Chapter 257: Shinji: Bluff, Keep Bluffing~
Semiramis had no idea how the film's leading lady Jeanne d'Arc truly felt about her.
Of course, even if she did know, she wouldn't care.
From the moment she was alive until now, the Empress had never been short of criticism. Jeanne's unique insult about her hair hiding corpses might've been creative, but Semiramis had heard far worse before.
In fact, it wasn't like Semiramis was intentionally trying to be cold and unfriendly toward Jeanne or the others.
It was just that, whether in life or in death, she had always been far too alone as a queen—so much so that she didn't really know how to interact with others in a normal, friendly way. Her default expression had become a permanent mask of aloofness.
If we're pointing fingers, half the blame lies with that bastard director, Shinji.
If he hadn't kept drilling into the Heroic Spirit cast things like:
"If your acting isn't up to par, then just stay in character even off-camera to train yourselves,"
—maybe Semiramis wouldn't have kept up her cold empress act all the time.
Of course, Amakusa and Jeanne were exceptions.
The former? Well, it was obvious to anyone with eyes that the Empress had feelings for our dear priest.
As for Jeanne…
It wasn't that Semiramis was jealous, thinking the saint had swooped in to steal her man.
No, Semiramis knew full well that Jeanne and Amakusa could never be a thing.
Their worldviews were galaxies apart. There was no common ground to stand on.
She was just mildly annoyed that, even though she was clearly meant to be Amakusa's pairing, the majority of his screen time was with their "enemy" Jeanne.
It just rubbed her the wrong way, that's all.
But this annoyance—along with her overall distant attitude—was something not even she realized.
After all, with the kind of queenly aura Semiramis gave off, it was nearly impossible for others to get close enough to even try to understand what she was thinking.
Even Amakusa, who had vaguely noticed she treated him differently, would never dare speak about it.
As someone who respected women, he kept his speculations to himself.
And because of that, how could he possibly realize that sparks of love had started to form between him and the Empress?
Especially when the current version of Semiramis on set couldn't be associated with anything remotely romantic.
Even Semiramis herself knew that much.
"I get that a villain needs to have a certain intensity, but… isn't this cold facade going a bit too far?"
Staring at her own icy expression in the mirror, Semiramis muttered in exasperation.
She had just passed up a chance to grow closer to Amakusa because she wanted to check in with Master—she was getting the feeling that Shinji was leading her straight into a trap.
"Mm, very nice. That's exactly the kind of femme fatale I had in mind!"
Shinji beamed at her, clearly pleased with himself.
'So you are the culprit, Master?'
Semiramis gave Shinji a sharp look that said only one thing:
"Explain yourself, or I poison you."
"Master, I can accept wearing a black evening dress, sure—but what the hell is this hairstyle supposed to be?!"
When she was first summoned, Semiramis had her signature sleek black hair—the classic straight look from her first FGO design.
But at Shinji's insistence, she had changed it to the now-infamous twin-coffin-braid hairstyle.
Fans jokingly called it the "Amakusa Head" because someone once photoshopped Amakusa inside the braids.
Semiramis didn't understand the meme, but she did know the hairstyle was ridiculous.
She had always hoped Shinji would eventually let her change it.
But—
"Isn't it amazing? I'm really proud of this design!"
Shinji said smugly, puffing out his chest.
"These oversized braids symbolize the heavy burden you bear—responsibilities no woman your age should ever have to carry!"
"..."
A few metaphorical black lines dropped down from Semiramis' forehead.
Following Shinji's twisted logic…
She could sort of see what he meant.
But was Semiramis the kind of woman to fall for that kind of BS?!
Absolutely not.
"Master, your explanation is just so wonderful. I feel like I should clasp your hands tightly to express my gratitude."
"You really don't need to do that—words are perfectly fine!"
Shinji quickly took two steps back to put some distance between himself and the Empress.
He wasn't joking—if Semiramis really grabbed his hands, he'd probably be meeting the Counter Force in person by the end of the night.
To avoid actually getting poisoned, Shinji hurried to explain:
"Ahem— okay, let me put it this way. After we revised the script, your screen time got trimmed a bit."
Semiramis nodded slightly. "I'm aware."
"I figured you wouldn't be happy with that. It's your first on-screen collaboration with Amakusa, and you end up just playing second fiddle to Jeanne?"
"Indeed."
"So, to help your character stick in the audience's memory, I had to make an impression through your appearance."
"Is that so?"
Semiramis thought back to the different versions of the script Shinji had shown her.
She was starting to understand what he meant.
"But that still doesn't give you a free pass to make me look ridiculous."
Shinji shrugged. "Look, a character's appearance is just an extension of their personality. You, Semiramis, are a strong-willed woman, a brilliant political figure, and a ruthless queen—"
At this, Semiramis let out a cold huff.
Shinji paid her little attitude no mind and kept going:
"You're beautiful—too beautiful. So beautiful that most men can only see your looks, not your abilities. But Amakusa? He's one of the few who sees past that, someone who judges you by your strength, not your face."
Semiramis flicked her hair with a confident smile.
"Exactly. That's also why in the script, I choose to support Amakusa."
Shinji acted like he didn't notice the emphasized "in the script."
He already knew Semiramis was all tsun and no dere, so he didn't bother calling it out.
She was a well-written character from Higashide's Fate/Apocrypha—Shinji knew her inside and out. That tsundere energy? Very familiar.
"Your pride runs deep. So much so that you intentionally hide your beauty, choosing this eccentric hairstyle to force others—especially Amakusa—to focus on your capability instead…"
"Isn't that a bit of a stretch?"
As a woman, Semiramis found that logic… questionable.
"Shouldn't it be more like: 'Women doll themselves up for the ones they love'?"
"Well~ that's where the character development and plot twist come in…"
Shinji rubbed his nose as he launched into his next round of BS:
"You're playing a classic tsundere. You don't even realize your true feelings. You've hidden your hopes and longing in the deepest, softest corner of your heart…"
"Hmm… I guess that sort of makes sense."
Semiramis gave a tiny nod. "But what does any of that have to do with my awful hairstyle?! Master, stop dodging the question!"
"It's symbolic—a visual representation of your character traits!"
Shinji said this with a completely serious face:
"Because you're strong and prideful, you even lie when Amakusa asks about your wishes. You refuse to show your true heart… until the very end."
'This sounds vaguely reasonable, but can you get to the point already?!'
Semiramis stared at the rambling director, totally exasperated.
Shinji, oblivious to her expression, kept going:
"And so, it's not until your final scene, your moment of exit, that you'll finally reveal your true self—both inside and out. At that moment, your sealed hairstyle will be fully unleashed."
"So until then… I have to walk around with these two massive braids? Just for the sake of one final, dramatic reveal?"
Semiramis pointed at her own head.
"Aren't you afraid that in my final scene, I'll be too stunningly beautiful, so much so that I'll steal the spotlight from your precious holy maiden heroine?"
She wasn't exactly bragging—just being honest.
With that long, straight black hair and dressed in an elegant black gown, her beauty would skyrocket instantly.
Sure, people might immediately think "femme fatale" when they saw her, but that wouldn't stop them from being completely captivated by her beauty and allure.
At the same time, the deadly aura around her—the cold, assassin-like presence—would make people instinctively cautious.
Semiramis was a walking contradiction, the very definition of a "dangerous woman."
In other words, the kind of "bad girl" people line up to simp for.
(And yes, the kind they'd happily bark for. [insert comedic sound effect here])
Shinji had no doubts that once the Fate/Apocrypha movie dropped, the theaters would be flooded with fanboys screaming, "I WANNA BE SEMIRAMIS-SAMA'S DOG!!"
"I'm not the kind of director who purposely nerfs the supporting cast just to keep the heroine from being outshined," Shinji shrugged.
"If I were, I wouldn't have gone out of my way to design a whole custom look just for you."
Then, leaning in a little, he lowered his voice as if sharing a secret:
"Besides… to win a man's heart, you have to take his breath away at least once, right?"
"Fine," Semiramis sighed in reluctant agreement.
Since Shinji brought up Amakusa, she decided not to argue further.
"But in that case, your saintly little heroine~"
"If she wants to hold her ground, Jeanne will just have to rise to the occasion herself!"
Shinji declared with righteous flair. "She's the holy maiden of France—I believe in her!"
Shinji's all noble and serious on the surface, totally brushing aside the chaos he was orchestrating behind the scenes.
"Alright, you're the director—your call," Semiramis shrugged.
Shinji clapped once and reminded her:
"Stop calling me Master. Call me director—wait, damn, you actually got it right this time."
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Truth be told, Shinji's confidence wasn't unfounded.
Semiramis's charm might be off the charts, but it wasn't going to directly overshadow Jeanne.
After all, the two of them barely shared any screen time together.
There wouldn't be enough back-to-back contrast for viewers to feel like one dominated the other.
Soldiers vs. soldiers, generals vs. generals.
Jeanne's main adversary was Amakusa.
Semiramis—Amakusa's number one support—was up against Jeanne's own top fighter: Mordred.
Mordred, for her part, wasn't quite as cool-headed as Semiramis.
And surprisingly, the usually reckless, bark-before-you-think Mordred was actually a little nervous about acting opposite the Empress.
Which was weird—being scared wasn't really in her DNA.
But Semiramis? She was the rare exception.
Because when Mordred looked at the poised and cold Empress, all she could see was… her mom.
Especially with that long, straight hair.
Change the color a little and Mordred was pretty sure she'd accidentally blurt out "Mom?!"
If this were a real death match, Mordred could probably suppress that feeling.
But this was just acting.
So...
"I'm not nervous, okay?! I'm just… respectfully cautious! That's all!"
Mordred muttered to herself, still clinging to that stubborn pride.
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