Going to Britannia was a problem, and going to Avalon was also a problem.
Unlike Morgana, who was deeply troubled, Excalibur was being noisy.
— Ah, without an audience, there’s no fun in moving.
“Excal, can you be quiet for a bit? I’m really stressed right now.”
Morgana slumped on the sofa as if melting into it. She didn’t want Excalibur to get excited and start moving around again after her earlier enthusiasm.
But instead, it pointed out something else.
— Excal? Did you just shorten my full name?
“Excalibur is too long. These days, even three-letter words are shortened to two.”
— Don’t you think it loses its grandeur? It sounds so petty, like someone who fell into water and crawled back out.
Whether it did or not, Morgana had no intention of calling it by its full name.
If they were going to part ways soon, she might have considered being polite and using its full name, but given the situation, that seemed unlikely for now.
But unexpectedly, Excalibur was quite persistent.
— How about Excalibur Le Caliburnus? Doesn’t that suit my radiant image perfectly?*
It got even longer.
Thanks to Excalibur’s incessant chatter, Morgana was quickly adapting.
At the very least, she had developed the ability to ignore its words. While she was absentmindedly tuning it out, there was a knock at the door.
“Lady Morgana, Princess Guinevere of Britannia, has arrived to see you personally.”
‘Oh no, she’s here…’
Morgana swallowed nervously, her mouth dry. The moment the white door creaked open felt unnaturally slow.
Unlike her usual appearance in the palace, Guinevere was dressed in a dazzling, radiant dress and rushed in with open arms.
“Morgana!”
Standing right in front of her, Guinevere covered her mouth, overwhelmed with emotion, and shook her head.
“Congratulations! I knew from the moment you joined as a maid that you were destined for greatness!”
Closing her eyes tightly, Guinevere took a deep breath and then returned to her confident self.
Placing her hands on her hips and bowing her head slightly, Guinevere stretched her legs and neck lightly.
When she looked up again, she smirked and gestured with her hand.
“Come on, come in.”
“Huh? Where am I supposed to go…?”
Morgana blinked in confusion, not understanding what Guinevere meant.
Guinevere smiled shamelessly and replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Why the formalities between a married couple? Just call me by my name, just my name.”
It wasn’t just Morgana who was shocked; even Excalibur expressed its confusion.
— What? You two are married? Why am I the only one who didn’t know about my owner’s marriage?
‘Right? I didn’t think we’d actually go through with it.’
Flustered, Morgana took a step back.
Guinevere, watching her without blinking, had a strange glint in her eyes.
“Hurry and come to Britannia as king so you can push my father aside. I can’t stand the sight of him anymore.”
There was a sense of determination in her words.
‘Let’s not go to Britannia for now.’
Just as Morgana was making that decision, the priest knocked again and announced the arrival of someone else.
“His Highness Kellive of Avalon has arrived personally.”
Upon hearing the announcement, Morgana’s shoulders tensed up.
In the original story, he was the name behind the shadows.
A mix of fear and curiosity created a precarious sense of anticipation. Feeling a glimmer of hope, she mustered some courage.
‘It’s fine. I’ve avoided the main antagonist all this time without ever facing him!’
She had crossed over to Britannia before even seeing him during the succession ceremony, so there had been no point of contact.
‘Good job, Morgana.’
Just as she was feeling proud of herself, a familiar face greeted her.
“Kellive of Avalon, may I greet you?”
Jet-black hair, golden eyes, and hands clad in black gloves.
Unlike his usual casual attire, he was dressed in a proper black uniform. His usually relaxed expression seemed stiffer today.
Perhaps it was because she had been listening to Excalibur’s chatter for so long, but she thought she had misheard his name.
He walked over calmly and kissed the back of Morgana’s hand.
“It’s been a while, Morgana.”
With confident strides, as if he had been heading straight for her all along, there was no hesitation in his steps.
Kellive smiled faintly at her, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time.
With a hesitant expression, she muttered, as if talking to herself. She called him by a title that seemed to roll off her tongue naturally.
“Your Highness…?”
He straightened his expression, which kept threatening to falter. He had planned to inform her first once the tournament was over and things were settled.
Even after all the preparations.
In the end, he ended up wearing that outfit when visiting the temple.
‘She pulled the holy sword.’
When the letter arrived at the temple announcing that the sword had been pulled, he couldn’t even remember what expression he had made.
Now, she was being hailed as the King of Britannia.
The one who would bring down Avalon and plant Britannia’s flag over his homeland.
Kellive kissed the back of her hand and gently tightened his grip on it.
“I missed the right moment to tell you. You must be very surprised, aren’t you?”
Noticing the slight tremor in Morgana’s hand, he whispered as if on the verge of letting go, then pressed his lips together firmly.
With a light kiss and a lingering smile, he glanced up at her with a sly grin. When their eyes met, Morgana, flustered, quickly withdrew her hand.
Guinevere, who had been giving him pointed looks for taking too long, chimed in.
“What brings the King of Avalon here, of all places?”
This was the first time he had seen the princess in person, though he had heard much about the prophecy.
Kellive, pretending not to notice, placed a hand over his chest and offered a brief, formal greeting.
“A citizen of Avalon has pulled the holy sword. Is there any reason I shouldn’t come?”
To save Avalon, she must not become the King of Britannia. He no longer knew where his desires were leading him.
“A-A citizen of Avalon?”
Clearly unaware, Guinevere’s head snapped toward Morgana.
“Is that true, Morgana?”
“Well, my family tree is a bit complicated. Half Britannia, half Avalonian, I guess…?”
She was so shocked by Kellive’s presence that her words stumbled. She waved her arms, trying to correct herself.
The image of the shadowy antagonist she had always imagined was completely different from reality.
‘No wonder, he always had a subtle way of praising Avalon whenever it came up!’
Now that she thought about it, his incredible knowledge of magic wasn’t because he was from Avalon.
As the master of the demonic sword, it was simply his ability—something she realized too late.
‘But why did he help me?’
If he were truly the antagonist, he could have dragged her away or kidnapped her outright. But instead, he had even saved her from Duke Fay’s attempted abduction.
‘Is he really the antagonist?’
The image of the antagonist she had imagined clashed with the prince who had been her friend.
Morgana glanced back and forth between Guinevere and Kellive with a conflicted expression.
Guinevere, who had frozen in shock for a moment, stiffened her neck even more and shouted.
“It doesn’t matter. The prophecy said she would marry me. Stay out of this, Your Highness Kellive.”
“That might be difficult, Your Highness Guinevere.”
“Hah, that’s ridiculous. Why are you like this?”
With a swift turn, Guinevere blatantly linked arms with Morgana and shouted loud enough for everyone to hear.
“Let’s go, darling!”
‘Wait, since when am I your darling?’
Amidst all this, Excalibur’s amused commentary only added fuel to the fire.
— Oh my, oh my, she called you darling. So what?
‘There’s no sane person here.’
Morgana came to that conclusion. If she couldn’t go to Britannia or Avalon, there was only one option left.
Flailing her arms, she broke free from everyone and clung to the wall, holding Excalibur tightly.
With a determined look in her eyes, she declared solemnly.
“I’m going to the neutral territory of the temple first!”
If the temple knew about the prophecy, they might know how to transfer ownership of Excalibur.
💫
Toot—
The sound of a horn echoed through the capital of Britannia.
The bustling citizens cheered as they saw Britannia’s flag.
“The official subjugation team has returned!”
Arthur breathed in the familiar air of Britannia, feeling the reality of finally arriving sink in. Kay, looking annoyed, picked a fight with the onlookers.
“What are you staring at, huh? Never seen a fight before?”
“Of course, we’re staring! It’s not every day we see a brawl! Ugh, when will that guy ever grow up?”
Those in the capital who knew Kay clicked their tongues at his behavior.
Irritated, he shook his head and nudged Arthur beside him.
“Hey, so are we heading straight to the palace?”
“No. There’s somewhere I need to stop by first.”
“Why? Don’t you want to get knighted? Shouldn’t you hurry and get that done as soon as possible?”
“It’ll only take a moment.”
The last he had heard, she had entered the palace as a maid. Since he had been in contact with Raon, he figured Raon would pass the news on to Morgana.
He wanted to show her the moment he received his knighthood. She would surely come to see it.
It was a bit of a petty desire.
Forcing Kay to tag along, Arthur headed toward Raon’s familiar tavern.
Bang—
As he opened the door and stepped inside, he saw the mercenaries frozen in place, their eyes wide with surprise.
“Ah, customer! We’ll be right with you!”
Raon, who had hurried out from the back door behind the cocktail bar, looked as if he had seen a monster.
Arthur greeted him quietly.
“I’ve returned from the subjugation team.”
“Ah, Arthur…”
“Please send my regards to the lady.”
Just as he was about to leave, Raon’s voice stopped him in his tracks.
“The lady isn’t here right now.”
Arthur slowly turned his head.
Raon, hesitating, awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck and spoke.
“Well… she pulled the holy sword.”
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