Chapter 47: North Wales -12-

North Wales was originally a kingdom pacified by Lancer through sheer force.

Because of this, the local nobles who had previously governed the land outwardly obeyed Lancer, while secretly waiting for any opportunity to weaken the king’s power and reclaim their own interests.

They had been the same way during Rience's reign. Rience, like Lancer, had been a king who ruled by might rather than tradition.

Since the era of Roman Britain, the island had been plagued by continuous internal warfare, leaving most kingdoms with almost no dynastic legitimacy to speak of.

Of course, there were a few dynasties with genuine tradition—such as those in Wales, Orkney, and Cornwall.

The prime example was the House Pendragon. "Pendragon" was originally a title granted to the rulers of Britain; though the names changed over time, the bloodline of the Artorias was destined to be born as the rulers of the land.

Few truly understood the nuances of this lineage; most simply recognized the overwhelming prestige of the House Pendragon.

Furthermore, the House served as the head of a confederation of nations on the island of Britain, rather than a fully unified dynasty.

Consequently, the long-standing traditional nobility in various regions did not particularly welcome the royal family. They only acknowledged those with established legitimacy, such as the Fisher King of Wales or King Lot of Orkney.

North Wales was different. While Wales had a relatively large fairy population and a lineage protected by the Fisher King for generations...

North Wales was a place where the monarch and the seat of power shifted constantly due to invasions by the Irish and the Picts.

Because of this, the nobles loathed royal authority. Whether it was Rience or anyone else, they never knew when the king might change. Even if the current reign persisted, Lancer was nothing more than an outsider to them.

Still, since he carried the Pendragon blood and had achieved feats like defeating Galehaut, King of the Irish Isles, his capabilities as a ruler were superior to Rience's. Thus, they tolerated him to a reasonable degree.

In the eyes of these nobles, Kay—a man of unknown origin who had suddenly appeared and seized the actual power of the royal castle—was both a thorn in their side and an easy target.

"I hear he's nothing more than a vulgar cook from Tintagel."

"They say Her Majesty the Queen is completely bewitched by him. Moreover, he keeps a harem of wanton women and spends every night indulging in debauchery."

"Tsk. Her Majesty's perfect reason has clouded. We must expose that low-born wretch's true nature and open her eyes."

In their secret meetings, the nobles branded Kay as a sycophant who lusted after women and craved power far beyond his station.

News that Kay had defeated Taquin had spread long ago, but most either refused to believe it or simply dismissed Taquin as weak.

This was because Kay was a Saxon. While the Saxons were feared elsewhere, they had caused almost no damage in the North or North Wales.

The primary enemies of North Wales were the Irish and the Picts. In the North, the Picts and other neighboring states kept the Saxons at bay, meaning the locals only fought the Picts or the kingdoms of Norway and Denmark.

To them, the Saxons were merely numerous, annoying barbarians.

It was a perspective typical of nobles who had never actually stepped onto a battlefield.

A few days later, during a regular assembly at the royal castle.

Duke Bol, the leader of the regional nobles, strode forward with an arrogant gait to block Kay's path. Kay happened to be wearing a mud-stained apron, having just been checking the quality of the carrots for lunch.

"Greetings, Sir Kay. Or should I call you 'Chef'?"

Duke Bol fluttered his fan, a blatant sneer on his face.

"I am well aware that you enjoy Her Majesty's favor, but the politics of North Wales is an art on an entirely different level than waving a ladle in a kitchen. For one without noble blood or philosophical grounding to interfere in state affairs is..."

"Ah, sorry about that, Duke."

Kay interrupted him, casually flicking dirt off a carrot.

"I've already got the fire going for the carrot soup, and it has to be ready by noon. If you're going to spout useless drivel, do it later. If the soup boils over, Lancer gets cranky."

"Wha—what?!"

Ignoring the duke entirely, Kay walked right past him, carrying his basket of carrots. The nobles stared at his retreating back with stunned expressions. It wasn't just a snub; it was complete and utter indifference.

"That... that low-born piece of...!"

Just as Duke Bol's face turned red and he prepared to raise his voice...

Crack!

The marble floor beneath the duke's feet suddenly began to splinter.

A murderous aura, sharp enough to tear through his neck, washed over him from behind. As the duke stiffly turned his head, he found two women standing there, having appeared without a sound.

Lancer and Alter.

The eyes of the two Pendragon sisters flashed with a fierce intensity, as if they were ready to devour the duke alive.

"...Duke Bol, shall I rip out that mouth you just used to bark at my brother?"

Lancer's emerald pupils had lost their light, turning as cold as an abyss. The elegant queen was gone; in her place stood a dragon whose reverse scale had been touched.

"Y-Your Majesty! This is a misunderstanding! I was merely suggesting that this man of unknown origin should not—!"

"This pig really has a death wish."

Alter drew her sword and pressed the edge against the duke's throat. The cold blade bit shallowly into his skin, and a thin line of blood began to seep out.

"My brother is the noblest man in existence. His name is not something a swine like you can casually toss around with your tongue. Shall I rip it out and feed it to the pigs right now?"

"Hieeeek...!!"

"My brother went to cook in a good mood today, so I will let you leave for now. But there will be no next time."

Lancer restrained Alter's hand and looked down at the duke, issuing a dismissal that sounded more like a death sentence.

Duke Bol and the other nobles scrambled away, nearly wetting themselves in terror. However, their stupidity did not end there.

'Force won't work. The Queen is completely brainwashed by that man. In that case... I must use his lust for women against him!'

Foolishly, Duke Bol became convinced that the reason so many beauties surrounded Kay was due to his own debauchery. In reality, it was the women who were obsessively clinging to Kay.

That night.

In a secluded corridor as Kay returned to his chambers alone.

"Ah... please help me, Sir Knight..."

In a dark corner of the hallway, a woman lay collapsed under the moonlight.

She was a high-class courtesan and assassin secretly hired by Duke Bol, renowned for her beauty in North Wales.

Wearing a thin silk dress that left her cleavage exposed and drenched in an alluring perfume, she tearfully wiped her eyes with a fragile expression.

"Hmm? Who are you? A servant of the castle?"

As Kay approached, the assassin rejoiced inwardly and clung to his leg.

"Sob... I've sprained my ankle. Please, could you help me back to my room? I will repay your kindness with everything I have..."

She intentionally rubbed her ample chest against Kay's leg, looking up at him with seductive eyes. It was a perfect temptation that would turn any ordinary man into a beast.

Unfortunately for her, the man she clung to was Kay.

Kay looked down at her with a blank expression and sniffed the air.

"You've put on so much perfume it's giving me a headache. And why are you wearing such thin clothes? Are you trying to catch a cold?"

"What? Ah, no, it's just... it was so hot... haah, if you held me, I'd feel much warmer..."

As Elara continued her desperate attempts at seduction, Kay scowled deeply.

"If you're hot, drink some cold water. Also, you're not my type. You're way too scrawny. A woman should eat plenty of meat and be sturdy and healthy, like my girls. This won't do. Go to the kitchen, have a bowl of meat soup, and then head to the infirmary."

"Excuse me?!"

Treating the seductive assassin like a malnourished stray cat, Kay shrugged off her arm and continued on his way.

She froze in place, mouth agape, consumed by a mixture of humiliation and absurdity.

Suddenly, a bone-chilling cold began to flood the dark corridor where she stood alone.

Sss...

"My, my. I wonder which gutter rat thought they could steal our shining sun?"

A sweet yet spine-chilling voice echoed from behind her.

The moment she turned around, she was seized by a terror so absolute she nearly fainted.

At the end of the moonlit corridor.

Tamamo-no-Mae stood with her fox ears twitching, toyed with a talisman.

Jeanne d’Arc Alter smiled savagely, black flames erupting from her dark banner.

And Medusa, her blindfold removed, coldly spun her chain-spike.

The assassin who had targeted Kay was now surrounded by monsters who loved him with a blind, obsessive passion.

"How dare you stain Master's clothes with that filthy smell of cosmetics? What an insolent woman."

Jeanne Alter snarled, breathing out black flames.

"Hieeeek! P-Please save me! I was only following Duke Bol's orders...!"

"Oh? You're quite the honest one, spilling the name of your employer so easily."

Medusa whispered coldly as her chain tightened around the woman's neck.

"Then, be sure to tell that foolish duke exactly what the price is for daring to test our Master."

That night, at the massive estate of Duke Bol on the outskirts of North Wales.

The duke was sipping wine, eagerly waiting for the assassin to bring back news of a scandal involving Kay.

BOOM!!!!

Suddenly, the mansion's great front gate was blown to smithereens as if hit by a cannon.

"W-What is happening?!"

When the terrified duke rushed outside, he found dozens of his private soldiers lying in pools of blood across the garden.

And through the shattered ruins of the gate, two women walked in, backlit by a crimson moon.

Alter, clutching a black holy sword in one hand.

Lancer, holding a radiant holy spear in the other.

"Y-Your Majesty?! And Princess Alter, what on earth brings you here at this hour...!"

Duke Bol turned pale and collapsed to his knees.

At Lancer's feet lay the assassin, bound tightly and foaming at the mouth, unconscious.

"Duke Bol."

Lancer's voice was as quiet and cold as the silence before a storm.

"I am told you dared to send a vulgar whore to insult my beloved partner and the true master of North Wales, my brother."

"I-It's a misunderstanding!! I never...!"

"Save your excuses for hell, you pig. The mere fact that your filthy stench brushed against my brother's clothes is enough reason to burn your entire fief to the ground."

Alter lightly raised her holy sword.

Black magical energy condensed, and a wing of the mansion was sliced away as cleanly as a block of tofu. The duke let out a piercing scream and threw himself flat on the ground.

"Spare me... please spare me, Your Majesty!! I was mad!! I'll return all my wealth and lands, just spare my life!!"

The duke wailed, slamming his head against the floor.

Lancer lifted the duke's chin with the tip of her spear, her eyes like shards of ice.

"My brother dislikes seeing unnecessary blood at the dinner table. Therefore, I shall spare your life."

Behind Lancer, Tamamo appeared with a sway of her tail, throwing dozens of ledgers directly into the duke's face.

"Instead, this Tamamo has perfectly reclaimed all of your illegal assets and lands for the royal treasury. From now on, you shall live as a commoner, tilling the fields and praising the greatness of my dear husband."

In a single night, every noble faction in North Wales that held animosity toward Kay was quite literally erased.

There were no political intrigues or negotiations. There was only the merciless hammer of overwhelming monsters enraged that someone had touched their man.

It was the quintessential Briton solution: might is right, and might is everything.

The next morning.

Kay emerged from the kitchen humming a tune, carrying a frying pan.

However, in the castle courtyard, he found Duke Bol and dozens of former nobles kneeling and trembling, dressed in rags like beggars.

"What's with them? Why are those folks over there crying?"

As Kay asked in confusion, Lancer and Alter, clinging tightly to his sides, replied with smiles as bright as angels.

"Oh, they realized the greatness of the meal you prepared last night, brother, and are currently atoning by willingly renouncing all their privileges."

"That's right. They're just shedding tears of emotion because your cooking was so delicious, so don't worry about it. Now, what's for breakfast today?"

"...Really? Well, I'm glad it suited their taste."

Kay tilted his head, but he smiled and patted his sisters' heads as he headed toward the dining hall.

It was typical of Kay to be completely indifferent and ignorant of politics; to him, the only thing that mattered was making a delicious meal for the girls.

The nobles left behind watched his retreating back, engraving the terrifying truth into their souls: the true ruler of this land was the man who had tamed those monsters.

And so, a distorted yet perfectly stable peace, with Kay at the apex, descended upon North Wales.

Meanwhile.

The messengers Lancer had sent.

The couriers, among the most skilled in North Wales and riding the finest horses, each reached their respective destinations.

The Wild Hunt, a mercenary band currently touring the North.

"Is this truly a fact?"

"It is! The Lion King herself has guaranteed it!"

"I see... I feel a certain regret, yet I am reassured. Tell them I shall visit soon."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Lancer Alter, captain of the Wild Hunt, gave her answer, and immediately changed her next destination to North Wales.

Meanwhile, the messenger headed for Arthur's army.

That messenger was ambushed by a young knight of Arthur's forces.

"Guh... why...?"

The messenger died instantly, his chest pierced. Standing over the corpse was a girl smiling brightly.

"Mission complete!"

[“Ah, good work~”]

A parrot flew down in front of the girl.

[“If the message had reached Artoria, things would have become a nuisance. We're about to found a new nation, Logres, and build the capital, Camelot. We can't have any unnecessary distractions.”]

"Exactly! The King is preparing for a great undertaking! But I wonder, what was the messenger trying to deliver?"

[“Nothing much~ Just that Kay has returned.”]

"Kay? Then that means... surely..."

[“Yes, the one who raised you as an infant—your nurse, Hippolyta? Someone like that.”]

"Ah~ the person you mentioned before. Then, is she my godmother?"

[“Technically, she was your godmother before I was.”]

"Hee... is that so?"

[“Yep, that's how it is.”]

"Hmm, but according to Merlin, she's a bad person, right? I don't really like the idea of a person like that being my godmother!"

Merlin.

He was not there. Around the time Kay returned from the Abyssal Realm, he had vanished. Since he had a long history of slacking off and disappearing, the army simply accepted it as usual.

And the girl standing before the parrot familiar was Gareth.

Thanks to being the child of a fairy and carrying the Pendragon bloodline, she had grown enough by age seven to look like she was in her early teens. Of course, only her early growth was accelerated; her lifespan remained that of a human.

After Kay disappeared, Gareth's upbringing had fallen entirely to Merlin. Artoria and Lily, exhausted by Kay's absence and the rigors of the expedition, found it difficult to care for her, and her brother Gawain had no choice but to leave her in Merlin's hands.

[“Now, let's wash your face before we go back. You need to wipe off the blood.”]

"Yes!"

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