"That's more like it!"
"Drinking big gulps like this is the only way to have fun!"
Inside a tavern in Camelot.
Barghest was drinking freely with Ian.
"Right!"
"Yes, right."
Ian looked at Barghest, whose face was already flushed, and nodded.
"Are you feeling a little better?"
"Eh?"
Asked this by Ian, Barghest was stunned for a moment, then waved her hand.
"What are you talking about! I've been in a great mood the whole time!"
"Don't talk nonsense, I—"
Barghest stopped mid-sentence.
After a moment's hesitation, she corrected herself:
"Father."
"Just call me what you used to."
Ian looked directly at Barghest.
"When you call me 'Father,' your whole flavor is terrible."
"I... don't want you to become like that."
"You..."
Barghest hesitated.
"Is it really okay to do that?"
"The King... won't she be displeased?"
"But wouldn't you be unhappy yourself?"
Ian reached for Barghest's hand.
He had no other intentions, only hoping to comfort her in this way.
"Barghest, who are you really living for?"
"You need to think about that carefully."
"..."
Barghest fell silent.
But her gaze never left the man before her.
Finally, as if she had figured it out, she said softly:
"Then, from now on, when we're alone, I won't treat you like a father."
"Not even a little bit."
"Is that... also okay?"
"Why are you asking my opinion?"
Ian's hand rested on Barghest's head.
"Do whatever you want."
"Then—"
Barghest glanced to both sides, then coughed lightly, her face slightly red.
"I want you to feed me wine!"
"Right now!"
"The King said that was okay, didn't she?"
"..."
Seeing Barghest's expectant look, Ian naturally nodded as well.
"Alright."
The goblet was picked up by Ian.
Barghest also stuck out her tongue.
Hot breath misted from between her lips, like fog in the mountains.
Her gaze remained fixed on his face, a blush sweeping over her cheeks like a rising tide.
Gulp—
Gulp—
The goblet drew near, and Barghest downed it in one go.
Although it lacked the satisfying feeling of drinking in great gulps as she usually did, his participation added a special flavor to it.
"Delicious!"
Barghest clapped her hands like a small child.
But soon, she became a little embarrassed again.
After all, the education she had received from Morgan had, without exception, been telling her one thing:
And that was—
She was not to do anything that would compromise her status.
However...
What surprised Barghest a little was that after she stopped, Ian started to clap.
"Why did you stop?"
"Clearly, this is what you want to do, isn't it?"
"Didn't I tell you? Do whatever you want."
"..."
"Yeah!"
Barghest suddenly felt as if she had discovered a new world.
Her father was not a human in the true sense, but a dragon with a completely different understanding of things.
The constraints of etiquette and blood ties meant almost nothing to him.
Barghest felt her legs begin to tremble.
It was not out of fear, but excitement.
Since...
He doesn't mind any of this at all...
Barghest stood up, climbed right over the table, and sat down beside Ian.
"I'm drunk."
"So I don't know what I'll do next."
"Is that... also okay?"
"..."
"Do whatever you want—"
Ian's answer was still the same.
"Barghest, you did not come into this world for anyone else's sake."
"..."
Barghest's eyes grew a little red.
If the man beside her wasn't so special to her, she probably would have already tied him to a bed, wouldn't she?
His scent, his build, his words, every single thing about him was so perfectly to her taste.
Barghest looked around.
That little scheme hidden deep in her heart surfaced once again.
I want to do something excessive.
That kind of...
Excessive thing that would make me happy.
Barghest took his hand.
Under the table, where no one could see, she felt the stimulating sensation of being caressed for the first time.
"Ngh..."
Barghest sucked in a sharp breath.
She had thought she wouldn't become strange from just a little touch.
But now...
She found she had overestimated herself.
Just a light touch like this was enough to make her head spin and her mind go hazy.
So pathetic.
Barghest couldn't help but give herself this evaluation.
"You like this too?"
Ian's sudden question made Barghest freeze for a moment.
"What do you mean, 'too'?"
"Because Artoria likes this too."
Ian said seriously, as if he were mentioning something perfectly ordinary.
"The King... likes this too?"
"Yes."
Ian nodded.
"She especially likes it like this—"
"Ngh!"
What are his fingers doing!
Barghest instantly felt all the blood in her body rush to her head.
With her tongue hanging out, she was just like a big doggy.
She leaned against his shoulder.
This was a weight that only he could bear.
Barghest panted heavily.
Of course she knew how shameless this was.
But...
So happy.
Even with just two fingers, Barghest felt so happy.
After all, this was the being who had attracted her since birth.
"Ian."
Barghest suppressed the desire to cry out and asked softly.
"Can you promise me one thing?"
"What is it?"
"Please don't..."
"Treat me like a daughter, okay?"
Barghest spoke in a very small voice, a stark contrast to her bold manner from just a moment ago.
However, she soon saw the corners of his mouth turn up slightly.
"..."
"What are you smiling at?"
"I... never thought of you in that way at all."
"I just—"
"Wanted to protect you."
"That's all."
"..."
Barghest couldn't say a word.
But, she was so happy.
She, who was born for the sake of revenge against Artoria, was finally free from the constraints of such a past.
"Then..."
Barghest regained her courage.
"Me or the King, who do you like more?"
"Artoria."
"Wh-why?"
"She actively clamps down on my fingers there. It's very comfortable."
"I can do that too!"
Just as Barghest was about to show a side of herself that was in no way inferior to Artoria's.
The tavern door opened once again.
But this time, the one who walked in was a little catgirl.
In her hands, she held the broken half of Mélusine's Arondight.
"I'm Habetrot-nyan!"
"The new Knight of the Round Table!"
"You'd all better remember that!"