The first attempt at seducing Ian was a great success.
So much so that Morgan never even considered the potential consequences.
Not to mention, Tiamat hadn't spoken in a very long time.
So this sudden roar, naturally, gave Morgan quite a start.
But—
Looking at Ian, who was still feeding ravenously before her, tugging at her provisions, Morgan quickly calmed down.
That's right.
He didn't feel it.
The isolation magic she had specially set up earlier was working.
"Don't suppress yourself," Morgan, smelling of wine, whispered in Ian's ear.
"If you don't want to go inside, doing it on the outside is fine too."
"With your big sister, you can be your truest self."
Saying this, Morgan raised her legs and wrapped them around Ian's waist.
You mustn't find out—
My greedy little dragon—
The princess of Britain said this and closed her eyes.
Ruuuumble.
The world behind her closed eyes was one of flashing lightning and roaring thunder.
BOOM!
From time to time, a bolt of lightning would descend from the sky, striking down beside Morgan.
And the horror of the dream did not end there.
Tiamat, in her dragon form, was roaring wildly, and the Sea of Life churned with one great wave after another.
"Morgan!"
"I trusted you so much!"
"Why, after finding Ian, did you not return him to me!"
"Answer me!"
CRASH—
Another bolt of lightning.
A torrential rain began to fall upon the Sea of Life.
"Or else I'll kill you!"
"I'll kill you right now!"
"Tiamat, listen to my explanation first—"
Realizing things had gone terribly wrong, Morgan quickly tried to stop Tiamat's rampage.
"Things aren't what you think they are."
"How could they not be!"
"I can smell it!"
Tiamat flashed forward, displaying a speed that seemed utterly impossible for her massive body.
In her dragon form, she roared at Morgan.
"What are you doing?!"
"Do you think I'm easy to deceive?!"
The dragon's roar was extremely piercing.
With just these few simple words, Morgan could feel her very brain tremble.
"I am not deceiving you."
"Your son has not been fully won back yet."
"I'm just working hard!"
"You lie—!"
Tiamat swung her sharp claws, sending Morgan flying.
The princess's body tumbled through the Sea of Life, finally coming to a stop after a good while.
"You have my son's scent on you!"
"You're all bad women, just as I thought!"
"You definitely did something with him!"
"I'll kill you!"
"I am going to kill you!"
With a boom.
Tiamat spewed forth wicked black flames, which surged directly towards Morgan.
Of course, the princess of Britain was not going to be captured without a fight.
She stretched out her hand, attempting to resist Tiamat's flames with her own methods.
But soon.
Morgan discovered that the flames coming from the other were not simply flames in the conventional sense.
They were...
A curse.
Morgan had considered her own mastery of magic to be very high, but in the face of Tiamat, it was not even worth mentioning.
Almost instantly, the magic circle she had used for defense was shattered.
Another heavy blow.
With great difficulty, Morgan stood up in the Sea of Life.
Now, she was completely bare.
And this seemed to make Tiamat even angrier.
"Urraaaagh—!"
"This is how you seduced my son, isn't it?!"
"You shameless creature!"
"..."
Knowing that she probably had no chance of escape, here in this dreamscape, Morgan began to laugh.
"You dragon, you really know how to twist the facts."
"Could it not be..."
"That it was because you were unable to keep your son that he ran into me?"
"Tiamat, you listen to me carefully!"
"He likes me very much now—"
"Do you understand?!"
Morgan's words seemed to have touched Tiamat's reverse scale.
She became even more furious.
"I will erase you from all worlds!"
"You bad woman who stole my son!"
Looking at Tiamat, who was gathering a massive amount of magical energy, Morgan knew this was likely where she would meet her end.
Even though...
I finally had a chance to capture that greedy little dragon.
Artoria hasn't fallen, but I'm the one to go first?
Doesn't that mean I've accomplished nothing?
Why...
Is it always like this...
What did I do wrong...
Why is it that every time a glimmer of hope appears, it vanishes like a dream?
Why!
Just why!
In the torrential rain, Morgan looked at the gradually distorting world and couldn't help but fall into despair.
She was so, so unwilling to accept this.
However—
It was at this very moment.
This dream world, which had been constructed by chance, began to shake.
Morgan had thought it was Tiamat's rage, but she discovered that didn't seem to be the case.
It...
Was falling apart?
What's happening?
Morgan was not the only one who was confused; Tiamat, who had been preparing to kill her, was also puzzled.
"It's shattering..."
"Everything is shattering..."
"Morgan, what did you do now?!"
"..."
Before Morgan could answer (or perhaps, mock) Tiamat, she felt herself fall out of the dream.
She opened her eyes and found Ian looking at her.
And in his mouth, he was still chewing on something.
That was...
Tiamat's crystal?
"Ian, you..."
"You were crying just now," Ian said, as if he knew what Morgan was going to ask.
"Was I too rough?"
"Eh?"
Only then did Morgan realize there were tears at the corners of her eyes.
It looked... as if she had been ravaged to the point of tears...
Crack.
The black crystal was crushed by the boy's teeth and swallowed.
Morgan knew this was his subconscious action after seeing her cry.
He didn't know the truth, but he could sense that this was the reason for her tears!
But...
That was something that had his mother's scent.
What kind of inner struggle must that have taken?
Morgan didn't dare to imagine.
"Ian, you..."
"Don't cry."
Ian gently wiped the tears from the corners of Morgan's eyes.
"Big Sister Morgan, you look so pained when you cry."
"I don't like it."
"So, I won't let you stay like this."
"..."
Morgan's eyes reddened once again.
In her entire life up to this point, this was the first time someone had wiped away her tears.
Fate hasn't abandoned me, has it?
It surely hasn't!
But—
Before Morgan could be happy for even a moment, she heard words that made her heart sink.
To be precise, they were words she was unwilling to hear, spoken from the mouth of someone she was willing to listen to.
"Big Sister Morgan."
"I want to know—"
"How can I make Artoria become a king worthy of Britain faster?"