Sakura Will Never Forgive Morgan / The Mark of an Eternal Sinner / The Final Link

"..." Although she had prepared herself to face Sakura Tohsaka directly, when she actually saw her student standing before her, Morgan still found it difficult to meet her gaze. Was it simply a guilty conscience? It was more than that. Just looking at her evoked an indescribable sense of sorrow. More specifically, Morgan saw her past self. Using every conceivable method to achieve something, until everything was twisted beyond repair. This was certainly not something to be praised.

However—for Morgan at this moment, she knew she had no right to accuse Sakura Tohsaka. After all, the witch's past actions were far more outrageous than those of this student who fell in love with her Servant. So, at this moment, faced with Sakura Tohsaka's gaze, Morgan only felt restless, completely unable to respond. But at the same time, Morgan knew she couldn't just ignore her. Finally, she could only force a bitter smile and, as if asking the obvious, said:

"Sakura. Are you sure you came to talk to me alone?"

"..." Faced with her former teacher's question, Sakura Tohsaka's eyes contained an indescribable mix of emotions. She glanced at the space behind Morgan, as if holding onto a last shred of hope, and said, "Teacher—is Mr. Ian in your room?"

Knowing that Sakura Tohsaka had already settled on an answer in her heart, Morgan no longer argued, but simply nodded directly. "Yes. Ian... is in my room. The two of us went out yesterday."

Of course—this so-called "going out" was far from as simple as Morgan made it sound. In reality, it was more like a Valentine's Day date. However, the witch knew that bringing up such a thing now would be meaningless—it would only disgust the Sakura Tohsaka before her. Internally, Morgan had prepared herself for Sakura Tohsaka's hysterical roar.

Yet, to her surprise, after confirming this, Sakura Tohsaka not only didn't make a scene but instead nodded very calmly. It was as if everything at this moment was something she had long anticipated. Her previous actions were merely to confirm it. Sakura Tohsaka looked at her teacher, her beautiful blue eyes filled only with an inexpressible sadness. But she didn't utter any venomous words, not even a roar, merely saying softly:

"Alright. It seems... my timing wasn't very good. Then—let's talk another time if there's a chance." After delivering words that sounded like a declaration of defeat, Sakura Tohsaka turned around, preparing to leave. Morgan watched her lonely retreating back, feeling increasingly uneasy. The witch realized she absolutely couldn't just let her go.

"Sakura," Morgan said, her crimson lips slightly parted. "Wait a moment."

The latter, upon hearing her teacher's plea, hesitated for a while, but eventually turned back. However, her gaze was completely different from before. It was a look tinged with coldness.

"Teacher," Sakura said, her voice strained. "I know Mr. Ian only loves you... but you don't have to bring it up so many times in front of me, do you? At least, for the sake of our past teacher-student relationship, can you please just let me be?"

Sakura Tohsaka spoke with such resolve that Morgan felt as though she had been pricked by needles. She quickly began to explain, "Sakura, you misunderstand me. I... didn't mean to bring it up so many times. I just—I just wanted to talk to you!"

"..." Sakura Tohsaka stood there, looking at her former teacher, her expression seeming to hesitate whether to believe those words. But she quickly realized she actually had no other choice. Whether she believed it or not, faced with her teacher's invitation, she could only comply. Otherwise, she would certainly be plagued by doubt for a long time.

"I understand," Sakura said. "If that's the case—" Sakura Tohsaka's gaze bypassed Morgan and looked directly into the room behind her. "Let's talk somewhere else."

"Okay."

[You didn't know their meeting would come so early.]

[Having regained your memories, you paid a considerable physical price.]

[At this moment, all you wanted was to rest properly for a while.]

On the streets in the early morning, the sunlight had not yet reached the ground. In a hazy atmosphere, Morgan and Sakura Tohsaka walked along the road. The witch didn't want the conversation to be so somber, so she quickly initiated it.

"Sakura—it seems this is the first time we've gone out like this early in the morning in all these years, isn't it?"

"Yes," Sakura Tohsaka replied to her teacher's question with a hint of hidden meaning in her voice. "Thinking about it, I'm really lucky. I haven't gone out alone with my teacher in the early morning for so many years—otherwise, maybe one day only the teacher would have returned, wouldn't they?"

"..." Morgan knew what Sakura Tohsaka was alluding to—she was silently recounting the deceit and fraud she had endured for the past decade or so. If it had been earlier, the witch would probably have sneered. But now, Morgan had no such thoughts at all. She completely understood Sakura Tohsaka's current feelings—she wanted nothing more than to tear her apart. Even looking at her for another second would cause her immense discomfort. Everything was just as she had once viewed Artoria.

"..." "Yes," Morgan forced herself to respond to Sakura Tohsaka's words. "Back then... I was indeed thinking about how to kill you. But now—no, not just now. From this moment on, I probably will never have such thoughts again."

"Because Teacher knows she won, right?" Sakura Tohsaka's eyes had grown deep and dark. "You think as long as you got Mr. Ian back, nothing else matters, right?"

"..." Morgan was silent for a long time, then stopped walking and looked at the student beside her. "No. Sakura, I didn't win. I... failed much more than you did."

"..." Sakura Tohsaka didn't take Morgan's words seriously—or rather, at this moment, she was completely unable to believe this person. Feeling the other's gaze, she turned her face away, directly avoiding the contact.

"Teacher," Sakura said, her voice firm. "Your feigned pity ends here—I don't want meaningless comfort; it only sickens me. I'm not comforting you, Sakura," Morgan said, her voice choked. "I'm just stating the facts to you. As a wife, I know I'm completely inadequate."

"..." Hearing this, Sakura Tohsaka was a little puzzled. "Teacher—what do you mean? Is Mr. Ian... disgusted with you now?"

"No," Morgan shook her head. "He still likes me as always—and he also remembered things from the past. But the more this happens, the more I realize how outrageous my past actions were. Sakura, do you remember how Ian came to be with me?"

"..." Sakura Tohsaka's lips trembled slightly; she seemed reluctant to answer the question. But finally, she reluctantly conceded, "Mr. Ian... he came to find you despite my two Command Spells, right?"

"That's right," Morgan's voice was already somewhat defeated. "Sakura, I'm not blaming you—but you shouldn't think what you did was right, should you?"

"..." Sakura Tohsaka's expression grew a little awkward. However, she admitted to this thought. After all, Sakura Tohsaka genuinely regretted doing so, especially when she heard that Ian had been tortured because of it.

"Mm," she said softly. "What I did was indeed wrong—but all of it..." Before Sakura Tohsaka could finish her sentence, she heard Morgan's prophetic statement.

"But all of it was to retaliate against me, right?"

"..." Sakura Tohsaka's pupils widened slightly—she probably hadn't expected Morgan to respond in this way. Her intuition told the girl that something seemed off. "Teacher, what exactly are you trying to say? Are you simply saying you think I did poorly—or are you saying my actions offended you?"

"Neither," Morgan shook her head. "I... just saw myself in you."

"'Saw yourself'?" This was an answer Sakura Tohsaka had not expected at all. "Teacher, what do you mean by that—are you trying to say I was also deceiving you?"

"..." Morgan's breathing quickened slightly; it was clear she was adjusting her emotions. Then, she spoke in as calm a tone as possible: "Sakura, I have no intention of blaming you. I came to apologize. Because what I did to Ian—was far more outrageous than what you're doing now."

"Outrageous?" Sakura Tohsaka still hadn't completely believed Morgan's words; her tone held an indescribable, bitter anger. "Teacher, I think I've already said it—if you're trying to comfort me, there's no need. How could someone who schemes against their own student do anything outrageous?"

"..." Faced with Sakura Tohsaka's sharp questioning, Morgan could only sigh. "Sakura, I treated him as a tool, making him do dangerous things for my desires. As a result, he completely disappeared in front of me—until today, when we could finally meet again. Your current pain, I caused it all myself."

Morgan felt a profound sadness from the bottom of her heart. If sending Ian to assassinate Vortigern was due to her unwillingness to give up, then later sending him to battle with Artoria was pure greed. She had a thousand ways to help him avoid all of it. But in the end, she chose to sacrifice him.

"Teacher... are you serious?" Sakura Tohsaka was a little incredulous at what she heard. "Even after all that, he still loves someone like you?"

"..." She really didn't want to admit it. She really, really didn't want to admit it. Morgan wanted to deny the statement, but her body betrayed everything due to regret. "Yes. So I am a terrible wife. If Sakura feels that Ian and I betrayed you... no, I should say that I betrayed you—then..."

Morgan extended her trembling hand, grasped Sakura Tohsaka's arm, and pulled it towards herself. "Slap me hard. Until you feel satisfied."

To be honest, Morgan didn't know how to apologize to Sakura Tohsaka in a way that would convey her current remorse. After all, she was born an arrogant princess and had never done anything to lose face like this. But—she also knew that only if Sakura Tohsaka vented her resentment could there be any possibility for things to continue. So, she would let her student vent in the simplest and most direct way possible.

Watching Sakura Tohsaka's raised hand, Morgan closed her eyes. Every slap that followed, no matter how painful, she would absolutely not complain. This was what she deserved for her sins.

However—Morgan waited for a long time, and what she finally received was just a light touch from the other party. She opened her eyes and saw Sakura Tohsaka in tears.

"Why didn't you strike?" Morgan asked, bewildered.

"I can't," Sakura Tohsaka forced a bitter smile through her tears. "If I hit you—Mr. Ian would be heartbroken... so I absolutely cannot do that."

"I'll explain everything to him," Morgan's voice was already choked with tears. "So you don't have to worry, just vent as much as you need to. Sakura, you clearly hate me, don't you?"

"I really do hate you." Sakura Tohsaka pulled back her hand, her eyes filled with an unreadable resentment. "I hate that you can so easily receive his favoritism and be so fearless about it. But I will never give you the chance to break completely from the past. I want you to always know that you are a sinner, and then—"

"And then...?" Morgan prompted.

"And then... eternally be good only to Mr. Ian, becoming a tool solely to satisfy his sexual desires, unable to escape from it ever again." Sakura Tohsaka stared at Morgan before her, speaking what sounded like a curse in the most vicious tone, "This is what you owe him!"

"Sakura, you..."

"Alright, that's enough," Sakura Tohsaka wiped away her tears, speaking with a slight tremor in her voice. "Teacher. You still acknowledge me as your student, don't you? Then—win this Holy Grail War—whether it's you or me. The wish obtained in the end, hand it over to Mr. Ian."

"..." Looking at Sakura Tohsaka's hand, Morgan felt the mark of a sinner eternally etched upon her. Yes. All her happiness was built upon destroying others. But even so—shouldn't a sinner also have a chance at redemption? Even if it was just a negligible possibility.

Morgan grasped Sakura Tohsaka's hand, transforming back into the legendary magus. "I understand. It's time to show you just how terrifying the magecraft I didn't teach you can be."

The final link in the Caster subjugation alliance slowly connected with everyone at this moment.