Walking in the Question and Answer System of Heroic Spirits

The voice was no longer one of madness, but rather one of utter coldness and loneliness.

【"Jill..."】

Joan of Arc looked up blankly, only to see that Bluebeard's crazed octopus face had vanished, replaced by the familiar appearance Joan of Arc had before her death.

That was Gilles de Rais, the marshal who fought alongside Joan of Arc to protect the nation.

Rin Tohsaka: "Is this what Gilles de Rais originally looked like?"

Weber: "Really, you can't tell it's the same person at all."

Ilya: "It's like I've had plastic surgery."

Although Bluebeard had returned to his familiar form, Jeanne d'Arc was deeply uneasy about his icy, all-seeing eyes.

"You are a saint, no matter what you think, that's an unchanging fact. Therefore, you will punish and treat everyone fairly and equally, whether it's me or that hateful Pierre. But there is only one exception: you didn't treat him sincerely, but instead harbored an almost fanatical passion."

"Regarding the android I just killed—"

Joan of Arc: "No, that's not it, because this feeling doesn't belong to me..."

She wanted to say that this was Leticia's feeling for Zig, but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to say it.

Leticia: "???"

Why is she involved? She's just a minor character.

[Jeanne: "Sieg participated in the Holy Grail War based on his own will. He possesses Command Seals, and more importantly, he is both Master and Servant. In this extremely chaotic Holy Grail War, he is someone I trust from the bottom of my heart."]

[Gil: "No, you repeatedly confirmed his thoughts and wanted him to leave this Holy Grail War. Although you said you couldn't, you felt regretful inside."]

Joan of Arc: "This is—it's because of him—"

Jill: "Because he's too pitiful? But if we're talking about pitiful people, Jack the Ripper is pitiful too, both in life and now. Aren't there countless pitiful people around you?"

Joan of Arc: "I only believe he is a comrade!"

[Jill: "No, no! You—"]

Joan of Arc: "Don't say it!"

Say no more. Those are forbidden emotions, an undeniable sin, and the key to unlocking an even deeper door to despair.

【"..."】

Gilles shut his mouth and slowly handed Sieg's head to Joan of Arc.

This is probably the first time Joan of Arc has truly felt fear since she was summoned.

[It's clearly an illusion, but I can't believe it now.]

Joan of Arc is currently undergoing a heretical trial at the hands of her ally, Gilles de Rais.

Chapter 310 Joan of Arc, Defeat

Rin Tohsaka: "Why is it called a forbidden feeling?"

Feng Xi: "You forgot, Joan of Arc is a Heroic Spirit. She returned to the Throne of Heroes after the Holy Grail War."

Rin Tohsaka: "I see. So this is a relationship that was destined to have no future."

Feng Xi: "Unless Joan of Arc can obtain the Holy Grail and complete her incarnation like Amakusa Shiro."

Weber: "This is not easy to handle either."

Joan of Arc: "..."

Zieg: "..."

[Jill: "You—love this boy, you love him with feelings that a saint shouldn't have. This isn't the feeling a parent has for their child, nor is it the feeling for a friend; your feelings should undoubtedly be called love."]

Joan of Arc: "No! Love and romance are none of my concern... It must be this way!"

[It's not me who's holding onto these feelings; things have to be this way.]

[Joan of Arc falls into self-doubt, which is the true attack from Shakespeare's Noble Phantasm, "The performance has begun; let us give this place a thunderous roar."]

Shakespeare never intended to break Joan of Arc through her past, because he knew how strong her will was. Therefore, he chose to approach her with emotions she had never experienced before.

That is love.

Joan of Arc's life contained no romantic love, only a universal love for all humanity. Everyone thought so, including herself.

Shakespeare used a feint to strike at Joan of Arc's heart, causing her to unconsciously reveal her locked emotions, which he then relentlessly dismantled.

Sora: "How shameless! Using love as a tool to attack people's hearts."

Sakura Tohsaka: "That's right, that's right."

Brunhilde: "Those who defile love deserve to die."

Shakespeare: "Oh, I—"

Women: "Shut up!"

Shakespeare: "..."

[Jill: "So, you're not admitting it?"]

【"I..."】

Just as Joan of Arc was about to affirm, her throat tightened.

[The image of Sieg's deep red eyes involuntarily flashed through her mind.]

To acknowledge this feeling... is blasphemous and dizzying. More than anyone else, it's the most disrespectful thing to do to him, because he—

"...I don't agree, I don't agree with this feeling."

Joan of Arc resolutely uttered these words.

The flutter in her heart belonged to Leticia, a feeling that should be enjoyed by all humans living in this world; she had no such right.

Leticia: "..."

Was she truly in love with Sieg, which influenced Joan of Arc, or was she deceiving herself?

[Gil: "Oh dear, that's right! As expected of Joan of Arc, the Saint of Orleans! You couldn't possibly have such feelings, you shouldn't!"]

Joan of Arc: "Hmm?"

Gilles clapped, Shakespeare clapped, and Joan of Arc simply accepted the applause in bewilderment.

She expected to be refuted, but to her surprise, they readily accepted the answer.

But little did she know, this was merely a Shakespearean trap.

This guy loves to lay out two or three layers of foreshadowing before pulling off a major plot twist.

[Gil: "Because you know his fate. No matter how much he struggles, he will use up all his Command Seals and die in this Holy Grail War."]

"It shouldn't be—"

Joan of Arc instinctively wanted to retort, but she froze, then fell into self-doubt.

Are you sure? Don't you know it yourself? If he uses all his Command Seals in this war, he will indeed die, and he will use all of them without a doubt.

No, it can't be like that. He longs to live, at least he feels that way. Ah, but he is also a Heroic Spirit.

[More than the will to survive, he pursues his dreams with an even stronger intensity. Just as he risked his life to slay a dragon in the past, wouldn't he also risk his life in this world to defeat the Servants of the Red Faction?]

[Maybe, actually... No, no, no—]

"No! That can't be! That can't be!"

[Shakespeare: "You have to use him, because his power as a Servant is necessary to fight us! Indeed, the homunculus came here not because of his own choice, but because you made the choice."]

"You killed him!"

Rin Tohsaka: "Damn it, are you using this kind of twisted logic to attack me again?"

Sora: "What kind of great writer is Shakespeare? He actually played with a girl like that. His heart is black to the core."

Ilya: "Exactly, I'm turning against them."

Joan of Arc: "Brother Sieg, I—"

Sieg: "Don't listen to his nonsense, Lady Joan of Arc. My decision to join the Holy Grail War is entirely my own."

Zieg: "From the moment I decided to save my fellow citizens, I was destined to be unable to stand aside."

Zieg: "This was a decision made entirely on my own initiative; no one guided me!"

Afu: "That's right, that's right!"

Weber: "Shakespeare, this guy created a whole bunch of stories before, which were actually just to confuse Joan of Arc's mind, and in the end he successfully led her astray."

Rin Tohsaka: "The schemes are really layered, making it impossible to guard against them."

Feng Xi: "The main problem is that those involved are often blinded by their own interests. This tactic was easily thwarted by Zieg's arrival."

Afu: "That's right, it's really a low-class tactic."

Shakespeare's words were like a sharp blade, piercing Joan of Arc's heart.

[I want to refute it, but I can't.]

No matter how he tries to deny or defend himself, what he says is correct.