"How about this—you become the king in public, she will be… the queen, and I will be the king behind the scenes."
Hearing Morgan's words, Arthur lifted his gaze and met her eyes directly.
The two remained silent for a few moments.
Then, suddenly, something clicked in his mind.
"You want me to pull the sword from the stone?!" Arthur's voice rose several octaves at once.
"Keep your voice down, keep it down… though I wouldn't really mind if someone heard." Morgan sat with her legs crossed, completely at ease. "At this point, there's no longer any reason to hide this from you. The selection will take place in a week… and I want you to draw the sword from the stone."
"I refuse!"
"Refusal is pointless." Morgan smiled softly. "I've waited for this day for a very, very long time. If it weren't for you… I might have had to follow a different path."
Arthur stood up abruptly, quickly walked to the door, and tried to open it.
Nothing.
"It's too late." Morgan's voice came calmly, almost melancholic. "The Geis blessing I placed on you before is already weakening… so this time, I'll grant you a new one."
She had already placed a geis on Arthur before.
But since Scáthach was aware of its existence, its effect had weakened.
Now… she intended to replace it.
"No!" Arthur pulled hard on the doorknob, but it was useless. "I'm not going to pull the sword from the stone!"
"Geis… activated."
Morgan stepped forward slowly.
"She who imposes the restriction… the Goddess of Death."
A black aura began to spread from her, filling the entire room.
The air grew heavy, silent, and solemn.
At that moment, Morgan no longer seemed like the teasing woman from before.
She was, truly, the Goddess of Death.
"How could someone with such a limited perspective possibly understand your fate, Arthur…"
"From this day forward, you, Arthur, will certainly draw the sword from the stone… and marry Artoria."
"What?!"
Arthur, who had still been struggling with the door, froze in place.
Drawing the sword… fine.
But—
Marriage?!
"Didn't you say Lily was cute?" Morgan tilted her head slightly. "So what exactly are you dissatisfied with? It's not like we're forcing you to marry right now. You can wait until you reach adulthood."
She then stood up slowly.
"Besides…"
"You both belong to me."
"One will be my husband… and the other will be your wife."
Arthur: "???"
Is this… serious?
"Morgan… was this your goal from the very beginning?" Arthur stared at her intently.
Four years ago.
She appeared out of nowhere.
Taught him magic.
Trained his skills.
Took care of him like a caretaker.
She even gave him the essence of the white dragon.
All of that… was for this moment?
When Arthur saw the gentle smile on her face, he no longer needed confirmation.
He already knew.
This woman… is unbelievably cunning.
"You don't need to be so nervous." Morgan spoke softly. "You don't want to run away… do you?"
Arthur remained silent.
"You didn't offer any real resistance." Morgan continued. "Even with the barrier, with your current strength you could have tried to break the door and leave… but you didn't."
Her words were too precise.
Arthur couldn't respond.
Because it was true.
He didn't want to run.
During those two months in the forest with Artoria… he had come to know her better.
And little by little… he began to understand.
To understand why Morgan wanted to replace her fate.
"This was part of your plan too, wasn't it?" Arthur spoke after a long silence. "You wanted me to accept this naturally… so you had Lily train with me."
"The fastest way to deepen bonds… is to face life and death together." Morgan smiled, wrapping her arms around Arthur's neck, her breath brushing against his skin.
Do you really want to refuse?
"The restrictions have already been set." Arthur shook his head. "Even if I wanted to refuse now… I can't."
"And how do you feel about it?" Morgan asked softly. "Are you truly that reluctant?"
"…Not really." Arthur answered honestly. "I'm not as resistant as I thought I'd be. To be honest… I'm even calmer than I expected."
"But…" he continued, "who knows—on the day of the selection, I might end up regretting it."
He didn't even understand his own feelings.
He thought he would be furious.
But deep down…
He was simply… accepting it.
Maybe that's how he truly felt…
Maybe he would only realize it when he stood before all the knights… forced to draw the sword.
"Don't worry." Morgan shrugged. "You're just one of my contingency plans. My children will also participate. We might not even need you."
"Children?"
"Yes… children I raised a long time ago." Morgan watched his reaction. "They're not my blood children. Don't get the wrong idea."
"Morgan… you're explaining things way too quickly today," Arthur commented.
She laughed softly.
"Ah… it's just that my mind works better in moments like this."
Indeed, she seemed more direct than usual.
"In truth…" Morgan sighed. "If it were possible, I wouldn't want you to become king. I'd rather have you stay quietly in the palace… waiting for me to return every day to grant you my favor."
Arthur: …
That sounds a lot like a stay-at-home husband…
"But unfortunately… among everyone I've met, you're the most suitable for the ceremony."
"So if everyone else fails… it will be your turn." Morgan continued. "Don't worry. I'll help you rule Britain."
"You're that confident I can draw the sword?" Arthur suddenly asked.
What if he failed?
After all that investment…
Would Morgan simply say:
"Oh, what a disappointment… I raised you for so long and you turned out useless. My worthless student… I'll extract everything from you to train the next one."
…Something like that?
Thinking about it… that was terrifying.
"I don't know if it will work." Morgan paused briefly. "But if it fails… there's still another path."
"What?"
"You marry Lily… and become king."
"…Isn't that exactly the same plan as before?!"
Morgan burst into laughter.
"It doesn't matter. The result is the same."
She then smiled more gently.
"So don't pressure yourself. If you fail, you fail. You'll still have another option."
"And if you succeed… everything will be easier for Lily."
Arthur fell silent for a moment… then nodded.
"I understand."
In the end, Morgan's logic was simple.
---
(End of Chapter)