Post an edited chapter and disappear for a month.
It definitely is not me 🥀🥀
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The iron gates of the Einzbern estate opened with a low, reluctant groan as if protesting her return.
Illya stepped through without pause.
She had walked the entire way from Shirou's house.
She could've taken a taxi or something but she didn't because she didn't want to stop moving.
The sky above was dark.
The chill didn't bother her.
A caretaker greeted her at the top of the stone steps, bowing in practiced formality.
"You've been gone for some time, Lady Illyasviel."
Illya gave her a glance. Just that.
No repy.... It's not like the caretaker had the cognitive built for that to be a requirement.
She moved past her like a ghost gliding.
The hallways were exactly as she left them.
And yet, they pressed on her nerves now, more than ever.
Her footsteps echoed as she ascended the stairs to her room.
She entered without turning on the light.
The door shut behind her with a quiet click.
She stood still for a moment. Then sat on the edge of her bed, hands resting on her knees, eyes downcast.
Her mood was still sour..
She didn't want to think about him anymore yet why does the world seem so keen on reminding her of him again and again.
Her mind drifted to someone else...
Leo.
The thought of him hit her in the quiet.
She exhaled, long and slow.
Where are you right now...?
It wasn't like her to need anyone.
At least, that's what she told herself.
But sitting there, in that cold, quiet house, her walls felt thin.
She wished he was here.
Even if he didn't say anything. Even if he just leaned on the wall like he always did, unreadable and blunt.
That would've been enough.
Hell, especially that.
Her shoulders sagged slightly, the first sign of weight catching up to her.
She didn't understand why she felt the need for Leo to be here.
Why him? Why now?
It made no sense.
It's not like he would be around my whole life...
The moment that thought crossed her mind, something inside her chest twisted, tight, sudden, and strangely sharp.
A phantom ache, like something important had just slipped out of reach.
Her hand reached into her pocket, almost automatically.
She pulled out the phone.
The one Leo had given her.
She turned on the screen.
It lit her face in white light.
There was only one number saved.
Bazett.
The woman who summoned him.
The only real connection he had in this world.
Illya stared at the name.
Something came in her mind, unpleasant, and difficult to name.
It was Jealousy.
It took her a second to accept the word.
She didn't even know Bazett.
But now, knowing that Bazett could just... call him...
Illya looked away from the screen and clicked it off.
The room was dark again.
The silence louder than before.
She gritted her teeth.
This was vexing.
Painful.
And she still didn't understand fully why that was so....
---
After some Time.
Leo appeared in the Einzbern estate expecting some work to have started on the humunculus of either of the two he told Illya to make.
But the lab was empty.
His brows drew together.
The surprise was mild, but it was there.
Illya wasn't one to ignore something this important for long…
Absent-mindedly, Leo turned and left the lab for her room.
Leo's steps were steady as he crossed the halls, while hiding his presence in a way no one could detect even when he was in front of them.
He stopped at th door to her room. Raised his hand and Knocked twice.
Silence.
For a moment, he thought she might be asleep.
But then, light footsteps, hesitant, soft. The door cracked open just slightly, and Illya's face peeked through.
Her red eyes widened a little at the sight of him. Not surprised exactly, but… caught off guard.
"…Leo?" she asked, voice low.
Leo gave a short nod. "You weren't in the lab."
Illya blinked once. Then she opened the door wider, letting him see the room behind her.
She hadn't touched the lamp. The only glow came from the faint moonlight slipping past the curtains.
"I didn't feel like working....," she said. Her voice was flat, but her shoulders betrayed her, slouched, weighed down.
Leo's eyes lingered on her for a second, then shifted past her into the room.
"…I see," he murmured, and without asking, stepped inside as he sensed something was on her mind.
Illya let him, closing the door behind them.
For a while, neither spoke.
Leo stood near the desk, hands in his pockets, while Illya returned to sit at the edge of her bed. Her gaze fell to the floor.
Finally, Illya broke it.
"...It's always going to be like this till the end, huh?" Illya whispered, her voice carrying a tremor.
Leo didn't answer. He only held her gaze, his silence heavy, unflinching.
At first, she let out a nervous laugh, soft and uncertain. "You're not denying it... so it must be true. That's what I thought..."
Her smile faltered, replaced by the flicker of doubt in her eyes. "But... was that all it ever was? Just watching me struggle? Was your help... just part of some bigger scheme?"
She took a step closer, searching his eyes desperately, as if an answer might be hidden in the smallest shift of his expression.
But there was nothing only the same calm, unreadable stare. For a second, she swore she saw something move there, a hesitation, but no words followed.
Her chest tightened. The doubt twisted into anger, sharp and pained. "Say something, Leo. Anything! Don't just stand there like I'm some child crying for attention! You're the one who made that deal with me, aren't you? No, I made it, but you accepted! You could have refused, you could have laughed in my face, but you didn't!" Her voice cracked as tears threatened.
"You didn't even when you had the power to do so ... so why? Why go so far if it meant nothing to you?"
Her hands curled into fists, trembling. "I... I trusted you. I thought maybe it wasn't just ego, maybe there was something more. Maybe you cared, even just a little..."
But when she searched his eyes again, all she found was the same unyielding quiet.
Her anger drained away, leaving only raw, aching vulnerability. Her voice broke, falling to a whisper. "Please... just say something....."
Leo didn't do anything at first.
He only watched her as her voice thinned out into silence, heavy with tears that hadn't yet fallen.
Then, finally, he stepped forward.
Illya flinched before she realized it, her body moving back without her telling it to. Another step from him, another step from her, until her back brushed the edge of her desk.
Her breath caught. She wasn't afraid...no, that wasn't it.
Leo stopped a short distance away. Close enough that she could see his face clearly with only the moonlight , but not so close as to crowd her.
His eyes, calm as always, held hers.
"…You're wrong about one thing," he said at last, his voice low. "I don't help people because I gain something. I only do what I desire and I do not lie."
"I didn't bind you because I had to. You were one who proposed the deal to me, Illya. You offered your desperation, your will to survive , and I answered."
"I could've taken what I wanted. You were right about that. I didn't need to bargain with you. I didn't need to accept your deal." He paused, his gaze softening just slightly. "But I did. Not out of ego. Not because I had to it was simply because, I chose to."
He paused.
How do I untangle this without making it worse? She isn't wrong to doubt me… but if I sound too certain, it'll reek of manipulation. If I sound too soft, she'll think I pity her. Both are poison.
Her breath caught, but still, no relief crossed her face. She wanted more than logic. She wanted something human.
Even so, his words remained careful. "You think my silence means nothing. That it proves your fears. But not every answer can be spoken, Illya. Some answers… are in the choices already made."
"Illya," he began, tone even but carrying a faint undercurrent . "I understand what you want me to say. But if you expect me to give you something I don't have —"
"Don't say it."
Her voice struck through his words like a blade. Sharp, trembling, desperate.
She moved forward, closing the space he had left between them. Tears welled in her eyes, trembling against her lashes as though the very act of holding them back was breaking her.
"Don't," she repeated, softer this time, almost choking on the word.
Leo froze, the unfinished sentence caught in his throat. He could reject her. He had been about to. It was logical, it would set the boundary, protect her from further hurt.
That was the clean, decisive solution.
Her hand twitched at her side, as if she wanted to reach for him but lacked the strength.
Her lips parted, but nothing came, only the sound of her uneven breath.
Her tears burned as they slipped free, but she didn't look away. She couldn't. Her gaze begged him, begged him to bridge the impossible distance.
The difference in their height made it clumsy, awkward even; she had to rise on her toes, her hands trembling as if reaching for something forbidden.
And then, before she could second-guess herself, her lips brushed his.
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Power Stones and Reviews please