Chapter 38: North Wales -3-

"Ah~ open wide, Alter."

Kay leaned toward the bed and held a wooden spoon to Alter’s lips. It was a bowl of freshly made porridge, still steaming hot.

Alter kept her lips pressed firmly shut and turned her head away. Her mental state hadn't fully recovered, and thanks to Tamamo and Jeanne d’Arc Alter stirring things up earlier, she was in a decidedly foul mood.

"I'm not eating. I'd rather starve to death."

"If you keep this up, Tamamo or Jeanne might just force your mouth open and feed you, you know?"

At those words, Alter’s shoulders twitched. She shot a sidelong glare at the servants in the corner of the lord's chamber, who were sipping tea and watching her with amused interest.

*Every single one of them is insufferable... and yet, these irritating women know more about my brother's last five years than I do.*

"...Hmph."

Giving in with a huff, Alter finally opened her mouth and accepted the porridge Kay fed her.

It was delicious. Simple and familiar—the taste of her foolish brother, a flavor that melted her frozen heart.

Kay remained by her side, silently soothing her and tending to her spirits until she had finished the entire bowl.

"All right, get some rest now. I have to step out for a bit."

"Where are you going?"

Looking anxious, Alter gripped Kay’s sleeve tightly. She hadn't flinched even under Taquin’s torture, but now, the fear that her brother might vanish from her sight again was written all over her face.

"I need to discuss the directives for Manchester and handle the remaining Saxon remnants. I'll be back soon. Tamamo, Jeanne, Medusa—look after Alter for me. And please, try not to fight."

"Oh my, don't you worry~ Your sister is practically my own! I shall serve her with the utmost devotion!"

As Kay left the room and the door clicked shut, a strange, chilly silence descended upon the lord's chamber.

Sitting on the bed with the covers pulled up to her chin, Alter glared at the three servants with deep suspicion.

The air in the room grew heavy. It was a silent clash of wills, like predators sizing each other up.

Tamamo was the first to break the silence. She cleared the tray with the empty bowl, wearing a sly, playful smile.

"My, my, dear sister-in-law. Please don't look at me with such murderous eyes; you'll get wrinkles between your brows. Since your brother is away, why don't we ladies have a cozy little chat?"

Tamamo approached the bedside, her tone dripping with faux-sweetness. When Alter responded only with a fierce glare, the corners of Tamamo's lips curled mischievously.

"You know, I actually have quite a knack for cooking! Back in the kitchens of the Mystic Realm, your brother and I shared many a labor of love. He would hug me from behind while teaching me how to control the heat... and whenever he tasted my food from the same spoon and smiled, my heart would flutter so."

Alter’s cheek twitched. The fabric of the blanket in her grip crumpled.

"Oh, and sometimes I'd wear nothing but a naked apron, wagging my tail to whet his appetite~ The nights in the Mystic Realm are long and cold, after all. Sharing body heat is simply a married couple's duty, isn't it?"

"...You vulgar, shameless beast! What in the world are you prattling on about!!"

Finally snapping, Alter roared, baring her teeth.

Ominous black mana erupted from her body, the sheer pressure causing the bedposts to crack.

"You filthy she-fox, crawling into my brother's bed! I'll rip that tongue right out of your mouth!!"

"Oh my, it was just a joke! A joke! My, you're really seeing red!"

Seeing that Alter was truly on the verge of a murderous rampage, Tamamo hurriedly snapped open her fan and leaped back a step.

"Your brother is such a fortress that the only sounds in the kitchen were the chopping of vegetables and the mincing of meat. I just found it so delightful to tease my sister-in-law that I let the joke go too far. Please, forgive me."

"...I'm going to kill you."

"Now, now, calm down. Here, a gift as a sincere apology. Your brother told me this is your favorite, and he gave me the recipe exclusively."

Tamamo reached into the air, summoning a plate via a spell and placing it gently on Alter’s lap.

On the plate sat a massive hamburger: a thick, glossy bun sandwiching a juicy beast-meat patty, fresh vegetables, and a generous amount of melted cheese.

"...Junk food."

Alter’s nostrils flared. Despite having just finished a bowl of porridge, the aggressive aroma of meat and savory sauce assaulted her senses.

She stole a quick glance at the others, then carefully gripped the burger with both hands and took a large bite.

Along with a satisfying crunch, the juices—a testament to Tamamo's perfect culinary skill—flooded her mouth.

"Well? What do you think of my handiwork? I grilled the patty, made from Mystic Realm monsters, using my special flame spells, so the flavor should be quite unique."

Alter chewed and swallowed in silence.

Objectively, the taste was superb. The juiciness of the meat, the softness of the bun, and the harmony of the sauce were nearly perfect. Even the finest chef in Britain could hardly make it better. However...

"...The taste is excellent. I admit that. But it's different from the ones Kay makes."

Alter wiped her mouth with a napkin and replied bluntly.

Tamamo’s fox ears perked up. Jeanne d’Arc Alter, who had been leaning against the wall fiddling with her flag, and Medusa, who had been quietly reading, both turned their heads with interest.

"Hmm~ is that so? I wonder what Kay's burgers taste like. I followed the recipe exactly, word for word."

"Right. That idiot is a good cook, but a burger is a burger. You're just being dramatic," Jeanne d’Arc Alter added.

Irked by the comment, Alter thought to herself that they simply hadn't tasted real British food. If she gave them the recipe and let them try, they'd produce actual junk.

Alter leaned back against the headboard and gazed out at the blue sky, her eyes clouding with a deep, bittersweet nostalgia.

"We were of the Pendragon blood, noble royalty... yet we had to hide our identities and live in a barren village on the fringes. We had plenty of meat from hunting in forests teeming with beasts and monsters, but since most of Britain suffered from poor harvests, bread and grain were far too rare for eight sisters to eat their fill."

Her voice grew strangely soft. The oppressive aura of the tyrant vanished, replaced by the voice of a sister longing for her brother.

"Kay, that foolish brother of mine, spent every night in the forest crushing wild berries and coarse wheat for us. He would crouch alone before a crude hearth, his hands blistering and burning as he kneaded dough and researched recipes for baking bread."

Alter looked down at the burger in her hands.

"But the first bread created by a boy who had never formally studied cooking, using Britain's meager flour... was horrific. It was hard as a rock and as gritty as sand; it was practically impossible to swallow."

"Oh my, I had no idea he had such a dark culinary history."

"Yes. He knew better than anyone how terrible it was. So, he came up with a solution... he sliced that gritty bread, stuffed it with thick, minced wild boar meat, and drenched it in a rich, boiled-down sauce just so we could force it down our throats. That was the first hamburger."

A faint smile touched Alter’s lips. It was a warm, pure smile—the smile of a young girl, something that had been absent during her time in Taquin's prison.

"That burger... the bread was so rough it scraped the roof of my mouth, and the sauce was far too salty and sour. Objectively, it was a poor meal, difficult to eat. But..."

Alter placed a hand gently over her heart.

"On cold winter nights, seeing my brother covered in ash from the fire, shyly offering that burger with bandaged, burnt hands... and the way he smiled with such foolish relief when we devoured it all, even while complaining through our tears."

Her golden eyes shimmered with affection and longing.

"That burger was a greater feast than any delicacy I have ever tasted in my life. No matter how perfectly you mimic the recipe, you cannot cook the rough, desperate kindness my brother poured into it."

As she finished, a quiet sense of pride in being Kay's sister lingered on her face.

A long silence filled the room as the others absorbed the profound bond between the siblings.

Jeanne d’Arc Alter tightened her grip on her flag and muttered gruffly, "...Hmph. What an annoyingly devoted brother. Must be nice never having to worry about going hungry."

Medusa, who had once sacrificed everything for her own sisters only to become a monster, quietly closed her eyes and nodded.

"I understand that feeling. It wasn't a matter of skill, but a meal made from the very blood of his heart. That is a realm of cooking we cannot touch."

Tamamo sighed softly, closed her fan, and smiled gently.

"...I see. Our sister-in-law really is the most special person to him. I have to admit it~ I'm almost a little jealous."

"What? You're stating the obvious."

"To be honest, we don't actually hate you or see you as an enemy," Tamamo said sincerely.

"If anything, we were envious. In that hellish Mystic Realm, the drive that kept your brother going—even as his bones broke and he coughed up blood every night—was you. You are the women who received his deepest devotion and love. We are merely latecomers, brides who came to admire that desperate, beautiful struggle from the sidelines."

Caught off guard by the servants' unexpected honesty, Alter's golden eyes darted around in confusion. Then, she let out a short snort and took another large bite of her burger.

"Hmph. Not much for a bunch of rolling stones to be talking about."

Though her words were sharp, the murderous intent and hostility in her voice had thawed away like spring snow.

A few hours later.

Kay returned to the lord's chamber after finishing the administrative tasks for Manchester Castle. He blinked in surprise at the remarkably peaceful atmosphere that greeted him the moment he opened the door.

"Uh... you guys didn't fight? And Alter, are you actually letting Tamamo brush your hair?"

"S-Shut up! This she-fox is surprisingly good at brushing, so I've simply outsourced my hair care to her for a while!"

"Ufufu, Master! Look! The bond between sisters-in-law is much stronger than you'd think!"

Kay let out a sigh of relief.

He was immensely grateful that Alter's mental state—the biggest ticking time bomb in the room—seemed to have stabilized.

"That's a relief. Once your strength returns, Alter, we'll head up to North Wales immediately. Artoria Lancer is waiting for us anxiously."

Just then,

the urgent sound of clashing metal echoed from outside, and a household servant rushed in, panting for breath.

"Lord Kay!! We have a situation! A contingent of knights has arrived at the gates!"

"Knights? Saxon reinforcements?"

Kay immediately reached for the Golden Axe on the floor, but the servant shook his head vigorously.

"No, sir! They carry the banner of the Lion King! They've identified themselves as the escort knights dispatched from North Wales!"

"Knights sent by Lancer? They arrived faster than I expected. I suppose she sent a welcome party because she was worried."

Kay relaxed, a smile of relief on his face.

"Let them in. We were just about to pack our things anyway."

A short while later.

With heavy, metallic footsteps that seemed to shake the ground, ten elite knights of North Wales, clad in silver plate armor, entered the lord's chamber.

Leading them was a man of colossal proportions—two heads taller than an average knight, possessing a build that bordered on half-giant.

The emblem of a blue lion was clearly engraved on his armor. The man removed his massive helmet, tucked it under his arm, and knelt formally on one knee.

"I am Galehaut, Knight of North Wales. By the strict command of Her Majesty, I have come to escort Lady Alter, sister to the great Lion King."

Galehaut.

Once a king who ruled the islands near North Wales, he had been defeated in war by the Lion King and subsequently became her knight.

Despite his royal lineage, he was a powerful man who had willingly submitted to the Lion King's overwhelming strength and mystery to become her vassal.

"Thank you for your hard work, Sir Galehaut. Alter has recovered, so we were planning to move out soon."

Kay smiled and stepped forward to offer a handshake.

However, Galehaut completely ignored Kay's outstretched hand and rose coldly.

Radiating an oppressive pressure from his massive frame, he looked down at Kay with a gaze as sharp and hostile as carved ice.

"...So, you are the one called Kay, whom Her Majesty sought."

Though he used formal language, his voice was thick with unmistakable contempt and disgust.

In the eyes of a man who had once been a king, Kay looked like nothing more than a plain, provincial man in crude clothing.

The nine knights behind him also gripped their spears tightly, emitting a sharp, aggressive energy directed toward Kay.

"Her Majesty commanded me to treat you with the utmost hospitality... but in my personal opinion, a man of unknown origin who vanished like a rat for five years only to suddenly reappear is a blasphemous presence. For such a man to remain by the side of the Queens would be a grave stain and a hindrance to the grand enterprise of Britain and Her Majesty's reign."

Galehaut's words were arrogant and provocative.

In an instant, the peaceful air of the lord's chamber plummeted below freezing.

Blue fox-fire flickered at Tamamo's fingertips, chains slithered from Medusa's sleeves like snakes, and black flames erupted from Jeanne d’Arc Alter's flag.

And above all else—

"...This bastard... is he really talking like that in front of my brother?"

Seated on the bed, Alter's golden pupils slit vertically. A sinister, crushing mana—the true aura of a tyrant, far beyond anything shown before—began to weigh down on the entire room.

They had expected a reliable escort from North Wales.

But the five-year gap had planted deep seeds of misunderstanding and blind distrust toward Kay in the minds of warriors like Galehaut, who worshipped only absolute power.

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