My Mother, King Arthur

"..."

"My junior's future favorability might convert into Mash's favorability... probably?"

"The future relationship between Arthur and Mash... everyone can look forward to it."

"Chapter 65: Everyone's thinking about serious matters, only Morgan is being lewd (Seeking recommendation tickets!)"

On the city walls, King Arthur, after a moment of thought, made a decision.

Although it was improper and unbecoming of a monarch, she decided to personally leave the city to welcome her dearest eldest son.

However, besides Queen Guinevere and the suspiciously-intentioned Sister Morgan le Fay, King Arthur had no other important figures by her side.

At their peak, the Knights of the Round Table, numbering three hundred, now had only twenty knights remaining, along with a small number of guards.

Other knights were either intervening and maintaining balance across Britannia in King Arthur's name, or were involved in the Holy Grail exploration.

The Tower of White Chalk appeared somewhat desolate, even the Red Dragon banner on the city wall drooped listlessly.

All of this seemed to foreshadow the twilight of Britannia's Pendragon dynasty.

Thinking of this, Arthur felt a heavy heart.

"A ruler of a fallen kingdom... that's not a good title to have."

He thought this as he dismounted—

Originally, according to diplomatic etiquette, as the Grand Marshal of Germania, he should have maintained a reserved demeanor, even more so when facing Britannia's King Arthur, to display the grandeur of the Roman Empire.

But Arthur didn't care about such things.

When the gates of the Tower of White Chalk opened wide and the drawbridge was lowered, and his Father King Artorius I and his Mother Queen Guinevere walked out together, Arthur eagerly stepped forward.

"Father King, Mother Queen."

At least in that moment, Arthur was sincere.

He greeted them first, then embraced them, and kissed them.

"I missed you so much."

"..."

Looking at her son, who had already surpassed her in height, was handsome and elegant, and had grown into a dashing young man, Artorius I also showed an emotional expression.

At least for this moment, she forgot the fear of Britannia's imminent demise, her immense responsibilities, the overwhelming pressure, and the profound sense of helplessness. She was simply immersed in the joy of reuniting with her beloved son.

Just like Arthur, she hugged her child. Feeling the change in their relative positions, Artorius I felt a slight sense of loss. Before, she could rest her head on Arthur's head, but now she could only lean against his chest.

The Sword of Selection had been broken. However, as a superior existence to the Sword of Selection, the Star Holy Sword was under her control. This caused her body to remain as it was before, without further growth.

She was still like a 15-year-old, not having changed in the slightest. In terms of height, she had been surpassed by Arthur.

"If I keep growing, I probably won't be able to accommodate Arthur when he hugs me anymore," she thought, kissing Arthur's cheek.

"Ahem, um."

Perhaps feeling that Arthur was hugging his Father King for too long, and the scene was too heartwarming, Morgan le Fay, standing beside them, felt as uncomfortable as if she had eaten dozens of pounds of high-purity lemons. She couldn't help but cough softly, reminding them to be mindful of appearances.

And then she was ignored.

Both Arthur and his Father King continued to enjoy their family reunion as they pleased, making up for the two years of separation and longing. To Morgan le Fay, it felt like drinking a mixed juice of grapes, lemons, oranges, sour plums, pears, and green apples. Her teeth gnashed together. She only felt the double crowns on her head growing heavier. The Pendragon father and son were too arrogant, treating her as if she were invisible.

"You've had a tough time these past few years, Father King," Arthur said to Artorius I with deep emotion.

"You too... have had a tough time," his Father King sighed in response to Arthur's words.

Regardless of whether they approved of each other's actions, they both knew that the other had suffered over the past two years.

Arthur's suffering was physical. Whether conquering or governing, neither was a simple or easy task.

Although Arthur was materialistic, he was not decadent, at least not yet. He devoted most of his time to work, working eighteen hours a day, exercising for five hours, and resting for one hour... Fortunately, he was a dragon and could handle such a schedule, otherwise, he would have died of overwork long ago.

Father King, on the other hand, was mentally exhausted.

With Britannia in a state of fragmentation, and without war or external pressure, there were few areas where the various kingdoms allowed Artorius I to intervene. Camelot was a small kingdom, with very crude methods of governance and management. Father King did not have much daily administrative work to handle.

But the pressure was immense.

The rise and fall of Britannia rested on her shoulders. In a chaotic world without hope, the pressure she endured was unimaginable.

What made Arthur feel a bit sad was that, in addition to the original plot, he had also become a source of pressure for Father King.

Every time Arthur created a "glorious war" in Europe, Artoria felt it was her responsibility.

"Fortunately, it's not too late to turn things around."

Looking at her beloved son gazing at her with deep affection, she thought this in her heart.

Although many things had changed, Arthur's love for her had not, giving Artoria the illusion that she could persuade Arthur to turn back.

"Unfortunately, all of this still has to continue."

Looking at his Father King gazing at him with tender affection, Arthur sighed inwardly.

His Father King, as always, was a naive and lovable person. He wondered if it was education and mindset that confined her thoughts, or if her mind had stopped growing along with her body the day she pulled out the Sword of Selection.

In any case, this person hadn't changed at all...

Faced with reality, the heartwarming scene of father and son reuniting was cast in a shadow.

Only the people directly involved noticed this; everyone else was oblivious.

It seemed Guinevere was watching with satisfaction from the side, while Morgan le Fay, on the other hand, was grinding her teeth, enjoying the pleasure of a double palace.

If Arthur knew what she was thinking, he would surely have felt disdain for her.

After all, everyone else was thinking about serious matters, and only she was thinking about lewd things.

In this situation, it wouldn't be wrong to call this Morgan le Fay trash, would it?

After all, she was someone who could misunderstand anything and think about lewd things.

The Pendragon family members had their own thoughts. The knights also had their own varied thoughts.

Behind Arthur, the Wolf Girl Gareth was simply moved by the father-son bond. Little Mo was somewhat envious. As for Galahad, the sensitive young boy, he sensed something was amiss.

"Is the rift between Your Highness and His Majesty truly irreconcilable?"

His heart grew heavier.

Author's Notes:

A new day.

In the past couple of days, there have been some new COVID-19 cases reported across the country again = =. It seems nothing will change until the whole world is over this.

And the weather has gotten hot again. Everyone, please take care to prevent heatstroke and stay cool.

Finally, I'm still asking for votes!!

Monthly votes, blades, recommendation votes, I want them all!

Chapter 66: Artoria, Who Does Not Eat Charity

The reunion dinner in Camelot was unremarkable.

Even to welcome Arthur back to the palace, Father King couldn't produce anything decent, any good food to treat a distinguished guest.

In the Tower of White Chalk, the only thing that could be supplied in unlimited quantities was black bread, made by magic. It had no merits other than being plentiful and filling.

It was as hard as stone, dry, and rough enough to scratch your throat. One worried if eating too much would lead to esophageal cancer.

Besides Father King, no one in the world liked eating this stuff. Arthur had even heard Father King mention once: "Honestly, after eating too much of this, I get a bit tired of it too."

Hearing this, Artorius looked at her Father King with extreme shock, making her feel a bit embarrassed.

"What's wrong? Is there something Father King doesn't want to eat? Is there a problem?"

She deliberately put on a majestic air, trying to suppress Arthur. But because Arthur was too shocked at the time, the effect was not good.

One could imagine that entertaining guests with something that even Father King tired of was a sure way to alienate the entire world.

Fortunately, Father King had a good son.

Arthur had long anticipated this awkward situation. He simply clapped his hands, and the chefs and servers who were already prepared came in one after another, laying out a table at the fastest speed.

There were main dishes like roast suckling pig, roast whole lamb, and stewed beef. There were also next-generation Western dishes like foie gras, caviar, truffles, and lobster. There were next-generation Western pastries like pies, apple pies, cakes, and candies, as well as various fruit juices and wines.

To cater to everyone's tastes, Arthur even brought out traditional dishes of the era like roast swan, roast peacock, and roast dolphin. He made sure to satisfy the needs of every guest.

Looking at the banquet table, which was completely up to royal standards, Artoria, while desperately swallowing her saliva, became more and more serious, and her gaze towards Arthur became increasingly stern.

"Arthur?!"

"What is it, Father King?" Arthur smiled gently, as if he hadn't noticed Artoria's anger and dissatisfaction.

"Why—this is too extravagant!"

The only thing that brought Arthur some comfort was that before she spoke, Artoria dragged him to a corner to minimize the impact of the matter.

Although, in a way, this was like trying to cover up a mistake.

Those who were carefree and unconcerned might overlook it. But for those who were more perceptive, Artoria's actions drew even more attention.

For example, there was Mordred, who had been watching Arthur and Artoria all along. Even with the delicious food in front of her, she didn't divert too much of her attention.

Then there was Galahad, who had just said something a bit too harsh to Arthur and was feeling uneasy.

And Morgan, and Guinevere...

Well, among those present in Camelot, all the important characters had noticed their conversation.

"This is too extravagant. Why invest so many resources into a banquet?"

"Because this way, everyone will be happy."

Facing her Father King's righteous questioning, Artorius replied as if it were natural, with a natural statement, which stunned Artoria.

She hadn't expected Arthur to answer her like this. Because before this, when she educated her son, he would always listen attentively and act like a well-behaved child—of course, she didn't know that it was all Arthur's pretense, to lower her guard.

"How will everyone be happy?"

Although she tried hard to suppress her anger, Artoria's tone involuntarily rose quite a bit:

"The people are suffering from hunger. Even though we have changed our policies, opened up new land, and implemented new agricultural policies and measures, Britannia's food problem has still not been solved due to weather issues."

"The people can't even afford to eat, yet we're holding a grand feast with wine rivers and meat forests. This is wrong!"

"Father King."

Arthur lowered his voice slightly. "Please calm down. Everyone is watching."

Hearing this, King Arthur looked around nervously. Indeed, because her voice was too loud, many people had subconsciously turned to look.

"Can we discuss this after the banquet, Father King?"

Artoria: "..."

Having become the party pooper, she glared angrily at Artorius. The latter, as if trying to soothe a startled cat, offered a gentle and helpless smile.

So, in the end: "Fine..."

Artoria relented – no, not relented, just compromised for the moment. She was merely setting aside her temper and anger, planning to unleash them after the banquet.

With that thought, she ate with all her might that day, eating and eating.

Unlike Arthur, a Dragon who distributed his "desires" evenly. Artoria seemed to have focused all her desires on "appetite."

While everyone else was happily enjoying the delicacies Arthur had brought, Artoria was desperately eating bread—

The same hard, stale black bread mentioned earlier.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it."

The surroundings were filled with fragrant and sweet scents, and everyone was happy. Only Artoria was eating bitterness. She looked as if everyone was ganging up on her.

This oddity was noticed by everyone, and the joyous atmosphere was considerably dampened. Many still felt awkward, and their voices lowered.

"My King."

The one who appeared beside Artoria at this moment, gently persuading her, was, of course, Queen Guinevere.