"Good grief, we ca here in good faith to fight for him, and now he has the gall to try poaching my finest general!? That old bastard is truly despicable."
Morgan and Lot, having witnessed Artoria being summoned by Guinevere's father, wordlessly decided to eavesdrop on the conversation.
As for their eavesdropping thods...
Morgan was, after all, an exceptionally skilled magus.
Listening in on a few people's conversation was child's play for her.
As for Lot...
Well, he had to rely on Morgan's relayed account.
Upon hearing King Leodegrance propose that Artoria marry Guinevere and inherit his throne, Morgan clenched her fists in fury.
She nearly burst in right then and there to deliver a solid punch to King Leodegrance's face.
"Hmph, absolutely."
Lot nodded in agreent.
Though inwardly, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt:
[Though, if we consider what we're demanding from him, King Leodegrance rely trying to poach soone is practically him being considerate of our alliance.]
Morgan also guiltily rubbed her nose.
Yes, their demands were a bit excessive.
The requests for gold, armor, and weapons were relatively minor after all, those could be replenished.
The most ruthless condition Morgan and Lot had imposed was regarding their "alliance" with King Leodegrance.
No, to be precise, it wasn't an alliance it was a relationship of overlord and subordinate.
Not quite to the level of the Soviet Union's control over its satellites, but at least comparable to a certain Beautiful Country's grip on its allies.
In major strategic matters, Leodegrance would have to follow Morgan and Lot's lead.
So, from that perspective, King Leodegrance trying to recruit Artoria wasn't just understandable it was downright justified.
In fact, if Artoria were rely one of Morgan's ordinary court officials, having her beco the next King of Leodegrance would be a fantastic deal.
It'd make controlling the region even easier.
But
That was only if Artoria were just a court official.
Who had Guinevere set her sights on?
None other than Morgan's one and only little sister, Lot's one and only sister-in-law.
She was far too important to Morgan to just hand over for marriage to so princess!
Morgan would never allow such a thing.
Besides
Even if Morgan were willing, Artoria was physically incapable!
Guinevere was attracted to the male Artoria, not the female one.
If the two were together, the truth would inevitably co out.
And that would spell tragedy for everyone involved.
Morgan elbowed Lot.
"Anyway, we need to find a way to retaliate. Hmph, how dare he lay hands on my people!"
"Absolutely."
Lot nodded solemnly.
Damn that Leodegrance, how dare he target soone under my protection!?
As the two conspired, Artoria ca rushing out of the room in near-panic.
"So terrifying..."
She muttered to herself as she erged.
Marriage was sothing she had never considered.
As she spoke, she noticed two pairs of eyes gleaming at her from the shadows.
Her heart lurched.
Instinctively, her hand flew to the hilt of Excalibur.
But then she recognized the figures.
Lot and Morgan.
Realizing it was them, Artoria exhaled in relief
Only to imdiately tense up again.
If they had been enemies, assassins, or even ghosts, she wouldn't have batted an eye as a valiant knight, she feared no such things.
But the way Lot and Her Majesty Morgan were staring at her...
Did it an...
They already knew about what had just happened?
Though she had firmly refused King Leodegrance's proposal, the fact that she'd even entertained a private discussion with him might anger Morgan.
And the consequences of Morgan's anger...
Were exceptionally severe, as far as Artoria was concerned.
However
Instead of an enraged outburst, what greeted her was Morgan's radiant smile.
"Knight Artoria, you've done well."
Morgan was, of course, overjoyed.
Her little sister had stood firm on her side.
She hadn't succumbed to King Leodegrance's temptations.
Morgan was sorely tempted to pat Artoria's head in praise.
But given Artoria's current male guise, she held back.
She certainly wasn't about to let Lot do it either.
Morgan shot a glare at Lot.
"R-Really?"
Even so, Artoria was overjoyed. She bowed deeply.
"Your Majesty, please rest assured I would never betray you or Lord Lot."
"Oh? Not even if rlin ordered you to?"
Morgan pressed further.
Lot had ntioned that if Artoria married Guinevere, she'd gain a hundred and fifty knights a formidable force. If rlin got his hands on that, it'd pose a serious threat to her regi.
"Correct. Not even Teacher rlin."
Artoria was no obedient student who blindly followed her teacher's words.
She had her own principles.
And she never wavered on them.
"Good. Very good."
Morgan's smile widened.
As long as Artoria remained steadfast, neither Leodegrance's sches nor rlin's machinations would amount to anything.
This, she supposed, was what Lot called
"Grasping the root of the matter."
"I'll rember this. When we return, you will be rewarded."
She declared firmly.
"Truly!?"
Artoria's eyes sparkled with excitent.
"Truly."
Morgan's words were full of encouragent.
Artoria left in high spirits, and Morgan and Lot soon followed.
All that remained in the room was a deeply troubled King Leodegrance and a heartbroken Guinevere.
"My daughter, that Knight Artoria is far too loyal to Lot. Poaching him won't be easy..."
King Leodegrance sighed.
Guinevere looked at him in disbelief.
"Father... am I not beautiful enough?"
"What nonsense is this!?"
Leodegrance imdiately refuted.
"You are the most beautiful maiden in all of Britain! No one would dare claim otherwise!"
And this wasn't just paternal bias Guinevere's beauty was undeniable.
Even Morgan and the others couldn't dispute it.
Which made Artoria's rejection all the more baffling.
His daughter was peerlessly beautiful, his wealth vast, his offer sincere
So why had she refused?
King Leodegrance was utterly perplexed.
He couldn't fathom any reason for Artoria's decision.
With no other recourse, he turned to Guinevere.
"Perhaps... you could consider soone else? I swear I'll find you a husband even more handso and powerful than him. How does that sound?"
"No. I won't accept anyone else. My heart is set on Artoria."
Guinevere planted her hands on her hips, resolute.
Her feelings for Artoria were absolute. Faced with her father's suggestion, she stood her ground unwaveringly.
"Then... I'll think of sothing..."
Seeing her determination, Leodegrance could only concede.
With a daughter like this, what else could he do?
But he would find a way.
Morgan and Lot returned to their chambers.
And Morgan imdiately set about "draining" Lot dry.
Not physically ntally.
She wanted to squeeze every last drop of his cunning.
This Artoria situation demanded a solution.
Narrowing her eyes, she murmured
"Should we formally protest to King Leodegrance tomorrow?"
"Protest? On what grounds? You can't exactly say you oppose your subordinates' advancent. Do that, and who'd ever pledge allegiance to us?"
Lot imdiately shot down the idea.
"True."
Morgan conceded.
"Then we'll keep a close eye on Artoria. Ensure she doesn't accept Leodegrance's offer."
"Agreed. The priority is solidifying Artoria's resolve."
Lot nodded.
[Though honestly, this isn't a major issue. Artoria isn't into won unless rlin pulls sothing, she won't agree. And Morgan's already warned her about rlin. So it should be fine.]
Morgan shared Lot's assessnt.
Still...
Sotis, precautions were necessary.
Morgan had already decided.
For the ti being, she'd keep rlin under close surveillance.
And to do that, she'd need to deploy her anti-rlin specialist
Lot.
Starting tomorrow, you're on rlin-watch duty.
That'd be safest.
anwhile, she'd keep an eye on Artoria.
But...
Those hundred and fifty knights...
So tempting...
Morgan practically drooled at the thought.
Eager to mine Lot's genius, she rested her chin on his chest and mused:
"Hey... If only Artoria were a man. Then we could let her marry Guinevere. We'd probably extort a fortune from Leodegrance too..."
"Yeah..."
The ntion of those hundred and fifty knights made Lot's heart ache.
The thought of losing them was painful.
In so ways, Morgan and Lot's minds were eerily aligned.
[Sigh... Even though they were never ours to begin with, this feels like a huge loss.]
Lot lanted inwardly.
Yeah, a huge loss. Think of sothing, damn it!
Morgan scread internally.
[Guinevere wouldn't settle for anyone else. Even Lancelot before learning Artoria was a woman couldn't make her stray.]
[To get those knights, we'd need Guinevere to willingly co with us. And for that, we'd need Artoria.]
[But Guinevere isn't into won...]
[This is hard...]
Yeah, it was a vicious cycle.
Lot gently stroked Morgan's hair as she nestled against him, tracing circles on his chest with her finger.
She knew he was frustrated by the ntal block.
So she comforted him.
Normally, she'd have chosen a... more vigorous thod.
But with Gawain in her belly, she had to restrain herself.
So this would have to do.
Not that Lot minded.
He held her close.
[Forget it. Let's sleep. If we can't get those knights, so be it. Sigh... Who'd have thought Guinevere would fall for the one female knight in the entire Round Table?]
Yeah, who'd have thought she'd fall for the one female knight...
Morgan echoed in her mind
Then froze.
Wait.
What if...
A brilliant idea struck.
Her eyes lit up.
"I've got it."
She declared.
"Huh? What?"
Lot blinked.
Realizing her slip, Morgan hastily covered her mouth.
"Heheh... Just wait. You'll see my plan in action soon."
She teased mysteriously.
"Then I'll look forward to it."
Whatever his wife's sche was, Lot would support it unconditionally.
"W-What did you say? Your Majesty Morgan, you want to join the Knights of the Round Table!?"
Guinevere pointed at herself, stunned.
"Indeed. Though I'm rely offering you the opportunity."
Morgan's smile was enigmatic.
"Think about it you'd be the first female Knight of the Round. My Knight Artoria adores fellow knights. This might just catch her attention..."
"The stronger you are, the more likely she'll notice you..."
Not that I'm promising anything.
I only said she might notice you.
My sister's as straight as they co.
Morgan smirked inwardly.
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