Arthur

The king and queen sat upon their respective thrones. Sunlight streamed through the castle and fell directly upon them, giving them the sacred aura of figures painted on a church mural. Gawain knelt on one knee before them, seeming to symbolize the bond between man and god, forming a perfect harmony. Beneath this sense of sanctity lay what seemed to be the finest interpretation of the relationship between gods and mortals.

King Arthur wore a silver crown and dark robes, with the legendary sword in the stone, Excalibur, at his waist. He cut a heroic figure, while Queen Guinevere, as beautiful as Aphrodite, was the most glorious part of him.

The center of the hall was lit by torches and seemed dim. Even the Knights of the Round Table had let themselves go during the joyous season of the New Year's banquet. A festive atmosphere filled the entire court, while a solemn audience was taking place in one corner.

This was Gawain and King Arthur's first meeting. It was the first time either of them had seen the other.

They were not merely uncle and nephew, but also king and vassal.

"Gawain, where is your mother?"

The sacred, solemn scene, like a religious mural, was shattered as the king, bathed in holy light, slowly spoke.

"She is unwell today, my lord," Gawain replied.

"Rise, Gawain. Sit beside us."

The king spoke slowly and extended a hand to help him up. As Gawain rose and reached for the king's hand, he finally saw his king—his uncle—clearly.

Arthur was not particularly tall among the brawny Knights of the Round Table. His features were ordinary, and the withered yellow hand held out before Gawain made him look like the most ordinary man imaginable. A few strands of white hair beneath his crown told Gawain that the man before him—the legendary King Arthur—had grown old.

"Welcome, Gawain!" Queen Guinevere said with a smile, her gaze conveying her welcome.

Gawain was somewhat reserved. Though he knew they were his uncle and aunt, they were, in truth, strangers meeting for the first time.

He looked at the queen, nodded slightly in response to her welcome, and offered a shy smile. With an awkward, restrained look in his eyes, he said, "This is not a seat I may take."

At a New Year's banquet, everyone's seat carried significance. Even in later generations, the positions of a nation's top leaders would be carefully arranged. Who stood in the center, who stood to the highest leader's left, and who stood to his right all revealed their status and standing.

Even in later eras, one could judge the political landscape by who sat closest to the head of state, who held greater status, and who wielded more power.

Although the Knights of the Round Table were equal in status at the round table, and even the king spoke only as one Round Table knight, where there were people, there would be rivalries. The knights had their own rankings. As a military organization, it inevitably required leaders above ordinary knights.

Whether in modern times or ancient ones, hierarchy was indispensable to any organization.

Who led, who planned, and who carried out orders all had to be reflected in military operations. The king could not oversee everything himself, so the Knights of the Round Table had to distinguish their own ranks. That ranking was displayed by who sat closest to the king. In the past, that honor had always belonged solely to Sir Lancelot.

The knights valued rank so highly because they valued honor. Honor was life itself. Thus, even the king's nephew could not be assigned a place freely. Gawain was not even a knight yet. Even if he became one of the Knights of the Round Table, winning everyone's approval and claiming a high position would not be easy. The seat he was being offered was the position directly beneath the king and queen—the first seat among the Knights of the Round Table.

"Today is an exception. Tonight is Christmas Eve, and the owner of this seat is not here today. I do not know when he will return, so you may sit here. Today only."

King Arthur said this with a smile. Gawain could not refuse, so he sat beside the king and queen. Sitting so close to them, he felt as if the stool beneath him had been scorched by flames, making him unbearably restless.

He looked around awkwardly and suddenly realized that the beautiful queen, too, bore the signs of age, just like the king. She no longer possessed the goddess-like splendor that had stunned him when he first entered. The king and queen were not sacred figures from a religious mural, but an ordinary married couple. Setting aside their identities as king and queen, they were merely two ordinary old people.

"Relax. The person beside you now is not your king, but your uncle. Gawain, you are my sister's child. You were born from her womb, and the same blood flows through us. We are family, bound by blood. Blood is thicker than water."

King Arthur stared straight ahead, toward the banquet hall, though his eyes were unfocused. He spoke to Gawain, who sat beside him and looked up at him.

Blood is thicker than water. It was a famous English saying.

"For some reason, simply having you sit here beside me gives me a sense of peace, and a happiness beyond words," King Arthur said.

"Your Majesty, your peace of mind should come from the Knights of the Round Table, who have shed their blood and risked their lives for you. And the foundation of your happiness was laid by their sacrifices. You should be closer to them."

Gawain noticed the gazes of the Knights of the Round Table. He knew that even a private conversation like this could not escape the sharp eyes and keen ears of the knights in such a setting.

Simply relying on blood ties to become a knight, to occupy a high position among the kingdom's ruling class, and even to become a member of the glorious Knights of the Round Table—

That was unfair.

To become a knight, one had to undergo all kinds of arduous training from childhood: swordsmanship, horsemanship, archery, learning to train hounds and raise horses. As a knight's squire, one endured the knight's harsh training and every reasonable and unreasonable demand, served as the knight's sparring partner, accompanied him into battle, and polished his armor. Yet even after winning on the battlefield, the merit and glory did not belong to the squire, because everything a squire had belonged to his master.

If someone could gain all of that easily merely because he shared blood with the king, it would inevitably breed dissatisfaction and resentment among the Knights of the Round Table.

Gawain sensed that resentment, so he spoke with careful tact. He did not want to become a target for everyone's hostility. Not all of the Knights of the Round Table supported him as King Arthur's successor.

After all, he was only the son of Arthur's sister—his nephew, not his biological son. Before the nobles of Camelot's court, he could not confidently regard himself as the future master of the court.

"Yes, Gawain, I am close to my Knights of the Round Table. The Knights of the Round Table do not belong to King Arthur; rather, Arthur belongs to the Knights of the Round Table. I, too, am one of its knights. But my closeness to the knights is different from my closeness to you. King Arthur is both king and Arthur, and Arthur is your family."

As King Arthur spoke, a sense of helplessness appeared on his face. He was both king and Arthur. He was human, and being human, he naturally had his own joys and sorrows, loves and hates.

"Growing up, I never knew what my father looked like. I only heard Sir Ector and Merlin say that my father, Uther, had been a great king. In truth, my father was only a concept, a symbol to me. There was no father in my story, and no mother either. My parents were absent from my life. I sought help from people, from everyone, like a starving puppy that would eat anything, yet no one could help me. I knew my foster father loved me, but I believed he loved his own son, Kay, more. I was the extra one. As an adopted son, I could not rightfully demand my foster father's love."

Like an ordinary old man, King Arthur rambled on about his past. The queen's face showed pity as she clenched her hands and listened quietly. Then he turned to look at Gawain and continued, "This was the pain and trial of my life, Gawain. When I learned that my parents had left me sisters, I was truly happy. I love your mother as your mother loves you. That natural love gave our hearts a place to belong in that moment.

"Gawain, though this is our first meeting, I heard your name and knew of your existence when you were very young. I knew you and had heard of you, but I did not truly understand you. I knew nothing at all about what kind of person you were. This is not an apology, but a regret. I hope you can act spoiled before me, without restraint or ceremony. Gawain, I am your uncle, and you are my nephew. With such a relationship, there is no need to cling to these formalities."

"Your Majesty, I do not really know what kind of person you are either. When I asked Mother what my uncle was like, she said I would know once I met you."

Gawain felt the warmth in Arthur's words. Arthur truly regarded him as family, and so Gawain spoke with a little more ease, revealing a bit of his true nature.

"If you wish to know what kind of person I am, we must come to know each other better. You at least know of my deeds, while I know nothing at all about you. Before you met me, what kind of person did you think I was?"

King Arthur smiled, then suddenly blinked with a mischievous expression.

"Before meeting you, I thought Arthur was a figure from myth, a godlike hero!"

"And now?"

"Now, Arthur is simply Arthur, no one else."

"Then let me tell you what I know of Gawain. According to Sir Ector and the gossip in the streets, you once used the alias Dala Bengba to save Princess Mia Morasuna Danishailihong and defeat Kuntukutak Tikaut Suwasilasong, is that right? Was that its name? It is too long and difficult to remember. An old man's memory is not very good. You also sealed a nine-tailed fox monster with a mage named Abe no Seimei in a country called the Land of the Sun. You battled the Black Mountain Monster at a temple called Lanruo Temple, and you defeated a frost giant in Norway. Though I have already heard these tales from others, I still want you to tell me your stories yourself. Tonight, I may even proudly announce before all the Knights of the Round Table and the nobles from every land that I will dub my nephew Gawain one of my Round Table knights."

King Arthur's face flushed as he spoke excitedly. He was already impatient to stand before everyone and boast about his nephew.

Gawain's face reddened. He looked at the king, who had fallen into excitement, then glanced around and saw the wizard Merlin smiling at him. He wanted to interrupt Arthur at once, but he could not muster the courage.

It was all false. Every one of his exploits was false. He had never slain a dragon or defeated a frost giant. Saving a princess under the alias Dala Bengba, eliminating the Black Mountain Monster, sealing a nine-tailed fox—none of it was true. It had merely been a young man's bragging in the streets.