But it must be said that when Mordred was first born, she actually wanted to defect to King Arthur. It was only after being rejected that love turned into hatred.
To put it bluntly, Little Mo just lacked love too much.
And Alvin's arrival happened to fill that gap perfectly.
Morgan cast the boy a faint glance and said, "You don't need to beat around the bush to praise me. I lost the bet, so I accept it. Since I promised to cooperate with Lily, I won't stab her in the back."
"Or is it that you don't trust me?"
Alvin's gaze softened a little as he said, "I've said it before. I don't trust witches, but I do trust Morgan le Fay."
"After all, you're Lily's real older sister."
"Wha—"
Morgan was momentarily at a loss for words, then quickly snorted coldly, "Don't overthink it. I only agreed to help her because I lost the wager with you."
'So the big sister is embarrassed, though that makes sense. If she could express her feelings honestly, she wouldn't have fallen out with Lily so badly back then.'
While Alvin was muttering to himself, Morgan had already charged toward Arcueid in the sky.
Watching the magic continuously erupt beneath the firmament, Alvin did not move immediately. Instead, he stayed on the ground, watching the battle between the two sisters and Arcueid.
The true purpose of this battle was not to keep Arcueid here, but to make her temporarily give up her hunt for Britain.
And as long as he stood by and watched, this battle was destined to have no victor.
Arcueid was arrogant, but not foolish. Facing King Arthur and Morgan at the same time might not scare her, but if there was also a White Dragon of unknown strength standing nearby, she would definitely hold back.
"Everything is under control," Thinking of this, a faint smile appeared on Alvin's face.
He did not notice, however, that Arcueid casually glanced at him during the fight.
Those gemstone-like crimson eyes faintly carried a trace of coldness and irritation.
She raised her right hand and snapped her fingers.
In the distance, Mordred, who was in the middle of clearing out vampires, suddenly froze. Then she felt a voice full of temptation echo in her mind, ["Become mine, Mordred."]
Mordred subconsciously raised her head, her expression vacant as she looked toward the night sky. A trace of confusion appeared in her once-clear eyes.
At her neck, the mark of an "Embrace" lit up with a faint glow.
———
As blood-colored magic collided once more with a golden light cannon, Arcueid and Artoria were both blasted back, each landing on the ground.
Artoria abruptly lifted her head, her eyes still dazzlingly bright.
It had to be said that the Red Dragon's furnace core truly granted Artoria an immense amount of magic. From just now until this moment, the holy sword had already fired several golden light cannons in succession, yet she showed not the slightest hint of fatigue.
Coupled with Morgan le Fay's support, even Arcueid was starting to feel that things were troublesome.
Morgan le Fay looked Arcueid over and said slowly, "It seems you can't break through Britain's defenses."
"Perhaps," Arcueid stood beneath the blood moon, her golden hair loose, white dress fluttering, making her appear both alluring and sacred, lofty like a god.
She looked down upon the living beings on the ground, as well as the Knights of the Round Table led by King Arthur.
When her gaze passed over the boy wearing the white mask, it lingered for just a moment.
"I've also lost interest in you and King Arthur for the time being," Soon, she spoke in a cold, detached tone.
Artoria planted the holy sword before her and stood straight, looking at Arcueid, "Planning to give up your invasion of Britain?"
"I never planned to do anything to Britain in the first place. From the very beginning, my target was him."
Arcueid stared at Alvin, a faint smile appearing on her indifferent face, "By the way, Mr. Alvin, why have you been wearing a mask this whole time?"
"Is it because you don't want people to know what you look like, or because you don't dare to face me?"
It was an extremely short sentence, yet it made the Knights of the Round Table exchange looks almost instantly.
That sounded like, an information bomb waiting to explode.
Artoria frowned slightly and said, "What do you mean by that?"
Alvin's eyelid twitched faintly.
'This woman, she hasn't noticed something, has she?'
And as the two were speaking, Mordred's pupils gradually lost focus. As if receiving some kind of command, she walked uncontrollably toward Alvin.
Under everyone's fixed stares, Mordred hugged Alvin from behind.
The hard, cold feel of armor came from his back. Alvin turned around, only to see Mordred looking up at him.
"Little Mo?"
'Even if you want to show some father-daughter affection, there's no need to do it at a time like this—'
That thought had just flashed through his mind when Alvin's breathing suddenly stalled, because he saw the "Embrace" mark on Mordred's neck.
"Little Mo!"
Morgan also noticed the anomaly. Just as she was about to raise her staff, Mordred had already reached out toward Alvin.
She grabbed the white mask Alvin was wearing and gave it a light tug.
Under the night sky, the boy's fairly pale and handsome face was revealed. Without the white mask, he seemed to instantly lose some of the killing aura a White Dragon should possess.
At the moment the mask fell, as if seeing something utterly unbelievable, Arcueid's alluring crimson eyes slowly widened, staring fixedly at the boy standing beside King Arthur.
———
In the world of the blood clan, "Brunestud" was a title, and also a symbol.
Only the royal bloodline of True Ancestors could bear this surname.
The Moon's King, Arcueid of Brunestud, had sealed herself within the "Millennium Castle," and all vampires regarded her as a true empress.
However, overwhelming power combined with the vampires' ageless, undying nature gradually made Arcueid feel bored.
If every day of living is spent doing the same things, then what difference is there between a year and a single day?
That was exactly how it was for Arcueid.
And it was during such a tedious time that a boy arrived at the Millennium Castle.
Logically speaking, the Millennium Castle was a special Reality Marble formed by "materialized fantasy." The prerequisite to step into that castle was to become a vampire.
Yet that boy entered the Millennium Castle in a mortal body, causing quite a stir among the vampires at first.
Out of curiosity toward this boy, Arcueid kept him by her side and even invited him to become her retainer.
He refused quite decisively.
For a long time after that, the boy stayed by her side.
He said he came from another planet and talked about many interesting things from the world he came from.
Like other vampires, when he saw Arcueid, he was equally respectful.
But when it comes to interactions between people, there is actually such a thing as "presence" or "aura."
Don't be fooled by the way he kept calling her "Lady Arcueid." When they chatted privately, he had no sense of reverence at all, chatting with her like a friend.
He even dared to look directly at her face.
Arcueid did not mind the boy's rudeness. Rather, she was curious about what kind of feelings he held toward her that made him willingly stay by her side.
"The lives of vampires are too long. In this long span of years, I'm just a passerby, so I've never hoped for anything. If possible, being able to stay by your side would be enough," That was the boy's answer at the time.
"It sounds very touching, but don't forget I'm a True Ancestor. I can sense that when you face me, the temperature of your blood rises far more than usual. The temperature difference between your upper and lower body is also quite significant."
"The answer you just gave should be a lie, right? I've asked other True Ancestors in the Millennium Castle. Your various behaviors seem to be affection toward a woman?"
The boy was already pressed into a corner. Feeling the warm, fragrant, spherical softness in front of him, he took a deep breath.
"Miss Arcueid, do you think any hot-blooded kid could stay calm in this situation?"
Just imagine it. A blonde, big-sister True Ancestor pinning you to the wall, making you feel the weight of human hearts, and asking you, 'Why is your body temperature rising so fast? Are you in love with me?'
No one could stay calm in that situation.
What answered the boy was her delighted laughter, and then she lowered her head and bit his neck.
"I know your body suffers from a serious illness, but as long as you become a vampire, all problems can be solved. Feel honored. I've already planted the mark of an Embrace on your neck."
"As long as you're willing, you'll become the first slave I personally perform an Embrace on."
She had thought she would see the boy overwhelmed with favor or even joy, but what answered her instead was a tired yet gentle voice, "Sorry, but I know my own body. If possible, I just want to stay by your side in my final time as a human."
"As for the Embrace… let's forget it."
He did indeed fulfill his promise, staying by her side until the moment he died.
———
After a brief silence, Arcueid suddenly snapped out of those yellowed fragments of memory. Her alluring crimson eyes filled with shock and doubt as she stared intently at the face so deeply familiar from her memories.
'Almost identical.'
'No… not almost. Completely identical.'
No wonder she had felt a strange sense of familiarity while drinking his blood earlier. The blood of the White Dragon and the god was indeed unfamiliar, but the blood Alvin possessed as a "human" was exactly the same as back then in the Millennium Castle.
She even wondered if she had fallen under some kind of illusion.
'Was he his child?'
'Or… did he not actually die?'
While Arcueid's mind was racing at high speed, Alvin's mind had already gone completely blank, his heart filled with despair.
'Little Mo, what the hell are you doing?'
Although he had long known that Mordred was famously rebellious in history, he never imagined that at such a critical moment, he would be "stabbed in the back" by Mordred like this.
That said, it wasn't really fair to blame Mordred. After all, it wasn't her intention. She was simply subjected to Arcueid's compulsory command after being Embraced.
"So this is what Britain's White Dragon looks like… no wonder he could make King Arthur fall for him. He really is quite good-looking."
At this moment, Arcueid's cold voice suddenly rang out.
"I just don't know why, but I always feel like your face looks very much like someone I once knew."
Morgan silently sized Arcueid up twice and asked casually, "What relationship did that old acquaintance have with you?"
Arcueid gazed at Alvin, a faint smile in her beautiful crimson eyes.
"That old acquaintance once said he would stay with me until the end of his life. If we go by vows, he should count as a lover."
"And what a coincidence, Mr. Alvin looks exactly like my deceased lover."
———
Deep within the palace, Merlin, who had been eating popcorn from the start, saw this scene and his eyes immediately lit up, his gossip antennae standing straight up.
Those words were like a stone dropped into a thousand-layered wave. The few Knights of the Round Table present exchanged looks, all seeing shock in each other's eyes.
'Holy shit, this… this is way too intense.'
'Alvin and the Moon's UO?'
———
Lancelot went from utter confusion to gradual acceptance. The confusion was at how outrageous Alvin was. At least he usually messed around with ordinary girls, 'But Alvin? Turns out this UO who descended from the Moon is actually his "lover"?'
Gawain and Agravain wore equally subtle expressions, while Kay, as Artoria's brother, was already having trouble keeping his composure.
'Morgan le Fay is one thing, since that is a matter between sisters… but what is going on with this woman?'
'Could it be that the "Moon King" descended to Earth for Alvin's sake?'
'She came with ill intent from the start, and the power she showed earlier was unfathomable. If she really came for Alvin, maybe a political marriage could be considered?'
'No, calm down, Kay. There are no two identical flowers in the world. Maybe Alvin just looks very similar to Arcueid's lover.'
'After all, Alvin has been already married to the King. It's not like he can remarry, right?'
For a moment, everyone present turned their gaze toward Alvin.
[T/N: Seeing the lack of readers, I am conducting a vote to see which novels I should drop. So if you don't want this novel to be dropped, please vote in discord announcements or p@treon pinned post, whicever suits you. There are no paywalls anywhere.]
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