A few hours later.
In the penthouse suite of a luxury hotel.
Kayneth sat on the sofa, a wineglass on the coffee table before him.
The glass held red wine, though not from his collection. Wealthy as Kayneth was, he could not let the Grand Duke keep squandering the vintage wines passed down to him.
Although Kayneth deeply disliked entertaining a "guest" with "cheap wine," there was no need to maintain his aristocratic bearing when Sola was not around.
Kayneth wore a sour expression, as though the man opposite him owed him millions. In fact, that was not far off. Those collectible wines were worth far more than their market prices.
The Grand Duke sat on another sofa opposite him, utterly oblivious.
Several meters separated them, filled with an indescribable silence.
"Lancer."
Kayneth spoke, his voice somewhat deliberate. Having always called him the Grand Duke, he addressed him by his class for the first time. "You can assume spirit form, can't you?"
The Grand Duke raised an eyebrow. The question was about as foolish as asking whether fish could swim.
But he did not answer directly. "As a Heroic Spirit, it is instinctive."
"Is that so..."
Kayneth rose and paced over to the floor-to-ceiling window.
Outside, the distant battlefield had fallen quiet. The melee between the golden Servant and the King of Conquerors seemed to have come to an end as well.
His back was turned to the Grand Duke.
Volumen Hydrargyrum spread silently from beneath his feet, flowing across the floor like a layer of silver mercury before slowly disappearing again.
The room fell quiet for several seconds. The Grand Duke silently suppressed the redness in his eyes, his body temperature gradually dropping.
"Lancer."
"Hmm?"
"I hear believers cannot lie."
Kayneth did not turn around. "Is that true?"
An