Even the priests didn’t seem to fully understand the relationship between Merlin and Nimue.
They only remembered that Merlin, chosen by the gods, had brought Nimue, who possessed divine power.
Holding Mangeum, who had been toddling around, in her arms again, Morgana stood up and asked,
“I need to meet with the Saint.”
“Uh, she usually doesn’t do private audiences…!”
The flustered priests followed behind Morgana, but she swiftly exited the reception room. She had heard that the scabbard was in the main building, so her destination was clear.
While she was striding through the temple with the others trailing her, the one she ran into in front of the main building was none other than Merlin.
“What’s the matter?”
“I’d like to see Saint Nimue. Would you let me through?”
“Please tell me the reason you’re looking for Nimue. I’ll pass it on.”
“I want to see her myself.”
“Then I’ll bring her to the reception room. Please wait inside.”
Who said someone was going to eat her?
The man who had been indifferent until now, even when told to find the scabbard, was suddenly adamant when she said she wanted to meet Nimue alone.
His lips, usually relaxed, were now tightly shut, leaving no trace of his usual ease.
Something’s fishy.
‘Looks like Nimue has the scabbard.’
Morgana smiled brightly and spoke each word with emphasis.
“I’m a bit of a contrarian. If you stop me, I just want to do it more!”
Before the words were even out, she dashed past Merlin toward the main building. When the magically sealed door wouldn’t open, Excalibur proudly blocked the way.
— Now then, get ready…!
Excalibur instinctively adjusted his stance as if he were about to slice through the door right away.
With a sharp slash, it was cut easily, and light sparks flickered in the air.
As the tightly shut door opened, Merlin, greatly flustered, came running.
Morgana shrugged and casually asked, “I can go in too, right? I’ve got the ancient document.”
Since she wasn’t wrong, the priests, though shocked, didn’t stop her.
Just like that, Morgana lightly slipped through the door and went inside.
Merlin, watching the scene, bit down hard on the soft flesh inside his mouth. Because of what happened in Avalon, the temple was preparing for an inquisition.
As a result, the prestige of Coventina’s faith had hit rock bottom, and someone had to be held accountable.
On the other hand, Merlin had accomplished many things up until now, so within the temple, opinions were divided.
Ever since the Avalon incident, her standing in the temple was no longer what it used to be.
“How dare she enter the main building without my permission…”
Merlin gnawed on his lips. The taste of blood filled his mouth, but the anxiety was so intense that he didn’t even feel the pain.
“How did she even know about the scabbard… Don’t tell me she’s looking for the Holy Grail, too?”
Having already lost the divine beast, she was on edge. And now that Morgana was after the scabbard too, it was driving her mad.
It was all because of that cursed ancient document.
If only that thing hadn’t been given to her, she wouldn’t be able to rummage through the temple like it was her own backyard.
Suddenly, something occurred to her.
“Wait, no. It’s a fake document, isn’t it?”
In fact, when the document was handed over in the first place, this kind of situation had been anticipated.
Only then did a smile spread across Merlin’s lips.
“That’s right, it’s a fake document. I just need to revoke her authority.”
No one in the temple even knew the scabbard existed.
Even if the holy knights searched for a hundred days, how could they know of a scabbard they’d never seen or heard of?
Merlin took a deep breath and composed his expression.
Seeing the wide-open door Morgana had gone through, the priests were frozen in place, unable to act.
Merlin looked at them with a pitiful droop of her eyebrows.
“Really… I wasn’t going to say this, but now I must.”
At a moment like this, Merlin finally opened his mouth.
Immediately, the eyes of the holy knights and priests gathered in front of the main building turned to him.
Covering his mouth with his long sleeve as if troubled, Merlin continued speaking.
“As you know, there are no records of the scabbard in the scriptures or ancient texts. But seeing Lady Morgana searching for it so intently makes me a bit concerned.”
It was something Merlin had long thought to herself — that Morgana was only searching because others told her to.
An awkward silence filled the air as everyone gauged the mood. Merlin carefully began speaking.
“So I thought about why Lady Morgana might be searching so hard, and the ancient document came to mind.”
His words echoed quietly.
“Could it be that the ancient document is incorrect?”
One of the high priests frowned and asked in return. He was one of the most vocal advocates of the upcoming inquisition, eager to see Merlin removed.
“That document was issued by the High Priest himself. If it’s a fake, are you saying he couldn’t tell the difference?”
“It was a document interpreted by priests who are now dead. If it’s a fault to have trusted them too much, then I will accept it. I’ll take responsibility during the trial.”
There was no way to ask the truth of priests who had already passed.
The high priest glared at her sharply and demanded, “Then it must be verified. Do you have any proof that it was forged?”
Behind the sleeve covering her mouth, the corners of Merlin’s lips curved subtly.
To others, it appeared only as a gesture of feigned regret.
“The sacred relic in the prayer room. Underneath it, there’s a large stone slab inscribed in Old Ancient Language. If we compare it, we should be able to confirm whether the document is fake.”
“The High Priest is currently preparing for the inquisition. Rumors say she’s fallen into corruption—how can we trust her?”
Merlin responded immediately, as if it didn’t matter to her at all.
“Then don’t have me do it. Let the Saint handle it instead.”
Nimue had already declared the ancient document a forgery when she couldn’t interpret it.
Merlin had no doubt.
💫
“Lady Nimue!”
Back inside the main building, Morgana walked through the halls, searching for her.
It wasn’t a particularly large space, so there weren’t many places to hide.
Just in case, she even flipped over the carpet while looking for the scabbard.
— Maybe it’s not even here?
But there wasn’t anything even remotely resembling a scabbard.
Excalibur, seemingly frustrated at not finding its scabbard, started nagging more than usual.
— I mean, it’s not like I’m small or anything. Wouldn’t a scabbard be kind of grand? At the very least, it should be made of gold!
“How would you know? Do you remember anything?”
— No. But obviously, to contain the great Excalibur, it would have to be that impressive, don’t you think?
Choosing to ignore the sword now, Morgana shook her head and exited the main building.
‘Looks like it’s not here. Then where could it be?’
As she stepped back over the broken door, she saw the priests pacing nervously. She recognized one of the familiar faces—it was the priest she had once lifted a curse from.
“Lady Morgana, I’m terribly sorry. It’s just that…”
“What is it? Did something happen?”
“Lady Merlin is claiming that your ancient document might be forged…”
Of course. She wondered why Merlin hadn’t tried that yet. She had already heard about it from Percival’s mother.
Priest Aeschene continued hesitantly.
“So, she said she’s going to compare it with the inscription written on the sacred relic in the prayer room. You may need to go there.”
“It can’t be helped, then. If you find Lady Nimue, would you please send her to the prayer room?”
“Yes, yes! I’ll make sure she comes!”
Leaving the eager Aeschene behind, the holy knights began leading Morgana to the prayer room.
While following behind them at a relaxed pace, Morgana took out the ancient document from her robes and read it again.
The writing still looked like a travel journal, but her impression of it had changed since the first time she read it.
To the one who obtains Excalibur: Be not bound to the sword.
Excalibur is both blade and scabbard as one.
When she first read it, the scabbard hadn’t caught her attention. She thought it was just a symbolic statement.
But after meeting Pelles and Galahad, the contents of the ancient document, upon a second look, were startlingly accurate.
Even more so than the scriptures.
“No matter how I look at it, it’s not fake.”
Percival’s mother had claimed it was fake because the writing was different.
But what if it had been written that way intentionally, for a purpose?
Just then, the holy knights walking ahead of her stopped. They stood a short distance in front of a narrow, long arched doorway.
“We cannot go any farther from here. We’ll call for the Saint shortly.”
“Got it.”
Morgana nodded nonchalantly and strode toward the prayer room.
Creak—the door opened easily. It was so narrow that only one person could barely squeeze through.
Water flowed in a circular channel around the room.
At the center stood a stone slab, seemingly twice Morgana’s height.
Above it stood a statue of a god pouring water from a jar.
“Whoa… it’s huge.”
White stone floor, white stone tablet, white statue.
A space filled only with pale gray and white.
A strangely sacred aura permeated the place.
It was instinctive.
Morgana casually brushed off her shoulders and began reading the stone tablet with little interest.
“A long time ago, on the continent… What is this? It’s no different from the boring prologues in fantasy novels.”
The content wasn’t much different from what she’d read in the scriptures.
Suddenly, there were rapid footsteps—tatatatat—as if someone were running.
They stopped at the door.
Bang, the door burst open.
Panting heavily, Nimue rushed in, eyes darting around urgently, looking for something.
Morgana raised her hand in greeting.
“Oh, it’s been a while.”
At that moment, Excalibur’s voice suddenly boomed in her head.
Unlike usual, its echoing tone sounded as if it were coming from deep within a cave.
— Master, I’m getting dizzy.
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