Samael pondered for a long while before slowly raising his head, his gaze firm and solemn.
"Sakura, Tokiomi intended to give you up for adoption to the Matou Family only because he hoped you could gain another set of Magic Circuits and possess the strength to protect yourself. He wasn't simply abandoning you. Although he failed to see the Matou Family's true nature and chose the wrong path, it was understandable."
"If that hadn't been the reason, do you think they could have remained safe until now?"
Sakura Tohsaka neither agreed nor disagreed with that explanation. Her little face darkened as she gave a cold snort, her eyes still filled with icy chill.
"I gave you chances. More than once."
"That's true. No matter what, we do bear an inescapable responsibility. So you have every right to be angry, and every right to resist."
Samael nodded, admitting it frankly, his voice full of affection.
Faced with that gentle whisper, the little girl in the apartment, filled with resentment, instinctively turned her head away. After pausing for a moment, she finally suppressed the turmoil in her heart. Her tightly clenched pearly teeth bit a deep mark into her cherry lips as she reaffirmed her resolve and answered in a muffled voice.
"Don't think that just because you said nice things for them, I'll come crawling back and beg you to take me in so I can keep living that kind of life!"
"That's right! The fault isn't yours. Why should the person who was wronged be the one to bow her head? You should stay in Enzworth Castle and oppose them! Make them understand the consequences of ignoring you!"
"Mm! Huh?"
Sakura Tohsaka first nodded instinctively, excited by the sense of shared hatred. But she quickly came to her senses, lifting