—From now on, I tell you of a future—the fate of a mysterious island that became the land of fairies.
—The innocent return.
—This infinite castle of the Queen.
—Like rain, like ashes, it accumulates. Like snow, like lies, it fades away.
—Our hopes are at the ledge. Even now, we remain in the palm of the Queen’s hand.
—But we only need to endure it a little longer. The morning when two thousand years have passed, the child of salvation will appear.
—The one who joins fairy and human. The child of salvation who will save the world.
—Like a moth to a flame. Even if it begins as a small spark, even if it cannot be seen.
—A city of iron, a sea of soot.
—When the calamity was repulsed, the pilgrimage can be welcomed.
—Guided by the Staff of Selection, watched over by the foreign traveler, the child of salvation will reach the throne.
—The true king takes their place on the throne. The bloodstained crown is received.
—Ring, ring, thunderous anger, fiery lamentation. Herald with six bells. Make way for the true king.
—Before the red calamity reaches us. Before the black calamity bites.
—We may be a bit lazy at our job, but we are descended from free fairies.
—Hope is still missing. A shining tomorrow is desired.
Needless to say, this was the prophecy of the Mirror Clan, which had once been mentioned in the village of Tintagel.
It was also the main reason why rumors of the Child of Prophecy had spread throughout all of Faerie Britain, causing Artoria to become known among the fairies as the savior, the one who would overthrow the false king and be crowned as the true king.
Because it was closely related to herself, Artoria naturally paid the most attention to this prophecy, certainly much more than Riezel.
It was exactly because of this that, after learning they would head to Norwich, Artoria began to feel anxious.
"A city of iron, a sea of soot."
"When the calamity was repulsed, the pilgrimage can be welcomed."
Riezel recited these two lines of the prophecy and looked at Artoria.
"Are you worried about this?"
Any fairy knew that the so-called ’city of iron, sea of soot’ clearly referred to Norwich.
Besides being a port city, Norwich was also famous for its smelting industry.
Generally, fairies deeply disliked iron, since iron was poisonous to them, but if iron was only used to make daily necessities or buildings, fairies did not mind it too much.
Iron used for everyday items or construction would be specially treated by the fairies of the Earth Clan, who were skilled in forging. For this reason, the Earth Clan was the only one among the six great fairy clans that treasured iron.
As a result, Norwich, as the territory of the Earth Clan, naturally became a city focused on smelting, dedicated to producing all kinds of iron weapons and tools.
Given all this, the ’city of iron, sea of soot’ in the prophecy could only refer to Norwich.
As for the line, ’when the calamity was repulsed, the pilgrimage can be welcomed,’ its meaning could also be mostly guessed, since everyone knew by now that Norwich was currently under the threat of a ’Calamity.’
For now, the Calamity was still accumulating and had not yet erupted, but judging from the prophecy, it could be inferred that once the Child of Prophecy arrived in Norwich, the Calamity that had been building up there would probably break out.
Afterward, the Child of Prophecy would defeat the threat brought by the Calamity there and begin their pilgrimage, receiving a warm welcome.
Needless to say, this was the meaning of those two lines.
It was precisely because Artoria realized this that she began to feel uneasy.
"If things really happen just like in the prophecy, does that mean my trip to Norwich might not be a good thing?"
Artoria was worried about this, which was exactly why she wanted to discuss it with Riezel.
She was afraid that her arrival would actually bring the threat of the Calamity upon Norwich, which was already in a precarious situation. According to the prophecy, as soon as she arrived in Norwich, the Calamity accumulating there would erupt.
At that point, Norwich could end up suffering heavy losses.
"I think you’re overthinking it." Riezel shook his head. "Doesn’t the prophecy also say you’ll defeat the Calamity and be welcomed? In other words, Norwich will be fine in the end."
"But that doesn’t mean there won’t be sacrifices..."
Artoria spoke hesitantly, clearly still uneasy.
"Oberon told me that the Calamity building up in Norwich is enormous. Even compared to any past Calamity, it’s considered extremely powerful."
"Can I really defeat such a powerful Calamity?"
"Even if I do defeat it, will Norwich really come through without a single loss?"
"No, that’s nothing but wishful thinking."
"I also can’t understand what Morgan is thinking. She knows the Calamity has appeared in Norwich, yet she hasn’t sent her army to fight it, nor ordered the fairies to evacuate. What is she planning?"
Artoria was feeling quite frustrated as she expressed her frustration.
On the other hand, Riezel’s expression remained indifferent.
"She probably just thinks whether fairies live or die doesn’t matter, right?"
Upon hearing this, Artoria was left speechless.
One should know that Morgan indeed ruled over the fairies, but she did not care about their lives or deaths.
Otherwise, she would not have engraved command spells onto all the fairies of the Fairy Kingdom, forcibly collecting their magical energy, even if this would slowly lead most fairies toward death—she remained utterly indifferent.
What she cared about was only the land of Faerie Britain.
What she loved was this country itself, not the fairies who lived in it.
—Fairies are not worth saving.
In a way, Morgan herself had the same view as Riezel, which was why her rule was so cold, so brutal, and so frightening.
"Even so... if she doesn’t care about the deaths of the fairies in Norwich, does she not care about the Calamity itself?"
Artoria raised a crucial question.
"I mean, the Calamity that’s been gathering won’t just disappear because Norwich is destroyed, right? Won’t it still threaten Britain all the same?"
It was obvious that once the Calamity erupted, after Norwich was destroyed, it would be other places’ turn.
If the Calamity kept growing, in the end, it would threaten all of Britain, the entire Fairy Kingdom.
Would Morgan really be able to ignore this situation?
Certainly not.
"I think once things turn bad, Morgan will act personally, right?" Riezel’s eyes flickered as he spoke. "She might even be waiting for the Calamity to break out. As soon as it does, she’ll use her grand magecraft to wipe out the Calamity in one stroke."
Upon hearing this, Artoria was stunned for a moment, then her eyes widened.
"So that means Morgan is just sitting by, letting the Calamity happen, and treating Norwich as the fuse to set it off?"
Artoria had finally seen through it.
"Yeah, that should be right." Riezel nodded calmly. "Instead of wasting resources to slowly eliminate it, that witch would prefer to settle everything at once, crushing the threat to Britain before it can spread. Norwich exists solely to be a sacrifice for this purpose. As long as the Earth Clan is not wiped out, with the fairies’ abilities, it wouldn’t be hard to build another Norwich."
As for all the fairies who died during this, what did that have to do with Morgan?
Understanding Riezel’s point, Artoria fell completely silent.
"What’s wrong?" Riezel, as if he could see through Artoria’s thoughts, asked. "Does it bother you that much?"
"Mm..." Artoria did not deny it—or rather, she felt there was no need to deny it in front of Riezel, so she nodded honestly, her voice low. "With a ruler like Morgan, is it really good for Britain?"
"Whether it’s good or not, I don’t know, but I do know that there is no one in this world who loves Britain more than Morgan." Riezel replied calmly. "She doesn’t care about the fairies’ lives, or even what happens to this country, but she will protect this land no matter the cost."
He understood well that it was Morgan’s true nature.
Otherwise, the Morgan from Proper Human History would not have gone completely mad after failing to become ruler of Britain.
Faerie Britain’s Morgan was still Morgan, and the only reason she did not turn into the infamous wicked witch from Proper Human History was because here, she became Britain’s ruler.
Artoria, who now had King Arthur’s memories, also understood this, but it was precisely because she understood that she was questioning it.
"A ruler like that will never be accepted."
At Artoria’s words, Riezel did not deny it.
He guessed that those who truly saw Morgan as their queen, who truly accepted her as queen, were surely a minority in Faerie Britain.
Among the Fairy Knights, Gawain had always had her own opinions and was not blindly loyal. Lancelot was even closer to Aurora and only followed her orders, so probably only Baobhan Sith truly regarded Morgan as her superior.
Of the six clan heads of the six great clans, Aurora had already turned against Morgan, Spriggan only obeyed on the surface while scheming behind Morgan’s back, Muryan disregarded Morgan’s orders completely, and the King Clan had outright rebelled and declared themselves Morgan’s enemy.
With the Mirror Clan vanished, leaving only the prophecy that Morgan was a false king, in the end, only Woodwose remained loyal to Morgan.
As for the thirty envoys and one hundred officials gathered in the royal palace, they were typical fairies, their wickedness almost unbearable.
If Morgan ever showed the slightest weakness, the first to rush forward and trample her to death would surely be them.
Given all that, it was certain that Morgan was not loved by her people.
However...
"What others think doesn’t matter—the real question is, what do you think?" Riezel stared straight at Artoria and asked calmly. "If you also do not accept Morgan, then do you have the resolve to defeat her and seize the throne?"
Artoria fell silent once again.
And after this silence, Artoria did not say another word as she turned and left.
Riezel watched Artoria leave, then closed his eyes, feeling a mix of emotions inside.
As for this trip to Norwich, Riezel also had his own thoughts.
If Norwich’s fate unfolded just like in the original story, then perhaps he could finally resolve the questions that had always haunted him.
What questions?
They were the matter of Morgan and his connection to her.