Chapter 15: Your Poker Game with Guinevere Has Been Discovered

Chapter 15: Your Poker Game with Guinevere Has Been Discovered

You met the masked knight who joined the Knights of the Round Table on the recommendation of Morgan le Fay Pendragon. Bedivere told you his name was Mordred, but for some reason, he never took off his helmet. However, it's undeniable that his bravery is worthy of the name of a Knight of the Round Table, and his swordsmanship is astonishingly skillful. You chuckled: Perhaps she is a great beauty as well. Bedivere, who rarely joked, replied softly: Perhaps there is such a possibility. You laughed along, but your mood sank.

Then Bedivere introduced you to Tristan, the only member of the Knights of the Round Table you had not yet met. He is the son of King Mark of Cornwall and the top archer of the Round Table. You observed this handsome knight from a distance and asked: Why does Sir Tristan always walk with his eyes closed, isn't he afraid of tripping? Bedivere regained his usual seriousness and solemnly told you that he is simply grieving for this kingdom, grieving for this tragic era, and that is something to be respected. You nodded, your expression becoming serious as a sign of respect.

But in your heart, you lamented: Aside from Bedivere, everyone around King Arthur is such an oddity... Your life returned to normal. Yet King Arthur remained busy. The petty king Vortigern was defeated, but the future of Britain was still bleak. Because the lives of the people had not improved at all. You grew a year older.

This year was another year of poor harvests, the bounty from the forests had decreased again, and it was no longer possible to share the forests with the other tribes. You watched King Arthur worry about food, thankfully Sir Lancelot of the Lake had brought some from abroad. You grew another year older.

One day, King Arthur dismissed her attendants and came to you. She showed you her most genuine side again, an expression of deep fatigue from the bottom of her heart. In her hands, she held a brand new weapon - Rhongomyniad. She handed it to you without reservation and revealed the secret of this spear. You learned about the anchor of the world.

Afterward, King Arthur told you about the decline of the Age of Gods and the words she hesitated to say during your last conversation. You asked her what it was. She answered with the words left by the dying Vortigern: Britain will be destroyed, but do not grieve, for you will not see the end of Britain, but die by Britain's hand. She said that aside from you, only she and Gawain, who was present at the time, knew this.

You asked her why she didn't say it at the time but chose to tell you now. She replied: "This year is still a year of poor harvests, and next year will only be worse. Now that the wars have lessened, the people will be happy, but there are also many dissatisfactions. Because among the knights, there are those who have developed selfish desires, telling me that the reason they followed me with the determination to die in expelling the foreigners was to live a life of luxury." "I have punished some, and now there are those who oppose me, alienated from me." "My teacher told me that I must endure all this, or I could trample everything underfoot and reign supreme, because all this was destined from the beginning. The more I suffer, the richer the country will become. How can such a thing be?"

You looked at Artoria's troubled face and couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy. But Artoria quickly brushed off her fatigue and smiled again: "I am not afraid of suffering, and I am confident I can do well. Although I dare not say immediately, I will definitely make this island a rich and beautiful country, not inferior to the legendary utopia of Avalon!" "So, I absolutely do not acknowledge Vortigern's prophecy!" Saying this, Artoria stood in front of you, proud as a newlywed wife who had prepared her first meal waiting for absolute praise, her chest puffed out with pride.

For some reason, you also felt proud and even a little excited. You placed your hands firmly on her shoulders, looked into her eyes, and said word by word: "You are the best king!" Artoria laughed happily again. She regained her energy and immediately threw herself back into her busy work.

After she left, Bedivere came over with a look of reproach and surprise. You asked him what you had done wrong. He calmly replied: "The king has gone another day and night without rest. I had hoped she would sleep after talking with you." You felt sympathy for the king once more.

After that, Artoria, as if maintaining a habit, would have such conversations with you every few months. Seven years passed in a blink. You were truly soulmates, and only occasionally, in the quiet of the night, would you take out the two letters King Arthur had written to you and read them again.

During these seven years. King Arthur fought many battles and was victorious in all, hailed as the undefeated God of War and the King of Knights. The entire British Isles were unified under her rule. But more knights left her service, saying, "That king only sees us as pawns," and "A king who can handle everything on her own cannot possibly see us as fellow humans." You even overheard a Round Table knight whisper, "The king does not understand the human heart," before leaving.

Even so, despite being alienated, feared, and betrayed, she remained meticulous. However, the frequency of her visits to you decreased, and although she still showed her vulnerable side in front of you, you could feel that the subjects were isolating the king, and the king was isolating herself. Because this island seemed to be opposing the king, the people could never become prosperous. Not to mention prosperous, food still had to be bought from abroad, even though the land was expanding, but what came in return was one foreign invasion after another.

The king, helpless, sent people to search for the Holy Grail, hoping to use a miracle to save the country. But no one returned with the Holy Grail. On this day, King Arthur announced her intention to launch a campaign against Rome, preparing to set out with a large army soon. It was also on this day that your poker game with Guinevere was discovered.

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