After Artoria and her army returned, a giant welcoming party was held by the people as she rode past them with her knights to her castle. Only when she made it back and settled down did I drop the Mordred bomb.

To say it caused an uproar was an understatement.

Artoria herself looked at Mordred like she was the strangest thing she'd ever seen. The mirror-like resemblance between them was probably the only reason she didn't ask if I was sure if it's her child.

She ordered for Mordred to be fed and have a room for the night, before immediately calling an emergency meeting for the Knights of the Round Table.

They probably thought it has something to do with Vortigern. Judging by how heated their current argument was, I bet they wish that was the case.

Agravain didn't want to put up with another one of his mother's schemes, which was understandable, and wanted Mordred to be sent as far from Camelot as possible. Lionel, Cador, and Tristan agreed with him.

Percival didn't believe it was right to judge Mordred for something she had no control over, which was her birth. Lancelot immediately backed him up, and so did Brunor and Bors.

Gawain used to agree with Agravain... Until he saw little Mordred. Then he went full on big brother mode and refused to let anyone as much as look at her the wrong way.

Merlin, unsurprisingly, stayed neutral. What was surprising was that Bedivere and Kay did the same. But, I guess they just believed that Artoria will make the right decision.

As for Artoria herself, she was just observing the argument going on between her knights with a hand on the side of her head. She made it look like she was just leaning on her hand, but anyone who looked closely can tell she was just nursing the headache she was feeling.

"We can't just let another of Morgan's games go on," Agravain stated, standing over the table with his hands firmly on it. "It's better to be safe and just have the child sent away."

"And what does a child that had no hand in its own birth do to support Morgan's ideals," Percival argued back.

"Her very existence is something that supports Morgan's schemes," Agravain glared at Percival.

"With all due respect, Sir Agravain, could the same not be said for you and Sir Gawain?" Brunor said back, crossing his arms.

"Sir Agravain and Sir Gawain are not the product of personal assault on our King," Cador practically growled.

I was confused on why Cador felt so strongly for this, since he always struck me as professional and cool-headed, but then I remembered hearing that Cador had a hand in raising Guinevere, so I guess he believes that her chance to have a child with Artoria was taken by Morgan 'raping' her sister, which produced Mordred.

"That is Morgan's sin to bare," Lancelot argued back. "The child did nothing wrong. No one chooses how they're born."

"Tell me about it," I mumbled, but it was ignored in the heat of the argument.

They kept throwing a few more opinions. This is a seriously bad situation because both sides had justified reasons to hold their stance on the subject.

"She's a CHILD!" Gawain yelled somewhere along the argument, smacking his hands on the table.

"We were all children once, Gawain, but that didn't stop Morgan from using us," Agravain argued back, almost snarling at his brother.

"And we escaped!" Gawain reasoned.

"I am sad to say this, Sir Gawain, but this child did not escape," Tristan said before he turned his head to face me. "It was taken. How do we know that they were not already influenced by Morgan in some way."

"Enough!" On Artoria's order and hand smacking the table, the arguing stopped as all the knights took back their seats. "We have just finished a large battle. This is no time for a discussion like this. You are all to return home and rest for the night. Think things through, and tomorrow, we will decide what to do with... the child," Artoria instructed.

The Knights glared at each other for a moment before they all got up from their seats and left one after the other. Honestly, I think she made the right call. They looked ready to draw their swords.

When they were all gone except for me and Merlin, Artoria sighed and shook herhead before sending me a glare. "Did you really have to bring this up as soon as we got back from fighting Vortigern?"

I just shrugged my shoulders. "Hey, did you want me to wait until you thought everything was peaceful and ruin it for you?"

"That's not the point!" Artoria yelled back, her glare getting more heated. "How the hell am I supposed to handle this!? Any decision I make now WILL anger someone!"

I just stared at her for a second. "... And?"

"An-?! Do you not realise how big this is!?" Artoria questioned, looking both shocked and angry.

I just gave her a deadpan look. "Artoria... who the hell cares whether or not some people are angry with your decisions? We've been through this before. You're not perfect, and you can't please everyone. In a situation like this, regardless of what anyone thinks, the decision is yours."

"And what exactly is this 'decision' I should be making!?" Artoria demanded. I would have felt annoyed at her anger, but it was understandable.

"Do you hate Mordred?" I asked.

Artoria's expression froze as she moved back a bit. "What?"

"I said do you hate Mordred?" I repeated my question.

"What are you-" She stopped her reply, looking incredibly conflicted before shaking her head. "I don't... hate her. I just... like, Percival said, it's not her fault for what Morgan did. But, she's still a child of rape, MY rape, and I really don't know what to do."

I can safely say I've never heard her sound so lost. "Artoria, let me tell you this straight: NO ONE suddenly gets a child and immediately knows what to do. Even those who actually PLAN to have children and try for it panic when the child is almost here. Heck, Merlin here had a hand in your actual birth and I bet even he had moments where he genuinely didn't know what to do."

"I will neither confirm or deny that," Merlin commented.

I rolled my eyes at the Flower Mage before turning back to Artoria. "The point is, regardless of the 'how', that kid is here. And, if you think YOU feel lost, then can you imagine how Mordred must be feeling?" I asked and Artoria's expression turned somber. "I'm not telling you to be a father on the spot... hell, even I needed to stay with someone I wasn't really friends with back then because I desperately needed help... But, I'm just telling you to handle this calmly. If you panic, or make the child think there's something wrong with them being there, they WILL notice. Kids are pretty perspective on this stuff. So just... take it easy. Don't let her think there's anything wrong with being here, and especially don't make her think anything is wrong with her."

Artoria stared at me for a few moments before she sighed and dragged her hand through her face. "I'll... I'll try. I just... I just need some rest right now," she said.

"And that's understandable. Follow your own advice and rest for the night after thinking things over," I said, standing up from my seat to leave.

"Before you go," Artoria spoke again, making me stop. "I was thinking of holding... a memorial of sorts, to honor the soldiers that lost their lives during the battle with Vortigern. I was wondering if that would be a good idea."

I blinked at her. "Wow, I'm impressed you thought of that on your own instead of needing me or Kay to tell you," I bluntly replied, and she just gave me a flat look. "Anyway, it's honestly a great idea. It'll show the people you truly care for any sacrifice they make and that you don't see those who work under you as nameless soldiers."

"I was never THAT bad," Artoria groaned.

"No, but you were pretending to be that bad," I said back, shrugging my shoulders before turning to leave. "Good night."

"Yes, good night," Artoria sighed, probably knowing there's gonna be very little sleep with how much thinking she has to do.

I kind of sympathised with her. Her situation is going to have someone annoyed at her either way, like she said. But, again, she's the king, and she needs to put her foot down sometimes instead of looking for the 'perfect solution'.

Just as I reached my room and sat down on my bed, Gaia decided it was a good moment to drop some news on me.

"Vortigern is dead and the one with our swords will die soon for you to reclaim it. You can go back now."

"... Are you kidding me?" I mumbled.

So now my job is over and I don't have to stay in Camelot because Artoria is gonna die one day? 'Soon' by Gaia's standards could mean centuries! It decided NOW was a good time to drop news like this one me?

.... Granted, I did the same with Artoria with the news about Mordred, but still!