As the effects of the alcohol gradually faded, the King of Knights found herself unsurprised that others might fall for Guinevere.
But she was no longer the person she had been long, long ago. She would never again entertain the thought of... handing Guinevere over to someone else.
"King of Heroes," she said, her sword still pointed at him. After their brief clash, her words became the sharper weapon. "If it were you, could you tolerate your Enkidu being reviled by countless future generations as a whore?"
She wanted to know if the King of Heroes, who urged her to be magnanimous, could remain so calm if the roles were reversed.
At the mention of Enkidu's name, at the hypothetical future where he bore such infamy, the King of Heroes' sneer instantly froze. His eyes turned glacial.
"Hmph. What do the opinions of others have to do with me? But if I were to care, I would simply recreate the world. After accepting Enkidu's heart, I would personally forge a future where no one dared to slander him.
"King of Knights, now I understand how twisted you are. You actually harbor love for people outside of Camelot?
"You're trying to change their minds instead of changing the problem at its root."
At this, the King of Heroes sneered again. He didn't mind being called a tyrant; he had no qualms about using force to silence everyone. But the King of Knights was different. She was a monarch who sought to forge a righteous path where her people could live good lives—a courteous and benevolent ruler crowned with the title "King of Knights."
"King of Knights," he said, "if the Holy Grail truly is an omnipotent wish-granting machine, then your wish shouldn't be to reject Caster's feelings and abandon the past she created for you. You could simply wish for the Grail to change the minds of everyone in the present world."
Understanding dawned, and even the King of Knights felt a pang of pity. This king, so different from him, was still far too naive when it came to matters of her own heart.
"Or perhaps, you and Guinevere could..."
The King of Heroes' words trailed off as he felt a surge of exceptionally ferocious killing intent. The other Holy Sword was now wreathed in crimson mana.
"King of Heroes," she warned, "I have allowed you to speak freely because I hoped to use your words to change Lia's mind. But if you do not wish for an immediate battle to the death, then keep your madness to yourself."
The Round Table was only about ten meters in diameter, and the King of Heroes and Guinevere were less than ten meters apart.
Thus, despite sitting there filled with pride, he had no choice but to consider Guinevere's desperation.
But the King of Heroes was not a king to be easily intimidated.
"All treasures in this world belong in my treasury, including—"
"Cough! Cough, cough, cough!"
A violent coughing fit shattered the tense standoff—the handiwork of the King of Conquerors.
"I say, do you really intend to fight here?" he interjected. "At this distance, the moment battle breaks out, your Masters will be the first to die. King of Heroes, if you persist, I will have no choice but to oppose you and force your arrogant self to withdraw from this war early."
"Mongrel," the King of Heroes snarled, his own violent killing intent now flaring. He raised his right hand, and ripples appeared in the air behind him. If he hadn't needed to keep his eyes on the King of Knights and Guinevere—whose Holy Sword was already slightly angled for an attack—he would have struck already.
"My King, please calm yourself," his Master pleaded. "We did not come here to fight. Saber, Caster—the Einzbern homunculus must be the Master of one of you, correct? I assume you wouldn't want her to die here."
A Servant's battle would not be confined to this small space. The Masters standing beside their Servants were indeed hostages.
At this moment, Guinevere wasn't confident she could protect Irisviel from dying in the aftermath of a deathmatch. Even with the Scabbard inside her, a wound as severe as decapitation would be impossible to heal.
The atmosphere grew tense again. But it was the King of Knights who sheathed her sword and scoffed at the King of Heroes.
"King of Heroes, you are truly an ignorant king.
"Did you not know? Even the genuine Holy Grail cannot grant the wish you speak of. Its 'omnipotence' is merely omnipotence within the realm of what is possible.
"And that's not even mentioning that the Fuyuki Grail is merely a replica created through Magecraft, and it has long been corrupted by All the World's Evil. After learning this, I only hoped it could grant me a physical body so I could find the path to my ideal on my own."
Hearing this, Guinevere breathed a sigh of relieved joy. In her eyes, though the King of Knights was still putting up a stubborn front, she had already secured a preliminary victory. As long as the King of Knights was willing to stay and spend more time with her, what was there to fear? She was certain she could gradually change her mind.
Unlike Guinevere, the King of Heroes and the King of Conquerors were no longer focused on the King of Knights' wish.
In the Holy Grail War, the intelligence known to each faction varied greatly. Even Tokiomi Tohsaka remained unaware of the full details of the Grail's corruption.
He overstepped his bounds. Instinctively, he placed a hand on the King of Heroes' shoulder, then, ignoring everyone else, performed a formal gesture of inquiry toward Irisviel, imploring her to reveal the details of the Holy Grail.
And so, under the guise of brushing her hair aside, Irisviel discreetly tapped her earpiece. She received Kiritsugu's instructions: he permitted her to reveal everything she knew. Kiritsugu also wanted to see if the other factions would cease hostilities upon learning the truth about the Grail.
However, Kiritsugu specifically instructed her not to conceal the fact that the mechanism connecting the Grail to the Root remained intact.
He knew that the King of Heroes and the King of Conquerors' parties would never trust his side's word alone. After hearing Irisviel's account, they would undoubtedly seek to verify it themselves.
In the castle's courtyard garden, the banquet resumed—not for a drinking contest this time, but for a quiet tasting. The real dishes were replaced by Irisviel's slowly unfolding story, which served as the evening's accompaniment.
When Irisviel's tale reached its conclusion, Tokiomi Tohsaka breathed a sigh of relief upon learning that the Grail's connection to the Root was undamaged. Only then, seeing the King of Heroes' cold expression, did he realize the transgression he had just committed.
The corner of his mouth twitched, regret piercing him like a dagger. He could only hope the King of Heroes was not as capricious and petty as he had been led to believe, and that his remaining two Command Spells still held some sway.
Adhering to the Tohsaka House's creed of perpetual elegance, Tokiomi maintained his graceful composure even as anxiety flooded his heart.
At the same time, he placed even greater hope in Kirei Kotomine playing his part. As long as Kirei succeeded in assassinating Kiritsugu Emiya according to plan—causing either the King of Knights or Guinevere to disappear—Tokiomi would dare to forcefully command the King of Heroes, demanding that he end the Holy Grail War tonight.
One Command Spell to kill, one Command Spell to force suicide—Tokiomi Tohsaka's plan was flawless.
However, the Holy Grail War was also a battle of intelligence. Due to the fake Command Spell Kiritsugu had revealed when kidnapping Rin, Irisviel's unconcealed Command Spells at the banquet, and Guinevere's currently pristine hands—kept clean by her Noble Phantasm's illusion—both Tokiomi and the King of Conquerors' factions had made a critical miscalculation. They never considered that the King of Knights was Guinevere's Servant; they still believed Kiritsugu held the contract with one of them.
The banquet continued, but now only in silent drinking, until one party finally proposed their departure.
Just as the King of Conquerors finished processing the information about the Grail—realizing that even a corrupted Grail could grant a small wish like Incarnation—his fighting spirit rekindled. It was then that he noticed uninvited guests had arrived at the castle.
"Saber's or Caster's Master," he called out, "you lowered the castle's barrier to welcome me, didn't you?"
The fine wine was nearly gone; the banquet was truly reaching its finale.
Just moments ago, when the King of Conquerors urged them to cease hostilities, he had said that if a battle broke out here, 'you' wouldn't be able to protect your Master.
But he could.
"King of Heroes," the King of Conquerors boomed, "would you mind if I cleaned up these rats? The ones you supposedly killed, yet who are clearly on your side?"
"King of Knights," he continued, turning to her, "do you mind if a guest helps with the housekeeping?"