Munster Castle's office was, strangely enough, a place where order and tension coexisted.
The thick stone walls kept out most of the wind from outside, yet the late afternoon light seeping through the cracks of the windows softly tinted the air within the room.
The reddish sunlight stretched long beyond the castle walls, making the stacks of parchment, seals, and the rims of ink bottles on the desk gleam gold.
The damp scent of Munster's stone, the smell of old wooden furniture, and the sharp trace of freshly dried ink were all mingled together.
Arthur sat before that desk.
He turned the reports over one by one, narrowing his eyes as he checked the figures, sometimes tracing lines with his finger as he skimmed the contents.
On the battlefield, he was as bold and unrestrained as ever, but in front of administrative documents like these, he was unexpectedly serious.
If anything, he looked even more focused on this kind of work than on war. A faint smile spread across his lips as he read.
"This is better than I expected."
It was close to a mutter to himself, but everyone in the room understood what he meant.
"What do you mean?"
Anguishaus asked carefully.
He had been organizing the stack of reports beside Arthur, and perhaps because he still had not fully grown used to Arthur, there was still a trace of tension on his face.
Arthur set the report down on the desk. The sound of parchment touching wood rang out softly.
"The administration."
He glanced out the window once.
Below the castle walls, soldiers were making their rounds, and from farther away came the sound of wagon wheels scraping over stone roads, along with the faint bustle of the marketplace.
It was hard to believe this was a city that had bowed to King Rience. Munster was recovering its breath with remarkable speed.
"Until recently, Munster was still bearing the aftermath of war, but it's regaining stability faster than I expected."
Arthur's voice was calm, but there was unmistakable satisfaction in it.
At the very least, compared to Britain's administrative system, this was in far better shape. Hearing it explained had been stifling, but the actual process being carried out was decent enough.
After seeing Britain, this looked heavenly.
"The grain stores are well stocked, the soldiers are being paid properly, and public sentiment isn't as bad as I expected. Still..."
He tapped one part of the report with his finger.
"The tax system needs some work. It's too heavy on merchants and inefficient for farmers. If it stays like this, the city won't be able to breathe in the long run."
"I thought as much."
Morgan nodded. She was standing by the window with her arms crossed, and the red sunlight lit the side of her face, casting a muted shadow.
As she watched Arthur go through Munster's administrative records, she seemed to feel something both unfamiliar and familiar at once.
"Lords were always dull when it came to things like that."
At that, Merlin let out a small snort of laughter. She was leaning beside the desk. As always, her face was composed, but her eyes missed nothing around her.
"If it's you, Arthur, I feel like you're about to come up with another bizarre system."
"Bizarre system?"
Arthur arched a brow in displeasure.
"Everyone said the potato cultivation policy last time was bizarre too."
"They did. But everyone likes it now,"
Arthur shot back at once.
"Fair enough."
That was when it happened.
Knock knock.
The sound of knocking lightly split the air in the room. Everyone's gaze turned toward the door.
"Your Highness."
The door opened, and a knight entered. The moment he stepped inside, he immediately dropped to one knee and bowed his head.
"What is it?"
Arthur asked, leaning forward slightly.
"There are people outside the castle walls requesting an audience."
"Who are they?"
The knight's voice lowered further.
"They claim they have come under the orders of the Fairy Queen."
"The Fairy Queen?"
Morgan's eyes changed in an instant. She had been standing there as if unconcerned, but the moment that name came up, something subtle shifted in her expression.
Merlin, too, lost her playful smile and looked up into the air with a more serious gaze.
Arthur observed each of their reactions in turn, then curled his lips in interest.
"Interesting."
He slowly rose from his seat. Arthur seemed to enjoy the very fact that unexpected guests had arrived.
"Let's go."
As the castle gate slowly opened, the wind from outside surged in with the heavy sound of metal.
Dozens of knights first swept their eyes over the surroundings. Their attention was fixed on the figures outside the gate, their hands ready to draw their swords at any moment.
And there were two beings waiting for Arthur.
One was a woman.
The other was a bronze giant nearly two meters tall.
Its massive body was made of iron and bronze, with intricate joints visible at every connection. The metal surface, struck by sunlight, gave off the heavy sheen of a weapon from ancient legend.
The giant did not breathe, nor did it have pupils, yet its mere presence was overwhelming.
It looked like a guardian awakened from some ancient myth.
Arthur looked at it and smiled.
"So that's Talos."
There was less surprise than interest and curiosity in his voice.
The giant said nothing. It simply stood in silence behind the woman. It suited the phrase living weapon so well that even standing still, it seemed to crush the air around it.
By contrast, the woman gracefully dropped to one knee.
"It is an honor to meet you."
Her voice was clear and composed. It held both a firmness unshaken by the wind and a softness that respected the one before her.
"I am Britomart."
She spoke with her head bowed.
"I have come under the orders of Her Majesty, Queen Gloriana of the Fairies."
At that name, Morgan quietly spoke.
"Gloriana..."
Her voice was low, but it clearly carried the trace of memory. Like someone speaking aloud a name she had known long ago, or recalling an old landscape she had once forgotten.
Britomart raised her head.
"Do you know her?"
"Of course."
Morgan answered evenly. Her gaze drifted into the distance for a moment, then returned to Britomart.
"The queen who rules the Clan of Rain. The being who possesses the most prosperous realm among the fairy kingdoms. Cleopolis, the capital encircled by golden walls."
She spoke those names slowly, as if reciting them. Her tone was like someone retracing an old legend.
"And the Crystal Palace, Panthea. It truly brings back memories..."
Britomart's eyes shook wide. She swallowed, like someone who had finally heard a name she had long been waiting for.
"As I thought..."
She bowed deeply once more.
"So you were Lady Vivian."
At those words, Morgan let out a very faint sigh. That sigh held weariness, regret, and somewhere within it, an old wound.
"Do not call me by that name."
She turned her gaze slightly aside.
"I am one who abandoned the Clan of Rain. Nothing more than a fallen witch."
It was a self-deprecating statement, but at the same time, it was also an expression of long-held guilt toward herself.
But Britomart did not waver in the slightest. If anything, a deeper reverence appeared on her face.
"That is not true. Her Majesty always said this: 'The most beautiful fairy in Britain, the kindest, and the one who loved the people more than anyone.' That is who Lady Vivian is."
Morgan silently looked away. Ordinarily, she was proud and cold before anyone, but just now, that praise seemed to burden her instead.
Seeing that, Arthur let out a short laugh.
"Naturally. She's my sister. She deserves at least that much praise."
"A-Arthur..."
Morgan's face reddened slightly. She tried to maintain her usual composed manner, but his casual remark seemed only to fluster her more.
Then Merlin, who had been gazing into the distance, turned a somewhat serious expression toward Britomart.
"That should be enough greetings. How about we get to the point? I just used clairvoyance, just in case, and I saw something."
Britomart's expression hardened. She pressed her lips together for a moment, as if steadying herself to bring out words too heavy to speak. Even the air around them seemed to fall silent.
Only the sound of the wind before the gate and the faint clink of soldiers' armor could be heard.
After a brief silence, she quietly opened her mouth.
"Yes... it is not good news."
At once, the air around them grew heavier still. Arthur's expression remained calm, but the others had already sensed that this was no ordinary matter.
"The Kingdom of Eden... has fallen."
Anguishaus's eyes shook. He unconsciously took a step forward, then stopped himself. The Kingdom of Eden was a place that meant more than merely another nation.
Its collapse meant the balance of all Britain and Ireland would be shaken.
Britomart continued slowly.
"Grandot. He has joined hands with Twrch Trwyth."
Whenever she spoke that name, there was the faintest trace of anger and disgust in her voice. Her tone was not that of speaking of a mere enemy, but of something that destroyed order and defiled what was sacred.
"And... Artegall, the champion of justice who marched with us under Lady Gloriana's command... was slain. We came fully prepared to overthrow the tyrant, but we were defeated."
A quiet silence followed, and Anguishaus carefully asked,
"...Then what of Elena, Queen of Eden?"
Britomart immediately raised her head.
"She is safe. Her ministers risked their lives to send her into the fairy kingdom. She is currently under protection in Cleopolis."
She drew a breath again and went on.
"We marched out to stop Grandot, but..."
If there was any mercy in this misfortune, it was that the rightful queen of the Kingdom of Eden had at least survived.
"Please, King of Britain. Help us."
The surroundings were silent. It was a stillness so deep that even the soldiers' breathing and the distant flutter of banners seemed to have stopped.
Everyone was waiting for Arthur's answer. What judgment he would make, where the tide of this war would turn next—no one could easily predict it.
After a moment of silence, Arthur slowly raised the corner of his mouth.
"Very well."
There was no fear in that smile.
"In that case, I'll make the Kingdom of Eden my territory first."
"...What?"
Britomart's eyes flew wide. For an instant, she looked as if she doubted whether she had heard him correctly.
But Arthur was utterly composed. Like a man merely stating the natural course of events, he continued without the slightest hesitation.
"Don't worry. I'll kill Grandot. After that, I'll negotiate with Queen Elena and make Eden a vassal state of Britain."
He turned away just like that. The wind before the gate lightly stirred the hem of his cloak.
"Lead the way. It's about time we started a new war."
Britomart stared blankly at his back.
At first, she had thought him an arrogant conqueror for a moment. A man who spoke of war too easily, who said too easily that he would make another country his own.
But looking at his back now, that thought strangely failed to linger.
That back looked impossibly steadfast.
Like the back of someone who would never stop, no matter what chaos or despair stood before him.
Britomart swallowed without realizing it.
Truly...
If it were truly this man...
A strange sense of trust was slowly taking root in her heart, the feeling that he might actually be able to do it.
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