"Arthur and... Alvin?"
"Talking business?"
Reines stood frozen, Merlin's words still echoing in her mind.
However, after a long pause, she gave up trying to make sense of it.
At this point, she was no longer shocked by the appearance of Merlin or even King Arthur.
Maybe she'd just gone numb from everything that had happened in the span of a single day.
"I get that it might be hard to understand," Merlin said casually, "but if things go smoothly, the King might actually let this go."
"You just need to remember that much."
Then, after a small pause, he added, "And one more thing, what happened here today? You can't tell anyone. Clear?"
Hearing this, Reines blinked.
"You mean the fact that King Arthur came here...?"
The latter nodded. "It's about your safety too."
After all, before his death, Alvin had burned a lot of bridges, more than most.
Even now, though the nobles were under the King's control, it didn't mean that they have been completely obedient.
Out of the twelve current great noble houses, at least nine absolutely despised Alvin.
And that's not including the ones hiding in the dark, who hated Night watchman to the very core.
The Saxons, for example—those who bore the banner of the White Dragon.
After all, Alvin had personally brought their forces into the capital back then... and used Artoria's hand to wipe them out completely.
If any of them found out he was still alive...well it wasn't hard to imagine how well it would end.
But having said that, no matter how much anyone wanted to kill him, as long as Alvin stayed within the palace, no one would dare move against him—not with the King around.
Of course, that's assuming he didn't show up.
Otherwise who knows, maybe some lunatics might go crazy.
Hearing his words, Reines lifted her gaze toward the room at the top of the stairs. Her expression shifted subtly, a flicker of thought behind her eyes.
"One more tip for you... don't go upstairs," As if he could see what was going on in her mind, Merlin added lightly. "Not unless you're in a hurry to die."
After hearing this, Reines' mind gradually became active.
Come to think of it, didn't King Arthur just say that she was here to speak with Merlin?
But now Merlin was downstairs. So what was Arthur still doing up there?
What on Earth were they really talking about?
Merlin picked up the tea she'd made earlier, took a sip, and smiled.
"That's all I'll say. Whether you listen to it or not is up to you."
With that said, he turned and walked toward the door.
Reines reacted, turned sharply and spoke. "Merlin—"
But even before she could speak further, the latter just waved a hand without looking back. "Actually whether it's about transmigrators, empires, or ancient grudges... I'd rather be a spectator."
"Reines, I know you came to me about the transmigrators. But the final say on this matter rests with the King. Not even I can change her mind. So your only real hope... is Alvin. Just pray that he can convince her."
Merlin just spoke these words for the matter, after all, he also knew..if anyone could convince her, then it would be Alvin.
Reines was quiet for a few seconds before muttering, "It's not like I have some noble cause. I'm not trying to save every transmigrator out there. There's just a few people I care about. That's all."
Merlin's gaze lingered on her a moment, then he gave a slow, amused smile. "Don't worry too much about Alvin. As for the others... if you're looking for specific transmigrators, I might be willing to lend you my Clairvoyance."
"You'd help me?" There was a bit of doubt in her eyes
After all, they barely knew each other. Why would he bother?
"Of course," he said with a grin. "You gave me tea. And let me witness a damn good story."
"A good story?" Reines repeated.
"Mm-hmm."
Merlin lifted his gaze toward the door, his voice calm.
"If nothing goes wrong… the real show is just about to begin."
On the surface, it might seem like Alvin's return is just a personal affair—but in reality, one Alvin already involves the entire structure of Camelot.
Including someone even Merlin himself doesn't want to deal with,
The witch...
Morgan le Fay.
Thinking of that woman, stunningly beautiful but dangerous to the core—Merlin pressed his fingers against his temple with a sigh.
Then, his lips curled into a faintly amused smile.
Sisters once torn apart because of Alvin… he couldn't help but wonder, now that he was back, what would happen between them?
Hm..it would be quite interesting to say the least.
Pushing the thoughts aside, he glanced back at the golden-haired girl beside him and smiled lightly
"Alright, tell me—who are you looking for? I'll take a look before I head back to the palace."
.
.
.
Meanwhile, warm afternoon light poured through the windows, falling gently across Artoria's noble and beautiful face.
She still held the boy quietly in her arms, eyes closed as though reliving every memory of the past.
The hug had lasted close to half an hour by now.
At first it was fine. Sweet, even.
But now? Alvin was starting to feel a bit… overwhelmed.
It wasn't that he didn't enjoy it, after all, anyone would enjoy being buried in someone's very generous embrace, it's just, he couldn't help thinking about Reines downstairs.
After all, Merlin had been gone for a while already. God knows what that white-haired bastard was telling her.
He wanted to speak up. Wanted to ease out of the moment.
But as he felt the soft, warm press of her body against his cheek, Alvin gave up on struggling and quietly closed his eyes again.
Really ...
She really had grown a lot.
In every sense, every way.
So warm.
"Feels nice, doesn't it?"
At this moment, a pleasant voice suddenly came to his ears, bringing his thoughts back to reality.
Artoria lowered her eyes slightly, and there was a hint of softness in her beautiful holy blue eyes that had always been full of majesty.
Alvin was stunned for a moment, as if he didn't hear clearly, and subconsciously spoke. "Huh?"
Altria looked down at the boy quietly, looking at the face that she had been thinking about day and night for the past few years.
Then, as if teasing him on purpose, she gently asked again, "Does it feel good, being held like this?"
"…Yeah. Really good," Alvin replied without hesitation.
CG illustrations were great and all, but real life?
This was on a whole different level.
That body. That scent. That warmth…
To be honest, at this moment, he wanted to enjoy her softness forever.
Just as he was about to completely sink into this heavenly moment, Artoria's voice came again—this time softer as the corners of her mouth curled up into a faint smile: "
"Alvin. I don't know what you've been through, but I'm truly glad you came back."
"No matter how you once forced me to kill you… no matter how I begged you and you remained indifferent…"
"I'm glad you're back."
She smiled as she spoke, a serene, almost gentle smile.
"…Alvin."
What Altria said earlier was full of the touching atmosphere of reunion, but the more Alvin heard, the more he felt something was wrong.
By the time he heard the last part, the wonderful touch of her body had long since disappeared.
Now, all he felt was cold sweat sliding down his back.
Yeah.
He was definitely in trouble.