Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

As for the grooms who dare not resist, they can negotiate with the lord before the wedding and pay money to buy the right of first night.

If the lord is willing to sell this right, and if the bride is not very beautiful, or if the lord is somewhat incapable, the lord is happy to convert this right into his own special tax, rather than exercising this right himself.

To prevent their subjects from fleeing, and given Camelot's presence and the attitude of the Knights of the Round Table, even those lords with ulterior motives were hesitant to go too far.

Unfortunately, slaves did not have this right.

Even if the two were to sue the lord on this charge, there would be no existing British law that could punish him.

At most, it would only amount to a few moral condemnations.

Therefore, even after escaping to Camelot, the two of them had to hide their tails between their legs.

"Then why not simply suggest to the Knight King that she abolish this custom?"

Mary gently rested her chin on her hand, asking curiously.

"it's useless……"

Morgan shook his head slightly, his expression calm.

"The king's duty is simply to ensure the survival of Britain and to keep more people alive."

The right of first night is not now an established law, but a custom. In order to maintain the stability of Britain, the royal power cannot interfere too forcefully with the lord's governance and decisions in his territory.

Therefore, she won't easily change the status quo for the demands of one or two people..."

Morgan knew his sister very well.

From the moment she took up that gun, Artoria, or rather the Knight King, could no longer be simply called a "person".

Calling her a "deity" would be more appropriate.

That's true. Her army easily regrouped the cavalry that had just been lost, and was almost unscathed when it defeated the invading barbarian forces. As it swept across the battlefield, the fortresses specifically built to defend against King Arthur were utterly destroyed by the Knights of the Righteousness.

Indeed, the enemies of the Round Table crumbled with her arrival, and she was undefeated in all twelve dynastic wars.

In the process, many people paid with their lives to achieve the above results.

Similarly, every war, whenever that king intervened, was a catastrophe that destroyed the heavens and the earth, with tens of thousands of people disappearing beneath that spiraling pillar of light.

Every decision is a bloody, statistical one.

To conceal her marches, she ordered the massacre of villages inhabited by foreign tribes; to enforce discipline, she executed hordes of deserters; and to unify the southern borders, her hands were stained with the blood of rebellious lords and their subjects.

Even more so, there are quite a few innocent people among them.

For example, exploiting a village before the war to prepare for war, conquering it before it was destroyed by foreign tribes, and protecting ten villages are indeed commendable.

However, the army's supplies would inevitably drain the local villages, and the people who lost their food were left behind, which was tantamount to waiting to die.

Even so, she kept in mind her original vow that a king cannot govern a country with human emotions.

Therefore, even her closest knights of the Round Table never saw her show any sadness or even the slightest emotion.

Even if she just drew her sword and slaughtered a village, she could be sitting at a table in the blink of an eye, almost omnipotent, handling all matters, big and small, within the kingdom without the slightest hesitation or wavering.

This instilled in the Knights of the Round Table both respect and fear of their monarch.

In a sense, that knight king had long since shut down his emotions, and was regarded by his enemies and the people of his own country as a symbol of fairness and selflessness, a rational machine that ruled the country.

She had lived through the bloodiest wars and witnessed the most tragic tragedies.

What is the humiliation and separation caused by such outdated customs as the right to one's first night?

Compared to the stability of the various lords and the survival of Britain, it is utterly insignificant.

“Is it a trivial matter? I don’t think so. If this old custom is abused, it can be a powerful tool to incite class antagonism. If it continues, sooner or later, more and more people will rebel against the oppression of the lords, which will lead to turmoil in Britain.”

Samael smiled slightly, his gaze fixed on the firelight with a profound and meaningful look.

"Even those who were once afraid to speak up will, over time and with the accumulation of resentment, transfer their anger onto that Knight King."

In fact, just over 700 years later, a fierce struggle over the "right of the first night" would erupt on this land.

In the future, Edward I, the fifth King of England of the Plantagenet dynasty, also known as "Longlegs Edward" or "Hammer of Scotland," conquered the Celts of Scotland.

"It seems it's time to revive one of our ancient traditions... the right of first night!"

Edward the Elder declared that the English had the right of first night with Scottish commoners.

"Right of the first night"—what a wonderful term! This system can not only trample on the dignity of the ruled to the greatest extent, but also gain the support of the lords under its command, and greatly accelerate the blood annexation of foreign races. It is simply a brilliant strategy that kills three birds with one stone!

If the right of first night is successfully implemented on a nation, extinguishing the fighting spirit of those men, the demise of that nation is only a matter of time.

This long-legged king intends to annihilate the Scots, to completely devour the Celts and assimilate them into the Anglo-Saxon system.

However, the truth is that when a young Scottish man named William Wallace witnessed his fiancée being abducted, humiliated, and killed by the British army, he rose up in anger.

The Celts, conquered by England, rallied in response and launched a vigorous resistance against the English colonists.

Ultimately, although Wallace was defeated and killed, his successor, Robert the Bruce, led the army to defeat the invasion of the Kingdom of England and achieve national independence.

Samael remembered this so vividly because in his previous life, during his school days, his English teacher had shown a film called "Braveheart" to the class.

Undoubtedly, indulging in such so-called bad habits, though insignificant in the eyes of the upper class, is most likely to accumulate public resentment and undermine the foundation of the country.

The famous Italian political thinker Niccolò Machiavelli stated in "The Prince": "Some treat the people with kindness, while others put them to death. The people are naturally suspicious of each other because of small grievances, but they are terrified when faced with a great enemy."

Simply put, when dealing with the public, you either need to be friendly and do everything right, otherwise you'll have a lot of black marks, or you should be ruthless and do everything right, so that no one dares to speak out against you.

However, allowing such petty grievances to fester is the easiest way to cause trouble.

This is why, despite the great deeds of the Knight King who saved Britain from peril and did so much, the Round Table ultimately fell apart and the people rebelled.

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Ideal King Sheng

Under a bright moon and sparse stars, the firewood crackled and popped around the dimly lit campfire. People who had met by chance sat around the fire and talked about the night.

Samael recounts Wallace's example in the form of a story, offering his own perspective.

Before being stabbed to death by angry readers, Gu She was, after all, an author by profession. The fact that he was hunted down by readers for abandoning his work as an eunuch shows that he was naturally good at storytelling.

In this era lacking entertainment, the group listened with great interest, and even the fleeing couple were captivated, falling into deep thought.

Incidentally, to further bolster his argument, Samael brought up Gilgamesh, a rather scoundrel in his youth, as an example, and proceeded to humiliate him.

As the head of the ancient slave-owning class, this King of Uruk actually had little pity for the people.

Talking to him about restraining one's desires, suppressing one's emotions, maintaining rationality, dedicating oneself to the people, and empathizing with the people is, in his eyes, a complete joke.

According to this guy's values, everyone is his property, his slave, and only slaves are entitled to dedicate themselves to their master.

Therefore, unless Uruk faces a major crisis of extinction, like the "Third Storm," and he himself is certain to die, this guy will only occasionally show his so-called "kindness."

In normal times, expecting such a pleasurable prisoner to experience the hardships of ordinary people is simply a pipe dream.

Even so, this arrogant king, during the busiest time of his life, clearly remembered the birth date of Tabad's daughter and the situation in General Tim's hometown, and subtly offered his meticulous care.

This is why the people of Uruk are willing to die in the face of natural disasters, united as one.

You could say Gilgamesh was giving alms, or you could say he was putting on a show, but without a doubt, this kind of underhanded tactic is the most effective at winning people's hearts.

In contrast, Artoria is far too inexperienced in this regard, twisting herself to maintain rationality, creating an insurmountable sense of distance.

Whether it's the Round Table or the people, everyone admires her, and everyone stays away from her.

As the altar gradually became stained, the deity was no longer flawless or majestic. People who had been bowing their heads in worship for so long naturally raised their heads, giving rise to contempt and resentment.

Elevating mortals to godhood and watching deities fall to the dust are two of humanity's favorite things.

Therefore, governing a country and treating its people does not require lofty self-sacrifice; it is enough to first handle the mundane matters of daily life, birth, aging, illness, and death in an orderly manner.

Samael, drawing on his years of experience governing during periods of stability, summarized his feelings in a concise and heartfelt statement.

"In short, a ruler's duty is to care for the people's livelihood; the most important matters of the nation are the most trivial matters of the people!"

After a long conversation, an eerie silence fell over the room.

The ancient snake sensed eight gazes converging on it, and couldn't help but feel a chill run down its spine.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

After a brief silence, the slave worker Nok bowed solemnly with a serious expression, looking sincerely at the nameless swordsman before him, expressing his heartfelt admiration.

"You are a remarkable person..."

The three people next to him also nodded in unison.

"If only you were our lord."

The timid slave girl couldn't help but murmur her dreams.

"Hmm, you are someone who is very worthy of being served, in every sense of the word..."

Meryl's purple eyes blinked with a grin, teasing him as she always did in a nonchalant way, which earned her a roll of her eyes from Samael.

"I will consider advising the king to abolish this outdated custom..."

Morgan, surprisingly, also changed his attitude towards this "minor matter" and decided to get involved.

Seeing a hint of surprise on Samael's face, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated, the witch pondered softly.

"I am a woman too..."

The right to virginity is not only a violation of men's dignity, but also an exploitation of women.

Seeing Morgan's serious attitude, Samael was both amused and exasperated, overwhelmed with mixed feelings.

I had just been sleeping for a while and wanted to have a chat, so I just said it offhand. I never expected that it would actually change Morgan's attitude.

If this witch, who is at odds with King Artoria, were to participate in the governance of the country as an advisor and change Artoria's governing philosophy, then the decline of the British divine era might very well be delayed.

This goes against Samael's original purpose.

Tsk, why can't I control my mouth?

Samael rubbed his forehead in distress, looking quite helpless.

However, after much deliberation, the ancient serpent realized that even knowing the consequences, it would probably still make the same choice.

History is cold, but people are warm.

Having witnessed firsthand the myriad aspects of human life, its joys and sorrows, can he truly remain detached and observe with indifference?

In the end, Samael received no answer, and a trace of melancholy rippled in his deep eyes as he gazed at the moonlight.

"You're going to Darlington, ordered to deal with the insect plague?"

During their conversation, the couple learned the identities and whereabouts of the three people, which shocked them greatly, and their faces showed both awe and relief.

After digesting this explosive information, Nock seemed to have thought of something, his eyes flickered, and he asked in a low voice.

"Do you have any ideas?"

Morgan's face stiffened as he thought of those endless, writhing creatures, and he shook his head with lingering fear.

The Naraku Insects are demonic creatures bred from filth. Although her attacks dispersed these creatures, it was difficult to solve the problem at its root.

Moreover, the contaminated land, plants, and water sources are also a major problem.

The insect plague is more troublesome than the previous beast plague, and how to deal with it properly is still a headache for the three of them.

"I know someone who can get rid of these demonic insects!"

Nock hesitated for a moment before speaking solemnly, immediately causing the three people present to look on in surprise.

Then, the man composed himself, quickly gathered his thoughts, and began to recount the couple's experience of fleeing.

The Naraku Insects swept across the southern region, and many more demonic insects appeared near their former territories, bringing mineral production to a standstill.

As a result, the miners who were waiting for their harvest were restless.

But not long after, the demonic insects that had been lurking near the mine, gnawing on the land and polluting the water disappeared, and mining resumed in full swing.

As a slave miner for generations, Nok naturally had some dealings with the mine spirits. Out of curiosity, he once paid these spirits with a few pieces of his privately hoarded ore to inquire about the reason.

The answer is that the mine spirits sought help from the chieftain of the earth clan, and successfully averted the disaster.

Right!

Samael suddenly realized, recalling the records about the six great fairy clans.

Fairies are manifestations of the spirits of planets, so they are born with a strong affinity for nature.

The Naraku Insects come from the earth and are born from the filth of the dead.