Upon hearing Arthur's words, the serpent-eyed man's smile froze instantly. He stared at the new king in disbelief, unable to hide the shock in his eyes.
He truly believed he had accounted for everything.
Every variable, every interest involved, every possible condition the other side might propose.
In his mind, that meeting had already been practically settled before it even began.
But unexpectedly…
This man wanted them to leave Britain permanently.
It wasn't a concession.
It wasn't a balanced negotiation.
It was an expulsion disguised as a choice.
Once they withdrew, launching another attack across the sea would become extremely difficult.
The routes would be long, supplies scarce, and the time required to reorganize their forces would be absurd.
This king… is far more intelligent than he imagined.
Or perhaps… far more dangerous.
Morgan stood to the side, silently observing the perplexed Saxon leader below. Her eyes carried a faint glint of amusement, and she could, to some extent, understand what he was feeling at that moment.
She knew Arthur enjoyed giving completely incomprehensible answers precisely when others were overflowing with confidence.
It was almost as if he fed on the collapse of others' expectations.
"Go and think it over carefully. Give me your answer before I change my mind." Arthur waved his hand dismissively, as if closing a trivial matter. "Escort them out."
The attendant immediately composed himself and turned to the three men.
"Please, come with me, gentlemen."
He spoke with great enthusiasm; this king perfectly matched what he had imagined… no, more precisely, Arthur's response had left him extremely excited.
Either you leave Britain…
Or you wait for us to force you out.
Even though it hadn't been said explicitly, that was exactly what Arthur intended to convey.
A clear, firm, and impossible-to-ignore threat.
Regardless of whether Vortigern was found or not, the foreigners had to leave Britain.
The three leaders looked grim, their faces hardened by conflicting thoughts. Even so, they could not afford to react at that moment.
So they simply nodded slightly.
"We will discuss this further."
After saying that, the serpent-eyed man turned and hurried out of the palace hall, his footsteps echoing across the stone floor.
His companions quickly followed behind him.
The hall, once filled with tension, fell silent again, as if everything had been nothing more than a fleeting illusion.
Arthur let out a long sigh of relief, relaxing his shoulders slightly.
"Good thing I trained a lot beforehand… otherwise, I really wouldn't have been able to keep that up."
His voice, now quieter, carried a trace of sincerity he hadn't shown before.
"You have remarkable skill," Morgan said with a satisfied smile she made no effort to hide. "To be honest, I wanted to kill them the moment they walked in."
"Morgan, your idea was dangerous from the start…" Arthur sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Although we'll have to drive them out sooner or later, we first need to clarify their intentions."
He paused briefly, glancing at her.
"It would be quite troubling… if you were the one ruling this kingdom—"
"Then why don't you lead it?" Morgan cut him off immediately. "I will assist you."
Arthur averted his gaze for a moment, as if he had expected that answer.
"I will return to the Land of Shadows in the future," he said.
"You still cannot go back, as I mentioned before. We need your help for now." Morgan sighed, crossing her arms helplessly. "Why are you so obsessed with the Land of Shadows?"
Arthur remained silent for a brief moment, as if organizing his thoughts.
"My master and Nessa helped me a great deal… I swore long ago that I would protect the Land of Shadows."
There was firmness in his voice.
That was a promise that would not be broken.
He then shook his head, pushing the subject aside.
"Compared to that, I'm more concerned about something else right now."
"You mean Vortigern?" Morgan asked, narrowing her eyes slightly.
Arthur nodded.
He had sensed that something was off from the moment the three Saxon leaders made their demands.
Vortigern was clearly British.
Even if he had led the Saxons in an invasion of Britain… he was still British.
So why?
Why were the Saxons so obsessed with this?
"Could it be that Vortigern is hiding some kind of secret?" Arthur asked thoughtfully.
"Aside from the blood of the White Dragon, he has no other secrets." Morgan Lefebvre shook her head. "Not just anyone can perfectly inherit the body of the White Dragon, and that should not be their objective."
Arthur frowned slightly.
"Then why…"
He hesitated for a moment.
"Did they discover that you imprisoned Vortigern?"
"Impossible." Morgan replied immediately. "I was extremely discreet back then. No one could have discovered that Vortigern was with me."
She paused, her gaze deepening.
"However… perhaps they have begun to suspect us."
"So what?" Morgan's tone became filled with confidence. "They were hostile forces from the beginning. Even if we don't hand over Vortigern, we still have the power to drive them out!"
She tilted her head slightly, as if a new idea had just occurred to her.
"However… perhaps we could consider returning that dying man to them."
Arthur's eyes widened slightly.
"Return Vortigern to the Saxons?! For what reason?"
She managed to capture Vortigern, and now she wanted to release him?!
This woman's way of thinking is truly incomprehensible.
"Do you think the reason the Saxons haven't invaded even a single inch of British territory is because they fear war… or perhaps because they are satisfied?" Morgan said in a low voice, slowly approaching before sitting beside Arthur.
"Neither of those options is correct." She shook her head. "They lack someone who can truly lead them."
Her eyes gleamed with cold understanding.
"Each of the Saxon tribes acts independently, like a pile of loose sand."
She then raised her hand and began idly playing with Arthur's hair.
"But it would be different if Vortigern returned. It may take some time… but little by little, the Saxons would unite under his leadership."
Arthur narrowed his eyes.
"Wouldn't that put us at an even greater disadvantage?"
"It has both advantages and disadvantages for us," Morgan continued calmly. "You are familiar with the tribes of Britain, aren't you?"
Arthur nodded.
After King Uther's defeat, many tribes stopped obeying the crown and began to rule themselves.
Suddenly, something clicked in his mind.
He turned to Morgan.
"You want to make Vortigern the common enemy of all the people… so they feel a sense of crisis and unite?"
"Exactly." Morgan smiled faintly. "Give those people a goal… and it will be much easier to unite all the tribes and bring them under our control."
She then shrugged, as if the rest were irrelevant.
"As for Vortigern… you don't need to worry too much. Even at his peak, he couldn't defeat me… much less now, when he is so weakened."
There was absolute confidence in her voice.
Although Vortigern had underestimated Morgan in the past…
As the goddess of death, she would not fear a dragon, even one that embodied the will of Britain itself.
"In any case, leave that to me. After all, I was the one who captured him," Morgan said. "As for your task… judging by the time, she should already be here."
"She?" Arthur raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
Morgan had called someone else?
"Big sister… King Arthur, what do you want with me?" a female voice echoed from the entrance of the hall.
Arthur was surprised when he saw the girl standing before him.
"Lily?"
What is she doing here?
"Don't worry, I was the one who called Lily," Morgan said as she approached Artoria. She took Artoria's hand and led her to Arthur.
Her eyes met Arthur's.
The silence that followed was heavy.
Neither of them said a word.
Or rather, Morgan didn't give them the chance to speak.
She simply pointed at Arthur and asked bluntly:
"I heard he cooks well, isn't that right, Lily?"
Artoria hesitated for a moment, surprised by the question, but then nodded lightly.
"Big sister… didn't you say you wanted to discuss something important before calling me?"
"Yes." Morgan replied with a completely serious expression. "This is a major issue for me right now. So answer properly."
She tilted her head slightly.
"You two are very close, aren't you?"
Artoria nodded again.
Without hesitation.
"Do you like him?"
This time, there was a pause.
Then she nodded.
She genuinely liked Arthur.
Morgan smiled, satisfied.
"Then from now on… you will follow him."
---
(End of Chapter)