Chapter 449

"Are you saying... that the Morgan I'm standing right in front of me now is also a fake?!"

Morgan nodded expressionlessly. "I am nothing more than a thought that you created along with this world."

"..."

Shirou loosened his grip, and the look of despair on his face showed that he had accepted the reality.

Suddenly, the boy seemed to have thought of something.

He noticed a key point in Morgan's words.

"So, Morgan, you just said 'the flaws in this world'... does that mean... you...?"

The Fae Consort nodded slightly.

"I didn't realize the world was fake from the beginning; I only discovered it through a series of investigations."

"But..."

Shirou asked with some fear, "When? When did you realize something was wrong?"

Morgan said something that left him speechless.

"At the very beginning."

When you first created this world—on the very first night we met.

"... well?"

Do you think I wouldn't notice something was wrong with my husband? Whose wife do you take me for? Whose sister?

Shirou, who lost his memory in the battle, also treated me very strangely.

Then I did some research and quickly realized that this wasn't the real world.

Even the person I am thinking about this is not real.

Shirou's mouth was half-open.

"Why... why do you have to do this? Just tell me directly--"

Seeing her husband's puzzled expression, Morgan smiled and replied.

"Because I am a selfish, greedy, and wicked witch, even knowing it's all fake... I still want your love."

Shirou was suddenly stunned.

"She," created by Shirou as a copy of Fae Consort, did not hate Shirou; on the contrary, she loved him deeply.

Even knowing that it was a bubble that could burst at any moment, she still wanted even just one more day, and wanted to be with Shirou as husband and wife.

What were her feelings upon learning that she was merely a recurring image existing only in memories?

Shirou couldn't even imagine it; it must have been incredibly desperate, incredibly painful, incredibly sorrowful.

She is not a real being, but a counterfeit following the behavioral Principle of "Fae Consort Morgan".

She is not Shirou's Queen Consort, but a doll with the thought process of "Fae Consort Morgan".

Even so, she pretended not to know anything and not to notice anything.

For more than a month in this illusory world, Morgan endured all the loneliness and despair of the world alone.

She was well aware, of course, that one day she would return to nothingness.

Nothing will remain; no one will remember that "she" ever existed.

Even so, she still smiled at Shirou, silently supporting and protecting Shirou as his wife.

Just now, "she" was still worried about Shirou's eyes.

A fake world? Will I disappear?

Morgan didn't care about that kind of thing at all.

More than the world, she wanted to spend this fleeting life as Shirou's wife.

"But... but you're about to disappear, it could have been avoided... why did you tell me the truth?"

Shirou raised his voice. "If you want to maintain the status quo, you could simply remain silent and say nothing..."

I'd love to live with Morgan forever! Why!?

As Shirou is told the truth, this dream world begins to crumble due to its contradictions.

The sky is shattered, the earth is withered, and the existence of Shirou and Morgan has become uncertain.

"... Why? Heh, didn't you hear what I just said? Because—"

Morgan took a deep breath.

All she longed for was to say those words to Shirou.

For "her," whom Shirou created... it's less of a wish and more of a mission.

Even though it was all a lie, she remained steadfast in her belief in her own feelings.

Morgan gently stroked her husband's cheek and said proudly.

"I love you."

Even if this love is just a fabricated illusion, "she" still regards it as her most precious treasure.

Because of Shirou, I was able to live a happy life.

It was through Shirou that I came to know the beauty of the world.

Because of Shirou, I found meaning.

At this moment, language seems so pale and powerless.

"... Oh... ah... I see."

Shirou's cheeks flushed slightly.

Morgan couldn't help but laugh at his shy expression.

It's so wonderful to be able to tell him in person at the very end of my life.

No reply was needed, because "she" knew that he loved her just as deeply.

Morgan wrapped her arms around the back of the boy's head, instantly closing the distance between them.

"Um...?"

Morgan pressed her lips to his.

This is the reward that the wife rightfully deserves from her husband after her hard work.

Fae Consort pressed her lips against Shirou's with intense, intense, intense force.

It was a kiss devoid of any lust, clumsy yet desperate, solely to etch itself into the heart of the beloved.

Even if it's just the physical sensation of that kiss, she hopes it will remain in Shirou's heart.

"Morgan... Sister..."

"I love you... I love you... really, more than anyone else... maybe even more than the real Morgan."

"Morgan! Let's think of a way to keep this dream going! Maybe there's still a chance to salvage it..."

Morgan silenced Shirou with a kiss.

No way!

It was so hard to create such a great atmosphere--

If I hadn't disappeared, wouldn't everything have been for nothing?

The evil witch had long since accepted her fate of disappearing.

Her only selfish desire was to ensure that the boy would never forget her.

"My husband... please, please don't forget me..."

"Yes, I won't forget, absolutely not."

Shirou tried to hug Morgan, but he could no longer feel anything in his hands.

"This is truly unbelievable," Morgan thought to himself.

Even though her physical body had disappeared, she could still feel herself being held tightly in his arms.

Is this what it means to be loved?

I'm so happy!

That's just too much happiness.

Morgan was overflowing with happiness—she was happier than any woman in the world.

I really want to stay in his arms and act cute forever.

But that won't work.

"Farewell, my husband..."

"Wait... Morgan... no... don't go!"

"It's time to wake up from this dream, Shirou..."

Morgan, with a smile, slowly disappeared from the boy's sight.

"In a world I don't know about, you're not allowed to be too promiscuous; keep your harem in check..."

--It's so wonderful to be born into this world.

Before her consciousness completely faded, this was what she truly thought.

Fae Kingdom, Queen's City.

"Mother! Mother!"

The Red-haired Fae gently shook her mother awake from her sleep on the jade throne.

"Ah... um..."

The Fae Queen, Morgan, slowly opened her eyes.

"Mother, why are you asleep on the throne? What if you catch a cold?"

Seeing the Queen pressing her forehead, the Red-haired Fae approached her with a worried expression.

"Waaah! Mother! Why are you crying! If those demons see you, it will damage your Queen dignity!"

The young girl hurriedly took out a handkerchief to wipe away her mother's tears, but Queen Morgan paid no attention and simply fell into deep thought.

Just now, she had a dream she hadn't had in a long time...

She had stopped dreaming ever since the Queen's reign and since the founding of this city.

But just now, I had an incredibly sad dream.

In her dream, she became a doll living in someone's memory.

She became the object of another Britain witch's longing.

She became a replica of the wife of a certain Britain king.

Then, she learned the name of the boy with whom she had been separated by life and death—she knew it, of course, that it was her husband.

"Shirou..."

This name, sealed for a thousand years, flowed from the lips of the Queen who was once Paradise Fae.

This alone allowed the Queen of Winter to feel a warmth she hadn't felt in a long time.

Shirou.

In the Fairy Calendar, a human accompanied Queen Morgan on her Journey of Pilgrimage.

He was the first knight of the "Savior" and the last king the "Witch" served.

He was the deceased husband of the "Queen of Winter".