A week later,
In the fairy kingdom of Calot, in front of the throne of Morgan, the lord of the Lostbelt.
Promise, who had disappeared for an entire week, walked in today, arriving in front Morgan—the one who sat high upon her throne, gazing down at him as she opened her eyes.
Her cold, emotionless blue eyes locked onto the young man smiling at her.
For a mont, even she couldn't help but remain silent for a while.
Due to the gods' curse upon her throne, Morgan had never left it since constructing this place.
Instead, she had always relied on creating countless clones to traverse the entirety of Fairy Britain.
Having witnessed firsthand how Promise altered fate, Morgan understood how dangerous he was. Over the past week, his disappearance had shaken the entire Fairy Kingdom, prompting her to mobilize an enormous amount of manpower and dispatch thousands of her clones to locate him.
But there has been no result.
So, just as Morgan was inevitably annoyed about this and had been secretly calculating and preparing, waiting to deal with the troubles that might co from him,
Who would have thought he would simply appear before her so openly?
"It's been a while, esteed queen."
Under Morgan's scrutinizing gaze and the imnse pressure exuded by the ruler of the Lostbelt, Promise remained entirely unaffected as he bowed slightly in an elegant salute.
"I heard you've been looking for . My apologies—I was held up by so matters until now, so I only just found the ti to co."
Morgan did not respond.
She rely continued to stare at Promise, her heart filled with confusion.
She could not understand how had he bypassed the countless guards outside to arrive here?
It wasn't until a certain fairy entered—a fairy later renowned as "the most beautiful fairy in Fairy Britain" and "the strongest Fairy Knight"—Fairy Knight Lancelot, real na lusine.
"Your Majesty Morgan, I have found the person you ordered to search for."
lusine respectfully reported to Morgan, yet her golden eyes never once strayed from Promise.
From the very first ti she t him, lusine had felt an inexplicable attraction toward this young man.
To be precise, it was as if her entire being longed for him.
Longed for his warmth, longed to remain by his side.
She wanted to talk to him, protect him, feel his touch, see his smile, and make sure he was always happy.
lusine was utterly shocked by this.
Before eting Promise, she had only ever felt this kind of devotion toward one person—the fairy who had once pulled her from the depths of the swamp, the "most beautiful" fairy in Fairy Britain, Aurora.
The mont she realized these emotions, lusine had felt a surge of rage because she saw it as a betrayal of Aurora.
For an instant, she had even considered killing Promise on the spot.
Yet, just as she was about to make her move, a certain image surfaced in her mind—
That night sky, and the breathtaking picture the young man had painted using the stars themselves…
Thus, now, lusine had brought Promise before Morgan.
Morgan remained silent.
Upon seeing lusine and the way she looked at Promise, she instantly understood everything.
Though she had erased lusine's past mories, the fairy had been born as the strongest of her kind—so this outco did not surprise Morgan too much.
"Leave us."
Morgan spoke to lusine.
The latter froze, turning back to face Morgan, about to say sothing before she t her undeniable gaze.
She hesitated, but just then, she noticed Promise looking at her gently and nodding warmly.
Only then did lusine turn and leave.
Once she was gone, the hall fell into a long silence.
After so ti, Morgan finally spoke in her quiet, chilling tone—
"What do you want?"
"To help the fairies of Paradise complete their pilgrimage and forge the Holy Sword within the Inner Sea of the Stars," Promise replied in an even tone.
As if he were stating sothing entirely mundane.
Hearing this, Morgan did not react with surprise or panic.
She simply remained calm, as if she had already expected this.
Because she had seen how Promise rewrote fate in the past, she had already understood the kind of person he was.
"If that is the case, then after escaping, why did you return and show yourself in front of ?"
Morgan's gaze sharpened.
"Promise… do you truly believe I won't kill you?"
Promise smiled faintly. "No, Your Majesty Morgan, please allow to correct a mistake. I never actually escaped. My disappearance at the ti was rely an accident."
"As for whether I'm afraid of you killing … Hmm… At worst, I think I would just be imprisoned. After all, in the end, I am still your slave, am I not?"
In the past, Promise had been bought by Vivian as a slave and pet.
Hearing these words, Morgan, whose flawless face was hidden behind a black veil, actually revealed a rare, faint smile. "Because of our transaction back then, you are no longer my slave."
Promise had used his freedom as the bargaining chip to intervene in Vivian's fate, rewriting the tragedy of the Rain Clan.
"But in this place, if one does not beco so fairy's slave, it is simply impossible to take even a single step forward." Promise sighed, deliberately putting on a helpless expression. "If Your Majesty no longer wants , then I suppose I'll have to find another fairy."
"…I never said I don't want you."
When Morgan spoke those words, her normally cold tone uncharacteristically carried a hint of gentleness.
"But, I do not need a slave either… From this day forward, you are my vassal. I will announce your status to the entire world."
"From now on, anyone who sees you will see as if I am present myself."
The weight of those words was so imnse that Promise was stunned for a mont.
He looked up in shock at the woman seated on the throne.
But soon, Promise's expression softened.
Yes.
No matter if it was the Queen of Winter, Morgan, or the girl who once dread of fairy tales, Vivian, they were one and the sa.
This was why Vivian was never worried about the situation between him and Morgan.
Just as she had said, when it ca to Promise, Morgan's feelings would always be complicated.
But no matter what, it would be really difficult for her to truly harm Promise.
Because he had saved the Rain Clan, and because in her two-thousand-year-long journey, Promise was the only friend who had ever stood before her.
"Morgan, may I ask you a question?"
Realizing this, Promise's way of addressing her also changed and he no longer called her Your Majesty.
"Mm." Morgan responded indifferently, tacitly allowing this change in address.
"The Rain Clan…"
"Destroyed."
Morgan replied calmly.
"When I embarked on my journey to save the world and entered my long slumber, the Rain Clan was already destroyed in war."
Promise was silent for a mont before looking up at her.
"Can you truly accept such an outco?"
"…I was the one who brought you from the past back to the present."
Morgan answered in this way.
Her aning was clear—this was her decision.
Because Morgan understood that if she had left Promise in the past, then the tragedies of the future would never have co to pass.
She had already witnessed it once, and she knew that Promise had the power to make it so.
Yet, upon hearing this answer, Promise only smiled.
"It seems that, deep down, you still cannot truly accept it after all."
Morgan looked at him but did not answer his question.
"In Calot, you may go anywhere you wish… but you cannot leave this place."
She had not forgotten Promise's earlier words, his pilgrimage, the forging of the Holy Sword, and his ultimate goal of ending this Lostbelt.
"Understood, my dear queen and friend."
Promise showed no signs of anger at her restriction.
Instead, he playfully bowed once more, winking at Morgan as he smiled.
Seeing this, although Morgan did not say anything.
However, beneath her veil, the corners of her lips unconsciously curled up just a little.
Later, Promise left the throne room.
Morgan quietly watched his departing figure.
In fact, she understood all too well that Promise had a purpose for coming here.
And she knew that he was the kind of person who would act upon his words.
That ant he would do everything in his power to destroy the fairy kingdom she had built.
But so what?
Could she really imprison him for that? Or kill him?
…Morgan knew she could not.
As she was contemplating these thoughts, Promise, who was walking, suddenly stopped at the door before turning back and calling out to Morgan once more.
"Oh, right, Morgan, I forgot to tell you sothing."
"There is soone who really wants to et you. But now is not the ti."
"I told her that when everything is coming to an end, when I forge the Holy Sword within the Inner Sea of the Stars—
I will make sure the two of you et!"
After saying this, without waiting for Morgan to respond, Promise pushed open the door and walked out.
But as soon as he walked out, he couldn't help but be stunned.
Because there were several people standing right outside.
Aside from the strongest Fairy Knight, lusine, there was also Fairy Knight Gawain and Morgan's 'daughter,' Fairy Knight Tristan.
At that mont, all three, including lusine, were staring at Promise with eyes full of suspicion and disbelief.
Clearly, they had overheard so things…
At the very least, they had witnessed Promise casually calling her majesty by na, yet Morgan had shown no signs of anger over it.
Morgan, who had co back to her senses at this ti, also saw them and was silent for a while.
She had been so focused on Promise that she had not even realized their presence.
After a brief mont, Morgan steadied herself and spoke in her usual cold tone. "You may all co in."
But then, after a slight pause, she added—
"Lancelot. Take Promise on a tour of this place."
"He is my vassal. From this day forward, seeing him is the sa as seeing ."
"No matter the circumstances, you must protect him…
This is an order."
lusine accepted the command.
And with that, she took Promise and left.
The two remaining stunned Fairy Knights were left behind.
Later, they approached Morgan and received new orders from her.
And then, in less than a day, news of Promise had spread throughout the entirety of Fairy Calot.
The phrase— "Seeing him is the sa as seeing Her Highness Morgan herself"—had utterly shaken the entire fairy kingdom.
At the sa ti, it also left lly, who had secretly arrived here as well, feeling completely speechless.
.
.
.
Outside a secluded restaurant within the kingdom—
"Wait, does that guy have so kind of magic on him? Why the hell didn't she just lock him up and humiliate him properly?! Also, is that really Morgan?!"
lly couldn't help but exclaim in disappointnt and frustration.
She had been really excited ever since they returned from the past and learned that Promise was going to et Morgan.
If she hadn't been afraid of getting blasted to oblivion by a Holy Sword, she would have secretly followed him to watch the drama unfold.
But even knowing the risks, she still rushed over, eager to hear about Promise's miserable fate at Morgan's hands as quickly as possible.
However..forget hearing about so brutal punishnt,
Not only was he perfectly fine, it almost seed like he had been straight-up taken in by her…
Artoria Caster blinked, looking at the white-haired, purple-eyed fairy gnashing her teeth in frustration.
Unable to comprehend her behavior, she turned to the Goddess of Fate, Clotho, with a puzzled expression.
"Ignore her," Clotho replied indifferently.
Hearing this, Artoria Caster obediently nodded and simply sipped her tea, deciding to pay no more attention to lly.
Artoria Caster was the Fairy of Paradise, the one who had co here to fulfill her duty in place of the reigning Queen, Morgan.
To put it simply, she was this world's equivalent of King Arthur.
.
.
After returning from the past, lly had imdiately sought her out.
However, Artoria was extrely wary of her.
Her experiences in this cruel fairyland had left her deeply resentful of fairies and so, she had no desire to beco the Child of Prophecy or the savior of this world.
Yet, lly surprisingly anticipated this and persisted, convincing Clotho to co along with her.
And with Artoria's Fairy Eyes, the mont she laid eyes on Clotho, everything naturally fell into place.
Hearing Clotho's dismissive words, lly pouted, then kicked her legs in boredom.
Her gaze flickered, and she couldn't help but scoot closer to Clotho, her curiosity getting the better of her.
"By the way, Goddess—just what exactly is your little Promise planning to do?"
"If we want to complete the pilgrimage and forge the Holy Sword, shouldn't we be sneaking around and avoiding Morgan's attention?"
Hearing this, Artoria couldn't help but speak up.
"That's impossible."
"When the bell tolls, all the fairies of this world will hear it."
lly turned to look at Artoria upon hearing those words.
Then, after thinking for a mont, she suddenly laughed—her voice laced with mockery.
"In the past, they did everything they could to stop the bell from ringing.
And now, they crave it.
They long for the tolling of the bell.
They long for salvation.
How fitting… for fairies."
Artoria blinked, slightly confused by lly's words.
But Clotho, the Goddess of Fate, understood them completely.
The truth was—
Artoria's ability to ring the Bell of Pilgrimage had one major prerequisite:
The fairies of this age had long since had enough of Morgan's rule over Britain.
Thus, they all wished for the world to end—for salvation.
But in the past, during Vivian's era, they had fought desperately against destruction.
Unwilling to admit their sins, unwilling to be wiped out,
They massacred the entire Rain Clan.
They hunted Vivian relentlessly, persecuting her ti and ti again, despite her attempts to save the world.
To be honest, with lly's personality, she never would have co to this place.
Because in her eyes, it was filthy.
And, more than that, it was boring.
There weren't even humans here.
If it weren't for the fact that she had accidentally spotted Promise's figure,
"I don't know what he's planning."
When their conversation ended, Clotho finally spoke in a steady voice.
"Because his fate has never truly revealed itself.
It can only be witnessed.
It cannot be observed.
However—"
She paused, tilting her head slightly as her pale, pupil-less eyes gazed far into the distance, toward the young man.
"There is no need to speculate."
"Because you won't have to wait long."
"He will give you the answer himself."
"And when that ti cos—"
"All fates that were once set in stone…
Will be rewritten because of him."
Artoria stood frozen beside her, staring at Clotho.
She had never seen Promise before and now, at this mont, she couldn't help but wonder,
What kind of human could possibly earn such an evaluation from a goddess?
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