"You mean to tell me… it was the boy's idea to take out Tokiomi and his Servant?" Suspicious was the only word to describe Kiritsugu's tone. "Are you saying he was capable enough to fool a Lord as well as one of the most cunning magi in Japan?"
"It's the truth!" she begged for them to believe her. "He's the one who formulated the whole thing! He even convinced Kayneth to use that worm-infested creep, Matou Kariya, instead of just stealing Berserker from him for that end alone!"
"He used Berserker to take out Archer alongside Avenger," said Kiritsugu as he tried to reconfirm their findings. "Then he played your fiancé into getting blown up alongside Kotomine Kirei and Tohsaka Tokiomi?"
"Yes!"
It sounded surreal. That a boy as young as he would be able to manipulate men far more powerful than himself… was unsettling, especially for the Servant who believed him to be a descendant of her bloodline.
'To think… there would be a day a Pendragon would go down such a path…' Saber kept her silence but balled her fist. 'Then again, I'm not one to speak, am I?'
A repeat of irony. She couldn't criticize the boy for his ruthlessness the same way she couldn't criticize someone for mishandling their marriage. She was just the same as either of them. A damning similarity to both her summoner and successor alike.
"What else do you know about Berserker's Master, Matou Kariya?" Kiritsugu pressed the weeping woman. Despite not holding a gun to her head, she might as well have been staring down the barrel as she kept her eyes on his hollow black orbs.
"Th—that man won't last… And neither will his Servant…" she mumbled through her fear before swallowing. "His capability as a magus is shoddy at best, practically useless at worst. He's only able to manage because of the… insect familiars he has inside him… They provide enough mana for Berserker… but because they use his flesh and blood for replenishment, he'd have expired in less than a day or two. In order to make proper use of Berserker, the boy had me make suppressants and pain killers keep the familiars at bay, but…"
When she bit her tongue, unable to give a precise measurement, Maiya kicked one of the legs of her seat as a threat. All the while asking, "How long does he have?"
"It was a limited supply! A… A week or two at most! But…" she paused once more to catch her breath. "Given that I can only suppress them if he calls upon Berserker for too long, the worms' survival instincts will kick in and continue to eat at him again. At worst, he has a couple of days, maybe less…"
Magi using such cruel devices on themselves in their quest for power was despicable. It was bad enough that their Servant equivalent was willing to use children as sacrifices. However, Kiritsugu's next few words were enough to cause Arturia to bite her own tongue.
"Then, Lelouch Lamperouge need only press Berserker's Master to attack either us or Rider before his tool expires."
"Yes! That's likely his plan! He had me plant Kayneth's bomb as soon as he suspected betrayal!"
Lady Sola-Ui's confession brought new light to the boy. Saver couldn't say it was very bright. It was enlightening, but nothing positive seemed to come of this. For her own flesh and blood to be so… callous with using human lives for his own goals… it was a dreadful realization.
'Using his own all like this, just to betray him in the end. I didn't think he was capable.' Or maybe she did and just didn't want to see it that way. Compared to the many young men and knights of her time, there were hundreds if not thousands that believed in the chivalrous ways she championed. But upon eying her real Master, she faltered into equivocating the similarity. 'No. Lelouch cannot be the same as Kiritsugu… He just… can't!'
To think she'd be related to someone who would see things like her Master… it was abhorrent. Then again, Morgan existed, did she not?
'Still, what of his Servant? What does Avenger see in him that she would willingly march alongside that boy?'
Saber's thoughts on the Japanese Servant weren't kind. She wasn't someone who could be called a chivalrous heroic spirit. Then again, that person was lacking in heroism entirely. She could only be an antagonist if Saber were to judge. The best comparison of a person she had of Avenger was Mordred at her worst. But when the traitorous knight still had an honour that followed the chivalry code to some extent, the image that redheaded demoness painted of herself was far more petty and bloody than the Knight of Betrayal.
Unlike Mordred who instigated civil war for the sake of the crown, Avenger looked to be the type to slaughter merely because her foes had been a thorn in her side for too long.
Snapping out of her contemplation, Saber continued to watch from the sidelines as Kiritsugu moved on to getting Rider's location out of the woman.
"And you're certain of Waver Velvet's location?"
"Y-yes!" Sola nodded furiously. "I—I sent a familiar and scouted the area. Kayneth's student and his Servant were there. I swear!"
"Very well." Kiritsugu's black coattail swirled with him as he made for the door. "I'll assert your claims. Until then you will stay here."
"But… But I was telling the truth! Wait, please—!"
"Lady Sola-Ui, I have a few questions for you." Fearing this may be her only chance at conversation, Saber tried to speak to their captive. Her Master glanced at her but only sighed with indifference. He neither cared nor bothered with her so long as she didn't get in their way of victory, but this time, she wanted to know something.
"—I, wait—! You…" However, the instant she made her presence known to the woman, all the fear and dread in Sola-Ui's expression was replaced by hate. Her words were spat out with a heavy dose of venom. "You're that Saber… You… were the one who killed Diarmuid! You're the one who killed my Diarmuid!"
Saber paused at the sudden change in tone. It was only when Irisviel broke the silence that her attention snapped back to reality. "Is… Is she under some sort of spell?"
A mere glance alone would have anyone thinking that. For someone who was so scared for her own life earlier, she was certainly far less fearful now that she glared at Saber. The hate in her eyes were reminiscent of those families who despised seeing the killer of their beloved.
It was a nostalgic feeling for a former King such as her.
"Lady Sola-Ui, please. Calm yourself. You must already be aware that Diarmuid Ua Duibhne's curse has charmed you into infatuation. Your feelings for him aren't real—"
"THEY'RE REAL TO ME!" she screamed, surprising everyone, even eliciting a glare over the shoulder from her deadpan Master's gaze. As they watched, the tortured woman started to speak with a passion they hadn't seen from her before. "What do you know, you bitch?! All my life, I was told what to do by my family. Forced to study what I didn't like. Forced to marry a man I didn't care about. Forced to be an obedient doll all for their sake! And when I finally tasted what real love feels like… what real freedom felt like, it just had to be taken away by you!" If glares could curse, Saber would've been long dead a hundred times over. "You… took my darling away from me… You killed him… I—I just wanted to be free… To be happy abandoning this war for him. Even if it meant Kayneth was killed, I didn't give a damn! He deserved it even before he got Lancer killed!"
"But… he was your betrothed—?"
"I DID NOT LOVE THAT BASTARD!" her screech would've likely been heard by the neighbours had there not been a bounded field in place. "Do you know what it's like to spend your life in a marriage you didn't want to be part of? To be nothing but a political tool… a prize to show to others?! There is no love… There is no freedom… Only despair… Despair I couldn't even throw aside because you had to kill him with your own hands!"
Arturia didn't say anything more. She knew. More than this tortured soul cared to realize, she knew what it was like to be married to a person who didn't have romantic feelings for you. Guinevere, her good friend, was just the same as Lady Sola-Ui. A victim because of necessity. Another confidence needed to preserve her lie.
Since King Arthur was believed to be a man, it was expected of her to marry and have a queen. Guinevere was the one who had to suffer this fate. And, despite it being out of her own choice, she suffered for it. Marriage without love, built on a lie she and Merlin had to bring to the grave. It shouldn't be surprising it all ended in tragedy. The same fate would have befallen Lady Sola-Ui had she not met her 'Lancelot'.
Guinevere, like their raving captive, was just a woman who was denied her happiness and love. It was no surprise that she would eventually find someone who would be able to give her that love. But as Arturia's 'queen', attaining it was a whole other debacle in and of itself. She couldn't express her love to Lancelot. Not when both were pressured by their roles in her kingdom and had no choice but to meet in the shadows. People called it adultery and betrayal against the King's trust. But in truth, Artoria was ready to close her eyes on this. She was the King of Britain. The time for romance and such was forbidden to her, hence she'd allow this grievance if it would alleviate the burden she'd forced upon her 'wife'.
If only Mordred wasn't so keen on getting her throne…
Saber could only sigh. '… I can understand her struggle… but it does not justify betraying her intended.'
The act of betrayal was one she was very much familiar with. More often than not, it was the very antithesis of her legend. But it seems her legacy seeped in it as well.
'Lelouch Lamperouge isn't better. He took advantage of Lady Sola-Ui while she was hurt and vulnerable. Convincing her to act as a tool of his treachery, even if it was to prevent being betrayed, to begin with, he… he…' Arturia couldn't help but let the bile fester in her mouth. More so when she considered the mindsets of all the other participants of the war apart from her false Master and Rider's own.
Selfish magi, cowardly sneaks, a bonafide serial killer. What was there to expect but depravity and backstabbing?
'Not a single shred of decency. Not a smidgen of chivalry or honour. Do none of the humans today have any sense of principle? Of decency?! Even Merlin was more reasonable compared to all of them!'
That she'd see the day her old teacher was the better of many in terms of decency, the old her would've scoffed at such folly. But cowed by the woman's words, and the heaviness behind them, she could do nothing except hold her tongue until they left her be.
After all, who was she to speak ill of the sins of others when she herself had committed them just the same in her time?