"A fruit?"
Upon hearing that, Maiya immediately glanced at Kiritsugu.
His expression had visibly darkened.
It would have been subtle to anyone else.
But Maiya knew him far too well not to notice.
"Irisviel, what exactly is going on?" Kiritsugu asked, his voice calm, yet rigid.
"Oh dear! It's not what you're thinking!"
Irisviel brought a hand to her face, clearly realizing that the two of them had understood something completely different.
"Arthur gave me a fruit that will help with my recovery."
Kiritsugu and Maiya exchanged another strange look.
Had Arthur discovered the sheath buried inside Irisviel's body?
If so, that changed many things.
Kiritsugu felt his mind begin to race.
He needed to confirm that as soon as possible.
"Where are he and Lancer?" Kiritsugu asked.
"They're in the kitchen. Should I go call them...?"
Before Iri could finish, Kiritsugu interrupted her immediately.
"No. Leave them for now. We'll speak with them later."
Iri blinked, surprised by the speed of his response.
"Iri, could you show us the rooms and the courtyard?" Kiritsugu asked next, as if it were mere casual curiosity.
"Yes, of course."
She glanced toward the kitchen.
Those two had been cutting vegetables for quite some time and still had not come out.
Or rather—
Artoria was probably trying to cook seriously while Arthur was likely getting in the way.
Even so, since it was a request from Kiritsugu and Maiya, Iri naturally did not refuse and immediately began guiding them through the property.
The mansion had been impeccably cleaned by Arthur and Artoria.
There was no accumulated dust, no cobwebs, and no signs of neglect.
Everything looked organized, breathable, and functional.
Furthermore, thanks to Arthur's Territory Creation, many damaged areas had been repaired.
Old wood had regained its firmness.
The general flow of energy throughout the estate had been harmonized.
It was as though the mansion had been torn from abandonment and returned to life.
Seeing that Iri could truly move freely, even if her strength was still inevitably somewhat weak, Kiritsugu and Maiya felt genuine relief.
Even if they did not show it much.
Although Irisviel was nominally Kiritsugu's wife, she had spent her entire life in Einzbern Castle before meeting Kiritsugu and Maiya.
She had never left home.
Never lived as an ordinary person.
So, in a sense, both of them had also watched her grow up.
When a homunculus body develops to a certain point, it stops aging and remains young until it is discarded.
A beautiful and cruelly temporary existence.
However, their psychology does not differ from that of ordinary people.
Although most homunculus maids were implanted with fixed personalities and memories, Holy Grail vessels such as Irisviel and Illyasviel did not fall into that category.
They possessed the privilege of developing personalities of their own.
And their psyches matured over time.
But the price of that privilege was brutal.
Their destiny was to collapse like containers.
When they arrived at the storage room and saw the magic circle inside, Kiritsugu turned to Iri and asked:
"What is this?"
"This is the core of the territory Arthur created. Thanks to it, I can live normally once again."
"I see."
Kiritsugu nodded distractedly.
On the outside, he appeared to be merely analyzing the place.
Inside, he was calculating countless possibilities.
At the same time, he cast a brief signal with his eyes toward Maiya, who still stood outside the storage room door.
Maiya understood immediately.
Without making a sound, she silently closed the door from the outside.
Then she activated a soundproof barrier around the area.
"Huh?"
When she realized what had happened, Iri tilted her head and asked, with an obvious note of doubt:
"Kiritsugu... what are you doing?"
"Irisviel, did Berserker discover the sheath inside your body?" Kiritsugu asked with an extremely serious expression, his gaze rigid and piercing.
"Probably... not?" Iri herself was not entirely sure, because Arthur had never mentioned it directly to her.
"Probably?" Kiritsugu frowned even more deeply and continued, unable to hide the growing tension in his voice. "Is the sheath still inside you?"
"Yes."
Iri nodded lightly, placing one hand over her chest.
"I can still feel its presence inside me."
"Besides, unless I remove it voluntarily, the only way anyone else could take the sheath from me would be by killing me. So even if Arthur knew, he would not do that," Iri added.
"No, Irisviel, you are being far too naive and underestimating the importance of the sheath," Kiritsugu declared solemnly, each word heavy and cold.
"Considering the number of Noble Phantasms in his possession, we cannot rule out the possibility that, in addition to Lancer—the sheath's original owner—he may also be capable of activating its true power."
Kiritsugu always assumed the worst possible scenario, suspecting everything and everyone until the very last moment.
However, Iri was certain Arthur had no malicious intentions.
Aside from being somewhat of a womanizer and incorrigibly provocative at times... he was, at heart, a good person.
Both she and Artoria knew that.
"Iri, do not trust others so easily." Kiritsugu placed both hands heavily on her shoulders.
"Has he ever once told us about his past?"
"No..." Iri lied.
She could have answered yes.
Arthur had already revealed important things to her and Artoria.
But at that moment, she wanted to see how far Kiritsugu was willing to go with this speech.
"Whether Arthur is good or evil does not matter," Kiritsugu continued coldly.
"He has never revealed his past to us. He has been pretending in front of you this entire time. That is the only thing of which I am certain."
"No matter how much I search, his past is like fog. There are no legends, tales, or myths connected to him. As if he had never existed on this planet. It is impossible for the Holy Grail to summon two versions of the same existence."
"I am certain he is not as indifferent to the Holy Grail as he claimed. For the Holy Grail War to proceed properly, the underlying logic of the Grail ensures that only those who desire it in their hearts are summoned. Even a madman like Caster possessed a wish."
Iri remained silent for a few moments.
Then she slowly raised her crimson eyes to Kiritsugu.
"So that is what you were thinking this whole time, Kiritsugu..."
Her voice was not loud, but there was an unusual firmness in it.
"Arthur is not that kind of person. And even if he still hides many secrets from us... do we not also have secrets we hide from him? Is the very existence of Excalibur's sheath inside my body not a perfect example of that?"
She took a step back, moving away from his hands.
"I will not allow you to speak of him that way."
"Iri..." Kiritsugu looked genuinely incredulous.
Although he had never considered Irisviel to be his property, in that moment he felt something akin to loss.
A bitter sensation, difficult to name, tightened in his chest.
How could she have changed so much in so little time?
How could she defend him like that?
How had that man gained Irisviel's heart and complete trust so quickly?
And seeing the way Iri stood before him, dark and uncomfortable emotions began to arise in the depths of his mind.
A long and suffocating silence followed, until Kiritsugu finally raised his dark, hollow eyes to Irisviel and spoke in a flat tone devoid of all human warmth:
"Iri... I want the sheath back."
"What?"
Upon hearing that, Iri's expression froze for a moment.
Then, slowly, a bitter and deeply disappointed smile appeared on her lips.
"I see..."
She closed her eyes briefly, as though confirming something she would have preferred not to understand.
"Because Arthur displayed strength far beyond our expectations in the battles against Archer and Caster... you are afraid of him."
"You will only feel secure in victory if you possess the sheath, is that it?"
Kiritsugu remained silent.
"This is all that matters to you."
Iri then raised her gaze again, but now there was no hesitation left in it.
"Kiritsugu... no."
She took a deep breath.
"Mr. Emiya."
The formal address fell between them like an invisible blade.
"Although this may not be appropriate considering my identity as your nominal wife... I still need to say it."
Her voice remained calm, yet heavy with sadness.
"You are a despicable man."
If Kiritsugu had not tried to tarnish Arthur in front of her... if he had simply asked for the sheath directly, honestly, Iri would have given it to him willingly, without the slightest hesitation.
But at that moment, it was not the sheath he wanted.
It was control.
(End of Chapter)