MMMS 59

Her lips curved into a small, apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, Master. I'll be more careful with my words and actions from now on." She let out a soft laugh that didn't reach her eyes. "Even I know my limits. A boring woman like me—even if I tried to copy my sister's approach with men, I'd just end up making them uncomfortable."

"Ah... is that all? Just an apology?" He let out a laugh after hearing her confession. "So this is how the leader of the Knights of the Round Table behaves? Play with some innocent boy's feelings and then walk away like nothing happened?"

Her shoulders tensed. "I'm truly ashamed. I can only offer my deepest apologies."

"No way. An apology isn't enough." He planted his hands on his hips, leaning slightly toward her. "You need to make it up to me."

"Make it up?" Color flooded Artoria's cheeks as she remembered how he'd forcefully kissed Irisviel during their first meeting. "Master, surely you don't intend to treat me like Irisviel..." Her voice dropped to nearly a whisper. "Honestly, that wouldn't be a pleasant experience for you. Unlike Irisviel who's truly beautiful and refined, I—"

"Lancer." His voice stopped her mid-sentence. He grabbed her wrist, his expression suddenly becoming serious as he yanked her into an alley at the corner of the street. "Enemy."

Her back hit the brick wall as he pressed close, his body angled to shield her while his eyes remained fixed on something in the distance. "Look," he whispered, his breath warm against her ear. "In the cafe across the street. Those two men by the window..."

Hearing this, Artoria's face hardened as she squinted toward where he pointed. "Master, you were seriously injured last night. Don't do anything reckless today. I've already sworn my lance to you, so please leave this to—!"

Before she could finish, he yanked her close. Rising slightly on his toes, he pressed his lips against hers, catching her completely off guard.

"What—?!" The eyes of the King of Knights went wide with shock.

He didn't look away from her stunned, indignant stare. Instead, his eyes glinted with a hungry excitement. For a moment, her mind went blank, unable to process what was happening, giving him the chance to savor the softness of her lips.

There were no enemies—just his payback for how she'd tricked him about the command spells last night.

When realization finally hit her, she tried to push him away, but he'd planned for this. One arm circled her slim waist while his other hand gripped her wrist, holding her in place.

"...Mmm."

Gradually, her resistance melted. The tension in her body softened, surrendering to the warmth spreading through her chest. Both her lips and thoughts surrendered to his presence. Between shallow breaths, she slowly let her eyes drift closed, her tightly pressed lips parting to welcome him deeper.

Their passionate kiss in the shadows lasted a full minute before they finally broke apart.

"Haa..."

When they finally broke apart, she sagged against the wall, her chest rising and falling dramatically with each breath. Her lips, wet and flushed, still tingling from his touch.

"And you said kissing you wouldn't be pleasant," he said with a triumphant smile. "Wasn't that delicious?"

After that, she didn't say a single word to him. The entire day, no matter how hard he tried to start a conversation, she'd simply turn away, her face tight with anger.

He'd definitely crossed a line. After all, he'd just stolen the first kiss of Her Majesty the King... Even a scoundrel like him was starting to regret his impulsive move. They wandered through Shinto and Miyama in complete silence, the tension between them almost visible.

Their daytime investigation turned up nothing, and by 5 PM, they were walking through Irisviel's forest with Artoria keeping a solid two meters between them.

"When we get back to the castle, let's pretend today never happened." As the castle finally came into view, she broke her silence without bothering to look back at him. "Master, you didn't do anything wrong, so don't feel guilty. I'm only angry because I'm... immature. That's all. But now we're even, so from now on, let's just be Holy Grail War partners."

"Got it. If Lancer dislikes me, let's do that."

She stopped walking, her golden eyebrows quivering slightly.

After a long silence, still facing away from him, she took a deep breath. "Between my lips and my sister's... which did you prefer?"

What kind of question is that? His mouth twitched. "I wouldn't know... I've never actually kissed Morgan."

"...!" Artoria's fair complexion turned crimson all the way to her ears. "I won't forget what you did today, Master. For all your dishonorable acts against a woman's honor, someday you'll pay dearly."

"Sure." He nodded with a satisfied smile. He loved that tough act of hers—couldn't get enough of it.

"Oh? Did my Ryuuto do something during the day that insulted a woman's honor?"

The air chilled as a figure glided from the castle's shadow. "I couldn't help overhearing. Perhaps I, as your sister, should seek justice for you, Arthur," Morgan said, her voice dripping with fake sympathy.

Her bell-like voice shattered the awkward tension between Ryuuto and Artoria. Morgan stood with her arms crossed, blocking the path.

Ryuuto's neck prickled with danger. While the sisters locked eyes, he seized his chance, slipping behind Morgan and creeping toward the castle entrance.

"Good evening, Master." The words froze him mid-step, like concrete poured over his feet.

"...Ah." He spun around, plastering on the guilty smile of a man caught red-handed. "Aloha! I'm back, Caster! You came out just to welcome me? I'm touched!"

Morgan's eyes went cold. "I certainly wouldn't come out to welcome Lancer."

"So, Master, what exactly did you do to her today?" Morgan stepped closer, her eyes narrowing. She'd caught fragments of their conversation—something about "Between me and my sister... which is more..." The words had hooked into her mind like a barb. What were they discussing? What had he said? Curiosity burned through her like wildfire.

"...Uh." His shoulders slumped with a helpless sigh. He really didn't want to lie to her.

"Nothing worth mentioning," Artoria cut in smoothly, saving him from answering. She flicked a quick glance his way before meeting her sister's gaze. "We couldn't track down Assassin anywhere in Fuyuki City today and nothing particularly special happened."

"Nothing?" Morgan cocked an eyebrow, her gaze sliding between them like a knife searching for weakness. "Really?"

Artoria's lips curled into a teasing smile. "You're so naturally suspicious, Caster. Don't you even trust your own Master?"

"Hmph." Morgan knew empty words when she heard them—Ryuuto hadn't said a single thing to confirm or deny the story. But pushing harder would make her seem like an annoying woman, and she refused to give them that satisfaction, so she didn't pursue the matter.

Night fell as they stood in the castle's front garden, the fading light casting long shadows across the grounds. With Morgan's maids not yet settled in Einzbern Castle, dinner meant takeout again.

"I'll take you to the city for dinner later," Morgan said, twirling a strand of hair between her fingers. "We can handle night patrol work at the same time."

The three of them huddled closer, voices dropping as they discussed shift changes, their breath visible in the cold evening air.

He ran a hand through his hair. "After watching all day, this matter obviously isn't simple. Fanatic's disappearance is more complicated than we thought. Not to mention we're halfway through the Holy Grail War now and only four Masters left—Tohsaka Tokiomi, Kirei Kotomine, El-Melloi and his student."

Artoria nodded, remembering the empty streets she'd walked earlier. "We scouted the Tohsaka territory and the church today and I think Assassin's still alive. If they didn't deliberately spare her, then they haven't even noticed her sneaking around. I don't think either family has her. And why capture an Assassin anyway? In a war like this, wouldn't they just kill their enemy? And Assassin is known as being the best at escaping, capturing her might end up with a knife in their back. Too risky."

"There's definitely more to this story," he agreed, tapping his finger against his temple. Despite knowing the original Fourth Holy Grail War plot, he still couldn't piece together who had captured Fanatic—or why they wanted her.

"Anyway, we haven't investigated El-Melloi and his student yet," Morgan said, tapping her nails against her arm. "Master, let's pay them a visit tonight."

"Then my shift ends here." Artoria turned toward the castle gates, moonlight glinting on her armor. She took three steps before stopping. "By the way, Caster." She glanced back over her shoulder, a knowing glint in her eye. "I'm starting to see why you're so invested in these... relationships between men and women."

Morgan's eyes widened slightly, her composure slipping for just a moment.

"???"

Confusion flickered across her face before she could mask it, the witch caught off-guard by her sister's unexpected comment.