While King Uther and Arthur were engaged in their conversation, something about Edwin—his appearance, his name, and even his last name—struck Gaius as incredibly familiar.
With this uneasy feeling, Gaius decided to investigate himself; only then could he feel settled. As for the exact source of his anxiety, even he wasn't sure. After exchanging a few words with King Uther, Gaius rushed off to the Royal Scholar's office.
That office held the most detailed records in all the Celtic kingdoms, and he was certain the answer he sought was in there.
Meanwhile, in the room, Kay was hidden behind the maid's quarters, observing Edwin through a crack in the door. Kay noticed that the man truly didn't seem to intend to harm Morgana. He gently adjusted her hair and murmured apologies, essentially saying he never meant to hurt her and would heal her quickly. By the look of it, he even seemed to have a romantic interest in Morgana.
Naturally, Kay wasn't happy about this, but he knew how to prioritize and didn't jump out impatiently. Instead, he coolly watched Edwin treat Morgana.
After a seemingly endless stream of meaningless chatter, Edwin finally remembered his true purpose. He took out a small pair of tweezers and a white handkerchief. He then carefully turned Morgana's head and gently brushed aside the hair covering her ear.
This was followed by a series of unintelligible incantations.
Quickly, a tiny, blood-stained beetle crawled out of Morgana's ear. Edwin cautiously caught the small beetle with the handkerchief, then gently picked it up with the tweezers and placed it into a small wooden box. The box was already teeming with identical little beetles. It was clear that he himself was wary of these insects.
He held his breath the entire time, focused completely on clamping the tiny beetle, terrified of dropping the small "demon" in his hand. Only when he snapped the box shut did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Having finished this task, Edwin quickly recited another incantation and carefully wiped the blood from Morgana's ear with the handkerchief.
Throughout the entire process, Edwin never realized that a pair of eyes was watching him from within the room. This wasn't due to Edwin being careless; our Sir Kay had been using a minor trick to conceal his presence from the very beginning.
When Gaius returned to the scene with a heavy expression, Edwin had just finished the treatment and was stepping out of the room.
"Great news, Your Majesty!"
Holding the blood-stained handkerchief, Edwin enthusiastically walked toward King Uther. He smugly announced, "You'll be pleased to know that the Princess does not have brain fever."
King Uther stared pointedly at the handkerchief in Edwin's hand and asked with a loaded tone, "Then what is it?"
"A cerebral hemorrhage! It was a hemorrhage, my King." Edwin, oblivious to Uther's odd behavior, only looked meaningfully at the clearly distressed Gaius before announcing a conclusion completely different from Gaius's previous diagnosis.
But contrary to Edwin's expectation, when Gaius heard this, he didn't argue. Instead, he closed his eyes, looking deeply pained.
Edwin, who dared to seek revenge on King Uther alone, was clearly a sharp-witted man. Seeing the strange expression on Gaius's face, he immediately sensed something was wrong. It was at this moment that Morgana's door opened again, and a young, blonde, blue-eyed knight stepped out.
The knight nodded to King Uther and announced, "Morgana is fine now."
The moment the words left his mouth, a large detachment of knights and guards rushed out from every direction, forming a protective barrier behind King Uther and the others.
By now, Edwin realized he was completely exposed. He couldn't believe King Uther had been bold enough to let him into the palace and treat the Princess, even after knowing his true identity.
Of course, none of that mattered now. What mattered was that he had foolishly fallen into a trap—not only delivering himself to his enemy but also helping to heal Morgana.
He had lost spectacularly from start to finish!
"Edwin, your scars have healed... I often wondered what became of that poor boy. I never imagined... why did you come back, Edwin?" Gaius finally spoke, looking at Edwin, who was surrounded.
"I recall saying we had never met," Edwin said, not showing panic despite being completely encircled, but instead speaking with an air of curiosity.
"Muen! That was your mother's maiden name. I should have guessed sooner. You are the son of Gregory and Jayden. Besides the burn scars, you still look much like you did as a child," Gaius said with sorrowful pity in his eyes.
Edwin, who had maintained a polished and composed demeanor until now, immediately flared with hatred upon hearing the names "Gregory and Jayden."
"They were your friends, Gaius!"
"But they were sorcerers!" Gaius's face hardened, his pity gone. He knew that at this point, even if he wanted to save this young man, he couldn't. He had used sorcery to attack the Princess and intended to continue harming King Uther. His crimes were beyond redemption.
"Oh, really? They knew magic, yes, but many people did back then, and they never intended to use their magic to harm anyone! But they died at the hands of this tyrant because of your indifference! You had a chance to save them, but you didn't. You just watched as they were burned to death right in front of me. Were you truly their friend? You don't deserve to speak their names!" Edwin sneered.
"Enough!" Just as Gaius was about to respond, King Uther stepped forward, cutting their conversation short. Uther didn't care about the killer's background. He only knew one thing: this man had to die! For Morgana, and for Camelot!
"Kill him!"
Uther gave Edwin no further chance to speak, immediately ordering his execution!
Following the King's command, the waiting soldiers instantly loosed their arrows. They intended to execute the wicked sorcerer in a hail of arrows!
Edwin let out a scornful laugh as the arrows flew toward him. He flicked his wrist, and all the arrows froze in mid-air. Before anyone could react, Edwin spat out a short incantation, and all the arrows reversed direction and flew back at the soldiers.
Fortunately, the knights in the front row raised their shields for defense, or that single move would have caused massive casualties.