Saying that, Nero began walking towards the direction of the mausoleum's entrance, intent on aiding Shirou in his current endeavor. Arturia and the others however were hesitating. They remembered that Shirou had said that 'he'd be back,' hinting at them to simply wait for him.
When Nero saw their indecision, she paused before saying something fairly simple.
"Umu, it's his honour that his servants are moving for his sake and benefit, yes," Nero said before turning around and staring Arturia straight in the eye. "That's why would you rather remain here, or would you rather help explore out there?"
Saying that, Nero promptly left without another word, disappearing into the trees.
Arturia stood rooted for a moment, her Knights looking to her for instruction.
And yet she didn't say anything until another moment passed.
For some reason or another, a part of her was telling her that not only was her master a caring sort of man, but a reckless sort of man too.
An image of a distant night flashed into her mind, one of violence and blood, and a fool who would intervene in a fight not even close to his calibre.
I want to fight by your side.
Her heart seemed to wrench in that moment, a sense of urgency taking root within her.
She winced as something in her very being seemed to burst forth, but she didn't care.
Instead, as Nero's words resounded in her head, she chose for once to forgo her own logic as a King and act upon the emotions within her.
She wanted to help.
And that's exactly what she would do.
The Roble Holy Kingdom was a Kingdom divided between its Northern and Southern inhabitants through a large bay splitting the areas apart. It was a sideward U with the North and South parties located on opposite ends of the U.
This created a natural barrier that maintained the balance of the two factions of the Kingdom and allowed for a tentative peace. However, such a peace was only brought about due to similar levels of military might. Should one side ever hold an advantage against the other, there would be no doubts that conflict would occur.
Recent events had already revealed the North and South's tense relationship when the North elected Calca Bessarez, a Princess of the Roble Holy Kingdom as the first Holy Queen. The Southern inhabitants protested against this sudden proclamation as Prince Caspond the eldest prince was more suitable for the position in their eyes. After all, Prince Caspond was the First Born and the rightful heir to the throne.
The rumours that were beginning to spread about Prince Caspond willingly giving up his birth right didn't matter. What did was the fact that the North ignored all voices of protest and formal discussion from the South and went along with their agendas.
It only helped that Calca was generally well received in the North due to her kindness, intuition, and the support of the Custodio siblings; One of which was even a member of the Nine Colours, Roble Holy Kingdom's strongest.
Naturally, the South was forced to stew in anger as their military forces were roughly equal with the North's where the majority of the Royal Family resided. Furthermore, a civil war was something that neither North or South desired due to the nature of their neighbors.
The warring tribes of the Demi-Humans of the Abelion Hills, an area filled with wilderness and mountain-like rolling hills that lied between the borders of the Slane Theocracy, one of the major Human Kingdoms.
Demi-Humans were always perceived as a threat by the inhabitants of the Roble Holy Kingdom. Not only were Demin-Humans generally more physically capable, but they each possessed unique abilities and magics reserved solely for their race. The most recent example in the Roble Kingdom's history was the invasion of the Srush, a Demi-Human race with venomous tongues and suckers on their hands. It was the main reason that the Sruch were able to bypass the Great Wall built around the Holy Kingdom to keep the Demi-Humans out.
Caught unprepared numerous citizens of the Holy Kingdom died before the Sruch were eventually forced back and new defensive tactics were implemented. Still, the new defenses weren't unbreachable, and neither the North or South factions of the Holy Kingdom wished to squander their reserve forces through war in the unlikely chance another breach by the Demi-Humans occurred.
As such, tensions remained high after Calca Bessarez was instated as the First Holy Queen, leading to the present situation.
In the South controlled mainly by the aristocracy and Noble Families, infighting had already begun to occur since even before Calca's election.
Power and Authority were the only things that seemed to matter in the Aristocracy's eyes, and many seeking greater influence wished to annex smaller or weakened Nobility.
Such was the concept of greed and ambition.
If the North could elect a new Holy Queen and ignore Prince Caspond's Birth Right, then the South could raise a sole figure-head to oppose the new Queen's rule and policies. A figure head decided by who amongst the Aristocracy had the most sway and influence.
Simplified, it was the Noble who controlled the most land, forces, and support of the others. Yet, which Noble didn't have pride in themselves to not believe that they were the worthiest to lead the South alone?
Therefore, even if the North saw the South currently as a peaceful collection of Nobles opposing them, the undercurrents of the South were far from tranquil.
Vincent Berferd would be the first to approve such a description.
He was a man with long flowing dirty-blond hair held up in a ponytail falling down past the small of his back, and possessing the natural grace of a Noble. For his family line was one of the first to establish themselves from the beginning of the Roble Holy Kingdom's founding near two-centuries ago. The emblem of the crossed spear and sword sewn into the mantle hung over the shoulder-straps of his current hunting garbs were enough proof of his identity in the Holy Kingdom.