"Bedivere, you can do better than that! Again!"
At the Royal Palace's Training Ground, Guinevere arrived just as other knights were in the midst of their drills.
Under the sunlight, she immediately spotted the young knight—his features refined, his build lean, possessing a striking androgynous beauty that left her momentarily spellbound.
What set this knight apart was his missing right arm. His right sleeve hung empty and still.
As she approached, the knights first offered her their respects. Then Bedivere swiftly stepped forward to introduce himself.
"Your Highness, I am Bedivere, the King's Personal Knight. Shouldn't you rest first?"
"I'm not tired. I can't sleep anyway."
After instructing Bedivere to rise, Guinevere selected a heavy iron sword from the various unopened weapons nearby and pointed it at the Personal Knight.
It was a challenge, and Bedivere had no reason to refuse. Especially when Guinevere added with a smile:
"I want to see if you truly deserve the title of Personal Knight."
At this time, Guinevere had only just brought the Round Table to Camelot City. The King of Knights' knights had not yet been bestowed the title of Round Table Knights.
Yet even without this prestigious title representing elite knighthood, the knights still maintained a private ranking among themselves.
Bedivere, the One-Armed Knight and the King's personally appointed Personal Knight, ranked lower among the knights in swordsmanship. However, when wielding a lance, his skill placed him within the top twelve.
Thus, after his defeat by Guinevere in swordsmanship, Bedivere switched to his lance, determined to uphold his honor as the King's Personal Knight.
Facing Guinevere's agile evasions with his lance held in one hand, Bedivere didn't attempt to match her agility.
He had once single-handedly faced three opponents with his lance, each strike carrying nine times the force of an ordinary knight. Simply put, while a regular knight could pierce plate armor with a thrust, Bedivere could shatter both knight and mount into pieces with a single strike.
-
"Your Majesty, shouldn't we stop them?"
Camelot City resembled a small mountain, and the King of Knights' administrative hall was situated at its highest point. Gazing out the window behind her, she could survey nearly half of Camelot City.
Moreover, she frequently visited the Training Ground, a commonly used facility located directly beneath her office.
Whether it was Guinevere's tactical approach—identifying vulnerabilities and striking with viper-like precision—or Bedivere's sweeping, unrestrained spearmanship, all fell under the King of Knights' watchful gaze.
The man questioning her was Agravain, one of Gawain's brothers and her most trusted secretary, responsible for assisting her in managing the Kingdom's affairs.
However, precisely because Agravain's primary duty was to assist with administrative matters, he was the one most familiar with and concerned about Guinevere's actions in the Kingdom of Cameliard.
For instance, when Guinevere implemented policies to promote agriculture and sericulture, reduce taxes and labor burdens, and prioritize infrastructure like transportation and irrigation, Agravain would first obtain detailed reports on her methods, then modify them based on the specific circumstances of the Kingdom of Camelot, and finally submit the revised plans to the King of Knights for approval and implementation.
"Sir Agravain, if you're truly curious about her, why not speak with her directly? Haven't you long harbored questions you wished to ask her in person?"
Having changed out of her armor, she now wore a heavy, dark blue brocade robe, paired with an even thicker matching cloak. Her small face struggled to maintain an expressionless facade of regal dignity.
She had drawn the Sword in the Stone far too early. If she didn't deliberately maintain her regal demeanor, people would treat her like a naive young girl, easily manipulated and in need of constant protection.
"Your Majesty," Agravain began, "there's no need to rush your consultation with Princess Guinevere. However, in my humble opinion, you shouldn't linger here, attending to these endless trivial matters. You should be at Princess Guinevere's side, nurturing your bond with her.
Whether from her personal perspective or considering the influence behind her, you shouldn't have rushed straight here after bringing her to the palace, neglecting her entirely. To those with ulterior motives, this neglect could be interpreted as a rift between you and Princess Guinevere, providing them with ammunition for their schemes."
Agravain was younger than Gawain, but he carried himself with a more mature air. His once-handsome face, now perpetually shadowed by worry from handling too many state affairs and bearing too many inner burdens, retained an air of grim seriousness.
Moreover, the black-haired knight favored wearing pitch-black full-body armor, which made him not only somber and mature but also the most feared among the knights by the common folk.
But he wasn't just mature in appearance; his mind was equally seasoned.
The King of Knights heeded his counsel, though she still felt Guinevere was being overly eager, leaving her unsure how to respond to such forward affection.
"Hooray! Guinevere! Guinevere! Guinevere!..."
As Agravain concluded his persuasion, the King of Knights nodded in agreement, and cheers of "Guinevere!" erupted from the Training Ground and carried to their location.
After dozens of exchanges, Guinevere finally exploited Bedivere's weakness. She severed his spear with a decisive frontal strike and pressed her sword against his neck.
"Your Majesty, are you... smiling?"
Thanks to the power of magic, the glass in the Royal Palace was exceptionally clear. This allowed the King of Knights to see plainly that Guinevere could have won much sooner.
Guinevere excelled at exploiting vulnerabilities, and Bedivere's missing arm presented a more glaring weakness than any other knight's.
In other words, if Guinevere had focused her attacks on Bedivere's missing right arm, she could have won long ago. Instead, she waited for him to expose a frontal opening, defeating him with a straightforward, honorable strike.
"Agravain, I think... I'm smiling, aren't I?"
With her back to Agravain, the King of Knights' reflection gazed back from the glass. Studying her own image, she couldn't deny Agravain's question.
Hearing this confirmation, Agravain, his face still clouded with gloom, forced a grim smile. He was genuinely pleased for his king, believing that if Guinevere could make her smile, then his monarch had chosen wisely.
Yet...
Mother, when will you let go of your hatred? If supporting the King of Knights brings prosperity to the Kingdom, what harm is there?
These thoughts, known only to Agravain, churned within him. While his siblings, including Gawain, wholeheartedly pledged their loyalty to the King of Knights, Agravain had arrived with Morgan's mission: to undermine Camelot and assassinate the king.
Yet he too had come to recognize the king's worth and had chosen to serve her.
"Your Majesty," Agravain said, kneeling on one knee in the most solemn knightly salute, his request undoubtedly a formal counsel. "Might your wedding to Princess Guinevere be made even grander?"
As Agravain offered his counsel, the King of Knights' gaze remained fixed on the Training Ground. She watched Guinevere smile warmly at Bedivere, patiently explaining how to minimize his vulnerabilities.
Before long, the training session evolved from Guinevere's one-sided instruction to a more balanced exchange between the two.
Reflected in the magic-crafted glass window, the King of Knights' smile deepened.
"Sir Agravain, your request is granted."