After days of marching, the carriage carrying Kay and the others from Manchester finally arrived at the massive castle gates of North Wales's capital.
The scene before the gate was completely different from when Kay first arrived days ago.
The Lion King and Lancer herself had come out past the gates to wait, and hundreds of banners fluttered atop the walls as trumpets sounded victory fanfares.
"Time to disembark, Master."
Medusa, who had been driving the carriage herself, opened the door and said.
Kay stepped down from the carriage and stretched. Following him, Tamamo, Jeanne d'Arc Alter, and Alter herself—wearing a pouty expression—alighted.
"Brother…!"
The moment Lancer, dressed in gleaming silver armor, spotted Kay's descent from the carriage, she rushed forward in a panic, forgetting her dignity.
She threw herself into Kay's arms and let out a sigh of relief. The clank of cold armor sounded, but Kay patted her back without minding.
"Hey, you're back. But you really should take off your armor when you can. Every time you tackle me like that, my jaw hurts."
"Ah… I'm so—sorry! I'll remove my weapons and armor at once."
Blushing, Lancer hurriedly stepped back. Kay gave a little laugh and pulled Alter from behind Lancer to the front.
"Here. I brought her back safely, just like I said. Greet her."
Lancer's gaze shifted to Alter.
The two sisters had split over a disagreement five years ago when Kay disappeared. Lancer, who valued rules above all, and Alter, who acted on her instincts and beliefs, were almost polar opposites.
At the time of Kay's disappearance, Lancer had followed Artoria's side, while Alter had broken away, insisting she would find Kay her own way.
Lancer thought Britain was paramount, while Alter prioritized Kay over Britain.
But after a five-year void and with their common center—Kay—returned, there was a peculiar look in their eyes.
"…What a sight, Tyrant. To think you'd fall for that flimsy Taquin trap and end up thrown in an underground cell. The name Excalibur Morgan will surely mourn."
Lancer crossed her arms and, in her usual cold yet polite tone, threw down a provocation.
Alter, who would have been offended under any other circumstance, today let out a relaxed snort and draped her arm around Kay's, leaning in close.
"Thanks to being locked away, our dear brother himself came to rescue me. So in the end, that streak of sanctimonious pride you held in a cold corner of the castle for years was far less beneficial. How could you possibly understand what it feels like to ride on my brother's broad back to safety?"
"Wha—?!"
"Now, now, cut it out. After five years, you're going to fight again? Let's just get inside. I've been sleeping outside for days—my whole body's stiff. I'll cook us a proper meal, so everyone, gather in the dining hall."
With Kay gently tapping both sisters on the crown of the head and mediating, Lancer and Alter quietly, though sulkily, walked inside the castle.
That evening, in the dining hall of the North Wales royal palace.
All the palace's chefs had been sent away, and the huge kitchen had become solely the stage for Kay and his Servants.
"Jeanne! Your flames are too strong! You're charring the outside of the meat! Tone down the blaze!"
"Gah, you're so finicky! This is perfect for crispy exterior, juicy interior, okay?!"
Jeanne d'Arc Alter grumbled as she skillfully adjusted the flames and grilled the meat.
"Tamamo, is the salad dressing ready? Medusa, finish chopping that garlic over there."
"Mikong! The special dressing infused with all my love is complete~!"
"…Chopping garlic isn't exactly my forte, but since the Master asked…"
Medusa whirled her chain-spiked mace like a windmill, chopping hundreds of garlic cloves to perfection in an instant.
Utilizing the Servants' extra-class abilities fully in the cooking, Kay laid out a feast on the round table within just an hour—enough to feed dozens.
"All right, everyone, take your seats. It's the first family meal in five years. We still have some seats open."
Seated around the table, with Kay at the center, were Lancer, Alter, and the three Servants.
On the table lay garlic-butter steak, seafood stew, roasted game meat, sautéed wild greens, ox-tongue steak, and other dazzling dishes that no one in Britain could even imagine.
"…I'll start eating."
Lancer carefully lifted her fork and put meat to her mouth.
In that moment, the Lion King's cold, rigid expression melted away like spring snow, and a blissful smile spread across her face. The relentless hunger that had plagued her for five years seemed instantly satisfied.
"Hey, Alter. Don't be picky—eat some salad, too. Your complexion's looking dull these days."
Kay heaped salad onto Alter's plate. Blushing, she whispered a shy thanks as she ate.
"Th-thank you, Kay…"
Seeing this, Lancer, unwilling to lose, held out her plate.
"Brother, some for me, too."
"Yeah, yeah, eat as much as you want."
At that, the Servants joined in.
"Master, please try these shrimp that Tamamo peeled! They're so bouncy!"
"Hey! Don't get that fishy smell on the Master—go away! This ox tongue is cooked to perfection, so start with that."
"Master, Jeanne's glass is empty. Let me refill it for you."
Tamamo shoved a shrimp into Kay's mouth, Jeanne piled meat onto his plate, and Medusa, leaning seductively, poured him wine.
"Hey, hey, slow down! I only have one mouth!"
Watching Kay shout in happy distress, Lancer and Alter simultaneously gripped their forks with a metallic click.
But they glanced at each other and let out small, mirthless laughs.
Having more vixens vying for their brother was irritating, but sitting around a table like this, eating rowdily together…
That was the family daily life the two sisters had been desperately longing for during the past five years.
"…It really feels like a home with people living in it."
At Alter's murmur, Lancer quietly nodded and clinked her wine glass against hers.
After the feast, Kay was summoned by the palace chefs.
"Sir Kay, what on earth are these dishes? Using ox tongue—we never imagined such a thing."
"Please, tell us your recipes!"
"Do you think a recipe alone is enough? You need to master the basics. I'm tired today, so I'll teach you some tomorrow morning."
The chefs, seeking instruction from Kay—an innovator in the culinary world—were promised lessons. Exhausted from the long journey, Kay soon collapsed in his chambers.
The Servants likewise dispersed to their respective rooms.
On a quiet palace balcony, Lancer was out to enjoy the cool night air under the moonlight.
"Still awake, Lion King?"
From the darkness, Alter walked out clutching two glasses and a bottle of red wine.
Lancer let down her guard and offered a faint smile.
"…You're still awake, Alter? I didn't expect you to come offer me a drink first."
"Hmph. I'm just in a good mood since our brother returned."
Standing side by side, Alter filled Lancer's glass and handed it over. The two drank in silence, gazing at the moonlight.
The misunderstandings and resentments from five years ago had already melted more than halfway away with tonight's meal their brother had prepared. Even if they weren't bound by blood, they were sisters who shared the deepest parts of their souls.
"…So. What is it you wanted to say?"
When Lancer asked, Alter swirled her wine glass and gave a sly smile.
"Lancer. What do you think of our brother?"
"What do I think…? He's the most precious person to me, the one I am meant to serve truly…"
"No, not that high-flown stuff. I mean, as a man."
At Alter's blunt question, Lancer's cheeks flushed scarlet.
"What irreverent words are you—our brother is family, he's—!"
"Don't pretend. I can see it in your eyes. From way back, you saw that klutzy oaf as a man. I did too, and haven't we all?"
Alter downed her wine, leaned against the railing, and stared sharply at Lancer.
"But as you know, our brother is seriously dense and obsessed only with responsibility. No matter how much we dress up and try to seduce him, that damned notion of us as his little sisters will keep him from making a single move. Not that I'm ungrateful—he cares for us and loves us dearly—but…"
Lancer could not deny these words and bit her lip sourly.
"So… on the way here, back at the camp when we slipped into the forest."
Alter's voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper.
"I borrowed Tamamo's Glamour as that sly vixen and… gave my maidenhead to our brother."
"…!!"
Lancer's eyes nearly popped out, and the wine glass in her hand nearly slipped.
"You… you did that with our brother?! And you tricked him disguised as another woman?!"
"Yes. I know it was cowardly and shameless. But it was the only way to make him hold me as a woman right then. Our Pendragon bloodline always takes what it wants by any means—just like Father took Mother."
Alter shrugged brazenly.
Lancer trembled with shock, anger, and fierce jealousy.
"Beastly… how could you deceive our brother and commit such disgrace—!"
As Lancer prepared to raise her voice in outrage, Alter tapped her shoulder to stop her.
"Don't get worked up. I didn't mention it to provoke you."
"…What are you scheming?"
When Lancer glared back with hostility, Alter smiled into the moonlight.
"I may have taken the initiative, but I realized I couldn't break down our brother's sisterly barrier alone. And look at those Servants over there—those women have wicked curves and know how to ply him. If you add the woman we left behind in the Mage's Realm, our places might vanish without trace."
Alter's serpentine eyes glittered enticingly.
"So here's my proposal, sister. Let's form an alliance."
"A-a… alliance?"
"Yes. To strip away our brother's shell and force him to see us as women, I need your help. We'll check those Servant women and join forces to completely monopolize the spot beside our brother."
Alter pressed her lips near Lancer's ear.
"Next time the chance comes, you'll slink into our brother's bedchamber with me. Cast off your haughty Lion King shell and take him as a woman. If we attack in tandem, even our dense idiot brother will have no choice but to surrender."
"Me, together?!"
Lancer's face burned as if it might split.
"Of course, not in our true forms. He's quite strong now. He could fend us off. Here, we'll use Glamour again like I did. Tamamo's favorably disposed toward us, calling us his primary wives or something. We'll use that to consummate our love."
At this scandalous proposal, the Lion King's pride and the Majesty of the Queen of North Wales shattered into pieces.
"T-that shameless act… how could I possibly—!"
"Oh? Then are you content to stew alone in some cold corner while other women steal our brother away?"
"No, that's—absolutely not!!"
Lancer cried out immediately, her breaths ragged.
Her noble reason rejected it fiercely, but the longing for womanly desire, suppressed deep in her heart, writhed like a venomous snake.
If she joined Alter, they might break that iron wall around their brother's heart.
Alter chuckled and pressed Lancer's empty wine glass into her hand.
"Think about it. We're sisters by the same mother and father—blood bound. Good things are best shared, right? I can't stand other women getting him, but sisters who've been together their whole lives? Fine by me. Even I, headstrong as I am, don't dream of hogging him alone. Though I do want to be loved the most."
Alter winked and strolled off the balcony.
"Think hard. Assaulting him in another form is unethical, and it's a vile trick exploiting Kay's sense of duty. But otherwise, it might take ten years for him to see us as women—by then we'd be old. We need love now. Otherwise, the first thing to break won't be Britain, but us."
Her final words lingered.
In legend, Saint Martha is said to have slain a dragon that knew no love.
They, too, were dragons—and tormented by their knowledge of love. They knew this was vile toward Kay. But that only showed how starved they were for love, and how precious and lovable Kay was to them.
Alone on the balcony, Lancer gripped her trembling hands around her wine glass and gazed at the night sky.
The flush in her cheeks would not abate.
"…Really, you're insane, Alter."
Lancer exhaled softly, yet she couldn't erase Alter's deadly proposal from her mind.
An alliance of two sisters, ready to cross the line of sibling to win their brother's love.
And yet, it was a cold truth. No matter how much they'd pleaded over the years, Kay, in his clueless refusal, could never realize their feelings otherwise.
Plus after their time in the Mage's Realm, he'd had plenty of experience with women—so his wall was all the more formidable. No wonder myths so often employed such tricks.
Even Zeus, when he fathered Hercules's mother, took the guise of her husband.
Reluctantly, Lancer understood the impulse.
"If I put it like our brother would: this isn't the time to pick between cold rice and hot. Let's win his love and pay my lifelong penance in service. It's not a bad idea. We couldn't protect him five years ago or punish Merlin. We are all sinners. And committing another sin won't change that. If being his sister can't make him happy, being his lover might break that limit. After all, we're all children of a twisted father. Offspring resemble their parents; the Pendragons were never a normal family anyway."