Chapter 50: Stubbornness

In the entirety of Camelot, aside from King Uther, Sir Kay was the person who best understood the deepest secrets of the past. Whether it was the secret of Arthur’s birth or the secret of Morgana, Kay was fully aware of them all. To be honest, no matter how close his relationship with King Uther was, there were some things for which Kay simply could not help him find excuses.

Take the matter of Morgana’s mother, for instance. Kay truly could not formulate any defense for Uther regarding that situation.

Even Gaius was unaware of this affair.

Yet Kay knew because King Uther had told him personally back then, specifically to entrust Morgana to Kay’s care. Although Kay did not understand at the time why King Uther would share such a massive secret with someone who was still a child, he had kept his promise to the king all these years and looked after Morgana with great devotion.

Thinking back on it now, it was likely King Uther’s way of making amends to Morgana...

And because of this, Kay was acutely aware of the gravity of the situation.

"I know your concerns, but you ought to trust Arthur. As Gaius said, Arthur is no longer a child; he should be able to understand you. As for Morgana... I believe... it would be best to maintain the status quo. After all, you and I are the only ones who know about what happened back then. As long as the two of us keep the secret, no one will ever know the truth."

Yet after so many years of living together, how could Kay allow old grievances from the past to turn Morgana and King Uther into bitter enemies, even if Uther was in the wrong?

King Uther shook his head and said with a bitter smile, "If only it were truly that simple. Arthur... I don't know how he would react, but the consequences certainly wouldn't be pleasant. Even so, I could accept that. But Morgana... Yes, you and I are the only ones who know the truth of what happened then, but that means nothing, because the fact that Ygraine died at my hands is known to more than just the two of us... Once that is dragged into the light, it will be more than enough for Morgana to hate me unto death..."

While the fact that Morgana and King Uther were biological father and daughter was indeed known only to Kay and Uther, many people knew that King Uther had killed Morgana’s mother, Ygraine. During the war against sorcerers and magic in those years, Ygraine’s fate was by no means a minor incident!

Ygraine's identity was exceptionally unique. First and foremost, she was a High Priestess of the Old Religion and a descendant of the Triple Goddess lineage, possessing extraordinary magical abilities and an extremely lofty status within the magical world. She was a revered figure in the hearts of all worshippers of the Old Faith.

Secondly, her public identity was also remarkably prominent—she was the wife of Gorlois, the Duke of Cornwall at the time!

The origin of that affair was actually quite simple. Ygraine could no longer accept the wholesale slaughter of the Old Faith and magical kindred by King Uther, so she used her position as the wife of Duke Gorlois of Cornwall to continuously leak intelligence outward, disrupting Uther's military strategies and causing his armies to suffer heavy losses for a time.

However, she never imagined that these actions of hers would ultimately bring about the death of her husband, Duke Gorlois. (Duke Gorlois had fallen in battle because Ygraine's treasonous leaks prevented him from receiving timely reinforcements from King Uther.)

It was precisely because of this that King Uther followed the trail and uncovered the truth that Ygraine was a witch, leaving him with no choice but to put her to death.

This matter could simply not be concealed from others, at least not from the high-ranking nobles who participated in the war back then, most of whom knew a thing or two. This was why King Uther believed that if Arthur's true parentage were exposed, it would inevitably drag up the affair concerning Morgana's mother.

Kay understood as well, but he felt that Arthur's secret did not need to be made public. Perhaps speaking with Arthur in private could prevent the subsequent chain of consequences. Some things only worsen when avoided; it would be far better to lay everything out in the open and talk it through thoroughly. That might well be the best solution.

Regrettably, King Uther stubbornly rejected this suggestion. He intended to take this secret with him to the grave!

"The problem is that we are no longer the only ones who know! Don't forget, Nimueh knows as well! Since she knows, can you guarantee that Camelot's other enemies do not? A secret known to others is no longer a secret!"

Kay attempted to persuade King Uther from another angle, but the king's stubbornness exceeded Kay's imagination. Uther's reasoning was simple: they were enemies of Camelot, so their accusations were entirely unworthy of fear! He could simply dismiss them as slanderous lies. So many years had passed, and no one could produce any evidence. Why should he be afraid?

When the conversation reached this point, Kay was powerless to do any more.

...

Because of the Black Knight incident, Camelot had become exceptionally lively over the past few days. As the event fermented, more and more people learned of it, beginning to recount Kay's might and Camelot's greatness, adorning the tales with words like legendary and magnificent.

This indirectly elevated the prestige of the Kingdom of Camelot. At the same time, it drew many people to Camelot on pilgrimage, all hoping to catch a close-up glimpse of the arena where the Black Knight was slain.

There was truly a scarcity of entertainment in this era; any minor occurrence could keep idle people gossiping for days, let alone a classic tale of a knight defeating a demon. Therefore, even though several days had passed, the fervor surrounding the event not only failed to subside but grew increasingly intense.

Plays featuring Kay and the Black Knight as protagonists had even appeared in the markets of Camelot, and they were quite popular.

Merlin himself was quite fond of these plays. Although he knew the actual truth of the matter, it did not hinder his enjoyment of the performances; after all, theatrical adaptations had been embellished and were far more interesting than reality.

Today, taking advantage of the moment when Arthur was being thoroughly tormented and lectured by Sir Kay as usual, Merlin sneaked out just like any other day, intending to watch the play "The Knight Confronts the Evil Black Knight" once more.

Yet just as he was halfway there, he suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure peering anxiously around the crowd, seemingly searching for someone.

"Mother?!"

The woman looking around in the crowd heard Merlin's shout and immediately turned her head, her gaze meeting Merlin's directly.

"Merlin!"

Lady Hunith had not seen her child for a full half-year. Seeing the son she had yearned for day and night right before her eyes, how could she hold back the surging emotion in her heart? She rushed straight to Merlin and embraced her son tightly.

Merlin was equally emotional. Ever since leaving his hometown of Ealdor, it was not that he had never thought of going back to visit his mother, but too many things had happened lately, leaving him no time to ask for leave. Besides, as a lowly servant, what right did he have to casually request time off? Thus, his yearning for his hometown and his mother could only be buried deep in his heart.

And now, miraculously, his mother had come to Camelot herself.

He wanted to look closely at his mother, to see if she had been living well.

Yet with that very look, a problem arose. He discovered that there were bruises on his mother's face, and even her eyes were swollen. It was blatantly obvious that someone had beaten her!

This realization filled Merlin with intense anger. He immediately asked anxiously, "What happened? Who did this?"

The surprise and overwhelming joy Hunith had felt upon seeing her son instantly transformed into sorrow and unspeakable bitterness.