Arthur didn't know how to respond to that at first. His knights could've said the same thing to him, and he would've been able to swallow that easier. That was what they were sworn to do. They protected him like he would protect them. There was a code and it made sense.

But Merlin was no knight, not in the least because of his sheer inability to wield a sword. He had just been his bumbling, idiotic, but strangely loveable manservant who proved pretty useful at times and extremely irritating at others. And he'd been lying to him for years.

"I want your word, Merlin, that you aren't going to do that behind my back anymore."