In the end, Morgana, encouraged by King Uther, accepted Kay's gift. However, she quickly became overwhelmed by the stares of everyone else and shyly retreated to her room. Watching Morgana display such a sweet, girlish side, King Uther felt deeply gratified and flashed a satisfied smile.
Everyone with a bit of seniority knew that Morgana had a crush on Kay. And now that Kay had publicly presented Morgana with such a substantial and expensive gift, everyone understood exactly what that implied.
King Uther was more than happy to see it happen. Although Morgana was publicly known as his ward, she was actually his biological daughter! Only three people in the entire kingdom knew this secret: Uther himself, the Royal Physician Gaius, and finally, Kay.
A whole soap-opera of events was involved, and King Uther definitely didn't want anyone else to know about it. Gaius knew because he was Uther's lifelong friend. Kay, on the other hand, had stumbled upon the secret by accident.
Because of this history, King Uther always carried a feeling of guilt toward Morgana. He wanted Morgana to live a happy, fulfilled life.
Marrying Kay was undoubtedly the best option. While Kay could be a bit naive, Uther had to admit that despite that flaw, Kay was the most outstanding young man he had ever met. Plus, Kay was a known quantity.
Kay had essentially grown up at his side; the time Kay had spent with Uther in his life exceeded the time he'd spent with his own biological father.
King Uther understood Kay, and he knew Kay would absolutely give Morgana a happy life.
The banquet concluded amid great awe and cheers. This day would likely be recorded as a monumental event in the history of Camelot. The events that unfolded tonight would surely be retold and savored by everyone for weeks.
However, despite the guests having a wonderful time, Kay's mood was anything but cheerful.
He stood alone on the high-level balcony of the castle, silently gazing at the royal city as its lights slowly dimmed. Suddenly, he felt an unprecedented sense of loss.
Kay held a secret, a secret that no one else knew.
He was a transmigrator.
His original name didn't matter anymore, especially since his road 'home' had been completely cut off. His birth name from his old life truly meant nothing in this world. In his past life, he had been a police officer. Before that, he'd served in the military. While his performance in the service wasn't legendary, he was definitely a good, standout soldier, dedicated to the people.
Later, for various reasons, he was forced to retire and transition to civilian life, becoming a detective in his hometown, a tier-three city. His background as a scout made his police career quite successful. He never caught any major serial killers or highly intelligent master criminals—his city simply wasn't that dramatic—but he successfully solved many cases and apprehended numerous suspects. He felt he had honored his oath, right up until he was killed during a sudden ambush arrest. His one consolation was that he was the only fatality in that pursuit; his colleagues were all safe. Although he wasn't an orphan in his past life, his parents had long since passed away, and he had no wife or children. He'd dated a few women, but the relationships were usually short-lived due to his job.
He was the definition of a lone wolf, with nothing much to miss after he died. His colleagues were different; they were either young or had wives and children. Since he was the one in command during that operation, he couldn't stand the thought of his own mistake costing others their lives.
In any case, when he woke up, he had transmigrated—not into his old body, but as an infant. He grew up in Camelot, and his birth parents loved him very much. The reason he was left at Camelot wasn't due to some dramatic, convoluted plot.
It was entirely due to the rules of the nobility.
Kay was the third son, the youngest in the family, and had no right of inheritance. His family didn't have the resources to properly provide for three children. This wasn't to say they couldn't afford to feed him—his family was generations of nobility; they could always afford a mouth to feed.
The 'provision' being referred to was for when he became an adult. Kay's eldest brother was the legitimate heir and would inherit the family estate. His second brother, who was also significantly older than Kay, had his path secured—he would inherit a small piece of land that came with his mother's dowry, and the family would also carve out a small section of their own territory to allow him to become a landed knight who would continue to pledge loyalty to the family.
But Kay was where the problem lay. While Kay's family had a long history, they were not major nobility. The family could not afford to divide the territory any further; it would threaten the family's survival.
This was a major dilemma faced by all minor nobility of the era: if you had too many children, you had to make choices. You couldn't treat everyone equally; that would be irresponsible to the family. After all, securing the title of 'knight' wasn't easy.
A knight had to be a noble—that much was certain. Furthermore, they had to be a property owner. In this era, people placed more trust in those who owned land. Knights who owned nothing were often viewed as untrustworthy, incompetent, or even thugs. In short, "wandering knight" was not a flattering title.
And "property" didn't mean a small house or a few acres—it meant a genuine estate, or a fiefdom.
This land had to be either bestowed by the King or inherited from the family; there was no third option.
A grant from the King was incredibly difficult to obtain. After all, a commoner or a landless knight rarely earned the King's trust and admiration, creating a vicious cycle. Therefore, family inheritance was the mainstream path.
So, Kay's future became an issue.
Fortunately, Kay's father had connections. Sir Ector, Kay's father, was King Uther's dearest friend—they had grown up together. Because of his close ties to the King, Sir Ector used his influence to send his third son to the King to serve as a royal page.
This was the best way for nobles to secure opportunities for children who lacked inheritance rights, though it generally required a very close relationship with the royal family.
Thanks to his dad's relationship, Kay grew up in the royal palace. King Uther extended his goodwill, treating Kay not like an ordinary page, but genuinely like his own child. Eventually, he formally announced that Kay would become his adopted son.
While the Queen's affection for Kay played a part, the famously rigid and stubborn Uther making such a decision had to come from the heart.
In this era, adoption wasn't taken lightly. Legally, an adopted son also held inheritance rights! While those rights were further down the line, he was a potential heir to the crown, especially since King Uther had no biological children at the time. Practically everyone, including Kay's birth father, Sir Ector, opposed Uther's decision.
If Uther remained childless or suddenly died in battle, the royal bloodline would be changed, which had massive implications. Furthermore, some people in Camelot already knew that the Queen was unable to have more children!
This essentially made Kay the direct heir.
The Queen and King Uther faced immense pressure for those few years, which only subsided once Arthur was born.
Kay then grew up peacefully in Camelot.
As a transmigrator, the knowledge, experience, and inherent advantages he brought from his past life ensured Kay was exceptionally gifted. This made King Uther immensely proud, confirming that his decision to adopt Kay had been the right one.
And Kay lived up to Uther's faith. As soon as he came of age, he immediately won the kingdom's knightly tournament, defeating knights from across the surrounding kingdoms to become the Champion Knight. King Uther wasn't stingy; he immediately knighted Kay, making him a Sir, the moment he won the championship at age eighteen!
However, Kay then made a decision that deeply enraged King Uther: he decided to leave his newly granted estate under the King's management, set out alone, and travel the world.
Everyone at the time was baffled; they couldn't understand why Kay would make such an unwise choice.
Only Kay knew the truth: He wanted to go home!