It was clearly the explanation Merlin himself had given at the temple by the lake.
If what he said was true, there was no reason for it not to work.
Merlin nodded lightly, “Then we have no reason to stop you. We’ll prepare a separate room for the patient’s treatment.”
At his signal, the priests helped the man who had been sitting on the floor to his feet.
Morgana expressed her gratitude with a slight nod and followed them.
The priests led the man to a small room. The cramped space was modest, with only a simple bed and a chair, devoid of any other furniture.
Morgana sat on the chair and asked, “What’s your name?”
“Tristan.”
“Alright, Tristan. Let’s take a look at your wounds, shall we?”
“My leg seems fractured. It’ll be hard to heal without divine power…”
Despite his shabby appearance, his tone was quite polite.
Judging by his manners and the quiver of arrows slung over his shoulder, he seemed to be a commoner who had risen to knighthood or near-knighthood due to his exceptional archery skills.
Morgana smiled warmly and replied kindly, “Herbal remedies can also heal it, you know?”
“I’ve never heard of such a thing…”
“Don’t worry. My abilities are more than enough for this!”
He blinked, clearly finding it hard to believe.
Herbal remedies were fairly well-known in the Kingdom of Britain, but his lack of knowledge suggested he was from another land.
Just as Morgana reached out to touch his swollen ankle, Tristan’s subdued voice turned firm as he asked,
“Is this the power of the Lady of the Lake?”
It was a sharp question.
Given that she had traveled from Avalon to Britain, it was no secret that she was of Fay’s origin.
Morgana nodded casually, “Yes, that’s right!”
Before she could finish speaking, he swiftly drew an arrow and nocked it to his bow.
In that instant, Excalibur’s voice echoed in Morgana’s mind.
—Hey, aren’t I way cooler than a bow? Watch this, my master!
The sword beside the bed clung to her hand as if magnetized.
Before she could even think, Excalibur sliced through the arrow and bowstring in one swift motion.
It wasn’t Morgana’s will that moved her—Excalibur itself had taken control.
The cut surface of the bowstring was so smooth that it could be reattached without a trace.
Excalibur, thrilled with itself, swished through the air a few more times before returning to its place.
Unlike the frozen Tristan, Excalibur proudly asked,
—How was that? Pretty cool, huh? Awesome, right? Don’t you just want to show it off?
‘Excal, you’re amazing! The best! So handsome!’
Morgana clenched her fist and cheered inwardly, responding with enthusiasm.
It was the most meaningful action she had seen from it so far.
Tristan, who had been silently staring at the broken bow and arrow, carefully picked up the fallen arrowhead.
“Ha…”
He lowered his head, his expression on the verge of tears.
It was a sigh filled with deep frustration. Despite his earlier aggression, his current demeanor felt surprisingly mild.
Morgana, just in case, subtly moved her chair closer to where Excalibur lay.
“This is my doing. Understand?”
She deliberately spoke in a calm, authoritative tone.
Despite her composed expression, her heart was pounding loudly in her ears.
Excalibur, on the other hand, seemed thrilled.
—Yay, that’s my master! Should I move even more dramatically for intimidation? Like, press it to his neck and say, ‘Do you want to die?’
No, can we hold off on that and see how things play out first?
Morgana subtly shot Excalibur a warning glance as it planned ten steps for every one action.
Fortunately, Tristan, who was still bowing his head, was completely unaware of the situation.
With his weapon lost, and his combat ability nullified, Morgana pressed on, trying to maintain her composure.
“So, why did you try to threaten me?”
“I heard you’re from Avalon, yet you abandoned Fay and came to Britain. Is that true?”
“That’s a pretty simplified summary, but roughly correct. Is that a problem?”
He raised his head, his eyes brimming with tears as he looked up at Morgana.
Despite his earlier fierceness in drawing the arrow, he now had an oddly gentle expression.
“Why did you abandon Avalon? You’re going to unify the continent under Britain’s banner, aren’t you?”
‘So he’s from Avalon!’
He seemed to be someone who resisted merging with Britain. A loyalist to Avalon.
Morgana answered firmly, “If that were my intention, I would have gone to Britain, not the temple, right?”
His wary gaze still seemed unconvinced.
‘If this keeps up, it’ll be hard to get information about the curse on the lady.’
Her comfortable life depended on it.
If the curse caster was targeting Britain, she needed to make it clear that she had no ambitions for Britain’s throne.
If necessary, she was even willing to hand over Excalibur.
In fact, it might be better if they took it.
‘At least the lady cursed relatively recently will be easier to trace.’
The people she had seen in Britain were those who had been cursed for quite some time.
The scope was too broad to trace back.
Thus, Tristan’s lady was the perfect candidate to uncover the culprit.
As soon as she flashed a trusting smile, Tristan’s eyes narrowed.
“I’ve heard rumors that you’ve helped the British royal family a great deal.”
Avalon’s intelligence network is impressive! She was now curious just how much they knew.
Morgana shook her head rapidly as if vibrating.
“My mother is originally from Britain. I went to Britain because I couldn’t stand the Duke of Fay, but in truth, I’m quite close to His Majesty Kellive!
She wasn’t sure if they were close, but she decided they would be from now on. She had no intention of going to Britain, so now she had to walk a fine line between Avalon and Britain.
But she couldn’t appear to be completely siding with Avalon either.
‘If I’d known it would come to this, I wouldn’t have caused such a scene in Britain!’
Despite Morgana’s active explanations, Tristan’s suspicions remained unshaken.
“I’ve never heard such a story.”
Morgana leaned in as if sharing a secret, whispering as if no one else was in the room.
“That’s right. I didn’t know we were close either at first.”
Before Tristan, his face full of questions, could say anything else, she quickly reached out to his swollen leg.
As she subtly infused her power, the swelling in his ankle gradually subsided.
‘I’ll leave some injury so he can’t run away.’
Once she finished the treatment to the point where walking would still cause some discomfort, Tristan’s eyes wavered in confusion.
He couldn’t get angry after being healed, but he also couldn’t fully trust her due to her actions in Britain.
Morgana feigned exhaustion, pressing her hand to her forehead.
“Today’s been too eventful. I can’t do anymore.”
“Why are you healing me?”
“I told you. I don’t dislike Avalon, you know?”
“But you drew Excalibur. Aren’t you going to become Britain’s king?”
“I didn’t pull the sword.”
“Huh?”
“I just pressed it, and it came out. I didn’t mean to take it. So the true king is someone else.”
Excalibur chimed in hastily at her words.
—Who said anything about being pulled? I’ve never said I could be pulled! Why does everyone keep saying that?
Honestly, for a holy sword, Excalibur seemed quite irreverent.
It didn’t seem devout in its faith, nor did it care much for temples.
‘I’d believe it if someone said the Lady of the Lake forced it into the stone.’
As Tristan stood there, stunned and speechless, Morgana groaned and stood up.
“Rest for now. I’ll come back tomorrow to continue your treatment when I’m feeling better.”
Judging by the atmosphere in the temple, it seemed Guinevere and Kellive would arrive by the end of the day.
Morgana was confident that if Tristan saw her with Kellive at the temple, it would be enough to dispel his suspicions.
“I’m really close with His Majesty Kellive. Just watch!”
Tristan, however, remained wary, wrapping the broken arrow with a bandage meant for treatment.
💫
It wasn’t until the afternoon that Kellive finally arrived at the temple.
Only then did the scattered nobles from Avalon begin to gather, seeking familiar faces.
Among them, of course, was Tristan.
“Your Majesty, you’ve arrived.”
“Yes.”
The haughty nobles bowed their heads, watching Kellive’s every move, and he nodded as if it were the most natural thing.
‘So this is how he usually is.’
Even in this brief exchange, the nobles’ eyes darted nervously to the ground.
Though silent, the uneasy atmosphere hinted at their fear of Kellive.
‘He’s always smiling, so why are they so cautious?’
As he walked past with his hands clasped behind his back, everyone glanced at him.
The only difference from the Kellive Morgana knew was his attire—otherwise, he was as kind as ever.
Though she wasn’t used to his formal clothing, she steeled herself and focused her gaze.
‘I should greet him too. Watch closely, Tristan!’
The temple entrance where the carriage had stopped.
Hiding behind a massive, broken pillar, Morgana took a deep breath, then stepped out to reveal herself.
“Morgana, sorry, I’m late.”
But for some reason, Kellive was standing right in front of the pillar, hands behind his back.
‘What’s going on…?’
She couldn’t just stand there awkwardly.
From a distance, Tristan’s sharp gaze watched the scene over Kellive’s shoulder.
Morgana swallowed her surprise and forced a bright smile.
“No, it’s fine. It’s nice to see you here!”
“Such a warm welcome wasn’t part of the plan. How about this, then?”
As he extended his hand from behind his back, a bouquet of golden flowers filled her vision.
Morgana’s mouth fell open at the sight of the unfamiliar flowers, and he tilted his head slightly, continuing,
“Steady and beautiful, right?”
“Where did you get these? I’ve never seen flowers like these before…”
Leaning in, he tapped the small golden flower-shaped ornament on his chest and whispered,
“I made them as soon as I returned to Avalon.”
‘He can make gold too!’
If she learned magic, maybe she could make gold nuggets as well?
As Morgana hugged the bouquet tightly, her eyes shining, Kellive straightened his posture.
“How’s the temple? Not uncomfortable, is it?”
“It’s wonderful! Though the crowd is a bit overwhelming.”
Especially Tristan’s scrutinizing gaze from behind Kellive. He nodded in another direction and asked casually,
“If you don’t like crowded places, shall we go somewhere quiet, just the two of us?”
His gaze shifted momentarily to the back.
Given the number of Avalon’s people around, it seemed more like an unconscious glance than a deliberate action.
‘I hope I didn’t make Tristan too self-conscious.’
Worried that Tristan might use this as an excuse to return to Avalon if he found out the truth, Morgana quickly grabbed Kellive’s arm as he looked away.
“Not just the two of us, but somewhere we can see others without it being too crowded!”
If it’s just the two of us, Tristan won’t be able to see anything.
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