In front of the slightly weathered, timeworn manor, Morgan slowed her steps more and more until she finally stopped by the roadside, a hint of hesitation on her face.
"I suddenly remembered I have something else to take care of, so I won't be joining you."
"That makes sense…"
Samael did not press her. He only smiled and nodded, then glanced at the two children and rubbed his chin in thought.
"Bringing these two little ones along really would be inconvenient. I'll have to trouble you to return the kidnapped infant to her parents first.
Besides, Barghest isn't really suited to showing herself in public. Once you're finished, take the road ahead for two intersections, turn left, and wait for me at the inn there, assuming it's convenient.
As it happens, there are a few things I'd like to ask you about."
As he spoke, the Ancient Serpent tossed over the key in his hand. Morgan, still somewhat dazed, caught it almost without thinking, her thoughts drifting for a moment.
Obviously, I only didn't want anything to do with that old man Ector. Since when did I start thinking so much about it?
Only after Samael's figure grew farther away and disappeared into the manor did the witch, holding one child in each arm, finally snap out of it.
Forget it. Since this is also for investigating the cause of the Great Catastrophe, staying in Cornwall for a few days should be fine.
After all, being around him gave her a rare sense of ease.
Morgan shook her head lightly. As she turned to leave, the corners of her lips lifted in a faint, unconscious smile.
...
Inside the manor, Samael looked back at the figure heading toward the district struck by last night's disaster and smiled calmly.
With many things, seeing through them without saying anything is how you stay friends.
And just like that, he had made contact.
"My Lord Knight, please hurry. Sir Ector and the others are all waiting for you."
Seeing Samael stop again, the anxious guard captain could no longer afford to care about etiquette. With a worried look, he immediately tugged the powerful man who had shown such skill the night before and hurried him toward the council hall.
Along the way, even while being rushed, the Ancient Serpent still took an interested look at the estate's buildings and layout, silently judging them in his mind. He showed little sign of tension.
After all, he had long since grown used to great storms. No matter how troublesome the problem before him was, it had not yet reached the level of life and death.
As he looked around, he saw that the marble-paved road had already grown mottled with age, with moss and weeds sprouting between the cracks. The castle still retained its Roman arch-and-column structure. It was old and imposing, but its dilapidated state softened some of its oppressive air.
The freely growing flowers and grass, along with the vine-draped window lattices, instead gave it a touch of natural charm and clarity.
This was Tintagel Castle, once the estate of the Duke of Cornwall, and the birthplace of King Arthur.
Back then, after the Duke of Cornwall died in battle while away on campaign, Merlin and King Uther used the pure bloodline of the widowed Duchess Eigene, a bloodline suited to carrying on Mystery, and through conceptual conception caused her to give birth to a baby girl named "Artoria."
However, the moment the child was born, her birth mother Eigene entrusted her to Merlin's care. Merlin then handed her over to be raised by Sir Ector, an old knight of Cornwall.
As for that Duchess…
For an ordinary human to give birth to a bloodline of such high caliber as the [King of Men], the price she paid was easy enough to imagine.
The child sent away from Tintagel Castle never saw her biological mother again. From then on, burdened with a predetermined mission, she stepped onto the path of kingship and could never turn back.
After so many years, Samael had no way of knowing whether the former Duchess had given birth to the Eternal King, who was destined to lead Britannia toward Prosperity, of her own will, through some bargain, or under coercion.
But looking at things now, Cornwall's glory was already gone for good.
And now, the one who had taken the Duke of Cornwall's place in governing Cornwall County was Sir Ector, the foster father who had carefully raised the King of Knights, Artoria.
After following a secluded path and winding through several turns, Samael finally saw the old knight in person.
"The situation is urgent, so I could only take the liberty of inviting you here. Fortunately, you finally came. Please accept this old man's thanks."
In the open-air pavilion guarded by personal soldiers around its perimeter, Samael heard the man before he saw him. His loud, hearty laughter sounded sincere and utterly unaffected.
The old Knight, dressed in light armor and a coarse cloth tunic, with thick-knuckled fingers, showed none of the airs of a county's ruler. He stepped down from the platform himself, solemnly took Samael by the arm, and led him into the pavilion.
Samael noticed that Sir Ector carried a faint earthy smell. His face was darkened and dried by the sun, clearly from long exposure to wind and weather. His finger joints were thick, and a heavy layer of calluses had formed between his thumb and forefinger.
The roughness of that skin against his own made the Ancient Serpent feel inexplicably close to him, and relaxed.
These were not only hands that held a sword. They were also the hands of a farmer.
The meeting place was inside the pavilion, simple but bright and open.
The old Knight, who had effectively replaced the Duke of Cornwall, had no intention of taking up residence in the castle.
Preserving its old appearance was, in a sense, a form of respect and remembrance for his former lord.
Clearly, even though this old Knight had raised Britannia's new king, he had never changed his original principles. He had always upheld his own knightly path.
No wonder his son Kay would later become the most reliable support for his foster sister Artoria, handling tedious administrative affairs such as the transportation of supplies with meticulous order.
Legend had it that King Arthur had no sense for military funding and logistics, while Kay could make sure not even a single nail was wasted. He was the only person Artoria could trust completely and leave the rear to without concern.
Even when the Knights of the Round Table fell into civil strife and collapsed, this knight remained steadfast in serving his lord, giving everything he had until the very end.
Unfortunately, at the end of his life, that sharp-tongued, big-mouthed knight who fell before the Battle of Camlann, that good-natured man everyone could trust, that gentle foster brother, ultimately never got to see Artoria one last time.
Those Knights of the Round Table, protected by Mystery and endowed with extraordinary power, certainly wrote one celebrated legend after another, standing in the sunlight and basking in cheers and attention.
Yet this father and son, who seemed almost unremarkable in terms of military achievements, were the ones who doted on and cared about Artoria the most. They were the ones who kept their feet on the ground, farmed and governed with diligence, and formed the foundation that stabilized this country.
That's right. It was Artoria, the one they saw as a daughter and a sister.
Not King Arthur, a machine created solely to guide Britannia toward Prosperity.
This unintentional realization stirred a mess of thoughts in Samael, and he could not help feeling a little more warmth and respect toward the old Knight before him.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the Ancient Serpent sat back beside Mari and told Sir Ector, who had asked about the previous night's events, what he had seen and learned.
There was naturally no need to hide the dog-demon Rampage.
However, the Ancient Serpent mostly glossed over his encounter involving Morgan, as well as the matter of taking in Barghest.
After hearing the account of that thrilling chase, and seeing the few dog-demon horns Samael had thrown onto the table as both spoils and evidence, everyone exchanged looks, their expressions grave.
"Lord Ector, I heard on the way here that it wasn't only Cornwall that suffered. Other towns were attacked as well?"
After first extending an olive branch to show goodwill, Samael's eyes flickered slightly as he asked the question tentatively.
"Yes. That is exactly why I gathered all of you capable people here to discuss the matter."
The old Knight's expression turned solemn. He nodded heavily, his gaze slowly sweeping across everyone present. His brow tightened as he immediately delivered a shocking piece of news.
"Just last night, Londinium in the east, Oxford in the southeast, and Darlington all ran into trouble. The soldiers in the south suffered heavy casualties and are finding it difficult to hold them off…
And the ones attacking the towns are not only the dog demons you mentioned. There are also large numbers of revived corpses, as well as a kind of insect that devours the land, hollows out life, and contaminates other species!"
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