"Ayaka, you are not as weak-minded as you perceive yourself to be."
It's impossible to speak truer words. Try as she might to consider herself lowly and worth criticizing, how he views her as a person will never change. Still, he could never blame her for being plagued with constant worries. Because of the hardships she was forced to struggle, any sane person would commit self-punishment the same way. It hurts to watch her, painful to find doubt in her very eyes. It seems that regardless of her accomplishments, they were easily put under the rug because of how she behaved in situations she convinced herself which held more significance compared to recent struggles wherein she successfully managed.
Must he attempt more to prove her wrong, stand before her without a hint of weakness and remind her once again that everything she had to endure was a product of his actions? That it was him who killed her sister, that one person she admired and heralded above anyone else? Her very own pillar of hope, made to crumble upon a knight's confession which unveiled his own incompetence as a Servant? It didn't matter to him whether or not it was a guilt he had to face. However, how she bites her lip and shields her ears from the truth is more unbearable.
"You do not choose who you are and how will you be born, but you do have a say in what will you become." Fragile. Sensitive. Spineless. This is how his own Master views herself. Saber held her close, allowed her to curl upon his form and hold him until things hurt less. He is here. He will not leave her to her despair. "If you think of yourself this way, there is naught I can do to change your mind. Therefore, I ask you, are you fine with things remaining like this, then? Will you not do anything at all to improve yourself? I do not mourn for the person that you are. You are alive and I feel you."
