A Villainess pulled out the Sword instead of the Hero.

Before she could utter her refusal, he raised his bowed head.

 

Fiddling lightly with the cloth still wrapped around his hand, he seemed to regain his composure.

 “I think I’ll have to head that way. I won’t be able to come to Britain for a while.” “Oh, that means…” 

I trailed off. I thought he was asking me to come back to Avalon.

 

A strange heat tickled my ears.

 

Morgana, feeling unnecessarily hot, brushed her hand lightly across the nape of her neck.

 

In the distance, I heard Caradoc’s gruff voice.

 “Miss, don’t you need any more staff?” “Oh, that’s okay, we’re hiring!” 

Morgana casually replied to Caradoc, pulling out from under him.

 

Kellive stared for a moment at the small space, which had suddenly become empty.

 

He squeezed the empty spot and smirked at the shadows that held nothing.

  “Your Majesty, the wizard is dead.” “I did not kill him.” “Neither did I!” 

The air in Avalon’s office was heavy at Gawain’s report, his head bowed.

 

Kellive, sitting still, studying his papers, did not answer. Beside him, Raves was equally troubled.

 “I thought he’d just gone crazy, and then suddenly there he was, hanging himself.” “Duke Fay.” “Well, no matter how you slice it, there’s no connection to the Duke of Fay.” 

It was hard for Raves to say, knowing how much Kellive had been after the Duke of Fay.

 

When he’d asked this morning, he’d expected it to come out soon. He just didn’t expect the wizard to die while he was in Britain.

 

Setting the papers down with a clatter, Kellive’s golden eyes looked at each of them in turn, smiling.

 

He was smiling, but not in a good way.

 “So Duke Fay hasn’t done anything, then.” “No, that’s not quite right. I’ve been looking into the guilds, but His Majesty recently crushed one of them.” “Crushed them, but in a humane way.” “I don’t usually call it humane when I cut them down with a single sword.” “You did it painlessly and in one fell swoop.” “Yeah. Anyway, they all denied it.” 

Gawain looked up with a snap as Raves finished his sentence. His voice was rumbling with agitation.

 “The guild says you’re the mage who was assigned to assassinate King Vortigen! Isn’t this actually an excuse for the assassination and a plot by these two?” 

If that’s what they meant, then it makes sense that they targeted Morgana’s mansion.

 

The power to heal Excalibur’s wounds would be a threat to them.

 

But by all accounts, Morgana was doing quite well, remaining loyal to Britain.

 

Few even knew of her powers.

 

Sir Caradoc knew of her herbal powers, and the mercenary Arthur didn’t know of them.

 

Who would know and order such a thing?

 

With a flick, a waiting hand tapped on the desk.

 

Raves’s eyes narrowed, and he asked more carefully.

 “What happened to the future of Avalon when you left yesterday?” 

Kellive sighed and shaded his eyes with a hand.

 “It went into the royal palace.” “Where? Avalon?” “No, in Britain.”  

The signal for the departure of the royal raiders sounded.

 

Lord Caradoc’s loud voice boomed through the training hall.

 “We return alive! Not a single one left behind! For the sun and glory of Britain!” “Haaah!” 

The roar of the royal guard’s demoralized troops rose in response to his spirits.

 

In the early hours of the morning, they set out into the chill air.

 

Lord Caradoc raised his fist as a signal to halt.

 

As they paused in their march to their destination, palace maids thrust vials into the hands of each member of the Order.

 

Someone shook something inside in a frenzy.

 “What is this, my lord?” “Herbs. I bought a lot of it while I was out yesterday.” 

Arthur stared at the new vial in his hand.

 

It bore the words

‘Tir na Nog’

across the top. 

 

Morgana’s, the shop he’d been to yesterday.

 

‘I just wanted to see her face.’

 

Never thought I’d think of her this much before I left.

 

Clutching the vial tightly, he set out on the long journey with his squad.

  

Morgana’s first day on the job.

 

Another, and then another. The apprentice maids swallowed hard at the sound of Head Maid Cecilia’s footsteps.

 “We’ve had at least five arrests a month lately for threats to the royal family.” 

The maids in line bowed their heads and listened.

 “If you see anything suspicious, report it to me and the butler immediately, remembering that you are part of the royal household.” “Yes, Head Maid.” “From now on, the apprentice maids, as I will call them, will report to the head of their respective quarters.” 

Morgana ducked her head and glanced quickly at the other new recruits.

 

Sobella, the one who had caught her when she’d fallen during the test the other day, was across the room.

 

When our eyes met, she smiled broadly and gave me a wink.

 

Cecilia’s presence prevented me from greeting her out loud, but I was glad to see a familiar face.

 “Morgana, Sobella, to the Princess Palace.” 

Luckily, I was assigned to the palace I was aiming for. Only…

 “You two will be in the guest quarters.” 

It was just under the same roof.

 

‘Isn’t it hard to see the princess’s face in the guest room?’ 

 

If there was any hope, I was still on probation, so I could try to get a transfer.

 

The maid in charge of the guest room was far from helpful. She bragged about herself the entire time Sobella and I were walking behind her.

 “So as soon as Princess Guinevere saw me, she thanked me and hugged me with tears in her eyes.” 

It was obviously about 1% truth and 99% lies.

 

Perhaps it was true only up to the point of seeing Guinevere.

 

Even Sobella was listening in one ear and weeping in the other, but she continued to boast.

 “You’ll be in charge of the guest room from now on, now that you’ve admitted it.” 

Indeed…

 

The palace was currently being flooded with guests.

 

Excalibur still hadn’t been pulled out.

 

At this point, some people were poking around, wondering if they could draw the sword after marrying Guinevere.

 

As we made our way to our quarters, the maids in the hallway were filled with boxes of goods intended as gifts.

 “Oops, sorry!  

The maid he accidentally bumped into shook her head.

 “See, these valuables come to the guest room every day, and you must trust me with them.” 

Watching the back of her head, Sobella sidled up to Morgana’s side and whispered.

 “I nudged her, and she said the guest rooms at the palace are the busiest these days. A lot is going on.” 

After all, more guests means more work.

 

In fact, like all of Britain’s nobility these days, the royal court stands on thin ice.

 

Who needs to listen to anyone when you’re going to rule a continent?

 

In other words, it was like whales bumping into each other and the prawns getting popped.

 

The maid led me to a double room and tossed me a piece of paper.

 “Every morning at 6 in the morning, the maid will send you a schedule. This is today’s schedule, and you can refer to it.” 

The schedule was the kind of information that she gave out with a sense of pride. She hummed to herself about what was so great about it and left the room.

 

Sobella sits down on her bed, staring at the schedule.

 “Wow, that’s a jam-packed first day. It’s a good thing I’m in the same place as Morgana!” “Yeah, it is. They’ve hired a bunch of new people, and they’re letting them serve guests during their probationary period.” 

The schedule was filled with the day’s visits.

 

There were even four asterisks drawn in ominous red ink at the end.

 

Morgana pointed to the paper and asked,

“By any chance, Sobella, do you know what these asterisks are?” “I heard it’s a junior grade.” 

What, what junior?

 

Morgana smiled broadly and asked again,

“Do you think the more asterisks, the easier it is?” 

Sobella replied with a giggle that was out of character for the situation.

 “Of course not, the more, the merrier. They say five is the best, but we’re four!” “Yeah, how is that not five!” 

Four on the first day of training.

 

Morgana stretched out her arms and neck with a gritty determination.

 

Short and fast. The goal was to get a good glimpse of Guinevere, get her eye on the prize, show her loyalty to Britain, and then quickly disappear from the palace.

 

‘It would be unpleasant to run into Arthur again, so make a quick exit and escape before there is war.’

she thought. 

 

With a flutter of her maid’s skirt, she rummaged in her bag.