"On the third day after you drove off the Orcs, the day after the King awoke, Princess Morgan le Fay Pendragon disappeared."
"Disappeared?" Anno sat up again, his brows furrowing.
He remembered Morgan le Fay. The little girl he'd frightened until she was in tears had been rather cute.
Something suddenly occurred to him. "Did she disappear after the King announced he was taking a new queen?"
Merlin nodded.
Huh?
Anno shook his head and asked again, "Besides that, has the King made any other moves?"
"The King is purging his opponents. Because of my background, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to get involved. As for you, that's because of my connection to me."
"But once you've recovered, we'll return to Camelot together."
"Sure." Anno smiled cheerfully.
Meanwhile, at the Holy Lake.
The Lady of the Lake was yawning in boredom beneath the water when she suddenly heard a baby crying.
She poked her head above the surface and saw a woman hurrying away amid sobs, leaving a wailing infant by the lakeside.
The Fairy waited in surprise for a while, but the woman who had abandoned the baby did not return. The infant's cries grew weaker and weaker, and at last the kind-hearted Fairy came to the shore and picked up the baby, whose voice had gone hoarse from crying.
She gently stroked the baby's face. The infant was exquisitely beautiful, with short, lovely purple hair.
Under the Fairy's gentle touch, the baby smiled happily and gurgled.
The Fairy joyfully held the infant in her arms.
"Lancelot, that's what you'll be called. A child adopted by the lake!" The Fairy laughed with a joy wholly at odds with her usual dignity.
Time flew by, and soon it was time for Lady Igraine, Queen of Britain, to give birth.
During that time, Princess Morgan le Fay had been found, but she had become quiet and withdrawn.
Few knew that Lady Igraine was in labor. Only Anno, Merlin, a few other elders, and Sir Ector, who was already preparing to care for the next King, knew.
Merlin and Anno were in the Royal Court of Camelot, preparing to escort Britain's next ruler to Sir Ector's home.
During this time, Anno had led the knights in a series of small battles, clearing security threats along Britain's borders. The air of a hardened warrior about him had grown stronger; his features had become more rugged, and he had grown quieter.
Merlin, meanwhile, had hardly changed. He still wore a white robe and had a smile on his face.
King Uther had once planned to marry Princess Morgan le Fay to Anno, binding the powerful knight to him through a political marriage, but Anno had refused.
His reason was that the princess was too young. Anno was already twenty, while Morgan le Fay was only a little over nine.
King Uther emerged from the room, and Anno and Merlin both bowed.
"My King."
"Rise, Mr. Merlin, Anno." King Uther's pale, gaunt face trembled slightly.
In his arms was a naked baby.
"This is Britain's born King," King Uther said gravely.
It was a girl. Her pale downy hair was too fine to tell its color, and since she had only just been born, her skin was still wrinkled.
Looking at the infant, Merlin and Anno each had their own thoughts.
Merlin: So this is Lia.
Anno: What was I going to say?
King Uther paid no attention to their expressions. "Now go. Take my child to where she belongs."
Before you continue