She remembered nothing that had happened before her existence. When her counterpart brought up that subject during their battle, she had reacted with pure anger. Now that Arthur was doing the same, but in a different way, her first reaction was to feel that familiar irritation rising once again.
However, before she could open her mouth to interrupt him, Arthur continued.
"You keep saying over and over that you're Jeanne d'Arc. But I don't believe that."
Her eyes narrowed immediately.
"In my opinion, you're not Jeanne d'Arc. You're an existence created in her image. A tool made to hate everything and everyone. A puppet created to take revenge on France."
Anyone else would have expected her to explode at that very moment.
But Arthur kept talking without giving her the chance.
"That's why, ironically, I'm satisfied with the way you're acting."
Jeanne Alter frowned.
He was satisfied?
That was the last word she had expected to hear.
"You say you want to capture me alive. Before that, you only wanted to kill me. Tomorrow, you might want to do something completely different."
Arthur shrugged.
"As far as I'm concerned, all of that is great."
Her expression grew even uglier.
"It means you're beginning to make your own decisions, driven by your own thoughts, not by your hatred."
Arthur rested his arms behind his back as he looked at the ceiling.
"Hatred, revenge, obsession... it doesn't matter. They're your emotions."
His gaze returned to her.
"They're your choices."
Jeanne Alter remained silent.
"A mere weapon can't make choices."
He pointed at her.
"But you can."
For a moment, Jeanne Alter couldn't find an immediate response to his words.
Arthur smiled faintly.
"You've started thinking and wanting things on your own. You've started forming your own opinions without basing them on your revenge."
His smile widened slightly.
"That's exactly where true freedom begins."
Arthur then stood up and spread his arms, looking at the ceiling.
"What a person without desires possesses isn't freedom." A smile appeared on his face as he spoke. "It's only emptiness."
"Of course, that's just my opinion." He said, shaking his head.
"Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe you think all of this is completely ridiculous." Arthur gave a small smile. "But I still believe it."
Then he snapped his fingers.
At that very moment, the magic circle blocking the exit disappeared.
The bounded field that had kept her imprisoned all this time simply ceased to exist.
Outside, several Servants watched the scene in silence.
Arthur then turned his eyes back to Jeanne Alter.
"Congratulations, Jeannette." Arthur suddenly said. "You've attained true freedom."
His words made her heart waver for a brief moment.
"Now, regardless of your goals or the circumstances and reasons behind your birth, you have the ability to prove your own existence without tying yourself solely to your revenge."
Arthur slowly walked toward the exit.
"You say you're Jeanne d'Arc, but I disagree." Arthur said, shaking his head.
Jeanne Alter remained motionless, staring at him in bewilderment.
"Jeanne d'Arc is Jeanne d'Arc."
Then he pointed at her.
"And you are you."
Those words struck her more deeply than any insult ever could.
"You're not a personification of Gilles de Rais' twisted prejudices and distorted feelings." Arthur smiled.
"You're Jeanne Alter." Arthur concluded without hesitation. "And that's enough."
Jeanne Alter's eyes widened.
The exit was open, and she could leave.
It was exactly what she had wanted the entire time she had been confined there.
But her feet remained rooted in place.
"...Are you an idiot?" she asked.
"Probably." Arthur laughed as he crouched down until he was face-to-face with her.
Jeanne Alter continued staring at him.
"But this is still my honest opinion as someone who was once consumed by the flames of hatred and revenge." He shrugged. "If you think my ideas are stupid, then maybe I really am just some fool."
He then placed a hand beneath her chin, making their eyes meet.
"I'll ask you one more time, Jeanne. Would you like to become mine?" he asked with a smile.
"If you accept, you'll be mine until the end of time. I'll become the reason for your existence, and I'll let the flames of your hatred burn all those who truly deserve it."
"If you refuse, that's fine. I'll let you walk out that door without any obstruction."
"But if we meet again as enemies, I'll treat you as someone worthy of my respect, and I'll crush you with all my strength."
Jeanne Alter was left speechless by his commanding words.
She had no memories of the past. No family. No friends. No companions.
She had nothing.
She couldn't understand why this man was so obsessed with obtaining her.
Was it simply greed? Or did he have some other reason?
When she first opened her eyes to the world, Gilles had told her only one thing:
You are Jeanne d'Arc. You will burn all of France to ashes to take revenge on those who sent you to the stake.
And she had believed those words.
Because there had been nothing else to believe in.
That had become her identity, her purpose, and her reason for existing.
But now, this man had destroyed all of that.
As she looked at the man holding her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze, Jeanne Alter realized that the image she had of him had changed countless times since they first met.
First, he had been nothing more than an enemy, an obstacle she had to kill.
Then, an arrogant idiot.
Then, an unbearable man.
Now... she no longer knew what to think of him.
"I..."
Jeanne Alter closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
When she opened them again, her posture was as stiff as someone trying to preserve the last remnants of her dignity.
"Just so you know, I still want to capture you alive, so don't get too full of yourself."
She immediately poked him in the chest.
"You're still trash."
"I've heard that more times than you could possibly imagine." Arthur laughed.
"The Servants under your command are far too strong for me to do anything against you." she said.
"So... fine. I accept your proposal."
"I'll become your Servant temporarily, however..." She crossed her arms and turned her face away, as though she was embarrassed to even admit it.
"If I ever find an opportunity... I'll definitely capture you alive and make you go through the same humiliation I did." She paused briefly before correcting herself. "No... maybe I'll even kill you."
Arthur simply laughed upon hearing those words.
"Then I'll make sure never to give you that opportunity."
Once again, he extended his hand and made her look into his eyes.
"Anyway... welcome to the team."
Jeanne Alter looked at him for several seconds. Her pride seemed to prevent her from answering immediately. In the end, she merely let out a quiet huff, as if she were still dissatisfied, turning her face away before Arthur could read her expression.
"Don't think this means I like you."
Arthur smiled as though he had just heard exactly the answer he had been expecting.
"You can't fool me, Jeannette. Women simply can't resist my supernatural charm."
"Oh, you..."
Jeanne Alter slapped his hand away and pointed at his face.
"Can you really turn every conversation into an opportunity to inflate that ridiculous ego of yours?"
"It's not ego when it's a fact." Arthur replied as naturally as ever.
"I'm sure my face dominated your thoughts the entire time you were here. I was simply polite enough not to mention it first."
A vein bulged on Jeanne Alter's forehead.
"That has absolutely nothing to do with it!"
"Of course not." Arthur immediately agreed. "It was purely a coincidence. I'm sure you intend to keep trying to capture me while spending more and more time by my side."
Jeanne Alter was left completely speechless for several seconds.
She opened her mouth to argue, then closed it again.
She tried to come up with some argument that would tear apart his infuriatingly logical train of thought.
But she couldn't find one.
Arthur simply watched her expression, clearly enjoying himself.
"See? You're already thinking about me."
"YOU...!"
Jeanne Alter raised her banner as if she were about to hit him over the head, but stopped halfway through the motion.
She let out an irritated grumble, turned her back to him, and crossed her arms.
"Forget it. Arguing with you is a waste of time."
Arthur chuckled softly.
"Welcome to the team, Jeannette."
"...Hmph."
She continued facing away from him.
But without her realizing it, a smile had appeared on her face.
---
Meanwhile, outside that area, Ritsuka and all the Heroic Spirits who had witnessed the entire conversation watched the scene in complete silence.
Each of them reacted differently.
Jeanne placed a hand over her chest, letting out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief.
Ritsuka smiled faintly as he murmured, "Just as expected."
Mash looked genuinely relieved.
Artoria simply closed her eyes for a brief moment, satisfied that Arthur had found a proper solution.
Ishtar crossed her arms and let out a soft "hmph," though the small smile on her face revealed that the outcome had been better than she had expected.
Tamamo-no-Mae, on the other hand, watched everything with half-lidded eyes.
She remained silent for several seconds before letting out a quiet sigh.
"What a cunning woman..."
There was a mixture of resignation and amusement in her voice.
"She managed to join the team without even admitting she accepted the invitation... even I have to acknowledge that."
The fox then rested her cheek against her hand.
"Well... that also means she's part of our family from now on."
Her smile softened slightly.
"I suppose there's no point in complaining anymore."
Perhaps Jeanne Alter herself hadn't even realized it, but as she pretended to maintain her irritated expression and looked away from Arthur, the corner of her lips had curled into an almost imperceptible smile.
(End of Chapter)