Mordred: Master, You're a Real Bad Guy

Shinji ignored Semiramis's little temper and continued:

"You are very beautiful, and precisely because you are so beautiful, all men only see your beauty and completely ignore your abilities. Amakusa is the only man I've met who judges you based on your abilities, not your appearance."

Semiramis tossed her hair and revealed a confident smile.

"Naturally, that's why I chose to help Mr. Amakusa in the script."

Shinji seemed not to hear the other party's deliberately emphasized "in the script," as he was already fully aware of the Empress's insincerity.

He's a fairly well-written character from Higashide's Fate/Apocrypha, so he couldn't possibly be unfamiliar with him—it's just that his tsundere personality feels incredibly familiar.

"You're very proud, so you deliberately concealed your good looks, appearing before everyone with this somewhat bizarre hairstyle, all to make Amakusa pay more attention to her abilities..."

"Isn't this reason a bit far-fetched?"

As a woman, Semiramis felt this didn't quite align with women's way of thinking.

"Shouldn't it generally be women who dress up for the men they want to please?"

"Well, that involves the character's transformation and the plot development later on..."

Shinji touched his nose and explained:

"Your character is a tsundere who says one thing but means another; you yourself don't know what you're thinking, hiding your little hopes in the deepest, most vulnerable part of your heart."

"That does make some sense," the Empress nodded. "But what does this have to do with my terrible hairstyle? Master, don't give me a non-sequitur!"

"This is to highlight your unique characteristics!"

Shinji spoke with great seriousness.

"As someone with a strong personality, who even subconsciously lies when Amakusa asks for a wish, you won't reveal your true feelings until the very last moment..."

[That sounds reasonable, but could you please get to the point?]

Semiramis stared speechlessly at Shinji's endless chatter.

Shinji, seemingly oblivious to her gaze, continued his rambling, "Until the very last moment, you will reveal your true self, both internally and externally. The moment you leave the stage, your sealed hairstyle will be completely unleashed."

"So, until then, I had to wear these two long braids? All for the sake of beauty in the final scene?"

Semiramis pointed to her head.

"Aren't you afraid that my final scene will be so stunningly beautiful that it will overshadow your role as the Saintess heroine?"

Semiramis wasn't exaggerating; when she changed her hairstyle to long, straight black hair, her beauty would skyrocket.

Although people who see her might think of her as a "femme fatale," they are still drawn to her beauty and sex appeal.

Of course, the dangerous aura of a killer emanating from Semiramis at this moment would also make people wary.

This Empress is a walking contradiction.

She's what people often call a "bad woman," and the kind of "bad woman" you'd want to be her lackey for~ (laughs)

Shinji had no doubt that once the FA movie was released, a large number of male viewers would shout, "I want to be Semiramis's dog?!"

"I'm not going to deliberately diminish the charm of supporting characters just to ensure Joan of Arc of Arc's presence. That way, I wouldn't need to design a special look for you."

Shinji shrugged, then deliberately lowered his voice to remind him.

"Besides, if you want to win a man's heart, you have to amaze him, don't you?"

"All right."

Since Shinji brought up the matter of Amakusa, Semiramis no longer objected.

"However, in this case, Master, your Saintess ~"

"To avoid being overshadowed, Joan of Arc, as the female lead, can only rely on herself! She is Saintess of France, and I have faith in her."

Shinji spoke with an air of righteous indignation.

"Okay, you're the Director, you call the shots."

The Empress shrugged.

Shinji slapped him and reminded him, "Don't call me Director, call me Master... Damn, you actually got it right this time."

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Shinji's confidence is actually well-founded.

Semiramis was indeed very charming, but this did not have a direct impact on Joan of Arc.

Because these two actresses don't have many scenes together, viewers will find it difficult to directly compare these two very different beauties.

Soldiers against soldiers, generals against generals.

Joan of Arc's main adversary was Amakusa, and Mordred, who was also a henchman in Amakusa of Joan of Arc's group, acted against Semiramis, Semiramis's henchman.

Mordred was not as calm Semiramis.

She's a little nervous because she'll be acting opposite Empress Semiramis.

Logically speaking, given Mordred's fearless and goofy personality, she shouldn't be experiencing stage fright.

Semiramis is an extremely rare exception, because Mordred saw her own mother's shadow in the Empress.

Especially that long, straight hairstyle; if it were any different color, Mordred would probably be calling her "Mom" right away.

If it were a real life-or-death battle, Mordred could probably manage, but this is just filming.

So...

"I'm not stage-frightened, I'm just speaking from the heart!"

Mordred stubbornly tried to console himself.

Brenia Nikitic. jpg

Chapter 258 Mordred: Master, you are really, really bad

While stubbornly refusing to admit it, Mordred kept glancing at Shinji.

Shinji had promised to help her, but Mordred couldn't figure out how Master could help with the Acting Skills between the actors without changing the script.

Although Mordred is a bit clumsy and silly, she is quite intelligent; otherwise, she wouldn't have become Knights of the Round Table in such a short time.

Through the teacher's explanation during actor training, Mordred understood that when the performance of a character is unbalanced on both sides, the simplest way is to elevate the performance of one side.

Mordred didn't want Shinji to use such a destructive method that harmed others without benefiting himself, as it would make it seem like she had completely lost.

"I guess I'll have to rely on myself after all!"

Mordred pondered.

"Since I can get along so well with my father, that imposter mother (Semiramis) certainly won't be a problem either!"

Mordred clenched her fists, trying to encourage herself.

"This is a rare opportunity! To overcome the fear my mother instilled in me and allow me to truly become independent..."

Seeing Semiramis walking alongside Shinji, Mordred made up her mind.

Only--

"Pfft... I can't laugh, I really can't laugh..."

Looking at the long braid that could hide a person inside, Mordred suddenly felt a great admiration for her Master.

How did he manage not to laugh at all during the entire performance?

Shinji would never tell Mordred that he had seen Semiramis an even uglier hairstyle.

Yes, it's the image of the Empress from behind in the Fate/Apocrypha concept art.

Because all her hair was removed, Semiramis's appearance resembled that of a nun, which was truly unsightly.

In comparison, this coffin-shaped braid is merely a bit odd, far from being funny.

Of course, while the hairstyle is funny, it doesn't mean Mordred thinks Semiramis's outfit is ugly.

In Mordred's eyes, Semiramis was still a beautiful woman even dressed like that; it was just that her strange hairstyle drew attention away from her.

It's like when Jacky Cheung holds a concert, everyone's attention isn't on how great the concert is, but rather on how another fugitive was caught during the concert.

"I feel like this design is full of malice... Master, are you doing this on purpose?"

During a break before filming, Mordred secretly pulled Shinji aside and whispered a question.

Compared to Semiramis, who was not very familiar with him and was directly led astray by Shinji, this was a different story.

Mordred, who often hangs out with Master, understands Shinji far better than the Empress does.

"Yes!"

Shinji didn't intend to deceive her.

"She'll kill you if she finds out! Master, you'd better watch your food and water these days."

Mordred glared at Shinji through gritted teeth.

Her voice was very soft, as if she were afraid that Semiramis, who was not far away, would hear it.

She didn't want Shinji to die until she bought all the photos of herself and her father embracing in Shinji.

"Maybe." Shinji smiled nonchalantly. "Provided someone tells her that. You probably wouldn't do that, Mordred?"

Shinji's intentional or unintentional threat made Mordred's lips twitch.

From a technical standpoint, it would have been extremely difficult to give Semiramis such a hairstyle.

Just tying your hair up is a hassle enough, not to mention adding all sorts of gold accessories to it.

Fortunately Semiramis is Heroic Spirit. Once she has this hairstyle, she can control the aether within her body to directly change to this hairstyle, somewhat like loading a save file in a game.

"Master, your sense of humor is utterly baffling."

Mordred didn't know what kind of expression to show Shinji.

You might want to curse him, but his ingenious ideas always allow him to get the better of his father (in every sense of the word).

Mordred thought to himself, "I want to praise him, but one day, Master will use his wicked sense of humor on me."

"Mordred, you need to take it easy."

Shinji deliberately used a very funny tone to say, "I'm doing this all for your own good."

"Are you sure you don't want to make her a laughingstock?"

"Besides you, who dares to laugh at her? Aren't you afraid of being poisoned?"

Shinji chuckled in response to Mordred's question.

"My dear child, you must know that ordinary people would be too intimidated by Semiramis's icy aura to ask her questions, and Heroic Spirit would be too afraid to mock her because of her past experiences. In this way, everyone would be happy."

"And... what about Cú Chulainn?"

"So I sent him to the set of Ultraseven X."

At this point, Shinji felt a chill run down his spine.

He seemed to see a Doggy that liked to court death, foaming at the mouth and convulsing on the ground.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine. Cú Chulainn has the skill 'Battle Sustain,' and he's been through countless battles; he won't die."

"..."

In response to Shinji's answer, Mordred could only describe his almost utterly exasperated feelings with the phrase, "Oddball Servants always end up with oddball Masters; that's the excellent matchmaking mechanism of the Holy Grail War."

Even so, Mordred still felt that Shinji's joke had gone a bit too far. What if that man named Amakusa dumped her because of Semiramis's bizarre hairstyle? She'd probably be dancing on Shinji's grave.

"Master, are you doing this to shape the character?"

"Certainly."

Shinji nodded.

"At the same time, it's also to help relieve your stress~"

Is this how you offer help?!

Mordred was speechless.

However, she had to admit that after Semiramis adopted this hairstyle, which was so different from her mother's, the original sense of déjà vu was greatly reduced.