Chapter 123: How Can Mere Britain Even Be Mentioned In The Same Breath Aas My Rome
After discussing Manaka Sajyou's matter and delegating some of the follow-up tasks, everyone remained in place.
As for the reason...
—It was because Artoria was still enjoying her dessert.
When Noah recreated the needle in the Lady of the Lake's magical realm this time, he observed a particularly intriguing pattern within its Magecraft circle. Upon returning, he utilized this pattern to recreate something: cream cake.
Clearly, Morgan loved it, and so did Artoria.
Even now, when the meeting should have ended and it was time for Artoria to practice her swordsmanship, she hadn't left.
To her, the reasoning was simple.
Hunger is the greatest enemy!
How could one practice swordsmanship on an empty stomach?
Moreover... swordsmanship could be practiced anytime, but if the cake was left here for too long, its flavor would change. Thus, eating the cake was more important!
With this logic in mind, she chose to indulge in the cake.
Noah and Morgan exchanged glances, both understanding the other's thoughts. So, after the meeting concluded, they stayed, intending to adjourn only after Artoria finished her cake.
During this time, Noah and Morgan engaged in casual conversation.
"What exactly is the situation with Vivian?"
Morgan, having noticed Vivian bringing another plate of cake for Artoria before standing aside, took the opportunity to inquire about her.
Noah had, of course, already explained Vivian's circumstances to Morgan.
However, while he had clarified Vivian's background, he hadn't mentioned assigning her such duties.
This precious Prophet was now dressed in a black-and-white dress adorned with white lace, seemingly wearing a lace-like white headpiece and black silk stockings similar to Morgan's.
Morgan had never seen such attire in Camelot before, nor had she heard of Noah assigning Vivian a role like that of a maid.
Hence, she brought up the topic of Vivian.
"You're asking about this maid uniform and the maid role..."
Noah hadn't originally intended for Vivian to serve as a maid. Initially, he had assigned her the proper duties of a Prophet—simply staying idle and performing prophecies only when required.
However, Vivian herself disagreed.
It seemed that after prophesying about Manaka Sajyou, she conducted another prophecy and insisted on staying by Noah's side to work.
Noah had initially planned to tell her directly—you have no right to refuse.
But just then, those tasked with improving clothing through Alchemy equipment arrived. In addition to producing the garments Noah requested, they also created an original set of attire.
This attire was the maid uniform.
Upon seeing it, Noah decided on a whim to make Vivian the first maid in Camelot—and perhaps even the world.
It could be described as a sudden inspiration.
Thus, he selectively shared the relevant details with Morgan.
Morgan nodded in response, then pondered for a moment.
"So being a maid is similar to being an attendant, just with duties more focused on daily life... In that case, a problem I was pondering earlier might actually be solved."
"Hmm?"
This time, it was Noah who grew curious, and Morgan proceeded to explain.
"You said before that I could arrange all the attendants in Camelot Castle as I saw fit."
That was indeed something Noah had mentioned during the Southern Six Kings' Council.
"At the time, I recruited some trustworthy attendants, and among them, I discovered one applicant was the princess of King Leodegrance's household..."
At this point, Morgan crossed her arms and shook her head helplessly.
"Back then, Guinevere insisted on staying to work in Camelot Castle, and she even managed to persuade King Leodegrance. Given the circumstances, I allowed her to stay temporarily, thinking this princess with her head full of flowers would likely tire herself out and leave after a few days."
"But from then until now, she has continued working as an attendant in Camelot Castle without ever complaining. She's gotten better at her duties, kept her identity hidden, and gotten along well with the other attendants."
Ah.
Noah hadn't expected Guinevere to still be in Camelot Castle, let alone working as an attendant all this time. This didn't match his impression of her at all.
If Morgan hadn't told him, he might have suspected Guinevere had bribed those around him to fabricate a story.
Still, Noah wasn't particularly troubled by this. If she wanted to be an attendant, so be it. It was her freedom and none of his concern.
But since Morgan had brought her up, Noah thought for a moment and followed Morgan's train of thought.
"So you're worried that since she's also in Camelot Castle, the assassins coming to kill me might have a mission to hunt princesses as well, putting her in danger, right?"
Morgan nodded.
"You said those assassins have tools given to them by Manaka Sajyou, and many of their functions are unclear. Even Vivian's prophecies can only predict one or two items at most when they're too vague—more detailed predictions are impossible. If they can create tools to track you, couldn't they also make ones to track Guinevere?"
"If I were an assassin and discovered both primary targets were in Camelot Castle, and if I were confident enough, I might split my forces..."
"Of course, we could leave knights to protect her, but her current identity is that of an attendant. Having knights guard her would be too conspicuous, and she likely wouldn't want that either."
"If Vivian temporarily protects her, that wouldn't be an issue, since Vivian is also an attendant... or rather, a maid now."
"What do you think?"
Hearing Morgan's words, Noah fell into thought.
Having Vivian watch over Guinevere... that could work. After all, Vivian's health has been restored by the life force, and as the Lady of the Lake, her combat abilities are beyond what ordinary people can imagine.
Moreover, Vivian's Spiritual Sense is exceptionally strong.
So even if Rome were to send some highly skilled assassins, equipped with tools to conceal their presence, it would still be impossible for them to evade Vivian's Spiritual Sense.
In that case...
"Let's proceed as you suggested."
While Artoria was eating cake, Noah and Morgan finalized the plan and adjusted the strategy for capturing the assassins alive.
The only point of contention initially was Noah's insistence on confronting the assassins himself. Morgan disagreed at first, citing the unknown functions of some of the tools they might possess. However, they reached an agreement on all other aspects.
Even Morgan's initial objection was eventually persuaded by Noah.
With the plan settled, Camelot now awaited the arrival of the assassins.
The Roman assassins arrived swiftly.
Since the ships previously given to the bandits were crafted by Manaka Sajyou, it was no trouble for her to provide identical ones now.
Piloting these vessels, the Roman assassins quickly reached Britain.
The lead assassin glanced at the tracking device in his hand and smirked.
"The tracking tool provided by the Assistant Minister shows that both Romulus and Guinevere are in Camelot Castle—they really chose what seems like the safest place for themselves."
The fact that their targets were in Camelot Castle didn't concern or intimidate these Roman assassins.
In their eyes, compared to Rome, Britain was too small—a mere minor nation, utterly incomparable to Rome!
As Romans, they looked down upon such small countries from the bottom of their hearts.
So what if it was the palace of one of these minor nations?
They could storm it!
They could storm it without hesitation!
Even if discovered, would the king of Britain dare to say anything?
They represented Rome! How could a mere Britain dare to refuse Rome?
With Britain unlikely to intervene, dealing with a man stripped of his blessings and a pampered princess would be effortless!
Thus, as the leader of this group of assassins, he confidently formulated his plan.
This time, since Manaka Sajyou had provided them with several tracking tools, there was no need to create new photos of Guinevere.
After all, these were assassins trained by the Roman royal family—organized and disciplined, not requiring bounties or rewards. As long as they could locate their targets, Manaka saw no need to issue new warrants.
Just as Morgan had anticipated, the lead assassin, already looking down on Britain, split his team into two groups. He didn't even bother to conceal the Roman insignias on their robes.
Then, the two teams stealthily advanced toward Camelot Castle.