It was called a gamble, but she did not believe for a second that Alvin would personally hand a poisonous potion to Artoria. After all, a few years ago, even when she had used every possible means, she had only barely managed to make Alvin take the potion to go find Artoria.
And even then, the one who ended up drinking that potion was still Alvin himself.
This time it was said to be a gamble, but most likely Alvin would use some trick to swap it out halfway, and then put on a show of outplaying her during the process.
Morgan picked up a half transparent glass vial from the table covered with many potions.
"Death as Fated. It is one of the greatest masterpieces among the potions I have brewed. After you drink it, it will lock your life as 'death'. No one will be able to rewrite that fate."
"Take it and go find Lily."
Morgan handed the potion in her hand to Alvin.
As the boy was about to reach out, Morgan lightly placed the vial against her chest, a charming smile blooming on her face, "Wait a moment."
"You are not going to tell me to reach out and take it myself, are you?", Alvin glanced at Morgan's tall, full chest and could not help but complain.
Morgan blinked her beautiful eyes, a hint of allure in her voice, "There is no need for that. If you want to, even without this potion, you can do anything you want at any time."
She leaned close to the boy's ear, her bewitching voice like a lover's whisper, "No matter what you want to do to this lowly body of mine, you can, you know?"
Alvin's heart surged in an instant.
Sometimes she was shy like a young girl, but other times she was exactly like a witch who toyed with people's hearts. Alvin often wondered whether there were other personalities hidden inside Morgan, and whether each of them had its own will.
Feeling the boy's body stiffen, Morgan soon giggled, laughing so hard her whole body shook, "Alright, I will stop teasing you."
"Since this is a bet, to make sure neither of us cheats in secret, I will go with you to see my little sister, how about that?"
Alvin looked at Morgan wordlessly and said, "It seems you still do not quite trust me."
"I trust you. Precisely because of that, I do not think you could bear to let Lily drink Death as Fated."
"That is not necessarily true. Maybe I am already tired of Britannia's love and hatred, and now I just want to end all of it," Alvin said faintly.
"Is that so?", Morgan sat on the desk, her snow white jade feet swinging beneath her skirt.
She lightly touched her red lips with her fingertips, looked Alvin over a few times, and suddenly smiled sweetly, "That is also pretty good. Once King Arthur dies, we can leave the palace, and then be together forever~"
"Hm, thinking about it that way, your chances of winning are really very small. How about adding another stake. If you win, I will specially allow you to help me clean my feet."
Alvin slowly typed out a question mark in his head.
"I win and I still have to help you?"
Morgan blinked, looking like a teasing big sister, smiling brightly, "That is a reward. And I do not think I ever said how you have to clean them, did I?"
Alvin chose silence.
'Laugh while you can. In a moment you will not be able to laugh anymore.'
Alvin reached out and picked up the potion from the table.
"Alright, the bet is on."
———
[Hall of Kings]
At this moment, Artoria had just finished the work at hand and was starting to go through the next task.
For most people, doing this kind of dull, never ending administrative work every day would quickly become unbearable. But Artoria had done it for years without ever feeling tired or bored.
It was not only because the Red Dragon's core gave her endless energy. A large part of it also came from her own personality.
She was like a precise clockwork, never allowing the slightest deviation. And because of that, even the Knights of the Round Table sometimes could not understand how this king could have such patience, as if she were a tireless machine.
"I wonder if there is any news from the flying ship yet."
Looking at the documents in her hands, Artoria suddenly thought of what Merlin had said earlier.
A powerful being from the moon. Although their purpose was still unknown, no matter how one thought about it, they probably did not come with good intentions.
And now the enemy was in the dark while they were in the open. Plus, the nobles had been making some small moves lately.
Just thinking about it made Artoria rub her brow lightly.
At this moment, footsteps suddenly sounded outside the hall.
Artoria looked up. A strange look quickly flashed in her pale green eyes. At the front of the hall, a boy was walking in with a woman.
The former was wearing a dark black robe, while the latter was a naturally seductive beauty.
She had already changed into an exquisite, luxurious court dress. Her platinum blond hair flowed freely, and a mysterious, alluring veil covered her face.
Her skin was snow white and delicate, her eyes cold. Beneath the veil, one could faintly see her vivid red lips, highlighting her graceful, tempting curves.
Although the two sisters looked very similar, their temperaments and styles were always completely different. Artoria was the kind of queen who was noble with a touch of heroism.
While Morgan le Fay had a charming, bewitching beauty. At first glance, she looked cold and distant, but her mature figure made her seem very hot, the ideal lover.
'Why did he come together with Sister?'
Artoria quietly looked at Alvin, a hint of questioning in her eyes.
"I just got some information out of Merlin and was coming to report to you. I happened to run into Sister King on the way," Alvin explained.
At the same time, he placed the black tea he had prepared in advance in front of Artoria.
"So Merlin really did hide something?"
Artoria looked at the steaming tea and asked softly, "What did he tell you?"
Although she was a bit surprised by Morgan's arrival, she also knew that with Alvin present, she and Morgan would not start any major conflict.
Besides, she did not have the mood to fight with Morgan right now.
"About some conversations between the late king and Merlin," Alvin said.
Hearing this, the expression beneath Morgan's veil changed slightly.
From the day Morgan le Fay was born, she had once believed she would inherit the late king's will and become Uther's successor.
Yet midway, Artoria took that from her.
Even now, Morgan held extremely complicated feelings toward her father.
There was resentment and also hatred.
Hearing Uther's name again from Alvin's mouth, the calm heart Morgan had always maintained quietly began to change.
"What did Merlin say?", Artoria asked.
"He hopes you can become a true King Arthur," Alvin said.
Artoria was expressionless as she said softly, "He thinks I am not yet a true king?"
"Yes."
Alvin smiled, "At the end of the Age of Gods, Britannia is on the brink of collapse. King Arthur must carry the entire country's burden. You were born as the Red Dragon, destined from birth to shoulder all of this."
"Merlin thinks you have not completely cut off your emotions and turned yourself into a machine that governs Britannia."
In the years after Alvin left, Artoria had in fact gradually become a true 'king'. She wrapped herself in the shell of King Arthur.
If nothing unexpected happened, perhaps she would have stayed that way until her duty as King Arthur came to an end.
However, from the day Alvin returned, the heart she had sealed in hard armor seemed to loosen.
If it were not for Merlin's 'reminder' today, perhaps Artoria herself would not even have realized the changes in her during this time.
"Let us not talk about this for now. Have a cup of tea and relax," As Alvin spoke, he picked up the black tea on the table and handed it to Artoria.
Feeling Morgan's gaze fixed tightly on him from the side, Alvin's expression was perfectly calm.
'Morgan le Fay, do you really want to become king?'
'Or is it simply that not being acknowledged or trusted by King Uther back then was something you, with your pride, could not accept?'
'No… it is probably more than that.'
The time when Morgan le Fay truly went completely dark was when Artoria drew that sword and began to rule this country.
Watching the once pure and beautiful girl slowly close off her heart, even being called a King Arthur who did not understand people's hearts. That alone must have been unbearable for Morgan.
If Morgan wanted to become King Arthur to prove herself, then later, when she wanted to destroy Britannia, part of it was revenge, and part of it was probably also disgust at what this Britannia had turned her sister into.
This really was a gamble.
What was being gambled on was how much weight Artoria held in Morgan's heart.
'Come on, Morgan… let me see what you will do.'
Alvin walked forward calmly and personally handed the black tea to Artoria.
Morgan's expression was completely flat.
She had watched with her own eyes as Alvin brewed the tea and dropped Death as Fated into it.
That meant that once Artoria drank this tea, her fate would be locked as 'death'.
When that happened, the seat of King Arthur would probably change hands.
No matter how you looked at it, it was nothing but benefits for her. Why would Alvin think she would step in to stop it?
And putting her own feelings aside, could Alvin himself really bear to let Lily die?
'How boring, I want to see how you plan to clean this up.'
As Morgan was thinking this, she saw Artoria slowly raise the teacup.
She instinctively glanced at Alvin. His expression had not changed at all.
A faint smile could not help but appear on Morgan's face.
'Interesting. Extreme pressure, is it?'
'Let me see how long you can stay calm.'
Just as these thoughts crossed her mind, she saw Artoria lift the teacup and drink it all in one go.
"…", For a split second, the woman's pupils shrank almost imperceptibly. Her face stiffened. The hair on her body stood on end as unbelievable shock exploded in her heart.
If she had not seen it with her own eyes, she would have suspected Alvin had swapped the potion out midway.
But she had been right beside him the whole time. There was no way he could have done any switch.
'She really drank that potion?'
Morgan subconsciously looked at Artoria. As the Lord of the Isle, she could clearly feel her sister's magic power starting to become chaotic. In the unseen world, a breath of death seemed to be quietly approaching.
Like Gungnir in the myths, the spear of fate. Once thrown, it would bind you forever and guide you to the underworld.
BANG!
The teacup smashed onto the floor. As Death as Fated took effect, Artoria raised her head in disbelief and looked at Alvin.
Morgan finally reacted as well. The expressions on her charming face shifted wildly as she cried out, "Alvin, are you insane?"
'How could this be… he actually personally gave poison to Lily to drink?'
Morgan's heart was filled with shock, followed by a surge of indescribably complex emotions.
She could not tell what it was, only that her heart was faintly aching.
That was King Arthur. She had exhausted every scheme and still could not get rid of her, yet now Alvin had so easily dealt with her?
"Do you know what you just did?"
"I do."
Alvin's expression was complicated as he sighed bitterly, "It was my mistake. Ever since you came back, I kept naively imagining that I could make you sisters reconcile, because I knew that both you and Lily actually loved each other deeply."
"But now that I think about it, I really was too naive."
"Still, maybe this is fine. After all, in history, King Arthur is destined to die in the end."
Alvin stepped forward, took Artoria's small hand, and looked up at the sky, his expression sad and lonely, "After this, I will send her to Avalon to sleep forever. From now on, you will be the true King Arthur."
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