she did not do something, her elder brother would be stolen away by those shameless women outside.

But the problem was, what exactly was she supposed to do?

"Think of something, Mordred. You've never been very smart, but please, think of something."

After desperately racking her brains, a flash of inspiration suddenly struck Mordred.

"Right."

"If Elder Brother wants to marry, wouldn't it be enough for him to marry me?"

"Hehehe, Mordred, Mordred, you really are such a clever little thing."

Mordred praised herself.

Author's Note:

Still setting Little Mo up.

Of course, Little Mo was indeed far sweeter than those ordinary women.

Also, please vote!

What Are You Meddling For

Should she be praised for her decisiveness, or criticized for acting without thinking? Just as Arthur was groggily about to fall asleep, he suddenly felt the blanket become heavier.

When he opened his eyes slightly, he found Mordred pressing down on top of him.

"Mordred, stop messing around..." Arthur closed his eyes again and shifted his body, trying to shake off the Mordred sitting astride him.

"Actually, I have something to say to you, Elder Brother."

"Can't it wait until tomorrow?"

Then, rather than using words, Mordred chose direct action to express her intentions and attitude.

She took Arthur's hand and pressed it against her chest.

Artorius Pendragon: "...?!"

He jolted awake, eyes flying open as he stared in disbelief at his own "younger brother."

"Little Mo, you're... a girl?"

Artorius received another answer in the form of Mordred's actions.

After hearing Arthur's shocked words, Mordred simply leaned forward and kissed him.

"...?!"

Half genuine, half false; half resisting, half accepting. Half serious, half teasing.

Artorius had never expected his beloved little sister to go this far on her first try.

He had thought Mordred would struggle, think things over, and become depressed. Only after being tormented by all sorts of negative emotions for several days would she come to him, treating herself as a weapon and laying everything bare.

He had never imagined that Mordred would charge straight in at the very first opportunity.

"This kid really is..."

As he endured Mordred's frontal assault, Arthur could not help marveling. At the same time, he could not help wondering whether he had gone a little too far.

But...

"Whatever."

His self-reflection lasted only a few seconds before being replaced with indifference.

Arthur wrapped an arm around the girl's waist.

The next day.

"Arthur, Arthur?"

Early that morning, Gareth came to Arthur's tent. "I heard you suddenly left the banquet yesterday. That Roman Emperor seemed pretty unhappy. Is everything all right... Are you still asleep?"

Looking at the peacefully sleeping Artorius on the cot, Gareth could not help muttering.

Then all her attention focused on the golden-haired figure beside Arthur.

She had her back to Gareth. Her upper body was bare, smooth skin exposed. Her small, perky buttocks, slender waist, and back formed a beautiful curve, making the Wolf Girl blush for no reason.

That outstanding charm made her feel somewhat inferior.

"...Sir Mordred?"

She called out tentatively.

Mordred did not answer her. Instead, she first grabbed an outer garment from the side and draped it over herself, drew her golden hair out through the collar, then put on a simple silver mask to cover her face. Only then did she rise, turn around, and say to Gareth in the lofty tone of a victor:

"His Highness is tired. Do not disturb him."

"Oh... huh?!"

After Mordred left, it took Gareth a while to come back to her senses.

Why had she let Mordred act so smug? Why had she felt such a strange sense of awe toward her?

And, and—Mordred was a woman?! Why had she never heard of this before?!?!

When Mordred left, she had been wearing tight, form-fitting clothes. Thus, even with her immature body not yet fully developed, she still gave off the unique air of a young girl.

Gareth was the same. She usually alternated between form-fitting clothes that showed off her figure and heavy armor. The former was generally worn when she was by Arthur's side, while the latter was for the battlefield.

So, when she realized that Arthur and Mordred had been alone in the same tent for quite some time, the Wolf Girl's face went pale.

"Your Highness?!"

Ignoring Mordred's warning that Arthur needed rest and had overexerted himself, she rushed to Arthur's bed at top speed. "What exactly happened?!"

At the same time, Artorius was considering whether it would be better to pretend to be asleep or get up and face things bravely. Meanwhile, in an empty warehouse some distance away, Mordred was rolling around while giggling foolishly, repeatedly saying things like, "Elder Brother, my elder brother~"

If Arthur had seen this, he surely would have sighed. "Little Mo really is still a child. A kiss alone was enough to satisfy her."

Of course, he did not see it.

After deciding that running away was shameful and useless, he got up and chose to face things bravely. "Gareth."

He looked seriously at the Wolf Girl. "If I said this isn't what you think, that I only just learned Sir Mordred is a woman, and that nothing happened between us, would you believe me?"

Gareth instinctively shook her head at first. But soon afterward, under Arthur's "sincere" gaze, she changed the shake into a nod.

"I-I believe you, Your Highness."

"Mhm, mhm. Good girl."

Since Gareth had said that, Arthur naturally would not abandon the girl. He reached out, patted her head, and smiled without saying anything.

The master's caress made Gareth beam with delight. She was practically about to flop onto the ground and expose her belly to show her loyalty.

Of course, she did not get the chance.

Because before that could happen, that man with his usual gloomy expression had silently appeared, bringing the playful frolicking of the young man and woman to an abrupt halt.

"Your Highness."

Agravain said calmly, "The Emperor requests an audience with you."

"Time to reward merit, huh." Arthur stood up. "I'm rather looking forward to seeing what the outcome will be."

"Then, Your Highness, what outcome do you desire?"

At Arthur's side, Agravain asked:

"What result do you wish to achieve? Where do you wish to lead us?"