So, should I fake a pregnancy?
Guinevere recalled the major man-made disasters that led to the collapse of Camelot. Three key events stood out: first, the Queen's affair with Lancelot, which directly caused the Round Table's schism and the deaths of over a dozen Round Table Knights, including Agravain;
Second, in the quest for the Holy Grail, a significant number of Round Table Knights, including Galahad, returned to the embrace of the Lord.
Third, Morgan conceived Mordred, and for various reasons, Mordred ultimately raised the banner of rebellion, perishing alongside the King of Knights at Camlann Hill.
In Guinevere's eyes, the first matter should no longer be a problem. As for the second... Galahad, the future Holy Grail Knight and son of Lancelot, was still in his mother's womb.
Regarding the third matter concerning Mordred, Guinevere could begin preparing immediately.
She faced a choice: either submit to Morgan's fabricated rumors and allow Mordred to be known as the child of Morgan and the King of Knights, or devise a disguise to claim motherhood herself. The decision was not difficult.
Regardless, to prevent Mordred from ever raising the banner of rebellion again, Guinevere would tighten her grip on Mordred's education, instilling greater reverence and affection for their 'Father King.'
"Sister, I understand. Should I stuff pillows under my clothes, or do you have a Disguise Magecraft potion we can use?"
"Wait a few months, and I'll cast Illusion Magic for you. Just stay put for that last bit of time and avoid wandering around so you don't get exposed by outsiders.
Speaking of which, that old geezer Merlin is a master of Illusion Magic. If he were to cast Disguise Magecraft for you, the risk of being discovered would be even lower."
"Sister, you should stop thinking about Merlin. He hasn't returned once in all this time."
In Avalon, within a high tower, the unreliable Merlin sneezed. He had been considering returning to Camelot because ever since Morgan had only superficially abandoned her hatred for the King of Knights, the future he foresaw had grown increasingly chaotic, hurtling toward a completely unpredictable path where only the King of Knights' ultimate fate remained glaringly clear.
Thanks to this, he finally found himself without a script to follow. Staying in Avalon and waiting for the Faerie Nimue to bury him alive would be pure self-torture.
With this realization, Merlin first conceived the idea of acting freely.
Meanwhile, in the basement, the two women who had given up hope on Merlin remained unaware that the complete unraveling of the future had finally freed him.
After they reached a consensus on whether to use Disguise Magecraft, Guinevere was invited to the lower-level Magecraft Workshop.
There, she saw many things that made her feel as though she had traveled through time again.
Various glass instruments, along with calculation symbols that made her dizzy just looking at them, lined the walls, alongside cylindrical cultivation tanks that looked straight out of a futuristic sci-fi world.
At the top of each cultivation tank, magic-infused gemstones glowed, serving as the energy source that sustained the tanks' operation.
Inside the tanks, green liquid swirled, and chunks of flesh pulsed rhythmically within—Earth Dragons, Sprites, Goblins...
But what truly captured Guinevere's attention was the tank Morgan pointed out—the one containing "Mordred," who had only survived after over a hundred failed attempts and had just begun to develop.
Compared to the tanks housing other creatures, Mordred's cultivation tank was remarkably small, no larger than an adult human's head.
Within this cramped space, Mordred herself was barely the size of a pinky finger, only just beginning to resemble a human form.
Yet, as one of Great Britain's top ten Knights, Guinevere could hear her faint heartbeat and sense her budding vitality, like a new sprout pushing through the earth.
"If you hadn't planned to disguise her, I would have raised her to adolescence in one go, then presented her to you and the King of Knights at the opportune moment.
But since you've decided to disguise her, I won't make any further adjustments. I'll focus on ensuring she lives a normal human lifespan and deliver her to you as a healthy infant.
Guinevere, when the time comes to raise the baby, don't find it troublesome."
Do humans possess a sixth sense? Can they feel an electric jolt upon first encountering a life connected to them by blood?
The longer Guinevere gazed at the life in the cultivation tank, the stronger her sense of kinship grew. She found herself inexplicably believing that this little one carried her blood.
This intuition subtly shifted Guinevere's initial cautious perspective, compelling her to take a deep breath and quickly regain her composure.
However, even if she were to see her solely as a potential threat, Guinevere was not one to shirk responsibility.
"Lady Morgan, rest assured," she said. "I will teach her everything I know, so that when Lia steps down as King, the transition will be seamless."
Morgan believed Guinevere's words, but after pondering them, she couldn't shake the feeling that Guinevere was already envisioning the King of Knights and her retirement.
"Why do I get the feeling this child will suffer greatly in the future? Listen, I poured my heart and soul into creating her—she's practically my child too!"
With a cold expression but a gentle tone, Morgan issued a warning, her reluctance to part with Mordred growing stronger.
"Sister, you may distrust me, but I haven't forbidden you from caring for her. For instance, you could occasionally bring her snacks. But her education? Leave that entirely to me. None of your children ever listen to you anyway."
"Guinevere, Gawain and the others may be disobedient, but you can't deny their excellence. Every one of my children is worthy of a seat at the Round Table—exceptional children all! And you? What achievements do you have in child-rearing?"
As her two 'mothers' quarreled over her, the newly born Mordred seemed amused. With a delicate wave of her tiny, still-forming hand, she tugged at the artificial umbilical cord in the incubation tank, drawing both women's attention.
Locked in a stare, neither willing to yield, they had quarreled countless times before. Because of Guinevere's past coercion of Morgan, even now, Morgan's attitude toward her was not very friendly.
After touring Morgan's Magecraft Workshop, Guinevere returned to the Royal Palace, where new preparations awaited her.
She planned to feign pregnancy, but many knew the King of Knights was a woman. Without a clear explanation, they would inevitably cast suspicious glances her way.
If Tristan were to take the blame, or worse, if Lancelot—who wouldn't return for another year—were to be falsely implicated, Guinevere couldn't imagine how she would react.
Moreover, having convinced herself that the Holy Church was behind the spread of the "ménage à trois" rumors, and knowing that the best way to dispel one rumor was to replace it with another, she resolved to make some trouble for the Church.
Even if she and the Barthomeloi Family Head had miscalculated, the scandal she intended to publicize was based on actions the Church had actually committed.
Exposing the Church's dark secrets was no difficult task at all.