"…Add… why does everyone say I am Queen Morgan… I clearly have my own name… even Dad and Mom say so…"
"Well, I'm not quite sure what that woman Morgan thinks; she doesn't seem like the type to do such things… After following Moran, aside from being a bit vengeful and petty, she's just a good woman."
In the past, the villagers wouldn't even dare to speak the names of the king and queen directly.
Yet Add spoke freely.
Thus, it was the only being Gray could communicate with as an equal after her transformation.
"Moran… are you talking about the first king?"
"Exactly! That guy is something else! After having Morgan, he still dared to be promiscuous, hahahaha! I truly admire a man who can maintain his harem without collapsing. At least, I couldn't have been that flirtatious in my lifetime."
Add was indeed just a magical artifact.
But it simulated the personality of a Round Table Knight, that knight being Kay, the foster brother of Artoria.
As one of the earliest Round Table Knights to follow Moran.
Kay was well aware of the early days of the dynasty.
"Tsk tsk, that guy is now revered as the first king; people have deified him too much. You should know, his love life was quite eventful. Every woman around him was top-notch; an ordinary person encountering even one would be completely overwhelmed."
Gray understood the epics, so she knew.
Neither Artoria nor Morgan was easy to deal with, not to mention the dream demon Merlin and the dragon fairy Melusine.
An ordinary person would become a henpecked husband just by encountering one.
Yet Moran directly established a harem.
His wives were almost all top-tier combatants in the military.
"…What kind of person was the first king?"
"Slowpoke Gray, I thought it would take you longer to ask me this… Well, I won't talk about him as a king; the legends are not exaggerated. As a person, that guy is quite willful. He initially had no intention of becoming a king, you know."
This was the first time Gray heard this from someone else.
Only beings like Add would know.
"Although he never said it to anyone, I can tell that he wasn't enthusiastic about being a king. Deep down, he's just a flirt like me. However, I have a fatal difference from him.
That guy is a man who would break all impossibilities for happiness. Saving Britain is based on this point."
This statement left Gray somewhat confused.
Add continued, "If I had encountered Britain's mess, I would have probably packed up my belongings and run away to find a place to enjoy life. Yet he exerted all his effort to overturn everything, achieving what even fools wouldn't dare to imagine…
There's no one more stubborn than him, and no fool could shine brighter than him."
"…"
Gray didn't know how to respond.
During Add's speech, there was an unusual sincerity mixed with the usual sharpness.
It didn't sound so harsh anymore.
"Anyway, Little Gray, with your face, there's no need to worry about what the clan says; just continue being yourself."
Listening to Add's words.
Gray stopped crying.
She didn't dislike the epics she had heard since childhood, nor had she ever rejected the clan's faith in the former king.
This time, hearing Add's words.
Gray couldn't help but feel curious about the first king.
Time returned to the present—
The radiant women were preparing Gray for the ceremony, and sounds of the clan organizing a celebratory feast could be heard outside.
However, there was no joy on Gray's face.
Although her mother and parents were filled with love, they seemed to be offering her as a sacrifice for the ceremony.
"Gray, the moment has finally come! Your father and I, along with everyone from Blackmore, will bless you!"
"Mom…"
The woman smiled happily.
She looked like a bride welcoming her long-awaited lover after decades apart. Her appearance was not particularly striking, but at that moment, she resembled a blooming flower.
Knock, knock, knock—
Accompanied by the sound of knocking on the door.
Soon, the woman went to open the door to welcome the guests.
"Magdalena, the time has come. Let our king welcome back our queen here! Britain will once again embrace glory!"
Bersac's tone was solemn and sacred.
The woman named Magdalena, who was also Gray's mother, immediately knelt down with her husband.
Because a man had stepped into the room.
His gaze only lingered in one place.
"This is… the first generation King…"
Gray tensed up and couldn't move.
In the instant she was swept by his gaze, it felt as if her body and even her soul had been pierced through.
Her whole body stiffened, trembling in fear.
She was afraid of her uncertain future.
Afraid that the name Gray would disappear, transforming into the revered Morgan, the queen.
The people in the room bowed their heads to the man who entered, but only Gray met Moran's gaze without looking away.
In the past, Gray could tell something from the sound of footsteps.
But this time, she heard nothing.
Her bones and muscles seemed to have been unknowingly replaced by gears and springs, turning into a mechanical puppet.
Gray desperately wanted to leave, but she couldn't move.
She wanted to shout to everyone that she was not the legendary queen; she was just an ordinary country girl.
"…It's really similar."
Moran replied after staring for a long time.
It was as if, after he spoke, everyone suddenly remembered to breathe.
"However, unfortunately, you are not Morgan."
Like a judgment, his words were final.
There was a clear disappointment in Moran's voice.
At the same time, this left Magdalena and the others in disbelief; they had always believed Gray was the queen.
However, the revered king said she was not.
No one could question the king.
"…You've worked hard, Gray. I'm sure you've endured quite a bit of grievance because of this matter."
"I, I…"
Gray's voice trembled.
All along, she had been regarded as a divine child.
That fear, that unease.
It was something others could not imagine.
The pressure she felt from Moran had already dissipated.
What she felt from his words was a gentle understanding that pierced through all illusions, gazing at the pain in her heart.