Glastonbury, the burial ground of Camelot's past monarchs, was also the site where the King of Knights was having her own tomb constructed.
Several days later, the King of Knights, Morgan, and Guinevere were all heading in this direction.
However, they weren't visiting the King of Knights' under-construction tomb, nor were they paying their respects at the rarely visited tomb of King Uther.
As they approached Glastonbury, Guinevere led them down a narrow path. Under the King of Knights' silent gaze and Morgan's growing bewilderment, they rode their horses into a secluded valley and stopped before a grave beneath a towering tree.
Compared to a royal tomb, this grave was small and unmarked, clearly a recent double burial.
Dismounting, they stood solemnly. The King of Knights quietly swept away half the fallen leaves from one side of the grave, and Guinevere followed suit on the other.
Observing the King of Knights and Guinevere's solemnity—and how they only tended half the grave, treating the other half with mere respect—Morgan began to understand.
Before she could ask, the King of Knights, having finished sweeping, spoke directly:
"At Guinevere's suggestion, I separated the joint burial of my biological father and mother, moving my mother's remains here. The other side of this grave holds your biological father's remains."
"Forgive us, Sister. This matter had to be kept secret, and Guinevere also wanted to surprise you. That's why we didn't consult you and asked Tristan to handle it instead.
Sister, if you're not satisfied with the location, you can move it again. But once you've done so, please let me know. She was also my mother.
That day, Guinevere said, 'My mother was forcibly taken back by my father. She certainly wouldn't want to be buried together with him.'"
This entire affair was primarily meant to continue currying favor with Morgan, who was well aware of the maneuver. Yet, she couldn't help but be won over.
She admitted to herself that this latest strike from the couple had once again left her stunned. If not for the thin veil concealing her face, her expression would have been utterly humiliating.
"Foolish sister, Guinevere, have you finished tidying up? Could you please leave now?"
Morgan's voice trembled slightly, desperate to conceal her unraveling composure from prying eyes.
This wasn't the first time she'd felt the urge to cry recently, but this time, she felt the tears were truly about to spill.
Morgan understood the immense risks the King of Knights had taken by making this decision. If word of this spread, she would inevitably be branded as unfilial, and any future claims of being Uther's heir would only be met with ridicule.
"Guinevere, do you really think this will soften Lady Morgan's hatred toward me?"
Outside the valley, beyond earshot of the sobbing on the mountain peak, the King of Knights and Guinevere led their horses by the reins, speaking in hushed tones.
"It should. Lady Morgan isn't heartless; she has normal human emotions. But Lia, don't pretend you're doing this just to please Lady Morgan. You agreed to move Mother's tomb and have her buried with the Duke of Tintagel because you genuinely believe it's the right thing to do."
The somber mood wasn't right for laughter, so Guinevere merely curled the corners of her lips into a faint smile and reached up to gently cup the King of Knights' face.
"So, do you think Lady Morgan will choose to help us now?"
"I don't know, but I imagine she won't refuse to have lunch with me every day anymore."
"But I don't have time! I usually eat lunch with the Round Table."
"Then we'll have dinner together. To help you reconcile with Lady Morgan, I can sacrifice a little of our alone time."
An ordinary jest, but when their eyes met, the King of Knights' decision carried a weight of guilt toward King Uther. Her emerald eyes flickered with a hint of evasion.
"Come on, don't be like that. If Father ever fakes his death, I'll personally stuff him back into his coffin. He made this mess himself; you're just cleaning up his mess a little. He should be praising you for doing such a good job and feeling ashamed instead."
Anger, silence, and sighs. After lunch that day, the King of Knights tried to talk to Guinevere about King Uther again, but Guinevere wouldn't listen. She was stubbornly biased, making the King of Knights feel ashamed of her own origins.
"Lia, let me say this one more time: Uther and Merlin are the ones who should feel guilty. They created this foolish situation.
A person can't choose their birth; they can only choose how to live.
Besides, if you truly believe your ancestors did wrong, aren't you already compensating the victims?
How should I put it? Whether they forgive you is up to the victims, but you've already done everything you possibly could.
Lia, the Church says we're born with original sin and can only ascend to Heaven by atoning for our sins. You don't actually believe that nonsense, do you?"
Guinevere forcefully cupped the King of Knights' cheeks and launched into a persuasive speech. The King of Knights very much wanted to say that she actually did somewhat believe the Church's teachings—after all, her coronation had been performed by the Archbishop of Camelot.
The King of Knights was well aware of the Church's machinations across the European continent and its encroachments upon royal authority.
She also knew that, given the choice between the Holy Church and the Mages, Guinevere had unhesitatingly chosen the latter.
"Alright, I don't believe in the Church's nonsense anymore, and I no longer feel guilty about my origins. Is that enough? Also, you were shouting just now."
The only living beings in sight were the King of Knights and Guinevere, with Morgan in the valley counting as the third. As such, the King of Knights saw no need to maintain a facade of majesty.
As for why Guinevere had deliberately raised her voice earlier...
"Of course, it was so Lady Morgan could hear too!"
Indeed, Morgan had heard everything, even through her tears, which had completely ruined her makeup as she crouched before her parents' graves, gasping for breath.
She understood perfectly why Guinevere had spoken those words so loudly.
"Father, Mother... do you think I should forgive Artoria? She's nothing like that bastard King Uther—she's truly a good child. I'm finding it harder and harder to hate her."
Her voice was soft and questioning, but no one could answer her.
After finally catching her breath, she began to tell her parents about her experiences since their deaths.
As she sorted through her thoughts, Morgan realized she had little to tell. She didn't want to unleash her hatred on her parents.
Then, aside from hatred...
"Father, Mother, do you know? Guinevere is truly a strange person. She changed my foolish sister, and she changed me too.
If she had fewer whimsical ideas and were a little kinder to me, I might have actually fallen in love with her.
But since she and Lia are in love, as their elder sister, I can only offer them my blessings, right?
Lia still has to maintain her male disguise and can't get pregnant. I wonder if Guinevere would be willing to carry a child herself. If she's not...
Ah, right! Maybe I could help them conceive. I'm unlikely to become a better King than Lia, but perhaps a child born to the three of us could."
As she spoke, Morgan chuckled softly. It was just a thought, really. Her laboratory was already built, and she didn't need anyone's body; just the blood of the King of Knights and Guinevere would suffice.
Unbeknownst to herself, she had already begun calling her 'foolish sister' by name: Artoria.