Chapter 100: The Red Knigth Epilogue

Lancelot's Point of View

____________

The four remaining knights gathered around the round table, conversing about the recent topic of Caerleon. And since I was both a king and knight, the four soldiers reserved me a seat. I did not have to, but it was better that way than seating on an elevated throne.

"Please, king Lancelot! Whatever chair's fine for us!" Sir Lionel said, while motioning me to sit beside him.

"Come and join us, Lancelot! We have fine wine in the house, brought by the neighbouring kingdoms!" Sir Gawain continued, while pouring a glass of ale for me.

But before the situation could escalate, Sir Geraint stomped his feet to catch our attention. All of us looked at his figure with widened eyes, thinking about what had happened to him.

"Are you mad! We are speaking with the king! Show some respect, you buffoon!" Geraint scoffed, while attempting to grip my glass filled with wine.

However, Sir Uther, father of Arthur, stopped Geraint from his tracks before he could stir some trouble.

"Hey! We all know and respect Lancelot. He's still our mate, and the young lad leading this place! He is also our king! We need to respect Lancelot to the best of our abilities. But if Lancelot says he's more comfortable acting as a knight, we should also respect that decision," Sir Uther exclaimed, as he looked in my direction. "What do you say, Lancelot? You are both our soldier and king. We can't have someone disrespecting you, while having that position."

I cleared my throat and replied, "Sir Uther is right. I am still a knight at the round table…. I am still one of you guys. So treat me like you always treat me before. Although I have become the king of Camelot, I am still your comrade."

"Come here, you!!" Sir Lionel, my cousin, went towards me and shuffled my hair.

That man also offered me the ale he prepared earlier, which he also boasted about the ale's taste. As soon as I took a sip from the glass, the bittersweet taste of alcohol kicked inside my organs. It gave me a feeling of bliss, which almost forgot my anxiousness about becoming a king.

Sir Uther and Geraint grumbled as they sat in their seats, waiting for me to sit. After drinking my fill, I went to the wooden chair and sat with the rest of the four knights gathered around me.

When the bell tower finally rang, we immediately started the meeting. Our topic involved the kingdom that pulled themselves out of Albion.

But our problems did not stop from there. The terms of Albion also had punishments, especially if it involved breaking the agreement. We also had demon conflicts besides Caerleon, which was also the birth of this Union.

Before we could initiate our meeting, the elders and other nobles entered the room. Among those people were the two talented people who I recruited. If my eye proved me right, this pair would become a valuable asset for this upcoming war against the demons.

All their eyes glued to mine, glaring at my figure. Since the people reigned over me as their new king, countless nobles opposed my title. They even tried assassinating me but failed to do so.

I shook my head and focused on the situation before me, since I was the king of this kingdom. I would lead this meeting and find the perfect solution for the conflicts stated in the documents. And if there were something that the elders could recommend, I would take those into consideration.

"Can you brief me with the reports, knights of the round table? I have read the documents you've sent me, but I want to hear more updates from you," I exclaimed, while gazing at all the four knights seated on the board.

Sir Geraint stood up from the chair, held the crumpled scrolls, and told me everything about Caerleon. "King Lancelot, Caerleon's kingdom, finally unlatched themselves from the Albion contract. According to the documents, those kingdoms who disobeyed the Albion contract would suffer great punishments. Arthur noted that those unfastened kingdoms would be sterilized by the kingdom of Camelot and the surrounding palaces. We will convert those villagers using force, whether or not they like it. We should also cease accepting their trades and protecting their kingdom from surrounding monsters. That is all for my report."

"Thank you, Sir Geraint. You may take your seat. I learned valuable information from what you've said," I exclaimed, while glancing at everyone else. "If you have any news for me, do not be afraid to tell them."

After saying his fill, Sir Geraint returned to his desk and organized the paper he had. Within a few moments, a butler went to his side and aided him with his work. Geraint would save those files in the library. It was because I could reread the contents once more after this meeting.

I still had three appointments left after this problem. But since I needed to solve the main conflict, this topic should come first before the others.

"I have something for you," Sir Gawain stood from his seat as he continued his sentence. "A broker I hired sent a raven into Camelot. He calls himself the Red Knight, a mercenary from the Caerleon Kingdom. He wrote to me that three people drew the civil war to an end. They dethroned the previous king, who signed the Albion contract and replaced him with a mercenary. The people believed in them, saying that the king became a tyrant leader. After starving for weeks, they planned a civil war, which these three people initiated."

"The villagers claimed that the king also used forbidden magic arts. They did not know what kind of magic appeared before them. But if I had to guess, Lancelot, the king must have used dark magic," Sir Gawain continued, while flipping through the pages of his book.

"Interesting…. We have the tyrant king, a civil war, and these three strangers that went against a dark magic-user. I will be honest. It would be a tough fight if we were up against a dark magic sorcerer."

It was no joke battling face to face against dark magic. That obsidian arcane could move mountains and corrupt people's minds. If used correctly, dark magic could also become an indestructible force. Since it did not have any weaknesses besides its own kind, every kingdom feared that power. We banned those magics from our governance, considering the effect it could do to harm our people.

"I bet we could defeat a dark sorcerer if we're serious, Lancelot. We have faced thousands of monstrous opponents before!" Sir Lionel claimed, while chugging the glass soaked in ale.

Some knights agreed, while the rest of the nobles shook their heads. Since the meeting went astray, their reaction was just a normal occurrence.

I cleared my throat and continued with the topic. "Do you know the identities of these people, Sir Gawain? If the Knight of the Round Table fought against a dark sorcerer, we would win. It is not even a fight to begin with. However, if those unknown warriors defeated a dark mage, that would become a problem in the future."

The civil war and the king's dethronement were all interesting facts that kept my eyes beaming with delight. I already heard from King Arthur himself that the kingdom of Caerleon had always been on the latter side amongst the other kingdoms. So the king of Caerleon continued taxing the poor without feeding his people.

Hence, the civil war that happened right now. And since we were also up against the demons, the king used his wealth for his own good.

"King Lancelot, the identities of the three strangers include a wolf, a powerful mage, and a soldier…. named Arthur."

Everyone inside the room jerked after hearing the name Sir Gawain mentioned. How could we let this information sip by when Gawain mentioned the missing king of Camelot?

Since Gawain's words brought everyone's interest, the nobles and elders finally made their move. They kept throwing questions at the round table, asking about this mysterious man named Arthur.

I maintained my pose and asked the crucial question, "That man who named himself Arthur could be an imposter... It is also a possibility that there are other people out there who also have the name Arthur…. But we could also suspect that the demon created their own version of Arthur…. That would be the worst among the ideas I had mentioned," I confessed, while resting my chin on my palm.

"Demons? What's that about? Why would the demons involve themselves towards Arthur?" Sir Uther asked, as he stood from his seat.

It was an unusual occurrence to witness that old man getting himself worked up about this problem. But since Arthur was his son, Uther could not help but worry about his lost treasure.

While we continued our conversation, another raven entered the window. The bird stared at Sir Gawain, waiting for him to snatch the mail away from its feathers. Sir Gawain picked the mail and read it out loud.

"I've received a message from Red Knight…. Those three strangers are coming towards the demon kingdom."