"
"Sire, I shall be much obliged to you," says Meleagant to his
father, "if Kay shall be made to atone for this outrage, and the
Queen's shame thus be exposed. It devolves upon you to see that
justice is done, and this justice I now request and claim. Kay
has betrayed King Arthur, his lord, who had such confidence in
him that he entrusted to him what he loved most in the world."
"Let me answer, sire," says Kay, "and I shall exonerate myself.
May God have no mercy upon my soul when I leave this world, if I
ever lay with my lady! Indeed, I should rather be dead than ever
do my lord such an ugly wrong, and may God never grant me better
health than I have now but rather kill me on the spot, if such a
thought ever entered my mind! But I know that my wounds bled
profusely last night, and that is the reason why my sheets are
stained with blood. That is why your son suspects me, but surely
he has no right to do so." And Meleagant answers him: "So help
me God, the devils and demons have betrayed you. You grew too
heated last night and, as a result of your exertions, your wounds
have doubtless bled afresh. There is no use in your denying it;
we can see it, and it is perfectly evident. It is right that he
should atone for his crime, who is so plainly taken in his guilt.
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