Arthur And Morgan

“…I see.”

Seeing Morgan’s stunned expression, the small-minded Arthur became unbearably smug. Watching the woman who had always called him a “foolish prince” now visibly flustered gave him immense satisfaction.

Yes, Arthur was a very petty man.

“…You’ve clearly done some thinking. So, if you’re not using your healing abilities, what do you think you can accomplish?”

“Well… I am the second prince and a healer. Even if I don’t act directly, there are nobles always fawning over me for favor. I could exploit that, don’t you think? For example, I could redirect all the money they waste on nonsense and get them to spend it on the people instead. Sadly, this kingdom has no shortage of problems. If I make it seem like I’m interested in those problems and subtly ask for support, there’s bound to be someone who’ll help.”

As Arthur spoke, the cold edge in Morgan’s gaze gradually softened and warmed.

“I see… Then tell me, Prince Arthur—do you know what kind of problems this kingdom currently faces?”

It was likely the first time she had addressed him as Prince Arthur since they first met. And he didn’t miss the faint glimmer of respect now appearing in her eyes.

Oh god, this felt amazing.

He couldn’t help but keep talking, delighted to see respect on the face of someone who had always belittled him.

“Of course I do. I could list dozens, but the most critical issues are: the disparity between nobles and commoners, the excessive privileges of knights, the food supply problem… and the monopolization of healing magic. And to fix those…”

Naturally, these weren’t Arthur’s own ideas. They were the very things Morgan had passionately argued to him and other nobles in the previous timeline, in her efforts to reform the country.

“You… you really observed all of that? That’s even more specific than what I proposed…”

Morgan let out a breath of admiration—but Arthur wasn’t surprised. He was simply regurgitating her past advice and insights, drawn from memory and flavored with future knowledge from his Good Deed Notebook.

It was textbook cheating.

As if walking into a test with the questions and answers in hand and pretending to know everything.

Worse, most people in modern-day Britannia would scoff at these ideas as naive fantasy.

“I see… So appointing a commoner as your personal maid was your first step in tackling class disparity… And you came to me because you’re finally ready to begin your reforms in earnest?”

Morgan muttered to herself, drawing her own conclusions and seemingly convinced. She was a genius. So naturally, having already sensed the signs of these problems herself, hearing Arthur present them so specifically left her surprised—and impressed.

“You’ve been pretending to go along with the nobles this whole time to make them drop their guard, haven’t you? Forgive me for my rudeness up until now, Prince Arthur… I must’ve been conceited, thinking I was the only one worried about this country’s future…”

Now looking at Arthur with deep respect, Morgan bowed to him.

‘This is dangerous… I think I just awakened something inside me.’

Arthur nearly blurted “Kneel before me!” in full villain mode—if Kei weren’t standing just outside the door. It was that exhilarating.

But then Morgan spoke again.

“I understand your intentions now. However, you may be the second prince and a healer, but at this point you’re still just a royal heir. You don’t yet have the authority to carry out reforms on your own. If you want that kind of power, you’ll need support—public and noble alike—to increase your influence. That’s why you came to me, isn’t it? You want to use my… Avalon’s network and manpower to help people, gain allies, and raise your political weight.”

“…??”

Morgan gave a knowing grin, entirely convinced she had read Arthur’s intentions. Arthur, for his part, was confused why she was smiling—but she kept going.

“To gain the influence needed to speak out against the future problems you mentioned… There are a few things that come to mind. But I want to hear your ideas. What exactly does Prince Arthur plan to do to raise his political voice? I’ll support you however I can.”

Her smile, filled with gentle warmth and newfound respect, left Arthur speechless.

Oh crap oh crap oh crap—THAT’S what she was talking about?!

All those ideals and reforms Morgan had spoken of in the past… had been predicated on after Arthur was named crown prince.

Right now, he was just the second prince. He might have succession rights, but nothing was guaranteed. He had no real authority to act, even if he had a plan.

But Arthur didn’t have a plan. He’d only wanted to earn some Good Deed Points and avoid execution. He hadn’t been thinking about Britannia’s future at all.

Was there any way he could just bow down and admit, “Actually, I didn’t think this far—sorry lol”? Would she forgive him?

“…Is something wrong?”

Morgan’s eyes narrowed slightly, suspicion starting to show.

What if he said, ‘I actually just stole this idea from future you, teehee’? She would definitely snap and accuse him of mocking her.

She’s terrifying when angry…

He remembered the time she’d deliberately left the book Torture Encyclopedia open on her desk while glaring at him. A chill ran down his spine.

And more than that—she had always demanded that he act like royalty.

She was the only one who had stood beside Arthur when the kingdom fell into ruin. They might have been engaged, but he didn’t think there was any real love between them.

Even so, Morgan had been the one to scold him, to push him, and even after their engagement was broken off for political reasons, she had remained by his side as a noble until the very end.

Those days had been hell. The same people who used to flatter him had turned cold. No one listened to him—they mocked him openly.

But she… she kept fighting.

So even if it was selfish, Arthur didn’t want to disappoint her here. He racked his brain.

What had she once told him to do?

“…An orphanage…”

He remembered—she had mentioned something about improving orphanages. That was it… probably?

As Arthur struggled to recall, Morgan’s eyes lit up.

“I see. Yes, revitalizing the orphanage system would be very impactful! As expected of you, Prince Arthur—I’ll start the arrangements at once.”

“Y-yeah… I’m counting on you. Thanks.”

Arthur, now sweating bullets and inwardly panicking, managed a strained smile as Morgan beamed.

Then, after a moment of hesitation, she said,

“No… I should be thanking you. I inherited Avalon recently, but even though I had resources and people, I lacked the power to enact real change. But now… if you gain that power, we can truly reshape this kingdom. Also…”

She paused, her lips curling slightly.

“…Thank you for choosing to trust me over Greed. That made me really happy.”

And then, inexplicably, Morgan blushed.

Arthur thought to himself, This was terrifying, entirely forgetting how rude that was.