It must have been bewildering for Olivia, who only knew him as an ordinary puppy.
If she had sensed Excalibur’s energy, he must surely be nearby.
Morgana lightly patted Olivia’s shoulder as tears streamed down her face.
“We’ll find him soon. Even though Mangeum might seem a bit silly, he’s actually quite clever.”
As it was, no one could leave the hall due to the issue with Count Ruddle. Though the number of spectators made things a bit troublesome, it wasn’t an impossible task.
Kellive’s sunken eyes stared at the terrace floor, now covered only in black sand.
This sand was the sole evidence that Balin and the sword had ever existed.
For a moment, he gazed at the ground as if searching for his own shadow.
‘He wasn’t even cut by Balin’s sword… so why?’
The question lingered only briefly. As always, Kellive returned to his usual demeanor, offering a kind smile as he approached her.
“I’ll have the soldiers search for Mangeum. He couldn’t have gone far.”
At the mention of Mangeum, Aide’s head swiftly turned toward Morgana.
His eyes, which had seemed murderous just moments ago, now sparkled brightly as if nothing had happened.
“Are we smashing Mangeum too?”
“No. If you break him, you’ll have to fight me with your soul on the line.”
Morgana stood up and answered with absolute firmness.
At first, she had thought his eyes were innocent and pure, but now she realized there was something slightly unhinged about Aide’s gaze.
Especially since he was talking about wanting to smash a living Mangeum.
‘Why is he so serious about destroying things…?’
Morgana fumbled discreetly for the door handle leading to the Great Hall.
Even after saying such frightening words, Aide tilted his head with childlike curiosity.
“Why stake your soul? Did Mangeum make a contract with a demon too?”
“A contract with a demon?”
“Like this guy.”
Aide’s head turned toward the black sand.
“He had a demon’s sword, right? Since it devours the souls of its contractors, that’s why…”
Lightly scuffing the sand with his foot, he continued cheerfully.
“Even the flesh was completely corrupted, with nothing left.”
Was it because he had fallen that Balin had no shadow?
She hadn’t known the sword was that dangerous to begin with. Morgana, who had helped Olivia up, sent her out onto the terrace and asked again,
“Are swords like that common?”
“No! Aside from Kellive’s Tyrving, I’ve never seen one before.”
Aide’s gleaming eyes turned toward Kellive’s hand.
“But I heard you’re not supposed to break that one.”
Kellive, holding the sword stained with Balin’s blood, opened a portal the moment their gaze met and swiftly stashed the sword away.
Aide smacked their lips and returned to an innocent expression.
“Only the highest-ranking demons can forge cursed swords. There’s no way they’re common. This is a really rare experience.”
Morgana scanned the terrace floor.
Unlike Balin, Kellive still had his own shadow intact.
They were both cursed swords, yet one had fallen while the other remained unharmed.
As if sensing her gaze, Kellive took a deliberate step forward. His shadow mingled with the others, becoming indistinguishable.
Above it, Kellive’s kind voice rang out.
“You should look for Mangeum.”
Morgana stared at him silently for a moment before nodding.
Returning to the Great Hall, Morgana searched every inch of the floor.
It was so small that if it had slipped under someone’s skirt, it would be nearly impossible to spot, so she practically crawled across the ground.
Unable to rummage through other people’s dresses, Morgana lifted the tablecloth of a dessert-laden table and called softly,
“Mangeum, are you here?”
There was no angry response.
Glancing up, she saw that even the soldiers were searching, politely asking guests for permission as they looked around.
Nearby, noblewomen who had noticed Morgana cautiously approached and asked,
“Lady Morgana, are you looking for something? Can we help?”
The ladies of Avalon, hesitating at first, mustered their courage and offered awkward smiles.
Morgana smiled back warmly.
Who could dislike someone so evidently eager to help?
She gestured with her hand, estimating the small size of Mangeum in the air, and asked,
“Have you by any chance seen a puppy about this big?”
“A puppy? I don’t recall seeing one at the banquet…”
The young ladies, unhesitant, turned to those around them and repeated the question.
“Have any of you seen a puppy?”
“In the hall? No. If it were here, it wouldn’t be this quiet.”
“Right? Maybe it got scared and ran off in all the commotion?”
As Morgana watched them glance under their feet, a chill crept up her spine.
‘Even with so many people around… It just slipped out of Olivia’s arms. How could it be this hard to find?’
Especially after she had deliberately unleashed Excalibur’s divine power.
Knowing Mangeum’s habit of growling at others while wagging its tail only for her, someone should’ve been bitten by now.
Morgana scanned the surroundings.
Something felt off.
As she rolled her eyes, the young ladies approached her.
“We asked around while searching, but no one’s seen it. Could it have gone outside?”
“By the way, did the temple delegation attend today’s banquet?”
A man standing some distance away nodded at Morgana’s question.
“Ah, I saw a carriage from the temple entering this morning.”
At his words, the young ladies exchanged glances.
“Now that you mention it, I don’t see any temple representatives in the hall. They usually attend major banquets, even if just out of obligation.”
“True. Maybe they were delayed and couldn’t enter because of Count Luddell’s incident?”
Merlin had been absent from the banquet from the start.
Had he been present, protocol alone would’ve forced him to greet her. He was the kind of person who stood out more than anyone.
There was no way Merlin would’ve outright stolen Mangeum.
‘He’s the type to use curses and borrow others’ hands instead.’
Still gazing into the distance, Morgana asked the ladies,
“Have you seen Sir Tristan?”
“Ah, I think the guards called him out because of Count Ruddle’s matter…”
Thud—
Morgana sprinted toward the guards at full speed.
“Thank you for your help!”
She didn’t forget to thank them.
Merlin wasn’t here. The ancient documents she had seen in the temple clearly stated that Manguem was one of the conditions for finding the Holy Grail.
‘Merlin must have imprisoned Manguem to find the Grail.’
What if he had used Balin as bait to create chaos and tried to sneak Manguem out?
And what if his target was Tristan?
Panting heavily, Morgana grabbed a guard’s arm and asked again,
“Please reinforce the palace defenses to prevent anyone from escaping with magic!”
Merlin was not a priest—he was a sorcerer.
Fortunately, this was a kingdom where magic was more common than most.
There would be plenty of people who could sense mana better than anyone else.
💫
Tap, tap, tap—
The sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the empty hallway.
Tristan’s eyes darted in every direction.
The knight’s uniform he had been wearing before the banquet was now crumpled in his arms.
A low growl rumbled from within.
“Grrrr…”
“Sorry, pup. Just bear with it a little longer.”
His hands were already covered in bite marks from Mangeum’s repeated attacks.
The little one had clearly put up a fight, but there was no way someone, so small could overpower a full-grown knight.
After tightly wrapping Mangeum back up in the cloth, Tristan quickly scanned his surroundings.
As he ran down the hallway, he kept muttering apologies.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”
Tristan’s life had fallen apart the moment he saw Isolde return as a corpse.
Seeing her married to another would have been painful, but not like this.
Every day was hell. What was the point of a banquet now?
Exhausted, he had entered the palace and, purely by chance, encountered Merlin.
He smiled and asked, “My, your face has seen better days.”
“What’s it to you?”
Tristan no longer cared.
Whether Merlin arrested him for blasphemy, killed him, or spared him—none of it mattered. If he could drag him down to the underworld with him right now, he would.
The last shred of his patience was barely holding back his fury.
Despite the open hostility, Merlin smiled warmly.
It was no different from a devil’s grin.
“I heard Lady Isolde’s funeral has yet to take place.”
“How shameless. How dare you speak her name.”
Tristan clenched his fists.
Should I kill him?
But there were too many eyes watching in the hallway.
Guards and servants lingering in the distance. Though he had no regrets about throwing away his own life, the same couldn’t be said for Count Ruddle.
As Tristan forced himself to walk past, Merlin brushed by him and whispered,
“Doesn’t she look like she’s just asleep?”
Tristan froze mid-step. He didn’t need to ask—there was no mistaking who Merlin was talking about.
Merlin tilted his head slightly and murmured, “It’s as if Lady Isolde’s soul has simply slipped away.”
“So? What are you trying to say?”
Gritting his teeth, Tristan demanded an answer. Merlin’s gentle whisper enticed him.
“If you just do me one favor, I’ll bring Lady Isolde back to life.”
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