The nobles, who had been eagerly speaking over one another, suddenly fell silent.

 

The conference room grew so quiet that even breathing could be heard, yet the atmosphere of everyone nervously rolling their eyes and watching each other was palpable.

 

Soon, Sir Caradoc, who had been sitting in the middle of the long table with his arms crossed in satisfaction, slammed his thick, large hand down on the table with a loud smack and declared in a booming voice.

 

“The Equator County fully supports Lady Morgana’s succession.”

 

As the man, who was two heads taller than most, moved, the ordinary nobles seated on either side of him were pushed aside as if bounced away.

 

‘That must hurt…’

 

Knowing full well the man’s enormous muscular build, Morgana quietly sympathized as she watched the nobles, who couldn’t even complain about the pain because of the mood, holding back tears.

 

As soon as Caradoc spoke first, Lancelot raised his hand as if he had been waiting.

 

“The House of Duke Lac also supports it.”

 

Caradoc, spotting him over the heads of the other nobles, expressed mild discomfort.

 

“Duke Lancelot. I knew you would support it first and was waiting, but I couldn’t hold back any longer and stated my position first.”

 

As it was an official setting, they maintained appropriate courtesy between a duke and a count.

 

Lancelot smiled awkwardly and replied in a slightly lighter tone.

 

“There have been ridiculous rumors circulating about the princess and me lately. If I immediately jumped in to support as if I’d been waiting, it would only make them seem true. Please understand.”

 

Though it sounded like casual conversation, Lancelot’s gaze was fixed straight on the Marquis of Wright sitting across from him.

 

When the Marquis of Wright, feeling guilty, averted his eyes, Lancelot smiled brightly and asked lightly.

 

“Don’t you agree, Marquis Wright?”

 

The Marquis of Wright, however, had no time to answer.

 

Starting with Caradoc and Lancelot, more families began voicing their support.

 

Those who had been neutral from the beginning had no reason to hesitate, and even those who had previously fawned over the Marquis of Wright quickly switched sides as if they had never done so.

 

The future of the Wright Marquisate was as good as tied to the now-vanished Mordred.

 

He had nowhere left to retreat.

 

‘If it’s revealed that I was the one who spread the rumor of an affair between Guinevere and Lancelot, it will be a real disaster.’

 

He needed to find Mordred, who was absent from this place, by any means necessary.

 

To do that, he needed to buy time. At the very least, he had to prevent the succession from being confirmed immediately.

 

He shot up from his seat with a bang, knocking his chair over, and shouted in a strong tone.

 

“Is His Highness Mordred truly a traitor? This is not something we should be discussing in the absence of the person concerned!”

 

Rising so violently that his chair fell, he continued his argument with intensity.

 

“Wasn’t it Lady Morgana who decided to proceed with this meeting while His Highness is away?”

 

His fierce gaze turned toward Morgana.

 

Morgana, who had been leisurely observing the situation, blinked.

 

‘Oh, sharp.’

 

It seemed the Marquis of Wright had not become a family head for nothing.

 

Contrary to her inner thoughts, Morgana gently asked back.

 

“The decision was made directly by the princess. Why do you think that?”

 

“I understand that the son of the ruined Pendragon family has joined the knight order! Yet, Princess Guinevere, who had shown no interest in the Pendragon family until now, is suddenly pushing for their restoration!”

 

“What does that have to do with His Highness Mordred?”

 

Morgana was puzzled by Arthur’s sudden appearance in the conversation without any context.

 

‘Does he think I put Arthur into the knight order through connections?’

 

Just looking at Arthur’s skills alone would immediately disprove that claim.

 

Since she had nothing to hide, Morgana answered confidently.

 

“Sir Arthur earned his knighthood by contributing to the royal palace subjugation force. It has nothing to do with me; it is purely the result of his own efforts.”

 

“No. Wasn’t his father, Duke Uther, trying to undermine His Highness Mordred for a long time?”

 

What was this about?

 

Since this was news to Morgana, she stayed silent for now and waited for the Marquis of Wright to continue. He shouted in a cracked voice as if spitting blood.

 

“Before you entered the palace as a maid, I know you had a very long-standing acquaintance with Sir Arthur! It is problematic to push this with such prejudice!”

 

The Marquis of Wright’s heavily distorted gaze swept over Lancelot and Caradoc in turn.

 

They were the family heads who had been at the forefront of supporting the Pendragon family’s restoration, and at the same time, they were close to Morgana.

 

Arthur himself was not the type to talk about such trivial matters, but the Marquis of Wright, unaware of this, seemed intent on insisting anyway.

 

“Ah, so noisy. Lower your voice.”

 

Unable to listen any longer, Guinevere frowned, knitting her brows together.

 

It seemed her patience had finally exploded after suppressing her true nature and forcing herself to maintain nonexistent etiquette and formality.

 

Guinevere lightly dug at her ear with her ring finger and answered with one eye narrowed.

 

“Anyway, we only need a majority vote. I’ve heard the Marquis of Wright’s opinion, so let’s move on to the next.”

 

The Marquis of Wright’s hands, planted on the table, trembled violently.

 

But the results piling up clearly before his eyes were all too obvious.

 

“Our family supports the succession.”

 

“We do as well.”

 

All members of the Elder Council supported it, except the Marquis of Wright.

 

The document supporting the succession delegation was signed by the family heads one after another.

 

Morgana placed the signed document on the table, and Guinevere confidently announced.

 

“By the decision of the Elder Council, the next ruler of Brittania’s throne has been decided as Lady Morgana.”

 

The Marquis of Wright could say nothing more until the meeting ended.

 

🦋

 

After the meeting, Guinevere returned to her office, plopped down on the sofa as if collapsing, and irritably waved her hand.

 

“The Marquis of Wright was practically sticking his neck out begging to be killed.”

 

“I didn’t expect him to even know about my connection with Arthur.”

 

Morgana, who had followed her in, sat on the opposite sofa and belatedly expressed her surprise.

 

Guinevere let out a hollow laugh and shook her head.

 

“It’s basically him openly admitting he did a background check. Let’s find a suitable time soon and deal with him. I already hated the sight of him, so this works out well.”

 

She seemed in a better mood than usual, perhaps because she no longer had to see the thorn in her side, the Marquis of Wright.

 

However, an inexplicable curiosity kept circling in Morgana’s mind.

 

Staring quietly at the grumbling Guinevere, she carefully opened her mouth.

 

“Did the Pendragon family ever frame His Highness Mordred?”

 

At the time they were proceeding with the Pendragon restoration, Guinevere had trusted Mordred more than anyone.

 

If the Marquis of Wright’s claim was true, it wasn’t something she would have readily agreed to.

 

But asking about Mordred was a sensitive matter.

 

Especially when she sometimes saw Guinevere making a slightly sad expression, it looked difficult even if she pretended to be fine.

 

As Morgana hesitated while choosing her words, Guinevere noticed and grinned.

 

“You’re about to become king, so why are you being so cautious? Speak comfortably and give orders already.”

 

“Slowly. The succession ceremony hasn’t even happened yet.”

 

Morgana knew Guinevere was deliberately acting casual for her sake.

 

Guinevere let out a long hum, then ruffled her hair with a complicated expression.

 

“Well, I thought Duke Uther had misunderstood Merlin and Mordred. There were a lot of complicated stories about curses and such back then.”

 

“I also knew that His Majesty Vortigern had submitted a petition to the temple in the capital about someone casting curses.”

 

The weapon shop owner had said something similar.

 

He had mentioned the temple, but never spoke a word about the Britannia royal family.

 

Guinevere rolled her eyes toward the air as if searching her memories and answered.

 

“Duke Uther said from the beginning that there seemed to be someone among the royalty helping Merlin cast curses easily. He said a woman from the slums had informed him.”

 

“Couldn’t that have meant someone other than Mordred?”

 

“Everywhere I went, rumors spread because of the oracle, and at the time I really disliked the temple, remember?”

 

Having always been displeased with the fate forced upon her by the oracle, she continued while lightly crossing her arms, looking a bit embarrassed.

 

“Father would have known right away it wasn’t him. So the only one left was Mordred.”

 

It had been such a long time ago that her memories seemed hazy.

 

Guinevere tilted her head and frowned.

 

“I was young at the time, so I didn’t know, but thinking about it now, it was already too late when Duke Uther came. I heard the commoner woman had reported it quite early.”

 

That commoner woman was none other than Morgana’s mother, Igraine.

 

But Guinevere, completely unaware of this, continued speaking as if relaying someone else’s story.

 

“Duke Uther ignored it, thinking it was a false rumor, but after several people disappeared in the capital and even that commoner woman died, he finally submitted the petition late.”

 

For a moment, a shadow fell over her face.

 

Guinevere, who had been speaking lightly just moments ago, lowered her head with a bitter expression and stared at the distant floor.

 

“If he had acted just a little earlier, so many things could have been different… That woman basically died because Duke Uther was too late.”