Meanwhile, in a secluded, abandoned courtyard near the royal palace kitchens, several figures had gathered around a blazing campfire.
The flickering flames illuminated five faces, two adults and three children. It was Samael's group, who had left the banquet early.
They wanted nothing more to do with the palace banquet and Britannia's dark cuisine, but the Ancient Serpent, who knew how to enjoy life, had absolutely no intention of mistreating his tongue or stomach.
Baobhan Sith and the other two enthusiastically supported the proposal with both hands and feet.
Morgan, meanwhile, saw how late it had gotten and figured that if they returned home now, there was no telling how long it would take before they finally ate. Relying on her vague memories of the palace, she led the group through a maze of turns until they found the secret hideout she had used as a child, where they set up a makeshift stove.
Samael simply helped himself to ingredients from the nearby palace kitchen and put together a fairly lavish dinner for everyone.
First came a pot of the braised pork the little ones had been craving.
"Here, take over for a moment. I'll grill a few more skewers of meat and vegetables."
As the braised pork neared completion, Samael handed the spatula to Morgan beside him, then placed the prepared and marinated skewers over the fire.
The three little ones had long since grown impatient. To distract themselves from the wait, they eagerly came over to help, hoping the meat on the skewers might somehow cook faster than the pork in the pot.
Barghest was so hungry that she could not even wait for both sides of her skewer to finish cooking before eagerly shoving her handiwork into her mouth.
The flavor was hardly perfect, but the seasoning and marinade Samael had chosen made it more than acceptable.
And however imperfect it was, at least this was food meant for people.
The dishes at the banquet had instantly reminded Barghest of swill from a pig trough.
After making that comparison, even these merely decent meat skewers suddenly seemed incredibly delicious, and Barghest's happiness soared.
Before long, the Fairy Knight with the bottomless appetite ignored the scorching heat and polished off more than a dozen skewers in no time at all.
Then she sat obediently in place, staring expectantly at everyone as she waited to be fed again.
Not long afterward, tempted by the food Melusine was holding, Barghest simply lowered her head and let herself be petted, looking exactly like a docile, oversized dog sitting on a stone bench.
Baobhan Sith, meanwhile, had glued herself to Morgan's side and proudly offered her mother the skewer she had carefully prepared, presenting it like a precious treasure for her to taste.
Estimating that enough time had passed, the Ancient Serpent took over again.
He lifted the lid, picked up the spatula, and stirred the thick, caramel-colored sauce. A rich fragrance immediately spread through the courtyard.
When a fork effortlessly pierced through the tender, glossy layers of fat and lean meat, the signal that the food was ready instantly awakened the appetites of all three little girls.
Baobhan Sith, Barghest, and Melusine stared longingly at the fragrant chunks of pork, their sauce reduced to a glossy red sheen.
Their throats worked involuntarily.
Bright droplets of drool gathered at the corners of their mouths.
Before they could start eating, however, a rustling sound came from outside the abandoned courtyard.
"What are you making? It smells amazing."
Under the moonlight, a certain chief quartermaster who had slipped away from the banquet early sniffed the air, climbed over the wall, and approached with a smile.
He sat down as naturally as if he belonged there, copied the three little ones, picked up several skewers of meat, and began roasting them over the fire.
"Shouldn't you be attending the King of Knights? What are you doing here?"
"Couldn't exactly apologize properly in front of everyone. But someone ought to apologize in private on behalf of those beasts from the Round Table..."
Kay answered cheerfully.
He took a skewer that was only about seventy percent cooked and bit into it.
His eyes immediately lit up.
Without the slightest hesitation, he claimed several more for himself.
The little girls instantly erupted in outrage.
"Don't be shy. Eat, eat, eat. They're palace ingredients anyway, so we might as well share."
Kay blinked and spoke as though he were the host, warm and hospitable to an almost shameless degree.
Samael had only obtained these ingredients by raiding the palace kitchen, and now one of the people responsible for them had caught him red-handed.
It was difficult to throw Kay out under those circumstances.
So Samael merely rolled his eyes and silently allowed him to join in disposing of the evidence.
Perhaps years of competing with Artoria for food had given Kay astonishing eating speed.
In the time it took him to say a few sentences, more than a dozen meat skewers had vanished, along with a considerable share of the braised pork.
Fortunately, Kay at least had enough self-awareness to know he was freeloading.
When he saw that the ingredients were running low, he simply led the little ones straight into the kitchen with complete confidence.
Each of them returned carrying two lamb legs to replenish their supplies.
With the logistics officer himself joining in the theft of palace provisions, the six accomplices stopped bothering with anything too refined and simply held a rough outdoor barbecue.
By the time the barbecue finally ended several hours later, they had nearly emptied a third of the kitchen's stock.
The little ones, their stomachs round and full, were loaded into the carriage.
Kay also stuffed the carriage with dried fruit and rare ingredients reserved as special palace supplies.
Even the girls who had been furious at him earlier for stealing their food could not help developing a much better impression of him.
At the end, the chief quartermaster who had accompanied them the entire time personally escorted their carriage out of the palace.
He reminded them not to forget tomorrow's coronation at noon and carefully explained every detail they needed to pay attention to, along with the preparations they should make beforehand.
Although they had known Kay for only a few days, Samael's group had rapidly grown quite fond of him.
One had to admit that this Knight of the Round Table, whose job often involved cleaning up everyone else's messes, was exceptionally good with people.
The easygoing sincerity ingrained in his personality made him difficult to dislike.
...
Watching the carriage disappear into the distance, Kay finally let out a relieved breath.
He stretched lazily, picked up a bulging paper bag, and quietly made his way to the King of Knights' bedchamber, where a light was still burning.
Then he gently tapped on the window.
"Artoria... Artoria..."
After a brief silence, the door creaked open.
The King of Knights stood inside the doorway, still wearing her silver-white armor, and quietly regarded her foster brother.
"What is it?"
"Look what I brought you! Come on, it's still warm. Eat it before it gets cold!"
Kay grinned and raised the paper bag.
The moment he opened it, a rich aroma poured out.
"If you require an urgent audience, you should report to the guards. Entering the inner palace without authorization violates the regulations."
The King of Knights frowned slightly.
She did not accept the bag.
Her voice remained calm and flat, carrying little warmth.
Here, there were no siblings.
Only sovereign and subject.
Overstepping one's place was a serious offense that disrupted order.
"It's fine, it's fine. Those two stubborn idiots, Gawain and Agravain, are both at home recovering from their injuries tonight. Nobody's going to know I slipped in."
Kay paid no attention to her warning.
Taking advantage of the moment while he was talking, he simply shoved the bulging paper bag into Artoria's arms.
"All right, it's late, so I won't bother you anymore. Take your time eating. Tomorrow's going to be busy, so get some rest and make sure you're in good shape."
Before the King of Knights could react, Kay had already expertly climbed over the wall and vanished into the thick darkness.
The King of Knights stood there silently for a long time, still frowning.
In the end, she turned without saying a word, returned to her room, and casually placed the paper bag on the table.
But just as she finished removing her armor and prepared to go to bed, her nose twitched slightly.
Almost against her will, her gaze drifted toward the open paper bag.
...
The following morning, the entire palace became busy preparing for the coronation, ensuring that every stage of the ceremony would proceed without incident.
Those involved rehearsed their roles again and again.
The King of Knights, as the central figure of the event, had already left her bedchamber early.
Later that morning, Kay, who was responsible for logistics and had been ordered to retrieve several of the King's personal belongings, entered the room and began searching.
Out of the corner of his eye, he happened to notice the now-collapsed paper bag sitting on the table.
A smile slowly spread through his eyes.
She actually ate it...
***
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