"..." Arthur was silent for a bit before he smirked. "As I said, I don't care how that druid ends up. The only problem is that with how she led the Tribe, there was very little chance of us cooperating."
"Removing her from power would have been enough," Gala said with a smile.
"Not enough for Merlin to make the decision. Without showing her true character, Merlin wouldn't have chosen the difficult choice."
"So, you're going to ignore her as she dies?" Gala asked, probing.
"Yes," Arthur nodded without much thought. "Once Rega grows, Vena will try to reclaim her position as a leader if she's still alive. With Merlin being the leader, grateful and cooperative, then the druids will have a proper relationship with Hidden City."
"Why didn't you help Vena from the beginning, making her grateful?"
"Using my powers to help her would have made her grateful, but the druids would have been the same: sheltered, needy, and unwilling to work with humans."
