Compared to that fierce battle last time in Salisbury, the current Gawain hadnât changed much.
Still just as tall, still fully armored from head to toeâthe only difference was that she no longer carried the blazing sword in her hand like before. Instead, the sword had been sheathed, making her appear less aggressive.
Looking at this unexpected visitor, Riezel spoke up in surprise.
"Youâre here?"
There wasnât any hostility in his voiceâhe just genuinely didnât understand why she had come.
However, it seemed Gawain didnât see it that way.
"Well, this is the royal palaceâHer Majestyâs chamber. We Fairy Knights have permission to enter freely, so whatâs the issue with me being here?"
Gawain looked down at Riezel from her much taller height, though she didnât come off as overbearing, her words sounded a bit forceful.
"Or are you scared to let someone you once fought against casually walk into your room? You donât strike me as the petty type."
"And what makes you so sure Iâm not petty?" Riezel narrowed his eyes and replied calmly. "Maybe Iâm just that kind of person?"
"Talking down on yourself doesnât do any good." Gawain frowned. "Someone who can swing slashes like a raging inferno... if thatâs what you call a petty person, then I wouldnât mind seeing more of that."
"So what, you trying to kill me with compliments? Or is that your way of praising yourself too?" Riezel shot her a glance. "You can pull off that kind of slash too, canât you?"
"Yes, thatâs exactly why you caught my attention, Child of Prophecy." Gawain kept her gaze fixed on him. "A swordsman who, like me, can wield flames of the sun and command houndsâyour combat styleâs really similar to mine."
Riezel didnât even flinch at her words and tossed out a response without changing his expression.
"Sun Breathingâs just one of my combat styles. Cerberus is just one of my summons. If I wanted, I could bring out lightning storms or even summon a great dragon. Doesnât matter."
He sat down at a table in the center of the room and gestured toward the seat across from him.
"Whatever. Youâre already here, so sit and letâs talk."
Hearing this, Gawain stared at Riezel for a moment before finally taking the seat in front of him.
"Tea or booze?"
Riezel flipped open a few cups and started rinsing them with water, not even looking up as he asked.
"Booze."
Gawain answered without hesitation.
"Is ale okay?" Riezel pulled out a bottle like a magician. "Iâve got fruit wine and mead too, but thereâs not much mead left from Salisbury. Well, that stuffâs top shelf, and I donât have much of it, so Iâm not serving it this time. As for fruit wineâguess you wouldnât like that?"
"Iâm not a kid. Ale is fine." Gawain frowned again and glanced at the bottle that appeared from nowhere.
Riezel poured her a glass right away, but Gawain didnât pick it up immediately and just kept staring at him instead.
After a while, she suddenly spoke.
"Facing you like this... hard to believe someone like you is that strong."
Her words came out almost as a sigh.
"Hmm... then tell meâwhat does âstrongâ look like to you?" Riezel raised his own ale with a faint, amused smile.
"Iâve seen all kinds of powerful people..."
Gawain responded, lifting her glass with a relaxed motion.
"There are those like Her Majestyâjust being near her feels suffocating. And then youâve got types like Lancelot, who give off this mysterious vibe, and guys like Woodwose who just wear their power on their sleeve."
"But you? Youâre something else. Youâre the type who, if someoneâs not really paying attention, might not even get noticed. Itâs weird."
"Looking at you now, for a second there, I almost started doubting it."
"Doubting that the warrior who unleashed so much murderous intent and madness in Salisbury, who fought me, Lancelot, and Woodwose all at once and held out till we were all left battered and bloody... was really you, sitting right here in front of me."
Hearing this, Riezel couldnât help but chuckle when, in an instant, his whole presence suddenly changed.
"Well? Do I look the part now?"
Riezelâs relaxed and carefree tone from earlier vanished as his voice turned calm and indifferent, and a terrifying aura radiated from him.
"!!!"
Gawainâs pupils shrank, and an instinctive, predator-like expression crossed her face.
"Thatâs it! Thatâs the one!" Gawain said loudly, her usually composed voice seeming to heat up as if barely holding back some impulse. "Ah, this is how you were back then! The one with the guts to take on the head of the Fang Clan and the two strongest Fairy Knights all by yourself!"
As Gawain spoke, the chains around her hands began to rattle loudly.
Watching her, Riezel suddenly withdrew all of his aura, suppressing his fighting spirit and presence with Selfless State, minimizing his presence as much as possible.
"You didnât come all the way here just to say that, did you?" Riezel took a sip of his ale and said calmly. "Didnât think the lord of Manchester would have this much free time."
As Fairy Knights directly under Queen Morgan, Gawain, Lancelot, and Tristan all had their own territories.
Gawainâs territory was a city called Manchester, located in the northern part of Faerie Britain, very close to the coastline.
In other words, the Fairy Knights were essentially nobles within Faerie Britain, holding a status comparable to the heads of the great fairy clans, or even higher.
Gawain, in particular, was the very first to be officially titled a Fairy Knight in the history of the Fairy Kingdom. She had held this title for over two hundred years, making her the most senior among them.
By comparison, Tristan was only appointed about a hundred years ago, and Lancelot around the same time, so to Gawain, they were both juniors.
And yet, the one hailed as the strongest Fairy Knight in the entire Fairy Kingdom was her junior, Lancelot, which was rather interesting.
Unaware of what Riezel was thinking, Gawain noticed him retract his aura, and she calmed down as well, like a beast retracting its fangs.
She took a deep breath and composed herself.
"Her Majesty has already given the order. One month from now, the wedding between you and her will be held. All Fairy Knights and the heads of the fairy clans are required to attend."
Gawain gazed at Riezel and spoke calmly.
"On top of that, there will be thirty envoys, a hundred officialsâeveryone will be there for your wedding with Her Majesty."
"Following Her Majestyâs decree, all attendees have already begun preparations and are gradually gathering in Camelot."
"Manchester isnât far from Camelot, so I got here before the others."
After hearing Gawainâs words, Riezel suddenly found that the ale in his hand had lost its taste.
"So youâre all planning to go along with her decision and attend the wedding in a month?" Riezel looked at her and asked calmly. "Youâre really okay with your queen marrying an outsider? Someone whoâs supposedly the enemy foretold in the prophecy, the one meant to overthrow her rule?"
By now, he had naturally realized the fairies had made a huge mistake.
They seemed to believe he was the savior mentioned in the prophecyâthe so-called Child of Prophecy from the rumors.
He could more or less guess where that idea had come from.
Most likely, it was from that first encounter with Woodwose, who kept yelling about being the Child of Prophecy.
Naturally, to divert attention away from Artoria, he had chosen not to deny it.
Given that, and now that the first Bell of Pilgrimage had been rung, Riezel had originally thought Morganâs army would consider him a threat to eliminate, but judging by Gawainâs attitude, it seemed she thought differently.
In truth, that was indeed the case.
Gawain truly had no objections to Riezel being made a prince and becoming Morganâs husband.
"Strong individuals coming together is only natural. You and Her Majesty are both people I genuinely respect, so I have no reason to oppose it." Gawain shrugged. "Besides, donât you think a swordsman who embodies the sun and a queen who rules over winter make a good match?"
"Huh?" Riezel almost didnât catch what she meant.
"...Sorry, guess Iâm not great at making jokes." Gawain paused, then added, "But honestly, our opinions donât matter much. Britain is, after all, ruled solely by Her Majesty, so her word is absolute. Even if many disagree, no one will step forward to oppose her."
Even though that might have sounded completely authoritarian, in fact, Morgan truly was a dictator in Faerie Britain.
Morgan had ruled over the Fairy Kingdom for the past 2,000 years through sheer authoritarianism and brutal control. Before she became queen, Faerie Britain had been under the dominance of the six great fairy clans.
Each clan held sway over a different part of Faerie Britain, ruling like six rival lords. For thousands of years, they clashed and fought, never bowing to one another, which was the state of Britain before Morganâs rise.
And then Morgan appearedâan awe-inspiring witch capable of wielding grand magecraft.
Starting from the northern region of Orkney, she launched a campaign southward, defeating one clan after another. Eventually, she unified all of Britain through force, and the Fairy Kingdom was finally born.
After that, Morgan was crowned in the Cathedral of the Ash Tree before she granted humans a degree of freedom to lay the foundation for culture and spent 2,000 years building the society seen today.
At the same time, true to her nickname of âwitchâ, Morgan ruled Britain with an iron grip.
Not only were humans tightly controlled in terms of reproduction, but even fairies were subjected to her rule, forced to bear the so-called Command Spells written by Morgan herself.
Akin to a curse, any fairy branded with Morganâs Command Spell would have their magical energy forcibly drained once a year. If they failed to provide enough energy to meet her demands, they would instantly die, drained of all magical energy, and in effect, their life force.
This was known in the Fairy Kingdom as the âexistence taxââsecond only to the fearsome âCalamityâ that caused fairies to tremble.
Whenever Morgan sat on the throne, she would often say this to the fairies:
"I wonât forgive you, nor will I save you. All you need to do is obey, bow your heads, and protect this Britain with your cheap loyalty."
Such was Queen Morganâa terrifying witch and a fearsome dictator.
Earlier, the reason Riezel had said âWhat a domineering way to ruleâ in the throne room was precisely because of this. He knew that the magical energy absorbed from all over Britain had been stored by Morgan within that throne.
Any fairies who couldnât tolerate Morganâs rule had already been dealt with, while those who hadnât were long gone, vanishing into lands unknownâproof of just how overbearing and forceful her rule over Faerie Britain was.
Someone like Morgan didnât need to listen to anyoneâs opinion, nor would she, since othersâ complaints and objections were nothing more than the buzzing of insects to her.
For this reason, when Morgan decided to marry Riezel, no matter what others thought, they had no choice but to accept it.
Understanding what Gawain meant, Riezel fell silent for a moment, then suddenly asked a question.
"What about Beryl Gut?"
Riezelâs unexpected question caught Gawain off guard.
"Beryl Gut?" Gawain looked surprised. "You know that shady human?"
"Something like that..." Riezel nodded vaguely. "Isnât he Morganâs husband?"
"Him? Her Majestyâs husband?" Gawain frowned at once. "I donât know where you heard that, but I can tell you right nowâthat shady human isnât Her Majestyâs husband. Her Majestyâs never mentioned anything like that. When she introduced Beryl Gut to us, she used the word âpartner.â"
Her answer made Riezel fall completely silent.
Now there was yet another thing that had gone off-script.
According to what Riezel knew, in the original work, Beryl Gut was the one Morgan acknowledged as her husband.
He had played an extremely important role in the birth and rise of Morgan and Faerie Britain, so without him, there wouldnât have been a Morgan who ruled Faerie Britain for two thousand years, and Faerie Britain itself wouldnât exist.
Because of that, Morgan acknowledged him as her husband, even if there was no love at all between them.
Now, however, that plot had been changed.
"Can you tell me where that guy is now?" Riezel asked again.
"Heâs in New Darlington."
Even though Gawain was confused about why Riezel was asking about that shady human, she still answered him.
"He caught the eye of Her Majestyâs adopted daughter, Fairy Knight Tristan. Tristan gave him free rein in New Darlington, so he set up a slaughter theater there. Every day, fairies and humans fight and kill each other in that place, and he watches it all for entertainment."
As Gawain said this, her face twisted in clear disgust.
It was obvious she found that kind of thing repulsive.
"New Darlington, huh..."
Riezel tapped his finger on the table, looking deep in thought.
At least that part was still the same as in the original work, unchanged.
In other words, the plot might not have shifted too far.
"Will he be attending the wedding too?"
Riezelâs heart stirred as he asked another question.
"...Probably?" Gawain replied, sounding a little unsure. "He often acts together with Tristan, and his relationship with Her Majesty isnât as simple as it looks on the surface, so thereâs a good chance heâll show up."
"Is that so?" Riezel smiled. "In that case, Iâd like to meet him at least once."
Perhaps, through Beryl Gut, he could find out what exactly had happened to Morgan.
At the very least, by observing Berylâs condition, Riezel would be able to get a sense of how the outside world was doing and when that foreign magus meant to aid the Child of Prophecy might arrive in Faerie Britain.
As Riezel was thinking about all this, Gawain suddenly spoke up.
"...Since you mentioned Beryl Gut, let me give you a word of warning too." Gawain gazed at Riezel seriously. "Be careful of Tristan."
Riezel snapped out of his thoughts and raised an eyebrow at Gawain.
"Tristan?"
He calmly turned his gaze toward Gawain.
Seeing this, Gawain hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"In Britain, fairies each have different natures, but they can be both harmful and beneficial. They might be dangerous, but they also have their merits."
"But Tristan is different."
"Sheâs a fairy who brings only harmâsomeone who enjoys toying with life and trampling on the weak. It doesnât matter if her victims are humans or fairiesâshe treats them all the same, like playthings."
Gawain clearly didnât like Tristanâs way of doing things, so he gave Riezel a heads-up.
"She can kill for all kinds of reasons or for none at all."
"Even if it was just on a whim or a random impulse like
âIâm bored, so Iâll kill someone,â
she wouldnât hesitate to strike down those around her."
"And the worst part is, she just so happens to be Her Majestyâs adopted daughter and one of the Fairy Knights, so I had to protect her in the past too. Her Majesty really spoils her and keeps indulging her behavior, even letting her kill people as she pleases."
"At the same time, Tristan worships Her Majesty and sees her as the greatest being of all."
After saying all that, Gawainâs intent became clear to Riezel.
"Youâre saying that while others wouldnât dare go against Morganâs order, Tristan might actually still come after me?"
At Riezelâs question, Gawain gave an answer that was half yes, half no.
"Even Tristan wouldnât dare openly defy Her Majesty, but yes, she might still try to come after you."
Hearing this, Riezel chuckled.
"Well, the question is... is she strong?"
Riezelâs casual question made Gawain narrow her eyes slightly.
"Iâm giving you a warning, not advice." Gawain said with a blank expression.
Others might not understand what she meant by that, but Riezel understood it perfectly.
"Alright, thanks." Riezel raised his glass toward Gawain.
"I only said that much because youâre strong." Gawain stared straight at him, her eyes intense. "I hope I get the chance to fight you again."
Hearing this, Riezel smiled faintly before calmly responding.
"So do I."