[The knights gradually woke up.]
[They greeted you one by one.]
[You returned their greetings, though your mind was elsewhere.]
[You realized that Arthur's kiss had stirred something within you.]
[You knew this was an improper feeling.]
[You decided to bury it deep in your heart, never revealing it to anyone.]
[In the end, Kay acknowledged that you were, in fact, a good person.]
[As a token of gratitude for giving Arthur Dunstallion, he gifted you a horse he had raised for years.]
[Before your departure, Kay sincerely apologized.]
[He hoped you could forget the unpleasant misunderstandings that had occurred between you.]
[Seeing his earnestness, you found it amusing—because you had never taken him seriously in the first place.]
[Yet, you understood that his concerns stemmed from a brother's love for his sister.]
[Maintaining your façade of kindness, you assured him with grace that you had never been bothered by such things.]
[This made Kay feel you were truly magnanimous, adding to his lingering guilt over doubting you before.]
[Arthur did not come to see you off.]
[But you knew it was merely because she was too embarrassed after the kiss.]
[As expected, you quickly spotted her peeking at you from behind a tree.]
[And when she realized you had noticed her, she smiled sheepishly.]
[You smiled back, exchanging a silent farewell.]
[Amidst the farewells of the knights, you departed from the village with the wounded soldiers.]
[You traveled far from the village.]
[Before long, you arrived at the edge of a forest—one that did not seem frequently visited.]
[You stopped your horse.]
"Sir Rei, is something wrong?"
The knights, noticing you had come to a halt, looked at you in confusion.
Rei turned around, resting one hand on the hilt of his sword at his waist.
"Nothing much."
"I just need to ask you all for a favor."
"A favor?"
"Yes—"
Rei unsheathed his sword and pointed it at the wounded knights before him.
"I'd like to ask you all to quietly die here."
"What?!"
[You slaughtered every knight who accompanied you.]
[It wasn't difficult—after all, they were already wounded. The only reason you hadn't done it sooner was to avoid being seen by other retreating soldiers.]
[But in this secluded forest, such concerns no longer mattered.]
[Your reason for doing this was simple.]
[You were unsure if Morgan's magic could fully influence these "latecomers." Rather than risk them returning to the capital and witnessing the false reality you and Morgan had crafted, it was safer to kill them here and now.]
[Everything was for Morgan. But at the same time, everything was for yourself.]
Rei bent down, pulling his sword from the chest of the final knight. Blood pooled beneath the corpse as he dragged it aside to hide it.
He had done this countless times before. The sharp edges of his conscience had long since been ground smooth—worn away to nothing.
But to say there wasn't even a sliver of guilt left…
That would be a complete lie.
"Wounded and fleeing for a thousand miles, only to die by the hand of a comrade."
"A cruel ending, indeed."
But Rei had no choice.
"If you wish to seek revenge in death, come find me."
Rei wiped the blood off his face and slid his sword back into its scabbard.
"This has nothing to do with my lady."
"I will bear full responsibility for my actions—but I cannot allow you to shatter everything we've built."
The sound of hooves echoed.
Once again, Rei set off alone.
[You left behind the forest now buried with the remains of knights.]
[You continued riding toward the capital.]
[It was a lonely journey, accompanied only by the cold wind and the sun.]
[You spent days and nights with no one but yourself.]
[But this did not bother you—you had endured far longer and far more painful solitude before.]
[One morning, you crossed over a mountain.]
[You were pleased because you knew that after a little more riding, Camelot would come into view.]
[But at the foot of the mountain, you encountered something unexpected.]
It was a wheat field.
Rei hadn't expected to see one here—at least, not on this road. When he had last left Camelot, there had been no sign of such a thing.
"Sir Rei!"
A voice called out from the field.
Moments later, figures emerged from all directions, rushing toward him.
"You're finally back!"
"..."
Rei's gaze swept across the crowd, and as he recognized some familiar faces, he realized these were the refugees who had once followed him.
"Why are you here? Who told you to come to this place?"
"It was the Lady Morgan! She told us to cultivate the land here!" The refugees answered in unison.
"Lady Morgan?" Rei was puzzled.
"Yes… is that strange?"
From amidst the golden fields, a graceful figure stepped forward—it was Morgan.
"With my husband away on business, isn't it only natural for me, his wife, to take care of his affairs in his place?"
"My la—"
The words almost slipped out, but Rei forcibly swallowed them.
As the nominal King Loth, it wouldn't be appropriate to address Morgan as Lady in public.
But Morgan, as always, had a clever way of resolving such matters.
"Rei, my dear husband, I'm tired now. Take me back to the city."
"Understood."
[You lifted Morgan onto the horse.]
[With the refugees bidding you farewell, you and she rode slowly toward Camelot.]
[The horse's hooves pressed into the dirt, leaving a trail of prints in the soil.]
[You saw the wheat swaying on either side.]
[You realized that Morgan had been busy during your absence.]
"My lady," Rei asked as he guided the reins, gazing at the flourishing crops around them.
"Were these fields your doing?"
Morgan did not answer directly. Instead, she spoke of something seemingly unrelated.
"Rei, I believe I've told you before—you belong to me."
"Yes, my lady, you have."
"Then—"
"Since you are already my possession, everything my possession does also belongs to me."
Morgan's fingers traced gently over the back of Rei's hand.
"Taking care of what is mine… isn't that only natural?"
"Besides, Rei, don't you think that now would be a good time to properly praise me? Wouldn't that be the wise thing to do?"
Rei smiled and shook his head.
"No, my lady, there is nothing remarkable about this."
"Because, in my heart, something like this is merely child's play for you."
"If I were to sing my praises for every little thing you've accomplished, I fear I would soon lose my voice."
"Your sweet words are as sharp as ever."
"However—"
Morgan's fingers pinched a small section of skin on the back of Rei's hand and tugged it up.
"I believe you should explain something to me right now."
"Which foolish woman had the audacity to leave a kiss on your face?"