"Uh—"
Kenneth opened his eyes.
He couldn't see. He couldn't see anything. His vision, uh...
It hurt. It hurt so much.
What had happened? What had... happened?
His head was drenched in sweat, and his pained expression carried a trace of savagery.
"Kenneth, you're finally awake."
The gentle words reached Kenneth's ears, finally pulling him free from his slight daze.
"Ah, ah, Sola?"
He suddenly jolted awake, breathing heavily, his eyes tinged with fear.
Standing beside him was his fiancée, Sola-Ui Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri.
Kenneth was strapped to the bed with belts. He tried to move and break free, but a wave of intense pain shot through his body.
"Uh—S-Sola, what's wrong!? What happened!?"
He did not know what had happened, but he instinctively felt afraid.
"Have you forgotten? Then what is the last thing you can remember?"
Sola sat on a step, a faint smile on her lips that made Kenneth's skin crawl.
She was so calm.
"I-I remember that someone else seemed to be attacking the castle too, holding Saber back. Then I found Emiya Kiritsugu inside the castle. I was hit by a bullet, and then... Sola, what exactly happened? What's wrong with me?"
The pain, the restraints, his fiancée's attitude—all of it frightened him. His final memories before losing consciousness made his entire body tremble, fine beads of sweat appearing all over him.
"Is that so?"
Sola stood up.
From the basin beside her, she took out a towel that was still steaming. She wrung it dry and wiped the sweat from Kenneth's forehead.
"You know, when Lancer brought you back, I thought you were already dead."
"Blood was pouring from all seven orifices, there was bleeding beneath your skin, and your internal organs were a complete mess. But those were minor problems. After all, my healing