I Became a Mythical Knight King

Chapter 122: Journey to the Royal Capital (2)

As the carriage carrying Yoo Seong and his party raced toward the royal capital, all kinds of rumors were pouring into Astraea, the royal capital of the Silatein Kingdom.

The human king has returned.

The king of Camelot has returned, defeating the king of monsters with the light of Camelot and saving the princess and Galatein Fortress.

It was an incredible story, but it wasn’t just one or two people spreading it.

And above all, it was a story people wanted to believe.

Although the royal capital had not yet been invaded by monsters, no one doubted that the age of the ominous star had arrived.

After all, Princess Elizabeth, the pride of the royal capital, had even led an army to the south to fight against monsters.

The Kingdom of Cabal had essentially fallen, and not only the northern Kingdom of Bertoria but also the Empire were under attack.

The interior of the kingdom was also suffering from monster attacks.

In the midst of all this, the story came.

And it was about none other than the human king—the king of Camelot.

“Over here! Come quickly!”

“We’ve been waiting forever!”

Amid the people’s urgings, Diego (male, 25) kept smiling despite being flustered.

It was the first time he had received such a warm welcome as a minstrel.

Of course, in small rural villages, locals hungry for news and stories gave him decent treatment, but this was the royal capital.

The royal capital is the most developed and prosperous city in the Silatein Kingdom and the largest city in the kingdom where many people come and go.

Normally, no one would care whether a minstrel came or not but today was different.

No, it was extremely different.

“Is that him?”

“What do you mean ‘him’? That’s the person!”

“Anyway, that’s him!”

“We’ve been waiting!”

“Hurry up! Come quickly!”

The fact that the owner of the largest tavern in the royal capital—someone Diego normally wouldn’t even have been able to face—personally came out to greet him was nothing.

The moment he entered the city gates, hundreds—no, what seemed like thousands of people cheered and welcomed Diego himself.

‘No way. Is this really happening? Not a dream?’

As Diego blinked with a blank expression, Washim (male, 42), who prided himself as the biggest liquor merchant in the royal capital and owner of The Mermaid’s Song, grabbed Diego’s wrist impatiently.

“Wake up, my friend! You need to seize this opportunity! Today is the best day of your life!”

“What? Ah, yes!”

Diego, suddenly coming to his senses at Washim’s words, quickly nodded.

‘Right, today is the best day of my minstrel career.’

Hadn’t he ridden his horse like crazy immediately after witnessing “The Miracle of Galatein Fortress” to reach the royal capital faster than anyone?

So he arrived first.

He couldn’t beat the rumors, but he could confidently say he had arrived at the royal capital faster than anyone else who had been at Galatein Fortress.

After all, if he hadn’t, Washim and the thousands of people before him wouldn’t have been waiting so eagerly for Diego himself.

“This way, over here.”

Washim led Diego not to his establishment, The Mermaid’s Song, but to the royal capital’s square.

There were too many people crowded together, making it impossible for even The Mermaid’s Song, which boasted the largest size in the royal capital, to accommodate everyone.

“Oh! Here he comes!”

“This is your place!”

The square was already filled with a well-made stage and food and drinks brought out by tavern owners from their establishments. Diego couldn’t help but be surprised again.

A magical device that amplified voices was installed on the stage.

“Start quickly!”

“We’ve been waiting!”

With thousands of people came thousands of voices, and the square was bustling with all kinds of noise.

Diego slapped his own cheeks several times to regain his composure before finally being able to stand on the stage.

“We’re starting! Everyone be quiet!”

The one who overpowered the thousands of spectators was the captain of the south gate guard.

Due to the thousands of people gathered, the guard had essentially all been mobilized, but their purpose was not to disperse the crowd but to control it.

So the guard captain first made the crowd quiet down, then sat in the best seat—the honored seat prepared in front of the stage—and looked at Diego.

Swallowing a dry gulp at the look that said to stop stalling and get started, Diego nodded and stood on the stage.

Thousands of eyes were looking at him.

Among them, with ears perked up and mouths tightly closed, were rich people, poor people, men, women, children, elderly, nobles, commoners—virtually all kinds of people from the royal capital were gathered.

What they wanted to hear.

What they were eager to hear.

Diego began to sing, slowly plucking the strings of his lute.

“Do you know? The brilliant night of miracles at Galatein Fortress.”

The Miracle of Galatein Fortress.

In the heightened silence, Diego’s voice spread far and wide.

While the royal capital’s residents were enthusiastic about Diego’s song, the nobles of the royal capital were also gathering in small groups to talk.

The human king has returned.

Princess Elizabeth knelt before the returned king of Camelot and called him Your Majesty.

It was a shocking event that shook not only the royal capital but the entire Kingdom of Silatein.

Few among the nobles doubted the events of that day.

Unlike the residents of the royal capital who were eagerly waiting for a single minstrel, the nobles had already accessed information about Galatein Fortress through various routes.

The royalist faction nobles mostly welcomed it, while the nobility faction expressed reluctance.

The reason was simple.

“The bride of the century.”

Whoever married Princess Elizabeth would become the master of the Kingdom of Silatein.

Both the royalist faction and the nobility faction coveted that position.

Since it was a position with the status of king at stake, foreigners were out of the question from the start, and if the princess was not going to live and die a virgin, she would have to form a connection with one of the domestic nobles, whether she liked it or not.

The royalist faction naturally insisted that the princess’s spouse should come from among the royalist nobles, while the nobility faction argued that for the peace of the kingdom and the balance of power, the spouse should come from the nobility faction but then the human king appeared.

The legitimate heir of the holy kingdom of Camelot.

The royalist nobles quite naturally thought of the union between the princess and the king of Camelot.

No, not just the royalist faction but the nobility faction also had such thoughts.

This was because the picture was too pretty.

The king of Camelot was the human king, so he could be called the king of kings, encompassing all five kingdoms and the empire.

Wouldn’t it be truly good if such a person became the king of the Kingdom of Silatein?

“Tsk, there’s really no way around this.”

Even Count Dampierre, the leader of the nobility faction who had been pushing his eldest son as the princess’ spouse, declared an early surrender.

What could one do when faced with the human king?

Moreover, if he really was the human king, if that light that illuminated Galatein Fortress was truly the light of Camelot—

Count Dampierre took a deep breath and unconsciously raised his right fist over his left chest, he whispered as if whispering.

“To the glory of Camelot.”

That was the story of kings and knights that was myth, legend, and history all at once.

The legend of the great king who drove away various evil gods and monsters and opened the age of humans.

It wasn’t just Count Dampierre.

Regardless of royalist or nobility faction, if one was a noble of this land—no, if one was simply a citizen of the Kingdom of Silatein—there was no one who did not hold King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table in their hearts.

For them, opposing or standing against the king of Camelot would cause a physiological rejection, to say the least, especially now that the age of the ominous stars had arrived.

Count Conrad, the leader of the royalist faction, looked toward the square.

Despite being in a mansion located inside the inner castle, far from the square, he couldn’t help but turn his head at the explosive cheers erupting from the square.

“Wh-what’s happening?”

To his precious, cherished, only daughter’s question, Count Conrad stroked his well-grown beard with a pleasant smile because he roughly guessed what the situation might be.

‘His Majesty the human king is probably showing the light of Camelot.’

Although he had confirmed it several times, it was still an unbelievable story.

The human king.

The light of Camelot.

‘I want to meet him soon.’

Count Conrad pressed his pounding heart slightly, as if he had returned to his childhood, and smiled.

Although the entire royal capital, regardless of age, gender, or status, was enthusiastic about the returned human king, not everyone welcomed the king’s return.

Or, more precisely, there was a group that could not welcome it.

Those hidden in the shadows of the royal capital counted in anxiety.

About four days from now.

The time needed for the human king to arrive at the royal capital.

Those hidden in the shadows looked at each other.

Instead of exchanging words, they exchanged glances and then one by one, they took steps and scattered throughout the royal capital.

Three days later.

The place where Yoo Seong’s party stopped their horses was the Baron Mancini’s estate, one of several territories located north of Galatein Fortress.

Having already received a report that Yoo Seong’s party would pass through his territory, Baron Mancini came out to greet them, bringing not only his retainers but also his entire family.

“To the glory of Camelot.”

That was the first greeting from Baron Mancini as he faced Yoo Seong’s party, who had just gotten out of the carriage.

Baron Mancini, who appeared to be in his mid-40s, had quite a few children, from his eldest son who looked to be in his 20s to his youngest daughter who appeared to be a young girl, all with sparkling eyes, following Baron Mancini by pressing their left chests with their fists.

‘It seems like a real romance for people here.’

Seeing how everyone, regardless of age or gender, wanted to give that greeting to all the territories they had visited so far, it seemed like it might even transcend romance.

In any case, there was no reason for Yoo Seong not to reciprocate, and the children’s sparkling eyes were too cute, so he responded with a bright smile.

“To the glory of Camelot.”

Not just the children, but Baron Mancini and the retainers behind him all suddenly had their faces turn bright red.

At this rate, it seemed almost on the level of Baron Robert, whom they had met in the County of Artois, making Yoo Seong inwardly smile bitterly.

He could imagine how Baron Robert, who had been so enthusiastic even when he was just “the Black Knight of Lothian,” would react if he saw him now.

‘He would probably faint.’

The image of Baron Robert gasping, swallowing his breath, and then collapsing naturally came to mind, causing Yoo Seong to smile slightly again. Seemingly encouraged by this, Baron Mancini stepped forward and said:

“It is an honor to greet you, Your Majesty. I am Baron Mancini of the Kingdom of Silatein.”

The Miracle of Galatein Fortress was already widely known in this area.

There were many witnesses, and since the princess herself was vouching for him, for Baron Mancini, it was meaningless to doubt Yoo Seong’s authenticity.

Hence the “Your Majesty,” a title that could only be attached to a king.

“Thank you for your warm welcome.”

When Yoo Seong responded formally, Baron Mancini’s face became even more moved. After paying respects once more politely, he turned his attention to the second person to greet.

“I also present my greetings to Your Highness the Princess.”

“Thank you for your hospitality, Baron Mancini.”

Princess Elizabeth responded gracefully as always, but there was a hint of playfulness in her eyes.

Baron Mancini laughed awkwardly at the look that conveyed something close to ‘Am I now secondary?’, and the princess laughed again as if it was a joke.

After all, Baron Mancini belonged to the princess’ faction, and Yoo Seong was not a competitor of the princess herself.

After the greetings with the two most important people were over, Yoo Seong personally introduced Rene and Jillian to Baron Mancini.

“This is Ms. Rene Baltois, the king’s magician, and Lady Jillian Ynatri, the saint of the Omphalos Order.”

The two people being introduced by none other than the king of Camelot himself.

Moreover, with titles such as the king’s magician and saint, the baron’s children sparkled their eyes even more because they felt as if this moment had become a scene from a myth and legend.

“Baron Mancini.”

“Yes? Ah, yes! This way!”

Prompted gently by the princess, Baron Mancini, now coming to his senses, led the way to his estate.

Since Yoo Seong’s following numbered close to two thousand, not everyone could go to the baron’s mansion, and most unpacked their belongings at a campsite prepared in advance by the baron and prepared for overnight stay.

Now, after checking that the soldiers were resting, they would enjoy the banquet prepared by Baron Mancini as they had done in other territories—But this time it was different because a welcome face had arrived.

“To the glory of Camelot.”

To Count Carian’s disciplined greeting, with seriousness and pleasure all over his face, there was only one response Yoo Seong could give.

“To the glory of Camelot.”

When he reciprocated the greeting, Count Carian momentarily showed a smile reminiscent of Baron Robert before quickly composing his expression and speaking.

“Your Majesty.”

Now that his identity had been revealed to the world, he boldly said “Your Majesty.”

Yoo Seong smiled bitterly and nodded.

In fact, he already knew that he would join with Count Carian in this vicinity.

Because he had heard through Juliet that Count Carian would lead the Western Lord Alliance forces toward the royal capital.

“Count Carian.”

“Your Highness the Princess.”

The princess looked at Count Carian with a slightly mischievous face, and Count Carian responded with a clean face as if asking if something was wrong.

In fact, the two were not particularly adversaries to begin with.

Since Count Carian had contacted the princess’ faction the most to give the title of count to Yoo Seong, broadly speaking, Count Carian could also be considered a noble belonging to the princess’ faction.

Therefore, the current exchange was close to ‘You were hiding a crafty secret?’ ‘Hehehe, you know I couldn’t easily tell you about it.’ But somehow, from an outside perspective, it looked like a fox and a snake smiling at each other.

“Have you brought the Western Lord Alliance forces?”

“They’re heading to the royal capital under the guidance of Baron Anjou. Only myself and my close associates have come to Baron Mancini’s territory.”

After answering the princess’s question softly, Count Carian naturally turned toward Yoo Seong.

The implication was that there would be various matters to coordinate before entering the royal capital, and he had come to handle them.

And since Yoo Seong had already heard about this through Juliet, he didn’t waste unnecessary time and spoke directly.

“Count Carian.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“We’re going to hold a triumphal ceremony.”

A triumphal ceremony to commemorate the victory at Galatein Fortress.

Although they had not yet driven away all the monsters in the south, and there was an ominous atmosphere brewing beyond the northwestern border region from the direction of the Kingdom of Bertoria, they still planned to hold a triumphal ceremony.

Count Carian didn’t bother to ask why.

He merely made his eyes shine as if it were the natural course.

“Might you have a method in mind?”

Because an ordinary triumphal ceremony wouldn’t suit the king’s return.

At Count Carian’s question, the princess smiled bitterly, and Rene, who had been quiet beside them, couldn’t help the corners of her mouth from rising and just gave a bright smile.

“I was thinking of doing it this way.”

The method that came to mind when he first heard about the triumphal ceremony from the princess.

After hearing Yoo Seong’s entire story, Count Carian, instead of a sinister or cool-headed smile, smiled almost like Baron Robert.