"First, I need to make sure she's well-fed. She's too picky an eater, after all."
Kay stood before a huge cauldron in the castle kitchen, stirring its contents with a ladle.
Inside the pot was a special abalone, seafood, and meat congee, made from the precious white rice they had grown and harvested themselves in the Demon Realm alongside Scáthach and Tamamo-no-Mae, studded with fresh shrimp, octopus, abalone, and heaps of minced meat.
The nutty aroma of sesame oil mingling with the abalone innards filled the air, setting his mouth watering.
"This should even drive that picky eater wild for a bowl."
Kay scooped a generous portion of the boiling congee into a large porcelain bowl, set it on a tray, and headed toward the lord's chambers where Artoria Alter lay.
He opened the door to find Artoria Alter sleeping soundly on a wide, plush bed.
Her face and body, once bloodied, were now perfectly smooth and scar-free thanks to Tamamo-no-Mae's magecraft, and her dirt-stained black dress had been cleaned and repaired.
Truly, she was the consummate paragon of a perfect wife.
"Oh my, Master, you're back?"
Tamamo-no-Mae, who had been gently wiping Alter's forehead with a damp cloth, perked up her fox ears and greeted Kay.
"Ah, Tamamo. How is she doing?"
"I've fully healed her external wounds and internal condition with my magecraft! However…"
Tamamo-no-Mae wagged her tails and leaned close to whisper in Kay's ear.
"Her physical stamina is critically low, and the mental stress is profound. It would be too much for her to wield a weapon or travel right now. She should rest here in this castle for a few days."
"Understood. Thank you, Tamamo. If not for you, we would have been in real trouble."
"Ufufu, the lord's family is my family, after all! Now, I'll take my leave. It would be indiscreet for me to interrupt a long-awaited sibling reunion. I'll go—manage the castle's finances… no, the situation!"
Tamamo-no-Mae planted a quick kiss on Kay's cheek and slipped out of the room with light steps.
Only Artoria Alter, still breathing softly, and Kay holding the tray remained in the room.
Kay sat carefully in a chair beside the bed and stared down at Alter's sleeping face.
'…She's really banged up.'
Her cheeks were gaunter than he remembered, the burdens of solitude and struggle over the past five years etched into her very being.
He decided to stay by her side until she woke.
Kay cast a faint layer of magecraft to keep the congee warm and closed his eyes, leaning back in the chair.
About an hour later…
"…Mmm."
A soft murmur came from the bed.
Artoria Alter's long lashes trembled before her golden eyes slowly came into focus.
Through a hazy, unfocused view, she grasped her heavy head and gradually sat up.
'…Where am I? This isn't that underground prison.'
She scanned the room, her gaze landing on the large man with his arms crossed, dozing in a chair beside the bed.
"…"
Her heart lurched.
The rugged build, the scarred jawline, and that subtly comforting scent of rice.
'…Kay?'
Artoria Alter reached out in disbelief and gently touched his cheek, feeling his rough yet warm skin through her fingertips.
Her golden eyes flickered, then filled with resignation and tenderness.
'Ah… I see. I've died after all. I couldn't hold out in Tacuin's prison.'
She was sure she was in the afterlife, or perhaps witnessing her life flashing before her.
Otherwise, there was no way her brother would so conveniently rescue her after five years.
'If this is the afterlife… I can finally be honest with my feelings.'
Her expression changed.
The petty tyrant act was gone, replaced by raw, primal desire.
She slid off the bed and climbed onto Kay's thigh as if straddling him.
"…Hm? Hah?!"
Startled by the sudden weight and soft contact on his knee, Kay snapped awake.
"Alter? You're awake—ugh?!"
Before Kay could finish, Alter clasped his face with both hands and, without warning, pressed her lips fiercely against his.
"…?!?!"
Kay's eyes went wide.
It wasn't a simple kiss. Alter wrapped her arms around his neck and unleashed a hot, intense deep kiss, giving him no room to breathe.
Her soft tongue forced its way past his lips, tangling with his own.
"Ugh, huh! Hey, Alter! Are you crazy, ugh!"
Kay tried pushing at her thin shoulders, but she clung to him like a leech, ripping at his clothes with reckless abandon.
"Whoa, hey! Get off me! What on earth are you doing!!"
Finally managing to shove Alter away, Kay staggered backward, panting.
"Haah, haah… what the hell, Alter?"
Alter sat at the edge of the bed, looking up at him with a dreamy yet provocative gaze.
Her dress was already half-slipped off, dangerously baring her shoulders and collarbones.
"Since we met in the afterlife, I'm simply being honest with my feelings."
"…What? Afterlife? Who died?"
"Me. I died in Tacuin's prison and met my brother again in the afterlife, didn't I?"
She smiled bitterly.
"I've admired you not just as a brother, but as a man. More than Britain's future, the place at the table you set for me was my entire world. In the living realm, I held back because of those damn sisters, but even here, I refuse to yield. So, come here and…"
"You crazy woman!! This isn't the afterlife!! Snap out of it!!"
Kay leaped to his feet and grabbed a cup of lukewarm water from the tray, dousing it over Alter's face.
SPLASH!
"…Ack! It's freezing!"
Alter blinked in shock, her eyes wide.
She rubbed the water from her face, taking in her surroundings.
The luxurious furnishings, the plush bed, and the bright morning sunlight streaming through the windows of Manchester.
And most importantly, how cold and real the water on her cheek felt.
"…Huh?"
"This is the living realm, yes. You're alive, and so am I."
"Really… I'm alive? Kay's alive too?"
"Absolutely! I pulled you out of that underground prison while you were unconscious!"
Reality dawned on Alter, and the provocative flush in her cheeks turned a bright crimson, as if the earlier boldness had never existed.
"So then, what I said and did earlier…"
"I heard everything and experienced it all. My poor lips nearly came apart."
Kay rubbed his lips and grumbled in disbelief.
Alter looked like she could disappear into a mouse hole, but then her usual brazen confidence returned.
"Hmph. If I'm alive, that's even better. By the way, how did you get here? And if you rescued me, does that mean you defeated that disgusting Tacuin?"
"Yeah. I ran into him in the dungeon, gave him one solid blow, and he died."
Alter's golden eyes narrowed.
"…One blow? You took down that lightning-fast monster with a single hit?"
"His speed was high, but his attacks were like mosquito bites. It was nothing."
Alter scowled.
"So you're saying I'm just a weakling who got tossed around by a trivial mosquito and ended up chained up? Are you mocking me now?"
"No, no, not like that. It's just that the matchup didn't favor you…"
Kay wiped cold sweat from his brow and waved his hands in protest, while Alter let out an amused snort.
She slid off the bed and stepped in front of him, running her fingertips over his broad chest and even more muscular shoulders.
"…When did you get this strong, you stubborn brother of mine?"
Her voice was wet with tenderness and sorrow rather than reproach.
"What kind of hell did you go through… that with a body weak from half-blood lineage, you gained such an overwhelming presence? Did you do it to protect me, to find me…?"
Her eyes glistened with fresh tears.
Kay scratched his head awkwardly and handed her the steaming bowl of congee from the counter.
"Here. Enough of the sappy talk—just eat. It's the congee with plenty of abalone."
Alter accepted the steaming bowl and offered a faint smile.
"About that confession earlier…"
"Yes?"
"Even though I thought it was the afterlife, I won't deny it. I truly want you as a man, not just as my brother."
She scooped a spoonful of congee and brought it to her lips, making her declaration boldly.
"Until now, I held back because Artoria and our other foolish sisters were watching. But now that my rivals are scattered, you will be mine alone."
"Rivals? Who said they liked me?"
Kay looked genuinely confused.
He had simply thought the eight sisters' antics were childish attempts to claim their brother's attention.
"…Haah. Even after five years, your obliviousness hasn't changed. But whatever. From now on, the seat beside you is mine—"
KNOCK
Just as Alter was about to wear a victorious smile, the door to the lord's chambers swung open cheerfully.
"Master! The castle's interior is mostly tidied up! Has our cute sister-in-law awakened yet?"
Tamamo-no-Mae sauntered back in, her tail swishing, and slipped behind Kay, wrapping her arms around him in a back hug and nuzzling his nape.
"…"
For a moment, the air in the lord's chambers froze.
Artoria Alter's golden pupils slitted vertically, and a terrifyingly murderous aura began to fill the room.
Veins popped at the back of the hand holding the congee bowl.
"…Kay."
"Huh? Uh—"
"Who is that seductive she-fox with a tail clinging to you back there?"
Kay felt a cold sweat run down his spine.
Tamamo-no-Mae paid no mind to Alter's murderous glare. Instead, she deliberately planted a kiss on Kay's cheek and answered with an easy smile.
"Oh my, apologies for the late introduction, sister-in-law! I am the lord's lawful wife and the perfect spouse responsible for his nightly vigor—Tamamo-no-Mae! Mikuong~☆"
"…Me?"
Alter's jaw dropped. Her gaze slowly shifted to Kay.
"…For the past five years."
"Ah, yeah, Alter—wait, let me explain—"
"For the past five years, while I bled tears of blood and crawled through hellish battlefields, you took that wanton beast home, set up house, and rolled around giggling?!"
Alter's rage burst forth.
She looked as if she would summon [Excalibur Morgan] and blow the entire room to dust at any moment.
Kay turned pale and waved his hands frantically.
"No, no! I wasn't giggling around! I trained like hell in the Demon Realm! She… um… is just…!"
"Master! What are you saying?! You left your wicked marks all over my body, after all!"
At the sound of Tamamo-no-Mae's oily words, sparks flew from Alter's eyes.
"Tell me everything honestly."
Kay cleared his throat. Since his secret was already out, he figured he'd better get it over with.
"Well, uh… I left a child behind in the Demon Realm."
"…What?!"
Clang!
The bowl of congee in Alter's hand crashed to the floor and shattered.
Her mind froze as if her brain circuits had shut down, her mouth hanging open as she stared blankly into space.
More than any torture or humiliation in that prison, the shock that her beloved brother had returned alive and become a father obliterated her sanity.