The moonlit encounter had marked a turning point, but the story was far from over.
[Morgan kept the secret of your intrusion into her chambers. No one knew that you, her knight, had taken the princess's first time]
[She remembered your name and elevated you above the other knights, making you her trusted confidant.]
[Yet, you never again saw the sorrow in Morgan's eyes from that night. Nor did you ever taste her body again.]
[She maintained a deliberate distance, never calling your name in public. The divide between you two remained that of princess and knight.]
[It saddened you, but you accepted it as an inevitability. Morgan, as a princess, could never openly acknowledge what had transpired in a drunken haze.]
[And so, months passed—until one day, she summoned you.]
"Sir Knight."
Morgan's handmaiden stood before Rei, her posture respectful.
"The princess wishes to see you. She asks that you come at once."
"I see," Rei replied, turning. "I understand. I will go now."
Passing through the corridors of the royal court, Rei stopped in front of the door that had once changed his fate.
Knock, knock.
"Who is it?" Morgan's voice came from within.
"It is I, Princess—your knight, Rei."
"Enter."
With Morgan's permission, Rei pushed open the door.
She stood before a mirror, arms crossed, gazing intently at her own reflection.
"Come here, Rei."
Though unsure of her intentions, a knight's duty is to obey. Rei stepped forward, coming to stand beside Morgan.
"Princess."
"Don't look at me. Look at the mirror."
The simulation continued according to Morgan's will.
[You looked into the mirror and saw a face—one both familiar and unfamiliar.]
[There was a resemblance to Morgan, yet this person bore completely opposite qualities.]
[The image in the mirror was unstable, vanishing within moments.]
[You realized this was likely Morgan's magic but chose not to speak of it.]
"Well?"
Morgan lifted her gaze, looking at the tall knight standing beside her.
"The person you just saw, Rei—what was your first impression?"
"Princess, by first impression, do you mean…?"
"The first word that came to your mind," Morgan clarified. "Rei, give me your answer now."
"Understood."
Rei glanced at the mirror—now reflecting only reality—before giving his reply.
"Then, Princess, my answer is—
You."
"Me?"
"Yes, Princess." Rei met Morgan's gaze directly. "In that mirror, I saw you."
Morgan's lips curled up slightly—only to quickly fall back into a shadowed frown.
"Rei, you're lying."
"The one in the mirror was clearly not me."
"That's true—it wasn't completely you," Rei did not deny her words.
"But I saw a part of you within it, and that is the only part that matters to me. To me, if it resembles you, then it is you."
Morgan let out a soft, mocking laugh.
"So, by your logic, as long as someone shares similarities with me, you would treat them as me and swear your loyalty to them?"
"Is that what you call 'devotion'?"
"That is impossible," Rei answered without hesitation. "A knight swears loyalty only once. And mine has already been given—to you, Princess."
[Morgan fell silent at your flawless response.]
[She reached out and touched the mirror, bringing the previous image back once more.]
[She explained to you that this was magic—a spell of her own creation.]
[You believed her without question, for you knew she was one of the few in Britain who could rival Merlin in sorcery.]
[You asked her who the person in the mirror was. But even she did not have an answer.]
[You realized she had created an imagined adversary—crafted in her own image, yet different. That was why their face was both familiar and unfamiliar.]
"Princess, why would you do such a thing?"
Rei looked at the mirror.
"An enemy that does not exist will only bring you unnecessary trouble. Shouldn't it be erased?"
"She is not an enemy that does not exist—she…"
Morgan abruptly stopped herself.
She turned away, her voice shifting:
"It's none of your concern, Rei. You are merely a knight. What you are allowed to know is up to me."
"That is true," Rei bowed his head. "Forgive my rudeness, Princess."
Morgan did not respond.
After a brief pause, she sighed, regaining her composure.
"I am not angry."
Her tone was even once more.
"Rei, tell me… when you looked into the mirror, was your first thought truly of me?"
"Yes, Princess."
Rei answered without hesitation.
It was the type of response Morgan favored most—direct, unquestioning. A symbol of loyalty and sincerity.
She did not question him further.
Instead, she sat on the edge of the bed, her posture commanding like that of a true ruler.
"Rei, kneel."
With a single command, her knight dropped to one knee before her.
For the briefest moment, a faint, nearly imperceptible smile flickered across Morgan's lips—only to vanish just as quickly.
She parted her lips and spoke:
"Rei, you have not spoken of that night to anyone, have you?"
"I have never uttered a word of it to anyone."
Morgan did not doubt him.
If he had… she might have suffered a scandal—but he would have been erased from Britain entirely.
Morgan lifted her foot slightly.
Her pale, delicate toes pressed lightly against Rei's forehead, leaving faint impressions on his skin.
The sight of his absolute submission seemed to satisfy her.
She continued:
"It seems you are not entirely foolish. At the very least, you know how to preserve your own life."
"But let me remind you—
"To me, you are nothing more than the ashes left behind after a night of pleasure."
"I can scatter you to the wind at any moment."
"I do not like you. I will never hold feelings for you. Such things are nothing but nuisances to me."
"Rei, tell me—do you understand?"
"Yes, Princess. I understand completely."
"This is the burden I must bear."
[Morgan was pleased by your obedience as a knight. It seemed to evoke feelings within her that she could not quite grasp.]
[But this was not the sole reason she had called for you.]
[From the shadows, she retrieved a sword—one bearing her name engraved upon it.]
[She planted the blade into the ground beside you.]
[You understood immediately—she was about to assign you a new task.]