"Arthur."
"My name is Artoria Pendragon. You can just call me Liya."
After adjusting her state, Zeus-chan met with Artoria. Zeus-chan's somewhat unfamiliar address made Liya feel a little uneasy, so she formally introduced herself to Zeus-chan.
"Uh! Alright! Liya, you can just call me Vier."
Zeus-chan, a little dazed by Liya's attitude, politely suggested the other party use her 'nickname'.
"Liya, do you know what love is?"
"Of course, how could I not understand love? I love this country, I love the people. Isn't that enough?"
Hearing Zeus-chan's words, Liya felt a bit misunderstood and quickly explained.
"No, I'm not talking about that kind of great love. I want to know if you truly understand what 'romantic love' is."
Looking at Liya, who was hastily explaining, a hint of amusement surfaced in Zeus-chan's heart, knowing that the other party had misunderstood her question.
"Romantic love?"
This was a strange word Liya was hearing for the first time. From childhood until now, she had only learned how to be a qualified monarch, how to love and cherish her people. She had never heard of 'romantic love'. She now looked at Zeus-chan with a bewildered expression, hoping the other party could explain and tell her what romantic love was, what kind of thing it was.
"This is also a special kind of feeling: the love parents have for their children is called 'familial love,' the love between friends is called 'friendship,' the love between sisters is called'sisterly love,' so, the love between two people is called 'romantic love.'"
"Vier, I won't tell you this answer; you must find it yourself!"
"Until you find it, we will only have the name of husband and wife, not the reality. I hope you remember this."
Athena smiled as she watched Vier, who was listening intently. Then, she told her about some basic emotions, but for 'romantic love,' Athena let her find it herself. After that, Athena made a three-chapter agreement with Vier: until Vier understood what 'romantic love' truly was, they would not share a bed.
"Wait, Vier, why won't you tell me? Why can't the two of us live together?"
Watching Athena walk out of the room, Vier suddenly felt as if she had grasped an elusive feeling. She stretched out her left hand as if to hold on, but Athena did not turn back to look at her. After Athena's back disappeared, it was a long time before Vier lowered her left hand, touching her chest with a pained expression, as if something there was knocking at her heart, a throbbing pain.
"Why? My heart hurts so much, am I sick? It shouldn't be! Merlin said that pulling out the Sword in the Stone means I won't grow old or get sick. How could I be sick now?"
Vier endured the pain in her heart, sat on a chair to recover for a while, then walked out of the room. Before her wedding, she still had many things to arrange and prepare. She didn't tell anyone about the pain in her heart, including her most respected Merlin.
Three days later, all of Britain was abuzz; their perfect King was getting married.
"I do."
With a single "I do," Athena, dressed in a magnificent gown, slowly walked into the ceremony hall. The pure white gown accentuated Athena's curvaceous figure. In a family where almost everyone was one meter ninety tall, Athena's one meter seventy height was considered 'petite,' but in this world, her height and perfect figure stood out. Athena also wore a veil, adding a touch of mystery to her face.
To be honest, Athena now really wanted to blurt out, "Motherf***er!" These damn high heels almost tripped her, and she didn't dare take big steps. Moreover, this was her first wedding, and it was a wedding where she was the bride and the other person was the groom. If this wasn't a necessary step, she would have run away long ago. Watching each person stare at her with infatuated, foolish looks, Athena muttered disdainfully to herself.
"Now, please kiss your bride."
The priest said to Vier, who was kneeling before the statue. Hearing this, Vier immediately stood up, slowly walked to Athena, and gently lifted Athena's veil. Instantly, gasps filled the ceremony hall. They were captivated by the goddess Athena's beauty. Compared to before, Athena's youthful aura had faded, replaced by a mature charm. Having already given birth to a daughter, she also carried an undeniable maternal aura, combined with the enchanting allure that always made Gaia and the others lose their bearings. She was simply irresistible.
Vier was also intoxicated. She closed her eyes and slowly leaned in to kiss. Athena watched the face slowly approaching, and tilted her head slightly. In the eyes of others, they were kissing passionately, but only Vier knew that she had only kissed the corner of her mouth.
"Great King Arthur of Britain, beautiful Princess Guinevere."
Seeing that they had finished kissing, the priest began his duty, chanting blessings.
But no one saw their great King looking resentfully at their Queen.
Seeing Athena playfully wink at her, she forgave her. What could she do? She just had to patiently continue listening to the long-winded blessings!
"That's the Queen, so beautiful!"
However, no one, including Athena, noticed a cute purple-haired girl secretly observing Athena from a corner. This girl's name was Lancelot, the adopted daughter of the Lady of the Lake, Liliane. Two days prior, the girl was still training her swordsmanship in Avalon, but her adoptive mother told her a bunch of things she couldn't quite grasp, like "the gears of fate have turned" and "it's your time now!" And so on. Then, she received a holy sword, 'Arondight,' from her adoptive mother. Lancelot was wondering what to call this sword when her adoptive mother told her to pledge allegiance to the King of Britain and then opened a teleportation array, kicking Lancelot into it.
Outside Avalon, Lancelot rubbed her swollen, red backside, cursing the violent woman under her breath. As a result,
A large package fell from the sky, landing directly on her head. Silently picking up the package, she no longer dared to curse anyone in her heart.
On the way, she happened to meet 'kind people' who offered her a horse, so Lancelot unceremoniously accepted it, leaving the bandits behind to cry for help.
She arrived just in time, met Merlin, and after revealing her identity, she followed Merlin to the wedding hall.
When Athena appeared, Lancelot's gaze was instantly drawn to her. Her heart pounded much harder than usual. She understood more than Vier; she knew she had fallen in love at first sight. But as a Knight, she wouldn't allow herself to steal someone else's wife (Two-Bit: Uh!). Moreover, that person was the one she was sworn to serve.
So, she fiercely suppressed the surging emotions in her heart. But Lancelot didn't know that the more one suppresses emotions, the more intensely they rebound. By the time she realized it, she had already made a grave mistake.
In another world, Athena's mood was very complicated.
Ever since she saw that statue, her mind had been unsettled, and even normal thinking felt a bit irritating.
"Mother Goddess, Mother Goddess."
Athena murmured, looking towards the center of the village. Suddenly, she made a decision: she would steal that statue and place it in the temple.
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