Fuyuki Forest.
In the early hours of the morning, when the quiet European-styled castle was still chilly and surrounded by fog, the peace of the early dawn was interrupted by the impact of a towering, almost-chiseled shape of a man.
A little girl seemingly waiting for the behemoth's return calmly and nonchalantly approached him, using the back of her hand to dust off his brow before eyeing the wounds marring his thick arms and chest.
"You did an excellent job, Berserker…" the Master of the Einzberns fueled some of her mana supply into their connection, enduring the slight pain of forcing enough to immediately heal her Servant. Though the man himself never once flinched or even seemed bothered by the grisly stab and cutting wounds, his stony flesh was restored to its chiseled and perfect form once more.
The girl let out a sigh, satisfied that not only was her champion able to return swiftly, Heracles had done his job. The opening night of the War was going smoothly.
"Come." Turning around, she ordered the giant of a man. Wordlessly, he took her up on his shoulders and started marching into the castle, heading straight for the study wherein she'd spent her time waiting for his return. But before they even reached it, two ladies-in-waiting, seemingly identical in their appearance except for their contrasting expressions, met them with haste. Or rather, one of them did while the other trailed behind a little more lazily.
"Lady Illya, you didn't need to come meet him here yourself! Need I remind you to actually get some rest!" The elder of the homunculi maids and the naggiest of the pair had Illya's eyebrows furrowing. "Berserker isn't a bird you need to fawn over tirelessly. Even a scratch or two would heal without you needing to busy yourself over him."
"Sella means 'you need sleep'." The other maid, the one more carefree despite her robotic intonation, added. "Also, Breakfast is cold. Not tasty anymore."
The former maid glared at her companion, but Illya cut her off before she could say anything else.
"You don't need to tell me twice, Sella. One night spent awake is no issue for me." Berserker continued walking, taking long strides that forced the maids to trail after them in a hurry. "At least Leysritt brought my dinner to the office."
"Welcome," stated the lackadaisical maid.
Meanwhile, her fellow wasn't so easy to dissuade.
"Be that as it may, Lady Illya, you should preserve your strength. Ordering Berserker out there in full force is one thing, but to command he distract a Servant in order to protect—"
"Stop!" Not just the titan of a man, but even the worried woman's voice was cut short by Illya who gazed down on them from her perch on Berserker's shoulders. "We've been over this, Sella. What I order Berserker to do is none of your concern. I am his Master. And if I want him to protect my brother, he will do it. And he did just that. Perfectly, might I add."
Something akin to a growl reverberated from the giant's chest. It wasn't words neither of the homunculi maids could comprehend, but their liege seemed to be able to.
"Don't be so modest. Even if you failed to kill that dog in blue, you still held your ground against him and his toothpick. Thank you again, Berserker." Illya smiled brightly while stroking the giant's coarse hair. "We'll get him next time. For certain, you protected Shirou using your body as a meat shield. But as expected of the strongest Servant, he barely wore you down with his weak attacks. Even if we didn't get him to show his Noble Phantasm or uncover his identity, you did more than enough tonight."
She was seemingly able to have one-sided conversations with a beast of a man debilitated by the Madness Enhancement. It spoke volumes of her prowess as a Master, but even if her homunculi maid servants didn't sense any ill intent from him, they still found it odd for their once-indifferent liege to fawn over the Servant. More so when she did it as equally as she'd fawn over her distant 'family' in the city.
"Just a little more, Berserker. Let's be patient." Answering with another grumbling growl even as the giant himself never opened his mouth. Illya continued to pat his hair, not once bothered by the giant's lack of words. "We may be on the backfoot being outnumbered, but we won't lose. So long as we can hold out long enough until my friends arrive, we'll be able to make do and save my brother from this mess."
"Lady Illya, I still do not understand who you're always referring to." Sella's concern interrupted her train of thought as Illya hopped off her Servant's shoulders to enter the study. The maids followed along even as Berserker dispersed into spirit form. "Your grandfather didn't mention any outside parties assisting us this time around. Never mind my advice that associating yourself with that boy might be a bad idea. Even if he is related to the traitor—"
"Don't worry your head too much, Sella. Grandfather only cares about me winning the war and getting him the Grail. He won't care about anything I plan to do as a means of achieving that goal. Or did you forget he essentially just threw only you two with me because he doesn't see it fit to utilize all the resources the family has left?"
Sella's expression froze before shifting to one of frustration. Like Illya, she too was aware of her circumstances. A last gambit, she wasn't completely. While it was true Acht pooled so many resources and time into making her the best possible chance to succeed, it was also certain the ancient golem had diverted a majority of his power into recovering and preserving what assets remained of the Einzbern manor in Germany. True to his programming, he was out there somewhere, still trying to power the factory to birth yet another Einzbern homunculi that would take Illya's place unless she won.
She was just yet another disposable pawn. As were Leysritt and Sella. That the Master of the Einzberns took the form of a child with a serious expression unbefitting of someone her age was not a concern. She was an asset. One Acht deemed satisfactory for this Grail War but nothing more.
Win or lose, they were all sent her to die. In the end, victory at any cost was all that mattered for the ancient golem abiding by its original programming.
But Illyasviel von Einzbern was not of the same mind.
"As for Shirou, I thought I already told you to drop it? He is my brother. My responsibility as an older sibling. Since his life was put in danger, it's only natural I'd look after him. To make sure he won't die a needless death due to that man's stupidity."
"Lady Illya, see reason! You aren't even related by blood!"
"Not a concern. Even if I initially chose this route to spite that bastard father of mine, I am still resolved to taking him away from all this." The girl adamantly retorted, arms crossed and refusing to even consider her aide's words. "Kin or not, surely it is understandable that an older sister does all they can to look after their young and naive sibling, right?"
"Relatable. Sella can't go on without me worrying about her at all times. Younger siblings need to be looked after."
"See? Even Liz agrees with me!"
Leysritt hummed and nodded as if it was a matter of fact. Though, she may have just agreed simply because the monotonous one of the pair would rather appease their master than actually think about it for longer than a second. Sella simply grit her teeth and suppressed the strong urge to pinch her homunculi 'sister' on the cheek.
Actually, she didn't hold back and did it anyway, twisting the expressionless maid's pale cheek.
"Ow. Sella. That hurts. Let your older sister go."
"I am the older one here, you dimwit! And between us both, I am the one picking up the slack for your negligence in duties and care for the mansion!"
She pinched hard. But all that came of it was Leysritt's monotone whining. Hell, she didn't even seem fazed despite her pale cheek being pinched turned as red as a tomato. Liz did stare at her 'older sibling' up and down before landing her gaze on target.
"Do not worry, Sella. I am proud of you for being responsible." She nodded amidst the strain of being pinched and added a statement that had the normally calmer of the pair fuming. "You may need to drink more milk, but it's fine. Sella is a growing girl after all."
"Leys—!"
"Ngh?"
The pair instantaneously stopped their banter as a cold chill ran down their spines. Turning to their master, she too was already made aware by the disruption on the fringes of the territorial barrier. "Intruders."
"An Enemy Servant?" Sella questioned, concerned. "Did they chase after Berserker when he retreated?"
The mountain of a man didn't say. In fact, it remained quiet as Illya, eyes closed and humming to herself, came to a decision. Tapping the giant on the shoulder, Heracles knelt so as to let her dismount.
"Prepare to welcome our guests, you two."
"My Lady?" Sella looked confused. Liz as well, though she didn't show.
"We have guests, Sella. They'll be arriving at the main gate in a bit." Illya said calmly. "Come on. Stop gaping like a fish out of water. We must be polite, considering they came all this way not to fight."
Closing one eye and using her magecraft to allow the hidden organ to see what her familiars did. Having planned ahead and summoned a bird made out of a strand of her hair, she'd left it on standby after Berserker arrived. Even now, it still sat perched up on one of the taller towers of the castle. Their vision was vastly enhanced by magecraft, allowing Illya an almost clear vision of those approaching.
A number of suited individuals. Some were armed with weapons and firearms and all of them masked, yet none showing any form of hostility as they stopped their vehicle at the unlocked front gate. In total, they numbered six, but only two made their way into the estate. The rest remained still near their vehicle. There really was no need to post guards around here. The magical barrier would've warded away any normal intruders, and had it been another Master-Servant pair, Berserker would've rushed them at her behest.
But then these people were wearing a mask almost thematically identical to someone she knew, hence her lackadaisical approach to their arrival. Or rather, Illya suppressed the small bout of eagerness to meet them herself.
This was the first time that person sought contact with her directly. In her estate no less, not even bothering with the eyes posted to monitor her every move.
She spied on them through her familiar as she walked, promptly stopping by the stairs of the main foyer to sit and wait while her servants followed behind. Heracles dispersed without a word, ready and waiting in her shadow.
"... Hm… So he sent me his messengers… A shame I won't get to meet him again so soon… I really wanted to chat now that we don't have to worry about Grandfather spying on us…"
"My Lady, what are you talking about?"
"Nothing…" Illya replied, a little bored but internally calculating how best to approach this situation.
As it had been a while since their last correspondence, she'd have wanted it to be a personal meeting with her benefactor. But now, she had to be polite and settle for the messengers. Sighing, she waved her hand and mana started to shift. In the air and all around her, then in the glyphs and hidden seals outside the mansion. They dispersed at her will.
"I deactivated the traps and boundary fields. Liz, remind me to set them up again later. Go prepare the parlor for now. Sella, you go greet them in the main hall. Please prepare tea for our friends after you send them to me. We need to show them our hospitality."
Both maids looked troubled. Although Leysritt was quick to obey, scurrying off down the hall, Sella remained, unmoving and staring at her mistress.
"Lady Illya, is it wise to act like this? How could you be so sure the ones coming aren't—"
"Sella, who is in charge of the Einzbern clan in this war?"
The question was rhetorical. The maid knew that from reading her liege's stern expression, a rarity from the girl who often pretended like she was still a child.
To acquire aid from outsiders and even disregard notifying Lord Acht… this was a blatant show of disobedience to the elder golem's creed to further the clan's goals. An act of sabotage even.