"Mmm…"
Being fed by someone else was definitely more awkward than eating by herself, and Saber felt a little uneasy. Everyone knew that with fried rice—especially when eaten with a spoon—you could never get every last bit, and being fed just made it worse.
When she opened her mouth to let go of the spoon, she noticed a few grains of rice still stuck to it—along with a bit of her own saliva. She was just about to take the spoon back and lick it clean when Shichen pulled it away.
"Eh?" Saber blinked at him in surprise.
"What? Still hungry?" he asked, grinning as he scooped up another spoonful—only to pop it into his own mouth.
Saber's lips parted slightly, her eyes fixed on him in a daze.
"You seriously want me to keep feeding you?" he teased, twirling the spoon in front of her.
Her gaze dropped to it—it was completely clean now. For some reason, her cheeks warmed, and she felt like saying something but couldn't get the words out.
Shichen chuckled at her gradually reddening face, then scooped another spoonful and held it up to her lips. "Want some?"
"N-No… it's fine!" she blurted, quickly shaking her head and ducking down to eat on her own instead.
Laughing, Shichen pulled his hand back. He didn't mind—her ears were already bright red. Teasing Saber was always entertaining. This was how she should be; worry and gloom had no place on her face.
"Daddy, feed me too!"
"Onii-chan, me as well!"
"Didn't you two just finish eating?"
"If Daddy feeds me, I can eat more! You said you wanted us to eat lots so we could grow up fast."
"I want to grow up fast too—then Onii-chan will be satisfied."
"…Satisfied with what?" Shichen asked suspiciously.
"With the boobs you like, obviously! Once we grow up, you can touch them all you want!"
"Mhm!"
Thank goodness no one else was around, and he'd already blocked outside attention—otherwise, Ilya and Sakura's words might have had people calling the cops. These two had clearly picked up some bad ideas, and he was going to have to set them straight.
After dinner, he skipped the usual walk and brought everyone straight back to their rooms.
Frierin grabbed two bottles of cola on the way in and hopped off to her own bedroom.
Saber, too embarrassed to stick around, retreated to her room as well.
Shichen didn't plan on bothering her—there was no way she'd still be thinking about Lancelot in her current mood. And if she did… well, he'd just kiss her until she forgot. After all, there was no problem a kiss couldn't solve—and if one wasn't enough, two would do.
After resting for a bit, he kept his promise to Ilya and Sakura and bathed with them.
Bathing with two little girls wasn't anything special—they weren't developed yet, so no matter how soft or childlike they were, there was nothing for him to think about.
Est wasn't much different in build, but her age was a different matter, so he kept his thoughts to himself.
Once they were clean, he dried them off and carried them back to the bedroom.
Irisviel was still fast asleep, her brow slightly furrowed but her cheeks rosy, lips faintly curled in a smile.
"Keep your voices down—you'll wake Iri," Shichen reminded them as he set them on the bed.
"Okay~"
"Get into your pajamas. We're going to bed early tonight—tomorrow I'm taking you somewhere fun."
With Berserker out of the picture, only three Servants from the banquet remained. He had no plans to send Saber after the other two yet—better to let them fight it out while he spent more time with Ilya.
Besides, he was still waiting for someone to awaken. Without Kiritsugu, he wasn't sure if that person would still pull the same betrayal.
"Something fun?" Ilya's eyes lit up.
"Secret for now~"
"Ehh—tell me!" she whined, tugging on his hand.
"If I tell you, it won't be a surprise."
"I guess that's true…"
"See? Sakura's not even asking."
"A-actually… I want to know too," Sakura mumbled.
"…Sakura, you just made me eat my words."
"N-no…"
She quickly shook her head, hugged his other arm, and stood up to kiss him lightly on the cheek.
"Ahem. That's not what I meant by 'hit me in the face.'"
"I know… I just wanted to kiss you. Is that not okay?" she asked softly.
"Of course it's okay."
"Daddy, me too!" Ilya stood up and planted a loud kiss on his other cheek.
"Hehe~"
"You two… alright, enough. Let's get to bed before you wake Iri."
"Okay."
They nodded—then dropped their towels to the floor.
"Your pajamas are over there."
"Daddy, let's just sleep like this. Don't you like it better?"
"…When did I ever say that?"
"Est told us."
"…She what?"
"She said you sleep better when people are next to you like this."
Shichen's mouth twitched. "She tricked you."
"Really? But doesn't she sleep like this?"
"That's her. You two shouldn't copy her."
"You really don't like it?"
"Of course I don't!" he said firmly, deliberately avoiding looking at their bare skin.
"…Okay…"
They exchanged a glance before Ilya sighed. "Fine, then get us our nightgowns."
"Wrap your towels first."
"What's the difference? It's not like you haven't seen before."
"Either way—don't ever do this in front of anyone else, understood?"
"Of course. Only in front of you!" Ilya said like it was obvious.
"Mhm," Sakura nodded.
"And in front of Mommy…"
Shichen dressed them both in their nightgowns, then pulled them into bed with him.
The night passed peacefully.
The next morning, he woke early. Peering over Sakura's sleeping face toward the window, he saw faint daylight filtering through the curtains—it was already morning.
He slipped out of bed without waking them and turned—only to meet Irisviel's gaze. She'd already been awake.
"When did you wake up?" he asked softly after a few seconds of silent staring.
"Just now…" Her cheeks were still flushed.
Yesterday's memories were still vivid—Shichen's relentless passion had left her completely defenseless, and he'd even made her change positions multiple times. He'd completely overwhelmed her innocence.
Not that she minded—his excitement was proof of his affection.
"Just now? You're not lying?"
"Why would I lie?" she said, rolling her eyes.
"Fair point… So, how are you feeling?"
"I…"
She knew exactly what he meant. Shifting slightly, she winced.
"Feels… a bit hard to move…"
"No problem—I can heal you."
"Eh? You can heal that too?"
"Of course. What did you think I meant?" He chuckled.
"I-I didn't know!" she stammered.
"Now you do?" he teased.
"…Mhm." Her face turned even redder.
"By the way, does it matter that you're an artificial being?"
"It's fine."
"Got it… then let me heal you."
"Okay, but… you'll have to touch it?"
"Why so shy? I saw everything yesterday."
"T-then… after you heal me, you won't… you know…?" she asked nervously.
Though she'd enjoyed parts of it, it had gone on for so long she was still wary.
"Silly, you're not even healed yet—how could I be in a rush?" he said, amused.
"That's a relief…" she sighed.
"So scared of me?"
"How was I supposed to know? You're… nothing like the books described."
"You've read those kinds of books?"
"I couldn't leave the Einzbern estate, so I read all sorts of books to learn about the world."
"I see… Then why did you bleed? Didn't you already give birth to Ilya?"
"I-I'm an artificial lifeform. I didn't have to give birth the normal way," she explained quietly.
"Ah… makes sense now."
~~~
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