An Unknown Fate

Chapter 66: The Truth

The morning sun shone on her soft hair like golden sand, and Artoria stretched slightly, with a smile on her face, and walked briskly in the direction of the courtyard.
　　
However, when she came to the courtyard, she did not see the figure of the boy who usually exercised here, but only saw a blond knight dressed in white armor and holding a holy sword waving the blade in his hand.
　　
Noticing the arrival of the girl, Gawain, who was practicing intently, stopped the movement of his hand, glanced at the girl with some surprise, and then showed a hearty smile and said respectfully.
　　
"Good morning, My King. It looks like you're really tired from this war... Are you resting well? "

"Well, it's okay, thank you for your concern, Gawain. However, yesterday was indeed a little tired. "
　　
As a king, but getting up later than her subordinates, Artoria's face flashed with embarrassment, she coughed lightly, looked around, and couldn't help but ask again.
　　
"By the way, Gawain, have you seen where Ian went?"
　　
However, in the face of the girl's question, Gawain was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously spoke.
　　
"Yesterday? Don't you know that you've slept for a day, My King? Speaking of which, I didn't seem to see His Excellency Ian all day yesterday... I'm sorry, but I don't know where Mr. Ian went. "
　　
Seeing that Gawain shook his head with some confusion, with a bit of apology on his face, Artoria blinked, feeling that she might have heard it wrong just now, as if self-doubting, and frowned tightly.

"You said... I slept all day? This can't be, how could I sleep so long... Wait, I ask you Gawain, where is Merlin! "
　　
The knight in front of him categorically could not deceive himself in this regard, and Artoria, after a brief puzzlement, immediately thought of something and opened her mouth to question.
　　
I don't know why, she always has a bad premonition in her heart.
　　
"Merlin's words, I just saw him in the Hall of the Round Table, as if he was receiving your adoptive father, Sir Ektor... My King? "
　　
Before the words were finished, Gawain saw the girl turn her head and leave in a hurry, vaguely sensing that the other party's mood seemed to be a little wrong, and under worry, Gawain also quickly followed Artoria's pace.

The two of them arrived at the door of the round table hall after a while, and Artoria pushed open the huge stone door and asked sharply as soon as she stepped into the hall.
　　
"Merlin, did you use sleep-type magic on me again! Didn't I tell you that a second time will definitely cut you! And where did Ian go? What the hell are you doing? "
　　
However, what Artoria did not expect was that the Round Table Hall at this moment was not only Merlin and her adoptive father Ektor.
　　

All the knights of the round table except Gawain stood quietly at the round table, which symbolized the highest glory of all knights in Britain, and they all looked at her silently the moment the girl entered.
　　
"Why is everyone here? Lancelot, why are you looking at me like that? And Tristan, are you in... Tears? Wouldn't it be some sad poetry that comes to mind again? "

Inexplicably, she felt that everyone's gaze seemed to be a little heavy when they looked at her, and Artoria blinked in bewilderment, but at the moment she was still angry in her heart, obviously not planning to let Merlin fall asleep again with magic.
　　
"Merlin, you come out and explain it to me! Think it's okay to hide behind Ektor? Speaking of which, why did Hector suddenly come over..."
　　
"Artoria, I hope you can calm down later."
　　
The elderly knight suddenly interrupted the girl's words, and Artoria looked at Ektor, whose eyes seemed to be a little red and swollen for some reason, and Kai, who pinned his face next to him, and wondered.
　　
"Calm down? What are you talking about, Ektto, I just want Merlin to have a talk. "

But the old knight did not answer her question, but only stepped aside slightly, revealing the items that were quietly placed on the round table.
　　
Artoria recognized the ownership of those items at a glance, and raised her eyebrows in surprise.
　　
"Isn't this Merlin, the armor and greatsword you made for Ian before? Although he never used it once, how could he put it here? Moreover, isn't this Ian's Durandal? And the sword that Hector had given him before... What's going on, Merlin?
　　
"Ian, why did he put these things here? Where is he? "
　　
The sense of foreboding in her heart became stronger and stronger, and Artoria looked at the delicate spring flower on the pitch-black armor, slowly raised her head, and looked at the white-robed magician wearing a hood on the side in confusion.
　　
Merlin stepped forward, his magnificent purple eyes did not contain any emotion, he just looked at the girl quietly, and said softly.
　　
"Artoria, Ian is gone."

"Gone? Where can he go alone? Aren't you going to let Ian do some weird undercover missions again, Merlin? Are you just afraid that I won't agree, so you used magic to put me to sleep for a day? But now in the situation in Britain, there is no need for Ian to do that..."
　　
"It's not. You calm down and listen to me slowly. "
　　
Directly interrupting the girl's self-associative words, Merlin's voice said everything without ups and downs.
　　
Including his and the boy's plan, including the so-called "special magic" is actually the boy's blood, including... In order to allow Britain to smoothly transition from the end of the gods to the modern day, the boy gave everything he had to the earth.
　　
The voice of the white-robed magician echoed in the spacious round table hall, and everyone did not speak, because they had learned the truth from the magician's mouth long before the arrival of the girl and Gawain.

The knights of the Round Table all lowered their heads in shame and sorrow, regretting that they had not learned the truth sooner.
　　
And Artoria, who listened to all the words, the expression on her face stiffened second by second at a speed visible to the naked eye, until Merlin's words ended, the girl's pale face barely pulled out a smile, looked at the knights of the round table around her, and spoke.
　　
“...... This must be a joke, right? Because I finally saw the hope that the war would end, you guys are going to join forces to deceive me, right? Let me guess, this must be Merlin's bad idea again, right?
　　
"Okay, don't joke about this kind of thing, tell me where Ian went?"

Artoria's voice seemed a little weak, as if she was breathless, she supported her body with one hand on the round table in front of her, her holy blue eyes looked at Merlin hopefully, and the smile at the corner of her mouth trembled slightly.
　　
However, the white-robed magician only replied ruthlessly.
　　
"It's the truth."