"Well, well, I can't believe our little Arthur has such a mischievous side! I'm genuinely disappointed, as his older brother, that I missed out on seeing our little Arthur in action. Isn't that right, little Arthur?"
Even though Sir Kay spoke of missing Arthur's 'spirited' behavior, anyone could tell he was deeply displeased that Arthur had been bullying others. Arthur immediately had a bad feeling that he was in for a massive disaster. At that moment, Arthur wanted nothing more than to shed his ridiculous gear and rush over to beat up Merlin!
What a terrible snitch!
"Merlin," Kay said, smiling as he looked at Arthur. "Go grab a few iron weights and put them in a bucket for me! I think our energetic Prince Arthur will be just fine with that."
Merlin hadn't intended for his innocent retelling of a few amusing stories about him and Arthur to bring down Sir Kay's punishment on the prince. Although Merlin wasn't sure why Kay, merely the adopted son of King Uther, could so casually punish Arthur, the actual Crown Prince, he noticed that everyone around seemed to think it was perfectly normal. So, he didn't dare refuse. After all, Kay wasn't Arthur; he could joke around with Arthur, but he wouldn't dare cross Kay for anything.
Merlin shot a deeply apologetic look at Arthur, and Arthur returned a look of utter despair. He was silently pleading with his eyes, while his head was subtly shaking, clearly begging Merlin not to go. Merlin struggled internally for about three seconds. The moment he saw Kay's gaze shift from Arthur to him, Merlin made his decision immediately.
"Yes, my lord." He then turned away, unable to look Arthur in the eye. He felt a little guilty, but what could he do? He was just a servant, right?
However, before Merlin could take two steps, a true savior rescued Arthur from the brink of despair.
"Merlin! Hurry over and help Morgan with the wine. This is Sir Kay's favorite vintage, and he'd be upset if it were spilled!"
It was Morgana, who had arrived at the training grounds without him noticing. She was followed by a maid named Gwen, who was carrying food and drinks. Gwen was a strong, healthy girl, normally great at her work, but even she looked a little clumsy under the heavy load she was carrying now.
Seeing Morgana and Gwen, Merlin felt a small, fleeting sense of disappointment. Hmph! It definitely wasn't because he was disappointed he wouldn't get to see Arthur suffer!
"Yes, Princess," Merlin replied promptly, quickly taking the wine jug and several other items from Gwen. He also gave Gwen a subtle wink. Clearly, he understood the Princess's little trick.
Gwen made a small face at Merlin in a gesture of helplessness.
"Kay, Arthur, it's time for lunch. The boys' games need to wrap up," Morgana said, trying hard to sound natural. She rarely lied, especially not to Kay. When Morgana arrived at the palace as a young girl after her father died in battle, she was practically an orphan and a dependent. It was Kay who saved the then-lonely Morgana. He was like a father and a brother, guiding and comforting her until she found her cheerful disposition again.
It was still hard for her to lie to Kay, but as an older sister, she couldn't stand to see Arthur punished any longer. He had been kneeling there, looking miserable, for almost two hours.
At Morgana's invitation for lunch, Arthur looked like he'd seen an angel. He first gave Morgana a grateful look, then turned a pleading gaze on Kay. He knew there was only one circumstance under which Kay would ease up on his punishment: mealtime.
Kay had once declared that "food is more important than anything."
Kay twitched his mouth and glanced at the sun. It wasn't even eleven o'clock yet—a little early for lunch. But seeing Arthur's pitiful eyes and Morgana's earnest expectations, what could Kay really say?
And so, Arthur was granted a reprieve.
But it was only temporary. From that point on, Arthur's life was going to be an absolute living hell.
With Kay's return, Prince Arthur, who used to wander around Camelot all day, was now rarely seen in public. His daily life felt like a descent into the underworld. Every morning before six, before dawn, Kay would haul him out of bed. If Arthur dared to resist, he'd be hit with a bucket of ice water and then receive a beating.
After getting up, while the city was still asleep, he had to run ten laps around the city walls as a warm-up. This was followed by holding a low stance (like a squat) until about eight o'clock, when he would eat breakfast. He got one hour of rest after breakfast, but even this time was not truly a break; while there was no physical activity, he was required to study various subjects with the Royal Scholar. At nine o'clock, he was allowed a fifteen-minute rest before heading to the training grounds for martial arts training with Sir Kay. 'Training,' however, mostly involved being thoroughly thrashed.
In Kay's words, to learn how to attack, you must first learn how to take a hit. Arthur had tried to resist, but it was no use; no matter what he did, he got the same beating.
After two hours of martial arts, he was given thirty minutes to rest before lunch. Lunch ran from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM, two hours entirely at his disposal. He could eat slowly, or he could eat quickly and grab a short nap.
After 1:30 PM, he started again with a warm-up, followed by special training (extra-long low-stance exercises). At four o'clock, he began sparring, and this time his opponents were the Knights of the Realm. He could choose foot combat or mounted combat.
The difference now was that if the knights lost to Arthur, they would be punished. Conversely, if they could defeat Arthur quickly, they would receive a reward. While the reward wasn't huge, five gold coins was a decent sum.
Naturally, this meant the knights put every ounce of effort into fighting Arthur...
By six o'clock, when the sun had completely set, Arthur's day officially ended. The rest of the evening was his own. He could stay up all night partying, but he had to be up on time at six the next morning...
And being completely exhausted, Arthur would typically pass out right after dinner, having no energy left for anything else.
This went on for a month. Arthur even entertained the thought of running away from home. But that was just a fleeting fantasy he indulged in privately when he was feeling resentful; he wouldn't actually dare to do it.
Besides, Arthur wasn't totally ungrateful; he knew Kay was doing this for his own good. And even though it had only been a month, Arthur himself could notice significant improvements, let alone everyone else.
King Uther was very pleased. He used to think he was strict enough with Arthur, but seeing Kay's methods, he realized he had probably been too soft. He was more than happy to let Kay continue, as the results clearly showed Kay's way of training was better.
Morgana, however, was very worried about Arthur, and she found ways to give him a break. For instance, she would intentionally bring lunch for Kay and make sure Arthur got his share, too. She'd bring extra food and wine to make the lunch period last longer.
Neither Kay nor King Uther knew what to do about this. They couldn't exactly stop Morgana from caring for her younger brother, could they? Especially since King Uther, for reasons he kept private, was happy to see Morgana and Arthur maintain a strong sibling bond, so he certainly wouldn't object.
But even this wasn't enough for Morgana. She often complained to Uther and Kay that their training was inhumane for Arthur. While Kay and Uther generally brushed off the complaints, they did have to consider Morgana's feelings.
So, today, Kay unexpectedly granted Arthur a half-day off.
Arthur was practically in tears of joy. Lately, he had spent every single day training, getting hit, or hitting others, and he felt like his brain was starting to melt. He desperately needed a chance to relax.