Jeanne d'Arc, the Holy Maiden of Salvation from France's Hundred Years' War. Born a peasant, she claimed to be guided by the Lord and, as if divinely blessed, achieved victory after victory, driving back the forces of Great Britain.
However, during a minor skirmish with the Burgundians, she and her rearguard attempted to retreat into a fortress. The fortress's lord lowered the drawbridge, cutting off their escape and leading to the capture of Jeanne and her entire rearguard.
Afterward, because the French King made no serious effort to rescue her, and because Jeanne had stood in the way of too many powerful people, she was discarded like a worn-out tool. The Burgundians easily sold her to the British.
Afterward, Jeanne was burned at the stake.
Her title of "Holy Maiden" was bestowed upon her by the Church on the European continent long, long after her execution.
It could be said that across the entire European continent, few were more deserving of the title "Holy Maiden of Salvation." The France she saved had truly been plunged into a hellish state.
As a Heroic Spirit, her most fitting Class was naturally Ruler, for that Class was most closely associated with Him.
Clang!
Guinevere's sword struck Jeanne's banner-spear. But as Jeanne remained purely on the defensive, Guinevere quickly exhausted herself.
"Hah... Thank you for stopping," Jeanne said, catching her breath. "But your attack was too rash. Shouldn't you have first asked if I was an enemy Servant?"
"I know all of our allied Servants."
"But among the Servants you don't know, shouldn't there also be a Ruler tasked with monitoring the enemy?"
The battlefield hadn't completely frozen with Jeanne's arrival. The two Mordreds continued their clash, while the King of Knights and Saber of Black exchanged blows. Sakura and Kairi Sisigou, however, had pulled back, their gazes fixed on Guinevere and Jeanne.
The victor of the Fourth Fuyuki Holy Grail War—and the one who had strengthened the King of Knights enough to defeat the King of Heroes—was someone all participants in this Great Holy Grail War would regard with extra caution.
Of course, this was also because Guinevere herself was the initiator of this Great Holy Grail War and the one who had promised the extra rewards.
"Caster," Jeanne began, "this war has two Rulers. But from a supervisory standpoint, the Red Faction's Ruler is actually aligned with the Black Faction, and the Black Faction's Ruler is aligned with the Red Faction. We are here to impose restrictions, not to provide aid."
Jeanne's hair, a shade of yellow slightly lighter than the King of Knights', was styled in a long braid that hung down to her hips. In her combat state as a Pseudo-Servant, she wore an inverted W-shaped iron ornament on her forehead. Over her nun-like, slit long dress, her only armor was a steel corset cinching her waist.
This steel corset made Jeanne's waist appear incredibly slender. Standing five centimeters taller than the King of Knights, her exceptionally large bust was particularly noticeable.
Though she manifested at the age of nineteen, her physical development far surpassed that of the King of Knights, who remained perpetually fifteen.
Guinevere considered Jeanne's words and found some truth in them. The problem, however, was that the Ruler on her side was also the Master of her Assassin.
If Jeanne were to side with them as well...
"Hmm, no need," Guinevere interrupted. "I wouldn't even object if you devoted yourself entirely to aiding the Black Faction."
Jeanne frowned. Her Divine Revelation told her this wasn't Guinevere's arrogance, but Revelation was ultimately a sixth sense—it merely guided her toward the most suitable path in the grand scheme of things.
It couldn't tell Jeanne why Guinevere didn't need her help.
"In that case..."
"Ruler? Are you a Ruler?" Gordes interjected. "If so, just join our side! Together, we'll crush this sour-faced woman!"
It was no wonder Gordes was considered "incompetent." At least when it came to speaking, he truly lacked any semblance of tact.
With that one phrase—"sour-faced woman"—he had offended far more than just Guinevere.
Even in the midst of battle, both Mordreds and the King of Knights shot Gordes murderous glares. Far behind them, Morgan, who had arrived a step later, glimpsed the scene and let out a soft, sinister chuckle—a sound that made Gareth's scalp tingle with dread.
"I declare," Guinevere announced, "you will be showered with bird droppings."
This was the effect of her Caster-class Second Noble Phantasm: Deception of Human Order, Falsification of the World.
As Guinevere spoke, and while the short, stout Gordes was still trying to process her words, a bird flew directly over his head and fulfilled the Noble Phantasm's demand.
"You... you..."
Being splattered with bird droppings was deeply unpleasant, especially with Jeanne struggling to stifle her laughter.
Furious, his face flushed red, and realizing Guinevere was responsible, Gordes immediately prepared to have his Saber unleash their Noble Phantasm and kill her on the spot.
But he never got the chance to waste his Command Spell. Kairi Sisigou, sensing the situation turning sour, had already created distance and ordered his Berserker-class Mordred to retreat—using his own Command Spell first.
With Sisigou's retreat, and his own Saber being driven back by the King of Knights' swordsmanship, Gordes's fury dissolved into a twitching lip—as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over his head.
Siegfried. That was the true name of the Saber he had contracted. The Yggdmillennia Clan Head had specifically chosen to summon Siegfried, hoping the Dragon-Slaying Hero, who had bathed in dragon's blood, would prove exceptionally effective against the Pendragon family, who were rumored to possess the bloodline of the Red Dragon.
"Your sword... I felt a sharp sting," the King of Knights said, her voice steady. "It made the Dragon Heart within me beat faster. You must be a Servant with a dragon-slaying legend, aren't you?
"A dragon-slaying legend... a tall knight wielding a greatsword... and after taking a blow from my Holy Sword, your wounds healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"It has to be you, doesn't it? The Prince of the Netherlands, the hero who slew the great dragon Fafnir—the Dragon-Slayer Siegfried!"
With Kairi Sisigou and Berserker Mordred having retreated, and Cú Chulainn still feigning injury, Jeanne remained on the sidelines. This left Guinevere and her "family"—the King of Knights and Mordred—to form a triangular encirclement around the Dragon-Slaying Hero.
Yet even as he retreated to Gordes's side, Siegfried's expression remained calm. He spoke:
"My apologies. My Master has forbidden me from revealing my true name, as my weakness is far too obvious."
Legend holds that when Siegfried bathed in dragon's blood, a single leaf stuck to his back, leaving him with a fatal weakness—the very vulnerability that led to his death in life.
The Dragon-Slaying Hero Siegfried was truly the kind of Servant whose difficulty to defeat plummeted from A++ to E the moment his true name was known.
And though his words were a denial, the simple fact that he began with "My apologies" was enough to confirm his identity.
"Saber, you... you all..."
As if smelling the stench of death, Gordes's eyes widened, his raised finger trembling.
"Master, do not worry," Siegfried said calmly. "At the very least, they will not take your life. Besides, what you seek is not something that can only be granted by the Holy Grail. After you have fought with all your might, I believe Lady Guinevere will not refuse to grant you what you desire. This is her promise as the Queen of the King of Knights."
Guinevere found herself cornered by his words. She couldn't help but chuckle, lowering her Holy Sword.
As for Gordes, he understood Siegfried's meaning. As a pursuer of alchemy and a creator of artificial life, all Gordes truly wanted was to catch up to the Einzbern family's homunculus technology.
Indeed, that wasn't a wish that required the Holy Grail.
At this realization, Gordes relaxed completely. He calmly addressed those who had surrounded them:
"As Knights, should you not refrain from ganging up on a single opponent? Siegfried, go forth as a Knight and challenge the Knight of Britain you most wish to fight!"
Hearing this, Guinevere's eyebrow twitched. The enemy was demanding a one-on-one Knight's duel, and her family truly had no grounds to refuse.
The sword she had just sheathed materialized once more. Guinevere eagerly awaited Siegfried's challenge.