Kayal had heard a long time ago that Merlin served King Uther. It seemed he had been too arrogant when he tried to recruit her in that small hut back then. No wonder Merlin had disdained his offer.
But Merlin didn't look like King Uther's queen, so who exactly was Merlin?
The historical image of the Great Mage Merlin, with his white beard, leaning on a staff, serving as King Arthur's mentor and guide, was too deeply ingrained. No matter how Kayal thought about it, he never considered that possibility. Perhaps it was a cognitive bias.
Kayal slowly munched on a pear. Just seeing King Uther's appearance caused a small climax in the banquet, and he secretly gave King Uther a mental score.
"Today, I am here, to drink this cup with all of you." Holding a glass of red wine from Rome, his left hand holding Morgan's, King Uther stood in the center of the knights and raised his glass.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" The lords became excited, raising their cups and shouting loudly, as if this was the only way to express their feelings.
Watching his own father among the embarrassing crowd raising his cup and shouting, Kayal didn't show his disdain. He quickly finished his pear in a few bites, feeling that his stomach was more or less full, and Kayal was already thinking of ways to leave.
That blonde, curly-haired little girl looked like trouble, so he should run before his idiotic father's attention shifted to him.
At that moment, the antenna on Kayal's head had clearly told him how much trouble it would be to get involved with royalty.
However… sometimes, fate is unavoidable.
"Oh, my little apprentice, where do you think you're going?" The woman's voice rang out, and for the first time, he found her voice so annoying.
Kayal's body stiffened, but he couldn't take another step.
"Little apprentice, where are you going?" Merlin, however, walked over slowly, holding a wine glass.
Sighing softly, Kayal turned around, a perfect smile on his face, and bowed in greeting: "Seven years no see, Merlin, Master."
"Haha, seven years no see, you're still as terrifying." Merlin uncharacteristically used the word 'terrifying'. If Merlin could understand Kayal seven years ago, the depth of Kayal's schemes now undoubtedly made those familiar with him even more afraid.
"How could that be? I'm completely harmless, just a ten-year-old child." Kayal smiled as he emphasized the words 'harmless,' 'ten-year-old,' and 'child.'
"Hehe…" Merlin smiled. She truly had no way to deal with this child, especially after he learned healing magic and she had been thoroughly probed by him.
"What if I said Princess Morgan would be your wife?" Merlin teased.
"Absolutely not." Kayal shook his head and smiled. He knew that Princess Morgan was extremely vicious. Not only that, but in the legends of King Arthur, she was not King Uther's biological daughter, but the daughter of King Uther's queen, Igraine, from a previous marriage before she met King Uther and bore him Arthur.
King Uther merely loved her because he loved her mother. If one day King Uther disliked Morgan and considered her a hindrance, then Morgan would surely die. If he didn't marry Morgan, then with Grand Duke Andrei's past as King Uther's close guard, Kayal would certainly be fine. But marrying Morgan would be like marrying a ticking time bomb, putting the etoque family under King Uther's suspicion.
Moreover, the 'Green Knight' Morgan, who had repeatedly toyed with Gawain, had always been the embodiment of a wicked woman in mythology. While Kayal didn't mind for himself, he had to consider his parents—he couldn't marry a woman only to cause his parents' deaths, could he?
"Your Majesty~! Your Majesty~!" Merlin suddenly called out loudly, instantly drawing all attention at the banquet.
Kayal shook his head slightly. This Merlin was indeed a woman; when she threw a tantrum, she completely disregarded the bigger picture. Kayal was sure that Merlin's grand call now was absolutely not for any serious matter.
"Hehe, my dear Sage, is there something you need?" It seemed King Uther still had a good impression of Merlin. Although he showed respect, a kind smile hung on his face as he walked over, holding the blonde, curly-haired Morgan.
"Your Majesty, what do you think of this smartest child in the Kingdom of Camelot?" Merlin specifically used the word 'child,' which surprised King Uther coming from her.
"I'd like to see what kind of 'smartest' child the Great Mage is talking about." King Uther, who was laughing and joking, then saw a calm and composed ten-year-old boy with a pleasant smile on his face.
The boy's extraordinary nature was evident from his temperament alone, but King Uther, intrigued, still wanted to test him.
"Oh! You are the unparalleled, smartest child in the Kingdom of Camelot that the Great Mage praises, the Kay of the etoque family?" When the name 'Kay' came out of King Uther's mouth, Kayal hadn't reacted yet. He paused for three or four seconds before bowing slightly with a composed smile: "Yes, Your Majesty, if you are referring to the heir of the etoque family who expanded Red Leaf Fortress into Red Leaf City, then that would be me."
He made a stunning debut without hesitation. A clamor like crashing waves echoed through the crowd. Everyone wasn't foolish; a quick calculation of the time revealed that Red Leaf Fortress's expansion into Red Leaf City was a recent event, within the last two years. This was truly terrifying for Kayal's age—eight years old!
Their own children were still walking dogs and riding horses, but the etoque family's child had already helped his father boost their family's GDP by several points!
This disparity was enough to make the other lords' eyes red with envy and their hearts flutter with anxiety!
They were all children, so why was the difference so great!
Merlin was completely taken aback by Kayal's showmanship, but then she quickly reacted, a flash of anger in her heart. 'Isn't this just a response to my provocation? Fine, I'll see how long you can keep it up. I don't believe your face, you little monster, won't change color.'
"Your Majesty, would you like to put this little fellow to the test, to squeeze out more of his talent?" Merlin threw a flirtatious glance at King Uther, making him pause. What was wrong with the Great Mage today? She was so out of character?
After a moment of thought, King Uther suddenly smiled and asked, "Merlin, Master, you currently hold the position of Sage. For your disciple, how about we give him the title of Little Sage?!"