Blue-Eyes White Dragon: Adopted by the King of Knights [22]

Suddenly, Artoria was no longer in such a hurry.

“A farce.”

That was her conclusion after getting a general sense of what was going on.

At this point, if she still couldn’t see through the design behind it all, then the years she’d spent receiving a “king’s education” would have been completely wasted—and she’d be unworthy of the title Fated King of Britain.

“Kay finding the baby dragon might’ve been a coincidence. Taking it into town? Sure, that was just his nature…”

“But everything that happened after—that’s all the magician’s doing.”

Tch. A living dragon. What a headline.

Artoria curled her lip in distaste.

She understood Merlin’s intentions clearly. If she, before the eyes of so many knights, were to draw that so-called “Sword of Selection,” and then lead the baby dragon back home, her standing in the eyes of the people of Britain would rise to an entirely new level.

It would be a tremendous advantage for her future.

Let’s be honest—being King Uther’s illegitimate child was nothing to be proud of. If anything, it was a liability. But if she truly tamed a dragon—even a young one—then the other knights would rally around her. They’d say she deserved to be called royalty with “the blood of the Red Dragon flowing in her veins.” That she was “the true and rightful Red Dragon King.”

With that, she would gain the mandate of righteousness—and become the spiritual standard-bearer for all of Britain in the fight against the Tyrant Vortigern.

It was, without a doubt, the smoothest and most direct path forward.

Even Artoria herself had to admit: this script was flawless. She didn’t even have to do anything. Just draw the sword only she could draw, call the baby dragon home—who already seemed bored with the whole thing—and everything would fall neatly into place.

But even so—

“Is all that really necessary?”

Artoria turned back for a moment, glancing at the holy sword still embedded in the stone at the center of the square—utterly ignored now.

Then she turned away.

She had no intention of playing out the script Merlin had so thoughtfully arranged.

She wasn’t an actress, much less anyone’s puppet. She was a king, with her own will—and her own resolve.

“Even without any of this, I’m still the king.”

“The king who must save this island, and protect the smiles of her people.”

The girl—no, the king—turned and began to walk toward the gathered crowd.

A sovereign’s pressure radiated from her in waves—raw magical energy coalesced around her, expanding outward from her body. It forced open a path in the throng-packed street as if the magic itself commanded space to yield.

At the end of that path sat Kay, lounging on the steps, shield and spear in hand. And beside him, sprawled on a pile of glittering gold coins, was the baby dragon—so bored it was flicking coins with its tail to amuse itself.

“You lost.”

Kay greeted her with his usual breezy tone, even as Artoria approached with a stormy expression.

The baby dragon tossed a coin toward Kay.

It had made a bet with the young knight—would Artoria draw the sword first, or walk over here?

Bluey, who had bet on her choosing the sword, lost—but he didn’t seem the least bit upset.

See? She picked me first.

She cares about me.

…

The street wasn’t long.

Before the eyes of the entire crowd, the young king reached the end of the path in less than a minute. She now stood before the baby dragon’s knight protector.

“I know what you’re planning. And I understand your resolve.”

“But if you’ll let me say just one thing—if possible, I sincerely wish you’d turn around and go back to being a stable hand.”

“We’re heading home tonight. All of us, together.”

Seated on the steps, Kay looked up at the sister now standing before him and, for once, spoke from the heart.

This was his final attempt.

He knew it would likely end in failure… but as her older brother—who could already see how thorny the road ahead would be—he had to say it. He had to lay bare the cruel truth:

“Honestly, there’s no one out there actually waiting for some so-called ‘chosen king.’”

“No one wants to follow Uther’s or Merlin’s dream. Let’s face it—in today’s world, who has the most men, the most gold, the most power—that’s what defines a real king, not some invisible royal mark.”

“And besides, who the hell wants to put their faith in some god-sent savior to fix everything? No one wants to be that kind of messiah, and no one wants to be ruled by one either.”

At that, even Kay couldn’t help but chuckle, like he’d just told a joke that was only funny to himself.

But Artoria never laughed.

Nor did she get angry—because she knew, beyond a doubt, that this knight before her spoke out of nothing but care and love.

Yet just as it was a brother’s duty to stop his sister from stepping into ruin, it was also a king’s burden to press forward, regardless of the cost.

“Honestly, if only you didn’t have such a rotten mouth… But thank you, Kay.”

The king lowered her head and whispered her thanks.

Then she climbed the steps without hesitation—heading straight toward the dragon, who was now rising into the air from its pile of gold.

“Are we going home?”

The king asked.

The dragon nodded—then slowly shook its head.

Yes… but not yet.

“Raaaahh—!”

Suddenly, the baby dragon let out a loud cry—a clear, resounding roar.

As the crowd turned in confusion, Artoria glanced over her shoulder, puzzled, at the Sword of Selection still stuck in the center of the square.

You’ve entertained me, the dragon seemed to say. So I will form a contract with you. Now, bring me that sword.

“What does that even mean…?”

Artoria echoed the dragon’s strange words aloud, uncertain what it was up to—but still, she followed its instructions. She ran back to the square, pulled the glittering sword from the stone, and brought it back to the dragon.

Crunch—

With a perfect set of teeth, Bluey chomped down on the sword—the very thing that had stunted Artoria’s development and blurred the lines of gender in her fate—and snapped it clean in two.

Then, under the stunned—or secretly delighted—gazes of the onlookers, the baby dragon’s body suddenly flared with an intense white light.

[Ding. You’ve gained 1000 Growth Points from consuming this item.]
[Current Growth Points: 1065/100]
[Evolution conditions met. Would you like to evolve now?]

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T/N: mmm yum yum

This is a fan translation of 综漫：青眼幼龙，被骑士王捡到了 by 歌冰丽月. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!