Arthur And Morgan

“Sorry, but she’s my fiancée. You’ll have to look elsewhere.”

When Arthur caught up to Morgan, he found her being pestered by strange men.

If they were just ordinary thugs, Morgan could have crushed them in an instant. But Arthur remembered Tristan’s words—political or not, as her fiancé, he should step in.

“W-who the hell are you?”

“I’m Arth—no, Richard. And she’s my fiancée. So go bother someone else.”

Using his alias on the spot, Arthur slipped between the men and Morgan, pulling her aside. He whispered quickly to her.

“You know your magic draws too much attention. Use me as a decoy and run.”

“But then you’ll—”

“Come on, you know I don’t even feel pain if these punks hit me.”

Arthur spoke as if it were nothing. He wasn’t trying to show off for Morgan’s sake. After fighting the Five Great Calamities, why would he fear common thugs? He couldn’t beat them—but they couldn’t beat him either. Eventually they’d give up.

And more importantly… he wanted this over with quickly so he could eat local seafood with Kei. That was his real priority.

“…Honestly, you…”

Arthur hadn’t considered how a girl like Morgan—unaccustomed to romance, unaccustomed to being protected—might react to being pulled close and publicly called his fiancée.

“Ah—so you’ve got a fiancé. Then I’ll look for someone else.”

“Right, you two look great together. We’ll just… go.”

To Arthur’s surprise, the men retreated hastily, voices flat and eyes darting nervously—not at him, but at Morgan.

“…Huh? Hey, wait—”

“It seems the danger has passed. Let’s go back—ah!”

As Morgan turned, she cried out, raising her foot. Arthur spotted blood on the sole—she must have stepped on a shard of shell.

“This is nothing. Let’s just go ba—hey, what are you—”

“Treating it, obviously. Did you forget my specialty?”

“Your power is too rare to waste on this! And you’ll only draw attention. Save it for something more important.”

She tried to pull her foot back, but Arthur held it firmly.

“What are you saying? Lots of healers could fix something this small. And what could be more important than letting my fiancée enjoy herself at the beach?”

“Wha—”

Light bloomed from his hand, and Morgan’s wound sealed instantly. Arthur had never been so forceful before, but…

‘Uh oh. I copied a ‘fiancé move’ from one of Tristan’s books. She’s not mad… right?’

He knew Morgan hated when he used his powers without thought. She was trembling now…

“Arthur…”

“W-what?”

He braced for her sharp tongue—but instead, Morgan’s cheeks were flushed, and her eyes lingered on him with a softness that startled him.

“If you’re going to act like my fiancé… then is it all right if I lean on you more?”

“…Huh? Oh, yeah. Sure.”

“Then… when we get back, will you put oil on me too? I can’t reach my back.”

“…Fine, I guess.”

Arthur reasoned that since she hadn’t brought a personal maid along, it made sense. (Of course, she had attendants—but remembering Kei’s “this is a maid’s job,” he failed to connect the dots.)

“And… actually, I can’t swim. Will you teach me?”

“Hah, leave it to me. I’ll show you how it’s done.”

Arthur grinned, delighted to discover a weakness in his hated childhood rival, oblivious to the true meaning of her confession.

Side by side—closer than usual—they walked back. Music played, people cheered.

“Arthur, we’ve been waiting for you!”

“Hehe, it worked out, didn’t it? Let’s make this moment lively with some music.”

Tristan smiled knowingly, strumming a cheerful tune, while Kei greeted them warmly.

Together, they sat down to feast on the delicious seafood Kei had bought from the stalls.