Chapter 36: Kneel! Please add to your library and recommend.

Arthur is in love!

Merlin felt as if he were dreaming. Arthur, that quintessential "straight-as-an-arrow" man, had fallen in love at first sight with a woman! More importantly, for the sake of this girl, Arthur was neglecting his duties. He abandoned his responsibilities, skipped his patrols, and dodged banquets, all just to steal away for secret trysts with her.

This was so unlike Arthur.

Yet, Merlin felt it wasn’t entirely bad.

No one can avoid falling in love. Merlin thought Arthur’s behavior was quite normal—certainly more normal than he had been before.

Of course, what Merlin really needed to consider at this moment was how to survive the current crisis.

Well, let us discuss Merlin’s predicament.

As mentioned, Arthur had been so busy dating that he had completely forgotten his duties. So, the question arises: why hadn’t King Uther broken Arthur’s legs yet?

The answer, as always, was that Arthur possessed the ultimate scapegoat: Merlin!

For the past three days, Merlin had used his clumsy acting skills to shoulder the blame for all of Arthur’s missed engagements. Consequently, Merlin had set a record: being dragged to the town square to be pelted with fruit for three days in a row.

On the other side, Morgana was a different story. She was currently terrified!

She had recognized the woman Arthur brought back. The moment she laid eyes on her, she knew who she was! She was the very woman who haunted Morgana’s dreams—the woman who drowned Arthur in the lake!

There were no words to describe the shock in Morgana’s heart. This woman had actually appeared before her in the flesh!

At first, Morgana was paralyzed by fear, wondering if she was losing her mind. But the fear soon passed. She had always believed her dreams were omens, and now that an omen had come to pass, it meant her vision was likely to come true: Arthur would be drowned!

Now, Morgana was even more worried about Arthur.

She tried every possible way to warn him to stay away from the woman, but unfortunately, Arthur paid no heed to her subtle hints. He didn't even grasp that there was any deeper meaning, assuming it was just his sister teasing him again.

As Arthur often said, Morgana frequently treated him like a fool. He wouldn't fall for it!

In short, Morgana was desperate. She even ended her cold war with King Uther to personally approach him, hoping he would intervene in Arthur’s blind infatuation. But Uther was unimpressed.

Of course, Uther would never allow his son to marry a fallen noblewoman. (The two individuals rescued by Arthur claimed to be nobles from the North, displaced after their home was invaded by barbarians and they were heading south to join relatives in Carleon.)

Arthur was the Prince of Camelot, the heir to the most powerful kingdom among all the realms. His marriage was not merely a personal matter but a major political event; a union with another powerful kingdom was his destiny.

However, a mere affair was not within Uther’s concerns. In the King’s eyes, a dalliance was not a bad thing. As long as there was no marriage, Uther wouldn't interfere. Besides, Arthur was already twenty and still a virgin; did you think Uther wasn't worried?

This was perfect!

Uther was confident he could eventually break them up. As for what Arthur did in the meantime, Uther didn't care—it wasn't as if Arthur would be the one losing out.

It was typical rogue logic, but that was exactly how King Uther thought.

Morgana was anxious. She had tried to warn the woman to abandon any improper intentions. But the effect was poor; the woman didn't take Morgana seriously at all, even mocking her in return, claiming Morgana was only trying to stop them out of jealousy.

This left Morgana feeling both humiliated and incredibly furious. Being a woman herself, she could naturally see what the other woman was thinking. When she warned the girl, named Sophia, all she saw in her eyes was contempt and frivolity—not a shred of love for Arthur!

She was using him, Morgana was certain, and she would surely be the death of him. Morgana was certain of that, too. After all, the dreams were there.

At that moment, Morgana even wanted to reveal her visions, hoping to wake up those two chauvinists, Uther and Arthur! Unfortunately, she knew she couldn't. She might not care about herself, but she cared about Kay.

Once she became involved with magic, what would happen to Kay? She didn't want to force him into a choice between her and Uther. She felt incredibly helpless and could only confide in Gaius. Gaius, too, was at a loss, though he knew Morgana was a seer.

He had observed this for many years; Morgana’s dream prophecies were highly accurate.

Even so, Gaius couldn't act against a father and daughter based solely on Morgana’s word. How could he explain it to Uther or anyone else?

More importantly, how could he explain it to Arthur?

Gaius pondered for a long time, then suddenly thought of something. "How many days has Kay been away?" he asked.

Morgana thought for a moment and replied, "It has been twenty-eight days."

Then it dawned on her. "You mean, let Kay handle this?"

"Exactly! Kay should be back within these next two days. Once he returns, everything will be easier to manage," Gaius said firmly.

Morgana’s spirits were lifted! That was it! Others might not believe her, but Kay certainly would!

With that in mind, she immediately sent people to find Kay. Calculating the time, he should already be on his way back. All she had to do was ensure he returned as quickly as possible!

...

While Morgana waited for Kay to return and break the deadlock, the father and daughter were growing impatient.

"Back so soon, Sophia?" The father, who called himself Aulfric, was an elegant old man. Though he appeared to be in his sixties, his movements were nimble and vigorous—not at all like a man of his age.

"Someone is getting in our way," Sophia said, her voice no longer the coy, innocent tone she used with Arthur; instead, she was cold and arrogant.

"What happened?"

"I almost died. For a moment, I felt as if I were going to perish just like a mortal." During their date that day, they had encountered soldiers searching for Druids. One soldier, not seeing clearly and thinking the pair of star-crossed lovers were Druids, had fired an arrow that nearly struck Sophia.

"He saved me." She referred to Arthur, who had pushed her aside just in time. Yet, Sophia felt no gratitude. "That weak and incompetent man saved me! I can no longer endure this situation."

Aulfric whispered comfortingly, "You need not endure it much longer. Once you have his heart, the gates of Avalon will open to us once more, and we shall regain our true forms."

"I need a little more time," Sophia nodded and said.

"Very well. I shall go before the Elders today. It would be best to sacrifice this mortal prince tomorrow night."

...

That night, Arthur went out to meet Sophia as usual, and Merlin helped him as usual. But when Merlin returned to Gaius’s chambers and learned part of the truth, he was devastated. He had been the one to lead Arthur into a trap!

To rectify his mistake, Merlin, under Gaius’s guidance, followed Aulfric.

He discovered a terrifying truth: Aulfric and his daughter were not human. They were from Avalon—the land of eternal youth, the distant paradise, the blissful realm beyond this world—the land of the Fae. They had been banished for committing a great crime and were forced to live in human form until death.

To return to Avalon, they needed the soul of a mortal prince as a sacrifice. And Arthur was their target!

The situation was now dire. They had to stop it.

Unfortunately, events unfolded much faster than they had anticipated.

The next morning, Arthur brought Sophia and her father to have an audience with King Uther.

"I have come at the request of the people to discuss an important matter with you, Father," Arthur said, approaching King Uther with extreme solemnity.

Uther was confused.

Arthur continued, "I trust you have noticed that I have been spending a great deal of time with Lady Sophia of Timmers."

Uther had, of course, noticed. Did Arthur really think Merlin could have fooled him otherwise?

"I hope you haven't been spending quite so much time," Uther quipped. He didn't mind Arthur having a bit of fun, but he would not tolerate anything more extreme—like publicly declaring their relationship in court.

Arthur hesitated for a moment, then said firmly, "We are in love."

"I sincerely ask for your permission to marry her!"

Uther was stunned, then suddenly began to laugh.

"Hahahaha!" Uther still hoped to dismiss this as a joke. "That is the funniest thing I have heard all morning. Hmm, hmm, how should I respond to your child’s play, my son?"

"No, it is not child’s play. I sincerely wish to take her as my wife." Unfortunately, things did not go as planned.

...

Uther was completely losing his grip on the situation. He had assumed Arthur was just playing around, but he was serious? Morgana, standing nearby, was absolutely shocked. Love, she could accept, but marriage? They had only known each other for three days! Since when did Arthur become such a romantic idiot?

Uther could not possibly agree, but Arthur seemed to have lost all sense of what he was doing. The two began to clash.

Arthur declared that whether Uther agreed or not was irrelevant.

With that, he grabbed Sophia and started to leave, ignoring Uther’s growing rage.

Uther immediately ordered his guards to arrest the pair, and Arthur stood his ground.

"You cannot stop me! If I want to marry her, I will!"

Just then, a commanding voice echoed from the doorway.

"Oh? Is that so?"

It was Kay!

Kay walked in through the main entrance of the hall, dusty from his travels.

"Our Arthur has grown up, hasn't he? To think he would publicly defy the King’s command in the royal hall."

Kay bowed to Uther, then, under Morgana’s concerned gaze, smiled and took off his cloak. A maid moved to take it, but Morgana stepped forward and took it first.

"Don't worry, I'm here," Kay said, offering Morgana a reassuring hug.

He then turned to the flustered Arthur and said, expressionless, "Kneel!"

Arthur struggled, but when Kay’s gaze turned dangerous, Arthur dropped to one knee. Past experiences had taught him that it was best to obey when Kay was in this mood. The consequences of not doing so were always dire, and that reflex was something even Sophia’s charms could not suppress.

Seeing Arthur kneel, Kay’s expression softened slightly.

"Very good. That shows you haven't completely lost your mind." He turned to Uther. "Have the guards hold him. I fear he might be a bit agitated in a moment."

Though Uther trusted Kay implicitly, he was bewildered. He had never seen Kay treat Arthur this way. Arthur would one day be King, and Kay had always been mindful of that; even when punishing him, he had never been so humiliating. But now...

Still, out of long-standing trust, Uther complied.

Only then did Kay turn to address Sophia and her father.

"Kneel!"