It seemed Percival’s mother had worn herself out with worry.
For her to press this urgently, something must have gone wrong in Britannia.
Why else would someone who never left the mountains suddenly be running a shop in the city? Her desperation seeped through the letter.
Morgana gently stroked the growling divine beast nestled in her arms, calming it while keeping an eye on Merlin. Her hands fidgeted restlessly, clenching and unclenching.
Her usually composed face was devoid of any trace of amusement, betraying her unease.
Seizing the moment, Kellive smoothly stepped in, blocking Merlin’s line of sight.
“I will take Lady Isolde back to Avalon, Your Eminence.”
Merlin, his eyes stubbornly following the divine beast, answered distractedly.
“Yes, do as you wish. Then the Avalon delegation will be leaving today.”
“Indeed. So, I ask for your cooperation in ensuring Lady Isolde’s remains are transported safely.”
“…I will inform the priests.”
Merlin leaned slightly, trying to peer past Kellive at the divine beast.
But Kellive stood firm, cutting him off decisively, “This concerns the death of an Avalon noblewoman in your estate within the Caledon Forest. Surely, Your Eminence bears some responsibility as well?”
Only when directly confronted did Merlin finally tear his gaze away from the beast.
His obsession—almost a kind of madness—lingered in his actions, prompting Morgana to pull the creature closer into her embrace.
‘If we stay in the temple, he’ll find a way to take the divine beast back.’
She couldn’t understand why someone who had so readily handed over ancient documents was so fixated on this creature.
With clear reluctance, Merlin forced out his reply, “…A fair point. Then, I shall… prepare Lady Isolde’s… transfer.”
Even until the end, his eyes lingered on the divine beast.
After a moment of hesitation, he turned away faster than usual. His near-scurrying steps suggested he wanted to finish the transfer quickly and reclaim the beast.
Once Merlin was a good distance away, Kellive finally murmured quietly, “Morgana, it would be best for you to leave the temple as soon as possible.”
His tone remained kind and gentle, but unlike before, it carried a newfound gravity.
His eyes stayed fixed on Merlin’s shrinking figure as he continued, “When we searched the estate, we couldn’t find the source of the blood. The priests must have cleaned it all up.”
“So, we don’t know how Lady Isolde died?”
“We’ll investigate once we take her to Avalon under the pretext of holding a funeral.”
Certainly, the temple was Merlin’s home ground.
Even the priests and clerics who had been cleaning the estate had returned in full force, making it difficult for him to recklessly stir up trouble there.
Slowly turning his head, Kellive stared intently at Morgana’s face.
The moment her reflection appeared clearly in his transparent golden eyes, Kellive narrowed his eyes and smiled prettily.
“The festival is over, so the foreigners will be leaving now. I was thinking of staying by Morgana’s side for a while…”
Before he could even finish his words, Gawain, standing behind him, abruptly cut in.
“How long do you plan to leave the royal palace empty? Sure, Britannia still has Lord Vortigern, and only the princess came, but right now, our home is practically begging to be invaded.”
Kellive shrugged regretfully and continued, “As you can see, the situation is like this. It’s hard for me to stay by Morgana’s side. So, I might as well go somewhere else.”
In any case, Merlin would have already erased all evidence at the estate.
With the ancient documents in hand, he could intervene in the Holy Kingdom anytime.
‘I also need some time to look into the divine beast.’
There was a slight unfamiliarity in Kellive’s tone, as if he was genuinely concerned.
Yet, he wasn’t outright asking her to come to Avalon.
Was it because of what he had said last night?
A curiosity arose—was this, too, part of the trivial memories Kellive had mentioned?
Morgana forced a smile, swallowing back her questions.
“Good timing. I actually had business in Britain too.”
If she was going to leave anyway, it seemed better to slip away before Merlin returned.
‘If I say I’m leaving, he might cling to the divine beast and drag things out—that would be troublesome.’
Fortunately, it was still early morning.
Guinevere hadn’t even woken up yet.
Morgana turned to Olivia, who was waiting a short distance away, and gave her orders.
“Let’s return to Britain.”
“Am I going to Britain too?”
“Of course. Olivia, you’re employed by me now, aren’t you?”
Morgana widened her eyes at Olivia’s question.
Olivia’s expression gradually brightened, and she nodded vigorously.
“Yes, I’ll get ready right away!”
Seemingly excited, she practically skipped away, her sleeves fluttering as she headed toward the guest room.
Watching her, Kellive tilted his head slightly and gently patted the divine beast’s head as it stared at him.
“I’ll have a carriage prepared for you. Follow Gawain.”
“Oh, I was just worrying about that. How did you know I didn’t have one?”
When she had arrived, she had come with Merlin from the lakeside temple, so she’d had to borrow a carriage separately.
In response, Kellive only smiled without answering.
💫
It felt like returning to Britain after a long time.
The bustling noise of the capital was a welcome sight. Olivia couldn’t hold back her amazement as she looked around in wonder.
“Wow, there are so many mercenaries in Britain!”
“There’ll be even more from now on.”
Morgana laughed as she swung open the door to Raon’s tavern wide.
Perhaps because it was still early in the day, the quiet tavern had Raon sprawled lazily across one of the tables.
The moment he spotted Morgana, he jolted upright as if struck by lightning and shouted, “Milady! You’ve finally come… back…!”
His usual greeting trailed off as his eyes landed on Excalibur in her hand.
Morgana shook her head lightly and stepped inside.
“Just treat me as usual. It’s not like I’ve become the King of Britain.”
“Should I? I was honestly at a loss for what to say for a moment there.”
He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly before letting out a hearty laugh.
“Well, the news that you pulled the sacred sword had Arthur storming out in a rage—how did you even…?”
His words cut off as he noticed Arthur entering behind her, quickly changing his tone.
“…meet up?!”
When Olivia walked in after them, Raon’s gaze sharpened.
Staring past Morgana, he tilted his head and frowned.
“And who might the knight behind you be?”
The last man to enter glanced around the small tavern with curiosity before stiffly offering a greeting.
“Bedivere. I was the captain of the Holy Knights, but I’ve left the temple to follow Lady Morgana.”
“…Captain of the Holy Knights…?”
Raon’s bewildered eyes turned to Morgana, who gave an awkward smile in return.
“Well, that’s how it turned out.”
Just before the carriage departed from the temple, he had arrived suddenly on horseback and knelt respectfully with a request:
‘Please allow me to accompany you, Lady Morgana. It seems my time to leave the temple has come.’
She had sensed his growing distance from the temple for a while now.
Perhaps it was because she remembered how he had helped her when all the other Holy Knights turned against her after Excalibur disappeared.
She couldn’t bring herself to coldly turn him away.
Since there was no harm in having them along, they ended up coming to Britain together. Raon kept tilting his head as he stared at Bedivere’s face.
“Mister, your face looks so familiar… Where have I…? Have you ever been told you have a common face or something?”
Afraid that his identity as a knight of Pendragon might be exposed, Morgana quickly grabbed Raon’s arm and pulled him away.
“R-Raon! Where’s Percival’s mother?!”
“Ah, upstairs. Go see her. She barely eats anything while waiting for the young lady. Stubborn as hell.”
Clicking his tongue in disapproval, he gestured toward the second floor.
Morgana smiled in thanks and hurried up the stairs. When she opened the familiar door on the second floor, she saw his mother, now gaunt compared to when they first met.
Trembling like a hunted animal, the woman rushed toward Morgana the moment she saw her, nearly stumbling in the cramped space.
“M-Morgan! Are you all right? What about Ancient Language? The language?!”
“Huh? What Ancient language?”
“D-Did you use the ancient language in front of the High Priest?!”
Though her voice wasn’t loud, her desperate expression made it feel like she was screaming.
Morgana blinked in confusion and shook her head.
“No. I had the chance, but I pretended not to know it.”
“Thank goodness, thank goodness…”
She collapsed to the floor as if her legs had given out.
Morgana crouched down to meet her eye level. Seeing her shoulders trembling like a leaf, Morgana took off her robe and draped it over the woman before asking,
“Why were you looking for it? Did you think I’d tell the temple that you knew the ancient language?”
“N-No, it’s not that…”
Fidgeting nervously, she clicked her nails together and glanced around.
After confirming no one else was there, she leaned closer and spoke in an extremely cautious whisper.
“Actually… before I secluded myself in the mountains, I was a priestess.”
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