In the banquet hall, thunderous applause filled the air. Though the betrothal had come suddenly, anyone with a shred of sense could see it was, at the very least, an excellent political alliance.
After releasing the King of Knights' hand, Guinevere smiled and retreated to her father's side. She noticed the worry etched on his face.
With a small smile, Guinevere said, "Father, I hope you understand."
King Leodegrance was old, his hair white and temples frosted with age. Guinevere was his only daughter, and her dowry would be an entire kingdom.
Still, he had always held the King of Knights in high regard.
He gave a slight nod, signaling his consent. Just as he was about to approach the King of Knights to speak, her sworn brother, Kay, and a strikingly handsome, white-haired magician stepped before him.
They offered standard greetings, but as Great Mage Merlin—clad in a lace-trimmed white cloak and still holding his staff in the banquet hall—began to introduce himself to Guinevere, she couldn't resist throwing a punch.
The fist stopped just inches from his still-smiling, handsome face, intercepted by Kay's crossed arms.
The impact tore the sleeves of Kay's formal attire, revealing bulging muscles. Caught off guard, Kay was forced back half a step, clearly at a disadvantage.
The sudden blow froze the atmosphere. The knights from both kingdoms, who had been raising their cups in celebration, instantly drew their swords, the air crackling with tension.
The King of Knights looked up from the dining table, her gaze questioning. Guinevere retracted her fist, stepping back to glare at Merlin's still-smiling face.
"I just heard the story of how Great Mage Merlin 'advised' King Uther," she explained, "and I didn't like the sound of it."
It was the year 507 AD, and Great Britain was once again mired in endless wars. Even among knights, few could uphold all the chivalric virtues.
Fewer still was the Great Mage Merlin, who possessed Clairvoyance—the ability to see the future—but whose moral compass was notoriously unreliable.
Hearing Guinevere's explanation, Kay, who had taken a minor blow, burst into raucous laughter.
The King of Knights had been fostered in his home since childhood, so Kay had frequently encountered Merlin. He was undoubtedly one of the top three people in the banquet hall qualified to speak on just how unreliable and detestable the Great Mage truly was.
"Mage Merlin," Kay boomed, "I told you! The story of you persuading King Uther to disguise himself as the Duke of Tintagel and sneak into the bed of the then-Duchess of Tintagel will forever nail you to the pillar of shame!"
Guinevere's explanation had left room for plausible deniability, and everyone had pretended not to understand. But with Kay's blunt outburst, even Merlin, thick-skinned as he was, couldn't help but look awkward.
When the King of Knights drew the Sword in the Stone and, in the capital, demanded the submission of the regional kings who had been warring for over a decade, her true parentage was revealed.
She was the "son" of King Uther and the Duchess of Tintagel, whom he had taken by force—named Arthur Pendragon. However, she was not born after Uther made the Duchess his queen.
Instead, she was conceived during the war between the King and the Duke, when Merlin instigated Uther to sleep with the Duchess.
As a result, the regional kings, already unwilling to submit to the legend of the Sword in the Stone, declared the King of Knights a bastard with no right to the throne and waged war against her.
Thus, while the King of Knights was Great Britain's destined ruler chosen by the Sword in the Stone, her authority was forged entirely through her own blade and spear.
For this reason, none of the knights loyal to the King of Knights in the banquet hall wavered. Their allegiance was not to the Sword of Selection, nor to Uther's bloodline, but to the petite King of Knights standing before them now.
"My apologies," Guinevere said. "I truly just wanted to punch Merlin. Like all of you, I admire the King of Knights himself."
Kay was still laughing, Merlin's expression remained awkward, and the King of Knights' followers looked at Guinevere with complex emotions. Only after Guinevere's declaration did King Leodegrance's knights finally abandon their thoughts of fighting.
They had either watched Guinevere grow up or grown up alongside her. On the battlefield, she was their vanguard and commander—their acknowledged young lady.
Influenced by Guinevere's attitude, their expressions toward Merlin turned hostile. It wouldn't have been surprising if a few of them had decided to finish what Guinevere had started.
Similarly, since Guinevere seemed genuinely pleased with the King of Knights, after she spoke, the knights of the Kingdom of Cameliard all performed...
...the salute a knight owes to their lord's consort.
In response, Guinevere received the same respectful salute from the King of Knights' own knights.
With that, the matter of Guinevere's fist-swinging and the discussion of King Uther's stories was considered closed. However, her displeasure with Merlin was now plain for all to see. If Merlin were to say anything else in the future...
No, the Great Mage Merlin, who could still see the future, was merely contemplating whether to share his vision with the King of Knights in the form of another prophecy.
"My King, she is indeed powerful and beautiful, but she will inevitably bring you calamity. You must not keep her!"
This was what the Great Mage Merlin had planned to tell the King of Knights before this incident, once he saw that fate had truly brought them together as destined.
As for the awkward scene that had embarrassed him, Merlin hadn't actually seen it. His foresight didn't cover every minor detail.
If the future were a story, Merlin's future sight could only perceive its broad outline.
Thus, after this incident occurred—making any warning to the King of Knights seem like an attempt to sow discord—Merlin decided to change the person he was addressing. His lips moved, and his voice echoed directly in Guinevere's ear.
"Since you already despise me, and your admiration for the King of Knights seems genuine, I will tell you the future I have seen. You will cause the King of Knights' kingdom to fall. If you truly admire her, please leave her side at the appropriate time."
Merlin spoke this doomed prophecy, a clear attempt to dissuade her from continuing.
But Merlin didn't know that Guinevere was a transmigrator. She knew far more about the future than he did, and more importantly, she was attracted to women.
In the banquet hall, no one noticed Merlin's warning. Guinevere shook her fist at him.
Even though she knew and understood, being told this so bluntly left Guinevere extremely uncomfortable. Unlike Merlin, who chose to follow the future's course, Guinevere had no intention of submitting to it.
Without a System or any knowledge of magecraft, all Guinevere had was her thorough knowledge of the future and the martial prowess she had honed through eighteen years of relentless self-training.
She smiled and said to Merlin, "I've told you before: I admire the King of Knights himself, standing right here. I will be a more fitting queen consort than anyone could ever imagine!"
Before becoming Guinevere, she had fantasized about getting close to the King of Knights. If this bond was something fate intended to sever, then she would sever fate first.
In the banquet hall, everyone understood that Merlin must have whispered something to her. In response to Guinevere's declaration, the King of Knights' knights once again paid their respects, their approval now more than just a formality.