Chapter 48: Secret (Seeking Collections, Seeking Recommendations)

Seeing the expression on Nimueh's face, Kay smiled.

"How could that be! You are still as youthful, beautiful, and radiant as ever." Even though Kay was still joking with Nimueh, his vigilance did not wane in the slightest. His eyes remained fixed on her, and his sword hand did not drop.

Looking at Kay like this, Nimueh felt a sense of the unpredictability of worldly affairs. The child who used to cling to her side with a cute look and act spoiled had actually ended up holding a long sword to confront her today.

"Oh? So this is how you welcome me?" Nimueh pointed with a half-smile at the sword in Kay's hand.

"Oh—! This is a misunderstanding, yes, just a misunderstanding. You should understand, after all, you came into the king's bedchamber in the middle of the night without any announcement. That is hardly a good habit," Kay said feignedly.

He certainly wasn't just trading witty remarks here; Kay wasn't that idle. He was stalling for time. Without resorting to any supernatural abilities, Kay had no confidence in subduing Nimueh. Although it had been a very long time ago, Kay still remembered how Nimueh used to deal with her enemies.

Sure enough, just as Kay had delayed for a moment, shouts from the soldiers echoed from the doorway. It seemed the castle guards were not derelict in their duties.

Nimueh glanced toward the door, then cast a deeply playful look at Kay.

Kay spread his hands and said helplessly, "There's nothing I can do. Your power is simply too great, and I have no confidence in subduing you while simultaneously protecting Uther's safety, so I had to resort to this little trick."

Nimueh wasn't angry at all. Instead, she said in a tone that was both gratified and resentful, "Indeed, my little boy has grown up too. He already knows how to resort to tricks against his favorite big sister. Once upon a time, that little boy even spent all day saying he would marry me when he grew up."

Kay's mouth twitched; he had never said any such thing. Those were just jokes made by bored adults back then. When he transmigrated, he was already pushing forty—how could he possibly utter such idiotic words?

"I'm sorry... However, if you are willing to sit down and talk things through calmly with us, I think the atmosphere between us would be wonderful. What do you say?"

Kay had no intention of passing judgment on who was right or wrong regarding the events of the past. Both Uther and Nimueh had their own reasons. Uther certainly wanted an heir, but he had never actively demanded that Nimueh and Queen Ygraine must help him produce one. Yet at the time, almost the entirety of Camelot hoped King Uther would have a direct-line heir as soon as possible. This concerned the stability of the entire realm; otherwise, a war of succession would inevitably have erupted in Camelot upon King Uther's death, something no one wished to see.

One can only imagine the immense pressure Uther and Ygraine were facing at the time. The situation became even worse, particularly after they took Kay in as an adopted son. No one wanted to see someone completely devoid of royal blood become the heir to the throne. This caused great dissatisfaction among many nobles related to Uther by blood, because if an heir were to be found, it should come from among those nobles who possessed royal blood.

Therefore, under this enormous pressure, life was not easy for Uther and Ygraine. Especially Ygraine—she loved King Uther and naturally wanted to bear him a child. Meanwhile, many nobles had already submitted suggestions to King Uther that if the Queen still could not produce an heir, a new queen should be chosen.

Under such dual pressures, Ygraine sought out Nimueh. Seeing King Uther being tormented to the point of agony over the heir issue, and also wishing to help Uther, the two women resorted to magic behind his back.

Once it became a fait accompli, King Uther had no choice but to accept it. If Uther's greatest fault in this matter was that he did not stop it upon discovering it, it was because he had no idea at the time that the required price would be so heavy, which was why his reaction afterward was so intense.

And Nimueh? She was at fault too. She knew that magical conception would exact a price, but she kept it hidden.

Perhaps in her view, Ygraine was getting what she wished for, and paying a price was her own choice. Of course, it would be unrealistic to say there were no other motives involved. After all, Nimueh genuinely held a favorable impression of King Uther back then, and she might well have intended to seize the opportunity to elevate her status.

From her perspective, she couldn't lose either way: if Ygraine survived, she would naturally earn Uther's gratitude; if Ygraine kicked the bucket, it would simply be a matter of each taking what they needed—a perfect logical framework!

Unfortunately, some things are just that perverse. Ygraine really did die, but Nimueh's plan to elevate her status was also shattered, and she ended up turning against King Uther in bitter enmity.

Thus, it was truly difficult to tell who was right and who was wrong in the middle of all this. It would be far better to sit down and talk. If they could reach an outcome acceptable to everyone, then all would rejoice.

"Impossible!"

"Don't even think about it!"

Unfortunately, Kay's wishful thinking came to naught. Over the span of twenty years, the two sides had accumulated a sea of blood and deep-seated hatred. Unless one side truly fell, no one would give up.

Right at that moment, Sir Leon had already led a large contingent of knights and soldiers rushing into the king's bedchamber.

Seeing these knights, Nimueh shook her head.

"It seems our reunion ends here; I must take my leave. However, Uther, what you owe me, I will surely collect!"

With that, Nimueh dissolved into a gust of fierce wind and vanished without a trace. Those knights still intended to attack, but in the blink of an eye, the person had disappeared completely, leaving no trace behind.

...

Nimueh's stunt this time was a massive commotion that startled many people. Both Arthur and Morgana rushed over, but they were quickly sent away by King Uther in an extremely stern manner. He was unwilling to let the two children learn of the past events, as too many complicated matters were intertwined within them.

In the end, only three people remained in the room: Kay, Gaius, and King Uther.

While applying medicine to Kay's burned palm, Gaius wore an expression of one who wished to speak but hesitated.

"If you have something to say, just say it, Gaius!" King Uther noticed Gaius's abnormality and asked somewhat impatiently. Today's events had left him physically and mentally exhausted; he no longer had the patience to maintain his composure.

"...You cannot conceal the truth forever. Perhaps you should speak with Arthur and let him know the truth of what happened back then."

Gaius said sincerely. Ever since the desecration of Tristan's corpse, things had been developing in the direction they least wanted to see. Gaius felt that since matters had reached this point, continuing to hide the truth was meaningless.

"No! Only the three of us know about this matter, and Arthur never needs to know the truth! Never!"

King Uther refused with absolute finality. He could not let Arthur know the truth of the past; the consequences for him, for Arthur, and for the entire realm of Camelot would be far too grave. He could not allow such a thing to happen.

"But the boy has already grown up; he has become a man. Have you forgotten? You knighted him just two days ago! He deserves to know the truth. You cannot keep hiding it forever, Uther." Gaius still hoped to persuade King Uther.