Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

The silver-haired android who walked up to the boy was wearing only a silk nightgown that was far more revealing than the one from the previous night.

The material is so thin that Shirou can even see the outline of Irisviel's body through the fabric.

The boy, with his eyes closed, heard Irisviel's plaintive voice.

"Shirou... because you've been avoiding me all day, I had no choice but to resort to this tactic. I hope you can understand."

"Okay, okay! I'll listen to you carefully. Anyway, let's find something to put on first!"

Irisviel, of course, would not do as instructed.

This repulsive attire, resembling that of a prostitute, also symbolizes her determination at this moment.

"Shirou, you must think I'm a very willful woman."

"I have never considered your feelings. From the moment I met you, I have always imposed my own ideas on you."

"Even I feel ashamed of myself."

"I didn't think so."

Shirou opened his eyes to refute, but after seeing her attire again, he quickly closed his eyes again—the scene was just too shocking.

Now that things have come to this, Shirou can no longer deceive himself.

No matter how much he hypnotized himself into believing that "Irisviel is his family," deep down... he had long regarded Irisviel as a woman.

That is precisely why Shirou reacted so strongly.

"Shirou, this is my request... Please, just this once."

Irisviel's voice came through.

Shirou gritted his teeth: "I can't do it..."

Irisviel, rejected again, said nothing this time.

The room fell silent as both sides remained deadlocked, neither willing to back down.

"……Um?"

During the long wait, Shirou suddenly sensed that something was wrong.

He opened his eyes and saw an unbelievable sight.

Irisviel knelt down on the carpet at Shirou's feet.

She stood with her knees together, leaning forward, her three fingers of each hand neatly joined together, placed flat in front of her head—

This is what is known as a dogeza (or dogeza).

The silver-haired beauty kept her forehead pressed to the ground and murmured something.

"Please, Shirou... let me have your child?"

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Volume 4, page 172, combined

Alice...!?

Shirou's eyes widened.

My first instinct was to help her up, but then I remembered that I was still tied to the chair and couldn't move.

"...What are you doing?"

Irisviel knelt at the boy's feet in a dogeza (a traditional Chinese kneeling posture), gracefully folding her knees and bringing her three fingers together.

Although she learned the knowledge from television, her posture of pressing her forehead to the ground was exemplary, and could even be described as a heartfelt act of worship.

This was the first time Irisviel had knelt before someone. The Einzbern family did not have such etiquette, and as the "Lesser Grail," she had grown up in a pampered environment.

however--

The Einzbern princess, now queen, is kneeling at the feet of a human boy.

"Please, Shirou... let me have your child."

I...I said it out loud!

She uttered the ultimate obsequious lines to Shirou, lines that were utterly shameless and completely abandoned any semblance of female dignity.

Irisviel's face flushed and her head felt lightheaded.

It has ended.

My life is over...

After tonight, how can I possibly have the face to continue living with him...?

She felt both humiliated and excited, ashamed and regretful.

She could almost hear her own heart pounding like thunder, quickening and pounding.

Irisviel's inner turmoil surpassed even that of the night before when she had surrendered her reason to drugs.

"Ellie..."

Shirou's voice came from above, sounding almost like it was being squeezed out of his throat.

What kind of expression does he have right now?

Irisviel couldn't help but start daydreaming.

Will he look down on me?

Imagining Shirou's disdainful gaze upon her, Irisviel felt not sadness, but rather even more agitated.

Ugh, I might be a complete pervert.

"Shirou, please have pity on me..."

Irisviel maintained her humble dogeza posture, swaying her large peach-shaped buttocks, and spoke at the same time.

"I really, really want to live, I don't want to die..."

He went into full-on begging mode (actually, it was acting).

"Do you want to watch me die of exhaustion? You're the only one who can save me..."

Irisviel now looks like a defeated female knight who has come to terms with reality.

The nobility, glory, pride, and dignity that he once spoke of are now completely discarded like garbage. He only begs his enemies to spare his life, saying they will do anything to him.

The pleading even contained a hint of flattery.

"Shirou, I want your genes~?"

"..."

I heard the boy sigh.

"Alice, please lift your head," Shirou said.

Irisviel did not look up, but replied, "If Shirou is unwilling to save me, I will kneel here forever."

Shirou said, "How could I possibly watch you die, Alice? I'd do anything to save your life."

Irisviel thought to herself: Hmph, that kind of rhetoric won't fool me!

Anyway, in the end you still don't want to hug me, Shirou, you stubborn, big idiot!

Irisviel stubbornly replied, "Since you put it that way, then help me and let me become a mother."

"I see."

See? You still didn't want to! So, Shirou, you're the one who... huh?

Irisviel blinked, wondering if there was something wrong with her ears.

"Shirou, what did you just say?"

“I will make Alice… a mother.”

Upon hearing these words, Irisviel felt as if something had pierced through her heart.

She slowly straightened her back and looked up at Shirou sitting in front of her.

I thought Shirou must be blushing and ashamed just like me, but I found his expression serious and determined.

Irisviel asked instinctively, "Shirou...you said yes?"

The boy nodded: "Yes, I promise you."

Irisviel was stunned. She was a little uneasy and continued.

"No, you're not allowed to go see other men! I will never agree to that!"

I would never want to be impregnated by a complete stranger, I'd rather die.

Shirou, if you dare hand me over to someone else, I will hate you for the rest of my life…

The boy angrily interrupted, "How could I possibly do such a thing! Alice is my woman, I won't give her to anyone else!"

"…………"

Irisviel's cheeks, which had cooled down, suddenly became burning hot again.

I'm... Shirou's woman? Waaah!

The silver-haired noblewoman lowered her head shyly, her eyes fixed on the pattern on the carpet.

"Why...why did you suddenly change your mind? You were so resistant all day long?"

Her voice got quieter and quieter.

"And what do you mean by 'your woman'... Shirou, have you always looked at me like that...?"

Shirou said calmly, "Iris, I must apologize to you."

"Ok?"

"I was the one who wanted you to live from the beginning, and you accepted my wish. I should have been happy."

I said I'd do anything to keep you alive... but when it really came down to it, I hesitated.

"Shirou..."

The boy said with a bitter expression, "Ah... I really do want to maintain our relationship as it is now, and I don't want to ruin it."

For me, Irisviel was once an irreplaceable family member.

The word "once" pierced Irisviel deeply.

"But compared to the happy fact that Irisviel can live... our relationship was never the same."

I was too attached to the past—such a simple truth, yet I only just realized it.

This is clearly a responsibility I should be taking full responsibility for.

Shirou apologized sincerely, "I'm sorry. It was because of my stupidity, immaturity, and lack of awareness that I drove you to the brink of despair, even to the point of doing such a shameless thing."

"Such a shameless thing"...

Irisviel glanced down at her own attire and the way she was kneeling at Shirou's feet, and was immediately overwhelmed with shame and speechless.

"Well, it's not that shameless... Haha, this kind of outfit is actually quite normal..."

Shirou easily broke free from the silver alchemical threads binding him and stood up from the chair.

"Shi-Shirou...!?"

Irisviel was startled.

As she watched the boy approach her, she suddenly felt instinctively afraid.

Irisviel tried to stand up, but as soon as she exerted any effort, she felt a tingling numbness in her legs—

Clearly, she had been kneeling on the ground for too long, and she stumbled and fell to the ground.

Her two long, beautiful legs were thus exposed wide open without any warning, almost as if she were inviting someone out.

"Waaah... Don't look!"