Zenjou Aoi was quite surprised now. The three people standing at the door were all, more or less, acquaintances of hers.
On the far right was Vivian, her second daughter Tohsaka Sakura's teacher from abroad, who hadn't been back for over a month. In the middle was Ian, the Servant summoned by her younger daughter, Tohsaka Sakura. On the left was Lily Pendragon, who had recently claimed to be a friend, visited, and incidentally learned where Tohsaka Sakura's school was. The simultaneous appearance of these three people gave Zenjou Aoi an indescribably subtle feeling (from her own perspective).
But—subtlety aside. Zenjou Aoi truly couldn't find fault with the identities of these three. Especially concerning Ian, as Tohsaka Sakura's mother, she very much hoped that this exceptionally capable Servant would fall in love with her daughter. This way, her safety could be ensured.
But no matter what... she should invite them in first. Zenjou Aoi thought, then beckoned the three people outside. "Please come in."
A few minutes later. Ian, Artoria, and Vivian naturally sat in the living room of the Tohsaka residence. Zenjou Aoi, at this moment, presented three cups of freshly brewed Japanese tea.
"Please enjoy."
"Thank you, Mrs. Aoi," Ian replied very politely.
"It's nothing," Zenjou Aoi replied with a smile in her eyes. "Um—should I go wake Sakura? It's a holiday today, and if I don't call her, she might sleep very late. It's quite lucky to have a day off on the second day of school."
"..." Ian was silent for a moment, then shook his head. "No need. Mrs. Aoi... please let Sakura sleep a little longer."
Zenjou Aoi didn't notice anything unusual in Ian's words; she simply felt it was the Servant's concern for her daughter. "Okay. I understand. In that case, I'll go prepare breakfast first—and then I'll call her."
"Mrs. Aoi, I'll help you," Artoria stood up.
"This... isn't that good?" Zenjou Aoi looked at the girl, whose appearance was about the same age as her daughters, feeling a little embarrassed. "After all, you're all guests."
"Not at all," Artoria smiled and shook her head. "Mrs. Aoi. You helped me a great deal last time—I must repay that kindness."
"..." Feeling the sincerity in Artoria's words, Zenjou Aoi no longer demurred. "Understood. Then, Miss Lily... I thank you in advance."
And so—Artoria went into the kitchen with Zenjou Aoi and began to busy herself. Only Ian and Vivian remained sitting in the living room. The clear tea on the table emitted faint wisps of steam, silently speaking of the silence between the two.
"..."
"..."
[You dislike maintaining this silent state with Vivian.]
[You quickly plan to speak first.]
[But what you didn't expect was—Vivian had the same idea as you.]
"Vivian / Ian."
Almost simultaneously, Ian and Vivian spoke the same words. They paused for a moment, then looked at each other and both laughed.
"I didn't expect us to have such chemistry," Ian looked at Vivian, who had just accepted his confession, his expression deeply moved. "Vivian, you go first."
"I..." Vivian's gaze fell on the Knight. Understanding everything, she knew the true reason behind this chemistry—it was decades of unwavering obedience. Essentially, it was also his deference to her. Due to guilt, Vivian's voice even became somewhat shaky. "I... actually don't have much to say. I just want to ask you one thing." The witch looked at the Knight. "Do you... really want to tell Sakura about confessing to me? Is that not too good?"
[Just as Vivian said.]
[After waking up this morning, you, having satisfied Vivian and Artoria all night, directly stated your intention to return to Tohsaka Sakura and make things clear.]
[This was clearly a rather drastic decision.]
[But neither Vivian nor Artoria raised any objections to your choice.]
[They had already taken your words as an extremely important basis for action.]
"It's certainly not ideal," Ian's tone became increasingly serious. "But—if I don't make everything clear, it would be tantamount to completely disregarding Sakura's feelings, wouldn't it? I... can't do that."
"..." Listening to his words, Vivian was first silent, then showed an approving smile. "You truly still maintain that loyalty as a Knight, I see."
"You flatter me—" Ian replied. "I merely did what every Servant should do. By the way." The man looked at Vivian, ready to shoulder everything alone. "Vivian. If you feel uncomfortable doing this—you can temporarily excuse yourself, and I will explain everything to Sakura by myself."
"..." Looking at this incredibly familiar way of handling things, Vivian's heart was filled with countless emotions for a moment. Once upon a time, he also knelt before her, declaring loyal words like "I can fulfill the Princess's wish alone." But what was the result—he truly disregarded his own life to achieve his goals, bearing all the consequences alone. Vivian was not foolish. A mistake made once, she would never make a second time, no matter what.
"No. I want to face this with you," Vivian said, then tightly held Ian's hand. "You don't need to do all these things alone. I... also have my responsibilities to fulfill."
[Although you feel it's a bit sudden—Vivian, who just accepted your confession, is willing to face everything with you.]
[But you find that you don't dislike this at all.]
[You even find that this is the very outcome you desired.]
[Now, it has finally materialized—this is a will comparable to a Holy Grail summoning.]
"I understand." The man had just finished speaking when the sound of someone descending the stairs came from not far away. It was Tohsaka Sakura. Her sleep quality wasn't very good to begin with—not to mention that Tohsaka Rin's words from last night had thoroughly piqued the girl's anticipation. "Just sleep well. When you wake up, maybe Ian will be back."
With this thought in mind, Tohsaka Sakura naturally woke up immediately at the slightest movement. And indeed, the facts gave her a big surprise. The moment she turned the corner of the hallway, Tohsaka Sakura saw the person she had been thinking about so much. It was Ian, sitting on the living room sofa!
"Mr. Ian..." Her excited voice abruptly stopped halfway through. Because she noticed that Ian wasn't sitting there alone. Beside him was the person she worried most about seeing, and also the hardest to face—Vivian.
Tohsaka Sakura's heart was filled with mixed emotions in an instant. There was the joy of reunion; and also the fear that arose from seeing the person she worried about. The two emotions intertwined, forming an extremely unpleasant feeling—like putting duck eggs in a sweet zongzi, or sugar in a savory one.
"Teacher Vivian." "You... why are you here too?" Tohsaka Sakura's tone was both fearful and displeased. If it were normally, Vivian would have felt absolutely furious—this attitude was a declaration of war! She clearly didn't want to see her!
But now. The witch was not angry at all; instead, she could understand Tohsaka Sakura's actions at this moment. Or rather—the fact that she could still control her emotions and call her "teacher" was enough to show that she still maintained her rationality.
However, despite that. Vivian didn't know how to appropriately answer the other party's question. She felt that no matter what she said at this moment, it would surely hurt Tohsaka Sakura.
But just then, Ian stood up proactively and very directly took all the blame upon himself. "I'm sorry. Sakura, I brought Vivian over. Can the three of us talk for a bit?"
"..." Although she felt a shattering sound in her heart, Tohsaka Sakura also remembered what her sister had said last night. "Sakura, you need to be more confident—you and he have had over ten years of feelings."
"I understand." Tohsaka Sakura looked at Ian and Vivian, and nodded. "Then let's talk for a bit."
[You temporarily left the living room of the Tohsaka residence.]
[You came to a room—it was the place where you were summoned by Tohsaka Sakura.]
[Everything began here, and now it continues from here.]
Inside a certain room in the Tohsaka residence.
"So this is the place," Vivian looked at everything around her, many images flashing before her eyes. "Unconsciously... so much time has passed."
"Teacher, you're really forgetful." Tohsaka Sakura turned to look at the two behind her, a faint dark glint in her eyes. "Clearly—you were the one who told me to summon in this place, weren't you?"
"..." Knowing that Tohsaka Sakura's words carried a hidden meaning, Vivian felt no sting at all. She looked at her student, as if seeing her past self. Stubborn and tenacious.
"Yes," Vivian nodded, a faint smile on her face. "It was indeed I who told you to summon here—I even once wanted to kill you directly in this very spot."
"..." Tohsaka Sakura instinctively took a few steps back. Others might not know how powerful her teacher Vivian was, but she knew very well!
"So, Teacher, you're now..."
"Don't worry," Vivian shook her head. "That's in the past. The current me... has no desire to fight you. Also, to tell you the truth. The person I truly care about, from beginning to end, has only been one—" Vivian took Ian's hand beside her, looking directly at her student. "That's him. And one more thing—Ian confessed to me last night."
"..." The expression on Tohsaka Sakura's face lost control in an instant—this was her most dreaded scenario, now an absolute reality. "Is that so..." The girl swayed and fell backward. If Ian hadn't quickly grabbed her hand, she would probably have fallen to the ground by now.
"Sakura." Ian held the girl, his hand trembling slightly. "I..."
"Mr. Ian," Tohsaka Sakura's eyes were already filled with tears—containing both confusion and unwillingness. "Didn't I already give you that command, why would you still..."
"Sakura, Command Spells aren't for doing such things," Vivian walked to Tohsaka Sakura's side, yet felt no sense of triumph. "Do you know how much pain he was in yesterday, coming to me while resisting the Command Spell? If the object of his confession hadn't been me, he probably would have died there."
"Mr. Ian!" Tohsaka Sakura looked at the man, her eyes full of surprise. "Is that true?"
"It's nothing," Ian forced a smile. "How could it be? Sakura's command... wouldn't have that kind of effect on me. Vivian, you were just joking, right?"
"No," Vivian shook her head. "I wasn't joking. Sakura." The witch looked directly at her student, her voice even having a hint of tears. "Please... don't torment him like that anymore."
"..." "I don't want to either," Tohsaka Sakura lowered her head, tightly clutching Ian's arm. "But if not like this—I'll lose him."
"But Sakura," Vivian wiped the corner of her eye. "This will only continuously hurt Ian. I..." The witch turned her face away. "I don't want you to choose the same path as me."
"No, Vivian!" Ian stopped Vivian's words beside him. "This isn't a matter of harm—Sakura hasn't done anything wrong at all."
"..." The more Ian protected Tohsaka Sakura at this moment, the sadder Vivian's heart became. The witch didn't hate his partiality towards her, but rather recalled the painful scenes of the past. Restraint, pain, and endless torment. This was not love at all, but harm to him. It couldn't continue like this. Absolutely not.
Vivian took a deep breath, then took Tohsaka Sakura's hand, pulling her away from Ian's embrace. "Sakura, there's one thing—I think I must tell you."
"Wh-what is it?" Tohsaka Sakura looked at her teacher, her voice trembling slightly. She was afraid to witness their intimacy again.
"It's just—" Vivian's gaze fell on the silent Ian, her eyes filled with countless regrets. And these regrets now became her motivation to confess the truth to her student. "Sakura?"
"Ian... is actually my husband."