The moonlight is like water and as bright as frost.
In one corner of the royal palace, a white-haired mage in a mage's robe was leisurely walking under the moonlight, humming a tune to himself.
"Hmm-hmm-hmm… hee-hee-hee ha-ha…"
It had already been nearly half an hour since Merlin had escorted Artoria back to the palace.
At first, Merlin was somewhat flustered… after all, even though he usually slacked off, that didn't mean he could just stand by and watch his country collapse entirely.
If he truly didn't care about Britain, back then he wouldn't have helped King Uther plan things so that the Red Dragon, Artoria, would inherit the throne.
At first, he was a little worried, but after sensing that no disturbance had broken out at the banquet, Merlin was suddenly at ease.
Just as Artoria herself had said, even for the sake of Britain, she would not cause any conflict with her Royal Sister during the banquet.
Likewise, Morgan would not betray Alvin's expectations.
… In other words, this banquet served as a kind of ceasefire zone, as long as the banquet wasn't over, no major incident would erupt.
It was just… a little unfortunate for Alvin.
Merlin sighed inwardly.
He tried to put himself in Alvin's shoes.
Well...if it were him, knowing that both Morgan and Artoria were present at the banquet… he would probably want to run away.
But some things cannot be avoided.
This matter had to be handled by Alvin himself—
"What have you been humming about all this time?"
Suddenly, a hand pressed down on Merlin's shoulder from behind.
Almost instantly, the latter bristled like a startled cat, every hair standing on end, a chill running through him.
He whipped his head around.
Under the moonlight, a figure like a ghost had silently appeared behind him.
It was Alvin, who had arrived late.
When Alvin had first left, he'd already spotted this sneaky, suspicious-looking Merlin, so he secretly tailed him to see what this white-haired mage was up to.
Yet all he found was Merlin aimlessly wandering around the palace, at that point, Alvin could no longer bear it and took the initiative to greet him.
Upon seeing who it was, Merlin finally let out a long breath.
"So it's you… Alvin."
"I already told you before, stop sneaking up behind people all the time, it's so creepy…"
And honestly, quite terrifying.
Possessing clairvoyance capable of observing the present, Merlin's perceptive abilities were naturally excellent.
However, if Alvin activated the special ability Night Watchman ahead of time, unless Merlin had been on guard from the start, even he couldn't sense his presence.
Alvin looked Merlin over and asked:
"What have you been wandering around the palace for since earlier?"
"And… where's Lily?"
The last time Merlin had sent Artoria to Avalon, she'd been furious about it.
Though he hadn't seen Artoria's expression lately, it wasn't hard to imagine she hadn't been giving Merlin any pleasant looks.
And yet here this white-haired mage was, sneaking out by himself again… wasn't he afraid of being noticed by Lily?
Merlin's gaze flickered slightly, and a smile quickly appeared on his face.
"The King is still resting in Avalon."
Alvin asked doubtfully:
"She doesn't know you've left Avalon?"
"Though I'm not particularly skilled in magic, I am rather accomplished in illusions, sneaking out with a clone for a little stroll is no problem."
Merlin paused, then continued with a smile. "Besides, I'm still a little concerned about Morgan le Fay."
Alvin couldn't help but chuckle and said:
"She's not as malicious as you all imagine."
Merlin smiled faintly:
"Perhaps… but maybe only when it comes to you."
"After all, you are different from the rest of us."
In Merlin's eyes, there were two kinds of Morgan le Fay.
One was the Morgan who interacted with everyone else… the other was the Morgan who was with Alvin.
'I might be different, but really, you're the one who's quite different…
If it weren't for Merlin's excellent escape skills, Morgan probably would have already killed this white-haired mage…' Alvin thought silently.
After chatting a bit, and confirming that Merlin didn't seem to have any particular ulterior motive, Alvin took his leave and headed toward the banquet hall.
Behind him, watching the young man's departing figure, Merlin's smile faded slightly, and he muttered:
"Alvin, don't blame me… this is all something you brought upon yourself…"
Originally, when those two sisters met, it would have been impossible for them to sit down and talk peacefully.
But tonight's banquet might just give them a chance to sit at the same table… it could be the best opportunity to ease their relationship.
Of course, whether they could seize that opportunity would be up to Alvin.
Thinking this, Merlin couldn't help but smile faintly.
Though the process had been a bit complicated, so far everything was still going according to his plan.
Next, it was time to see Alvin's performance…
But before that, there was still one tricky person he needed to intercept first… he had to make absolutely sure nothing went wrong.
Thinking this, Merlin raised his staff and waved it.
The night wind stirred, and his figure scattered like pink petals in the breeze.
In the next moment, the petals drifted along the night wind to a small path within the palace, where they quietly gathered again.
Ahead on this path, a young girl was about to head to the banquet.
… Manaka Saijyou.
The young girl stopped in her tracks, raising her head to carefully examine the man before her.
As if realizing something, she narrowed her beautiful eyes:
"This magic… you must be Merlin?"
Merlin showed a dazzling smile:
"Indeed, Britain's Court Mage, Big Brother Merlin."
Manaka merely glanced at him and said coldly:
"I'm not interested in you. Move aside."
"Sorry, but I can't let you proceed to the banquet just yet," Merlin replied with a smile.
Though he didn't understand human hearts well, based on the reactions Manaka Saijyou had shown when facing Alvin previously, Merlin could vaguely sense there was something off.
Right now, just having Morgan and Artoria present was troublesome enough, if she were to join in as well…
"Though I apologize, could I ask you to stay here for a while?" Merlin asked, smiling.
Manaka Saijyou didn't reply, because taking her place was the overwhelming magic power welling up from her connection to the Root.
"It seems that sometimes… people really can't communicate properly after all…"
Merlin sighed softly.
"In that case, I'll just treat this as a little exercise."
As his voice fell, the hidden magic beneath his feet surged upward in response!
——
A battle had just begun in the palace, while in the banquet hall at this very moment, a battle without smoke had only just begun.
The royal court musicians of Britain had already begun playing elegant classical music.
Amid the bustling clink of glasses, the guests seemed to gradually forget the subtle atmosphere caused by the arrivals of King Arthur and Morgan le Fay.
Of course… only on the surface.
At least, from the beginning, quite a few guests had been sneaking glances toward a certain corner of the banquet while conversing.
Even if they didn't fully understand Britain's family matters, any transmigrator had at least heard some version of the story between King Arthur and her elder sister.
It could be said that from birth, these two were destined to be as incompatible as fire and water, not to mention that not long ago, they had just engaged in a shocking battle at the palace gates.
And yet now, the two sisters were sitting under one roof, clinking glasses and smiling as if everything was fine?
— At least from an outsider's perspective, it seemed so.
The onlookers could simply stay far away and watch the show.
But for Mordred and Gareth, who were at the center of the vortex, it was another matter entirely.
Upon hearing Artoria's completely undisguised, almost warlike words, Mordred and Gareth's heartbeats had already accelerated to the point where it felt like they might burst out of their chests.
The King really came here planning to fight with "Mother", didn't she?!
The moment Artoria's voice fell, the hearts of the two girls, both possessing White Dragon genes, began pounding wildly.
Their very souls seemed on the verge of flying out in terror.
Both were deeply familiar with Morgan le Fay's temperament.
If you yielded to Morgan, she might be willing to listen to a few words of explanation.
But if you dared provoke her… with the witch's arrogant nature, she would only crush you beneath her heel like an insect.
Mordred initiative assumed that upon hearing Artoria's blatant provocation, her mother would become furious.
However, Morgan's expression did not change at all.
She merely narrowed her beautiful eyes, gazing at the noble and beautiful King Arthur before her, or rather, her younger sister.
"It seems… his return really has changed you a great deal, Lily."
"If this were you a few years ago, you would never have spoken such an emotional line."
Yes… Artoria is a machine that doesn't understand human hearts.
That line had first been uttered by a certain unnamed red-haired knight.
And indeed, it was the truth.
During the years Alvin had been away, Artoria had truly been a King who did not understand human hearts.
She seemed born to uphold rules, and anyone who violated those rules would receive her punishment.
However—
Ever since Alvin returned, the young girl slumbering within Artoria's body was gradually awakened by him.
To the point where just now, she actually uttered words filled with strong personal emotion:
— Britain and Alvin, I want them both.
"It seems you really do enjoy using that superior tone to lecture others, Royal Sister." Artoria glanced faintly at Morgan and said calmly:
"But I was merely stating a fact."
"I have been with him since long ago, you are the one who came later—"
"I've already told you, love has never been about who came first," Morgan interrupted coldly.
"Besides, unlike you, when I'm with him, I never tie him to me with any official position or political duties… whereas you always assign him some special post so you can bind him at your side."
The underlying meaning was clear: You lack confidence in yourself, and you covet his political talent, your feelings aren't genuine.
As the two sisters seemingly chatted casually, the number of guests in the hall had continued to grow.
At some point, magis from the transmigrators' side had begun inviting noble ladies of Britain to dance.
In just the time of this banquet, the hall had filled with many dancing couples.
Even several of the Round Table Knights, out of gentlemanly courtesy, had accepted dance invitations from some of the ladies.
Yet each Round Table Knight, as they stepped into the dance floor, would glance nervously toward where Artoria was seated, their hearts filled with faint unease and worry.
Artoria quietly watched the guests dancing in the ballroom, still holding half a glass of red wine which she had not drunk.
"During my reign, the relationships between the nobles were deeply entangled.
Nearly every policy I tried to implement was met with various forms of obstruction."
"I knew this path was dangerous. That's why… at first, I did not intend to keep him by my side."
"But back then, he told me, since he had already sworn to always remain with me, if he were to run away now, wouldn't that make him a deserter?"
"So you made him your deputy and trapped him in the political whirlpool of the royal court," Morgan said coldly.
However, hearing her words, an exquisitely beautiful smile suddenly appeared on Artoria's stunning face before she said lightly:
"But I have always protected him well, until someone took advantage of an opening and deliberately used her body to seduce him, hoping he would submit to her charms."
"Royal Sister… the one who truly doesn't understand the human heart — isn't that you?"
"Do you really have genuine feelings for him?"
Though her tone was calm, a faint air of superiority shone in Artoria's saintly green eyes.
"In the end, using your beauty to entice him, even if he had strong feelings for you at first, I'm afraid the moment you got physical with him, those feelings were already completely tainted."
She might as well have said outright: Alvin and I share true love.
You just slept with him and lust after his body. You're cheap!
The air instantly turned heavy.
Morgan le Fay remained expressionless.
Mordred instinctively held her breath.
Her first reaction was:
We're doomed!
Then her second reaction was to worry about Alvin's safety.
The two sisters are both "fighting" for Alvin, but little Mo is different.
She only felt sorry for Alvin and became worried about what he would face next.
'Perhaps, I should find an opportunity to inform my father as soon as possible...?'
When this thought flashed through Mordred's mind, Morgan pursed his bright red lips, and said in a soft voice with a hint of coldness: "What kind of feelings does Alvin have for me? You can go and ask him in person."
"It just so happens that he is here now."
Morgan snorted coldly and glanced sideways casually.
In front of the luxurious gate of the Golden Hall, Alvin was walking from the entrance of the hall.
Seeing this, Mordred covered her face silently.
And at that moment, the atmosphere between the two sisters seemed to fall into an eerie silence.
…
.
.