"Are you sure this is going to be okay?"
Artoria was practically pushed by Arthur toward the door of Morgan Lefebvre's room. Although she kept walking, there was still a trace of hesitation on her face.
"It'll be fine. Your big sister loves you more than anything else. It's better for you to find out what's going on than for me to do it," Arthur said reassuringly as he guided her to the door.
At first, Arthur had intended to speak with Morgan personally, but after remembering how coldly she had spoken to him that morning, he concluded that Lily would probably be the better choice.
Besides, even if Morgan was in a bad mood, she would hardly take it out on her own sister... right?
Then again, thinking about it, maybe it wasn't impossible. After all, there had already been occasions when Morgan had vented her frustration on him.
Artoria simply nodded.
"Alright. If it's about you and my sister, I'll try to find out what's going on."
After spending so much time being taught by Morgan, Artoria believed she had developed a much better understanding of human nature. She was still far from mastering it, but at least she had learned how to observe the people around her more carefully.
She walked to the bedroom door and knocked softly.
"Big Sister, may I come in?"
Arthur stepped back a few paces, worried that Morgan might notice his presence.
"Come in," a lazy voice answered from the other side of the door.
Artoria entered the room.
Arthur remained outside, with nothing to do but also lacking the courage to leave. If something happened in there, he wanted to be nearby.
After thinking for a moment, he discreetly looked around to make sure no one was nearby. Then he approached the door and pressed his ear against it, trying to find out what the two were talking about.
"What made you come see me all of a sudden?" Morgan asked.
"I noticed you didn't seem to be feeling very well this morning, so I came to see how you were doing."
Hearing Artoria's answer, Arthur nodded to himself.
Just as expected, Lily had matured quite a bit. In the past, she probably would have bluntly said, "Arthur asked me to come here." But now she knew how to cover for him. It seemed that all the time she had spent learning how to read people was finally paying off.
"I see..." Morgan murmured thoughtfully. "Don't worry. I'm fine. I'm just thinking about a few things."
"Is there anything I can do to help you, Big Sister?" Artoria asked.
Morgan seemed to answer something, but she spoke so quietly that Arthur couldn't make out a single word. He pressed his ear even closer to the door.
Even so, it was still impossible to understand what was being said.
"King Arthur? What are you doing here?"
Suddenly, a voice came from behind him without any warning.
Arthur jumped, quickly turned around, and upon recognizing who it was, let out a long sigh of relief.
It was a handsome man with purple hair, wearing elegant armor.
Lancelot.
Why was Lancelot able to walk without making any sound? That was genuinely terrifying.
Arthur complained inwardly.
In truth, it wasn't that Lancelot walked silently. Arthur had simply been so focused on the conversation beyond the door that he hadn't noticed anyone approaching.
"Ah... so it's you, Sir Lancelot." Arthur smiled somewhat awkwardly. "I... dropped something and was looking for it."
As he spoke, he naturally stepped away from the door and walked over to a nearby window before turning back to the knight.
"Did you need something?"
Although he was still puzzled by Arthur's behavior, Lancelot chose not to press the matter. Instead, he approached him and spoke respectfully.
"I heard that Princess Guinevere has decided to remain here of her own free will."
"Yes." Arthur nodded calmly. "Do you truly believe I would keep Princess Guinevere here against her will?"
"I would never dare think such a thing," Lancelot replied, slightly bowing his head. "However, King Oddgren has sent an emissary with a message for Princess Guinevere. He wishes for her to meet with him."
Arthur thought for a moment before answering.
"She should be walking around the palace with one of the maids right now. I'll have her brought to the main hall later to meet the emissary. In the meantime, ask him to wait a little."
It was fairly obvious that King Oddgren had only sent a messenger because he was worried about his daughter.
"Yes," Lancelot replied. "In addition, His Majesty also sent a message for you. The king said he has a request to make."
"What is it?" Arthur asked.
"Was what you declared before everyone during the ball true? Do you truly intend to build a port and open trade routes between the kingdoms?" Lancelot asked. "Those were King Oddgren's exact words."
Arthur looked slightly surprised.
A moment later, he remembered the subject.
In truth, this plan had already been mentioned before. However, when Sir Ector unexpectedly brought up the issue of the "Queen," everyone's attention had been diverted, and the matter had been pushed aside.
Even so, building ships capable of sailing the seas of that era was indeed a problem worth studying.
On the other hand, unless something unexpected happened, there would certainly be a solution. After all, this was a world where magic existed, and many technological limitations could be overcome through it.
If they succeeded in building ships and establishing trade routes, not only would Britain prosper, but the Land of Shadows could also benefit tremendously from such a partnership.
"King Arthur?"
Noticing that Arthur had become lost in thought, Lancelot waited patiently for a while before calling out to him again.
"Ah... yes, it's true," Arthur replied. "Once we've driven out the Saxons, we can begin constructing ports and establishing trade with the nations along the sea routes. If everything goes well, it will make our kingdom far more prosperous. Growing in isolation would simply be too slow."
A faint gleam of admiration appeared in Lancelot's eyes.
"You truly think far ahead."
Arthur merely shook his head.
Naturally, there was no point explaining that all those ideas came from knowledge he had acquired from history books. No one would believe something like that.
"You may leave for now. I'll have Princess Guinevere brought to the main hall shortly to meet the emissary."
With those words, Arthur essentially ended the conversation.
After Lancelot left, Arthur turned his gaze toward the scenery beyond the window and sank into thought once more.
Could Morgan have any ideas about ships?
She mastered magic better than anyone and loved creating all kinds of strange inventions. Perhaps she had already thought of a solution.
Speaking of which...
Why hadn't Lily come out yet?
The next instant, Arthur felt a jolt.
As unlikely as it seemed... had Morgan gone crazy and simply "devoured" Lily?
After all, that woman had always been absurdly obsessed with her little sister. Looking at it that way... it wasn't entirely impossible.
The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became.
Arthur quickly returned to the door, determined to listen again to what was happening inside.
"How strange..."
He frowned.
"Why is it so quiet?"
Even if they were just talking, complete silence felt odd.
...Should I open the door and take a look?
Arthur stared at the closed door.
He was the one who had asked Lily to talk to Morgan. If something had happened, there was no way he could remain calm.
Even if Morgan would never hurt Lily... she might still do something else.
Arthur slowly placed his hand on the doorknob.
He hesitated for only a moment.
However, before he could turn it, the door opened on its own.
"Lily... is everything alright?" Arthur asked quietly, discreetly glancing at Morgan, who remained inside the room.
Morgan noticed that glance perfectly.
She raised her eyes and looked at Arthur for a few moments.
Then she looked away again, as though she had no interest in him whatsoever.
Artoria didn't say a single word.
Instead, she simply walked behind Arthur, pushed him into the room before he could react, and immediately closed the door behind him.
Arthur: "???"
Had that glutton become a traitor?
Judging by Morgan's current attitude, it was obvious she had no intention of talking to him.
Wasn't this practically pushing him straight into trouble?
Arthur immediately reached for the doorknob, ready to open the door and leave.
Before he could do anything, however, Morgan's cold voice echoed behind him.
"You're leaving the moment you come in? Are you really that afraid of me?"
Her final words came out cold and stern, yet there was a trace of sadness in them that was difficult to hide.
Hearing that tone, Arthur felt his heart tighten.
He slowly turned to face her.
"I just thought... that you didn't want to see me right now. So I figured it would be better if I left first."
Morgan let out a long sigh filled with helplessness.
"Do you really think I don't want to see you?"
(End of Chapter)