The castle, the candles, the velvet-covered bed—everything felt as if it had been transported back fifteen hundred years.
But unlike that time, Artoria, now pinned to the bed by a Command Spell, wore a look of utter defiance.
"Guinevere, don't you think this is completely shameless?!"
The deal was struck. Guinevere transferred her contract to Irisviel, changing her mission from merely saving Irisviel's life to protecting her until the very end of the Holy Grail War.
Having acquired the contract for Artoria and become her Master, the first thing Guinevere wanted to do was resume the battle that had been interrupted in the car.
A spacious room, a wide bed, and the King of Knights, forced to shed her armor.
And after removing her armor, she was still wearing the White Lily Dress—a garment Guinevere had once conjured from her imagination.
"Lia," Guinevere murmured, "since when have I ever cared about shame?"
The King of Knights was immobilized at the edge of the bed, unable to move—though, in truth, she wasn't resisting with her full strength.
As she spoke, Guinevere sat beside her, gently brushing a strand of hair behind Artoria's ear and lightly touching her earlobe.
In that instant, it felt as if the heartstrings of both women had been plucked. With the Einzbern Castle's barrier active, they would have ample time to react even if their battle were interrupted.
"Guinevere, that's not how you use a Command Spell!"
"Lia, this is exactly how you use a Command Spell! Besides, I have five... no, wait, four Command Spells now!"
With the contract transferred, Guinevere no longer needed that useless Ryunosuke.
Thus, Kiritsugu Emiya gained a convenient side mission: he would hand Ryunosuke, who hadn't left his travel trunk in two days, over to the police, allowing a trial to offer the victims' families a sliver of solace.
As for the Command Spells, Ryunosuke had three, Kayneth had transferred two, and Guinevere had just used one on the King of Knights. That left her with four.
Guinevere spoke as she showed the back of her hand to the King of Knights, displaying the crimson Command Spells branded there. It was also a warning for the King of Knights to behave and not waste any more of these precious resources.
Furious, the King of Knights turned her head and glared at Guinevere, her ahoge practically standing on end with rage. But she wasn't one to abandon her convictions so easily or be swayed by Guinevere's words.
So what if she now knew the Holy Grail was unreliable? As long as it existed, anything was possible.
What she truly couldn't abandon was her heartfelt affection for Guinevere.
The more she loved Guinevere, the more she couldn't accept reality.
"You idiot! If you're going to kiss me, then kiss me properly! What's the point of just kissing my earlobe and forehead?! Is teasing me really that fun?"
"Mmm... It's incredibly fun. I've never seen Lia look like this before."
The King of Knights clenched her jaw, her body trembling. Guinevere's actions were like a mere tickle, as if trying to provoke her into taking the initiative. But even when she did, that idiot only became more playful, seemingly eager to see her even more embarrassed.
"Lia, I already showed you the recording of Lancelot, and I told you I don't care anymore. You also know that relying on the Holy Grail is pointless. What are you still clinging to?! The versions of you and me in those doujinshi are completely different people from who we really are."
"Guinevere, the fact that I care about Lancelot is one thing. But I also care that those doujinshi only feature Arthur, not Artoria!"
Her overflowing mana crackled with frantic energy. Through their physical contact—a form of replenishing magic—Guinevere could clearly feel the King of Knights' turmoil.
She once again recalled the King of Knights' earlier roar.
"You're the one who wanted me to have feelings beyond those of a King. You'd better understand that clearly..."
Releasing the King of Knights' lips, Guinevere softly repeated her earlier words. After repeating them again and again, it was Guinevere who seemed to be swayed. She then seriously stated her reasons for opposing her.
"I refuse to let you return to the past, because that would be a negation of everything we've been through. Compared to not being able to be with you, I don't care about a little infamy."
They stared at each other, neither willing to back down. It was simply a matter of who valued the past more and who valued the future more.
The solution? Only one of them could yield and submit.
"I see. So this is a war over who tops and who bottoms. With four Command Spells left and me as your Master, I've already won. Hehehe, I was annoyed about being a Caster before, but now I see it's a good thing.
"Hey, Lia, call me 'Master.' From now on, I won't be considering things from your perspective. I'll just force you to understand mine."
In her previous life, Guinevere had always prioritized the King of Knights' feelings. But when it came to matters she refused to yield on, her controlling nature would surface.
After hearing Guinevere's words, the King of Knights also abandoned any attempt to persuade her with words, deciding that simply forcing Guinevere to submit would be enough.
As they continued to lock eyes, the frenzy in the King of Knights' Mana intensified, and her cowlick drooped completely, with no hope of standing up again.
Hmm?
Magic Resistance. A-Rank Magic Resistance. Even if a Command Spell's order was precise and simple, if the King of Knights resisted, it wouldn't be able to restrain her for long.
And she had already been cooperating for quite some time.
"Lia, I absolutely will not lose this battle!"
Guinevere didn't waste another Command Spell. If she wanted the King of Knights to submit willingly, their war had to be fair and just.
However, this was a bedroom, and Guinevere was dressed lightly. Their war was destined to begin on the bed.
"Guinevere, you actually..."
"We're Master and Servant, after all. This is just normal Mana replenishment!"
"Ngh, Lia, you're clamping down like a vise! Mmph... Mmmph..."
-
The battle raged as fiercely as it had 1,500 years ago. Hours passed, and by the time the moon reached its zenith, neither of the unyielding pair had claimed victory.
As the conflict temporarily subsided, they lay side by side, gazing at the ceiling. It was Guinevere who broke the silence with a silly smile.
"Lia, it's been a long time since we've been like this. Also, you really can't rely on the Holy Grail."
"Hmm? I don't want to talk about that right now."
"I just want to tell you a few things. Kiritsugu Emiya is currently counting on Irisviel to obtain 'All the World's Evil,' but the only result will be her corruption.
"So, I don't intend to let the Holy Grail War reach its final stage.
"Before the Grail is completed, I'll destroy it with my own hands and end this farce."
In the bedroom, candlelight flickered and incense burned, but the scent of the two of them was even stronger.
After a brief pause, Guinevere continued, "After that, I'll forcibly grant you a physical body. We'll solve the Japan problem bit by bit from the present. The Clock Tower will help, and I'm not trying to change the past from the future—just overlaying a new falsehood over the old one."
The King of Knights, whose waist was being held, suddenly flipped over and pinned Guinevere beneath her. She said nothing, leaving it unclear whether she had truly heard Guinevere's words.
As the night deepened, the Master-Servant contract caused Guinevere to relive their shared past in her dreams, experiencing it from the perspective of Artoria, who lay in her arms.
In another bedroom within the castle, Irisviel also witnessed the past—this time, from Guinevere's perspective.
She saw Guinevere and the King of Knights' first meeting at a banquet, their wedding, and their first kiss.
Unfortunately, it seemed Guinevere had placed a restriction on what followed, preventing Irisviel from seeing any more.
"Ugh, damn it..." Irisviel muttered in her sleep.