They exited the Royal Palace and walked onto the bustling streets.
Guinevere and Morgan walked one after the other, maintaining a tense silence. This silence only lasted until they both had time to process the situation. Then, Guinevere took the initiative, linking her arm through Morgan's once more.
In Guinevere's eyes, the King of Knights had already seen everything. To avoid suspicion now would only betray her distrust.
She believed the King of Knights wasn't a stubborn fool incapable of understanding explanations, and she trusted that her affection for the King could withstand scrutiny.
Besides, abandoning everything out of fear of choking would render her determination to stop at nothing meaningless—as good as feeding it to the dogs.
But what about Morgan? Why didn't she pull away?
"You want to know? Fine, I'll mercifully tell you: I've figured it out. Even if I fall for you and suffer from your rejection, as long as I stay close to you, it will torment my sister. That's my victory!"
Stunned by Guinevere's forceful gesture and humiliated by the children's stares, Morgan had been flustered. But after cooling down during their walk, she regained her usual composure and elegance, now looking even more like the Big Sister she was meant to be.
Hearing Morgan's explanation, Guinevere felt a pang of discouragement. But after patting her cheeks with both hands, she rallied her spirits.
Her clever scheme had reached its limit. Now it was a matter of patience and perseverance. She remained confident that Morgan would eventually change.
Arm in arm, they strolled through the Upper District under the watchful eyes of the nobles. After more than an hour, they arrived in the Lower District.
Amidst the shocked gazes of the Lower District residents, they bought food and purchased a large quantity of clothing for the poor children. With the final purchases overwhelming their carrying capacity, Guinevere summoned Tristan and a detachment of knights.
"Where are you going with all this?" Tristan asked.
"Outside the city," Guinevere replied. "The snow has stopped, but the blizzard's aftermath persists. I want you to see what Lia has been working on these past few days."
Though Guinevere had chosen simple dresses, their fine fabrics stood in stark contrast to the rough clothing of the commoners. It was immediately clear they were noble ladies. Moreover, Guinevere and the King of Knights had ridden through the streets on a flower-decked carriage, ensuring that at least some among the crowd would recognize their faces.
However, seeing someone with the King's features dressed in a gown, they naturally assumed she was a relative of the King of Knights.
With Tristan leading the way, Guinevere and Morgan rode on horseback behind him. While Guinevere remained composed, Morgan, growing increasingly self-conscious under the intensifying gazes, couldn't resist using her partially restricted Magecraft to conjure a veil.
"Queen! Queen! Queen!"
"Queen! Queen! Queen!"
-
As they rode onward, more and more people cheered, and the knights who had come with Tristan naturally fell into their protective roles.
Throughout the winter, Guinevere's tireless efforts had been plain for all to see. Her stories of leading soldiers on patrols across the land and constantly rescuing those in need were widely circulated by traveling bards.
If the King of Knights hadn't already possessed such an overwhelming reputation, Guinevere's winter of border duty would have left her domestic achievements obscured. She might have even surpassed the King of Knights as the nation's most popular figure.
"The people seem to adore you. Why, then, do the Vassal Kings impeach you and call you the Queen of Calamity?"
"Sister Morgan, surely you can figure that out?"
"The people love me because I show them tangible care and bring them tangible benefits. The Vassal Kings despise me because I'm taking their money, power, and soon, their heads!"
The two horses rode side-by-side, and both women made sure their words were meant only for the other's ears. Hearing Guinevere's explanation, Morgan fell into a brief contemplation, still harboring some doubts.
"But aren't nobles and Vassal Kings far more important than commoners?"
Deep down, Morgan despised humanity, faeries, and the weak—she loathed everything.
Yet, for this very reason, she genuinely didn't care about the distinction between nobles and commoners. She felt no resentment towards Guinevere's emphasis on caring for the common people. In fact, she had even considered granting equal dominion to all living beings once she became the King of Great Britain.
Yet she had received a noble education after all. While she didn't care, she wanted to understand why Guinevere also disregarded such distinctions, even treating nobles and vassal kings more harshly.
Was Guinevere about to lecture her on the equality of all men, or tell her the story of how water can both carry a boat and capsize it?
In this era, a single ordinary knight could defeat an army of a thousand commoners. When overwhelming power resided in individuals, such theories held no weight.
"In my eyes," Guinevere explained, "every human life holds equal value. Since commoners outnumber nobles, I naturally prioritize their welfare.
Though I understand that on the battlefield, a knight's life is considered more precious than that of a thousand ordinary soldiers.
But as time marches forward, the era of knights is drawing to a close. Whether it's opening Knight Academies to commoners or treating their lives as equally valuable, you can see it all as my preparations for the future."
"In the future, even ordinary soldiers who have undergone rigorous training might be able to wound Knights."
Guinevere spoke from the perspective of her era, blending her own insights, which allowed Morgan to understand and appreciate her words.
After listening, Morgan was most surprised by Guinevere's vision of the future. As a Mage with greater insight into the future, Morgan's own foresight seemed far more limited.
"Guinevere, are you serious?"
"I've already taken these actions. Do you think I'm not serious?"
A dozen Knights, several large wagons, and the two 'maidens,' Guinevere and Morgan, set out from Camelot amidst cheers. They gazed upon the Dendro grasslands, where fresh shoots were just beginning to emerge after the devastating snowstorm, but which were now covered in an endless expanse of tents.
Due to the severity of the snowstorm, most herders had lost the majority of their livestock, and most farmers had even consumed their seed grain for the coming year.
These people, living closest to Camelot, had gathered outside the city. Each day, they received aid from the King of Knights while awaiting their turn to sign a Seed Loan Agreement with the King.
Initially, the King of Knights intended to give away grain and livestock seed freely. However, Guinevere dissuaded her, arguing that obtaining resources without cost would likely breed laziness among the farmers and herders, perhaps even leading them to consume the seeds themselves before returning to beg the King of Knights for more handouts.
But if the seeds were merely loaned with the condition that a greater quantity be repaid after the harvest, most farmers and herders would diligently cultivate and tend the borrowed seeds.
At this point, Guinevere found herself praising the era's rustic simplicity and raw nature.
The farmers and herders she observed lacked ulterior motives and understood that failure to repay debts to the kingdom could result in execution by hanging.
"Guinevere, won't people resent you for exploiting their misfortune?"
"If they want to survive, they have no choice but to borrow. Besides, they won't find lower interest rates elsewhere.
Sister Morgan, let me be frank: due to the upkeep of hundreds of thousands of Northern Barbarians, the kingdom's grain reserves are nearly depleted. The seeds we're loaning to the farmers and herders are entirely purchased by Lancelot in Gaul.
Even at Gaul's relatively low grain prices, by the time the supplies reach Camelot, their true value has at least tripled."
"Wait, are you saying that the seeds my sister lent to the commoners were still at the original price? Where did you get the money?"
"The seeds were sold at cost, of course. As for the money to buy grain from Gaul, Kay extorted quite a bit. Otherwise, he wouldn't have forced those Vassal Kings, who knew they were doomed, into rebellion."
As she spoke, Guinevere watched Tristan hand over several cartloads of supplies to Sir Ector, who was responsible for distributing them outside the city walls.
"Lady Morgan, shall we continue onward? Let's go watch Sir Ector distribute the supplies we bought to the children who've lost their parents and families."