Chapter 85: Family Reunion -3-

After the emotions that had weighed on their hearts for so many years were washed away with tears, the air in the room had grown much warmer and softer.

Arthur, Artoria, and Elaine.

The three, bound together by a cruel fate, for the first time shared simple, ordinary conversation as family who shared the same blood.

They asked after each other’s past lives, exchanged awkward but affectionate smiles, and talked together in a way not so different from any other siblings.

After bringing the conversation to a pleasant close, Elaine took the lead and said she would personally show the two of them around the inside of the castle.

As they walked the corridor, taking in the peaceful sights of Garlot, they came across two children approaching from the opposite side with several maids.

They were a dignified-looking boy of about thirteen, and a lovely girl who looked around ten.

"Say hello. These are your uncle and aunt."

Elaine said gently, resting her hands around the children’s shoulders as she introduced them.

"I-It is my first time meeting you. I am Galeshin, the First Prince of Garlot."

"Hello! I’m Elaine. I have the same name as Mother!"

Her son, Galeshin, was visibly stiff and wary, clearly conscious of the hegemon of Britain standing before him, but her daughter, young Elaine, showed no shyness at all and greeted them warmly, her clear eyes sparkling.

It was then.

From the far end of the corridor, accompanied by the sound of elegant footsteps, a familiar silhouette approached.

It was Morgan.

As she came closer and met Elaine face to face, she flinched and quietly lowered her gaze to the floor.

If Elaine was Igraine’s daughter, then Morgan was the true daughter of Uther, the enemy who had destroyed Elaine’s family.

Though Morgan herself had also been a victim, used as a pawn by Uther and forced through a horrific childhood, standing here still left her feeling strangely like a sinner sitting on thorns.

In the awkward silence, Morgan carefully set the infant she had been quietly holding down on the corridor floor.

"Awoo?"

Mordred tilted her head when her feet touched the ground, then toddled over to Arthur and Artoria’s legs.

"Papa! Mama!"

"There we are, my daughter. Were you bored?"

Arthur smiled and bent down, scooping Mordred up into his arms. Artoria too wore a loving smile as she stroked the child’s chubby cheek.

Watching that tender family scene, a deep emotion rose in Elaine’s eyes.

"If Mother could have seen this... she would surely have been as happy as if she had gained the whole world."

"Yes. I’m sure she would have."

Arthur agreed as well, smiling with a warmth touched by bitterness.

Just then, little Elaine, who had been clutching her mother’s skirt, could not take her eyes off Mordred and came hurrying over in quick little steps.

"Wow... it’s a baby. She’s so cute! Uncle, can I hold her just once?"

"You want to hold her? Here, take her carefully."

When Arthur willingly handed Mordred over, little Elaine received the baby in her arms with surprisingly practiced skill.

Mordred tilted her head in the arms of the girl she had never seen before, but soon, apparently pleased, quietly rubbed her face against her.

"Hehe, she’s warm."

"..."

Even Galeshin, who had been standing tensely behind them, unconsciously let his sharp wariness ease and showed a faint smile when he saw Mordred harmlessly wriggling in his sister’s arms.

As Arthur watched the peaceful sight of the children getting along with quiet satisfaction, he suddenly lowered his voice and casually spoke to Elaine beside him.

"By the way, sister."

"What is it, Arthur?"

"If the chance came... wouldn’t you like to beat Merlin senseless in Father’s place at least once?"

At that abrupt question, Elaine’s eyes widened for a moment.

The fundamental accomplice who had encouraged Uther’s madness and deceived Igraine into sharing his bed. One of the architects of all that tragedy had been Merlin.

Soon, a bright yet chilling smile spread across Elaine’s lips, stripped of the queen’s elegance.

"That bitch was one of the root causes too... of course I want to beat her."

"W-Wait! Why, why are you all like this?! Why are you doing this to me?!"

In a corner of Garlot Castle’s rear garden.

Merlin, who had been peacefully drinking tea and loafing around, recoiled in horror as she sensed the killing intent of the family that had suddenly surrounded her.

"T-This is unfair! I just pointed him toward a candidate for an heir because Uther ordered me to find one! It wasn’t something I did because I wanted to, ooooh!"

Merlin desperately tried to explain herself, tears welling in her eyes.

"Enough of that. You’ve got too much tongue on you. When it’s time to get hit, you take it quietly."

Arthur lightly cracked his fingers.

"Merlin. Consider this a settling of karmic debts for the peace of the family, so please accept it gladly."

Artoria too smiled sweetly, gripping a heavy wooden sword instead of her holy sword.

And at the front of them all stood Elaine, clutching in both hands a thick, solid oak club of unknown origin.

"You wicked succubus bitch. Think of today as your memorial day!"

"Aaaaahhh!!"

Thud!!Whack!!Smack!

The cheerful sound of blunt impacts rang out, shattering the peace of the rear garden.

Arthur and Artoria held back to a reasonable degree, but Elaine’s beating with the club was a full-force swing packed with resentment down to the bone.

And into the middle of that chaos, Morgan, who had only been quietly watching, slowly stepped forward.

Morgan raised her staff, dense with chilling magical energy.

Crunch!!

"Gah! M-Morgan! You ungrateful disciple bitch...!"

In the end, Merlin, Britain’s greatest archmage, was utterly helpless before the merciless group beating dealt out by the four siblings united by blood ties and grudges, and collapsed flat unconscious.

"Sniff... sob... Arthur, you violent husband... what kind of man beats his wife like this..."

Merlin lay sprawled on the ground, covered in lumps and bruises, glaring at him resentfully through tears.

But Arthur merely snorted as he dusted off his staff.

"It’s all your karma. If you did something worth getting hit for, then you should get hit. Isn’t that right, sisters?"

Elaine, breathing hard as she lowered her club, and Morgan, who had withdrawn her staff, met each other’s eyes in midair.

They shared no blood at all, and theirs was a terrible relationship: the daughter of Uther, and the daughter whose family Uther had destroyed.

But both women understood better than anyone that each of them had been a victim of the immense violence embodied by Uther and Merlin.

Morgan was the first to cautiously hold out her hand.

Elaine took it, wiped the sweat from her brow, and flashed a refreshing smile.

And so, through Merlin, their shared public punching bag, the tangled threads between them were being loosened into something far lighter and more cheerful.

A few days later.

After finishing their rest and putting their alliance in order, Arthur’s army was ready to depart from Garlot.

Looking toward Elaine and King Nentres, who had come out to the castle gates to see them off, Arthur made a somewhat regretful offer from the saddle of Llamrei.

"As a token of gratitude to an allied nation, if you wish, I can grant you some more of the fertile Pictland territory near Garlot. Territorial expansion is a kingdom’s long-cherished desire, is it not?"

At that generous proposal, King Nentres’s eyes flashed wide for a moment, but Elaine firmly shook her head.

"I appreciate the thought, but I’ll decline, Arthur. Your Majesty’s capacity is suited to ruling a kingdom about the size of Garlot as it is now. If we forcefully expand our territory, it will only bring trouble. Our current state is the most peaceful and perfect for us."

"Ahem...! Hm, hm!"

At his wife’s cold assessment, which cut straight into the facts of her husband’s capabilities as the king of a nation, King Nentres broke into repeated coughs and cold sweat.

But he adored his wife, and there was not a single part of what she said that was wrong, so he could not bring himself to argue and was left speechless.

Arthur burst into hearty laughter at the sight.

"Hahaha! Very well. I won’t force the matter. Ah, but when we hold Mordred’s first birthday celebration in grand style later, I’ll be sure to send an invitation, so when that time comes, your whole family must attend without excuses."

"Of course. It’s our lovely niece’s birthday. There’s no way we could miss it."

Elaine smiled and waved her hand.

Leaving behind the cruel curse tangled in their bloodline, the banner of the red dragon once more cut through the wind.

The final piece of the Pictland campaign, and another kingdom bound up in a complicated family history.

Toward Orkney, where his former brother-in-law and his nephew and niece, the Gawain siblings, awaited, Arthur’s army marched forward with heavy steps.

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