Almost immediately after Sir Hector finished speaking, the entire hall fell into brief silence.
Then, as if a spark had been thrown onto a barrel of gunpowder, countless gazes instantly turned toward Arthur.
The eyes of the nobles became even more fervent than before.
Although Britain was still in a state of "division," and King Arthur's authority was not absolute, no one dared deny his importance. Even weakened by constant war, Britain was still incomparably superior to any isolated tribe.
Otherwise, none of those tribal leaders would have answered King Arthur's call.
Even the proudest among them still showed respect toward the young king.
They still obeyed his orders.
Furthermore, recent rumors had already spread throughout the entire island.
Sir Scott had completely handed over his tribal authority to King Arthur before his death.
Milo had also sworn absolute loyalty to the crown.
Britain, already powerful, was becoming even more influential with each passing day.
If any family could marry their daughter to the king and turn her into queen...
Then, even after the future expulsion of the Saxons, that tribe would continue occupying a privileged position thanks to the queen's influence.
More importantly—
The current King Arthur was still young and inexperienced.
And precisely because of that, the feelings developed during this period would probably be the most genuine.
If a queen could remain by his side now, sharing joy, hardship, and battle with him...
Then her place beside the king would likely never be shaken.
"Sir Hector..." Morgan le Fay slowly looked toward the old knight. Her smile still remained on her lips, but her voice had become slightly cold. "The king has not yet reached adulthood. Don't you think it's inappropriate to discuss the position of queen so soon?"
She truly had not expected someone to bring up that subject now.
Although she knew some nobles wanted to pressure Arthur into choosing a queen, she never imagined they would do it precisely on the day of the ball.
"…Queen..." Nessa murmured softly while looking at Arthur.
Unlike usual, the young king was extremely silent at that moment.
But Nessa showed no real interest in that topic.
She was Arthur's fiancée.
However, she had never wanted to remain permanently in Britain.
Even if they married in the future, she wanted to continue living beside her mother... and beside Arthur.
If it were only her and Arthur living alone in Camelot, then everything would completely lose its meaning.
On the other side of the hall, Milo was also observing Hector with slight irritation hidden in her gaze.
This old man really knows how to pick the worst possible timing...
She had helped Arthur greatly until now, but still not to the point where he depended entirely on her.
On the contrary.
Arthur had probably already noticed her intentions long ago.
He merely pretended not to notice.
After all, having a competent assistant truly made British governance much more efficient.
"Actually..." Duke Bell coughed lightly before smiling. "I believe age is not exactly a problem. My daughter just turned eighteen years old. Although she may not be an expert in music, painting, or poetry, she is still well educated and could certainly assist Arthur in governing Britain."
"Duke Bell is far too modest." Another noble immediately joined the conversation. "But I believe the king should find someone closer to his own age. My daughter is only a few months younger than him."
"Speaking of which, my daughter just turned sixteen and has always been an obedient girl..."
The nobles began speaking one after another.
The entire hall transformed into a silent competition.
"You're really popular..." Nessa cast Arthur a bitter look while watching the nobles argue fervently.
Arthur immediately looked away, feeling inexplicably guilty.
Then, almost instinctively, he looked toward Scáthach beside him.
But he realized his master was also watching him.
Her crimson eyes remained as calm as always...
And yet, for some reason, Arthur felt an absurd pressure fall onto his shoulders.
When he raised his eyes again, he noticed Morgan was also looking in that direction.
However, unlike Scáthach, Morgan's gaze was filled with dangerous coldness.
But she was not staring at Arthur.
She was staring at Hector.
What exactly is Sir Hector trying to do...?
Arthur had known the old knight for a very long time.
Sir Hector had always been extremely serious and formal.
So why was he suddenly insisting on the matter of the queen?
Arthur carefully observed the knight's gaze.
Then he noticed something.
Hector's eyes were fixed on Artoria.
Arthur froze for a moment.
He specifically mentioned the position of queen...
Could it be that he wants Lily...?
The moment that thought surfaced, Arthur felt even greater pressure descend upon him.
Now the gazes of Scáthach.
Morgan.
Nessa.
Milo.
Artoria.
And practically half the entire hall seemed focused on him.
He could even understand Hector's logic.
The ball had gathered practically all of Britain's high society.
Having so many witnesses present truly made this moment extremely convenient for officially naming a future queen.
But Hector did not know the truth.
This was not an ordinary ball.
It was a trap.
A carefully prepared stage meant to lure out traitors and enemies.
This is bad...
If this continues, the entire ball is going to turn into a competition to decide who becomes queen.
Arthur began feeling a slight headache.
Now was definitely not the time to discuss marriage.
The ball needed to continue normally.
Otherwise, the entire plan would collapse.
Only by finding the traitor would it be possible to continue driving the Saxons out of Britain.
If information kept leaking, every future strategy would be compromised.
While watching the nobles still arguing about the "Queen," Arthur's thoughts accelerated rapidly.
Then—
He let out a long sigh.
"You have truly disappointed me."
His voice echoed throughout the entire hall.
Instantly, all discussions ceased.
The nobles fell silent.
Even Scáthach seemed surprised as she looked toward her apprentice.
"The Saxons have not yet been completely defeated. Britain remains plunged into chaos." Arthur spoke slowly, but his voice carried unexpectedly strong pressure. "At such a critical moment, how could anyone have time to think about romance?"
His gaze swept across the hall.
"Even if I were to choose a queen now... what kind of king would I be?"
"Marrying her only to leave her alone inside the palace while I spend my days fighting and governing?" His voice rose several tones. "That would be disrespectful toward the future queen!"
The hall remained completely silent.
"Furthermore..." Arthur continued. "I have a question for all of you."
His golden eyes pierced through the crowd.
"Do you truly believe this is merely an ordinary ball?"
Many nobles looked surprised.
Even the foreign guests immediately began paying attention.
Arthur slowly looked around the hall.
"Answer me." His voice became even more serious. "Has no one here realized the true purpose of this ball?"
The foreign representatives exchanged subtle glances.
Some had originally been observing everything merely as entertainment.
But now, seeing Arthur's reaction, they realized something far more important might be happening.
"Then..." A voice emerged from the crowd. "May we ask what the true purpose of this ball is, King Arthur?"
The one who spoke was Gawain.
Although it sounded like a spontaneous question, he was clearly cooperating with Arthur.
"Now that Britain has begun recovering its strength..." Arthur replied slowly, "and the Saxons have begun retreating... their defeat is only a matter of time."
Many nobles instinctively nodded.
"But has anyone here thought about what will happen afterward?"
Arthur continued:
"The territories devastated by war."
"The destroyed cities."
"The burned fields."
"The abandoned farmlands."
"How long will it take to rebuild all of that?"
The hall once again sank into silence.
"If we do everything ourselves..." Arthur said calmly, "it will probably take many years."
Then—
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
"Therefore, what we need now... is cooperation."
The nobles looked at him in confusion.
The foreign guests, however, immediately became alert.
Arthur observed the reactions around him and felt secret satisfaction rise within himself.
Even so, he maintained a serious expression.
"To all foreign guests and envoys who accepted to attend this ball..." Arthur declared solemnly, "I sincerely thank you for your presence."
"And I hope that, in the future, we may establish mutually beneficial relations."
Those words caused several foreign representatives to widen their eyes.
Arthur continued:
"If the opportunity arises... I hope we may exchange goods between our countries."
That had been an improvised idea.
But an extremely useful one.
Even after driving out the Saxons, the devastated territories would hardly recover quickly.
However, if they established trade with other nations...
Britain's reconstruction could accelerate dramatically.
"I would like to know..." One foreign visitor could not contain his curiosity. "What kind of goods does King Arthur intend to trade?"
At that moment, everyone had completely forgotten the discussion about the queen.
Now, the subject directly involved the interests of their own countries.
Arthur calmly looked at the man.
Then he answered:
"Monsters."
(End of Chapter)