Lucius's interest piqued the moment Arthur's name was mentioned.
Ignoring everyone's strange looks, he launched into a passionate speech, declaring Arthur the most dazzling emperor in history—unique in heaven and on earth.
Arthur, feeling more than a little embarrassed, quickly tried to pull Lucius aside to shut him up.
Unfortunately for him, Lucius had spent five full years observing Arthur from within the Demon Sword. In terms of time spent with him, only Merlin, Merry, Manaka, and Kay surpassed him in all of Britain. Naturally, that made Lucius the fifth person in the world who understood Arthur best—and also his number one fan.
After all, the four above him were at least somewhat reserved.
Lucius, having been trapped inside the Demon Sword for five long years, had no such restraint.
He had finally found someone to talk to about Arthur—why on earth would he let it end so soon?
"…Now you understand what I mean, right? As long as it's Artorius, the British dynasty will last for thousands upon thousands of generations, never to be destroyed. Unlike your countries, which have fallen and exist only as curiosities for scholars to sigh over, Artorius is the true king—the eternal ruler of the earth, the god of all living things, the master of all creation!"
"Enough, idiot! Stop—stop right there!!!" Arthur's face flushed crimson.
To be fair, this was the first time he had ever been praised like this.
Even the strange Arthur Cult only prayed to him silently in their hearts, but Lucius—
If Lucius's words ever reached Britain, who knew? One day Arthur might wake up to find a host of bizarre skills suddenly appearing on his status panel. Worse, his emotions might vanish entirely.
How terrifying.
"Here we go again, come on, Artorius—don't be so humble at a time like this," Lucius said, completely ignoring Arthur's protests.
"Tsk. So that's where the disgusting aura comes from," Gilgamesh muttered.
At first, he had wondered where Arthur's divinity came from. But after hearing Lucius list Arthur's great deeds, he finally understood its origin.
A mortal body wielding the power of a god, achievements spreading far and wide… Even without divine lineage, such feats would inevitably give birth to divinity.
"Interesting. Though his territory is confined to an island, he actually controls the entire continent. Countless kingdoms have long been brought under his dominion. Yes—this is how conquest should be done." Iskandar nodded in satisfaction, his gaze toward Arthur now filled with recognition and respect. His earlier irritation at Arthur's offense had already faded.
"Hahaha, see? You finally understand. This is my favorite Red Dragon!" Lucius laughed proudly.
To Lucius, he was powerful, and Rome was great.
Before the rise of the British Empire in the fifth century, no nation in the world had dared to challenge Rome, let alone contend with or defeat it. No one—not even the gods—could match him.
But in the end, someone had.
Whether by conspiracy or other means, victory was victory and defeat was defeat.
And if you lost, then as the loser, you should offer your reputation, glory, status—everything—as the foundation for the victor to climb even higher. That was the victor's right, and the loser's responsibility.
There was no need for excuses.
It was respect for the winner, and respect for oneself.
If the one who had defeated Rome were scorned by others, then what would that say about Rome itself?
Not to mention—
"Artorius is the ultimate realization of my dreams!"
Gilgamesh and Iskandar were both taken aback by Lucius's fanaticism.
The fervor in his expression wasn't feigned—it was pure, unshakable conviction.
To subdue an opponent to such a degree… what kind of world had Arthur created, and what kind of legend had he written, to inspire this?
Yet the person most shaken was not Gilgamesh, Iskandar, or the other assembled Masters—it was Artoria, seated opposite Arthur, staring at him in a daze.
Britain… not destroyed!
He had ruled Rome, commanded an unimaginable expanse, ascended to a throne in the heavens—like a divine kingdom where all his subjects were blessed, the Round Table united, a true utopia.
If that were so, then—
Artoria's heart twisted with both longing and unease.
"Your methods… are so despicable. Assassination, coercion, domination, control, exploitation—don't you feel any shame?" she asked, her voice trembling and uncertain, as though even she didn't know what she truly wanted to express.
Her tone was full of contradictions.
It was as if she rejoiced at Britain's prosperity, yet grieved that it could only be sustained in such a way.
"Heh~ Your wish is to change Britain's fate, to prevent its destruction, isn't it? Well, I did it. And I did it splendidly. You could even say I've fulfilled your dream. So, what is there to complain about?" Arthur's chuckle was quiet but cutting.
This, after all, was the theme he had chosen for tonight's banquet.
"But… but… your methods are too extreme. There's no justice in them at all. You've been walking the wrong path—making Britain brilliant on the outside, but corrupt and sinful within," Artoria protested, still unable to accept it.
He had deceived Britain's kings.
Used assassination and manipulation against nobles and ministers.
Treated the defeated Rome as an object of domination and exploitation.
By controlling people's thoughts and freedoms, he had created a nation that appeared ideal on the surface—but was there any real happiness in such a place?
At least, in all of Artoria's knowledge and beliefs, not one of Arthur's actions could be considered truly right.
Wrong. Wrong. All wrong!
That kind of nation could never be a utopia.
"You say I'm wrong? Then why not ask the kings present here? In the end, all I did was practice normal political maneuvering—an inevitable product of human society. If I was wrong, then what about the kings here? Have they never done the same?"
"This… is impossible!"
"Ah, yes, impossible. In Gilgamesh's time, people were relatively pure—perhaps without the need for political schemes." Arthur gestured toward Gilgamesh. When the latter offered no response, he continued, "But neither Rome nor the Kingdom of Macedonia lacked such things. How can any nation remain stable without political maneuvering?"
"Wow~ wow, that's right. If you want to control the vastness of Rome, faith alone won't cut it. Even I had to maintain a careful balance," Lucius agreed without hesitation.
And even if Arthur's words hadn't been true, Lucius would likely have "misremembered" history to support him anyway.
"To put it simply, I'm not good at those things myself—though my mother was very talented," Iskandar added with a sheepish smile, stroking his beard.
"You see? This is what it means to be a king. We are the power itself."
Arthur—draw your conclusion from that.
-End Chapter-
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