Once the festivities at Caerleon Castle were over, with all the guests being sent back to their respective realms by Merlin and her Magecraft, a lone man walked down one of the castle's corridors, a deep frown on his face as his mind recalled the different events that occurred in the span of a few hours.

Artoria's coronation. The betrayal of the ones he used to call his comrades-in-arms, and the attack they led against their late king's flesh and blood. The swift one-sided massacre that quickly followed on the many fronts surrounding Caerleon. And finally, the ceremony in which a dog, of all things, was knighted.

Even though the accident was quickly resolved, Ector felt like he had aged a couple of years because of the circumstances and the absurdities surrounding it. However, what displeased him the most was that the cause of it was Merlin, whose actions he should have seen coming from a mile away.

He thought himself being used to her shenanigans and whims, but it seemed that during the decades he spent with her, serving Uther Pendragon together, he had only seen a small part of her inner madness as she had never planned a scheme of such scale in the past. The mere thought that she intentionally provoked five, if not more, kings to attack Artoria made him shudder at how far she could go with her antics if allowed.

Despite the fact that they suffered no casualties, such an assault on their kingdom would have ended terribly for them if it weren't for the power of the four individuals who drove the enemies back by themselves.

And so, now that the festivities ended, he decided to confront the magus and make her spit out her motives behind her actions. But before he could get a hold on her, she disappeared from his sight, leading him to seek her out.

Although he often told his children that patience and forgiveness are virtues and that practicing them is nothing less than a knightly duty, he felt annoyed that he may be forced to go against his teachings, currently feeling nothing but frustration towards the head magus.

He sincerely hoped that the decade Merlin spent together with Kay and Artoria would have mellowed her out, but it looked like the opposite happened as she grew more unhinged than she already was, seemingly forgoing any notion of restraint anymore.

Letting out a small sigh, Ector soon hardened his eyes as he finally reached his destination, approaching a particular room that he was certain Merlin was in.

The bedroom of his son, Kay.

It was clear to him that Kay and Merlin had a close relationship, one which he believed he wouldn't be able to understand. But he knew at the very least, much to his displeasure, that the Magus was openly interested in his son for some reasons which were unknown to him.

'Is it because of his immense talents in Magecraft? No, it can't be that. If my memories are correct, the Head Magus never displayed even an ounce of interest in her despite being hailed a prodigy by her peers. It took his Lordship to issue a royal decree in order to make her train the young princess, so what was the difference with Kay? His talent in swordsmanship… Impossible… Then, what is it?'

He honestly had no idea, but he noticed that Kay was special, or at least an anomaly, as his rapid growth in strength is a feat no ordinary person is capable of achieving.

Even Artoria, who was born with a dragon heart through the machination of Uther and Merlin with the intention of creating the perfect king, didn't grow as fast as her brother did when she trained under him.

'Now that I think about it…'

Ector's mind reminded him of the feat she had displayed during the battle in Londinium after she removed the sword of selection Caliburn.

'Just what exactly happened during the month they disappeared for her to become that strong? Did Kay train her during that time? If so, then not only is he a mighty knight and magus, he's also talented when it comes to teaching others... I should ask him to train our troops too. If he managed to turn Artoria and that dog, Cavall, into monsters in the short span of a month, then he should be able to do the same with regular soldiers. Hopefully… But still, where do these talents come from? Was Kay blessed by a deity or something?' Ector thought, thinking of Yggdrasil, believing it to be some kind of deity.

He had been informed beforehand by Kay that she was an ally of theirs, but he had not given her any further details about her or their relationship.

'All I got are questions with no answers. I could make speculations, but that's it...'

Ector let out a long sigh, feeling exhausted from trying to uncover the mysteries surrounding his son, he then hardened his expressions when he noticed he soon reached his destination.

'Good, it seems they aren't sleeping yet.' He nodded to himself when he heard Merlin's laugh coming from behind the door.

Determined to get some answers from the Magus, he immediately reached for the handle and opened the door.

"I apologize for interrupting your fun but I have something to ask of you, Head…" Ector started to say before he stopped in his tracks when he witnessed the scene happening before his eyes which left him dumbfounded .

The sight of his seemingly wasted son being cradled by an amused Merlin as she gently rubbed his head, his face buried in her laps.

"Hey, Kay. Instead of sleeping on my lap, how about we both go to bed now? I can assure you that it'll be more comfortable for you."

"I want to stay like this." Kay said as he hugged Merlin's waist, his voice coming out muffled since his face was buried in her legs which made her let out a weak moan.

"Ah~! I swear, you really are spoiled when you're drunk, not that I mind. If anything, I find it quite cute… Oh, Ector, what are you doing here? Do you need something from us?" Merlin asked once she registered his presence in the room, looking at him with a smile while the old knight could only stare at his son, surprised by his current behavior.

"Just what in the world is going on?"

"Oh, it must be the first time you see Kay being drunk. It's nothing special, really. It's just that when he's in this state, he's unusually spoiled for one. Also really honest too."

"Nyahaha... this pillow is so soft... and smells so good..."

'How shameless…'

Ector could only stare blankly at Kay, seeing his son rubbing his face against Merlin's legs with a wide smile on his face. He then closed his eyes, not wanting to see anymore of his son's drunken state.

'It's always one thing after another with those two. I wonder when the time will come when they will stop stressing me out...'

"Anyway, I have some business with you, Head Magus, so could you come with me?"

"Can't we talk here?"

"No, we can't."

With a swift gesture, Ector separated Kay from Merlin who blinked in surprise before he threw his son on his bed and grabbed the Magus by the back of her dress.

"While I wouldn't have any objection if Kay was sober, but in his current state, I'd prefer to have you out of his surroundings. I don't trust you to not take advantage of his current vulnerability."

His instincts, which were built upon years of experience on the battlefield and all of its dangers, alarmed him that if he were to let such a situation pass undone, something bad would come to him in the future. And coupled with his prior experiences with her pranks and shenanigans, he fully believed in them with his entire being and decided to intervene in whatever her plan was with Kay.

"In any case, I'll have you come with me, so if you excuse me." He said as he proceeded to leave the room, dragging Merlin with him.

However, Ector was a bit surprised to see no resistance coming from Merlin, not even a single whine, prompting him to frown once more. He then glanced at the mage and saw her seemingly thoughtful before a wide smirk appeared on her face, which made him shudder at the implication behind it.

'Just what is she thinking? Don't tell me she's planning to do something against me for derailing her plans...I guess I'll have to keep my guard up around her, if not always.'

"Don't worry, what I'm thinking about doesn't concern you at all, so don't worry, nothing will happen to you." Ector's eyes widened in surprise when he heard Merlin speak, as if reading his mind.

However, her words didn't reassure him the very least. All he hoped was that whatever she saw wouldn't cause any major repercussions for him.