The entanglements between Morgan, King Arthur, and Merlin were widely known across this continent.
Both Muggles and wizards, even children of five or six, knew that the righteous King Arthur and the wizard Merlin had defeated the evil witch Morgan.
But intelligent people understood what history was truly like—merely a glorification of the victors.
As the villain in the tale, when Morgan learned that Astoria was actually a descendant of Arthur, her reaction wasn't anger but an indescribable complexity.
"You're truly Arthur's descendant?" Morgan stared at Astoria, not missing the slightest change in her expression.
"That's what the family tree records," Astoria replied truthfully. "But it's been too long, and I can't provide concrete evidence... apart from the blood curse that once afflicted me."
"Does it only affect females, and are there very few males in the Greengrass family?" Morgan pressed.
"Yes."
"No mistake, you are Arthur's descendant," Morgan sighed. "I never expected your vitality to be so tenacious, lasting thousands of years."
"So the curse was cast by you?" Astoria clenched her small fists. "Why treat us this way? By rights, you're also our ancestor... is this how you treat your descendants, with such cruelty?"
Remembering the suffering she had endured and the dozens of Greengrass ancestors who had died young due to the curse, Astoria's eyes reddened slightly.
This broke Wayne's heart.
Shielding Astoria behind him, a powerful aura erupted abruptly, and his Void Staff glimmered faintly. Wayne coldly stared at Morgan:
"Astoria, don't worry. I'll repay the suffering you've endured tenfold, a hundredfold, upon Morgan."
"Wait! It's not what you think."
"You admitted it just now, and now you want to deny it?" Wayne laughed in anger, casually firing a powerful spell.
Morgan hastily defended, but her seemingly unbreakable shield shattered upon contact. A necklace on her suddenly glowed, and she was sent flying dozens of metres before landing.
"Listen to me first! There's a misunderstanding here—don't attack yet!"
Morgan was utterly terrified. Had it not been for her crafted artefact reacting in time, she would have been severely injured already.
A casually cast spell had such force—if he unleashed his Domain, how could she possibly fight?
Wayne remained unmoved, raising his wand again. It was Astoria who stopped him, whispering, "Wayne, let's hear what she has to say first. It won't hurt to wait a moment."
Hearing this, Wayne lowered his arm.
Morgan approached cautiously, still keeping her distance from Wayne and Astoria, fearing a sudden outburst.
"I admit, the blood curse was my doing, but this curse was never aimed at Arthur's descendants—it was meant for that damned Merlin!"
Wayne looked at her as if she were an idiot. "Morgan, are you saying you cast a curse on Merlin's descendants, but it ended up affecting King Arthur's descendants instead?"
"I know you're anxious, but don't be hasty just yet." Morgan said something that made Wayne want to strike her again before explaining, "My original intention was to target Merlin, to stop him from interfering in family matters between Arthur and me. Initially, it worked - my curse caused significant trouble."
At this point, Morgan showed some pride.
What did it matter if he was a cambion? Her Dark Magic remained unpredictable.
However, Morgan's expression soon turned bitter: "But that foolish brother of mine actually agreed to let Merlin use his blood to share the curse."
"What should have been a fatal curse was greatly weakened because Arthur and I share the same father."
"The consequences you've seen for yourself - the curse persists in Arthur's descendants."
"You expect me to believe that?" Wayne yawned boredly.
"Do you know why it only appears in women?" Morgan continued regardless: "Because I attempted to break it, but ultimately failed. After all, I'm skilled at killing, not saving people. I could only try to weaken the blood curse's effects."
"The reason it targets women is also because I didn't want the Pendragon family line to die out completely."
"If you don't believe me..." A drop of blood flew from between Morgan's eyebrows. She extended a slender finger, shooting out a thread of magical power.
"I swear by my name as Fairy Queen, Princess Morgan le Fay of Britain, that every word spoken in my conversation with Wayne Lawrence and Astoria Greengrass is true."
The magical power merged with the blood, turning the liquid blood solid, brilliant as the most magnificent ruby.
The gem fell into Wayne's hand.
"Words can lie, but magical power cannot."
Wayne fell silent. With his Witch Heart talent, he recognised that Morgan had used an ancient oath magic, sufficient proof that everything she'd said was true.
Wayne looked toward the bewildered Astoria.
Ultimately, the decision rested with her.
Morgan also looked at her, a flicker of affection in her eyes. "Astoria, is it? Little one, you've suffered."
"I'm sorry for the tragic experiences of you and your ancestors, but all of this was caused by that damned Merlin."
The older one grows, the more nostalgic one becomes. Though Morgan's appearance remained at a woman's most beautiful stage, her heart had long aged.
Returning to Earth this time, Morgan discovered Merlin was dead, and the world had changed. She too felt lost, uncertain of her purpose in existing.
Suddenly learning that Pendragon descendants still existed in this world stirred unfamiliar emotions within her.
The more she looked at Astoria, the more fond she grew.
This young girl... was as adorable as she herself had been in childhood.
Truly worthy of being a Pendragon descendant.
"You decide," Wayne said softly. "She's not lying anymore, but the curse remains her handiwork. Whatever you choose, I'll support you."
"Can I ask Mum and Sister?" The wealthy little girl's mind was in turmoil, never imagining that her family's tragic fate stemmed from being cursed by an ancestor.
"Of course. Then I'll detain Morgan first."
Wayne gave Morgan no chance to protest. His Stellar Domain bloomed, and though Morgan attempted to resist, her Domain collapsed upon contact. After a moment's thought, she could only sigh in resignation and surrender.
Surrender offered a chance to survive, but stubborn resistance would mean Wayne could kill her right now.
"You have half an hour to arrange matters in Avalon." After restraining Morgan's magical power with special shackles, Wayne released her.
"Thank you."
Calmly accepting her prisoner status, Morgan had the fairies in Avalon settled within just fifteen minutes before following the two back to the main plane.
...
Night, Greengrass family castle.
All three family members had returned home - oh, plus Wayne, the future son-in-law, who could be considered half a Greengrass family member.
Watching Morgan serenely sipping tea, Lady Greengrass found herself momentarily at a loss.
To say she was wrongly accused wasn't incorrect - after all, King Arthur had brought it upon himself by insisting on helping Merlin.
Yet Morgan remained the primary culprit, and also their ancestor.
Moreover...
Morgan's very existence served as the most compelling evidence of their bloodline's purity.
The Greengrass family belonged to the Sacred Twenty-Eight pure-blood families. They simply disdained proving their nobility by disparaging Muggle-born wizards, not that they didn't value their heritage.
While the adults wrestled with complications, the children were much more straightforward.
Daphne glared at Morgan with hatred - because of her, her sister had suffered so much. Without Wayne, who knew how long Astoria would have lived?
Sensing Daphne's hatred, Morgan elegantly set down her teacup and smiled at her:
"You seem to hate me?"
"Correct."
"Is it because of Astoria?" Morgan asked again.
"Don't ask what you already know." Daphne snorted coldly and ignored her.
Rather than taking offence, Morgan's smile widened.
She saw her former self in Daphne - she too had once protected her younger brother so fiercely. But because of her witch identity and Merlin's manipulations, they grew apart as Arthur matured.
However, such a tragedy wouldn't befall these two youngsters.
How wonderful...
"Daphne, isn't it? Would you be willing to become my apprentice?" Morgan suddenly asked.
"Lady Morgan, you seem unclear about your current position," Wayne reminded. "Are you so certain you'll survive?"
"One can have successors even after death," Morgan said indifferently. "My legacy resides in the Flower Palace within Avalon. You can take a drop of my blood for Daphne to fuse with."
"That way, she could inherit Avalon and become the new Fairy Queen."
"I don't want it," Daphne said discontentedly. "Who wants to be your student? We're enemies!"
"Daphne." Lady Greengrass stopped her. "Regardless, Lady Morgan is our ancestor. Don't be disrespectful."
"I don't mind..." Morgan said cheerfully. "It seems you've reached a decision?"
"Astoria is a kind child. Her bringing you before us already indicates her stance."
Lady Greengrass looked at Astoria with doting yet pained eyes. "Ultimately, only she is the victim. What right do Daphne and I have to judge you?"
"But while we can let you go, I have several conditions."
"Consider this my compensation to the Greengrass family," Morgan also became serious.
"First, just as you mentioned earlier, I hope you'll accept Daphne as your student."
Although Wayne and Astoria were currently as close as two peas in a pod, Astoria would eventually become a Lawrence. Now that there was an opportunity for Daphne to become a Legend's disciple, she absolutely wouldn't miss it.
"No problem," Morgan agreed immediately. "Not only will I take her as my student, but when she passes the trials, Avalon will be passed to her, too."
"I don't want it, give it to Astoria," Daphne refused outright. She had just heard Astoria describing how beautiful Avalon was and knew she must really like it.
Morgan said indifferently, "Since I've decided to give it to you, what you do with it is your business."
Only then did Daphne reluctantly call out, "Teacher."
Madam Greengrass smiled slightly, waiting until Daphne had returned to her seat before continuing:
"Let Wayne state the remaining conditions. Without him, we wouldn't have had the opportunity to learn about secrets from thousands of years ago. What do you think?"
Morgan froze, turning to the youth who had been quietly observing all along, feeling a sense of foreboding rising in her heart.
Falling into this boy's hands, she'd probably be stripped of a layer of clothing... no, stripped of a layer of skin...