Though Artoria felt all this, she chose not to voice it aloud—there was only one mouth in the Pendragon family, and Uther had used it up.
She lowered her head, looking at Kaelar with a soft smile. "A coronation ceremony? Unimportant. I am already Camelot's king and soon to be the king over all of Britain. Whether they approve or not, every noble must heed my command."
"As for expectations? Just a child's game from before. Now, your Lily has grown up…"
Artoria tenderly stroked Kaelar's face. "I am already ready to carry the weight of this crown."
"Indeed…" Kaelar raised his head, brushing away the tears at the corners of his eyes, and said, "Lily has grown up—grown enough to bear the weight of a crown."
"But I seem to have become that naïve fool again, lost in the fantasy I spun for myself, wrapped in others' praises, too afraid to face reality…"
Kaelar leaned back, his posture as carefree as if he were lounging in Artoria's embrace. It was a scene that would certainly be gravely misunderstood if anyone else saw.
Thus, after she had left her people listening to her coronation speech to follow Kaelar, Artoria wisely refused the nobles' requests to enter the palace.
This fragile side of Kaelar's belonged to her alone.
Only me…
"I love humanity. I wish no life to be lost, whether a man of heinous sins or a bloodthirsty criminal. I believe anyone can be redeemed, that it is their circumstances driving them to wrongdoing. I want to reform them, to see them as people, not refuse."
I wish to preserve every life, even if only as a collection.
Kaelar murmured to himself, "But I must accept the truth. Most of life's matters end in disappointment. Some souls are so deeply mired in malice that they are beyond saving; they will trample upon your kindness, mock your mercy, and merely by existing, bring agony to all around them!"
"War is inevitable, Lily. I will support you, as you are the righteous one." Kaelar spoke with solemn sincerity. "Lily, you truly have grown. You already understand that only one who can bear the misfortunes of the world can be king, and only one who shoulders the nation's calamities can be sovereign."
"I should support a just war that quashes an unjust one… In the past, I had considered war for the sake of profit and gain, which would be, by nature, unjust and wicked. I always guarded against that within myself, yet I may have overcorrected."
"To the north of Camelot are many suffering subjects under Vortigern's tyranny. Killing him and his pack of willing dogs would be a war for justice and truth, a cause that serves all humanity."
Kaelar grew calm, though the resolve in his eyes did not fade. "I once vowed not to take a single life. And, of course, I won't hinder any war led by a just king or savior…"
"But I will do all I can to save every life within my sight. My ideals, Kaelar's ideals, will accompany my teachings, even unto eternity!"
No matter how much suffering it caused him or how deeply he loved everyone, Kaelar would not stop Artoria from waging this world's most cursed war.
Because in a war of justice, the righteousness of the cause outshines the bloodshed.
Killing Vortigern will save twenty thousand innocent Anglo-Saxons from death and allow the million lives across Britain to live peacefully, freed from the shadow of war.
Killing his hounds and uniting Britain will end the ceaseless bloodshed between its two peoples, putting every resource to its best use under the reign of a true holy king.
Were Vortigern, that vicious tyrant, allowed to rule half of Britain, his tyranny would scourge the land, keeping his subjects drowning in suffering, with lives and deaths under his sadistic whim.
And then, from the comfort of my little corner, I would delude myself into thinking that I'd started no wars, caused no deaths, and I'd be so proud of my benevolence as a saint…
If that were true, I would not be worthy of being called an immaculate saint. I myself would hold Kaelar in contempt.
To bear the shame of the land is to be the nation's pillar; to bear the world's curses is to be the ruler of all.
Someone unwilling to sully themselves could never be a true saint.
"Lily!" Kaelar spun around, his eyes blazing so fiercely that Artoria felt her whole being tremble. "To kill for the sake of life, to cut karma without cutting souls."
"Vortigern's malice has festered too deeply. He is beyond redemption!"
"He is no longer human!"
Kaelar, for the first time, actively defined the line between humanity and inhumanity.
Until then, not even for Vortigern had Kaelar used such words.
But now Kaelar had seen through his own nature, drawing himself nearer to humanity's truest love.
"…" Artoria rose, lifting the Sword of Selection—the symbol of her authority—and rested its blade upon Kaelar's shoulder. "Kael, you'll walk the path ahead with me, won't you?"
"Sir Kaelar, by the name of King Arthur, I grant you the title Duke of Anjou, and appoint you as the Steward of Camelot and my royal palace."
Anjou was a territory in Gaul. Despite not yet being under Camelot's rule, Artoria had already bestowed it upon Kaelar.
"…Heh~" Kaelar didn't stand, propping his hands behind him as he stretched his long legs forward. "Well, Lily, you've barely been crowned king of Camelot and haven't yet established your authority, and already you're appointing your closest advisor?"
"Eh?" Artoria set the Sword of Selection aside, looking puzzled. "Appointing close allies… what's wrong with that?"
Artoria's small face grew serious. "Kael, haven't you forgotten something?"
"We're barbarians living on Britain's soil. Shouldn't we do as barbarians do?"
"All that meritocracy, choosing talent over loyalty… Is that really something a barbarian king like me should consider?"
The little lion with golden hair tried to sound severe, but it only added to her unintentional charm, especially as the ahoge on her head bobbed up and down. Kaelar couldn't resist standing up to stroke that cherished strand.
"Kael, this is the symbol of a king. What are you trying to do to your king?"
"Hmm… thinking of pulling it."
"…Absolutely not!"
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