"Umu, that's more like it."
After saying that, a barely noticeable smile appeared at the corner of Morgan's lips.
As she calmly glanced around the throne room, she suddenly noticed a familiar white-haired figure bound by a golden chain, attempting to slip away quietly.
In an instant, massive magical energy surged through the entire ziggurat, accompanied by a chilling voice that made one's hair stand on end.
"MER... LIN..."
As Morgan's ominous voice echoed, the atmosphere in the entire ziggurat plummeted to freezing point. Her majestic magical energy stirred her long, light gray hair, resembling serpents swirling and dancing.
"Such a scale of magical energy..." Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow, a look of keen interest shining in his crimson eyes.
Arkhan was also taken aback by the magical energy emanating from Morgan.
Such immense magical energy, almost rivaling that of the gods, coupled with such exquisite control, what exactly had she been through all these years?
Merlin, bound by Oath of Judah's chain like a helpless worm, shuddered as he heard Morgan's voice. Slowly, inch by inch, he turned his head, a forced grin spreading across his handsome face.
"W-Well... What a coincidence, Your Highness." Merlin said, his smile uglier than a cry. "I never expected to encounter you here... after all these years. Y-Your radiance has only grown more dazzling, like the sun itself! Once you appear, everything else pales in comparison... Ahaha... hahaha..."
"After all these years, you say?"
Morgan's voice cut through the air like icy snow, freezing everything in its path.
"Isn't it because... you've been avoiding me all this time?"
"Ahaha, Your Highness, always so humorous..." Merlin swallowed nervously, forcing another smile. "As you know, I'm always on the move, never staying in one place too long. Perhaps that's why we missed each other all these years..."
"You certainly seem to be good at running, huh?" Morgan said, her gaze icy. "Kidnapping Camelot's princess, wandering the entire British Isles for five years, causing chaos everywhere, almost causing Lily to faint... If I hadn't forcefully used the Power of the Island, Momo might still be missing... It's just a pity we haven't caught the mastermind."
"Ahem, how can you call it kidnapping when it was clearly a mutual agreement between her and me?" Merlin denied her words stubbornly. "And wasn't I doing it for her sake? She's destined to rule the country someday, and I was merely trying to familiarize her with the ways of the world in advance... Yes, it's called tailored education! Besides, if you don't believe me, just ask her. I'm sure she'll sing my praises!"
"Tailored education...?" Morgan took a deep breath, suppressing her anger. "If you had actually taught her something useful, I wouldn't complain... But where have you been taking Momo for the past five years?! Taverns, gambling dens, arenas... even brothels! Momo is a girl, and only sixteen!"
"That was just a one-time thing..." Merlin shifted uncomfortably, avoiding eye contact. "All the inns in that town were fully booked then, so we had no choice... I couldn't let a princess sleep on the streets, could I?"
Noticing Morgan's increasingly ominous expression, he hurriedly defended himself.
"But I used illusions to knock everyone out, I assure you, she didn't hear anything inappropriate!"
"Then explain to me, what kind of magecraft have you been teaching Momo?!" Morgan clenched her teeth, her eyes almost spitting fire. "Gigantification, Dragon Strength, Shadow Sneak, Defensive Counter, Weapon Enchantment, Two-handed Mastery... Are you trying to turn her into a mage or a berserker?!"
"Ahem, does it really matter?" Merlin coughed, his eyes darted nervously. "You see, His Majesty is highly skilled in combat and magecraft, so as his daughter, there's no harm in her being a warrior who knows magecraft, right? And it's not like I don't have confidence in my close combat abilities!"
"If you were teaching her swordsmanship or spearmanship, I could somewhat accept it..." Morgan tightened her fists. "But what's the meaning of teaching her to wield a damn axe!?"
Upon hearing that, Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow, glancing at the golden axe placed beside his throne.
"Isn't it more intimidating to wield an axe?" Merlin whispered.
"Then why did Momo tell me that you taught her to use an axe because you thought a little girl with a big axe looked cool?!" Morgan retorted with gritted his teeth.
Merlin hesitated for a moment, then quickly defended himself.
"That's a misunderstanding! I never said such a thing! And besides, I clearly told her to switch to a sword later, but she insisted on using the axe, saying it felt more comfortable to chop with... that little brat is slandering me!"
"Enough!" Morgan looked coldly at him. "If it weren't for you, Momo wouldn't be in this state in the first place. Not only she's always sneaking out for adventures, none of the teachers I arranged for her could last two months. They either got injured or fainted from anger. Every time I asked her why she fought the teachers, she said it was what Merlin taught her. Only those who could defeat her could be her teacher..."
"When did I ever say such things?! I never told her that!"
If he weren't bound by chains, Merlin would probably be jumping in frustration.
"It's obviously that little brat framing me! She has a history of this, every time she's caught stealing alcohol, she says I told her to do it, and because she's young, they believe her and then beat me up! I'm innocent! I really don't know anything!"
"Even if that's true, it's still your fault."
Morgan lifted her veil, her azure eyes gradually transforming into serpent-like pupils.
"Merlin, in order to deal with your immortality, I specifically studied Mystic Eyes of Petrification, and I've made some progress recently. Let's have you be the test subject."
"No, please!"
Merlin, being stared at by Morgan's Mystic Eyes, was clearly panicked, his body writhing like a fish out of water.
"I've shed blood for the kingdom, I've also served His Majesty faithfully! You can't do this to me! Your Majesty, please, why are you just standing there, have you really abandoned me?!"
"Arkhan, don't stop me, today I must turn this guy into a stone statue, crush him into powder, and then feed him to the pigs!"
Morgan exclaimed in anger, her snake-like pupils emitted a strange purple light, full of mystery.