My Mother, King Arthur

Britannia, Hispania, Gaul, Lower Germania. Vast territories had fallen. The Roman Empire was battered by storms, on the verge of collapse.

Britannia, having lost the control of Rome's Central Government, initially maintained its Roman way of life for a short while. But it soon fractured into various small kingdoms.

Among those nations, the strongest and most "legitimate" was Camelot, ruled by Arthur's grandfather—or grandmother?

Before becoming king, Uther Pendragon had been an officer of the Roman Empire.

He had refused the Empire's order to withdraw from Britannia, leading his men to remain here. He became the foremost among Britannia's many kings, successfully ruling—or at least nominally ruling—the whole of Britannia.

That situation lasted until the appearance of a man named Lucius Tiberius, who became Emperor of the Western Roman Empire and led his armies to numerous victories over the barbarians.

The Empire reclaimed vast territories. Many German tribes and kingdoms also declared their submission to Rome.

To use a somewhat inappropriate comparison, this man meant to Rome what King Arthur meant to Britannia.

He had appeared on the eve of his nation's collapse, embarked upon the arduous and nearly hopeless path of saving it, and achieved quite a great deal. Of course, he certainly did not see himself that way.

As a "Roman," Lucius Tiberius possessed an inexplicable confidence. He firmly believed that he would become one of history's greatest Roman Emperors, like Emperor Aurelian before him, reunifying all of Rome, leading the Empire through its crisis, and restoring it to prosperity.

Great Conqueror of Germania, great Conqueror of the Goths, great Conqueror of Parthia, Restorer of the East, Restorer of the World.

Lucius believed that before his death, he too would earn a whole string of such magnificent titles.

Though that was impossible.

"His Majesty the Emperor and the Senate declare that they are willing to pardon Lord Artorius Pendragon for his act of treason. They are even willing to recognize Lord Pendragon's royal title inherited from his father.

The condition is that Britannia must once more acknowledge that it is part of the Roman Empire and make the contributions expected of it.

Consider it carefully, Lord Pendragon. This is your final opportunity.

Should you refuse, the next people to arrive on this barren island will not be envoys, but Rome's great army."

Having left those final words behind, the unbearably arrogant Roman envoy departed in high spirits.

Author's Note:

Lucius Tiberius was the Roman Emperor whom King Arthur defeated in the legends. He was also mentioned in the Fate series.

King Uther had been a Roman officer. And as everyone knew, the Western Roman Empire at that time followed the Imperial Guard succession system. It was not as though barbarians had never become Roman Emperors. So King Arthur truly had a chance of becoming Roman Emperor.

King Arthur had Roman blood. That was probably why she looked like that Umu creature.

Why Can't You Be Roman Emperor?

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"Good thing he ran fast."

After Galahad finished explaining what had happened, Wolf Girl Gareth, pouting angrily on Arthur's other side, muttered, "If I'd caught him, I definitely would have given him a good beating."

The young knight's attitude represented that of Britannia's Native Faction.

They were deeply displeased and unwilling to have anything more to do with the Roman Empire.

After all, Rome had been the one to abandon Britannia back then. During the hardest times, Uther Pendragon had stabilized the situation and repelled the Saxon invasion. Then King Arthur inherited the Pendragon family's legacy.

Britannia had flourished under the Pendragon family's rule—at least, that was what they believed.

And now the Romans wanted to come pick the peaches. The overwhelming majority of knights thought he was dreaming.

"So what happened? Did His Majesty refuse?"

Arthur asked without changing expression. "Or is it still under discussion?"

He glanced sideways at Lancelot, then spoke softly.

"It is still under discussion," Galahad replied.

"I knew it."

The Native Faction naturally disliked the Roman Empire. But the knights of the Continental Faction were different.

For example, Lancelot, who came from France.

Or rather, Gaul?

Whatever. It did not matter.

The kingdom where this Prince came from had a passable relationship with the Roman Empire. As an imperial vassal, it naturally hoped to deal with Rome's envoy in a more "tactful" way.

Even if they did not become Roman vassals, they could at least choose to become Rome's allies. The Saxons and Germans were enemies of both sides, were they not? Then would it not be a fine choice to demonstrate their strength and join forces against the Saxons?

"From a utilitarian perspective, Lord Lancelot's proposal is more beneficial to the kingdom."

Arthur thought to himself, *Of course, if it were me, I'd go even further. Lucius Tiberius can become Roman Emperor, so why can't Artorius Pendragon?

I have Roman blood too. My grandmother was Roman as well. Choosing me as Emperor would be better than choosing some Gothic barbarian, right?

Naturally, those were the pragmatic, shameless thoughts of Artorius II, not those of Artorius I, the perfect King Arthur.

"Enough."

Seemingly tired of the argument between the Native Faction and the Continental Faction, King Arthur spoke up and stopped them.

"Refuse."

The young and petite king gave the order without hesitation. "Britannia is Britannia. It has nothing to do with Rome. I will not allow my people to be enslaved by Rome again.

Therefore, drive away that Roman Emperor's envoy. If they dare come again, it will mean war against Britannia."

As King Arthur spoke, Gawain and the other knights born in Britannia cheered loudly as though they had won some great war. Lancelot and the others, though helpless, chose to obey without hesitation.

At least for now, Lancelot's loyalty to his king was no less than anyone else's.

With that, the matter was settled. The Knights of the Round Table left in twos and threes. Galahad once again invited Arthur to play chess or listen to Tristan play the harp, but after thinking it over, Arthur decided to stay.

"Is something the matter, Arthur?"

Just as before, the "girl" had rather complicated feelings whenever she faced her own "son."

Just as she could not explain to Arthur questions such as "Where did I come from?"

Arthur had once cheerfully asked her that question. Pretending to be adorably innocent, he had looked at Artoria.

Mother Artoria had immediately become flustered. Only after a while did she solemnly tell Arthur, "The stork brought you."

Arthur had worked hard not to laugh out loud.

"It's like this, Father King." Arthur spoke calmly. "I heard that my grandfather was actually a Roman?"

As always, King Arthur found it difficult to answer her son's questions.

"Uh, well..."

"Then, Father King, could you become Roman Emperor?"

Arthur continued with the unrestrained innocence of a child.

"Ah, well..."

"If Father King became Roman Emperor, wouldn't we be able to collect taxes from Rome and use them to aid Britannia's people?" Arthur's eyes shone brightly.

The Bishonen with short platinum-blond hair ran to his "Father King's" side and grabbed her arm. "After all, I've seen so many people going hungry, but I have no way to help them. I heard Rome is a very rich place, and it's farther south, so the weather is warmer, right?"

"You mustn't think that way, Arthur."

The girl earnestly taught Arthur the proper way of being a king. "It is wrong to plunder other nations and seize their benefits."

"But if Father King is Roman Emperor, Rome won't be 'another nation' anymore," Arthur said happily.

"I looked through the records. The Roman Empire itself is a massive arena.

Wars fought over the Emperor's throne have accompanied the Empire throughout its history, never once ceasing.

The Roman Emperor's throne has always belonged to whoever possessed the greatest military strength.

In this age, Father King is the strongest.

The Knights of the Round Table are invincible.

As long as you wish it—"

"—Enough!"

The girl shouted, cutting Arthur off. The Bishonen immediately put on a wronged expression that said, You yelled at me. I'm going to cry. King Arthur calmed down as quickly as she could.

"I..."

"I do not wish to discuss this topic any further."

She told the boy, "Leave, Arthur. I am tired."

"Yes, Father King."

The Bishonen obediently bowed, then turned and left.

I'll go play chess with my junior, he thought. He did not care in the slightest about the turmoil he had caused in King Arthur's heart. If anything, he was a little pleased.

That was how the seed had been planted.

Perhaps one day, it would grow into a towering tree.

"Was this your goal? Your method of saving Britannia?"

At the same time, Merlin, who had appeared at some unknown moment, smiled happily. "Stepping beyond the limitations of the isles and considering the islands and continent as one whole? Hehehehe~"

He laughed merrily. "An ambitious boy. Rather than becoming a protector, you want to become a conqueror. Rather than preserving the old order, you want to create a new Empire.

Humans truly are so fascinating~"

After saying something so inhuman, Merlin vanished again, leaving only Her Majesty Artoria standing there with a headache.

Author's Note:

Anyway, the two of you look the same. Except for the boobs.

New author, new book. Please vote and support!

Avalon's Bishonen

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The consequences of rejecting Rome quickly became apparent.

Lucius Tiberius's army did not immediately appear along the coast. After all, the Roman army needed some time to prepare.

But right away, the trade routes importing grain from the continent ran into trouble.

"Not a single grain of wheat is to enter the mouths of the rebels!" That was the order given by the Roman Emperor.

Of course, given the Western Roman Empire's current degree of centralization, local officials could openly comply while secretly defying even the Emperor's orders.

But grain prices rose.

"There's nothing we can do. The Emperor gave the order, so our risk has gone up."

"We're smuggling grain here at the risk of losing our heads. Raising the price is already generous. You Britannians should thank us."

The merchants put on helpless expressions while secretly laughing behind the scenes.

As a result, Britannia, whose crops were already suffering reduced yields, found its situation going from bad to worse.

The Knights of the Round Table argued more often, and their arguments grew more intense.

"Merlin, did I do something wrong?"

King Arthur was troubled by the consequences. "Everyone is going hungry. Without the grain imported from Gaul, Britannia may not be able to hold on..."

"It does not count as wrong."

The magician spoke lightly. "Displaying the bearing of a king is also very important. If you bowed and submitted to Rome, you would lose the dignity of a king as well~"

"But... forget it."

Artoria felt that she must have been foolish to argue about this with Merlin. So she began speaking of war instead.

Thanks to her dear uncle—or aunt—Vortigern, the Saracens' influence on the island of Britannia had grown increasingly powerful. From north to south, they had nearly occupied the entire island.