"The reason I chose him as King was simply so my sister wouldn't have to work so hard."
Morgan explained it with the same naturalness as someone commenting on the weather. Her smile remained gentle, almost lazy, as she extended a hand toward Nessa.
"Come," she said calmly. "Didn't you want to see him as soon as possible?"
"I can walk on my own."
Nessa immediately stood up by herself, completely ignoring Morgan's outstretched hand.
Even so, Morgan did not seem bothered in the slightest. She merely let out a soft muffled laugh, as though she had already expected that reaction, then turned around and continued walking through the palace corridors.
As she walked, she casually glanced at the girl behind her.
"Why did you arrive in Britain so early? There are still several days left before the ball."
Nessa's violet eyes glimmered faintly.
She brushed her long purple hair away from her face, raised her chin proudly, and snorted softly.
"That's none of your business."
"Alright, alright... you really are very suspicious of me." Morgan sighed helplessly, though her tone carried a trace of amusement. "I know you have a completely wrong impression of me, but you really don't need to worry that much."
She then theatrically raised one hand, as though making an incredibly important oath.
"I swear upon the honor of Merlin, the great mage of Britain, that I do not like Arthur. It's all a misunderstanding."
Hearing that, the cautious expression on Nessa's face softened slightly.
Even so, hesitation still lingered in her eyes.
After all, that woman was far too dangerous.
Scáthach rarely spoke badly about anyone. For someone like her mother to mention Morgan in that manner... was already more than enough proof that this woman was definitely not simple.
"But you..." Morgan lowered her voice slightly as they walked through the silent corridor. "You should be careful of the people around you."
"The people around me?"
Nessa was surprised for a moment.
Then, almost immediately, her eyes narrowed.
This woman was trying to sow discord?
Is she talking about Mother?
"You don't need to worry about that," Nessa replied calmly.
"Whatever. I was just commenting." Morgan shrugged carelessly. "After all, that boy likes your master very much, doesn't he?"
"That's because Mom raised him for over five years!"
Nessa answered almost instantly, her tone loud and defensive.
"Isn't that simply liking someone?"
Nessa: "..."
She opened her mouth.
Then closed it.
For an entire moment, she simply could not answer.
Morgan watched the girl's reaction and smiled discreetly, clearly amused.
Even so, she did not continue teasing her about that topic.
Instead, she guided Nessa into the massive hall of the palace.
"It seems he isn't here today..."
Morgan murmured to herself while her eyes swept across the empty room.
"You're provoking me on purpose?"
Nessa immediately looked at Morgan with renewed suspicion.
"I knew you wouldn't be kind enough to actually bring me to Arthur." Her expression became increasingly distrustful. "You must be planning something."
Nessa's imagination immediately began running wild.
"Maybe you've been lying to me from the very beginning..."
She narrowed her eyes at Morgan.
"You'd trick me, lock me in some basement, then threaten Arthur by saying something like: 'If you want to save Nessa, you'll have to obey me completely'..."
As she spoke, her gaze became more and more cautious.
"Then you'd make Arthur obey all your orders... turn him into your toy... until you completely broke him, body and soul..."
She crossed her arms.
"And then he'd never be able to escape you again."
After hearing those words, Morgan's eyes slowly began to shine.
Her expression filled with genuine surprise.
This child...
She stared at Nessa for several seconds.
...might actually have potential.
They would probably get along very well.
Besides...
What Nessa had just described made absurdly good sense.
Morgan had genuinely never thought of something that efficient before.
Capture Nessa.
Then slowly force Arthur into obedience.
Make him desperately try to please her in order to protect her...
The more Morgan imagined it, the brighter the smile on her lips became.
That really does sound like an interesting idea.
"Nessa?!"
Before Morgan could continue sinking deeper into those extremely dangerous thoughts, a voice full of surprise echoed through the hall.
Arthur.
Morgan let out an almost imperceptible sigh inside her mind.
My, my...
You really appeared at the worst possible time.
Nessa, on the other hand, immediately lit up.
All the coldness vanished in an instant.
"Arthur!"
She practically ran toward him.
"Why are you here? Did Master come too?"
Arthur looked at Nessa with obvious surprise and happiness.
He truly had not expected to see her there so early.
"Mom won't arrive for a few more days," Nessa explained while naturally hugging his arm. "So she told me to come first."
Her smile seemed as bright as the sun itself.
"By the way, where were you just now?"
"I went out with Lily for a small training session," Arthur replied.
Only then did Nessa notice the girl standing beside him.
The smile on her face weakened slightly.
"Who is she?"
"Artoria is my court administrator," Arthur explained naturally. "Nessa, this is Nessa. I think I've mentioned her before."
Artoria merely gave a slight nod.
"Hello."
Her tone was extremely calm.
Indifferent.
As though she was not particularly interested in Nessa.
"Hello."
Nessa replied politely as well.
But her expression remained cold.
Arthur looked from one to the other.
Then blinked several times, clearly confused.
What is happening here?
You two just met.
Why does the atmosphere feel so strange?
It can't be a love triangle, right?
Impossible.
Lily doesn't even understand that kind of thing.
"Your sister must be tired from the trip." Morgan smiled gently, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "Allow me to take her to her room so she can rest."
Arthur almost immediately shot Morgan a grateful look.
Finally, someone normal.
However, the moment his eyes met hers, Morgan slowly blinked.
The amused smile on her lips clearly seemed to say:
"You should thank me properly."
Even without hearing a single word, Arthur perfectly understood the meaning behind that look.
"I'm not tired. I want to stay here."
Nessa clung even tighter to Arthur's arm, refusing to let go.
"The king is still busy with important matters." Morgan gently took Ushaha's hand. "You'll be able to see him later tonight."
Then she smiled.
"First, I'll take you to your room."
Even though she was clearly reluctant, Nessa eventually accepted.
In the end, she left the hall together with Morgan.
Arthur finally let out a sigh of relief once the two disappeared down the corridor.
"I really didn't expect Master to send Nessa this early..."
He murmured to himself.
"I wonder what she's thinking?"
Arthur quickly shook his head.
From the very beginning, he had never been able to fully understand what Scáthach was thinking.
Trying to guess the mind of that woman was practically impossible.
Besides...
Instead of wasting time thinking about that, it was better to think about the ball.
Although the masquerade ball had mainly been created to lure out Britain's hidden enemies, it also meant he would finally see his master again.
Just imagining that reunion made Arthur unable to stop the small smile that involuntarily appeared on his lips.
Thinking about it that way...
Being King might not be so bad after all.
"Arthur..."
Artoria's voice suddenly came from beside him.
"Your smile looks a little strange."
Arthur immediately snapped out of his thoughts.
"Hm?" He blinked several times. "My smile is strange?"
"Very."
Artoria answered without hesitation.
She looked genuinely serious.
"You were thinking about something strange just now."
"You're imagining things."
"I am not."
Artoria replied calmly.
"I have been observing your expressions this entire time."
Arthur: "..."
"This is a method my older sister taught me," Artoria continued. "She said the best way to understand the human heart is through observation."
She then lightly crossed her arms.
"Based on my analysis, you were probably indulging in some kind of unrealistic fantasy."
Arthur immediately looked away.
Guilty.
"Besides..." Artoria continued calmly. "I noticed that most of the women you like seem to be older."
Arthur slowly turned his head.
"The way you speak about your master clearly demonstrates extremely strong admiration and emotional attachment."
She calmly pointed at him.
"You also look at that girl strangely."
Arthur: "..."
"Therefore," Artoria concluded serenely, "my hypothesis is that you likely suffered from emotional deprivation during childhood, which caused you to develop a natural tendency to seek older female figures."
Arthur remained silent.
Artoria observed his reaction for several seconds.
"And the fact that you are this shaken proves my analysis is probably correct."
"..."
Arthur slowly turned his face away.
"But as I said before," Artoria continued. "You may also treat me like an older sister."
Arthur stared at Artoria in silence.
Then...
"Hehe."
He let out an extremely irritating laugh.
Filled with mockery.
Everyone around me is already older than I am.
Finally someone younger appears...
And she wants to become my older sister too?
Not even in your dreams.
---
Meanwhile, in another corridor of the palace...
"I feel like I'm already acting like a true empress..."
Morgan thought to herself while guiding Nessa toward one of the rooms prepared for guests.
As an empress, one needed elegance, maturity, and an open mind.
No matter how many "concubines" appeared.
Whenever the king was troubled, she should help him properly organize those troublesome girls.
In short...
If she truly became empress, she would probably do a perfect job.
What a shame Arthur still did not seem to be in love with her.
Morgan sighed internally.
Scáthach...
If I had the same position she does...
Would I be able to drag Arthur into bed easily?
Thinking about that boy's personality...
Even if he discovered the truth afterward, he would probably obediently take responsibility.
In that case, her position as empress would be guaranteed.
But...
Morgan frowned slightly.
That would not be enough.
She did not want to deceive him using Scáthach's image.
What Morgan truly wanted... was for Arthur to fall in love with her of his own will.
She wanted him to desire her body naturally.
We need to think of other methods.
Even so, there was no need to rush.
After all...
There were still more than two years left before Arthur turned eighteen.
While thinking that, Morgan opened the door to one of the rooms.
"You can stay here for the next few days."
Nessa simply nodded.
She clearly had no interest whatsoever in the luxurious decoration of the room.
In truth, the only thing on her mind was:
When is Arthur coming back?
"Hm... then I'll be going."
Morgan spoke mechanically.
Nessa immediately entered the room without any hesitation.
Morgan remained standing there for several seconds, staring at the closed door.
Then...
A strange smile slowly appeared on her lips.
The children of the Land of Shadows...
Are they all this easy to deceive?
It made sense for Arthur to trust her. After all, he had been around Morgan from the very beginning.
But Nessa too?
Just how exactly did Scáthach raise these children?
While reflecting on that, Morgan turned around to look for Agravain and check on the preparations for the ball.
However, before she could go very far, she spotted a pink-haired girl walking through the corridors.
Morgan's eyes immediately narrowed.
"Miss Milo?"
She smiled slowly.
"What exactly are you doing here?"
"I handed my territory over to King Arthur."
Milo replied with a lovestruck smile.
"So from now on, I'll be living here and helping him with a few things."
Morgan remained silent for several long seconds.
Then...
Suddenly began laughing.
"I truly underestimated you."
Her smile became dangerously beautiful.
"You're really willing to bet everything like this."
"After all..." Milo placed one hand against her chest. "I truly love the king."
Even as she said that, her smile did not waver in the slightest.
"Even if you kill me, I won't care."
She shrugged carelessly.
"But I don't think you'll do that."
Morgan continued staring at her silently.
"If he discovered that you took such a huge risk just to kill someone insignificant like me..." Milo smiled gently. "The impression he'd have of you would probably worsen quite a bit, wouldn't it?"
"Indeed."
Morgan answered calmly.
She truly did not take Milo that seriously.
If she had to choose someone worthy of caution...
Then the only person Morgan truly considered an enemy at that moment...
Was the queen who still remained in the Land of Shadows.
---
(End of Chapter)