Chapter 858

Shirou thought maliciously, "I'm afraid I won't be able to keep my promise to you."

Volume 11: 507 Queen of Winter- The Most Depressing Day in History

Hours before Shirou Amamiya arrived in the Fae Kingdom.

Morgan le Fay sensed a strong premonition of some destiny.

For the Queen, who hadn't dreamed for two thousand years, this was an incredibly strange and wonderful state of mind.

From the morning onwards, an unstoppable surge of emotion welled up within her. What was the source of this feeling?

It was an indescribable flutter, as if an invisible hand was gently grasping my heart, a mixture of tension and anticipation.

As the Queen sat on her throne handling state affairs, she found herself unable to concentrate, with all sorts of inexplicable thoughts constantly swirling in her mind.

The feeling was so unfamiliar that she even wondered if someone had placed some kind of curse on her.

I have a feeling... like something's about to happen.

But what exactly is it?

The Queen of Winter is an ultimate rationalist.

She doesn't trust anyone except her own wisdom, not even her own Instinct.

But this time, she couldn't ignore the unease and excitement she felt at that moment.

Now that things have come to this, what can still move me?

The future of my country, and the life of my daughter.

Both sides are on the verge of collapse.

But I won't let that happen.

As long as I'm here, I will never let that kind of thing happen.

In the morning, the Queen went alone to the garden located at the highest point of the palace.

This is a place she sealed off with Magecraft, a place known only to her—someone's cemetery.

The tomb of the man who once gave the Queen the whole world, but then cruelly left her in the end, is built there.

When the cemetery was being built, Morgan had suggested adopting the style of the man's hometown, but he said, "Western style is cooler. I want to lie in a luxurious coffin surrounded by Azaka after I die."

Honestly, that really has his style...

With a heart full of remembrance, the Queen strolled through the cemetery, where colorful flowers bloomed.

In the very center of the cemetery lies the chalk coffin, which was personally designed and supervised by the deceased during his lifetime.

Morgan set aside the gifts he had brought and began cleaning the grave.

First, remove the dust from the tombstone.

A thin layer of dust had accumulated on the tombstone, which hadn't been cleaned for over a year.

Morgan apologized to the people inside while carefully wiping the area with the cloth he had brought.

This would have been absolutely impossible in the past.

She recalled the days when she had just become Queen.

Almost every night, the Queen would sneak into this place late at night, lie on the coffin, and sob until she fell asleep.

After all, this is still the only place where Morgan can shed his pretense and burdens.

"..."

I thought I could never accept a world without him.

Now, she has come to terms with the fact that he left her.

Fairies could never have such a strong ability to adapt.

The reason they were able to do this must be because of his influence...

The important thing is that he hopes he won't be sad if he's the one left behind.

After the cleaning was completed, the Queen knelt beside the coffin.

"Long time no see, Shirou."

She murmured to herself as she stroked the patterns on it.

At first, I just found this kind of thing hateful.

Why must humans sleep here after they die? Why can't they be reincarnated again and again like fairies...?

The Queen sighed softly and lay down on the coffin.

My heart, filled with unease and unable to find peace, seemed to regain its tranquility at this moment.

The Queen of Winter closed her eyes.

"Shirou..."

With steady breathing, she fell asleep peacefully.

That was shortly after the girl's homeland had been destroyed and she had decided to embark on her journey.

Morgan embarks on a journey to the Fae Kingdom to destroy Mors.

She continued to exorcise curses as usual, and occasionally suppressed any calamities that came to visit.

No one thanked her, and no one helped her.

But she didn't care at all.

The young girl decided to endure such hardship in order to build her ideal Britain.

One day.

Morgan encountered slave traders who were transporting humans during his journey.

Although she strongly disapproved of this behavior, she had always turned a blind eye in the past in order not to escalate the conflict with the fairy clan.

However, there was one human in this queue who clearly looked like a child.

Morgan bit her lip, trying to turn her head away, but found the red-haired boy looking at her with pleading eyes.

The girl's mind went completely blank the moment he stared at her like that.

"!!!"

Those eyes—those empty, lifeless yet yearning eyes—pierced Morgan's heart deeply.

In that instant, all reason and concerns vanished, and the girl had only one thought left—I must save him.

I can't remember the details after that.

She seemed to be yelling "Aaaaaaah!" as she brandished her staff and charged at the goblins of the slave traders, giving them a sound beating.

"What's going on?" "A wild boar attack... no, is it a fairy?!"

"The fairies are fighting amongst themselves!" "Everyone, run!"

Human slaves took this opportunity to scatter and escape.

Afterwards, Morgan sat there dejectedly, holding his head in his hands.

Bruck it...

What happened today will definitely reach the ears of the other fairies, and they will be ostracized even more.

Although the girl didn't care about the fairies' attitude towards her, she still needed their cooperation to a certain extent for her work to proceed smoothly.

Looking back now, I realize that I was just acting impulsively and asking for trouble.

This is the kingdom of fairies.

Therefore, helping weak fairies is an acceptable behavior, at least for now.

But to help humans and fight against fairies would mean making an enemy of all of Britain.

"Why was I so stupid...?"

Morgan pressed his face and sighed softly.

"The humans have all run away, and that brat from before... ah, he's still here!?"

The girl looked up and saw the red-haired boy right in front of her.

Why didn't they run away?

Morgan blinked, puzzled.

All the other human slaves had escaped, but he remained standing there, dumbfounded.

Is it because they're shackled and can't escape...? Upon closer inspection, it doesn't seem like there's anything like that.

Moreover, this kid looks a bit strange.

He wore an expression that showed both fear and a desire to get closer, keeping a distance of several meters from me.

"That..."

The boy spoke timidly.

"What?"

Morgan was already in a bad mood, and the other party was the very culprit who had brought him misfortune, so his expression and tone were extremely fierce.

Let's just scare him away.

The girl, who was thinking this, realized that the boy still hadn't run away.

The red-haired boy stared intently at the blonde girl.

His body was so thin that it looked as if it could be blown away by the wind at any moment, and the marks left by the abuse were clearly visible everywhere.

He stared with his empty, lifeless eyes at the fairy who had impulsively saved him.

"Thank you, big sister."

He began to speak.

"..."

This was the first time the girl had heard words of gratitude in the Fae Kingdom.

That statement is true.

Morgan's slender body trembled violently upon hearing that strange remark.

What... what happened?

My eyes... are so sore.

My nose... it feels so sore.

Huh? Why... me...?

The girl burst into tears.

Seeing her suddenly like this, the boy panicked.

"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!"

He kept shouting, the first apology Morgan had ever heard in this Fae Kingdom.

"I didn't mean to make you cry! Thank you so much! Thank you!"

There was no falsehood in the repeated words; they were all heartfelt and genuine feelings.

Just hearing his words, that alone... Morgan felt redeemed.

"That!"

The red-haired boy wanted to say something, but the blonde girl hugged him tightly.

I'm the one who should be thanking you.