The encounter under the moonlight was a beautiful turning point, and everything continued from there.
[Morgan kept the secret of your night raid on the princess's chambers; no one knows that, as a knight, you took the princess's first night.]
[She remembered your name and promoted you from among the knights to be her trusted confidant.]
[However, you never saw Morgan's sorrowful appearance from that night again, nor did you taste her body once more.]
[She kept a deliberate distance from you and never called your name in public, as if the distance between you two would forever remain that of a princess and her knight.]
[You feel a bit sad, but you also know that this was bound to happen. Morgan, being a princess, could never admit to having spent a night of revelry with you after drinking.]
[Months passed like this, until one day, she sent someone to find you.]
"Sir Knight."
Morgan's maid respectfully addressed Ian standing before her.
"The princess has something for you; she wishes you to come at once."
"Is that so?" Ian turned around. "I understand. I will go now."
Walking through the corridors of the royal court, Ian stood before the door, gently knocking on the door that had once changed his fate.
"Who is it?" Morgan's voice came from inside.
"It is I, Princess, your knight Ian."
"Come in."
With Morgan's permission, Ian pushed open the door.
Morgan was standing in front of a mirror, arms crossed, staring intently at her reflection.
"Come here, Ian."
Although he didn't understand what Morgan wanted, it was a knight's duty to obey the princess's orders. Ian slowly approached Morgan's side.
"Princess."
"Don't look at me, look at the mirror."
Following Morgan's order, Ian looked at the mirror.
[You looked into the mirror and saw a face that was both familiar and strange.]
[She seemed somewhat similar to Morgan, yet also bore completely opposite traits in various aspects.]
[The image in the mirror was unstable, disappearing after only a brief moment.]
[You realized it might be Morgan's magic but didn't make a fuss about it.]
"How do you feel?"
Morgan lifted her head and looked at the tall knight beside her.
"The person you saw just now, Ian, what was your first impression?"
"Princess, what do you mean by first impression..."
"The first word that comes to your mind," Morgan replied. "Ian, give me the answer now."
"I understand."
Ian looked at the mirror, which had returned to normal, and replied.
"Then, Princess, my answer is you."
"Me?"
"Yes, Princess." Ian met Morgan's gaze. "I saw you in the mirror."
Morgan's lips curled up slightly but quickly returned to their somber state.
"Ian, you are lying."
"It was clearly not me in the mirror."
"Indeed, not entirely you," Ian didn't deny Morgan's words.
"But because I saw parts that were similar to you, and I only cared about that part, for me, it was you, and you were it."
"Heh." Morgan let out a cold laugh.
"Ian, by that logic, as long as there's someone with similarities to me, would you consider that person to be me and swear allegiance to them?"
"Is that what you call loyalty?"
"There's no such possibility," Ian replied. "A knight's loyalty is given only once, and my loyalty has already been given to you, Princess."
[Morgan was silent in response to your unassailable answer.]
[She lightly touched the mirror, making the previous image appear once more.]
[She explained to you that this was magic, a magic she had been researching herself.]
[You believed her completely because you knew she was one of the few in Britain capable of challenging Merlin as a sorceress.]
[You asked her who the person in the mirror was but received an answer that she herself did not know.]
[You realized that she had created an imaginary enemy using herself as a template, resulting in the ambiguous face you saw.]
"Princess, why are you doing this?" Ian looked at the mirror.
"An imaginary enemy would only add to your troubles; it should be erased."
"That is not some nonexistent enemy, she..."
Mid-sentence, Morgan realized she might have said too much.
She turned her head away and corrected herself, "It's none of your business, Ian. You are just a knight. What you are allowed to know is for me to decide."
"That is indeed the case," Ian apologized. "Princess, please forgive my rudeness."
"…"
"I am not angry." Morgan, having calmed down, did not intend to pursue the matter further.
"Ian, to you, was the only reaction when seeing the mirror me?"
"Yes, Princess."
Ian answered without hesitation, which was Morgan's favorite way of responding. It symbolized loyalty and sincerity.
Morgan did not question him further as she had earlier.
She sat on the bed, issuing commands as if she were a true monarch.
"Ian, kneel."
With just one sentence, her knight was already kneeling before her.
This absolute command brought a faint, almost imperceptible smile to Morgan's face, though it quickly disappeared.
She softly spoke:
"Ian, you haven't spoken of that night to anyone, have you?"
"I have never mentioned it to anyone."
Morgan had no doubt about Ian's words.
After all, if he had spoken of it, she might only lose her reputation, but he would be erased from the land of Britain.
Morgan gently lifted her foot.
Her slender, pale foot pressed against Ian's forehead, leaving slight marks on his skin.
This absolute submission seemed to greatly satisfy Morgan, and she continued:
"It seems you're not entirely foolish; at least you know how to preserve your own life."
"But I still want to tell you, as far as I'm concerned, you are merely the ashes of that one night of pleasure, easily swept away at any time."
"I don't like you one bit, nor will I ever develop any feelings for you because I do not need such encumbrances."
"Ian, tell me you understand this."
"Yes, I completely understand, Princess."
"This is what I deserve."
[Morgan is quite pleased with your submissiveness as a knight, as if it evokes something untouchable for her.]
[However, this was not the sole reason she called you here.]
[She took a sword from the shadows, engraved with her name.]
[She thrust the sword into the ground beside you.]
[You realized she probably had something else in mind for you to do.]