[FDJ]Chapter 116: The Queen of the Aquitaine

"Milady, His Majesty the King has already..."

"I know."

The aged woman looked more like someone on the brink of death. She often felt that the Lord was too merciful to her during her confessions at the chapel, for she had lived to the age of 78 without facing judgment. She just hadn't expected the Lord to take away her most beloved child first. The middle-aged man in her arms still retained the arrogance he had in life, his time halted at the age of 42.

"Milady, I am certain I saw the emissary of the Lord take His Majesty's soul. He is about to be embraced by the Lord in heaven. His Majesty the King fought battles far and wide, crusaded against heretics, and his achievements are too numerous to recount even if we spoke all night..."

The old woman ignored the incessant priest behind her. She had seen many nobles at their end and had heard such comforting words often. However, following the priest's words, her sorrow seemed to lessen a bit. Eleanor had not felt such pain since she inherited her late father's territory and title at the age of 16.

"A 42-year-old man still like a child... Richard, the stories of King Arthur are just legends. There is no round table, no Holy Grail, no knights with distinct personalities, nor wondrous adventures." The old woman took the crucifix from around her neck, kissed it, and placed it in her child's hand. The priest beside her smartly began to recite scriptures, prompting the other clergy and nobles to murmur along.

As for what the old woman softly said to the king who had died from an arrow wound, they neither cared nor dared to care.

Eleanor hadn't been concerned when she heard that Richard was searching for the Roman treasure. England had nearly exhausted all its savings to ransom the king, and even this chapel that served the royal family had voluntarily donated its wealth. But when she heard that the Roman treasure was rumored to be a golden statue of a knight and a golden table, she felt something was amiss. It was as if the treasure had been tailor-made for Richard. Even if it were just a pile of rubble and wood fragments, as long as it was tied to the legend of the Knights of the Round Table, it would ignite Richard's passion. She knew that even if she crossed the sea to chase him, she couldn't pull back Richard once he decided to take the risk. Fortunately, the castle rumored to house the treasure was just a small fortress compared to the large and small fortresses Richard had conquered.

She hadn't expected the worst outcome to occur. A tiny crossbow bolt tortured the one hit for ten days before successfully killing the Lionheart King, a figure who had once struck fear across the lands.

"An ant killed a lion." Eleanor suddenly recalled such nursery rhymes circulating among the common folk half a month ago.

The mournful cries echoed through the chapel's dome. A maid led away the distraught old woman. The pain, like the crossbow bolt that pierced Richard, tormented her for five years before it finally ended.

If Suzuki were to open the door marked with the number 83, he would see Eleanor at her ugliest and most insane. Of course, Eleanor would never give her Master such an opportunity, and she did not want to recall the final years of her life. She was a paranoid old woman who, upon discovering a book about King Arthur's legends, would order the entire library to be burned, yet afterward, she would hold that very book and read aloud to an empty bedside.

It was as if the good child who loved hearing stories about King Arthur was still waiting for his mother to tell him stories, clamoring for her homemade mashed potatoes, and proclaiming that he would form a knightly order and embark on a holy crusade across the sea the very next day. At 12 years old, at 22 years old, at 32 years old... always the same.

Yet, it was precisely Richard's pursuit of knightly legends and grand ideals that Eleanor loved. She admired the Richard who, having just learned to ride a horse, dared to disregard a mere crown. It was a dream difficult for her to achieve as a woman, a dream she unconsciously imposed on Richard as his mother. Richard indeed dedicated his life to realizing this absurd dream, never ceasing.

Therefore.

Eleanor's wish vanished the moment she was summoned. Her most beloved son Richard stood before her, possessing the Holy Grail and an overwhelming number of Servants—an unimaginable possibility turned into reality.

How could she possibly tell Richard the apology she never voiced on the day they parted, or advise this Richard, now so close to his dream, to face reality? She confirmed reality with her own eyes. Concepts like humanity's righteousness, historical accuracy, and the future... none of those mattered more than her child Richard. Moreover, she was certain that even if she were to kill her kin for the greater good, she couldn't stop the current Richard, nor would she ever do so.

She didn't immediately kill her Master and contract with Richard; instead, both of them tacitly acknowledged the situation, believing it more beneficial to let Suzuki create more chaos in this era on behalf of humanity. Ultimately, Richard, with his absolute advantage, would lead his Servants to justly defeat all enemies, proving that Richard was the chosen savior.

"Against humanity's principles? Then defeat the chosen representative of humanity fair and square. If Richard can still claim the crown of victory this way, doesn't it prove that he is the truly right one?"

Eleanor wasn't lying. Currently, she was participating in the Holy Grail War purely for amusement. Like a parent watching their children play war games, she found it insufficient to merely sit in the VIP seats; she had to take up a sword and join the performance on stage to satisfy her curiosity. She was convinced that her son Richard would undoubtedly succeed, far beyond what a mere semi-finished product, barely better than a homunculus, could hinder. The most significant enemy was the unknown monster from another world. Her only concern now was whether her son could handle the "bubble" monster that had appeared the previous night if it reappeared.

Lost in thought, Eleanor hurried with Suzuki toward the source of the screams, but the situation was unexpected. The chariot pulled by two horses hadn't yet stopped when she saw a wraith-like spirit being hammered back to the ground by a holy force.

"Assassin?" Eleanor stared at the wraith-like Servant, which had fallen not far away as if she had seen a ghost. Following her Master's gaze, she looked towards the source of the holy power.

She could hardly believe her eyes. For a moment, she thought that Berserker Godfrey had resurrected, but upon closer inspection, she realized that the figure was merely wearing Berserker's armor, only exuding a hint of Godfrey's aura. It was neither a Servant nor did it wield Godfrey's oath-bound great sword.

Suzuki quickly understood that the heavily armored warrior who had defeated Assassin Jane Grey was not Berserker Godfrey. With his authority as a Master in the Holy Grail War, he could roughly see the stats of the armor as a Noble Phantasm, but it bore no information that would identify the wearer as a Servant.

In other words, the opponent wearing the armor was essentially no different from someone wielding a Servant's weapon. Why they could use it was unknown.

"Is she Aphaf?!"

Suzuki was stunned. The current situation exceeded his knowledge of the Holy Grail War. If humans could freely use Servants' Noble Phantasms, it would impose a significant advantage over those who lacked this ability. Normally, the battles were Servant vs. Servant and Master vs. Master. Inserting a human Master who could suddenly wield a Servant's Noble Phantasm into the fray was akin to adding a half-servant against a Master—almost like cheating.

Moreover, the practical effect seemed excellent. Aphaf, a human, not only stalemated with the assassination-specialized Assassin until reinforcements arrived but also directly defeated Assassin through a compatibility advantage.

"It seems to be her. Assassin is injured now; what's your decision?" Eleanor proactively left this trivial matter to Suzuki. She could easily repel Assassin alone but was unwilling to take serious action.

"Where is Rider Baldwin I, who fought you earlier?" Suzuki asked cautiously.

"Don't worry, he won't enter the valley for now. If Richard encounters danger, he will enter as a supplementary force." Eleanor followed Suzuki's intent, answering his question without revealing additional information.

"Assist Aphaf with full force."

"Understood."

Eleanor signaled Suzuki, who was also on the chariot, to hold her hand. Then she drove the chariot, controlling the two magic-formed horses to speed towards the repositioning Assassin.

As Assassin tried to dodge, Rider Eleanor's chariot changed direction accordingly. In a flash, the chariot closed in on Assassin.

"House of Anjou!"

As she called out the Noble Phantasm's true name, the chariot and the horses in front of it emitted a luxurious golden light. Eleanor pulled Suzuki off the chariot, safely landing thanks to the Noble Phantasm's inherent abilities. The chariot continued to accelerate, charging forward relentlessly.

A loud noise was heard, and Suzuki looked ahead to see Assassin struck by the high-speed chariot. The wraith's body disintegrated like a ragdoll, scattering alongside the chariot. The bandaged head, in particular, had long hair that, due to the high-speed collision, ended up severing its neck, falling into a shallow pit with an unvoiced scream.

Eleanor was serious this time. A mere wraith-like Servant had no right to follow her son. The title of "Nine-Day Queen" made her laugh. If a puppet doll like this could bear such a title, then Eleanor herself could claim to be the grandmother of all European royalty without issue.

"Hmph, third-rate trash should be aware of her place. Don't blame me; weakness is the original sin." Eleanor walked up to the still-moving head, and with a step, crushed the filthy thing. A Servant that couldn't even assassinate a human was just a waste of her son's mana.

Eleanor looked at the gruesome traces on the ground and couldn't help but feel elated. The discomfort from gazing directly at the demonic god last night was also completely swept away. The Holy Grail War was fun precisely because it involved bullying weak Servants.

"Directly... killed?" Suzuki was startled by Eleanor's actions. He felt that today's situation was not much better than encountering the unknown entity last night. Eleanor, whose allegiance was unclear, had used her Noble Phantasm to instantly kill Assassin Jane Grey, giving her no chance to escape.

"Master, didn't you say 'full force'? After all, my Noble Phantasm is rated A-class. Though it may not compare to Berserker Godfrey and Rider Baldwin I, it's more than enough to deal with a mere wraith," with a hint of jest, Eleanor danced closer to Suzuki, her skirt swirling.

The elegant steps of her red high heels made the bloodstains stretch towards Suzuki.