🍃
Finally, it was time for Morgana to leave.
As Morgana stood motionless, the Duke of Fay raised his eyebrows.
“What’s the point of coming in if you’re not going to enter? You must be nervous about the succession ceremony.”
“Oh, I beg your pardon, but I must…”
Morgana trailed off silently, needlessly squirming uncomfortably.
If she had been a puppy, she would have whimpered.
The Duke of Fay’s frown softened for a moment.
It was not a pretty sight, she thought.
Eventually, the Duke nodded in understanding.
“You seem nervous, so you should get going.”
He waved his hand as if he’d seen the worst of her.
“Next.”
The Duke of Fay stepped through the dwindling line.
He glanced ahead at those checking the list and gifts, and double-checked the overly-wrapped jar of tea leaves he’d brought.
Morgana watched him walk away, clutched the hem of her dress, and ran back the way she had come.
🍃
“Next.”
Raves, Kellive’s closest friend and most capable aide, alone with Gawain.
“Cough.”
“Raves!”
He barks a cough. Raves takes in the gift, wipes the blood from his lips, and glares at him.
“Set this aside. It’s not very good quality.”
“Hey, are you sure about that?”
One of the men standing guard next to him stared at him, his eyes full of concern for the newbie.
He used to be more sensitive than this. He fainted at the mere sensation of magic flowing through him, and when he sensed something malicious, he became sickly lethargic, as if his energy was being sucked out of him.
Some Young Ladies always praised Raves for being beautiful, and this was a large part of the reason.
When he coughed up blood, everyone thought he looked rather frail.
In reality, Raves firmly believed that he was only sensitive, and that he had no problems with mundane matters.
‘Although, I think I’m going to end up with magic or something.’
Fortunately, only those in the know that the latest fatigue-reducing tea on the market has made his complexion more human.
It had calmed his nerves, and he’d made it through the succession process without incident.
He sipped the tea he’d set aside and scanned the list with his eyes.
‘Hmm. Duke Fay…’
The tea from the Duke of Fay was his only lifeline.
So he was looking forward to seeing what they would bring to this succession ceremony.
“Next up, His Excellency, Duke Frederick Le Fay.”
The voice announced, and a familiar face entered the room.
But there was no one beside him. Raves recalled Elaine and Morgause, who seemed to vaguely recognize him, and asked.
“Duke of Fay, have you come alone?”
“Um. I have a daughter, but she needs a moment.”
“Ladies have long preparations.”
Raves replied with familiarity, checking his things.
A luxurious bottle sat on a large cushion.
The leaves inside look familiar, somehow reminiscent of something he has seen before, perhaps plucked by a gardener from his own garden.
‘But I can’t be sure.’ thought Raves.
He drinks tea and has a passing interest in herbs and roots, but he doesn’t have the time, money, or energy to examine them closely.
He could only assume that his employer, Kellive, was pushing him too hard.
“I’ll check.”
As Raves was about to open the sealed vial, Duke Fay spoke impatiently.
“I’ve heard that opening it may reduce its potency.”
“Is that so?”
‘Yes, but we would never allow anything to be brought into the palace, especially something offered to Kellive, without inspection.’
Especially not in these days of perilous times, when war could break out at any moment.
There were also threatening rumors that a British spy was planning to kill the king and set up a conspiracy.
Thinking that the king was as strong as he was healthy, and that he might need more tea, Raves popped the cork.
And as soon as his nose caught sight of the grassroots inside.
“Cough, argh, cough!”
He coughed up blood, accompanied by a violent fit of gagging.
“Wha, wha, what is this…!”
Duke Fay’s face was covered in confusion.
Amidst the screams, Raves collapsed, wiped the blood from his mouth, and caught his breath. His violent reaction made everyone tense.
The recent rumors of the return of power to the Duke of Fay had drawn the attention of those waiting in the shadows.
Could those tea leaves really be related to power?
If it was brought to the succession ceremony, it must be the most prized possession of the Fay family.
Raves held up the vial, hands clenching and unsteady.
“This is…”
As he opened his mouth, the room fell breathlessly silent.
Then he finally spoke, “It’s just weed.”
“A weed?”
Duke Fay repeated in disbelief, his eyes, nose, and mouth dilated in genuine surprise. He gripped the side of the table with both hands and exclaimed.
“It can’t be. I’ve spent nearly a month cultivating this herb!”
‘But my acuity is telling me that, while there is a faint sense of power on the surface, the truth is that it’s just a weed.’
Raves wiped the corner of his mouth with his handkerchief and smiled bitterly.
“As you know, I have no tolerance for such things.”
Duke Fay shook his head slowly in disbelief.
It couldn’t be. Morgana had demanded so much of him to grow this herb. She asked for peppercorns, cabbage, and red pepper seedlings.
Garlic and ginger were also needed to grow, so I brought those as well. Plus, she asked for a bunch of tiny shrimp, so I brought her a bunch of shrimp that were less than half a nail and half a fingernail that were about to be thrown away by the traders.
That’s how she grew her herbs.
But Raves’s sensitivity was known in Avalon for being more accurate than most priests.
One day, he collapsed from exhaustion and, in a fit of sickness, caught a family assassin planning to fled to Britain.
Suddenly, there was a shout from behind him.
“What did he say?”
“He said it was a fake.”
“Fake? The Duke of Fay?”
“Nonsense. There are real ones on the market.”
“So they’re lying about the power returning?”
“It could be. My goodness, how could they think to fake something like this?”
The Duke of Fay’s ears rang with inaudible sounds.
‘Oh, right. Morgana suddenly checks the lists, and she’s gone.’
It was planned all along. It was clear Morgana had gotten out of hand for being so quiet lately.
At one point, she cursed him and spiked his tea.
So desperate for power, the hope of saving his family had blinded him.
His clenched fists trembled and shouted, “Morgana, we have to get her!”
“Yes?”
The palace knight standing guard in front of him repeated, not quite understanding.
The Duke of Fay glared angrily at him.
“Don’t bring it up to the king just yet, for I’m going to summon someone else.”
🍃
Morgana took a deep breath as she reached the garden.
‘This palace is freaking huge.’
Being the educated man that Morgana was, she studied the geography of the kingdom from the books she’d gotten from Olivia, calculated her distance and stamina, and planned her escape route thoroughly and perfectly.
But planning and execution are always different.
The entrance seemed far away, but strangely, the distance didn’t seem to diminish.
The carriage ride in took only a few minutes, but the walk was exhausting.
‘No matter how far I walk, I’ll never get there.’
Morgana breathed when she was a good distance away.
Just enough to buy some time.
With the powers in hand, she was confident they wouldn’t find out until she left.
Slowing down her pace a bit.
As I turned around, I could see the royal palace of Avalon, which was not shown in the original story.
The gardens were beautiful in the darkness of night.
I couldn’t tell if it was the moonlight or the colorful glow of the banquet hall from the palace’s windows.
“It looks nice.”
Morgana slipped off her aching shoes and held them up with one hand.
“Ugh, the heel is broken, that’s why I should get a new pair.”
But these are pretty expensive, too. I’ll have to sell them when I get to Britain.
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