Chapter 47: North Wales -2-

A modest but spirited banquet was held in Nogares Castle to celebrate the accession of the new king.

But I slipped out of the banquet hall early and headed for the office.

I had made a grand declaration about becoming emperor, but if I wanted to stabilize this barbaric territory at once and prepare for the next conquest, there was a mountain of work to do.

"First, let's revise the laws Rience used. We'll use traditional British law as the backbone, but we need to rebuild the administrative system too. Morgan, can you do it?"

"It won't be difficult. I'll have it perfectly organized and submitted within a few days."

"Merlin, send letters in my name to the Irish islands. Tell them Rience is dead, so if they crawl in on their own and kneel, I'll guarantee their lands. But if they refuse, let them know I'll smash them before I even move on North Galles."

"My, my, our little king. The scale of your threats is positively continental. Fine, I'll dress it up nicely and send it off."

"But which countries are they, exactly?"

"There are a number of small petty kingdoms starting with the Isles, but if we're talking about the major ones, there's King Anguisaunce's Kingdom of Munster. It's a great kingdom spanning southwestern and southern Ireland. His daughter, Princess Isolde, is especially rumored to be a beauty without equal. They say even King Rience coveted her."

Isolde. I never thought I'd hear that name here. I met Tristan not long ago too. Maybe fate really does exist.

"After losing to Rience, Munster became a vassal state. Then there's Ulster in northern Ireland, the homeland of the great hero Cu Chulainn. Though, well, it's a country past its prime now that the Age of Gods has ended. It was the first place on the Irish mainland to be conquered by Rience. And then there's Leinster, the fertile and prosperous kingdom of the east and southeast. Since it's mostly plains, it was easily ravaged by giants."

Ulster. That name sounds awfully familiar. But in an age where the heroes of the Age of Gods are gone, I suppose this outcome was inevitable.

"Lastly, there's Connacht, famous for Queen Medb. It's a rocky western kingdom of Ireland, and it's in an alliance with them."

"Then hasn't Ireland basically already been swallowed whole?"

"Not quite. There are a lot of minor kingdoms too, but most notably there's the Kingdom of Eden, sometimes identified with paradise itself, where the true entrance to paradise exists. Beyond that lies the Kingdom of Annwn, the Celtic underworld and the midpoint to Tir na nOg, the realm of fairies."

The Celtic underworld, huh. Thanks to Britain's influence, it probably still hasn't closed.

"And there's also Dál Riata, the maritime nation located in northeastern Ireland and northwestern Pictland. It's currently ruled by King Fergus Mór, and they say he's on terrible terms with King Lot of Orkney. Isn't that right, Morgan?"

"It is a nation of Gaels, after all. Though human, they are a warrior people who do not bow even to the Picts. You could call them the true descendants who carry on the Celtic bloodline."

The Kingdom of Eden and Dál Riata. More than that, I guess this really is a myth with the original source of the Holy Grail if it even has Eden in it.

This isn't even Christian mythology.

Maybe it was because the Middle Ages got so obsessed with religion that they stuffed religious elements into everything.

"Ah, as far as I know, the Kingdom of Eden is currently ruled by a usurping tyrant named Grandote. Because of that, it seems the fairy kingdom in Britain is paying very close attention to it."

"A fairy kingdom? There's a fairy kingdom?"

"Mm. You know there are many fairy clans, right? Among them is the golden land ruled by the Clan of Mirrors, governed by Fairy Queen Gloriana."

I've definitely heard that somewhere before. Ah, could that be Britomart's country?

This is complicated in all sorts of ways.

It might take more than ten years just to unify Britain. It isn't something that can be solved just by fighting.

If brute force could solve everything, then Lu Bu would have unified the Three Kingdoms.

Complicated, really complicated. And this is only the beginning.

Until late that night, I spread maps across the office desk and discussed affairs of state with Morgan, Merlin, and Artoria.

That night.

With days of marching and fierce battle piled on top of state business, my whole body ached.

"Ah, I'm seriously exhausted today. For once, I should get some proper rest by myself."

I cleaned up the dreary royal bedchamber Rience had used in my own style, then threw myself onto the soft bed.

Just as I was about to close my eyes, having resolved to put it off until tomorrow if the girls came sneaking in for a night visit—

Creak—

I heard the door open carefully.

"Who is it? I'm really tired today, so..."

The moment I started to lift my head, someone approached my bedside through the darkness, accompanied by a faint scent of magical energy.

Purple hair lit by the moonlight, and pale shoulders draped in a thin nightgown.

It was Medea.

"Huh? Medea? What brings you all the way to my room first?"

I sat up in no small surprise. Normally, no matter how much I flirted with her, she always kept a certain distance, and not once had she ever sought me out alone this late at night.

"......"

Without a word, Medea came to my bedside and, with an extremely careful motion, perched herself softly beside me.

A suffocating silence filled the room.

She kept her head lowered for a long while, then at last reached out with a trembling hand and laid her cold hand over the back of my much larger one.

"Medea?"

When I called her name in puzzlement, she slowly raised her head and met my eyes.

Her usually pale cheeks were flushed red beneath the moonlight.

Still gripping my hand tightly, she carefully yet firmly guided it over the thin fabric of her gown and brought it to her breast.

Squish.

"...Ah."

The full, soft feel of her breast came through the gown with perfect clarity.

I flinched in surprise and tried to pull my hand away, but she pressed it down with both of hers and refused to let go.

"Can you feel it?"

she whispered in a voice trembling badly, yet full of yearning.

At my fingertips, I could feel her soft flesh first—but beneath it, something was pounding like mad.

Thump, thump, thump.

The violent beating of a heart racing as if it might burst.

"...It's beating incredibly fast."

When I answered with a swallow, Medea stared straight into my eyes, bit her lip as if reproaching me, and yet looked unbearably lovely.

"Take responsibility, Arthur."

Moisture gathered at the corners of her eyes.

"You have to take responsibility for making a woman like me—practically an old married woman who's even had a child—feel like a foolish young girl again, with my heart racing like this."

Her desperate confession left me blank for a moment.

"Medea... have you fallen for me?"

Though she ducked her head in embarrassment, Medea nodded.

"Yes. I'll admit it. The moment that man's greatsword came crashing down toward my head... when you wrapped an arm around my waist and saved me in that brilliant golden light. From the instant I saw your dependable back then... my heart had already slipped beyond my control."

She gave a bitter smile.

"It was the first time in my life. The first time anyone risked their life to save me not as a tool or a chess piece, but as a woman worth protecting."

"What, that bastard Jason never once protected you like that?"

When I let out an incredulous laugh, Medea shook her head.

"That hypocrite only ever knew how to hide behind my Magecraft and suck out the sweetest parts. At first, I thought you strangely resembled Jason in your looks and your glib personality, so I deliberately kept more distance. I was afraid of getting hurt."

She pressed my hand firmly against her breast again and lifted her head.

"But... you're on a completely different level from that trash. Stronger, nobler, more dependable. At first, I thought a woman with a past like mine didn't suit a young and radiant king like you, so I tried to force it down and endure it... but I can't do it anymore. It feels like my heart will burst if I'm not by your side."

She had cast aside even the wounds of her past and her own inferiority, reaching out to me with nothing but this desperate love.

At that aching confession, I smiled faintly, withdrew the hand resting on her chest, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"I'm really happy."

I pulled her into my broad embrace and held her tight.

"So my iron-walled witch has finally started seeing me as a man. Do you know how hurt and frustrated I was every time you kept trying to draw a line between us over the past few years?"

Snug in my arms, Medea's body trembled.

I buried my nose in her purple hair and whispered gently by her ear.

"Then... will you stop running now and become my wife?"

At that direct yet sweet proposal, Medea looked up with tears shimmering in her eyes.

"Really... would a woman like me truly be all right? I'm the witch of betrayal people pointed fingers at, and I've even had a child...."

"The eyes of the world and your past aren't worth a speck of dust in the face of how much I love you."

To stop her anxious lips, I lowered my head without hesitation and captured her red lips in a kiss.

"Mm...!"

Medea's eyes flew wide open.

Her first kiss with me. It was on an entirely different level from the kisses she had shared with Jason in life.

A deep, intoxicating kiss filled with the fierce heat of a dragon, straight and unhesitating passion, and the tender affection of someone who truly cherished her.

"Haah... Arthur...."

Medea's body heated up in an instant as she wrapped her arms around my neck. Sweet moans spilled from her lips and echoed through the quiet bedchamber.

As I savored her lips, I slowly loosened the ties of the thin nightgown she was wearing with hands that were as careful and gentle as could be.

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