Chapter 52: The Foolish Prince

Morgana looked at Kay in a daze, finding it hard to believe that her fiancé could be so cold-blooded.

"So we're just supposed to watch them starve to death?"

"As cruel as it sounds, but... yes! They have their own kings and nobles, and we have no standing or authority to interfere, even if we went there to help." Kay frowned, feeling a slight headache from Morgana's stubborn refusal to see reason. He even suspected she hadn't listened to a single word he had just said.

Kindness was a virtue, but kindness was not an excuse, nor was it a reason for blind action! Was helping Ealdor a good thing? Of course it was. Saving people from suffering was never a bad thing anywhere. But what about the consequences? To rush in blindly driven purely by momentary impulse was not kindness; it was stupidity.

Kay had explained it very clearly. If this matter were truly carried out according to their wishes, the final outcome would certainly be far more severe than a single village being harassed by bandits! By then, it wouldn't just be the people of one village dying; it concerned the lives of tens of thousands.

Morgana refused to listen to any of this. Having completely trapped herself in a dead end, she felt as though she no longer recognized Kay. At that thought, Morgana had no intention of listening to another word from Kay. Heartbroken, she turned on her heel and strode out of the great hall.

Kay shook his head helplessly, exchanging a glance with King Uther, only to find the same helplessness reflected in the other man's eyes. Neither of them knew whether Morgana's utter naivety was a good thing or a bad one.

...

Merlin was deeply disappointed as well. He loved his mother and he loved his homeland, so he had desperately hoped that King Uther would help his home village, but... he suddenly felt that staying in Camelot no longer held any meaning for him.

When he had first come to Camelot, it was to find a place better suited to him. But now, he wasn't sure Camelot was that place. He decided to return to Ealdor; he needed to protect his mother rather than stay here and be unable to do a thing.

Originally, he had thought he could do something for his mother and his homeland, but reality had told him that he was powerless.

"I'm sorry, Merlin." Just as Merlin was contemplating where his path should lead, Arthur walked over. "If the decision were up to me, we'd already be on our way."

Merlin looked at Arthur, who was deliberately trying to keep a poker face, and smiled. He suddenly felt that this journey wasn't entirely terrible—at least he had a somewhat passable friend, even though this friend was hot-tempered, barbaric, and fond of ordering him around to do this and that. Still... it wasn't too bad, right? After all, the other person was a prince.

"You tried your best. I'm very grateful that you had the King grant my mother an audience." Merlin didn't blame Arthur for this; he saw the same emotion in Arthur that he felt himself—a desire to help Ealdor, yet both King Uther and Sir Kay had refused. Arthur was just as helpless.

"I truly wish that no matter how far away people live, Camelot could help them." Arthur was still harboring resentment over what had just happened. Yet he was much better off than Merlin and the others, for at least he understood that the considerations of Kay and Uther were not wrong. Still, Arthur didn't like their way of thinking. It was the first time he had ever heard that doing a good thing required weighing the consequences.

"The fact that you can think like that shows you already possess ambition," Kay's voice suddenly rang out from behind Arthur and Merlin.

Arthur and Merlin turned their heads to see Kay standing right behind them.

Merlin immediately bowed, while Arthur, acting like a petulant child, turned his face away in a huff, still angry about Kay's previous remarks.

Kay casually gestured for Merlin to rise, then turned his gaze to the still childish Arthur. Seeing him acting so immaturely made Kay's anger flare up. He never pampered him, so he raised his foot and kicked Arthur right in the rear.

The kick sent Arthur stumbling forward, nearly causing him to fall over the palace ramparts. Fortunately, Merlin reacted quickly and grabbed him just in time.

"What are you doing?! You almost killed me!"

Arthur shrieked in terror, completely forgetting his earlier resolve not to speak to Kay.

"Sigh... When will you ever grow up, my brother? I had just praised you, and in the blink of an eye, you display your own foolishness. How can I possibly feel at ease letting you go to Ealdor?"

Arthur was still shaken with fright, but upon hearing Kay's words, he immediately spun around, grabbed Kay's robes, and asked eagerly, "What did you just say? Did you agree to help Ealdor?"

Kay didn't rush to answer Arthur's question; instead, he cast his gaze down at the hand Arthur had clamped onto his clothes.

Arthur immediately released his grip, stood at attention, and asked in a much more formal and steady tone, "Did you agree to help Ealdor?"

Kay smoothed out the wrinkles on his clothes before speaking at a leisurely pace, "When did we ever agree?"

Arthur's eyes widened instantly, a look of rising fury washing over him.

Yet Kay's next sentence brought Arthur straight back to calmness.

"It's just that recently, Camelot's foolish prince and a few of his friends have been wanting to go on an excursion, and I heard their destination is a small village called Ealdor. Oh dear, should I perhaps warn him that the place hasn't been very safe lately? I hear there are bandits about. It would be terrible if that foolish prince and his friends were to run into a conflict with the bandits."

Having finished this, Kay shook his head once more as he looked at Arthur's dumbfounded expression.

"Anyway, even if any unpleasantness truly occurs, it has nothing to do with Camelot. It would simply be the personal actions of that foolish prince and his friends, and does not represent Camelot's official stance."

With that, he turned and walked away.

Leaving Arthur and Merlin staring at each other in blank dismay.

"Who was he calling a foolish prince just now?" Arthur hadn't caught anything else, only hearing someone insulting him. Having been called a fool by Morgana and Kay since childhood, he was exceedingly sensitive to the word.

Merlin glanced at Arthur with a strange look, suddenly feeling that Kay's earlier assessment had been entirely correct. This fellow was definitely a fool!

...

"How are your preparations coming along?" Arthur asked comfortably as he enjoyed some post-meal fruit while watching Merlin pack and organize the equipment.

"If you'd come over and help, I imagine we could have set off much earlier!" Merlin retorted out of habit.

"I..." Arthur had barely opened his mouth to snap back when a knock sounded from outside the door. Left with no choice, Arthur put down the fruit in his hand and yelled at Merlin, "Merlin! Get the door!"

Merlin had to put down the luggage he was halfway through packing and walked toward the door with extreme reluctance, muttering under his breath all the while, "Why do you even need someone else's help for something as simple as opening a door? Foolish prince!"

"What did you say?" Arthur hadn't heard clearly.

"Nothing, I was just wondering who could be so annoying as to come knocking at this hour," Merlin hastily corrected himself.

However, the moment Merlin opened the door, the sight outside left him speechless with fright.

"Why did it take you so long to open the door?" The newcomer shoved Merlin aside and barged straight in. "What on earth were you two doing? I was getting tired of waiting!"

Seeing who it was, Arthur immediately dropped his feet from the table and said in astonishment, "Morgana?!!!"

Morgana walked in wearing a grey hunting outfit with a long sword slung around her waist, looking as heroic and sharp as a Valkyrie about to march onto the battlefield. Right behind her, Gwen followed step-for-step, carrying a heavy sack on her back.

"Why are you two here?!!"