In the world of Type-Moon, it all begins with becoming Morgan's husband!

“Hmm.” Ian nodded.

"Your Highness, even I can sense something amiss right now."

"What... could this be?"

"It's not clear yet."

Morgan was no longer the joyful person he had been on horseback.

Instead, she was met with a more serious scrutinizing gaze—the same cold and aloof demeanor she usually projected to the world.

"Ian, watch out."

"Yes, I will, Your Highness."

You drew your longsword from your waist and became alert to your surroundings.

You shielded Morgan behind you, vowing to protect her with your life.

Your concentration has reached an unprecedented level.

However, some things cannot be avoided simply by focusing one's attention.

You and Morgan are constantly exploring.

A dark shadow is hurtling towards you.

By the time you realize it, it's already in front of you.

Ian never imagined that a creature could come directly in front of him.

The night is dark.

Being in the forest, he didn't recognize what it was, but the instinct in his blood had already surpassed his own thinking.

"You are not allowed to harm Her Highness!"

Ian drew his new sword without hesitation.

Although it wasn't quite perfect yet, he knew now wasn't the time to complain.

All he had to do was draw his sword for the princess!

Bang!

The sound of metal clashing echoed through the dark forest.

In just this simple confrontation, Ian sensed the overwhelming force of his opponent—this strength was definitely not simple!

But what's even more surprising is yet to come.

The dark clouds in the sky were blown away by the wind, and the bright moon, which had been obscured, was able to reveal itself.

The bright moonlight shone in the dark forest.

Ian stared wide-eyed, finding it hard to believe what he was seeing.

Because what stood before him was not an attacker or some kind of wild beast, but... a suit of armor!

To be precise, it was a suit of armor that no one was wearing, yet it was moving, and in its hand, it was holding a giant sword!

What I just collided with was actually this kind of thing?!

Ian gasped, but his fighting spirit remained undiminished.

Because behind him are the people he swore allegiance to.

Backing off?

That's something you can't even do after you're dead!

No matter what it is, if it dares to try to harm Morgan, he will absolutely stand in her way!

however--

Just as Ian was about to charge at the armor again, Morgan stopped him.

"Ian, there's no need to fight anymore."

"It's stopped moving."

"Ok?"

Only after Morgan said that did Ian realize that after the unmanned armor revealed its true form, it remained still and had completely lost its previous menacing appearance.

He took a deep breath and thrust his longsword toward his opponent.

The moment the blade struck, the armor transformed into flower petals, which drifted to the ground in the wind.

Ian couldn't believe his eyes, but he quickly realized it was part of some kind of magic.

He looked at Morgan beside him.

"Princess."

“It’s magic,” Morgan confirmed Ian’s idea. “Let’s look around the area some more.”

"it is good."

You and Morgan begin searching again.

Soon, you discovered more unmanned armor like this.

[But every single suit of armor was just like the first one you encountered—they would only make a single, powerful slashing motion, and then do nothing more.]

[And when your blade strikes them, these seemingly intimidating suits of armor will dissipate into petals.]

After several attempts, Morgan stopped you.

"Princess."

Ian looked at the petals on the ground.

"What on earth is this..."

"It should still be the same magician who hid the name of another offspring last time," Morgan replied in a slightly suppressed voice.

"These armors may very well have originally been flower petals, but we just mistook them for armor."

A magic trick that could make people mistake flower petals for armor?

If anyone else had said this, Ian felt he simply couldn't believe it.

But the person speaking to him at that moment happened to be Morgan.

Despite their nightly trysts, Ian never forgot that she was an excellent magician.

When it comes to magic, there's never any doubt about her statements.

But he quickly realized a problem:

"Your Highness, why do these armors only slash once before stopping?"

"because--"

Morgan looked at the knight beside him who was still holding the longsword.

"I'm afraid these are just guards to ensure the effectiveness of certain spells. He probably didn't expect anyone to dare to stand in front of these empty armors like you, did he?"

“Ian, your courage led me to discover these things.”

In response to Morgan's words, Ian simply smiled and sheathed his longsword.

"Your Highness, I am merely fulfilling my promise."

"As long as I'm here, it's impossible for you to get hurt."

"However, Your Highness, I do have a question—since you've already set up this, why not just complete the combat component as well? It would be a more comprehensive approach."

"It can't be... because the magician was too lazy to do it, can it?"

"I do not know."

Morgan's expression was very complicated.

"But I can sense that new problems may be about to arise for us."

"Ian, will everything we have now be destroyed again?"

Seeing Morgan's expression, Ian didn't say anything more.

He pulled Morgan into his arms, gently stroking her back, and replied:

"Will not."

"Your Highness, I swear to you with my life."

"No one can take away everything that you are meant to have."

"In the end, the figure sitting on the throne will always be only you."

38. King Ian of Lotte

After calming him down, you and Morgan continued searching the vicinity.

Unfortunately, you didn't find any more useful information.

This magician, who possesses the ability to transform flower petals into unmanned armor, seems to be extremely cautious; even Morgan couldn't find any trace of anything worth noting.

[You can't help but wonder if there really are people in the world who can do things so cleanly and efficiently?]

[With dawn approaching, you and Morgan can only mark this place for now and discuss it more deeply once you return to the capital.]

After Morgan had set up the necessary magic, you mounted your horses and headed back towards Camelot.

“Ian,” Morgan, who had been silent the whole way, suddenly spoke.

"I want to ask you a question."

"Please ask, Your Highness."

"If...we never had any pleasure, did you ever love me?"

“Your Highness, I may have offended you in some way.” Ian tightened the reins slightly, slowing the horse down a bit.

"But I would like to correct one of your views."