Restoring the Kingdom (4)

Marcus had made his triumphal return back home, an army of smiling soldiers marching through the streets of Londinium and stopping right as they arrived at the castle.

The prisoners from the raid were quickly taken under the regular guards' care, to be sent in prison for some proper trials. The refugees were quickly guided by some members of the Church that had been assigned to take care of the various families within the large group that had joined the army back to the city.

Two days had gone by since the last major reports from the Commander, and now the man stood before me with a giddy complex. There was a little bit of arrogance in his strutting, but it was merely a mocking display than else.

And the reason that got him to behave as such would be explained by the following greeting.

The first hint that this interaction was going to be the opposite of informal was the fact that the man knelt a couple of meters away from where I was.

"King Joseph, ruler of Britons, I request your validation upon the success obtained through the duress of war," The militaryman began with a solemn tone, suppressing his usual smirk. "I, Commander Marcus Ambrosius, bring you the grand victory against the invaders, and present you with the men that valiantly fought against the aggressors."

The infantry behind him straightened up their stance, appearing for a moment just like how I expected my army to appear in the distant future. Undying loyalty, self-pride, and utmost discipline.

I nodded. "I, King Joseph, ruler of Britons, accept your request, Commander Marcus Ambrosius, and I bestow you with the honor of having secured a glorious mark in Britain's history. Your deed shall always be remembered as part of your dutiful work under my kingship, and I shall personally award you with this commemorative medal."

Surprise painted his face as I walked towards him, stopping upon his form and presenting him with the reward that I had decided to introduce for the occasion.

In modern times, there were plenty of important medals bestowed to exceptional members of society, mostly those that have fought or are fighting in wars. But in this specific case, I had spared some discussions with Altuos about the creation of a list of Honors that could be granted to citizens in case of exceptional deeds.

I leaned forward, carefully placing the medal around Marcus' neck. Retreating away from him, the man stared curiously at the curious piece.

"This is the Distinguished Service Order. Your actions have been considered eligible for one of the highest honors available to the brave men fighting to defend the borders and the people of this kingdom," I explained with a small smile. "Your service shall forever be remembered by the nation as one of the most commendable possible."

His eyes slowly widened, and he offered a quiet nod as I gestured him to stand up.

"Do you have the list that I've requested from the last letter?" I asked quietly, trying to keep this part of the discussion between the two of us.

Marcus nodded again, reaching for his back pouch before offering me the piece of rolled paper that contained what I needed to continue this important 'greeting'.

I took it and glanced at the names written in there, humming quietly as I turned my attention to the rest of the soldiers.

"I wish for Bran Finnini, Angaidh Keegan, Gaius Velius, Cesan Maccances, and Caelus Caesonius to take a step forward and in a line," I stated with a serious voice. "Your actions have been discovered as stellar compared to the common soldier. And you too shall receive an encomium for your bravery."

The men quickly moved through the ranks, standing a couple of feet away and in front of their group. They were sporting a prideful attitude as I approached them with some more medals.

I started with the first man on the left, going individually to put the medal around their necks while thanking them for their services.

Once I was done with this activity, I retreated back to my previous position.

"Your unwavering bravery and your undeniable valor shall always be remembered within the annals of history, you're among the heroes during the battle for Trinovantes," I said with a small smile, then nodded at them. "You may all return to your previous standing with a legitimate note of pride. You've all gained the gratitude of the people you're sworn to protect."

And they did so, smiling even more at those words as they walked back within their former place in the lines.

With the little ceremony coming to a closure and with the officers taking the soldiers back to the barracks, I decided to spend some time talking to Marcus while we made our way back to the throne room.

"You know, Kingly, this is actually a smart idea," The Commander muttered while looking at the medal with a proper look. "Romans used to give lands to their veterans, but we can't certainly do that to entice men to join the army. But this thing about honor? It could actually work."

"Which is why I decided to go through with it," I replied with a sigh, staring forward while pondering at the topics I had to treat with the chief of the army. There was a lot that still required to be brought up during this walk. "Still, I suppose that you've avoided getting trailed during your return."

"Scouts confirmed no force giving us pursuit," Marcus returned quickly. "But I don't think we will face any retribution anytime soon. Some of the documents we've found by their ships mentioned that they were focusing more on their immediate threat."

The Lothians. I guess that would also explain why there had been no other Homunculi within the people recovered from the raid, their entirety surely dispatched to aid the defense in the north.

Which meant that we weren't going to deal with the invaders at all and our attention was now directed at any sneak attacks from the petty kingdoms. That was some good news for sure.

"What about any possible reinforcement?" I inquired after nodding at this this development. "Do you reckon that we will be expecting any new visitors?"

"Most of the ships were destroyed during the attack. I'm unsure if they had any other ships back to their crappy home or not," The man responded while shrugging. "Although, I can see that the news of the decimation might dissuade anyone from joining up in this campaign. Too risky, too deadly."

I nodded again, this time huffing as we turned a corner.

"By the way, you could've told me about-"

"The Lake kid is here, right?" He interrupted with a snort. "I bet he kept you in shape while I was away. How's your swordplay? Any improvement over that?"

"I thought that I was already doing fine from the letters you've sent him," I retorted dryly, gaining a frown from Marcus. "You know you can actually spare some genuinely positive comments once in a while."

"And let you get egocentric and more of a moron? We don't need a King to go through that path," He shot back. "But I suppose I can say without hesitation that you got some swift step. I reckon you can make for a message runner if things as a king doesn't work well for ya."

I closed my eyes, sighing heavily at the sass I was being subjected to.

"I still can't find an answer as to why I just don't throw you in the dungeon for your behavior," I commented quietly, causing the man to snort.

"Because you're smart enough to realize that I'm helping you train with how chaotic the situation is," The Commander answered almost eagerly. "While you got the brain to think like a king, you will also need to know how to use a sword like one. A single precise swing can get you killed, and that's not something anyone wants to see happen."

I blinked. "I suppose you're a good teacher but-"

"And how is Lancelot? Did he spare you some of his 'kindness' already? Maybe he went easy on you because you were a novice?" He pressed on, ignoring my words.

"We've been sparring frequently but… there wasn't much of a difference between him and you," I admitted with a hum. "Are you referring to-"

"The kind but horribly condescending tone he would get during some instances," The commander interjected again. "He isn't trying to sound like some polite idiot, but I suppose that spending so much time with an overly-polite Fae can leave your mind stuck with that complex."

I was still unsure how exactly that was really a flaw. Lancelot hardly seemed the kind of individual that spoke out of order, or at least beyond the limits of humble politeness. Yet, I didn't push for more about the consideration as we wandered right inside the throne room.

The place was filled with some of the few nobles that had been living within the castle for some time now, there was Felicianus with his own group of representatives and… Altuos was staring hardly at a figure that was patiently waiting for our arrival.

I stared intensely at the young man, his white hair, which matched well with his mostly white robes, were accompanied with a pair of violet eyes. He was wielding what looked to be a strange wood staff with a strange root-like structure encroaching around it in a spiral that reached up to the top.

I noticed almost immediately that Marcus' posture had grown tense, while I turned to my other side to see Lancelot now walking beside me.

"My liege, please keep close."

A simple request, or perhaps a life-saving advice considering the sudden tension in which I was subjected to. The curious fellow seemed rather 'unique' and, considering how this world had taken a more anime-sque tone, I wouldn't ignore the chances of him being a big shot.

But whom?

We stopped just in front of the throne, and the man bowed slightly towards me.

"It's an honor to be in your presence, oh King Joseph, ruler of Londinium," He greeted carefully, and I frowned at his diminishing my title. "I'm called by many the Magus of Flowers, but I merely go by the name of… Merlin."

…

Fuck- no, Double Fuck.

Now I could see the reason why everyone was so rightfully wary of this man. The legendary mage, the man that literally drove Arthur to become king…

He seemed quite young considering how many years he had to have been around for. First as an advisor to a young Uther, and now for his son.

"It's… a pleasure to make your acquaintance?"

He smiled at the meek attempt, and I guess he noticed that his mere presence was drawing no little issue from the rest of the court.

"I suppose that will do. I can see that my little unexpected visit ruffled many's feathers," He responded with a calm and 'light' tone. "But my time here is limited, and so I will spare any unneeded pleasantries and skip to the point of my humble interaction."

His smile was kind, but I could sense some deception. It wasn't magic, it was just basic BS-smelling ability any sane individual would've done.

Whatever was the reason that got him to abruptly arrive at my court wasn't something pleasant for sure.

"King Joseph, my request is simple, but also quite a hard choice for you to make, I think," The Magician mumbled quietly as he prepared to deliver the hit. "Surrender your claim of Kingship right now, and I can promise you already that my liege will not see you killed for keeping up this farce."

...WHAT?!

The entire room looked quite shell-shocked by the preposterous demand that the famous Magus had just proclaimed so calmly and so lightly.

I could see Altuos glaring daggers now that the gig was up, with Marcus seeming ready to jump at the cheeky bastard already.

I was appalled by these words, almost driven to silence by the gallant tone used to request this senseless thing. But I didn't keep quiet for long.

"You- You're insane," I rebuked in surprise. "You decided to come here to… to ask my surrender? To ask for Londinium's surrender?"

"It's more… like you stepping down for a chair bigger than you can fit," He replied, surprisingly ignoring my tone. "It's… mercy. Yes, I want to offer you mercy instead of seeing someone of your talent to go there and perish without reason."

Without reason- He was truly mad. There was no other way to depict the logical development happening before my eyes.

"In fact, I can also vouch for the rest of the court here… and for the lovely young woman that you currently care for within this-" Scwing! "Castle- now, that is quite rude, you know?"

His cheek didn't falter despite the fact that Crocea Mors' edged part was now pressing by his throat.

"You- YOU!" I was boiling. This very conversation? A fucking joke. But I wasn't in the mood of playing with the veiled threats of the bastard. "You dare to come at my court, demand my submission to your petty king, and then you threaten me and those I care for? Do you seek death, wizard?!"

…

"Haha-" A brief stifle, then he erupted in a laugh at my outburst. My eyes widened again, my face reddening in utter fury at this reaction. "N-Now I can see- your eyes have quite a glow. Almost familiar… a pity that you would never accept surrender… but a curious opportunity to test Arthur might against-"

"What if I don't allow you to leave, Emrys?" I interrupted with poison dripping from my words. Using his other name seemed to gain a surprised look from his face, a change from the previous easygoing personality that I had seen up until now.

"Truly? Would you rather face possible death just for some joke?" He inquired with a slightly unamused tone. "Let me ask you this, what if there was a dragon right now?"

I blinked at the strange question, yet that mere blink saw a complete change of the room. Instead of the Throne Room, we were both alone in what looked to be a humongous cave. Surprise swelled at the sight, but it soon morphed in silent fright at the large reptile-like creature now standing behind Merlin.

It was massive, it looked angry and… it seemed ready to shot some flames from its mouth. A dragon- a black-scaled one at that.

I restrained myself from gulping nervously at the sight, trying my best to keep my attention at the sorcerer.

"You could let go of me, and focus on the monster," He suggested almost teasingly. "Perhaps you should face the worst threat first."

…

I frowned at him. "Are you referring to yourself?" I asked jokingly, drawing a perplexed look from him as I pressed the tip of the sword even closer to his exposed neck.

"You would risk your life all for a petty tease? Are you so naive and clueless-"

"This is all fake," I shot back instantly.

"Even the heat? The smoke? The incoming sense of death?" He pressed on with a hint of surprise.

"Right now, Lancelot is squeezing my shoulder- a tad too much I reckon, so if you can-" I muttered, getting the painful grasp onto my back to lessen up a little bit. "That's better- now, Lancelot as a resilience to Magic and… I can feel part of my body sensing the cool sensation of the throne room."

…

"Well, there was an effort," The man shrugged, only to disappear from my sight and reach. "But perhaps you should check on your pockets."

The illusion dropped just before the dragon had the chance to unleash some hot fury on me, and enough for me to not trip on myself at that scene.

Everyone looked confused, mostly because of the sudden disappearance of the wizard. Marcus looked around, while Lancelot let go of his hold onto me.

"He's gone," Altuos confirmed with a grim tone. "But his presence here- his claims… we've some trouble brewing before our eyes, your highness."

A damning kind of trouble, I wanted to add considering the horrible circumstances that led to this situation. It was so unexpected, so immediate compared to any previous issues and… it was worrying.

Yet my attention was fully directed at slowly complying at the final words pronounced by the cheeky magus before he had left.

A folded piece of paper was within my left pocket- No, it was a lengthier letter with… some message on it. I stared to it while everyone tried to make sense of what had just happened while I felt myself paling while reading the words that were written there.

These words hadn't been written by Merlin, but someone that was fairly close to him. Someone that I really didn't need to be dealing with as of now.

I blinked, I inhaled and…

"Fuck."

My office was filled with quite the group of people.

Felicianus was reading the letter with a shocked expression impressed on his weary face.

Marcus and Altuos were debating about which kind of tone was best suited to answer the absurd claims advanced by Arthur, the content of the letter sowing even more chaos to the already messy situation we were all forced to deal with.

The Commander wanted to offer a clear and blunt 'Fuck off', while the chief of the Magus Guild wanted to offer some polite declination… and then a 'Fuck off' too.

Lancelot was standing by the doorstep, merely listening at the scene. The purple-haired man trying his best to not intervene himself at the shocking development that had happened before his eyes.

Meanwhile I was trying my best to not just start bashing my head on the desk, failing in properly think how I was supposed to dodge that kind of massive, deadly bullet aimed at me.

Arthur Pendragon, the legendary King, was aiming at kicking me off my mighty pedestal.

That very statement sounded so dreadful as cheesy, but my real issue wasn't actually what was going on… but how?

There hadn't been any major news about the current conflict in Dumnonia, and the battle royal there should've been more than enough to keep someone like the dangerous claimant away from making this kind of demands so suddenly and so boldly.

I was perplexed before the fact that the civil war there might have concluded just recently, and without anything about this closure reaching out and away from that region. Maybe it was Merlin's ordeal?

His impressive capacity with illusions and Sorcery in general was unquestionable, but the mere idea that the man had decided to create such a devastating element of surprise was worth of some gawking.

Could it be that he could see the future? Maybe following the same way used to discern the prophecy of the 'Eternal King of Albion'?

I didn't know, nor I wanted to really investigate too much about it considering how pressing the main problem was.

The demands were clear, and the words used there were as cold as formal. A 'meeting' had been indicted in three days from now right by the border between our dominions.

Dumnonia was hers to control, yet Arthur had refused to addressing his kingdom by that name. It was Camelot.

He was already paving the road for his proper domain… one that was threatening the existence of mine because of its expansionist policies. And I wasn't going to let the slight go fading so easily.

A letter wouldn't have been enough to grasp the essence of my irritation, of my anger- It had to be close and personal.

Sadly, there's no such thing as Celtic-Latin Wrestling.

Instead of whining over that lost opportunity, I decided that it was going to be best to actually going at the meeting… to outright refuse that blasted and mad claim.

I straightened myself on my chair, sighing as I now had to make it clear with the rest of the group that this was my ultimate decision.

How was I supposed to break these news without getting yelled at about this idea being utterly stupid?

Just as I pondered over a possibly daring attempt at inquiring over this possibility, I paused at the noise of someone knocking at the door, with Lancelot leaning a little to open just enough to offer some sight over whom was there behind it.

Mya waved briefly at me, a small smile on her face as she questioned with her stare about entering inside.

I nodded. The girl hummed happily as she stepped inside and… paused to look around at the kerfuffle still evolving between the three advisors. Curious red eyes returned to stare at me for some answers and I gestured her to come closer.

She complied, taking a seat by one of the unoccupied chairs. "We were discussing about… a diplomatic issue."

"Oh?" The young woman seemed to realize just a little bit about what I was referring to. "But why you're angry?"

...What?

"I'm not angry, Mya," I tried to reassure with a small smile. "Just annoyed that someone dared to claim… this,"

I passed on the letter to the girl. The Einzbern was slightly confused at first as the terms used within the letter were… quite complex considering her current understanding of the language.

While she was going fast with the lessons with Altuos, she was pretty far from actually being actually able of understanding any document as difficult as the one in her hands.

Yet the sense of it seemed to strike her as her curious look was replaced with a minor… scowl.

"That's silly. You're the king," Mya muttered with some determination. "And… Arthur is dumb?"

...My god, that was utter gold. The sheer loyalty displayed in that amusing sight was enough to bring me to smile at her pout.

"Seems like that, Mya," I replied with a sigh. "But now I've yet to think of a proper way to reply to this silly issue."

She blinked, tilting her head to the side as she seemed to ponder well about this instance and… she nodded.

"Tell him he's dumb?"

There is something cute in that savage response, enough to warrant a chuckle. The noise managed to finally attract the attention from the bickering trio, with the Commander snorting in amusement at the suggestion.

"I would do that and much more," Marcus answered gleefully. "Especially with that all-white wizard on their fold. Perhaps you've some ways to chide people trying to emulate your style, Bishop?"

"As if I would recognize the attempt of such a scoundrel as part of our religious order," Felicianus rebuked with a huff. "White is the symbol of purity. Like the hair of fair maiden Myasviel."

The girl giggled at the compliment, and my smile twitched at remembering the aftermath of getting caught sleeping by the garden with her by Bishop.

The man's shock had melted at the various guarantees advanced by both me and Altuos, enough to see any bad escalations turned into something far odder and kind of worrying on the long-term.

'Marriage is the solution.'

The religious elder had been clear about it, and quite 'subtle' in coaxing the innocent young woman in taking some steps over the holy union.

Subtle wasn't exactly Felicianus' forte, and the resulting instances merely saw an increase of personal contact with a giddy Mya, from hugs to trying to fall asleep with me nearby.

To her this was all a reason to just deepen and broaden our friendship, but I was perfectly aware that the situation was a little more than that and thus had to keep an eye for any strange behaviors from both.

"I assume that your highness has already thought over this matter," Altuos piped in with some curiosity. "I reckon that you've been quiet for some time before Mya's arrival. Maybe you can offer us any suggestions to solve this quandary?"

I blinked at being brought in that conversation already, but understanding why I needed to offer an input now that I had been called in.

I sighed, I gave a simple glance at all of them and… I spoke.

"We go there and I tell him no," I muttered with a serious voice, slowly turning my attention at the girl. "And then I tell Arthur he's dumb."

Her victorious smile lightened up the world once more as I turned back to the three advisors.

"It wouldn't be prudent to… go there, your highness."

"I think it would actually work well if I did, Altuos," I rebuked calmly. "In fact, I think I can avoid a war if I go there to directly refuse the claim. If I play my cards carefully-"

"You will still need some backing, my liege," Felicianus jumped in with a nod. "I humbly offer my service to aid you in this diplomatic endeavor."

I hummed while thinking over this possibility. Having the Church by my side would be a huge boost to my legitimacy, especially since Arthur wasn't a believer of Christianity despite some authors proclaiming so.

The fellow mentioned gods, more than just a deity, and that confirmed the fact that he was well away from converting to the religion.

While the Roman Empire was no more, Christianity still had a big role in most of Western Europe, with the biggest exception being some of the territories in Proper Germany.

I gave him a nod. "I will accept your offer."

Just as I saw his smile at my confirmation, I noticed Altuos bowing his head. "I will hopefully be allowed to join this event too."

Another nod, I felt a tug by the other side as Mya gave me a questioning look.

"You want to come too?"

"I want to… be there," The young woman confessed slowly, but with undeterred determination.

I frowned at that, still unsure about having the girl leave the castle on such an important mission. Especially with the threat advanced by Merlin.

But then again, it would've been best to have her around to keep a closer eye on her. Thus I gave her an uneasy nod, which she took with a big smile.

"Of course I will be there too, Kingly-"

"You're… actually staying at the castle, Commander," I interjected with a mix of seriousness and amusement, as soon I was happily basking in the shocked expression displayed by the man. "Since one of the main leaders of the military has to stay behind, I think you will enjoy some days here to keep track of the situation here in Londinium while I'm not there to maintain my regular role."

He frowned. "That's- I thought- but-"

"I will have Lancelot to be my guard during our time away," I continued with a tiny smirk. "So you will have nothing to worry about."

"But what about the wizard? I want a piece of that ba-" He stopped as he realized that Mya was staring at him with some attention. "That stupid moron."

"Well sadly, you can't be there to do that," I responded with a sigh. "But I can assure you that I've some plans to return the favor to the Flower-guy."

"Can you at least tell me how you plan to take revenge on him?" He asked dryly, to which I nodded and gestured him to come closer.

As he was close enough, I started to whisper him what I planned to try if Merlin ever ended up getting too close to either me or Mya.

Something something sword. Something something rear.

The swift whispering seemed to garner some amusement from the Commander, the man nodded eagerly at the mental sight created by the careful words used to depict the 'fair' torture I had in mind to exact on the white-dressed prick.

With everyone agreeing with my mission, I found myself entertained by a single thought for the rest of the day.

A thought that had come up by utter imagination and a sense of vengefulness.

I wonder how it would feel to bitch-slap King Arthur.