The current monthly tickets are over 300, and the blades are over 300 too. That means three extra updates. Eight updates on Friday. Easy. I can't even squeeze my saved drafts dry.
Merlin's attitude toward Artoria in the original work—he did indeed tell Artoria that Britannia was destined to fall. That much was true.
But what he did afterward was this:
Artoria: "But I still have to try."
Merlin: "Then give it a try. If it's you, maybe you really can succeed."
Then he kept watching Artoria perform, thinking, I can persuade her again after a while. It won't be too late to tell her it's all pointless, right?
He kept dragging things out until Camlann. Artoria went mad, forever trapped in the cracks of time, waiting in pain and regret for the Holy Grail War's summons. Merlin went, "Fuck? I screwed up?!" Then he shut himself away in a tower twenty stories tall, tossing Fou down along the way.
Also, Artoria wasn't stubbornly going her own way either = =. Her premise when she said that to Arthur was that "she had already found the Holy Grail." The Holy Grail had already been found; all that remained was for someone noble to claim it.
And if the Holy Grail plan failed, she had chosen a backup plan as well: carrying out Arthur's plan. Because Arthur existed, she could die without worry.
Just like that, Artoria had Guinevere's gentle companionship.
As for Arthur, after going through so much, he also wanted to find a girl to comfort him properly first. He wanted to recover his spirits before going back to plotting, so he headed toward Mordred's room.
"I'll go complain to Little Mo. We can discuss things properly while I'm at it."
That was Arthur's plan, but halfway there, he happened to run into Morgan le Fay, who also looked to be in a foul mood.
She had just left Mordred's room. The reason she was angry was that she had once again been betrayed by one of her children.
While Arthur was away, she had secretly sought out Mordred. She wanted to get some information about Arthur from her foolish daughter, while also making another effort to win Mordred back to continue working for her.
But she had failed miserably.
As for obtaining information, it was hard to say whether she had succeeded or failed.
Mordred had happily and endlessly talked about Arthur.
Although most of it was desperate boasting along the lines of "My brother is super amazing" and "My brother is incredibly gentle," all filtered through countless layers of Mordred-style beautification, Morgan le Fay could still analyze some useful intelligence from those words.
But when it came to persuading Mordred to continue helping her, Morgan le Fay had failed completely.
Mordred had clearly rejected her. With her head held high and a proud look on her face, she told Morgan, "No, Mother. I'm Brother's knight now, so I only obey Brother's orders."
"Damn it."
Hearing that, Morgan was both furious and gritting her teeth as she wondered what kind of bewitching potion Arthur had fed her daughter, while also considering how to persuade Mordred next.
Should she threaten her? Or should she tell her that, as a daughter, she had to listen to her mother?
Before Morgan could figure out how to discipline her disobedient brat of a daughter, Mordred actually turned around and began persuading Morgan le Fay instead.
"Mother." She looked at Morgan seriously. "Why don't you serve Brother Artorius too?
Brother is an excellent ruler who rewards and punishes fairly. If you serve him diligently and sincerely, he'll definitely grant your wishes."
Hearing that, Morgan nearly fainted from anger.
This unfilial daughter! She had never worked this hard when she was working for her mother! Now that she was working for her brother, she practically wanted to work 24/7, acting like a shareholder with a personal stake. Who was she trying to disgust?!
Of course, upon hearing those words, Morgan had felt tempted for a moment—just a moment.
If she served Arthur, would he grant her wishes?
What was her wish? To obtain Britannia?
Ah, right. Yes, that was it. She wanted Britannia. It definitely wasn't because she wanted to obtain the love she longed for from her nephew.
Thinking that, Morgan did not choose to fall out with Mordred. She merely forced out a few perfunctory replies before leaving with a belly full of anger.
"Bastard, how did he do it?" Morgan was irritated, but also somewhat confused.
Her sons and daughters were all extremely rebellious. Every last one of them had betrayed their creator—Morgan le Fay herself.
But why were they so utterly loyal to Artorius and Arthur?
The brothers Gawain and Gaheris were both currently serving in the German Military District. They had already risen to the rank of Legion Commander and were important military pillars for Artorius. Both were absolutely loyal to Arthur.
Gareth was slightly different. Because of her age and gender, she had not yet taken on a major military post. However, she held the position of Captain of the Guard.
Arthur's most elite heavy cavalry, the Governor's Guard, had been placed under Gareth's command.
Agravain was responsible for much of the German Military District's administration on one hand, while also serving as the head of Arthur's spies and assassins on the other, handling matters in the shadows. This former King Arthur fanatic was now one of Arthur's most fervent supporters.
Many times, when speaking privately with others, he had said things like, "Prince Arthur is the best choice," "He is the most suitable person to become a ruler," and "He is the sovereign I have been searching for, the one I wish to serve!"
Then there was Mordred. She was Arthur's deputy, and at times was even regarded as his partner and heir. Her attitude toward Arthur went without saying.
These "children of Morgan le Fay" were all exceptionally talented. They were outstanding tools specially selected, created, and trained by Morgan le Fay through the Gene Technology of the Age of Gods.
Originally, it would have been one thing if they had all remained with King Arthur in that little corner of Camelot.
But now, there was an entire Germanic War Zone, with a territory even larger than Britannia's.
The larger stage allowed them to fully unleash their potential and become even more outstanding and perfect than they had been in the original timeline.
After all, in the original Arthurian Legend, Gawain had never commanded tens of thousands in a legion. Even Gareth's four hundred guards did not exist. Under a complete Feudal System, a vassal's vassal was not one's own vassal. Never mind how many troops could be mobilized efficiently—the chain of command alone would absolutely have been sluggish. Nor would any commander have had many direct subordinates.
"How exactly did he do it?"
The more Morgan le Fay thought about it, the stranger and more baffling it seemed.
Did everyone in the Pendragon family possess some strange charm that made others willing to serve them unto death?
But that wasn't right either.
I'm part of the Pendragon family too. So why has everyone abandoned me?
With such doubts in her heart, Morgan ran into the nephew she had been thinking about so much, Artorius Pendragon, in the corridor.
He noticed her as well—his dear aunt, Morgan le Fay.
The current monthly tickets and blades have both exceeded 400. Four extra updates on Friday, for a total of nine updates!
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"Yo~ my dear nephew, you seem to be in a good mood. Did something happen?"
This was the first time Arthur and Morgan le Fay had met alone since that previous incident.
The latter seemed to have forgotten how her dear nephew had humiliated her before.
Morgan's smile was sweet, even intoxicating. In terms of maternal charm alone, she did not seem much inferior to Guinevere. Anyone meeting her for the first time would never connect this sweet-smiling, gentle-looking older sister with the enchantress who had thrown Britannia into chaos.
Of course, Arthur did not.
From beginning to end, Arthur had kept his guard against her at the highest level.
Can Morgan be used in the matter of the Holy Grail?
After thinking for a while, Arthur rejected the idea. I'd better use Merlin instead.
"..."
So he merely nodded reluctantly at Morgan, offering the bare minimum courtesy in response to her question. Then he turned, intending to walk past her and leave.
But before that:
"Did you have a fight?"
"Did you quarrel with my foolish little sister?"
"Heh heh heh, I figured as much. The difference between you two is too obvious. There's no way you could get along properly, right?"
When Arthur had his back to her and had already taken two steps away, Morgan's delighted, mocking words came from behind him.
The next second, Morgan le Fay got her wish and was pinned against the wall by Arthur.
"I'm warning you, woman."
Arthur looked at her with dangerous eyes, making Morgan's heart race.
"Don't try to drive a wedge between Father King and me." As he spoke, he lifted Morgan's chin with one finger, forcing her eyes to meet his. Such simple skin-to-skin contact alone made Morgan's body heat up and her breathing grow heavier.
"Otherwise, I'll definitely make you regret it."
After saying that, Arthur released Morgan, turned around, and continued toward Mordred's room.
When he was in such a bad mood, he really did need Little Mo's gentle comfort.
Compared with Father King, who was stubborn and refused to adapt, Morgan le Fay, who seemed to radiate a dark aura from head to toe, his violent battle-crazed teacher, or any other insignificant character, Little Mo was definitely the best.
His sister was obedient and well-behaved. She did whatever he asked without ever complaining or causing so much messy trouble. She really was wonderful.
I've decided. From today onward, Little Mo is my one and only.
Arthur thought that and prepared to quicken his pace.
Then Morgan's voice came from behind him.
She apparently had not taken Arthur's warning seriously at all.
"That woman is difficult to deal with, isn't she? She doesn't know how to compromise at all. She's as hard as stone."
Arthur turned around again. This time, rather than pinning Morgan le Fay against the wall as he had before, he simply narrowed his eyes and stared at her without speaking.
Morgan le Fay seemed to take that reaction as encouragement, so she became bolder and more direct.
She stepped close to Artorius, extended a finger, and gently stroked Arthur's chest. Raising her head, she looked at him with delighted eyes.
"You and she are destined to walk different paths."
She continued speaking to Artorius:
"She's someone who doesn't understand people's hearts.
You're different. You understand reality and know how to adapt. You can do anything to achieve your goals.
So..."
Her finger continued downward, brushing across Arthur's firm abdomen as her body leaned closer and pressed against him.
"We're the same, Artorius. We're a perfect match."
By this point, Morgan le Fay's mouth had gone dry.
She parted her lips slightly, her scarlet tongue slipping out to lick them as she gave Artorius a silent invitation.
After a few seconds of silence, Arthur broke into a smile.
He needed to be more serious and cautious with Father King Artoria; he could not act rashly... But with Morgan le Fay, he could be more casual and generous.
Thinking that, he wrapped an arm around Morgan's slender waist and pulled her forcefully into his embrace.
"..."
"..."
"Mmm, mmm~"
"I'll be waiting for you tonight."
Having received a little satisfaction, Morgan le Fay told Arthur happily before swaying her hips and leaving in delight.
That tiny advantage made her feel as though the distance between her and Arthur had narrowed. It even gave her a faint, subtle illusion that perhaps she could win.
That she could triumph in a competition against Artoria—
Even though she had invested more into this competition than Artoria had, and was even suspected of using underhanded methods. But a win was a win, wasn't it?
"What a bastard."
After suffering a setback with a good woman and receiving a little compensation from a bad woman, Arthur continued forward and entered Little Mo's room.
"Brother~"
Little Mo greeted Arthur with a cheerful smile, as though she had not noticed what her beloved brother Artorius and a certain undeserving, evil, sinister, sharp-tongued bad woman had been doing near her room earlier.
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