There are many beasts in this world

The night had become dawn.

It was almost morning.

Yet, Aoi was in a daze and felt guilty about what she had done. Her heart was so heavy that she couldn't breathe, yet when she thought about how to react when she was with him, she felt ashamed.

The scent of sex still lingers.

It was so intense, as if announcing to the people present inside the room what the two of them had done.

"I am sorry."

Her naked shoulders trembled when she heard his apology.

Was he at fault?

He was.

Yet, it was only partly since she knew she might have expected this.

Inviting a younger man than her into a single room, then asking him to drink with her.

Did she expect him to be a saint or gay? No.

While she wanted to know how he could deal with his loss, a small part of her heart wanted him to make her forget everything by drowning themselves in pleasure.

Then, she was correct.

When they were together, all of the problems inside her head disappeared.

She was in euphoria and felt intense guilt at the same time.

It was probably her first time feeling like this.

Even with her husband, she had never felt this much pleasure.

Yet because of this, she felt even more guilty since she knew that she shouldn't feel like this.

In the first place, how could she even give him a chance to be with her alone?

Yet, for Tamazuki, this development didn't surprise him.

The relationship between Aoi and her husband had cracked the moment her husband decided to give away their second daughter to the Matou house. Due to his greed, he lost everything.

Nevertheless, Tamazuki was sure that as a "Mage," Tohsaka Tokiomi had never cared about all of those things.

In Tokiomi's mind, everything was for his ancestor's wish.

The inheritance of his family as a "Mage" and reaching the "Akasha," the root of all the knowledge, was something that Tokiomi upheld the most.

So, was Aoi guilty?

Naturally.

After all, Aoi also didn't openly oppose her husband's decision to give Sakura away, even though she didn't want to.

Moreover, as a wife from the "Mage" family, she shouldn't expect the normal happiness of a family.

So, because of that, Tamazuki decided to take care of Tokiomi's wife in his place.

He sighed and thought that he was such a gentle heart, but he knew that Aoi was in a mess since it was her first time to have adultery. While he had said the fault was on him, could she think that way? After all, while she appeared to resist at first, she didn't really hate it.

However, he couldn't be blunt and needed to be gentle.

"I will leave. Take care, Aoi-san."

Then, he left, leaving Aoi alone inside the study room.

Aoi said nothing, only pretending to sleep while hugging her blanket tightly. However, after a moment, she woke up. While her lower body was quite sore, strangely enough, she was refreshed. However, she forced herself to stand up and walk toward the window then she saw his appearance walking away from her house without looking back.

Her expression became complicated, and she didn't know what to do.

She kept staring at him, even when she couldn't see his figure anymore.

She took a deep breath and thought that she should bury everything without letting anyone know until her death.

Then, she rubbed her flat stomach, which didn't change much even from her youth, even after she had given birth to two daughters. While helpless, a tenderness couldn't be hidden from her eyes.

Still, unlike him, who was a beast, while she came from a "Mage" family, her physical wasn't much different from a normal human. She thought to rest, but then she noticed something on the table.

Three unfamiliar items were present.

One was a book, the second was a crystal ball, and the third was a letter.

She took the letter as she sat on the soiled sofa as she read this letter.

"When you read this letter, I have gone, but I leave you two things. The first one is a book of training, "Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist." Tell Rin I'm sorry since I can't teach her, especially... actually, never mind."

Her expression was conflicted as she saw scribbles on the letters, showing his hesitation when he wrote the letter, putting her heart even in a more complicated mood.

"The second gift is this crystal ball. As long as you want to, you can see anyone that you wish to see from this crystal ball, but it might take your stamina, so be careful when you use it."

The martial art book was one thing, but the second item... she could tell that it wasn't something that could be given to someone he had just met for the first time!

It wouldn't be weird to say that this was a treasure that every "Mage" family wanted!

Yet, it was given to her easily by him...

Was it his way to apologize?

Was it his way of saying that she should forgive him for this?

She didn't know, but even if he had made this mistake, he shouldn't have given something so important to her, yet he gave it to her.

Her heart was heavy, and her head was even more of a mess.

However, she took the beautiful crystal sphere with her slender, weak hands and held it gently. She thought of something then a picture of him was seen on the crystal ball. She was surprised even more so when she could tell that he didn't realize that she was looking at him.

She lay her head lazily on the sofa, naked, as she stared at him blankly, unable to forget what had happened between her and him. She kept staring at his figure until she closed her eyes, falling asleep unconsciously, never putting a single thought toward her husband.

---

Inside the house of Tohsaka, in Fuyuki City, the room was filled with three people.

One was an older man with an air of elegance and an expensive red suit.

The other two were an elderly man and a man with a priest-like outfit, who sat side by side while facing the man with a suit.

If other participants of this war saw the three of them, they would be surprised and couldn't believe their eyes since the head of the Tohsaka family, Tohsaka Tokiomi, stayed in the same room with the priest, who had been chosen as the overseer of this war. From how they appeared together, it wouldn't be weird that they had a good relationship and might even be an ally.

Yet, because of this relationship, the other participants would be furious as the overseer, who was in the position of an impartial judge, had become a cooperator of Tokiomi, which clearly broke the rules of this war.

"Risei, haven't all the Servants been summoned?"

"Not yet." The elderly priest shook his head since, as the overseer, he possessed a magical device known as the "Spirit Board." It had the function of displaying the attributes of the Heroic Spirits summoned by the Grail. He could tell whether all the servants were summoned or not. Nevertheless, he wasn't sure of the identity of the masters unless they made a report.

"But I am sure that all of them will gather sooner or later."

"That's true." Tokiomi still maintained his smile as he swirled the wine glass in his hand elegantly. "But even so, let's prepare our plan."

"Yes."

Risei Kotomine, the elderly priest, nodded kindly.

"Kirei, I will leave the rest to you."

The youngest man among the three, who had been quiet, quickly became the center of attention.

His expression was calm, almost flat, or even lifeless, as he didn't see meaning in life. Yet, he still answered that question. "Yes, leave it to me."

"Yes, we can't let the others get the Grail since we're not even sure what they will wish for when they get the Grail."

"Yes, the Grail can only be mine as my purpose is to reach Akasha."

Risei and Tokiomi smiled as they thought the victor of this war was, without a doubt, them, as no participants would realize that the church had decided to cooperate with Tokiomi.

Nevertheless, this conversation had nothing to do with Tokiomi.

In his mind, only a single person could attract his attention, and he couldn't wait to meet this person in this war.

'Emiya Kiritsugu...'

He hoped to meet this person so he could feel the void inside his heart.