Kellive, his hand still dripping with blood, calmly walked forward. Gawain hurriedly followed behind him.
“Your Majesty, there’s another magic circle ahead…!”
Before he could finish speaking, Kellive’s sword lightly sliced through the ground, cutting through the magic circle before the attack spell could activate.
With a loud crack, the magic circle shattered. Watching the scene of dirt and grass flying through the air, Gawain let out an awkward cough.
“It’s because it’s night, you know. If it were daytime, these magic circles wouldn’t even be a problem, right?”
“That’s what they say.”
“Please call me during the day next time. People might think I’m really incompetent.”
“If you were incompetent, I wouldn’t have brought you along.”
Kellive replied leisurely as he systematically dismantled the magic circles around them.
The closer they got to the mansion, the heavier Kellive’s thoughts became. It felt as if something soft, yet heavy was pressing down on his head, creating a sense of pressure. He could feel his emotions drying up, unlike before.
‘It’s starting.’
Whenever this happened, shedding blood for Tyrving helped him endure. As he repeatedly wounded himself, a thought crossed his mind.
‘This is frustrating.’
It was a dangerous sign.
It meant that the small wounds he was inflicting on himself weren’t enough to satisfy Tyrving’s demands. Kellive forced himself to focus and easily shattered the magic circle directly in front of the mansion’s door.
With a loud crash, the glowing runes emitted an unpleasant sound before quickly fading.
Kellive looked down at his hand, now covered in wounds. To suppress the accumulated impulses, he deliberately clenched his injured hand tightly.
Pushing open the massive iron gate, a creaking sound echoed.
Gawain, following behind Kellive, glanced around and lightly kicked the ground with his foot.
“For a place that’s supposed to be protected by magic to keep people away, there’s no magic circle or anything inside the mansion, huh?”
“That means someone’s using the mansion. More likely someone who comes and goes occasionally rather than living here.”
Kellive continued matter-of-factly.
“If there were attack spells even in the living areas, it would be hard to welcome guests.”
“Why do you think it’s occasional?”
“If someone knew the mansion well, they could avoid the magic circles inside. It’s more likely someone who doesn’t come here often.”
“Before that, it looks like anyone trying to get in would end up dead.”
“There must be another way in.”
The mansion’s door opened as easily as a front gate. The well-used handle and the well-oiled hinges were evidence that someone had been maintaining it until recently.
As they stepped into the entrance hall, a pungent smell of blood hit them.
Kellive’s golden eyes instinctively flashed. The scene before them was unbelievable.
Gawain opened his mouth and pointed ahead.
“Your Majesty, look at that.”
“Yeah. Priests and clerics…”
Kellive gripped Tyrfing tightly to suppress his impulses and continued quietly.
“They’re cleaning the mansion.”
From the staircase in the center of the hall to the walls, windows, and floors, people in priestly robes were diligently scrubbing.
The sheer number of them made the scene even more absurd.
Oblivious to Kellive and Gawain’s presence, they were completely absorbed in their cleaning.
Gawain let out a hollow laugh.
“We’re… not exactly the type to go unnoticed, are we, Your Majesty?”
As soon as he finished speaking, one of the priests, who had been wiping the floor, noticed their shoes and jumped back in shock.
“W-who are you?”
Kellive recognized the face.
“Priest Asen.”
When her name was called, she stood up and asked politely.
“Your Majesty of Avalon, what brings you here?”
She seemed completely unaware of the chaos that had erupted in the temple after her disappearance.
Gawain, baffled, was about to say something, but Kellive raised a hand to stop him.
“…Never mind. It seems we’ve found everyone we need.”
Kellive looked up. The second-floor corridor was clearly visible. The ornate railing, carved with intricate designs, revealed a woman collapsed between the gaps.
Kellive continued, looking at the pale arm dangling through the railing.
“It seems we’ve found the young lady who ran away from Avalon.”
💫
The day after the banquet.
Morgana woke up in bed and stared seriously at Excalibur. She narrowed her eyes and scrutinized the sword. It was lying on her bed, covering the blanket and resting on a pillow.
“I’m pretty sure I left you standing by the bed before I fell asleep.”
— Someone touched me. I’m very sensitive right now. Got it?
“So you climbed onto my bed by yourself? Alone?”
— I told you, I can follow my owner wherever they are, right?
She didn’t realize that applied to such a short distance.
It seemed that Olivia or some other servant must have brushed against it while passing by. The reaction was oddly sharp.
Morgana crossed her arms and looked down at Excalibur lying on her bed.
“Didn’t tens of thousands of people touch you while you were stuck in the rock?”
— Is that the same as this? They just grumbled and gave up like idiots trying to pull me out, but this time, the look in their eyes was pure criminal intent. Got it?
A holy sword that now reads faces.
The only people who could enter her room were Olivia and Arthur.
Arthur was standing guard outside the door, and Olivia usually knocked before entering.
‘Strange. There’s no one else who would come in.’
Just then, there was a knock, and Olivia’s voice came through the door.
“Miss, a letter has arrived. Is it for you?”
“A letter? From whom?”
“I’m not sure. There’s no recipient written, but the sender is ‘Britain, Let’s Drink and Die.’”
It was the name of Raon’s tavern.
‘He usually just writes his name. Why the business name all of a sudden?’
Since she had left a messenger bird with Raon, a white bird would mean the letter was indeed from him.
Morgana tilted her head and accepted the letter.
“It’s addressed to me, but…”
The temple had an official channel for receiving letters.
Letters from all over were collected and then individually delivered to guests by the priests. The fact that Olivia had brought it separately meant it had been sent unofficially.
Olivia, who had opened the door and entered, also looked puzzled.
“A white bird was flying around the window. It had something in its beak, so I checked, and it was this letter.”
She handed over the haphazardly folded letter. There was no envelope, and the outside was just hastily scribbled with Raon’s handwriting.
When Morgana unfolded the letter, she saw words that had been written and then crossed out multiple times with thick black lines.
[Miss, sorry to bother you while you’re enjoying the festival, but… the mother of the kid who looks after Percival’s shop has been holed up in the store for days, refusing to leave. She says she has to see you since you pulled the holy sword.
P.S. She insisted I send this by messenger bird. Ugh, I don’t even know why she came down from the mountain.]
Judging by the crossed-out mention of Percival’s name, it seemed his mother had secretly requested the letter be sent.
‘What’s this? She didn’t like the temple, so is that why?’
If it were about cutting off the supply of Tir na Nog, she would’ve just taken Percival and gone back up the mountain.
There must be another reason.
‘I’ll have to go to Britain after the festival.’
As she quietly tucked the letter into her magic pouch, Excalibur spoke up irritably.
— Owner, are you neglecting me now? I almost got stolen, you know?
“Stolen? Wait, who touched you?”
Morgana jumped up in surprise, shouting, which made Olivia step back and grab a nearby chair. Olivia looked around nervously and lowered her voice.
“What, what’s wrong? Someone tried to steal something? What was it?”
Excalibur, finally satisfied with the attention, answered smugly.
— Some creep tried to climb through the window and touch me. But I dodged and made him stumble. How’s that for perfect?
Come to think of it, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if I didn’t come back…
Morgana raised a hand to calm Olivia, who looked ready to punch someone.
“No, they didn’t actually steal it.”
“Ugh, what’s with you? You scared me! The temple’s been buzzing ever since the banquet, and now the festival’s starting.”
The Coventina Temple held a festival around this time every year.
That was a big reason why Merlin had so readily allowed Morgana, an outsider, to stay.
As Morgana listened quietly, something suddenly clicked in her mind. She immediately flipped open the blanket and asked Excalibur.
“Excal, you said you can come to me no matter where I call you, right?”
— Yeah. It’s one of the 39,205 magnificent abilities of the great Excalibur. Why?
“Good. Then next time someone tries to steal you, just stay with them.”
— Are you… Abandoning me now?
“No. I’ll give you a signal later, and then you come back.”
After Merlin cast the curse and gathered people at the mansion, there must be a reason.
Morgana threw open the window and continued.
“Let’s say I lost Excalibur and legally search the temple.”
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