The night passed unnoticed. After being brought back to Ryudou Temple by Guinevere, Saber was knocked unconscious and forced to sleep through the night.
Upon waking the next day, her first reaction was vigilance. Then, after sensing Guinevere's presence, she was instantly plunged into confusion.
It had only been one night, so of course she remembered what Guinevere had said when she'd taken her away.
"I've lost my confidence. Regret is allowed, but running away is not..."
Saber lay on her back, one hand raised high. It was unclear whether she was staring at her fingers or the ceiling visible between them.
Contrary to what one might expect, those words didn't strengthen her resolve. Instead, they only reinforced her conviction that her own path was the correct one.
I must return to the time before I drew the sword and allow Britain to have a new king.
Yes, now that Saber had recognized the root of the problem, she felt even more certain that she was unworthy of the crown.
Sighing, she sat up. As she did, she replayed her entire life in her mind: Merlin's warnings before she drew the sword, the moment Tristan cried out that the King did not understand the human heart, and the feeling she'd had as she pierced Mordred with her Holy Lance.
In that moment, Saber didn't blame Tokiomi or the World. She became increasingly convinced that everything was her own fault.
Pain and unease gnawed at her. Saber reached out and slid open the shoji door of the Japanese-style house. Brilliant sunlight flooded in, making her golden hair shimmer and warming her skin. It was only then that she realized she was wearing nothing but a thin nightgown. Who had changed her clothes...?
"Guinevere..."
Did she mind? Not really. But even in life, they had never shared a bed.
Back then, she had been forced to hide her gender. After Guinevere caught her "cheating" and discovered she was a woman, they had only grown more distant, avoiding each other at every turn.
Of course, the most crucial point was that the Guinevere of that time had been a normal girl.
Which meant that the current Saber still believed this Guinevere was a normal girl as well.
Shielding her forehead, she let her eyes adjust to the bright light and focused on the two figures arguing in the garden.
One was Guinevere in casual clothes. The other was a beautiful woman, also in casual attire, with pointed ears and long, blue-purple hair.
"Caster?"
As a fellow Servant, Saber could sense Medea's aura and easily guess her Class.
As she watched, their argument reached her ears...
"Assassin, can't you just let me borrow your Saber for a bit? She's so cute! I want to make tons and tons of clothes for her, tie her up with red rope, and pose her in super, super interesting positions!"
"Caster, shut up! You already said she's my Saber! The most I'll do is accept the clothes you made, but don't even think about anything more!"
Hearing this, Saber froze mid-step. She noticed both women's expressions were utterly serious, which made her instantly avert her gaze. She then saw the white gauze dress Caster was presenting, which Guinevere reluctantly accepted, yet without a moment's hesitation.
"Ah, Saber, you're awake!"
In the courtyard, on the stone path, under the sunlight, Guinevere spoke, but both she and Caster had long since sensed Saber waking up. Their "argument" wasn't for Saber's benefit; it was simply where their dispute had reached before she awoke.
And it had to be said, Caster was truly a master craftswoman. In just the latter half of the night, relying only on visual estimation, she had created this alluring, backless little white gauze dress.
"Caster, please, go back to your room for now. I'll fulfill your request."
What was Caster's request? Merely that Guinevere handle the catering for her and Kuzuki's wedding. In just the past two days, Kuzuki, the former assassin, had used all his strength and connections as a teacher to secure Caster's identity papers.
And to avoid any delays, they planned to go to the relevant agency that afternoon to register their marriage and hold the wedding ceremony that very night.
Regarding the guest list, Caster believed it should only include the temple personnel, but Guinevere had a different idea...
"To ensure the wedding proceeds smoothly, it would be best to send invitations to all Masters and Servants."
Guinevere was confident that Sakura, Rin, and Emiya's teams wouldn't cause trouble at the wedding. As for Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes, he would surely attend out of respect for her.
Of the remaining Master-Servant pairs, only Illya and Berserker posed a risk of creating a scene. But with Gilgamesh present, should anyone dare disrupt the wedding, Guinevere knew he would gladly—and with a few cutting remarks—swiftly resolve the matter at her request.
She could also anticipate what would happen after the wedding: a full-scale battle once the probationary period ended.
Whether for their wishes or simply for their own amusement, there would always be those who sought victory in the war.
"Assassin, Saber, I'm leaving things to you two here. I hope you can find a way to resolve your conflict."
With a nod, Guinevere took the white veil and open-back dress, watching Caster depart with a smile. She then took a step toward Saber.
Wearing only a thin nightgown, especially in the sunlight, she felt Saber was lucky not to have a nosebleed. Otherwise, it would have been far too easy for Guinevere to be taken advantage of.
Of course, since Guinevere had deliberately blocked Caster's view after she came out, this Caster, who completely lacked a woman's-to-woman interest, immediately understood her intentions. Subsequently, she stopped glancing at her completely, not even saying goodbye when she left.
So, what was Guinevere thinking as she looked at this pleasing scene?
'A pity, if only she were really my Lia, we could fight to our hearts' content, and I wouldn't have to restrain myself to just being a good friend.'
Thinking this, Guinevere had already stood in front of Saber, handing over the little dress in her hands and saying:
"Put it on, or I'll definitely mount you!"
It was a threat, but she was also genuinely feeling restless, simply because the person before her was indeed Artoria, who truly could arouse her desire.
As for others, Guinevere at most had the mind to tease them.
"Guinevere, is your 'mount' the same 'mount' I'm thinking of? It seems you've really been influenced by something after all; a complete Guinevere would never have such thoughts."
Although she spoke like this, reality was pretty much the same, and fortunately, after the announcement last night, Saber had completely given up the idea that this legal wife was Lancelot inside.
Thinking of her own helplessness in Guinevere's hands, she frowned and took the dress. After walking back into the bedroom, she spoke directly: "You want me to wear it, but aren't you coming to help?"
This kind of thing was truly difficult to put on alone. Saber had worn the White Lily Dress before and knew how to put on this dress.
"Yes, yes, yes, I'll come in to help right away. Speaking of which, you're actually not resisting?"
In Guinevere's imagination, Saber's first reaction upon waking up would naturally be to understand her surroundings, and her second reaction would be to resist.
But Guinevere was wrong. After all, this was not her Lia. Her Lia had not experienced the great failure that Saber had, which also caused her to misjudge Saber's current mood.
She wanted to provoke Saber's pride and make her regain her confidence, but the reality was that Saber had truly become soft, becoming more of a little woman.
"Guinevere, I want to know what wish you want to entrust to the Holy Grail. If your wish is to continue taking revenge on me and humiliating me, then we can make a deal. I will cooperate with you, and you help me obtain the Holy Grail to fulfill my wish."
Saber-chan's confidence was truly about to be completely lost after losing to Guinevere several times.
Saber-chan was truly willing to kneel and endure humiliation in order to fulfill her wish.
To her, nothing was more important than the people and knights of Camelot.
Even now, she still did not know how to live for herself.