"That's how it is, Uncle!
The owner of that golden hair-Princess Isolde-is my beloved!
I love her deeply!
And so your Tristan kneels here to beg you to rescind your decree!"
The handsome red-haired man's bearing was as elegant as ever.
But his voice carried an unprecedented firmness that brooked no argument.
Tristan knelt on one knee with a hand over his heart, yet his eyes met King Mark's gaze with unwavering resolve.
"Ah... I see. I was wondering why you went out so early this morning, lad, without even attending morning court."
King Mark raised his head, looked behind Tristan, and muttered:
"So you went to fetch reinforcements?"
"No, no, don't get the wrong idea, Mark.
Sovell and I only set aside our official duties to accompany him out of concern for a friend.
Besides, neither of us has any interest in fighting you. Bullying an old geezer would be far too boring."
Kay offered this explanation in response to King Mark, though his tongue was as sharp as ever.
"O-old geezer? I'm only forty-something! In the prime of my life! How does that make me an old geezer?!"
"Forty-something? If I remember correctly, by the end of this year, Your Majesty will have reached what they call in the East... 'the age of knowing heaven's will'-fifty, won't you?"
Sovell inadvertently twisted the knife.
"Cough, cough! Hiss-whew-"
King Mark struggled to steady his breathing so his dear nephew's two disreputable friends wouldn't drive him to an early grave.
Still.
"Tristan, if everything you've said is true...
Very well! I agree!"
The moment King Mark finished speaking, the joy on Tristan's face was beyond description.
"Ah! Truly, Uncle?"
King Mark, on the other hand, sighed as though a great weight had lifted from his shoulders.
"Heh, of course. Those bastards