Jeanne's lips curved into a cold, provocative smile, as she confronted Artoria, whose face was filled with killing intent, on the bustling street.
Two girls with identical faces, one slightly shorter, with dazzling golden hair tied back, a navy blue dress shirt and tie, plus a French-style black jacket, combined to form a perfect men's outfit. If a girl under 1.6 meters tall wore such an outfit, perhaps everyone would find it ill-fitting. But on this golden-haired girl, it could only be described as admirable. Her beauty was not one of gender inversion, but her dignified temperament made her beauty different from the glamorousness of ordinary women. (Our King's height: 154cm)
On the other side, the girl who was a few centimeters taller had a cascade of silvery-white hair, like a frozen waterfall, flowing from behind her back all the way to her ankles, unrestrained and fluttering in the gentle breeze. She wore a black tracksuit and trousers, paired with a wild and unrestrained, slightly provocative smile, exuding a seductive, mysterious, eerie, and unrestrained aura, perfectly recreating the mysterious witch's temperament in modern times.
Looking at the same face as her own, yet carrying such an immodest temperament and appearance, Artoria felt only rage burning in her chest. She said coldly, with suppressed anger:
"Who exactly are you?"
"Hehe, guess. Maybe you're your father's illegitimate daughter or something."
Once the witch's wicked humor started, it couldn't be stopped. Jeanne was certain that King Arthur, the leader of righteous and rigid chivalry, would never start a fight with her in a crowded city. Having made up her mind, she began to tease Saber.
"Don't be ridiculous! You are not allowed to insult my father!"
Jeanne's words instantly made Artoria lose her temper, growling like a Lion trying to suppress its anger. But Jeanne retorted, unrelenting in her taunts:
"Oh my, how scary. But whether King Uther was righteous or not, surely the great King Arthur has not forgotten how she was born."
"You!..."
Jeanne's sarcastic remark made Artoria so angry that her chest heaved, and her throat felt constricted, as if she was about to spit blood, yet she couldn't utter another word.
Because Artoria's birth was not glorious. Artoria was the child of the former King Uther and Igraine, the Duchess of Cornwall. King Uther, with the help of the magician Merlin, transformed into the Duke of Cornwall, entered the castle where Igraine was, and spent the night with her, after which she became pregnant with Arthur. After the Duke of Cornwall died, Igraine married King Uther and gave birth to Artoria.
To put it plainly, Artoria herself should be considered King Uther's illegitimate daughter. It's just that he married her mother before she was born, and the means were extremely dishonorable. This dark history of her birth had not been mentioned to Artoria for who knows how long. Although it had no direct relation to her personally, as one cannot choose one's birth, the insult to her parents' reputation was something that absolutely could not be ignored!
Irisviel, seeing Saber trembling all over with anger, like a furious Lion, quickly comforted her with concern:
"Saber, don't get too agitated. Be careful not to fall into the enemy's trap..."
Artoria took a deep breath, suppressing her anger, and after calming herself, said seriously:
"Irisviel, please rest assured, I am fine. But regarding the honor of my father and mother, as a king of knights, I cannot stand idly by."
Then he pointed at Jeanne.
"Meaningless provocations are pointless. Since you are a Servant, you must also be a person who left a famous name in human history. I, Arthur Artoria Pendragon, hereby challenge you to a duel! Let us stake our lives and honor, and fight to the death!"
"Saber, this..." Irisviel said with great worry. Facing such a situation right after arriving in Fuyuki, she truly felt caught off guard. Although she had anticipated the appearance of enemies, she never thought it would be this passive.
A king of knights' duel, Jeanne, as a witch, disdained such a thing and said, "Then the great king of knights can now draw your famous holy sword Excalibur and chop off my head."
"You! Do you want to involve innocent civilians?!"
"It's precisely because you don't dare to involve innocent civilians that you don't dare to draw your sword and chop me."
"You, you… If you still have any honor and reputation as a so-called human hero, then come with me to a deserted place for a fight to the death!" Artoria was almost driven mad by this girl who looked just like her. Just now, she almost couldn't help but draw her Holy Sword Excalibur and slash at that hateful smiling face.
"Honor, reputation, ah hahahaha!" Jeanne seemed to have heard the funniest joke in the world.
"What a pity, I am merely a witch who was tied to a stake and burned to death by the Inquisition 500 years ago. I have no honor to speak of, no illustrious reputation, and I don't need to accept your duel invitation, King Arthur. What are you going to do?"
"You…" Artoria no longer knew what to say. To use an ancient Chinese saying, it's called 'a gentleman can be deceived by principle,' which basically means, 'I know you are a person who follows rules, so I'll use rules to bully you. What can you do to me?'
"Irisviel, was there any famous witch who was burned to death 500 years ago?"
"Hmm… I have no impression at all. After all, 500 years ago was no longer the era of witch trials. Even the Catholic Church would not casually arrest a woman and burn her as a witch."
Neither Saber nor Irisviel could connect this annoying witch, who could make people explode with anger, to Joan of Arc, the saint who saved France.
And at this moment, Jeanne's situation had been fed back through the shared perception of the contract to Rin, who was still on the tram heading to Fuyuki City. Rin could only rub her temples with a wry smile, but she quickly became relieved.
Rather than hiding a dark piece so that no one knows about it, it's better to let people know there's such a dark piece but not where it is. A hidden blade forming a hidden threat can achieve the greatest effect.
"Go, Jeanne, start the first battle of this Holy Grail War. Through Saber's eyes and hands, show your existence, but for Berserker's wish, do not kill her."
"As you command, my Master. This little girl called King truly makes one mad with jealousy."
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