Moonlight pierced through the massive stained-glass window, casting its glow into the top-floor room of this Gothic castle. Unlike the opulent corridors outside, where merely taking a fresco could grant financial freedom, this boudoir, belonging to the kingdom's wealthiest person, Griflet, was simply furnished. It held only a plain plank bed, a black oak table for guests, tea on the table, a few high-backed birch chairs beside it, and a well-maintained silver-white armor set hanging on a rack in the corner. Beyond these, there was nothing.
At this moment, at the black oak table, Suya looked at the young woman sitting opposite him. "Where should I begin, let me think..."
Griflet rested her chin on a folding fan. After a moment of thought, she let out a heavy sigh. "Since I am a merchant, let's start with a transaction."
"Knight King, Suya Pendragon—"
Suya shook his head, interrupting, "Just call me Suya."
"Alright," Griflet nodded, a smile appearing on her face as she continued, "Then, Suya, how much do you know about the capital, and indeed, this kingdom?"
"Not much," Suya frowned, recalling the sights he had seen along the way. "The capital, Winchester, seems very prosperous. The people living here all perform their duties, living in peace and contentment. It looks, well, like an ideal capital?"
"And the Royal Selection ceremony happening here. I heard many princes from various countries will come. The capital itself is divided into four factions because of this: the Royal Family, the Church, the Nobles, and the Knights." Thinking of this, Suya inwardly commented that it felt like a templated visual novel game. Was he about to start a clichéd power struggle, winning over influential figures one by one?
"That's not quite right," Griflet shook her head, a bitter smile on her face. "The capital is only divided into two factions now."
"One is the Princess, oh, now she should be called the Dominant King, Morgan le Fay."
"The other..." She paused, then said gravely, "is the Regent, King Pellenore."
King Pellenore. Hearing this title, Suya couldn't help but frown slightly. This person was, in the legends of King Arthur, the regent left by King Uther for Arthur, known as the King of the Grail Guardians, also called the Wounded King. But what made him more famous was that he was the father-in-law of Sir Lancelot and the grandfather of Sir Galahad, both of the Knights of the Round Table. In some more recent versions, this character's image was merged with King Pellinore, who broke King Arthur's Sword in the Stone, completing his early life. He was also a knight who hunted giant beasts, a powerful warrior king, and the biological father of several famous Round Table Knights, such as Sir Lamorak and Sir Percival.
What kind of figure was King Pellenore in this world?
Griflet didn't elaborate on who King Pellenore truly was but changed the subject, asking, "Suya, how long do you think the capital can withstand the Conqueror King?"
Suddenly asked this question, Suya couldn't help but look up at the young woman before him. Her face bore a heavy anxiety and an irresolvable conflict. Suya was completely ignorant of the current defensive capabilities of the capital, but having just experienced a 'destined' miracle, he held a pessimistic view on the matter. So, he tentatively said, "As she said, 40 days?"
"If only that were true," Griflet shook her head, a bitter smile on her face. "But unfortunately—"
"We only have 8 days left."
"Glory Day, Authority Day, Instruction Day, Silence Day, Fellowship Day, Suffering Day, Tomb Day, and Resurrection Day."
"Just as in the legend of Jesus' eight days of suffering, Britannia, traded by King Uther to King Solomon, also has only eight days left."
"According to the 'Royal Covenant,' after eight days, the Tower of Divine Granting in Jerusalem will be completed. A new god will be resurrected in the world and, soon after, will bestow godhood upon the seven kings of this world, ascending them together to share the glory and power of god, becoming Kings of Kings."
"And the price is that all of Britannia will become—a Barren Land."
"Barren Land?" Suya's heart leaped. The Barren Land was related to a legend of King Pellenore. It was said that this king, through a reckless attempt to draw the 'Blade of Destiny' or another holy artifact related to the Holy Grail, forged by King Solomon, received divine judgment. A flame from heaven struck him, scorching his inner thigh, a place symbolizing fertility, source of power, and worldly desires. The cursed King Pellenore then became the 'Wounded King,' and the land and kingdom he ruled became barren, desolate, and lifeless, with rivers drying up and crops withering. His people, in their struggle, devoured each other, leading to the ultimate apocalypse, a stillness called 'barrenness.'
Suya reacted, immediately asking, "So, Princess Morgan le Fay stepped forward at this time, to deny divine authority with royal authority, all to prevent that 'Tower of Divine Granting' from turning Britannia into a Barren Land?"
"You could understand it that way," Griflet nodded, then said gravely, "Morgan le Fay once invited me to assist her, but I refused her then. I didn't believe she possessed the capacity to save the capital, to save Britannia."
"She is too deeply entangled with King Pellenore. Or rather, she was raised by King Pellenore himself. I cannot discern if she truly wants to save Britannia or if she intends to personally drag Britannia into hell." At this, Griflet shook her head, sighing lamentingly, "But now—I have to admit, I underestimated her."
Suya understood that she was referring to the Princess choosing to deny divine authority with royal authority, turning what should have been a proper king into a person of broken promises.
"However, I still stand by my judgment." Griflet then looked up at Suya, speaking with a solemn voice, "Morgan le Fay is absolutely not the right choice for Britannia's kingship. As you and I have seen, the Sword in the Stone rejected her."
"She does not possess the 'capacity' to draw the Sword in the Stone!"
Hearing this, Suya's mouth twitched slightly. He asked, "You're telling me all this, are you implying... that I do?"
Griflet nodded very seriously: "Precisely."
"According to the 'New Covenant,' people refer to Jesus' last days on Earth as the Passion Week,"
"And on the first day of Passion Week, Sunday, Jesus gloriously entered the Holy City, hence it is called Glory Day."
"And precisely on this day, you single-handedly forced back the Conqueror King's besieging army and entered the capital, Winchester; on the same day, Princess Morgan le Fay also bore glory and ascended to the throne on this sacred first day."
"I initially thought all of this was mere coincidence, but just now, you have proven to me—"
"One hundred roulette wheels, because of your arrival, simultaneously pointed to the number of the saint in this former Winchester Cathedral."
"I should not have believed, but so many coincidences stacked before me have left me unable to resist the confusion and uncertainty in my heart."
Griflet stared at Suya with shining eyes, stating solemnly, "I can only believe this is God's will!"
Suya's expression stiffened slightly. He thought, I didn't realize, young lady, that you're a Christian believer? But is it a bit too exaggerated to hard-label me as God's chosen? If I'm Jesus, does that mean in a few days I'll be crucified, gaining a few extra holes? We can't stack combat power like this; we must believe in materialism!
At this point, though a bit awkward from the praise, Suya hadn't forgotten why he was here, so he continued to ask, "Then, what about that transaction you mentioned at the beginning?"
Griflet then turned slightly to look at Sir Miles, who was sitting beside her. Under her gaze, Sir Miles's face showed a heavy expression as he began:
"That was fifteen years ago."
"After the Red Dragon War, Pellenore pledged allegiance to King Uther, who had defeated the red dragon, and served as the kingdom's regent, replacing the missing Archmage Merlin."
"Under his instigation, King Uther made a transaction with King Solomon."
"They used the nations of Britannia to support the construction of the tower called the Tower of Divine Granting, in exchange for glory for their personal desires."
"And it was because of that transaction that Britannia fell into its current predicament."
"Now,"
"The prosperity you see is all false prosperity;"
"The peace you see is all false peace."
"And now,"
"This illusion is almost impossible to maintain!"
"The dragon blood spread across this land is about to dry up, and the fabricated ley lines are about to vanish."
"The era of mystery belonging to Britannia is about to end!"
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