The Duke of Fay masked his fluster with a hearty laugh.
“Haha, it seems you’ve picked up quite a few jokes since we last met.”
To an outsider, it might have looked like a warm family reunion.
Morgana subtly extended Excalibur, which she had been holding like a cane, clearly trying to create distance between them.
Suddenly, Excalibur, now directly facing the Duke, spoke up.
— Lift me higher. Think about me having to look up at that ugly face from below! My noble vision shouldn’t be tainted by such a sight. I need to purify this immediately.
‘Oh no!’
Afraid the sword might suddenly rise in the middle of the grand hall, Morgana tightened her grip on it.
Kellive, who had been silently observing the Duke’s behavior, stepped forward to stand in front of Morgana.
“The Duke’s conduct is an embarrassment to Avalon’s name. I never gave permission for such disrespect.”
Though his smile remained polite, his tone was icy.
The Duke quickly adjusted his attitude.
“Ah, my apologies. I must have made a mistake, thinking of her as family since she’s already been registered in the Fay household.”
He chuckled nervously, glancing at Morgana for a reaction.
“Before, her background drew harsh judgment, but now that she’s drawn the Holy Sword, things are different.”
Puffing out his chest as if boasting to Kellive, the Duke confidently placed a hand over his chest.
“So now she’s no longer just a member of the Fay household, is she?”
‘Registered without my consent, huh?’
Morgana smiled brightly as she faced him.
Just as the Duke’s expression began to brighten, thinking she had accepted his claim, she firmly replied,
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Duke. I already hold a barony in Britain.”
“B-but the power belongs to the Fay household… doesn’t it?”
Habitually trying to assert dominance, he quickly corrected his tone upon seeing Kellive standing stiffly beside him.
Morgana tilted her head and asked, “Did I ever say I needed a title from Avalon?”
“It’s the power of the household. You can’t just ignore it. That doesn’t make sense.”
“Perhaps the goddess Coventina wished to reclaim the power. That’s why she gave me both the power and the Holy Sword, don’t you think?”
At the mention of divine will, the Duke’s mouth opened and closed wordlessly.
Given that the banquet was held in the temple, he seemed to be carefully choosing his words.
Just as the Duke hesitated, a loud announcement echoed from outside the hall.
“The High Priest and the Saint are entering!”
Creak—
As the heavy doors opened, the Duke’s mouth snapped shut.
It seemed he couldn’t bring himself to deny the gods in the temple.
Morgana deliberately turned her head toward the door, ignoring him.
Merlin’s graceful entrance, illuminated by the hall’s lights, looked dazzling.
Nimue, with his decadent aura, stood beside him, making the contrast even more striking.
Behind them, the commander of the holy knights, clad in knightly attire, followed.
‘Found him!’
It was the person Morgana had been searching for.
Bedivere. During King Vortigern’s purge of the Pendragon family, he had stayed by Uther’s side until the end, eventually joining the temple to save his own life.
As a neutral zone, the temple was the only place beyond the king’s reach.
Even if he were a fugitive in Britain, becoming a member of the sacred order meant his crimes could no longer be pursued.
‘He’s also someone who doesn’t have much love for Britain.’
For Bedivere, the birth of a new king to unify the continent was welcome news. It was a chance for King Vortigern, whom he had fled, to step down.
Morgana blatantly turned her back on the Duke and smiled openly at Kellive.
“I’ll go greet the High Priest! If you have more to discuss with the Avalon delegation, take your time!”
With Bedivere following Merlin, there was no better excuse to leave.
Morgana, seeing Kellive nod in understanding, quickly walked toward Merlin with light steps.
Kellive simply watched her retreating figure with a smile.
Once Morgana was out of earshot, the Duke of Fay urgently called out to his two daughters, who were hiding nearby.
“What are you doing over there? Come out now!”
Despite his gestures, Morgause shook her head, biting her lip. She looked ready to squeeze herself into any hiding spot to avoid the situation.
The Duke looked like he might collapse, clutching the back of his neck.
‘Why are they acting like this when we need to make a good impression on His Majesty Kellive?’
As he glared at Morgause from a distance, he felt a presence beside him.
Turning his head, he saw Kellive standing much closer.
“Duke of Fay.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. What can I do for you?”
The Duke asked shamelessly, his expression softening as if he hadn’t just been glaring at Morgause.
Kellive’s lips curved into a long, cold smile. He tilted his head slightly and whispered into the Duke’s ear as if passing by.
“You lied to me.”
The kindness in his low whisper was laced with menace. His sharp golden eyes glanced indifferently at the Duke’s pale profile.
“During the succession ceremony, you said the herbs imbued with power were brought by a distant relative of yours, didn’t you?”
“Th-that was…”
“And you sent a guild after her.”
The Duke’s shoulders twitched.
He knew. Now he understood why the guild had gone silent.
‘His Majesty Kellivemust have killed them!’
As the Duke turned his frozen head to the side, he saw Kellive smiling beautifully at him.
Kellive lightly tapped the Duke’s shoulder and continued,
“It’s a shame there are people here who dislike bloodshed. Tyrving would’ve been pleased. Let’s talk more when we return to Avalon.”
With a few more taps on the Duke’s shoulder, Kellive followed Morgana with a gentle demeanor, despite his chilling words.
💫
“Do you like the banquet? I was worried it might be too different from the other kingdoms’ events.”
Merlin’s innocent eyes curved into a smile as he looked at Morgana. But Morgana found it hard to focus on the conversation.
— Master, look. I’ve never seen someone so perfectly formed in my life!
Excalibur wouldn’t stop talking. The sword was pointing at none other than Saint Nimue.
Everything about her—her posture, her pale skin, slightly hollow eyes—was exactly as Morgana had seen in King Vortigern’s reception room. She still lingered behind Merlin like a shadow, her presence faint, as if she weren’t really there.
For some reason, this seemed to strike a chord with Excalibur.
— I like her. I thought the temple was full of ugly people, but the real beauty was hiding here all along!
This was Excalibur’s way of giving a signal.
‘Hand him over to the Saint!’
Just as Morgana’s eyes lit up with hope, Excalibur’s lively voice echoed in her mind again.
— You should be grateful, Master. I only like her appearance, but I like everything about you!
‘Not a chance. I’d rather stay silent.’
Morgana inwardly wiped away her tears and smiled sweetly at Merlin.
“It’s something I urgently requested! You don’t need to worry too much about it.”
“That’s a relief.”
The formal conversation was missing a key topic. Morgana fixed Merlin with an intense gaze and continued,
“Did you hear about the request I made?”
“Ah, about the lady from Avalon who entered the Caledon Forest?”
Morgana silently prayed in her heart.
‘Introduce Bedivere to me. Introduce Bedivere to me!’
Wasn’t the security of the sacred order originally his responsibility?
As if sensing her desperate signal, Merlin subtly gestured to Bedivere standing behind him.
“I’ve asked the Commander of the Holy Knights to handle the dispatch.”
“I’m Bedivere.”
At Merlin’s words, he bowed politely and explained the situation.
“Some of the holy knights are currently searching the forest. Please don’t worry too much.”
“How long will it take?”
Though the question was directed at Bedivere, oddly, the answer came from Merlin.
“The Commander was once a renowned knight in Britain. His skills are exceptional, so if you wait a little longer, the lady will return.”
It was a vague response, lacking a definitive answer.
Just then, Guinevere suddenly interjected.
“So you were a knight from Britain?”
She seemed delighted to meet someone from her homeland at the temple.
Looking around, it seemed she had barely managed to shake off the British nobles.
From a distance, they could be seen fidgeting, unable to approach while Merlin was present.
However, Bedivere’s expression grew even stiffer upon seeing Guinevere.
“Yes.”
“To rise to the rank of Commander of the Holy Knights—it makes me proud as a member of the British royal family!”
“Yes.”
Despite receiving the highest praise a knight could get, his responses were curt.
Guinevere seemed completely unaware of his discomfort. She had only joined the conversation because the topic of Britain came up, but her real target had always been Morgana.
“Morgana, why are you being escorted by someone from Avalon? I told you I’d send Sir Lancelot!”
“Ah, no. Sir Lancelot’s escort should be for you, Princess!”
As the conversation continued, Morgana noticed Bedivere growing increasingly tense.
He was clearly struggling to suppress his discomfort.
‘Even if the relationship between the princess and King Vortigern is bad, she’s still part of the British royal family…’
The fact that their relationship was strained wasn’t even widely known.
Since both had appeared together at official events, to Bedivere, she was simply the daughter of the king who had unjustly killed his lord.
‘With the princess around, it’ll be harder to get his cooperation.’
As Morgana scanned the room for Guinevere’s maid and guard, a flustered priest’s voice echoed from outside the door.
“Uh, who did you say you are?”
A soft voice responded, though the words were unclear.
Creak—
The heavy door opened quietly, without any prior indication.
Since Merlin, the highest authority in the temple, had already entered, no one of lower rank needed to be announced.
The face that appeared through the open door was familiar to Morgana.
It was Arthur, dressed in his humble monster-hunting attire.
As he walked, the nobles stepped aside as if avoiding something dirty. His appearance was starkly out of place in the bright, pristine temple banquet hall.
Unfazed, he walked straight ahead.
Finally, standing before Morgana, Arthur bowed his head silently.
“Arthur, the mercenary, reporting back from the monster-hunting unit.”
Comments (0)