Early the next morning, Artoria, who had been unable to sleep due to her heavy heart, climbed out of bed early.
Standing atop the small hill, she gazed distantly at the village in the far-off distance.
The rising sun shone on Artoria’s face, and scattered dewdrops could be seen glistening on the blades of grass around her.
A cool breeze brushed past her; taking a deep breath, she could smell a faint floral fragrance.
Her luggage had been packed since last night; after all, she didn’t have much to bring.
Just a few changes of clothes and the dry rations the servants had prepared.
As a knight, her closest companion—the longsword that served as her weapon—had long been properly maintained and now hung at her waist.
Last night, she had thought of many things: traveling to the southern town, participating in the trial of selection, even drawing the sword in the stone to become the king of a nation, and finally…
powerlessly walking toward King Arthur’s destined fate of death.
Was this truly the future she wanted?
Of course not; in truth, she had known the answer all along.
Who, knowing they were certain to die, could still follow the footsteps of fate without hesitation and throw themselves into the embrace of death?
Even ants cling to life, let alone a living person with feelings.
But…
Artoria withdrew her gaze from the distance and turned to look at her foster brother, who had arrived at her side at some unknown point.
“Brother Kay…
good morning.”
Pushing her worries deep into her heart, she habitually wore a bright smile.
Kay did not know her identity; her foster father had kept her background and gender a closely guarded secret.
After all, to become a king in this era, King Arthur himself absolutely could not be a woman.
This was a shackle of the times.
Cruel and sorrowful, but it was reality.
“Good morning, Al.
You’re up quite early.”
Kay yawned, rubbing his still-sleepy eyes as he listlessly greeted Artoria.
Artoria was long accustomed to her foster brother’s complete lack of decorum.
Ignoring it, she responded in her usual tone, “Yes, after all, we’re setting off today, so I couldn’t really sleep.”
“True, it’s a rare occasion to travel so far.”
At this, her foster brother’s face cleared of its previous drowsiness, and he suddenly seemed energized: “Who knows, maybe we’ll make a name for ourselves this time and gain both fame and fortune!”
Hearing this, Artoria couldn’t help but chuckle bitterly in her heart.
Knowing the future, she was well aware that what Kay said would eventually come true; whether it was King Arthur or a Knight of the Round Table, both would be remembered for eternity.
But as she looked at Kay, who was still lost in excitement, her heart was filled with nothing but bitterness.
Fame bought at the cost of one’s own death was something she would rather do without.
Shaking her head helplessly, Artoria interrupted her foster brother’s daydreams of the future.
“It’s time to go.
Father should be waiting for us for breakfast.”
With that, she turned and left the hill, heading toward the house.
“Hey, don’t walk so fast, Al~~”
Kay trotted a few steps with a grin to catch up with Artoria: “Breakfast isn’t going anywhere.”
Seeing Artoria roll her eyes at him, Kay didn’t mind and continued to chatter away with a smile.
Fortunately, the distance between the small hill and the house wasn’t far; otherwise, after listening to Kay’s monologue the whole way, she felt she might not be able to resist drawing her sword to strike down this noisy foster brother.
Entering the house, they greeted their foster father, who was already seated at the table, and the three of them began their breakfast.
After eating, Artoria and Kay took their bundles and followed their foster father to the stables not far from the house.
Two horses were already prepared in the stables: one bay and one black.
With rounded backs and sturdy limbs, each looked spirited and quite majestic.
Those were the horses her foster father had commissioned someone to buy two days ago; at the time, Artoria had wondered why he was buying horses for no reason, but now…
Her foster father stepped forward, led the bay horse from the stable to Artoria, looked at her with a deep gaze, and handed her the reins.
“Take them.
This one is yours.”
Artoria looked down at the reins held out to her, then looked up at her foster father.
What met her eyes was Ector’s face, still majestic and decisive but now covered in wrinkles, with silver hair having crept into his temples at some point.
Her foster father’s frame was still tall, but his once-brawny build now appeared somewhat stooped.
Artoria suddenly felt a daze; she realized that, without her noticing, her foster father had already grown old.
Without staying silent for long, Artoria reached out and took the horse’s reins.
Ector looked down at his son and ‘foster son’ with a sense of nostalgia and relief; before he knew it, these two children had grown up.
“Be careful on the way.
Do everything within your power, and remember not to act recklessly.”
He paused there, perhaps feeling his tone was a bit stiff.
Ector pursed his lips and spoke again: “In any case, being away is not like being at home.
Make sure to take good care of yourselves.”
Artoria looked up at her foster father and involuntarily tightened her grip on the reins.
A sun-like smile once again graced her face as she clearly heard her own reply.
“I understand, Father.”
With their departure imminent, even the usually boisterous Kay was somewhat silent.
The two of them followed Ector to the front gate.
Their eyes met, and Artoria and Kay couldn’t help but step forward to embrace the weathered old knight.
Suddenly, she thought of her relatives from her past life.
However, so much time had passed that she herself was somewhat unsure whether the image appearing in her mind at this moment was her foster father of this life or the long-faded memory of her father from the previous one.
“Please take care of yourself.”
After bidding farewell to Ector together with Kay, Artoria nimbly mounted her horse.
She looked toward the distance once more.
The sunlight overhead spilled warmly over her, smoke rose from the nearby village, and a pleasant breeze brushed the blonde hair near her ears.
“Let’s go, Al.”
She narrowed her eyes and turned to look at her foster brother.
“Yeah, let’s head out.”
Artoria applied a bit of pressure with her hands and gave the horse a light kick.
The bay horse let out a loud snort and started walking, leaving the gate alongside Kay’s black horse and heading onto the path toward the south.
As they rode, she subconsciously looked back at her foster father, who was still within sight, standing before the house.
Seeing that upright figure, Artoria couldn’t help but recall the upbringing and expectations the old knight had provided her over the past decade.
Her gaze drifted slightly as she felt an inexplicable weight; at this moment, she seemed to understand something.
So this is what it feels like to be hoped for and expected of.
Father…
he truly has placed his hopes upon me.
Seeing that the old knight’s figure was about to vanish from sight, Artoria turned to Kay and asked, “Aren’t you going to say anything more?”
“What’s there to say?
It’s not like we’re never coming back.
This is enough.”
Hearing Kay’s feigned indifference, a faint smile played on Artoria’s lips.
“True, it is enough.”
Her voice was a mere murmur, yet it seemed to contain a certain resolve.
Because her voice was so soft, Kay, who was right beside her, almost didn’t hear it.
He raised an eyebrow at Artoria as she rode ahead, keenly sensing that there might be some deep meaning behind those words.
But Artoria had spoken so casually that he wondered if he was just being overly sensitive.
Having thought about it for too long, he missed the chance to ask about what she had just said.
Shrugging indifferently, Kay put the matter out of his mind.
After all, with Al’s personality, what could possibly be wrong?
Perhaps he was overthinking it.
Perhaps finding the journey too boring, Kay began to hum a British folk song, swaying his head.
“Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River,”
“Life is old there, older than the trees,”
“Younger than the mountains, growing like a breeze.”
“Take me home, to the place I belong,”
“Smoke and morning mist, filling the sky,”
“Moonlight hazy, reflecting the tears in my eyes.”
“In the morning, she calls me,”
“All my memories gather ’round her,”
“…”
To the accompaniment of the soft folk tune, the two people and their two horses slowly made their way into the distance.