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Unwanted tears gathered in her eyes, but Arturia angrily wiped them away.

"Iri…" she breathed, unable to say anything more or think about anything else as she stared at the comatose form of her sister.

She tore her gaze away from the white-haired woman, and went to her sleeping nephew to put a blanket over him. Little Shirou had been incredibly scared earlier, because he didn't know what was wrong with his mother and he obviously wanted to be with her, but she was relieved that he had calmed down upon her arrival.

There was no point in trying to ignore or amend reality.

Her beloved, pregnant sister was in a coma and dying.

Perhaps the doctor had not said it so explicitly – most likely in an attempt to be gentle – but the meaning was beyond clear. Iri was very ill, and the unexpected pregnancy was making things far more delicate and complicated than the illness itself would have been.

There was the possibility of treating her, yes. But it was way, way beyond what she could afford.

Unless she found the money to pay for the treatment, Arturia would not be able to save her sister's life.

And the problem was, she just simply did not have the money for it.

The two sisters didn't have anything. When her husband Kiritsugu was alive, Iri had been in reasonably good health – though still with some infirmities – and had worked as a maid in a café. His death, which had occurred only a little over two months prior to this incident, had affected Iri deeply, and her health conditions had taken a turn for the worse. Only the love for the boy she had adopted with her husband a year earlier, and her sister's tenacious support, had kept her from spiralling into depression.

When Kiritsugu was still alive but had already been hospitalized, Arturia had gone back to Uruk Enterprises in search for a job after her internship had ended. She was in her last year of college, and later having to look after her grieving sister, her very young nephew and managing both her schoolwork and her job on top of it all was no easy task, but she was determined and perseverant, and things had started to look better in the past few weeks…

…of course, that was no longer the case now.

Although Arturia had an adequately well-paid job at Uruk Enterprises, not even two entire years of pay would have been enough to afford the full cure of her sister's disease. And that was without considering Shirou. Even if she gave up all the money she had, there was still the little boy's life and education to keep in mind, and she could not forget about him.

Neither she nor Iri had the necessary means for all of that.

Their parents were dead, and they had no other relatives. She herself had a cousin, but he was only a few years older than she was and had only been working for a couple months at this point, not to mention the fact that he lived so far away and in a different country; she could not ask him for help.

Where? Where could she find the money?

She felt her head ready to explode. Iri and her unborn child were going to die if she didn't find a way to pay for their treatment!

Arturia was glad that Shirou was fast asleep under the covers, because her levels of nervousness, worry, and stress were so escalated that she found herself pacing around the room, clutching her hands and being almost at the point of tearing her hair out.

She continued to take deep breaths in hopes of calming down, but it was no use.

She had to find a solution. She absolutely had to!

She stopped in her motions and took another deep breath, forcing her body to stay still as she tried, with all her might, to make it relax. Just a short while before, she had taken the resolution to keep her emotions in check; it was time to do it once more, as unmanageable as it seemed to be.

She found the chair the doctor had given her earlier, and sat down again. She tried to concentrate.

How, in what way, where, could she find money? She did not possess anything valuable enough to sell, and even if she gave up the apartment, it wouldn't even remotely be enough.

She could ask for a loan… but how would she ever repay it? Besides, no bank would give such a large loan to a young person without a stable income and a secure job – while she only had a part-time one and was still in college.

She needed the money. The money, and quickly, or her sister would die. How could she make the money? How?

Back to her feet, she started pacing in the room again, not noticing how hours went by, as she mentally considered countless possibilities and was forced to discard all of them.

A soft sigh coming from the side almost made her jump, but she managed to control herself.

"Auntie Ria?"

She forced herself to produce a smile.

"Shirou. Why are you awake?"

She hoped it hadn't been her incessant walking around the room that had woken him, but she didn't have the opportunity to ask that question, because the boy's eyes had landed on the unconscious form of his mother. His expression was sad.

"I want my mommy."

Arturia carefully controlled her facial expression, and was even able to keep her smile in place.

"She's sleeping now. Later, perhaps…?"

The boy looked down, and Arturia sighed internally, knowing that she had to offer him an explanation.

"Shirou… please come here."

Pulling the chair next to the bed, she sat down after hours of pacing around the room, and she felt her knees protesting at the sudden movement.

The little boy climbed onto her lap. He was young, yes, and he was still a child, but children were not stupid. Arturia knew and she did not want to shock him, but he had the right to know the truth. Lying was not going to do him any good.

They were talking about his mother; the least she could do was be honest with him.

She was serious, but gentle.

"Shirou, mommy is not well."

The boy seemed confused by such an obvious statement, and she continued, "Meaning, she is really not well. Not like daddy, hopefully. But she is sleeping very deeply… to fight an illness. She will not wake up for a while."

Her green eyes observed him anxiously, waiting for his reaction. Shirou seemed uncertain.

"That… that means… that she is… going to leave…?"

Arturia shook her head.

"Not if we do everything we can for her. She is ill, and she needs our help. You and I, Shirou, will need to be strong for her. That will help her. Do you understand?"

The boy looked into her eyes very intensely, as if to judge her sincerity, and then nodded.

"I will do my best for mommy."

Arturia smiled a little, this time not having to force herself.

"Thank you, Shirou. Now go back to bed. You need to sleep to be strong."

She accompanied the boy and tucked him under the hospital blanket. After discreetly touching his forehead and not detecting any sign of fever, she relaxed, but remained vigil by his side, looking over him until he fell asleep.

Watching her nephew as he was curled up into a ball under the covers, she felt her inner resolve – which had been on the verge of breaking earlier – coming back to her.

She was not going to allow Shirou to see his mother die. Never.

She would not allow it… she would not!

When she was certain the child was asleep, she went back to pacing around the room again. She had to find a solution.

She did not know many people, but she was going to have to swallow her pride and ask those she knew for help.

Now that she thought about it… Earlier, on that very same day, she had been together with rich and influential people.

They weren't exactly her friends, but they might at least have more knowledge than she did about possible ways to find the money she needed.

Perhaps… was Enkidu perhaps someone who could have suggestions? They were not close friends, but they did know each other fairly well. Moreover, he was a businessman, which meant that he might have connections that could help her. Knowing what kind of man he was, she was sure that, once she explained her predicament, he would agree to do something to help her find the money. He had a good heart, he would not refuse to help her find a solution; at the very least, he would listen to her.

Thinking about Enkidu, however, made her remember another thing. Enkidu was a friendly person, and his friend–

–his best friend–

Oh, damn.

Enkidu's best friend was Gilgamesh Uruk.

The man who had so preposterously proposed to her just some mere hours before. And the same man she had humiliated by slapping in public.

The idea was a completely random and wild one, and utterly absurd, but…

…but…

he could be her solution.

He was wealthy. In fact, he was the richest man in the country, if she wasn't mistaken.

He certainly had the money she needed.

Wait. No. No.

No. No, she could not truly be thinking…

What had he asked of her again? Her hand in marriage. Could she do such a thing? Could she do what he had asked? Could she marry that man…?

Why had she rejected him in such a harsh manner! He had certainly deserved it, but now… now she actually needed that arrogant man's money.

Arturia felt disgusted and ashamed of herself for her vile thoughts.

It was incredibly wrong to think in such a way.

It was so unbelievably wrong… but she was actually wishing she had not slapped him, because she would need to be on his good side. His proposal had been… how much time had passed? It had been only a few hours before; it had been just the day before, then.

Oh, it was simply… wrong!

But she knew that he did not want a wife. It had been clear that all he wanted was to give an impression of himself as someone who cared about family, because it would be positive for his image.

Well then…

If…

If he had been serious in his proposal, then maybe… could it maybe still stand…?

Provided he had actually been serious…

The mere idea revolted her, but… if she apologized

What was she even thinking?! It would mean stomping on her pride and doing something she had sworn to herself she would never do, going against the beliefs and principles that guided her.

And it would mean doing something horrible.

A marriage of convenience. A marriage for money. Such a deeply disgusting concept.

But… for Iri…

The thought of her sister was enough to convince her.

Yes.

Her sister was dying. Iri was dying, and there was nothing Arturia could do.

As much as she disliked what she would probably have to do for it, there seemed to be no other viable option available to her.

For Iri. For the child her sister was carrying. For little Shirou.

For them. She could and would do it.

But… what if he didn't accept? She hadn't exactly been nice in her rejection–… well, that was a huge understatement.

However, that unanticipated complication meant that she was going to have to be honest. That was thankfully the easy part: she was not the type to deceive, and she abhorred the notion. She would have to apologize to Gilgamesh, to make sure he listened to her, and then she would tell him the truth.

He might even reject her, and humiliate her. In fact, it was very likely he would do precisely that.

That made her hesitate for a split second. But one glance at Iri's bed was enough to make her decide.

It did not matter if that arrogant man humiliated and scorned her in public. For her sister's wellbeing, she would try. Because her sister was worth it.

Her sister's life was worth it.

It was the best option she had in mind.

Therefore, it was going to be the first thing she did in the morning, because it was extremely late, or rather, extremely early in the morning at the moment.

If dealing with a man like him didn't work, she would have no other choice but to track down Enkidu and ask for his help. That was what she was going to do.

But she could not go to meet that man unprepared; such a consideration made her decide that, during the time she had left until then – she didn't even contemplate the possibility of getting some sleep – she had to do some research, on the hospital's computers that were available on the ground floor.

She needed to do some research on Gilgamesh Uruk, the richest person in the country, to whom she was going to propose the following day.

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Realistically speaking, it wasn't going to be easy.

As she woke up little Shirou the next morning and spoke with him briefly, her mind never wandered far from what she was going to have to do.

Accepting to… marry… that man…? That would mean… becoming a trophy wife, in the eye of the media and on newspapers, giving up so much, including her privacy…

Oh, but that was–

it was a matter of no consequence.

Anything for her sister and her nephew. For her family.

She would do anything for them.

So long as he accepted her deal though.

Therefore, after entrusting her nephew to the nurses who knew him, ruffling his hair and giving him a kiss on the forehead, she went straight to the Central College. She probably looked awful because of her lack of sleep and because she was still wearing the previous day's clothes, but she did not care.

She looked decent enough to speak with him, provided she managed to find him as soon as possible.

She knew Gilgamesh was going to be on campus that day because of some administrative matters. It was true that he might have cancelled – she did not know if that was the case – but she had to try and look for him anyway.

Before going to the yard that was in front of the administration building, she hesitated one last time.

Even after running through her plan numerous times, she could not help having uncertainties. Would it be wise to go ask Gilgamesh for help, just like that, right on the day after slapping him?

In truth, even though they had talked several times, she didn't really know him as a person; as far she was aware, he could very well be a maniac, a sociopath, a psychopath, or all of the above.

And she was going to speak to him about a marriage; a marriage to him.

She shook her head briefly. There was no need to be so dramatic. He was, after all, Enkidu's best friend. He had to have something acceptable in him… right?

Well, perhaps not.

But it was not something she could control nor take into true consideration. She needed the money, desperately. And Gilgamesh was someone who would make it possible to obtain it.

She had to swallow her pride. After giving him a slap and rejecting him like that, she had to both apologize and ask him if she could still accept his offer.

She already felt ashamed of herself. And deeply disgusted.

Having to beg that arrogant man for–

But it was for Iri. For her sister, who would die if she didn't do something.

She had always been an avid reader, and she had read about many historic events in which people had to make sacrifices for the wellbeing of others. It was always mentioned that the sacrifice was grand, and they were praised for it, but no words could describe how hard it actually was to decide to do something as huge with one's life as Arturia Pendragon was deciding to do with hers. No amount of words from anything she had read – and she truly loved reading – could describe how hard it was to stick to the decision.

Making it was easy – for Iri, she knew she would do anything.

But staying true to it… that was not easy, and it would probably never be.

She had however made her decision, and she wasn't the type of person who second-guessed herself once she made up her mind. She would go through with it and fervently hope it worked.

She could do this.

She took a deep breath before turning the corner.

She spotted him almost immediately, on one side of the park in front of the building where he was talking with Enkidu. That was extremely lucky, because if, as was likely, things did not go well with him, at least she knew where to find another person who might help her.

She inhaled and exhaled once more, forcing herself to relax. Time to get things over with.

She walked towards them, doing her best to ignore her heart pounding against her ribcage. As soon as she was next to them, she cleared her throat to get their attention.

She maintained her expression neutral as they both gave her somewhat surprised and wary looks.

Pushing down a sudden wave of nausea as she thought again about what she was going to do, Arturia let her emerald green gaze meet Gilgamesh's blood red one and bowed slightly, slowly, formally.

"Pardon the interruption. May I speak with you, please?"

She could no longer hold his gaze and lowered her eyes – no matter how much she cursed herself for it – therefore she did not see the glance he and Enkidu exchanged.

His reply was short.

"Very well. I am listening."

Her eyes flickered around briefly.

"Not here. This is important."

His eyes narrowed at her, and she understood his annoyance perfectly. He was under no obligation to listen to her, but she really needed to speak with him – and alone.

She looked him in the eye, and her desperate thoughts went to Iri…

She didn't know what he saw in her eyes, but his own widened slightly and his obviously ready protests died on his lips. He seemed to evaluate her, as he usually did, observing her in a cold and calculating manner.

For Arturia, nervous, sleep-deprived, and ready to break down as she was, that short period of silence was horrendous.

After uttering a curt, "Come with me then," he started walking.

She followed him, giving a short nod in parting to Enkidu.

He directed her to a café right outside the building, and requested a table slightly isolated from the rest. They took off their coats, sat down and let the waiter take their orders. Unwilling to waste any time, but aware of how important this meeting was, Arturia ordered black coffee, as she had not slept but wanted to be wide awake. She missed how Gilgamesh's eyebrows rose at her choice and the way his gaze lingered briefly on the dark bags underneath her eyes.

He stared at her then, somewhat expectantly. She cleared her throat and forced herself to look at him.

"Thank you… for agreeing to talk."

She took a deep breath, the umpteenth that day. Time to begin.

First things first – making amends.

"I… apologize for slapping you yesterday."

He frowned, even though his expression did not offer any other clues regarding what he was thinking.

She continued, a bit stiffly, "I will not express regret for an act you completely deserved in that moment, but I am sorry for the… arrogance of my behaviour towards you."

She did not give him the time to say anything. "And I also apologize because it happened in public. It was not my intention to be as offensive as I was."

She was no longer looking at him, but she heard his reply loud and clear.

"Apology accepted, Ms. Pendragon."

His tone was colder than usual, which was a very uncommon behaviour on his part towards her. She also noticed the use of her surname; he had always called her by her full first name, claiming he preferred it.

She suppressed a little sigh, relieved that the first big part was over, but it was just the beginning. Now to the other, much more important part.

"I did not ask to speak with you merely to offer an apology though." She had to swallow, but she refused to let it be too apparent. "I need to ask… that is, I would like to know…" – and she looked him straight in the eye, deciding to just stop fidgeting and get it over with – "…if your proposal is still standing."

She could not have said anything that was more unexpected. His jaw actually dropped open in shock, and she felt herself reddening slightly.

Nevertheless, she needed to make sure he would not misunderstand her, and forced herself to continue.

"It's exactly as it seems – I'm asking you to marry me."

After several minutes of silent staring, he finally spoke. Every word was uttered cautiously, and there was a very guarded look in his eyes.

"This is quite… unexpected. I'm looking forward to your full explanation. Now."

It was evident that he was clever enough to realize that there was much more at stake than what appeared at first glance, and he wanted answers.

She had every intention of coming clean; after all, if he agreed, it was only fair that he knew the truth. If she was going to use him – or rather, use his money – she wanted him to be fully aware of it.

She steeled herself.

"To put things very bluntly… I need money. A huge amount of money. And for a prolonged period of time."

She did not realize how her green eyes suddenly turned very, very sad, giving deep emotion to her speech. "My elder sister… needs very expensive treatment. She is dying." She started to talk faster, her words becoming more jumbled. "I only found out yesterday the truth about her conditions – and the only way to heal her is through means I have no access to because of their cost."

She looked him in the eye again before sighing in an attempt to recollect herself.

"I looked up the profiles for you and your company. You have given a few interviews – you spoke about the person you would need as an ideal wife." She sat a little straighter. "As you pointed out yourself, I do meet the standards you set. I am fluent in both Japanese and English, I will have the degree you demand in a few months after I graduate, and you proposed to me yourself yesterday, which probably means you can bear having me around." Her shoulders slumped a little as her voice dropped in volume, even though the changes were slight. "This is, however, only assuming that your proposal still stands."

A long, incredibly heavy silence followed. The waiter arrived with their orders and went away, and Gilgamesh started to stir his coffee, immersed in his thoughts.

After taking his time, he looked up at her again.

"Basically, all you need is the money… while you have already realized that what I need is someone capable of not disgracing my image as a businessman."

He continued to look at her calculatingly, and then he suddenly smirked, leaning forward.

"The proposal still stands, Arturia, and I am willing to give you the money you need for your sister… but first, we need to discuss quite a few other matters."

She narrowed her eyes. She was surprised about the fact that he had agreed to her idea so quickly, and she was understandably suspicious.

He continued, "Since this seems to have become something more of a business contract rather than a marriage, then it's only proper we create an actual contract… and we will discuss its terms until the very last of details."

She raised an eyebrow, and he continued nonchalantly, "Cancel any other engagement you have today – this will take quite some time."

His expression was quite satisfied, and his eyes had a predatory glint in them.

"Don't forget who I am, Arturia. I am a businessman – and now we will be talking business."

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