Sola-Ui Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri, daughter of the head of the Department of Spiritual Evocation, one of the twelve Lords of the Clock Tower, the Sophia-Ri Family.
Having grown up in a magus family steeped in aristocratic traditions, she was deeply aware of the honor of magi, but her impression of her own family wasn't particularly positive, primarily because the world of magi was governed solely by interests.
Born as a concubine's daughter and lacking the inheritance of Magic Circuits, she was essentially abandoned by her family, destined for a political marriage.
Long ago, she was designated by her family for an engagement with the newly appointed Lord of the El-Melloi Faction, Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald.
Logically, Sola should have held some affection for this fiancé with outstanding magical talent and decent looks and stature, but for some reason, she felt a deep-seated aversion to Kayneth.
Her interactions with Kayneth were limited to mere conversation.
Believing she was doomed to become a puppet for her family, Sola participated in the Fourth Holy Grail War alongside Kayneth.
It was during that war that Sola suddenly encountered the man who would capture her heart.
'What is this feeling...?'
Having never experienced love before, nor knowing what it meant to like someone, the moment she saw that person, Sola understood she had fallen for him.
Ryuya, the agent of the Einzberns, a man of absolute power and unfathomable mystery.
It had nothing to do with personality.
Nothing to do with appearance.
Nothing to do with power.
It bore no relation to any known factor. Like was like, dislike was dislike. But Sola could confirm that the moment she saw Ryuya, she was willing to live for this man, and die for him.
Perhaps this was what is called love.
However, as a noble magus raised with a proper education, Sola also understood that given the other party's status, her own identity as a mere mistress's daughter held no appeal. Even if she offered herself, it would likely have no effect.
She firmly believed this.
Reality proved just as she thought. She had encountered Ryuya a few times. Despite Sola's looks and aura being considered peerlessly beautiful, not inferior even to Irisviel or Saber, she didn't even earn a second glance from Ryuya.
Instead of hastily trying to converse with Ryuya or something similar, Sola, through her observations, could roughly discern his character.
He was a man with considerable self-confidence, an active way of thinking, responsible, and serious.
He was her type.
After summarizing Ryuya's personality, Sola decided to develop from the sidelines, gradually breaking through the 'enemy's' defenses from the inside.
Under this premise, she had spent these twenty years developing in Snowfield City. Normally, due to her connection with Kayneth, she should have been recalled to the Clock Tower, but Kayneth had died unexpectedly early on, leaving Sola's status somewhat awkward.
Fortunately, and rather interestingly, Sola somehow discovered Waver's talent and recommended him to the Clock Tower.
Thus, with Sola's help, Waver Velvet became El-Melloi II.
Furthermore, because Waver held some feelings of guilt towards both Kayneth and Sola, the El-Melloi Faction didn't decline too drastically, and Sola gained some peace and quiet.
She built a quaint, antique-style villa near the Einzbern Castle. Bringing Illya to see Sola, Irisviel tried every means to make her daughter happy.
"Aunt Sola, hello."
The adorably milky-voiced Illya was actually quite easy to please. Although she hadn't seen her father return, she was considerate enough to know not to let her mother Irisviel worry about her.
Obediently stepping forward to let Sola hold her, Sola, no longer in her youth, smiled at the Illya in her arms, "Illya-chan, did you miss me?"
"I did, I did."
"Really? You haven't come to see me for a whole week, you know."
Though possessing the passion of fiery red hair, she gave off the feeling of a cold beauty frozen for a thousand years. Her exquisite face looked at Illya in her arms as she pretended to be angry.
"No, no, I've always missed Aunt Sola. So I specially brought a gift."
Her small hands picked up the grilled meat specially made by Saber, Illya said with a gentle smile.
Meanwhile, inside the Municipal University of Snowfield City.
"Sakura!"
With her flowing black twin-tails, she was the school goddess admired by countless people in the university. Usually carrying the demeanor and aura of nobility within the school, Tohsaka Rin's popularity was quite high.
But if there was one person before whom this school goddess would reveal a hint of softness and tenderness, then without a doubt, the healing goddess named Takami Sakura was the prime candidate.
"Nee-san, don't stick so close."
Gentle, serene, just looking at her could make one feel calm inside and out. Smiling wryly at her sister clinging to her, Sakura didn't understand why her sister liked to stick to her so much.
Really, even though her sister was older than her, she often needed Sakura to take care of her.
"Wuuu, does Sakura hate me now?"
Looking at Sakura, Rin wore an expression of being abandoned by a scoundrel.
"Not at all, how could I hate you, Nee-san?"
"Then you like me? Hehe."
Her melodious voice betrayed her emotions. Holding Sakura's hand as they packed their bags to leave, Rin noticed several more love letters in her shoe locker.
"So annoying, these guys. They like me but don't dare confess to my face."
Looking at the love letters addressed to 'Tohsaka Rin' with little red hearts printed on them, Rin's face showed undisguised disgust as she directly threw them into the trash.
"Nee-san is very charming."
Smiling indifferently, Sakura opened her own shoe locker, from which emerged even more love letters than Rin's.
"It's not that, Sakura. You shouldn't bother with those love letters at all. You even go and reject each one of them. It's because your temper is too good that these people keep pushing their luck."
Watching her precious sister collect those letters from who-knows-where, Rin felt that Sakura was perfect in every way except her temperament was just too soft and anyone could bully her a little.
If it weren't for her, the older sister, working hard to protect her, when would she ever learn to reject those stinky men?
"Ah, it's not like that. It's just that they put in the effort to write to me. Just saying a word of rejection isn't really a problem."
Explaining that she merely wrote the word 'rejected' on the envelope and then placed it back on the surface of her locker, Sakura said it was just a matter of a few characters.
Leaving the school gates with Rin, the two sisters got into the car specially sent by the homunculus maid to pick them up.
"Speaking of which, Sakura, do you think Illya is talking to Mom about Dad again today?"
Because Tokiomi passed away very early, neither Sakura nor Rin had much impression of their parents. They knew that Irisviel wasn't their biological mother, but the two sisters clearly regarded Irisviel as their mother from the bottom of their hearts.
Always calling Irisviel 'Mom', Rin spoke.
"Dad? Probably. Illya is still at an age where she needs a father."
"Don't even mention her. Even we, when we were little, used to hope together whether Dad would come back, didn't we?"
There was a time when Sakura, like Rin, also looked forward to Ryuya's return based on Irisviel's words. But day after day, year after year, as they grew up, they also realized that their mother might have told a white lie.
Saying that Illya was going through what they experienced as children, Sakura sighed at this point.
"I really hope Dad can come back this year, to fulfill Illya's wish."