Late in the evening, Gwalchavad visited Merlin's room.

"I heard you asked for me."

"You came later than I thought you would. Did you have a lot of work?" asked Merlin.

Gwalchavad smiled tiredly. "Yes, it is because assassins targeting the Holy King attacked the capital city. Sir Percival and Sir Lancelot are also quite busy trying to patch things up."

There was a lot of work to do, from strengthening immediate security to establishing a new magical defense system. The ancient castle and the capital’s castle were said to be connected by Merlin's communication magic, but there were many difficulties because of how far they were from each other. However, it would be risky for Merlin to vacate the ancient castle for a while, now that he needed medical care. If Merlin was in a normal condition, he could have used teleportation, but that was not an option.

"Everyone is working hard."

"We are just doing what we have to do." said Gwalchavad with a slight bow.

Merlin grew silent, hesitating as if his mouth would not open. Noticing this, Gwachavad brought a chair closer to the bed and sat down. "What could it be that the great Sir Merlin is hesitating?...