It was clear that the King of Heroes had already begun to regard Iskandar as his true rival in the Holy Grail War.
But the King of Conquerors didn't seem to mind. Like Gilgamesh, he simply kept smiling, enjoying the modest banquet.
Shiomi was about to turn the conversation over to Morgan when she spoke first, catching his gaze halfway.
"I have no wish to entrust to the Holy Grail."
"What?"
Artoria was stunned.
Iskandar and Gilgamesh also revealed varying degrees of surprise, while Waver and Irisviel were visibly incredulous—a Servant with no wish?
Morgan, unmoved by anyone's reaction, offered a vague explanation.
"If you must know, I already obtained what I wanted upon arriving in this Holy Grail War. My pursuit of the Grail is nothing more than a gesture of appreciation to my Master—my husband—for all he's done."
Her words sounded contradictory, like a convenient lie waiting to be torn apart.
But no one questioned her.
Though Morgan hadn't said what it was she'd gained, it was also clear she hadn't lied.
"Hoho... Don't tell me what you really wanted was to be tonight's master of ceremonies?" Iskandar joked.
Mysterious and unreadable as she was, he couldn't pass judgment on this witch. Still, the regal aura she carried was unmistakably real.
Morgan swirled her wineglass and took another sip.
"I'll let you guess, King of Conquerors."
She shifted her gaze to Artoria, who was quietly eating beside her.
"It seems you've been very curious about my purpose... But unfortunately, now that I've achieved it, I have no reason to share the whole truth."
She regarded Artoria with mocking eyes. "So then, will you still share your own wish with the others?"
Artoria set her food down. Though she had seemed to enjoy the food earlier, her composure never faltered—nor did she forget the reason she was here tonight.
"Well then, let's hear it," Morgan said casually, as if she had taken Shiomi's role as moderator.
Shiomi didn't mind at all. He simply listened in silence, glad to be out of the spotlight.
"My wish is to save my homeland. I want to use the Holy Grail, the all-powerful wish machine, to change the fate of Britannia's destruction."
Her righteous declaration left the entire gathering in silence.
"But wasn't Britannia destroyed during your reign, at the conclusion of your final battle?"
Shiomi raised an eyebrow, breaking the quiet with a pointed question.
"That's exactly why I regret it. I want to change that ending. It was all because of me..."
Before she could finish, Gilgamesh let out a distorted laugh.
"Hey, did you hear that, Rider? She calls herself a king, even revered by her people as one—yet she regrets it? Hahahaha!"
Rider remained solemn and said nothing.
Artoria's expression tightened in anger at the insult, and just as she was about to respond, someone else spoke first.
"It is indeed laughable, but are you really in a position to laugh, King of Heroes?"
Morgan's sudden words cut through the air, redirecting the tension toward Gilgamesh and bringing his laughter to an abrupt halt. In its place came a sharp, hostile pressure.
The arrogant King of Heroes would never tolerate criticism lightly. He fixed Morgan with a cold stare.
"To speak such insolence... you must be prepared to defend yourself, Fairy of Paradise. Even if you bear no guilt, daring to point your finger at this king is already a capital offense."
Yet Morgan stood unfazed in the face of killing intent thick enough to feel like an army pressing down.
"Don't be so quick to judge. This will take some explaining. Listen to the end before deciding whether it's true, King of Heroes."
She set down her wine cup and let her gaze sweep across the group.
Among them, Artoria looked the most confused of all.
She had never imagined that her sister would speak up in her defense—let alone shift the blame for Britannia's destruction onto the King of Heroes, a man she'd only ever heard about in legends.
"What are you trying to say, Morgan...?" she asked.
Morgan didn't even glance at Artoria, keeping her gaze fixed forward.
"To put it simply, you misunderstood the cause from the start. The fall of Britannia wasn't the result of any one person's failure. It was already a predetermined fact. You only delayed it by force, giving your Britannia a little more time under your reign."
Then, in an almost casual tone, Morgan laid bare the essence behind Britannia's fall—leaving Artoria speechless.
Of course she had always known that Britannia would eventually be destroyed. Merlin had told her so before she even took the throne. That was why she had hoped it could meet its end in a more peaceful way.
"...I know that much. But what does it have to do with the King of Heroes over there?"
"The fall of Britannia," Morgan said, turning her gaze to Gilgamesh, "was merely one part of the greater retreat of the Age of Gods from the world."
Gilgamesh, moments ago consumed by rage, began to calm. His expression, though still unpleasant, returned to its usual coldness.
"Originally, the Age of Gods was supposed to end around 1000 B.C. But because Britannia sits closest to the Inner Sea of the Planet, the process was delayed by 1,500 years."
She turned back to Artoria with a faint, mocking smile.
"If you want to change that reality—to prevent Britannia from perishing—you'd need to use the Holy Grail's power to reverse the regression of the Age of Gods itself."
"...I..."
Artoria fell silent.
If Britannia's destruction was the result of the gods' departure, then no peaceful resolution could ever have been possible.
"Then what does this decline of the Age of Gods have to do with that Gold-glitter over there?"
Iskandar looked over at Morgan.
She smiled faintly.
"It's simple. Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes, was one of the key reasons the Age of Gods began to collapse. When he chose to lead mankind in rebellion against the gods, the decline began. The act of the King of Magecraft returning divine miracles to the heavens only accelerated the process."
"Because of that, lands that were once lush and bountiful became barren, unable to sustain the people who lived on them. Artoria—it's no wonder your Britannia fell."
Then, looking back at Gilgamesh, she asked with a smirk,
"Well? Did I say anything inaccurate? From this perspective, doesn't the responsibility for Britannia's destruction rest with your rebellion against the gods, King of Heroes?"
All eyes turned to him.
But Gilgamesh didn't deny it. He merely scoffed.
"How dull. Even if it's true, that doesn't make it any less boring."