Until just now, Mellowart, who had been protesting his innocence, showed no signs of suspicion.
Rather, he was led away by the first knights without any resistance, making his earlier defiance seem pointless.
King Vortigern turned around as if he had finished his task.
“I’m going to the audience chamber. I’m tired.
“Yes, yes, Your Majesty.”
The royal knights exchanged uneasy glances and followed him, their expressions showing they were not entirely pleased.
Watching him calmly enter the main palace, Cadric whispered anxiously,
“Lady Morgana, won’t they interrogate you separately for stealing the painting?”
“They can’t.”
The painting had been in a room only the royal family could access.
If the painting was hung in that secret space where even servants couldn’t enter, it meant King Vortigern himself had placed it there.
To interrogate her, the location of the painting would inevitably be revealed to the world, and the king would also be implicated in the incident.
‘Instead of interrogating, they’ll choose to keep it quiet.’
As the spectacle ended, the onlookers, except for the mercenaries, scattered aimlessly.
Cadric also returned to the arena, saying he would inform Caradoc, who was still blocking the back door.
Morgana helped Lily, who was still lying on the ground, to her feet.
“Are you okay? You must have been surprised by the sudden request.”
“No, it was my fault, so I had to speak up.”
Despite her fragile appearance, she had a surprisingly resolute side.
After a moment of thought, Morgana casually asked her, “Have you decided what to do after being dismissed from the Count’s household?”
“Not yet. I’ll have to look around. Who would hire a maid who reported her employer internally?”
“If it’s alright with you, may I suggest a job?”
She was well-versed in etiquette, enough to work in a noble household, and had endured all sorts of troubles with Marleau.
The reason she was dismissed wasn’t incompetence, but her refusal to follow Mellowart’s orders.
Such talent had fallen into her lap. Morgana smiled warmly, hiding her true intentions behind a mask of kindness.
“There’s a quite nice shop in the capital called Tir na Nog.”
As Morgana signaled, Raon clapped his hands to draw attention.
“Now, Miss Lily, shall we have a deep conversation about the Tir na Nog contract? Let’s go!”
“Huh? Why would the mercenaries…”
“Ah, the shop owner has entrusted us with certain matters. Hiring is one of them.”
Skillfully guiding Lili away, Raon turned his head slightly and gave a short nod. It meant not to worry.
Morgana straightened her slumped shoulders and let out a deep breath.
“Ah, now I should go see the Princess…”
Before she could finish her sentence.
From the princess’s palace, another boom, the sound of an explosion, echoed.
Instantly, a person flashed through her mind.
“Aide…!”
There was no summoning circle on the painting in the princess’s palace.
In the original story, intruders always appeared in the prince’s palace, the pen palace, and the king’s office—places where the owner was absent.
When she recalled Aide’s expression, gleefully showing off his skill in removing summoning circles, Morgana’s spine turned cold.
‘I clearly told him not to touch the princess’s palace when I gave him the blueprint!’
Morgana rushed frantically to the princess’s palace.
By the time she arrived, the wall where the painting had hung was gaping wide open, as if an elephant had crashed through it.
The spot where there had been no window now offered a clear, beautiful view of the adjacent palace.
The sunlight streamed in warmly, and if you placed a table there, it would perfectly serve as one of those trendy, aesthetic cafés popular in the capital these days.
The maids were whispering as they circled around the gaping hole in the wall.
“Who did this?”
“Earlier, the knights from Count Equator’s estate were dragging away some suspicious people. Could it have been the Count?”
Morgana smiled faintly as she looked at the shattered remains of the painting and the wall.
‘He said he was confident…’
She was certain that the paintings in the other palaces had been reduced to dust.
‘I thought the sound was from a summoning circle opening, but it was the sound of destruction.’
Morgana surveyed the area around the gaping hole. It would be troublesome if he were caught or disappeared now.
After all, she still needed him to handle the torn 13th forgery.
‘If he was here just a moment ago, he couldn’t have gone far.’
As she peered around, a voice suddenly popped up from behind her, over her shoulder.
“Is that also a summoning circle?”
“Ahh!”
Clutching her pounding heart, Morgana turned around to face Aide, who was blinking at her calmly.
His crimson gaze was fixed solely on the fragment of the 13th painting in Morgana’s arms.
“That’s a summoning circle, right?”
“Yes, it is. I was just asking out of curiosity… but have the walls in the other palaces also been cleared out like this?”
“Yep. You told me to destroy them.”
When did I say that? You said ‘you’ were going to destroy them, didn’t you?
Deciding it was better to let it go, she gave up trying to understand.
“That’s very thorough and great… but this painting wasn’t hung on the wall. Wouldn’t it be a problem if the floor got blown open?”
Aide, who had been leaning forward with his arms crossed, staring intently at the painting, smiled and replied,”
“There’s no summoning circle here now.”
“That can’t be. When I removed it earlier, some strange black smoke rose up.”
“That was when it got removed!”
His answer was simple and clear.
Morgana, unable to believe it, asked again, “So if anyone destroys a summoning circle, does it just get removed like that?”
“No. You need to have stronger magical power than the caster.”
Suddenly, she recalled how he had casually explained that simply destroying it would suffice. She had wondered where his confidence came from.
It seemed that, as a mage dispatched from the Magic Tower, he possessed quite impressive skills.
He propped his chin on one hand and stared at the painting with curiosity.
“The caster’s magical power wasn’t as strong as I expected. Even with Morgana’s power, it would’ve been possible.”
“That’s amazing… wait, what did you just say?”
“I said it would’ve been possible!”
He blinked innocently and answered straightforwardly.
Morgana firmly pressed him again.
“Before that.”
“Power?”
After quickly checking to ensure no one else was around, Morgana grabbed his arm tightly with a serious expression.
“How did you know?”
Aide’s eyes widened, and he tilted his head.
“Well, I can see the magical power. And it’s very special.”
His tone was as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
💫
Guinevere, seated in the audience chamber, irritably brushed off the priest’s hand.
“I don’t need it.”
“The High Priest heard the news and is on his way to Britain. Until then, I’ll take care of you, so…”
“This will heal if I just sleep it off. I’m fine, so could you leave?”
Guinevere’s expression was fierce. The shallow cut on her neck from the dagger’s blade made her seem even more like a goddess of war.
The low-ranking priest, who had been prepared for the injured from the jousting tournament, was powerless.
At her sharp rebuke, the priest was practically chased out.
If looks could kill, Guinevere would have slain King Vortigern twice over by now.
Even Morgana, standing quietly behind the sofa, could feel the murderous aura.
“Father. How do you plan to punish them?”
In response to her direct question, King Vortigern simply sipped his tea, offering no clear answer.
“There was no harm done, so…”
“From what I heard from Sir Caradoc, the intruders were a ragtag group from various kingdoms.”
“Then they’re not the ones leading a true rebellion. They’re just trying to protect their lands, so it’s understandable.”
His response was so passive that it was obvious he was deliberately covering things up.
Thud—
Guinevere lightly kicked the table with her foot, revealing her discomfort.
“Father, are you really saying that after seeing how I was almost kidnapped by that scoundrel Melwas?”
“I was too focused on the jousting tournament to notice.”
“Ha, has this man lost his mind?”
Guinevere let out a hollow laugh and irritably swept her hair back.
“Ah, forget it. I’ve known for a long time that you’d be like this. Fine, then just approve Morgana’s honorary noble title for me.”
“I don’t see a reason to do that.”
“She caught the traitors this time. Do you need more reasons?”
“Traitors… I’m sure even Melwas, the minor count, has his own story.”
“This is driving me insane.”
It seemed Guinevere might faint from frustration any moment now.
Morgana quietly straightened the teacup that had been knocked over on the shaky table and asked,
“Your Highness, if it’s not too presumptuous, may I treat your wound with some herbs?”
“Ah, you must have been worried about the injury.”
With a slightly softened expression, Guinevere finally touched the wound on her neck.
“It’s fine. I hit him more.”
“That was an excellent response!”
“No, I should have killed him. Next time, I’ll buy an unbreakable vase.”
Guinevere, lightly stretching her neck, burned with determination. If Melwas hadn’t been captured, she would have killed him on the spot.
Morgana took out a small bottle of herbs from her pocket and asked again,
“Then, if it’s alright, may I offer these herbs to His Majesty as well?”
“What has Father done to deserve that?”
Guinevere nearly shot up from the sofa, her eyes wide, but she couldn’t bring herself to say more.
Seizing the moment, Morgana leaned in closer and whispered to her,
“If His Majesty feels better, he might approve the honorary noble title.”
Morgana planned to subtly infuse some of her power while pretending to offer the herbs.
➺ Updated Mellowart’s name as Melwas
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