Chapter 347

【This voice was no longer crazy, but very cold and lonely.】

【"Gilles..."】

【Jeanne raised her head blankly, only to see that Gilles de Rais's crazy octopus face had already vanished, returning to the appearance Jeanne was familiar with during her life.】

【That was the Marshal who once fought alongside Jeanne to protect the country—Gilles de Rais.】

Rin Tohsaka: "Is this Gilles de Rais's original appearance?"】

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

Illya: "It's just like he had plastic surgery."】

【Although Gilles de Rais returned to his familiar posture, the coldness in his eyes made Jeanne very uneasy.】

【"You are a saint. No matter what you think, this is an unchanging fact. Therefore, no matter who you face, you will judge fairly and treat them equally. Whether it is me or the hateful Pierre, it is the same. But there is only one exception: you did not treat him sincerely, but held a passion bordering on madness."】

【"The one I killed—that homunculus—"】

【Jeanne: "No, it's not like that, because this emotion does not belong to me..."】

【She wanted to say that this was Laeticia's emotion for Sieg, but for some reason, she couldn't say it.】

Laeticia: "???"

How is this still about her? She's just a bystander.】

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

【Gilles: "Wrong. You confirmed his thoughts many times, wanting him to leave this Holy Grail War. Although you said you couldn't help it, you felt regret in your heart."】

【Jeanne: "This is—this is because he—"】

【Gilles: "Because he is too pitiful? But if you want to talk about pitiful, Jack the Ripper is also pitiful, both in life and now. Don't you have countless pitiful people around you!"】

【Jeanne: "I just believe he is a comrade!"】

【Gilles: "No, that's wrong! You—"】

【Jeanne: "Don't say it!"】

【Do not say any more. That is a forbidden emotion, an undeniable sin, and also the key to opening the door to further despair.】

【"..."】

【Gilles closed his mouth and slowly handed Sieg's head to Jeanne.】

【This is probably the first time Jeanne has truly felt fear since she was summoned.】

【Even though it is an illusion, she cannot think so now.】

【Jeanne is now accepting a heresy trial from her ally, Gilles de Rais.】

Rin Tohsaka: "Why is it called a forbidden emotion?"】

Feng Xi: "You forgot, Jeanne is a Heroic Spirit. After the Holy Grail War ends, she will return to the Throne of Heroes."】

Rin Tohsaka: "I see. So it's an emotion destined to have no result."】

Feng Xi: "Unless Jeanne can be like Amakusa Emiya Emiya Shirou and obtain the Holy Grail to achieve incarnation."】

Waver: "That's also hard to handle."】

Jeanne: "..."】

Sieg: "..."】

【Gilles: "You—love this boy, admiring him with an emotion a saint should not have. This is not the emotion of a parent toward a child, nor is it the emotion toward a friend. This emotion of yours should undoubtedly be called love."】

【Jeanne: "No! Neither romance nor love has anything to do with me... It must be this way!"】

【The one holding this emotion is not herself; things must be this way.】

【Jeanne fell into self-denial. This is the true attack of Shakespeare's Noble Phantasm, 'The Time for the Performance Has Come, Give Here a Thunderous Applause'.】

【Shakespeare never thought of crushing Jeanne through the past, because he knew how strong Jeanne's will was. So he chose to start from the emotions Jeanne had never had.】

【That is love.】

【There is no romance in Jeanne's life; there is only universal love for all humanity. Everyone thinks so, and she herself thinks so too.】

【Shakespeare attacked Jeanne's heart by feinting to the east and attacking in the west, making her subconsciously reveal the emotions she had locked away, and then pressed his advantage, mercilessly dismantling them.】

Sola: "How shameless, to actually use love as a tool to attack people's hearts."】

Sakura Matou: "Exactly, exactly."】

Brynhildr: "Those who defile love should be killed."】

Shakespeare: "Oh, I—"】

All the women: "Shut up!"】

Shakespeare: "..."】

【Gilles: "So, you don't admit it?"】

【"I..."】

【Just as Jeanne wanted to affirm it, her throat choked up.】

【Sieg's deep red eyes flashed through her mind involuntarily.】

【Admitting this emotion or something... it's so blasphemous it makes one dizzy. More than anyone else, it is most rude to him, because he—】

【"... do not admit it. I do not admit this emotion."】

【Jeanne said this resolutely.】

【The palpitation in her heart belongs to Laeticia, to the humans who should live in this world. She does not have that right.】

Laeticia: "..."】

Did she really fall in love with Sieg, thereby affecting Miss Jeanne, or is she deceiving herself?】

【Gilles: "Oh my, that's exactly right! As expected of the Saint of Orleans, Jeanne! You cannot have such an emotion, you shouldn't have it!"】

【Jeanne: "Hmm?"】

【Gilles applauded, and Shakespeare applauded too. Jeanne just blankly accepted the applause.】

【She thought she would be refuted, but she didn't expect them to simply agree with this answer.】

【But she didn't know that this was just Shakespeare's trap.】

【This guy loves to have a big reversal after arranging two or three layers of foreshadowing.】

【Gilles: "Because you know his fate. No matter how he struggles, he will use up all his Command Spells in this Holy Grail War and die."】

【"It shouldn't be—"】

【Jeanne subconsciously wanted to refute, but she was stunned, then fell into self-doubt.】

【Is she sure? Doesn't she know? As long as he uses up all his Command Spells in this war, he will indeed die, and he will use them in this war—there is no doubt he will use them all.】

【No, it won't be like that. He hopes to live; at least she has this feeling. Ah, but he is also a Heroic Spirit.】

【Compared to the will to live, he pursues his dreams more strongly. Just like he gambled his life to slay the dragon in the past, won't he gamble his life in this world to defeat the Red faction's Servants?】

【Perhaps, she actually... No, no, no—】

【"No! It can't be like this! It can't be like this!"】

【Shakespeare: "You had to use him, because his power as a Servant was necessary to oppose us! That's right, that homunculus didn't come here based on his choice, but because you made the choice."】

【"You are the one who killed him!"】

Rin Tohsaka: "Bastard, using this twisted logic to attack her again?"】

Sola: "What kind of great writer Shakespeare is, to actually toy with a girl like this. His heart is completely black."】

Illya: "Exactly, I'm unfollowing him."】

Jeanne: "Little brother Sieg, I—"】

Sieg: "Don't listen to his nonsense, Miss Jeanne. My joining the Holy Grail War was entirely my own decision."】

Sieg: "From the moment I decided to save my fellow homunculi, it was destined that I couldn't stay out of it."】

Sieg: "This was a decision made out of my own will, guided by no one!"】

Astolfo: "Exactly, exactly!"】

Waver: "Shakespeare, this guy created a bunch of stories before, which were actually used to disturb Jeanne's thoughts, and in the end, he successfully led her thinking astray."】

Rin Tohsaka: "The tricks are really layer upon layer, making it impossible to defend against."】

Feng Xi: "It's mainly because the person involved is confused. This kind of trick falls apart as soon as Sieg comes."】

Astolfo: "Exactly, it's really a low-class trick."】

【Shakespeare's words were like a sharp blade, piercing Jeanne's heart.】

【She wanted to refute, but couldn't.】

【No matter how she wanted to deny or explain, his words were correct.】