"W-What..."
Hearing Baobhan Sith's words, Mélusine vaguely felt that some of her deepest worries were coming true.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Mother has married the same person as the King, what on earth are you trying to say?"
"Oh~"
"It seems you don't know anything yet, do you?"
Baobhan Sith shrugged.
"How pitiful."
"To think, the one who offered herself up first has ended up with nothing. It's a bit too tragic."
"That's not it! Why am I pitiful all of a sudden?!"
Baobhan Sith's words made Mélusine anxious.
"Explain yourself clearly!"
"Instead of asking me, you should go ask Ian."
Baobhan Sith wagged her finger.
"Besides, it's been a long time since you've seen him, hasn't it?"
"..."
"That... is none of your business."
"Of course it has nothing to do with me."
"I just—"
A look of great interest appeared on Baobhan Sith's face.
"—want to see your reaction when you find out what's happened."
"Sadness? Shock? Or perhaps grief?"
"Mmm—just thinking about it is so interesting."
"..."
"You're just like Morgan..." Mélusine couldn't help but complain. "It's like you were carved from the same mold."
"That's not important."
A sharp glint flashed in the corner of Baobhan Sith's eye.
"Alright, I've said my piece. What you do next is your own choice."
"Wait, hold on!"
Mélusine's words had no effect.
Baobhan Sith walked straight towards where her mother, Morgan, was, leaving the petite swordswoman standing there alone.
Should I go find him?
Or should I pretend nothing happened?
Mélusine's mind was still thinking, but her body had already crossed the line and begun to act on its own.
When she came to her senses, she found herself already on the path to find Ian.
....
"Sir Lancelot, are you looking for Sir Ian?"
"Y-Yes."
Although she still had her reservations, now that she was here, Mélusine no longer hesitated.
"Do you know where he is?"
Mélusine asked the knight cadets patrolling the street—this had already become part of their daily routine.
After all, the streets of Camelot had been badly damaged.
But...
Would they really know?
The probability should be quite low.
"We do."
"Eh?"
Mélusine blinked.
"You know?"
"Yes." One of the knights nodded. "He just walked by with Sir Habetrot. It looked like they were heading to the tailor's shop."
"The tailor's shop?"
"What for?"
"That we don't know." Another knight waved his hand.
"But..."
"But what?"
"But the two of them looked very close." The knight recalled the scene he had just witnessed. "Sir Habetrot was even riding on Sir Ian's shoulders."
"You..."
"Huh? Where'd she go?"
The two knights looked at each other, neither having any idea where the Mélusine who had been right in front of them had gone.
....
On the other side, Mélusine, having gotten the information she needed, had no intention of hearing the rest of what the knights had to say.
Know the direction, know who he's with, know where he's going.
All that's left is to find him!
Holding onto this conviction, Mélusine did indeed find Ian and Habetrot very quickly.
It was just as the knights had described.
The small, adorable catgirl was currently riding on Ian's shoulders. Whether you called it intimate or not, it was at least something no one else would dare to do.
Not even Mélusine was an exception.
"..."
After a moment's hesitation, Mélusine decided to follow them directly.
She strode over to Ian's side, then spoke as if it were a casual encounter.
"What a coincidence, seeing you here."
"Oh!"
Before Ian could reply to Mélusine, Habetrot spoke first.
She was quite fond of the "benefactor" who had brought her to Camelot.
"It really is you!"
"Y-Yes, it's me."
Mélusine really didn't want to respond to Habetrot's greeting.
Right now, she only wanted to figure out what Ian was up to.
This is the way to the tailor's shop, and he's brought a little tailor with him...
"Are you two... on your way to?"
"Make something."
Ian finally answered Mélusine.
"Habetrot needs to buy some things."
"..."
"I see..."
Mélusine nodded, pretending she was only asking casually.
But the curiosity in her heart soon prompted the fairy dragon to speak again.
"So, after you buy it, you plan to..."
Mélusine didn't dare ask in too much detail.
She was worried she would make her intentions too obvious.
Habetrot, however, blurted it all out.
"Hehe, it's the thing I'm best at, a wedding dress, meow~"
"A wedding dress..."
At the mention of this word, Mélusine's face immediately turned red.
She could never forget the first and only time in her life she had seen one—Artoria's wedding dress.
It was beautiful.
So beautiful it was hard to look away.
Especially when Ian stood beside her, that unique beauty was amplified exponentially.
Wouldn't it have been even better if I were there?
Mélusine felt her breathing quicken.
But not long after, she suddenly realized something.
"Huh?"
"Who is this for?"
"Doesn't Artoria already have a wedding dress? Don't tell me you're making another one?"
"That's right!"
Habetrot, riding on Ian's shoulders, also realized this.
"Yeah, doesn't Artoria already have a wedding dress, meow?"
"Who is the one you asked me to make this for?!"
"..."
Mélusine felt that if it were an ordinary person facing this question, they probably wouldn't give a real answer.
A wedding dress, an object with such powerful symbolic meaning, and now there was to be another one...
No matter how she thought about it, it matched perfectly with what Baobhan Sith had just said.
Could it be...
"It's for Morgan."
The moment the thought crossed her mind, Mélusine's worries became reality.
"What for?!"
The petite swordswoman practically shouted.
But after realizing this was a bit rude, she quickly lowered her voice.
"Why are you making a wedding dress for Morgan?"
"She said she wants to marry me."
"..."
The way a dragon's mind worked was different from an ordinary person's.
So even words that should have been avoided now came crashing down on Mélusine like a tidal wave.
It's true...
Baobhan Sith was right.
He really found a way to make Morgan and Artoria coexist peacefully.
Then... what about me?
Mélusine's pupils began to lose focus.
But, in the moment before her world started to spin, she heard the unfaithful words that made her heart race.
"Habetrot."
"Can I ask you one more thing right now?"
"What is it, meow?"
"Make one for Mélusine, too."