"My sister…?" Artoria hesitated.
What does he want with her?
She was well aware of Morgan le Fay's reputation throughout Britain, and Kay had warned her more than once to stay away from that witch.
And yet, she simply couldn't reconcile Morgan le Fay with that so-called "witch."
When Artoria was five years old, she had been left in the care of Sir Ector and her adoptive brother. Her life consisted solely of endless daily training.
It was no exaggeration to say that she slept only three hours a day.
But Artoria never complained. She knew her mission. Her destiny had already been sealed. In those harsh training days, her only comfort was the brief moment each night when her older sister would come to talk with her.
That went on for several months, until Sir Ector discovered it by chance. The very next day, he warned Artoria not to have much contact with Morgan le Fay.
There was only one reason:
She is a witch.
Artoria once asked Sir Ector whether her sister had done something wrong, but Ector gave no answer, saying only: She is a witch.
Those two words became the reason she was forbidden from having any contact with her older sister. From then on, Sir Ector and Kay took turns watching over her, fearing that the "witch" might harm her.
She could understand her adoptive father and adoptive brother—their intentions were good. But… why couldn't she see her older sister? Even now, Artoria still couldn't understand.
And now, this young man standing in front of her was asking about her older sister…
Artoria's eyes flickered slightly, but her expression remained calm.
"Why are you asking about my older sister?"
"She's your older sister?" Arthur looked surprised.
Artoria nodded lightly. "How did you meet her?"
"I ran into her by chance during training, and she taught me a few things," Arthur said. "Now that my abilities have improved, I want to thank her in person. Do you know where she lives?"
"You want to go look for her?" Artoria asked, sounding surprised.
"Yes." Arthur nodded.
Artoria fell silent for a moment, then continued, "Even though she's a witch?"
"But she helped me," Arthur replied. "She didn't do anything to harm me."
"But she's a witch—"
"She's also your older sister, isn't she?" Arthur interrupted.
Artoria fell silent again.
Then she nodded slightly. "Mm."
"I'll take you there," she said, looking at him.
"You want to take me?" Arthur blinked, then quickly waved his hand. "No! Absolutely not!"
"Why not?" Artoria frowned. "Do you doubt my abilities?"
"Quite the opposite. I'm fully aware of how capable you are," Arthur said, shaking his head again. "But if something happens to me when I go to see Morgan, it won't matter much. For you, it's different. If anything happened to you, I'd never be able to forgive myself."
He firmly rejected her suggestion.
What a joke. If it were just about training with Artoria every day, Kay and Sir Ector wouldn't say anything. But if they found out he had taken this fourteen-year-old girl to see Morgan le Fay, they would absolutely chase him to the ends of the earth.
Besides, Arthur believed Morgan bore no hostility toward him—and probably not toward Artoria either—but he knew Morgan was an obsessive sister. What if, after they arrived, Morgan looked at Artoria and suddenly thought, "Why not keep her by my side forever?" and refused to let her leave?
Then who would become the future King of Britain?
Ah… who knows, maybe Morgan would become king that way.
Arthur felt a strange spark of curiosity at the thought.
What would happen if Morgan le Fay became King of Britain?
"Do you know where my older sister lives?" Artoria suddenly asked.
Arthur was taken aback. "You can just tell me."
"There are hundreds of knights around the palace. It's heavily guarded, and ordinary people can't enter at all. You can't even ask a guard to deliver a message. How do you plan to see her?"
Arthur: "…"
I almost forgot—Morgan apparently likes making puppets when she's bored. According to Artoria, her palace was now filled with them, so seeing Morgan le Fay was no easy task.
"But if I go with you, it'll be different. I can take you to see my sister."
As she finished speaking, it seemed she already knew the answer. She looked at Arthur with a faint smile and extended her hand.
"Let's go."
Arthur hesitated for a moment, sighed softly, and under Artoria's gaze, reached out and took her hand.
Then, before Artoria could say anything, he gave a small bow and said,
"I'm sorry. I'm not going."
Artoria's smile froze.
---xXx---
"Arthur… what's wrong with you? Why do you look like you've been through so much?"
Arthur was sitting on the castle walls, staring up at the night sky. Nessa, sitting beside him, poked his cheek. Her light violet eyes gleamed brightly as she looked at him.
"Ah, um…" Arthur replied mechanically, then let out another heavy sigh.
It had to be said—Artoria could really hold a grudge. Just because he refused her request, their spar that afternoon had been completely unrestrained. To be honest, in terms of combat experience, Arthur surpassed her, but Artoria was a Red Dragon, and her raw physical strength exceeded his. Arthur couldn't afford to fight a war of attrition against her.
In the end, he was defeated.
It was hard to understand. If she wanted to see Morgan so badly, why didn't she go by herself? Why did he have to take her?
What Arthur didn't know was that it wasn't that Artoria didn't want to see Morgan—it was that she had no reason to.
She needed a reason.
Arthur's appearance had given her exactly that.
And yet, Arthur had rejected her.
That was why Artoria fought him without holding back that afternoon.
"Arthur, you seem really tired today," Nessa said again, worried.
"Ah, um…" Arthur gave another vague response, his mind still stuck on the events of the day.
"Arthur, you're not meeting some other woman behind my back, are you?" Nessa pinched his cheek with a gentle smile. "You leave Dun Scaith every day after dueling with me. Are you going to see someone?"
"Ah, um…" Arthur replied absentmindedly again.
"Do you want to die at least once?" Nessa smiled—but there was no smile in her eyes, and her purple hair fluttered in the night wind.
"Ah, um?!" Arthur snapped back to his senses instantly.
(End of Chapter)