Artoria had still been too naive.
Yes, the Wind Clan was indeed fast, but no matter how fast, trying to travel from Camelot in the central region to Salisbury in the south within a single night was nearly impossible.
Moreover, the fierce battle between Riezel and Gawain had taken place less than an hour ago, so even if Aurora had left Camelot immediately after that and rushed toward Salisbury, there was no way she could have arrived so soon.
As a result, when Riezel and Artoria came down from the bell tower and arrived at the entrance of the lord's chambers, not only did they not see Aurora, but they were even blocked by Aurora's attendant.
"Halt, this is Lady Aurora's residence. You two, stand right there and don't take another step forward."
Saying this in such a cold and harsh tone was a winged fairy with butterfly-like wings, who led a group of guards.
She possessed a face as flawless as a sculpture and dreamy pink hair, yet the arrogance and coldness on her face shattered that ethereal aura, leaving her with an overbearing and aggressive impression.
"Miss Coral!"
Artoria seemed to know her and called out at once.
Coral naturally noticed Artoria as well, but her attitude did not change.
"So it's you, unknown backwater fairy." Coral said sharply. "Weren't you already on your way to Camelot with Lady Aurora? Why have you suddenly come back with some unknown man?"
She glanced warily at Riezel, her eyes full of suspicion.
"Well... it's kind of complicated..." Artoria struggled to explain, her words becoming a bit unclear.
Seeing this, Coral's gaze grew even more cautious.
"Looks like you've done quite a few things you shouldn't have while you were out."
Coral continued coldly, her eyes becoming sharp.
"I already told Lady Aurora—this cathedral is the sacred ground of Her Majesty's coronation. It was the very site of Her Majesty's ceremony two thousand years ago. A place like this should not be welcoming unknown lower fairies under the current state of Salisbury."
"And now, you've even left Lady Aurora outside and brought some suspicious man here, trying to enter her chambers?"
"What exactly are you planning to do here?"
By this point, Coral's tone was nearly hostile.
Needless to say, she had long suspected Artoria, and now that Artoria had returned alone with an unfamiliar man, her wariness had turned to outright hostility.
"Wait, you've got it all wrong, Miss Coral!"
Artoria quickly tried to explain, but Coral gave her no chance.
"Whether it's a misunderstanding or not, we'll know once Lady Aurora returns." Coral said firmly. "Until then, I'm taking you both in."
It went without saying that this attendant was so forceful that she was not even willing to give Riezel and Artoria a chance to leave and was going to capture them outright.
"Guards, seize these two fairies of unknown clan."
At Coral's command, the guards behind her stepped forward in unison, spears in hand, cautiously approaching and surrounding Riezel and Artoria.
"No way... seriously?"
Artoria was completely caught off guard by how things had escalated, her eyes widening in shock.
Riezel, who had not spoken a word this entire time, frowned deeply as he watched the situation unfold so rapidly.
"What's going on here?" Riezel turned to Artoria and asked, full of confusion. "Didn't you say that after I got captured and brought to Camelot, you ran into the head of the Wind Clan and were invited to stay here?"
How had she stayed here for nearly a month and still failed to build a good relationship with these people?
How had she ended up being treated so hostilely?
Riezel's current gaze at Artoria clearly carried these questions.
"...Even though I've been staying here for quite a while, Miss Coral never trusted me like Aurora does and always thought I was suspicious..."
Artoria looked helpless as she explained.
It was understandable.
As a fairy, not only was Artoria's appearance different from the four fairy clans, but she was also not originally from Faerie Britain—she had come from Paradise.
To someone already prone to suspicion, she was a mysterious outsider, with an unclear origin and questionable behavior. Even though she had repeatedly explained that she grew up in Tintagel, that place had already been destroyed—and even if it hadn't, it was just a remote, forgotten village.
In Coral's eyes, a fairy from such a place could only be seen as someone trying to ingratiate herself with Aurora for ulterior motives.
Consequently, although Artoria had been welcomed by Aurora and had stayed at the cathedral for nearly a month, Coral remained extremely wary of her, doubting her intentions.
It was a classic case of the servant worrying more than the master.
Aurora, as the master, clearly trusted Artoria, while Coral, the attendant, remained dissatisfied.
It was perfectly normal for Coral to be so cautious, wanting to protect her master and guard against potential threats.
However, Artoria had clearly failed to consider these things and had now triggered Coral's suspicions with her actions. It was an unfortunate development.
Watching as the human guards closed in with their spears ready, Riezel let out a sigh.
"Stop it." Riezel glanced at Coral and said calmly, "They are not my opponents. To avoid unnecessary conflict, call them back now—there's still time."
Upon hearing this, not only did Coral ignore the suggestion, but her expression grew even colder.
"Big words like that... you'll have plenty of time to say them once you're behind bars."
Not wasting another word, Coral waved her hand.
"Go!"
In an instant, the guards charged toward Riezel and Artoria.
"Riezel!"
Artoria yelled in panic, but what she actually yelled was different from what any onlookers expected.
"They're just humans! Don't hurt them!"
Hearing Artoria's yell almost made Riezel roll his eyes.
'I'm human too, aren't I? Aren't we in the same situation?'
With this thought, Riezel refrained from using any overly destructive methods.
"Mass Hold Species."
He cast a binding magic, causing a magic circle to expand beneath his feet, instantly covering all the guards rushing toward them and trapping them within it.
"———"
In the next moment, all the human guards were frozen in place, as if bound by invisible chains, unable to move an inch, making the guards widen their eyes in shock, and even Coral's expression shifted slightly.
"Magecraft...? Who are you?" Coral questioned sharply.
In response, she received an answer that shook her deeply.
"Me?" Riezel raised his gaze and looked at the butterfly-like fairy woman, speaking plainly. "It's a bit complicated to explain, but if I say that this city ended up like this because Lancelot and the others were trying to capture me, you should get the idea, right?"
Hearing this, it wasn't just the frozen guards who were shocked—even Coral let out a gasp.
"You… You're the Child of Prophecy?"
As soon as these words came out, it was Riezel and Artoria whose expressions turned awkward.
"…I see, so she doesn't know your true identity yet?" Riezel, with a wry smile, asked Artoria softly.
"Doesn't matter... no one would believe me anyway..." Artoria replied, looking a bit downcast.
She herself didn't know how to describe this situation.
Clearly, she was the Child of Prophecy, but somehow, at some point, word had spread rapidly throughout Britain that Riezel was the Child of Prophecy.
Now, all the fairies believed that the Child of Prophecy in the rumors was Queen Morgan's chosen husband, a magus capable of fighting Fairy Knight Lancelot, Fairy Knight Gawain, and the Fang Clan Head Woodwose without defeat.
Because of this, tales of the Child of Prophecy had left an extremely deep impression on all the fairies over the past month, and all of them had mistaken the traits of the Child of Prophecy.
He was Queen Morgan's husband, so he must be a man.
He could fight Lancelot, Gawain, and Woodwose alone, so he must be powerful.
He had destroyed half of Salisbury, so even Queen Morgan feared him.
And all of this was far from who Artoria really was.
Under these circumstances, if Artoria dared to walk the streets and claim that she was the true Child of Prophecy, people would no doubt give her a huge eye-roll.
—Missy, the Child of Prophecy is supposed to be a man. Are you a man?
Just this one sentence was enough to make Artoria retreat.
Because of this, Artoria had already realized that she seemed to be straying further and further down the path of pretending to be the Child of Prophecy.
At this rate, those villagers in the village of Tintagel who believed Artoria was a fraud could probably rest in peace now, right?
As Artoria thought this, she suddenly felt a bit dejected.
"Don't tell me even the head of the Wind Clan doesn't know about this yet?"
Without any regard for Artoria's feelings, Riezel asked again in a faint tone.
"..."
Artoria didn't answer, just turned her head away.
"..."
Riezel resisted the urge to rub his temples and felt quite speechless.
'Doesn't this mean my identity as the Child of Prophecy had already been set in stone here? In that case, what is Artoria's identity now?'
As Riezel wondered inwardly, Coral quickly answered this question for him.
"I knew it. A fairy with no known clan like you must be suspicious." Coral glared angrily at Artoria and accused her. "You came from the outside world, didn't you? And you're a magus too, right?"
"I've heard that a magus from a foreign land would assist the Child of Prophecy to overthrow Her Majesty's rule and crown them as the true king. Looks like you're that foreign magus, aren't you?"
"You got close to Lady Aurora just to use her and find a way to rescue the Child of Prophecy, who's imprisoned in the palace, didn't you?"
"How despicable! You outsider!"
While making these accusations, Coral seemed completely convinced of Artoria's identity.
She looked at Riezel and Artoria as if they were a great Demon King and his lackey, slowly stepping back with a look that said her life was doomed, but she would do everything she could to send this shocking information out.
"..."
Hearing Coral's accusation, neither Riezel nor Artoria spoke.
"So... what do you think?"
After a while, Riezel finally broke the silence and asked Artoria.
"No idea... Whatever..."
Artoria was already feeling pretty defeated, but at the same time, a bit of doubt rose in her mind.
'A magus from a foreign land assisting the Child of Prophecy, huh...?'
Artoria, as the protagonist, naturally knew this was something mentioned in the prophecy.
It was just that she could barely handle her own situation, so how could she possibly worry about some magus from a foreign land?
But now, after hearing what Coral said, Artoria suddenly had a realization.
'Come to think of it, didn't Riezel mention before that he's not from Faerie Britain?'
Riezel, being from the outside world yet knowing many things, was already something Artoria had confirmed.
'Could it be... Riezel is the foreign magus mentioned in the prophecy?' Artoria's eyes lit up.
It wasn't surprising that Artoria would think this way.
First, Riezel came from the outside world, meaning he was a foreigner.
Second, Riezel was a magus and an extremely powerful one at that.
Third, the moment he arrived in Faerie Britain, he had chosen without hesitation to help her, support her the entire way, lead her out of Tintagel, and bring her here.
Didn't this match perfectly with the characteristics of the foreign magus assisting the Child of Prophecy?
Just as Artoria became so convinced of this, she didn't notice that a hand had quietly reached above her head and was about to come down without hesitation.
*Pa!*
A sudden impact burst against Artoria's head.
"Ouch!"
Artoria cried out in pain and crouched down, clutching her head once again.
"Riezel!"
Without even thinking, Artoria immediately locked in on the culprit, glaring at him fiercely, looking as if she might pounce and bite him any second.
"How many times now?! Just how many times have you done this?!" Artoria shouted as she swung her small fists while charging at Riezel. "It's been so long since we last saw each other, and you're still hitting me on the head nonstop! You're just mean! Way too mean!"
Riezel paid no attention to Artoria's complaints and simply extended a hand and pressed it against her forehead.
Watching as her flailing little fists couldn't even touch him, Riezel spoke casually.
"It kinda feels like your brain circuits are starting to sync up with those fairies. I'm just giving you a little physical adjustment to clear your head."
After saying something that only made Artoria even more upset, Riezel finally turned to Coral and spoke in a leisurely tone.
"Don't look at me like I'm some dangerous criminal. Your master is basically half an ally of ours, isn't she? Birds of a feather, you know?"
Riezel extended a hand toward Coral.
"But of course, even if I say that, you won't believe me, so I'll have to take you down first. Once your Lady Aurora comes back, you'll see whether this really is a misunderstanding."
Needless to say, the very words Coral had used against Riezel and Artoria earlier were now turned back on her by Riezel.
"You..."
As Coral gritted her teeth and glared at Riezel, refusing to retreat any further, at that moment...
"My, it seems quite a lot has happened here."
Just as Riezel was about to cast magic to restrain Coral, an overly graceful voice suddenly rang through the space, interrupting the standoff.
Everyone instinctively turned their heads toward the source of the voice, and in the next instant, they all saw the door to the lord's chamber quietly open.
From within, a figure slowly stepped out.
"Lady Aurora!" Coral exclaimed in surprise.
Indeed, it was Aurora herself.
"Aurora?" Artoria stopped trying to push against Riezel's hand and looked at Aurora stepping out of the room, clearly a bit stunned. "You're back already?"
"Yes." Aurora gave Artoria a gentle smile. "Her Majesty used Opposing Mirrors to send us clan heads back to our territories, so I just got back."
In the next moment, she turned to Coral.
"Coral." Aurora softly called out to her attendant.
"Yes, Lady Aurora." Coral hurried over and bowed her head before Aurora.
"I told you before, didn't I?" Aurora said helplessly. "Artoria isn't an outsider. She can come and go from my chambers freely. Did you forget?"
"I wouldn't dare. Every word Lady Aurora says is etched in my heart and mind." Coral replied respectfully, still bowing her head, though her tone remained firm. "But Lady Aurora is always kind and gentle. Someone with ill intent could easily take advantage of that. Since you won't guard against others, that's my job as your attendant."
"You are as stubborn as ever..."
Aurora sounded a little exasperated, but she smiled gently.
"I know you're only thinking of my well-being, but that makes it hard for me to decide whether to scold you or not. What a headache..."
"Nonetheless, like I said, they're not outsiders, are they?"
Aurora then turned to Riezel and Artoria, giving them a soft smile.
"Please, the two of you, come in and talk."
Not giving Coral any chance to protest, Aurora turned and walked back into the lord's chambers first.
Coral's lips moved slightly, but in the end, she gave up on trying to persuade Aurora.
She shot Riezel and Artoria one last glare, then quickly followed Aurora.
Riezel and Artoria exchanged glances for a moment before the two of them walked into the lord's chambers together, disappearing from the corridor.