Avalon

It was located a short walk from the castle’s central hall. Through the doors, one could see numerous civil officials busily at work.

“Avalon, huh… It’s been a while.”

“Yes. I thought this would be the best place to gather information about people in need.”

This was Avalon, the government institution responsible for administering the kingdom. It handled not only matters between nobles but also the concerns of the citizens living in the capital.

Of course, the idea of coming here had crossed Arthur’s mind too. But honestly, he’d hoped to avoid it.

“Now then, what should I do…”

“Well… if you speak to the person in charge, they might be able to help you.”

“The person in charge, huh…”

Arthur knew who that was. And frankly, he wasn’t good with them. It made him want to turn back on the spot…

The truth was, Arthur was no saint. He wasn’t the kind of man who’d willingly sacrifice himself for the people. He had been kind to Kei only because he owed her a debt. The idea of going out of his way to help strangers and endure discomfort… wasn’t exactly appealing.

Wasn’t there some other way to earn Good Deed Points?

“…Hey, did you hear? That guy got thrown in prison.”

“Ah yeah, that sword demon… Lancelot, right? He caused all kinds of trouble. Serves him right. He might even get executed.”

That’s when it happened. The officials’ chatter reached Arthur’s ears, and the memories of his time in the dungeons and the cold touch of the guillotine came rushing back. He shivered.

“Are you alright, Lord Arthur?”

Kei’s voice, worried about his pale face, brought back the image of her joyful smile when he had said he wanted to help people.

‘No way am I going back to the guillotine!! And I’m not about to betray that smile, either!!’

A mix of guillotine-induced trauma and the desire to live up to Kei’s expectations pushed Arthur forward.

He asked Kei to wait outside and made his way to the Director’s Office.

“You dare!! First, you remove me from my position as Prince Arthur’s tutor, and now you mean to punish me?! What is the meaning of this?!”

As Arthur opened the office door, he found the sharp-eyed silver-haired beauty Morgan arguing with the portly, jewel-bedecked middle-aged man—Greed.

“As I said, we’ve already gathered evidence that you embezzled Prince Arthur’s funds. You scrambled to destroy the evidence, but it was too late. If you’d treated the staff with some decency, your fate might have been different.”

“W-what… don’t tell me… those servants…?!”

Morgan placed a thick stack of documents onto the desk with a cold smile, flaunting the proof to Greed. His face grew pale.

What the heck… this was terrifying… Arthur had clearly walked in on a scene of utter chaos.

Besides, in his previous life, Greed had never been removed as his tutor. Arthur was still trying to process the change when Morgan’s eyes met his—and she smirked.

“Well, well… it seems we have a visitor at just the right time.”

“Lord Arthur, please save me!! This woman is trying to frame meeeee!!”

“Wha—?!”

Noticing Arthur’s presence, Greed immediately burst into a half-cry and clung to him. Just moments ago, he’d been yelling at Morgan—yet now he looked like a pitiful victim, his dramatic acting as impressive as ever.

“Morgan… can you explain the situation in detail?”

“Yes. I was confronting this man after uncovering that he had been using your personal funds for himself. I’ve already submitted a report to the judiciary. Unless something unexpected happens, he’ll be prosecuted.”

“Lord Arthur!! I’ve looked after you since you were a child! There’s no way I would do something like that! You must believe me! Only you can save me!!”

It was true. As a member of the royal family, Arthur had the power to easily sweep away such accusations. The authority of nobles and royals was overwhelming—and it was something Morgan had taken issue with in his past life.

“I see… so one of you is lying…”

Both Morgan and Greed focused their eyes on Arthur.

Greed had used him extensively. In Arthur’s past life, he hadn’t paid much attention to it, but Greed’s bad reputation had always been floating around.

Chances were, this wasn’t just about embezzlement. Greed had probably been exploiting Arthur for a long time. Morgan may have been irritating, but she hadn’t said anything untrue.

There was no question about who he should trust.

Arthur gave Greed a crooked smile—and Greed, thinking he had been saved, lit up.

“Hmph! You arrogant little girl! You’ll be the one exiled from the castle!! Go on, Lord Arthur, tell her!!”

“Morgan…”

“Yes, what is it?”

Arthur stared at her expressionless face and gave his command.

“Call your subordinates and have this man arrested. Then investigate his estate and all his known associates thoroughly.”

“Yes, understood. Leave it to me.”

“W-Why, Lord Arthur?! I… I—”

“You tried to use me… didn’t you?”

Before Greed could finish, Arthur cut him off with a cold voice. At that, Greed’s face twisted briefly—and then he suddenly bolted for the door.

This was bad. Kei’s outside! If she were taken hostage, it’d be a disaster—Arthur panicked and tried to stop Greed.

“Icy vines, bind the guilty.”

A cold, emotionless voice preceded the spell. Vines of frost sprang up around the doorway, wrapping around Greed and freezing him in place.

“Ah… ahhh…”

“What a grotesque ice sculpture.”

Morgan commented coolly, watching as Greed froze, his face locked in a grimace. She hadn’t killed him, most likely—but still, the sight was terrifying.

She’s seriously scary…!

Morgan’s subordinates, clearly used to this, carried the frozen Greed off. Arthur and Morgan were now alone. Her tone suddenly relaxed into something more casual.

“So… what’s your business here? This is your first time visiting me, isn’t it, Arthur?”

Well, in his previous life, he’d avoided her as much as possible. That much was true.

Of course he knew she’d throw some sarcastic jab if he asked for help. Not that he was running away. He wasn’t scared of Morgan—besides, this was his second life. He wouldn’t lose a verbal match.

No… it was just that he felt bad for utterly destroying her in an argument, so he’d spared her. That was it.

Or so Arthur tried to convince himself, showing his usual small-mindedness. He looked her in the eyes and stated his business.

“I want to be useful to someone… so I thought I’d ask for your help.”

“Oh? For you to say something like that… are you finally ready to listen to what I’ve been telling you all along?”

She gave a cold smile. Seeing it again made Arthur feel unexpectedly nostalgic.

Now no longer his fiancée but simply his childhood friend, Morgan was the daughter of a powerful noble and, after her father’s death, had become the head of Avalon. However, her blunt speech and inflexible ways earned her the scorn of other nobles, eventually pushing her into a sidelined position.

Still… she was always right.

She had constantly advised Arthur—even more strictly once they were engaged—despite how little he listened. Once, when he hadn’t known the value of his clothes, she scolded him:

“You’re royalty and you don’t even know how much your own outfit costs? Just cutting back on your spending could save how many starving citizens, do you think?”

And when he once said, “If there’s no bread, can’t they just eat cake?” upon hearing the people were starving, she retorted:

“Bread and cake are both made from flour. Is your head full of cream or something?”

Actually… no. She’s way too mouthy. Infuriating, really. Even now, gratitude was giving way to irritation, and Arthur found himself wanting to argue back.

Also—she was misunderstanding something. It wasn’t that he was going to listen to her now.

She was going to listen to him.

“It might just be a whim, but I think the intent is admirable. But knowing you, you were probably thinking you could just go around healing every injured and sick person you find, weren’t you?”

Her voice had a faintly teasing edge, testing him. Arthur grinned and answered.

“What are you talking about, Morgan? If I use my power recklessly, it’ll lose value and make others dependent. Eventually, it’ll just be exploited by those who want to use me. Not to mention, my ability has a limited number of uses. I can’t waste it. I’ll only use it for people truly special to me.”

“Wha… You thought that far ahead…?”

Morgan’s eyes widened in disbelief as Arthur smugly repeated the very words she had once said to him in a previous life.

And then, as if it were his own original insight, he followed up with more wisdom she had once offered:

“Rather than healing powers, it’s more effective to use the authority I hold as the second prince of the kingdom, right?”

“Th-That’s…”

Seeing her even more shocked, Arthur flashed a triumphant look.

He was insufferable.