The deal was easy.

 

All they had to do was say what they needed and confirm it. But when the other party said they wouldn’t take anything, he didn’t know how to react.

 

His hands felt restless. He wanted to touch something.

 

For some reason, the moment when the magician had shown him the night sky came to mind. His heart wavered slightly.

 

Morgana awkwardly brushed the ends of her curly hair with her hand and avoided his gaze.

 

Kellive, taking her place, smiled brightly as if driving in a wedge and continued.

 

“So I’ll go with you. Is that okay?”

 

“Ah, alright. Let’s do that.”

 

The owner of Avalon wanted to wander around her own territory; what reason was there to stop her?

 

Raves, who had been looking at Morgana with a thread of hope in his eyes, grew even more haggard at her answer.

 

Guinevere, who had been watching them with a displeased, crooked gaze, stared intently at Morgana as if searching for something.

 

She had been sitting arrogantly as if daring them to try, but now she fell silent, lost in thought.

 

Morgana couldn’t ignore Guinevere’s piercing stare and asked,

 

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

 

“It’s nothing. Go ahead and come back.”

 

Guinevere straightened her previously slouched posture on the sofa. Her voice was a little calmer than before, and much of her hostility toward Kellive had softened.

 

“You just need to finish up the matter with the Right Marquis and Lady Lune. I can handle that much by myself.”

 

Her sulky gaze swept over Kellive once.

 

It was an openly scrutinizing look, but Kellive sat upright with a perfectly straight posture, showing no sign of discomfort.

 

Clicking her tongue lightly, she turned her head sharply toward Morgana.

 

“Have a nice trip.”

 

The succession ceremony hadn’t even ended yet.

 

Many nobles were desperate to get into Morgana’s good graces, but Guinevere would skillfully keep them at bay.

 

Morgana smiled with trust.

 

“I’ll be back soon.”

 

💫

 

A small boy wearing a robe and an adult woman wandered around the royal capital of Avalon.

 

To anyone looking, they were clearly outsiders, but unlike before, Avalon’s atmosphere was no longer so closed off.

 

At a fruit shop, the owner smiled at the small boy choosing fruit and said,

 

“Oh my, you must be from Britain. Since you’re a precious customer, if you buy one today, I’ll throw in another for free.”

 

At the friendly shopkeeper’s words, the woman who appeared to be the boy’s mother asked sharply,

 

“From Britain? What makes you say that?”

 

Her voice was a bit too young to belong to the child’s mother.

 

Thinking they might be siblings, the shop owner laughed heartily on purpose.

 

“You’re not regulars around here, and the person who was just crowned in Britain is from Avalon, right? Everyone’s expecting exchanges to open up.”

 

A passerby who overheard the conversation sided with the shop owner.

 

“That’s right. Quite a few people have traveled from Britain to Avalon recently, too.”

 

After King Vortigern’s death, delegations had been going back and forth, and the relationship between the two countries had eased considerably.

 

Avalon had originally been the most closed-off nation, so strangers could usually be identified just by their behavior and gait.

 

However, despite the shop owner’s kind explanation, the two people walked past without a single word of apology.

 

The owner watched their retreating backs and awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

 

“What was that? I was just being friendly… Did I say something wrong?”

 

Step, step…

 

Mordred, who had quickly passed the fruit shop, walked ahead irritably and shouted at Merlin,

 

“So? Is it working or not?”

 

At Mordred’s outburst, Merlin bowed his head and quietly apologized.

 

“I’m sorry. It seems the curse isn’t working perfectly because the person apparently possesses some kind of power.”

 

“Forget it. Then we’re heading straight to Mount Badon.”

 

Impatience crept into Mordred’s voice, as if he were running out of time.

 

💫

 

In the Fay ducal house of Avalon, pained groans echoed day after day.

 

“Uaaaaaaaagh!”

 

He had screamed so much that Duke Fay’s voice had grown hoarse, losing its former sharpness.

 

Outside Duke Fay’s door, Morgause and Elaine paced anxiously.

 

“Uaaa… Uaaaaagh!”

 

Crash! 

 

Something fell over inside the room. Morgause bit her thumbnail and muttered,

 

“What is the physician doing…?”

 

As soon as she finished speaking, the door clicked open.

 

Through the open door, they caught a glimpse of Duke Fay clutching his head and writhing in pain.

 

The physician quickly closed the door, his arm scratched by nails wrapped in cloth, and shook his head.

 

“There’s nothing I can do.”

 

“You’re the physician! He’s been screaming in pain every day like this. How can you just stand by?”

 

Elaine, who had been holding back until now, furiously snapped at the physician. But he simply walked away, looking fed up.

 

“He’s someone who originally possessed power. It may have been weak, but he never once caught a common cold and could detoxify poison on his own. If someone like him is suffering, there’s nothing I can do.”

 

“He’s in this much pain from a headache! He’s complained about it occasionally before, but recently it’s gotten so bad he can’t even live normally!”

 

Elaine followed him, shouting accusingly.

 

Morgause also chimed in beside the physician.

 

“Until just a few days ago, it wasn’t this severe. It suddenly got this bad—shouldn’t you at least give some kind of diagnosis?”

 

The physician sighed as he looked at the two persistent sisters. He knew the stubbornness of the Fay family all too well after treating them for so long.

 

He casually pulled a fountain pen from his breast pocket as if to give a diagnosis and scribbled on the chart tucked at his side.

 

“He hasn’t eaten anything particularly unusual lately, right?”

 

“No. The cook and all the servants quit, so we’ve been getting food from outside while looking for new staff.”

 

Elaine swept her hair back in frustration.

 

The physician sniffed dryly and asked in a dubious tone,

 

“Well, has there been any issue with his power in the meantime?”

 

“As far as I know, there hasn’t…”

 

Elaine’s voice trailed off. She suddenly seemed to remember something and continued,

 

“Now that I think about it, there were rumors recently that Coventina had descended in Britain.”

 

“Yes, that’s right. I heard that too.”

 

The physician’s gaze flicked over the two sisters’ faces.

 

He knew that the bastard of the Fay family had become King of Britain, but he couldn’t speak carelessly, so he could only observe their reactions.

 

Elaine and Morgause also didn’t utter the name outright.

 

There was no point in saying it; it would only make them feel worse.

 

Morgause, who had been calculating the timing, suddenly realized and covered her mouth.

 

“Now that I think about it, Father started getting sick around that time, didn’t he?”

 

The physician scribbled some illegible words on the chart with his fountain pen, then tore the paper cleanly and handed it to Elaine.

 

“It’s not certain, but it seems like a headache caused by his weakened power. This isn’t something a mere mortal like me can fix.”

 

“Then what do we do? Are we supposed to just leave him suffering like this, unable to even get up?”

 

“Well… If it’s an illness caused by power, then treating it with power would be the most ideal, wouldn’t it…”

 

The physician’s voice trailed off as he saw the two sisters’ eyes growing fiercer.

 

In the end, the choice wasn’t his to make.

 

He had simply given a rough diagnosis.

 

“Anyway, that’s how it is. I wish him a swift recovery. Then, if you’ll excuse me.”

 

The physician lightly shrugged his shoulders and quickly crossed the mansion hallway.

Elaine, holding the sloppily written chart, bit her lip hard.

 

Morgause asked her urgently,

 

“Does this mean Morgan has to treat him?”

 

When Elaine bit her lip and didn’t answer, Morgause shouted,

 

“Is that what it means?!”

 

“You were listening too, why are you asking me?!”

 

She was someone who usually didn’t raise her voice. While Morgause took after Duke Fay and had a fiery temper, Elaine resembled the previous Duchess Fay more and was generally gentle.

 

Even when Morgana had set fire to the dressing room, she had only gotten slightly annoyed and moved to a new room.

 

Surprised by her loud voice, Morgause blinked.

 

“Hey, why are you yelling? It’s so weird coming from you, sister…”

 

A familiar voice overlapped with Morgause’s.

 

“It’s probably a curse.”

 

When they turned around, Barton shrugged lightly.

 

All the other retainers had quit, but for some reason, he had stayed.

 

The fact that the mansion was still running at all was largely thanks to him. Barton jerked his chin toward the door where groans were leaking out.

 

“He started complaining of mild headaches after returning from the Holy Nation, didn’t he?”

 

He rubbed his chin lightly and continued,

 

“I heard Merlin acted as the high priest and cast a curse. Since he met him in person at the time, it makes sense that he was cursed.”