Chapter 35

The soft glow of the screens illuminated the dark hotel suite. Edmund, reclining in his luxurious seat, watched intently the images projected by his magical familiars.

Despite the losses suffered during Assassin's siege on the Einzbern Castle, he had managed to capture much of Waver's battle against Kayneth. His friend's unexpected victory drew a sigh of excitement from him.

"Heh, you did well, Waver…" he murmured, letting out a satisfied smile.

He turned away from the screens and let his connection with the magical familiars fade. As the night's adrenaline waned, fatigue began to weigh on his shoulders. With a lazy yawn, he stood up and headed towards the sofa. The bed was already occupied. Rin Tohsaka slept peacefully, her chest rising and falling with calm breaths.

Edmund paused for a moment and watched her.

"Seems like you're sleeping well… How enviable."

With a tired smile, he walked away and headed to the door of the adjoining room. As he opened it, a faint glow of light filtered into the dark suite. Inside, in a corner of the room, a trembling figure was curled up on the bed. A pair of purple eyes met his with palpable fear.

Sakura Matou, or rather, Sakura Tohsaka.

Edmund sighed inwardly. He knew this moment would come sooner or later. He couldn't blame her. To her, he was nothing more than a stranger who had kept her locked in this room for as long as she could remember.

Sakura shrank even further into her corner, her fists clenched tightly on the sheets.

"Don't… Don't hurt me…" she whispered in a trembling voice.

Edmund felt a pang of guilt, but his face remained calm. He approached with measured steps, making sure not to make any sudden movements.

"You don't have to be afraid," he said in a soothing tone.

"I haven't hurt you all these years, have I?"

Sakura looked at him with distrust but didn't respond. Her body was still trembling, the shadow of fear still weighing heavily on her. Edmund sighed and turned to the other presence in the room.

"Alice, couldn't you calm her down a little?" he asked in a relaxed voice.

Sitting in a wooden armchair, with a steaming cup of tea in her hands, Alice Kuonji looked up and blinked indifferently. Her dark eyes reflected a mix of curiosity and detachment. Her black dress contrasted with the pale light of the room, giving her the appearance of a gothic doll that had come to life.

"I would…" she murmured, bringing the cup to her lips.

"But her fear of you isn't something I can dispel with a few simple words."

Edmund smiled, not the least bit surprised by the response.

"I knew you'd say that."

Alice set the cup down and looked at him with a slight tilt of her head.

"Sakura hasn't been alone, you know? I've been taking care of her in your absence, though I don't fully understand why you have her here. A child taken from her family is a familiar concept to me, but…" she paused, tilting her head with an analytical expression.

"Is this a whim of yours or a justified action?"

Edmund closed his eyes for a moment, organizing his thoughts.

"I didn't take her from her family, Alice. I saved her from it." He opened his eyes and looked at Sakura firmly.

"I kept her here because it was the best thing for her. Because if I hadn't, her fate would have been far worse."

Alice fell silent for a moment, then nodded slightly. She neither approved nor disapproved of his actions—she simply analyzed the facts as an impartial observer.

Sakura, still with fear in her eyes, looked away.

"Then… why won't you let me go?" she asked in a faint voice.

Edmund exhaled slowly and sat on the edge of the bed, keeping a respectful distance.

"Because it's not safe," he answered honestly.

"Not yet. If I let you go now, Souken Matou will find out. And if that happens…" He left the sentence unfinished, but Sakura understood perfectly what he meant.

Her small body trembled even more. Just hearing that name terrified her to her core.

Edmund felt a cold rage wash over him as he saw her reaction. That old bastard.

He leaned slightly toward her, lowering his voice to a softer, almost comforting tone.

"Listen, Sakura. I know this doesn't make sense to you now… But you'll understand in the future.

I promise you won't be trapped here forever. There will come a time when you can leave this room without fear. But until then…"

Sakura looked up, her eyes reflecting a mix of confusion and longing.

"Until then… you'll have to trust me."

Edmund observed Sakura with a mix of curiosity and calm. The girl, trembling in the corner of the room, could barely lift her gaze to meet his. Her fear was evident but understandable. She had spent years in this room, spared from the cruel fate that awaited her in the Matou household.

However, for this to be possible, Edmund had to perform an act of magic that defied the principles of conventional magecraft. A copy. No, a perfect projection of Sakura had been created and sent in her place.

That projection wasn't a simple illusion. It had emotions, magical circuits, and the same presence as the real Sakura. There was no way Tokiomi Tohsaka or Zouken Matou would notice the deception, because to everyone else, the projection was Sakura.

Edmund crossed his arms, thinking about his own magic. This ability to create beings with consciousness, to materialize life from nothing, was something few—if any—mages could achieve. It wasn't conventional magic but something closer to the mysteries of the First True Magic.

The First Magic, though its existence was only a legend among mages, was said to create something from nothingness itself.

"…It doesn't matter," Edmund murmured, dismissing the thought. There were too many unanswered questions, and this wasn't the time to dwell on magical theories.

He turned his attention to Alice Kuonji, who remained impassive on the other side of the room, watching him intently.

"You're still as cold as ever," Edmund remarked with a lopsided smile.

Alice didn't respond immediately. She simply ran her fingers along the edge of her black dress, as if she weren't particularly interested in the conversation.

"I thought you'd forgotten about her," she finally said, her voice devoid of emotion.

"I'm not that heartless," Edmund shrugged.

"Ever since I saw her in that park with Rin, I knew I couldn't leave her in the hands of those monsters. The hard part was doing it without anyone noticing. But as you can see, I succeeded."

Alice tilted her head slightly, her expression unchanging. "And you wasted your time on it… as usual."

"I like playing with the rules of fate," Edmund turned back to Sakura. The girl had stopped trembling, though her hands were still clenched tightly on the fabric of her clothes.

"And you, Sakura, can stop being scared. No one will hurt you here."

Sakura slowly raised her gaze, her expression confused and filled with uncertainty. She didn't speak, but the fact that she didn't shrink back was progress.