When they reached the veranda on one side of the garden, Artoria Caster was still playing among the flowers and didn't notice them arrive, focused entirely on matching the blossoms before her with the illustrations in her field guide. She only snapped out of it when Baobhan Sith approached, then greeted her brightly:
"Ah, Miss Baobhan Sith, you're here. Did you want any flowers today?"
"You're not a florist from town. You don't need to bother with that," Baobhan Sith said, shaking her head. She turned toward Shiomi, signaling Caster with the gesture.
"God King."
Caster scrambled to her feet, not even brushing off the grass clinging to her skirt. She hurried to the steps beneath the veranda and gave Shiomi a slightly clumsy curtsy.
"I'm pretty sure I already told you—you should call me Father," Shiomi said with a faint smile.
Caster flushed with embarrassment. "I—I was only taken in by Your Majesty. I'm not like Miss Baobhan Sith…"
And seeing there were guests present today, she instinctively tried to behave more formally. Even though, in this palace, she was the least required to follow any rules.
"It has nothing to do with being adopted. If you really can't accept it, I won't force you," Shiomi said.
"…I'm sorry. I just didn't want to embarrass you, Your Maj—Father." Caster apologized softly, cheeks red, and corrected herself at once.
Her gaze shifted to the knight standing beside Shiomi—imposing armor, a pure-white cloak, and a helmet like something out of a Phantasmal Species. It was their first meeting, yet she felt an odd familiarity, as if she were supposed to know him already.
"I have an old friend to host today. Do as you like. If you want to go out of the palace, you can," Shiomi said. "Same as always. If anything comes up, I'll have someone call for you. And take your maid if you go out."
"Alright. I understand," Caster answered obediently.
Truth be told, she'd gone out just yesterday. Today she didn't feel like going anywhere. Leaving the city sounded dull, and the weather was perfect for sunbathing in the garden or even taking a nap.
Seeing that Shiomi wasn't planning to introduce the guest right away, and that the guest only nodded in greeting, Caster finished her pleasantries and returned to the garden.
"Father probably needs to speak with the guest alone, so I won't intrude," Baobhan Sith said, wearing a mix of mischief and courtesy. "I'll take my leave."
Then she headed toward Caster instead of following Shiomi and Artoria.
Shiomi watched the two girls start chatting in the garden and let out a helpless smile.
"Why did you suddenly put the helmet back on?"
"My instincts tell me that suddenly letting her see another version of herself from a different history would just cause trouble," Artoria said, turning to him. "I just didn't expect you to actually have her call you 'Father'…"
"She lives in the palace. She needs some sort of status," Shiomi replied as he started walking again. "Even if she's also 'Artoria,' I'm not about to raise her as something like a 'reserved consort.'"
"That's fair," Artoria said, understanding his point.
There was only one Artoria he loved; Shiomi had no need to use alternate versions as substitutes.
"But it still feels strange, watching a girl who looks like another me call you Father," Artoria murmured, her voice warm with teasing affection.
Shiomi nodded in agreement. "Hmm, then let's look at it another way. What if we think of her as our child? After all, Caster looks exactly like you."
"Our... child?" Artoria went still.
Truthfully, she'd felt a faint flicker of envy earlier, knowing Shiomi and Morgan had a child who shared their blood. But what he had just suggested still felt strange.
"Seems I took that joke too far. My apologies." Shiomi took her hand again. "Just thinking about Mordred is enough to tell me children aren't a simple matter for you."
Artoria answered quietly, "As you say. I had a biological father and a foster father, but I've never truly raised a child as a parent. And…"
After Mordred revealed her identity, Artoria had still refused to make her her successor. Back then, as a perfectly impartial king, she wasn't thinking about family or parent-child bonds. What she weighed was whether Mordred possessed the qualifications of a king.
As Arthur, her answer was no.
"Alright, then let's set that aside for now," Shiomi said, deliberately lightening his tone. "Compared to parents raising children, being lovers is better, isn't it?"
"Tenkei…" Artoria cleared her throat, trying to hide her embarrassment.
"But as I said earlier, I never taught Caster how to fight. The reason is simple," Shiomi continued. "She's a fairy of the Garden. After the Garden decided Morgan had abandoned her mission, Caster was sent as her replacement to continue it."
After learning this from the informants planted within the Mirror Clan, Shiomi expanded the war to Cornwall in the southwest, where he retrieved Caster—the Mirror Clan had sent her drifting across the sea in a wooden tub.
Killing her would only make Avalon send another fairy. But if he raised her as a simple child, gave her a comfortable life, and never demanded she become anything specific as a fairy, then the cycle could be delayed. If a third fairy ever arrived, he would handle it the same way.
Even he couldn't bring himself to kill an innocent young fairy from the Garden.
This was the most he could do.
"To protect Morgan…?" Artoria understood him.
"It's less about protection and more about keeping Britannia in balance," Shiomi said, pressing a hand lightly to his chest. "Though not everything will go smoothly."
"Are you alright, Tenkei?" Artoria pulled her hand free and steadied him.
She had long noticed his complexion was paler than when they first met, but he carried himself so calmly that even she assumed it was just the result of staying indoors.
"It's hard to say, but for now, it's nothing serious." Shiomi didn't pull away from her support.
"It seems you keep many secrets in this place," Artoria said. "Do I have the privilege of hearing them?"
"Naturally. And what you choose to do after hearing them is your freedom," Shiomi replied with a smile. "You've probably already realized it—my eyes can no longer see. But that doesn't matter. Let me cook for you first."
...
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