The Throne Room.
Artoria sat upon the throne, supporting her face with one hand.
Her gaze was as cold as a winter rain.
She looked at Barghest and Mélusine before her, remaining silent for a long moment before finally speaking:
"You two, are you certain you haven't misspoken?"
"You both—"
"Wish to persuade me to call off this wedding?"
The time was several hours earlier.
Inside a tavern in Camelot.
Barghest and Mélusine sat at the same table.
"Are you saying—"
"Shorty, you also think this wedding is inappropriate?"
"That doesn't sound like you."
"..."
Faced with Barghest's words, which seemed to carry both doubt and a hint of sadness, the image of Morgan sitting on Ian's lap quickly surfaced in Mélusine's mind.
There was no mistaking it.
The "illegitimate daughter" she had mentioned was the very woman before her, Barghest.
After much hesitation, Mélusine finally broached the subject.
"I know everything."
"You are Ian's 'illegitimate daughter,' aren't you?"
"..."
Having the secret she cared about most exposed in an instant by her colleague, Barghest's first reaction was, naturally, denial.
"Are you kidding me!"
"How could I possibly be his 'illegitimate daughter'? Mélusine, have you gone mad!"
"Your mother is Morgan."
"You are her first child."
"Your mother and father's relationship is not public."
"Sigh."
Mélusine let out a sigh.
"There's no need to deny it anymore, Barghest."
"I know everything."
"Some things cannot be hidden by you alone."
Although she often bickered with this colleague of hers, it was the first time Barghest had ever seen Mélusine speak these words with such calmness.
"You... when did you find out?"
"Who told you?"
"That's not important, Barghest."
Mélusine looked at the woman before her, feeling a pang of guilt.
After all, in terms of their actual relationships, she, who had had multiple illicit relations with Ian, was actually Barghest's "enemy."
"The important thing is—"
"What do you think?"
Mélusine turned her head to the side, expressing her thoughts.
"Do you want to stop this wedding?"
"To watch your own father be snatched away by someone else, and only for the sake of continuing the royal line... no matter how you look at it, that can't be something you're willing to accept."
"For you to say that..."
"Are you planning to help me?"
Barghest asked cautiously.
"Mélusine, this wasn't your attitude before."
"The past is the past, now is now."
"Besides—"
Mélusine turned back.
She mustered her courage and looked Barghest straight in the eye.
"I'm not exactly helping you."
"I'm just..."
"Helping myself."
Hearing these words, a flicker of confusion crossed Barghest's eyes.
But she soon nodded.
"Although I don't know what you mean by that, at least..."
Barghest extended her incomparably sturdy arm.
"You and I are thinking the same thing right now."
"..."
Mélusine firmly grasped Barghest's hand.
"Yes."
"At least for now, we are."
And so—
The consensus between the knights quickly evolved into more concrete action.
When the rumor was no longer just a rumor, their so-called admonishment took on real meaning.
Stopping this wedding had become something the two of them had to do.
However...
Whether it was Mélusine, the as-yet-unknown lover of the First Knight of the Round Table;
Or Barghest, the "illegitimate daughter" in the truest sense.
They both understood one thing very clearly:
The possibility of making Artoria change her mind was extremely low.
This was, after all, the King who dared to fearlessly declare her gender in the face of countless voices of doubt.
To now tell her not to go through with the marriage.
No matter how you thought about it...
It was not something she would easily accept, was it?
Barghest and Mélusine exchanged a look, both knowing that what awaited them next was surely Artoria's unquestionable refusal.
How could a King's wedding be for the likes of them to interfere with.
However—
Their stance absolutely had to be made clear.
This unjust wedding should not be allowed to continue.
And yet.
The situation did not develop as Barghest and Mélusine had expected.
After confirming the two knights' stance, Artoria remained perfectly calm, as if their words were nothing more than a routine report on state affairs.
"I understand."
Artoria nodded.
"Sir Barghest, you are dismissed for now."
"I have some matters I wish to discuss with Sir Mélusine alone."
There was none of the unquestionable royal authority she had imagined.
None of the pride of Camelot's ruler who would not allow anyone to doubt her decisions.
Even...
Artoria didn't even deny the rumor itself.
Barghest felt that something was a little off.
But the King's command was still the King's command.
At this moment, still acting as a Knight of the Round Table, she could only nod in agreement.
"I understand."
"Then, my King, I will attend to other matters."
"Yes, go."
The great doors of the throne room were pulled open by Barghest, and then closed again.
Only Mélusine and Artoria remained inside.
"My King, what is..."
Left alone, Mélusine felt a little panicked.
After all, considering the current situation, she was, in a sense, an existence that Artoria had to eliminate.
For a fiancé on the verge of marriage to be repeatedly entering and exiting another woman from behind on the eve of his wedding.
No matter how you looked at it, it was the ultimate insult to the royal authority of Camelot.
Even now...
Mélusine could still feel his warmth.
And even a slight, flowing sensation.
That's right.
Not long before coming here with Barghest, she had shamelessly sought out Ian one more time to bolster her courage.
But Artoria did not answer Mélusine directly.
She simply rose silently from her throne, then walked forward, step by step, until she stood before her.
It was a presence that could make one feel suffocated just by looking at it.
Mélusine, naturally, also felt this extremely terrifying pressure.
"My King, our opinion has made you unhappy, hasn't it—"
"But the rumors outside are too rampant. At the very least, you must not do this for now!"
However—
"Do you have time today?"
Artoria asked softly, as if she hadn't heard a word Mélusine had said.
Mélusine was stunned for a moment, but quickly answered.
"If the King requires it, I will of course have time."
"Then that's settled."
A flicker of some imperceptible, sharp intent flashed in Artoria's eyes.
"Then, Sir Mélusine—"
"I now command you in my capacity as King."
"At sunset, come and attend to me and Ian in our bath." (T/N: 💀)