"This messenger was sent by my sister's future father-in-law?"
Listening to Lot's thoughts, Morgan was surprised.
She had been wondering where Guinevere came from.
And now, the girl's father had come looking for them.
Morgan glanced at Artoria, who stood there nervously, and mused that some things truly came down to fate.
King Leodegrance had sent his request and it had naturally fallen to Artoria to deliver it.
Not only was the name awkward to pronounce, but few even knew of him.
But mention his daughter, Guinevere, and suddenly everyone recognized it.
After all, as King Arthur's wife and the one who ultimately led to his downfall and the dissolution of the Round Table her name was infamous.
Now, his messenger had arrived.
"Hand me the letter," he said to Artoria.
Artoria passed the letter over.
Lot took it, and Morgan, curious, tilted her head, resting it against his arm as she read along.
The contents were brief.
Mainly, a plea for help.
His lands were being seized by King Rience.
He was losing the fight.
"Considering how respectfully I've always treated Camelot, please lend me a hand!"
"If you help me, I will repay you tenfold."
[Damn, how's he gonna repay us? In the original history, he married his daughter to Artoria and even threw in a giant Round Table that could seat 150 people. But now? We can't just march all the way there and come back with a big table. That's not just a bad deal that's financial suicide.]
[War is expensive. You only fight if there's profit in it. Even if we help, we need to make sure it's worth our while. A leader can't afford to be too generous. If you're willing to submit, big brother will take care of you.]
Morgan nodded in agreement.
But then she frowned.
What's this big brother he's talking about?
And a Round Table really?
Meanwhile, Lot continued thinking:
[I'll have to squeeze that messenger for all he's worth. This is a great chance to expand into Scotland, but I'm not about to be dragged into a losing battle.]
Hey, isn't outright extortion a bit too un-knightly?
Morgan mentally complained.
Then, she turned to Artoria.
"Bring the messenger in."
Artoria nodded and promptly fetched the messenger.
When he arrived, Morgan cut straight to the point.
"King Leodegrance sent a plea for help. Is this all? Did he give you any other instructions?"
The messenger looked confused.
What else was there to say in a plea for help?
"You see, we've had no prior conflicts with King Rience. For us to suddenly oppose him"
The messenger stared at Morgan.
She leaned forward, her tone sharpening.
The messenger was even more lost now.
"For example, how much land, gold, or other valuables is your king willing to offer as compensation?"
"But… the Code of Chivalry dictates "
The messenger stammered.
Artoria, too, looked like she wanted to speak up.
Shouldn't protecting the weak be a knight's duty?
Morgan shot Artoria a glare before turning back to the messenger with a shameless grin.
"True, that's what chivalry says. But I'm not a knight. So none of that applies to me."
Having said that, she glanced at Lot. I know what you want to say.
But some words shouldn't come from you.
You're a knight one who's supposed to be Britain's moral paragon.
The dirty work? That's my job.
Seeing the look in Morgan's eyes, Lot couldn't help but smile.
[This silly wife of mine actually guessed I wanted to extort them. Was I that obvious?]
Who are you calling silly?
Morgan mentally added another black mark to Lot's record.
The messenger, seeing that Lot didn't refute Morgan's words, could only sigh and say he'd relay the terms to his king before retreating.
Lot and Morgan exchanged a smirk.
Then, in unison, they turned to Artoria.
"Good. Inform the army we're mobilizing."
This time, it was Artoria's turn to be baffled.
Weren't you just refusing a moment ago?
She felt completely out of sync with these two.
This is so frustrating.
Equally frustrated was a certain Lancelot.
Like Merlin, he'd been forcibly dragged into the army.
Lancelot had once asked Lot why he was being made to march with them.
Lot had merely thought for a moment before replying:
"You're for the sacrificial flag-raising ceremony."
Is this some British custom?
Are you people that terrifying?
From then on, Lancelot was convinced his position in the army was only slightly above emergency rations.
But that wasn't the worst of it.
The real torture was that his caretaker was none other than
And how did Galahad "care" for him?
merely surviving each day was a miracle.
Just as he was thinking this, Galahad appeared, holding out a plate of food.
Lancelot glanced at the moonlit sky.
If it had been anyone else sent to recruit me, I'd have surrendered ages ago.
Taking the food, he took a bite.
Admittedly, though Lancelot disliked how Lot and Morgan treated him, the food here was excellent far better than anything in France.
Back home, people always said British cuisine was terrible, incomparable to France's.
Britain's food is way better.
"Look, if you're going to kill me, just stab me. Don't torture me ."
Lancelot spoke between bites.
"I won't lay a hand on you."
Galahad replied solemnly.
"Then what's the point? You won't kill me, won't release me what do you want?"
Galahad hesitated, searching for words.
At that moment, Artoria arrived, informing them of the mobilization to aid King Leodegrance.
After hearing her out,
Galahad turned to Lancelot.
"Hey, what are you why are you tightening the ropes?!"