Chapter 38: The Pendragon Clan -6-

On a morning when the thick fog over the Kingdom of Gore was lifting, we left the castle under King Urien’s send-off.

The aged King Urien let out a deep sigh of regret at the thought of Morgan leaving his side, but he did not try to stop her by force.

He merely waved with lonely resignation, savoring the lingering aftertaste of the dense Mana she had left behind and the beautiful illusion of her presence.

According to Morgan, it apparently had not gone so far as love.

As we passed through the castle gate, my gaze naturally turned to Artoria, who was walking beside me.

"Brother. How do I look?"

Artoria smiled shyly and spun around once.

Instead of the youthful white dress like a budding lily that she had been wearing all this time, today she was dressed in a dignified new gown touched with blue and silver.

She had completely shed the trace of a young girl. She looked exactly like the radiant, gallant Knight King I remembered.

"Wow...."

For a moment, emotion choked off my words. Then I gently stroked her hair and broke into a bright smile.

"You look truly beautiful and dignified, Artoria. You seem completely grown up now."

At my praise, Artoria’s ears turned red, and she smiled bashfully.

"Hehe, that’s a relief. I’m pregnant with your child now, Brother. I can’t go on dressing like a little girl forever, so I thought I needed to become more knightly and more mature."

Behind me, Merlin suddenly leaned in, resting on her staff.

"Well, Arthur? Pretty splendid, isn’t it? Medea and I designed that dress to perfectly match Artoria’s proportions and the dignity of a Pendragon."

Medea smacked her lips in disappointment.

"I wanted to decorate it with lots of frills and ribbons to make her look cuter and more adorable, but Artoria stubbornly insisted on this blue, knightly design. Honestly, the stubbornness of the Pendragon siblings."

While we were chatting warmly about her outfit, Caenis, who was walking beside the baggage cart, clicked her tongue and cut in.

"Tsk, tsk... you insane skirt-chasing bastard. Now you’ve gone and dragged even your own witch of an older sister into your harem? At this rate, you’re going to spread your seed through every woman in Britain."

I walked over to Caenis and lightly tapped her shoulder.

"Come on now. Why so cold, Caenis? You’re on that harem list too, you know."

At my playful provocation, Caenis’s face turned red as a tomato.

"Wh-who the hell is in your harem, you crazy bastard?! I... I’m, at best, just a sex friend who helps you blow off steam at night once in a while, so don’t get the wrong idea! Hmph!"

As Caenis whipped her head away and huffed, Morgan, who had been quietly walking at my side, slowly swept her narrow gaze over the women in our party.

"Arthur. Tell me honestly. How many of these Heroic Spirits are your lovers?"

I scratched the back of my head and answered honestly.

"Well, for starters, Merlin over there with that sly grin. Ushiwakamaru, and then Caenis and Barghest too."

Morgan fell silent for a moment at my unreserved confession. I watched her carefully, wondering if she might be disappointed or jealous, but she slowly shook her head.

"Disappointed? No. If anything, I want to ask the opposite. For a man as great and strong as you, wouldn’t it be stranger if you had no more women than this?"

Morgan’s values really were different from those of ordinary humans.

"For a true king, it is only natural to spread his excellent seed far and wide and build a mighty host. Even Laomedon, the king of Troy, had fifty sons. I would not feel jealousy even if you took far more women."

As she said that, she tightly wrapped herself around my arm, then brought her red lips close to my ear and whispered in secret.

"But... please treat me just a little more specially than them. Just a little more. Look after me first. I am a greedy woman, after all."

She said she would not be jealous, yet slyly asked for more of my attention.

At that adorable complaint from the fearsome witch who had once cursed Britain, I let out a small laugh and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Of course. You’re my older sister, and the mother of my first child. Naturally I should look after you first and pay the most attention to you. Right?"

Even if there were two mothers.

At my gentle answer, Morgan’s eyes trembled. With her cheeks flushed red, she looked up at me carefully.

"Then... may I think of you not merely as my younger brother now, but as my husband?"

Being called a husband by my blood-related older sister.

To be honest, a sharp stab of taboo guilt did prickle somewhere in the back of my mind. But I had long since thrown ordinary morality far away.

"If that’s what you want, then go ahead. Call me whatever you like."

At my hearty answer, a smile bloomed across Morgan’s face like spring flowers.

She buried her face deep against my chest and poured out her overflowing feelings in a trembling voice.

"Thank you... thank you so very much, Arthur. Everyone in Britain cursed me as an evil witch and feared me... but you are the first man who has looked upon me so warmly, cherished me, and truly loved me. Ah... my beloved Arthur. My husband...."

It was a heartfelt confession that seemed to wash away decades of loneliness and obsession.

In that moving atmosphere, Artoria, who had claimed my other arm, refused to be outdone. She hugged herself tightly against me and rubbed her cheek against mine.

"Me too, Brother! I love you more than anyone in the world, more than anything in the whole universe! I’m going to stay glued right by your side for the rest of my life!"

My twin younger sister and my half-sister walked on with happy expressions, each clinging tightly to one of my arms.

The knowledge that I was being perfectly loved by these two women, the most beautiful in the world and heirs to the most extraordinary blood, filled my chest until it felt ready to burst.

"I’m the happiest bastard in the world myself. I love you, Artoria. And you too, Sister."

Side by side, we walked along the deep forest path of Wales beneath clear, sparkling sunlight.

Our next destination was the Kingdom of Cameliard, the domain of King Leodegrance, Father Uther’s sworn friend and the keeper of the legendary Round Table.

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