TSMMT Ch 110

Suspicious Carriage

Due to Dianna's pleas out of fondness for her former lady-in-waiting, the King cleared House Levian of all charges. While a few believed Duke Levian had been falsely accused, most nobility suspected the house stood behind the plot.

Regardless, the Queen publicly defended her former servant, securing Saruvia's release. No one could deny that a one-year ban from high society was a lenient punishment. In fact, many pointed fingers at Saruvia, asserting that barring her from the royal court entirely would have been well-deserved.

Anyone quick-witted recognized Dianna's underlying ambition. Moreover, those acquainted with her knew she had extended mercy.

No one condemned Dianna. Instead, the nobility could only admire her magnanimity in smoothing over the incident to avoid creating strife in a foreign land.

Barely a month had passed since the gargoyles invaded the capital. Dianna had thrown herself into defending Lodbrog in the King's absence.

Several nobles still remembered her returning to the palace in tattered rags. Lodbrog was a realm of knights—a kingdom that bound itself to debts of gratitude—and hearts naturally tilted toward their devoted Queen.

Gifts of consolation flooded in alongside expressions of support. Some openly denounced Saruvia as a disgrace, claiming that using a fellow Panborough native to lure the Queen was pure malice.

Saruvia had always played the delicate victim—slender-framed, wide rabbit eyes, soft voice, and gentle demeanor. People used to instinctively take her side whenever trouble arose. Yet, this scandal dragged her reputation into the abyss.

When Guiscard announced plans to invite Panborough's nobility to console the bedridden Queen—who was recovering from the sting of betrayal—the court offered no resistance, welcoming the gesture wholeheartedly.

---

Though Dianna had recovered, she remained bedridden. Her physician had insisted she rest until the lingering effects of the medication fully dissipated.

Thanks to Mable's intervention, Dianna was given a room with large windows, allowing her to rest comfortably in the bright sunlight.

That peaceful expectation, however, shattered completely.

Her face remained rigid as she watched Guiscard gently blow on a spoon of potato soup beside her. At first, she had tried to rationalize it as him attempting to play the role of an affectionate husband for show. But this was the third consecutive day.

Unable to endure it any longer, she spoke up.

[Dianna] "Why are you doing this?"

He offered a spoon.

[Guiscard] "You must eat."

His nonchalant expression made her question her own sanity for a split second. He was attending to her as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

[Dianna] "We agreed to share one meal a day together. That means eating with me, not feeding me yourself."

The maids standing behind him covered their mouths, giggling quietly before slipping out of the chamber. To their eyes, it was the picture of sweet newlyweds.

Heat flushed her ears. Unbothered—or perhaps fully aware—Guiscard replied with an unreadable expression.

[Guiscard] "You are indisposed."

[Dianna] "I can feed myself. Besides, I've already recovered."

[Guiscard] "You must obey your physician's orders."

She felt on the verge of madness. Looking at the bowl of potato soup, she pivoted her strategy.

[Dianna] "Once or twice is fine, but do you not care what vicious gossipers will say?"

He raised an eyebrow.

[Guiscard] "What would they say?"

[Dianna] "They will point fingers and claim you are acting like a slave."

The same scenario had occurred in her previous life. On rare occasions back then, Guiscard had shown moments of tenderness—supporting her when she stumbled, offering food, or lifting her onto his horse.

While she had hoped to project the image of a harmonious couple, the people of Lodbrog had condemned her relentlessly, accusing the Queen of continuing to treat their King like a slave. Guiscard had despised those rumors above all else, personally executing anyone who dared utter the word.

The word slave was his deepest scar—his rawest nerve.

[Guiscard] "I'll simply cut off their heads."

A dry laugh escaped Dianna at the statement, identical to what he had said in her past life. Did he grasp the meaning behind her bitter chuckle?

An awkward smile flickered across his lips. For a fleeting moment, it felt as though they were facing each other through entirely different emotions.

When Dianna accepted the spoon, satisfaction touched his features. Stirring the soup, he spoke calmly.

[Guiscard] "And I don't care about such things anymore."

[Dianna] "Pardon?"

What does he mean by "he doesn't care"?

Before she could press him, he extended another spoonful. Seeing his expectant look, she swallowed it down.

Outside the window, spring birds sang soft melodies as she accepted his gesture. It was a tranquil moment. His eyes relaxed into a lazy calm.

[Guiscard] "I didn't care back then, either."

Back then? Is he referring to the past?

Her pulse quickened at his serene expression. Tranquility felt entirely ill-suited for both of them. She knew what her father had done to his mother; they were bitter enemies, hardly a pair meant to feed each other soup.

[Dianna] "Guiscard, you're acting strangely."

A low chuckle rumbled in his chest. Mysteriously, the tension melted away, dissolved by the gentle spring breeze carrying the scent of blossoms.

[Guiscard] "You are no different."

Though the potato soup had already cooled to a comfortable temperature, he blew softly on another spoon before speaking.

[Guiscard] "I still can't fathom why you showed mercy to that lady."

Is he still bitter about that?

She let out a quiet sigh. She had explicitly requested that Saruvia be released from prison.

[Guiscard] "You have the right to execute any noble who threatens the royal family—myself included."

While he had been saying yes to her every whim lately, he had flown into a rage when she asked to free Lady Levian.

[Guiscard] "Even without my intervention, you could have carried out the execution yourself."

Seeing his cold demeanor, Dianna shook her head.

[Dianna] "Because there is a next time."

As his brow furrowed in frustration, she offered a placating response.

[Dianna] "Besides, I now realize you view me as your wife. It is comforting to know I possess the authority to execute criminals. I shall make good use of it next time."

She smirked, catching his exasperated glare as she glanced his way.

[Guiscard] "What on earth have I been telling you all this time…"

He trailed off, his tone softening as the edge faded.

[Guiscard] "And what do you mean by 'making good use of it'? Is there someone you wish to kill?"

She nodded. It was a queenly right she had never exercised in her past life. Later, she intended to consult Revius to ascertain the precise boundaries of her power.

[Guiscard] "Tell me. Is there someone you want dead?"

She stared straight into his eyes. His violet irises, catching the sunlight, shimmered with undeniable brilliance.

She wished to conceal what she had suffered after Guiscard had departed. If there was one thing she could keep hidden from him, it was that alone. She refused to speak a word of it.

He misread her hesitant gaze.

[Guiscard] "Ah, I see."

She blinked.

[Dianna] "Pardon?"

[Guiscard] "I understand, even if you don't say it."

[Dianna] "I have never wished to kill Your Majesty."

[Guiscard] "Liar."

The response came without a moment's hesitation.

Of course, there were times in the past when I wanted you dead.

Her hatred and resentment had been so consuming that she had craved his demise.

He spoke in a quiet voice.

[Guiscard] "I am capable of thought, too. I destroyed your kingdom, slaughtered your family, and ruined your noble house. On top of that, I captured you and forced you to become my wife."

Inwardly, Dianna was startled. So he was fully aware. For a moment, it felt as though they shared the exact same realization.

As a heavy silence descended upon the room, she lowered her eyes.

[Dianna] "I consider this my sentence. Three years as Queen—is it not merely a gilded prison?"

Her words caused Guiscard to drag a hand down his tired face. A sense of profound error hung in the air.

He gazed at her with desperate eyes, as if aching to voice a truth he couldn't bring himself to speak.

---

Upon hearing that Mirva had been captured, Emil flew into a violent rage.

[Emil] "That stupid bitch!"

The Brienne estate, which once boasted magnificent grandeur, had been reduced to a modest residence. Guiscard had slain Duke Brienne during the conquest of Panborough, but had spared the son.

Thus, Emil Brienne survived, though he endured a living hell.

Guiscard had smirked while watching Emil clutch his groin in agonizing screams, callously ordering the healers to keep him alive. So he lived. Yet, he was isolated.

Every noble condemned House Brienne, labeling them the primary cause of the Panborough war—a ruined family whose bloodline was destined to end anyway.

Left alone, Duke Emil Brienne hovered on the brink of madness. Proving that blood ran thick, he directed his hatred toward the most vulnerable target.

[Emil] "Dianna Brienne!"

Her name alone made his teeth grind even in his sleep. Had it not been for her, none of this would have happened. Everything crumbled because she had freed that slave! And to make matters worse, she had fled!

He shrieked in agony.

[Emil] "Aaargh! Father!"

He wept for his deceased father. While father and son had shared little warmth during the late Duke's life, the tragic circumstances had transformed his father into the kindest, most just, and loving figure in Emil's twisted mind.

A voice interrupted his rant.

[Butler] "Your Grace. A carriage has arrived."

Emil yelled back furiously.

[Emil] "What carriage?!"

House Brienne possessed no financial means to maintain a carriage. The butler standing before him was a spy dispatched by Guiscard—a warden in all but name.

[Butler] "You had best go down and see for yourself."

The butler's chilly gaze forced Emil to lower his eyes and move. He stepped onto the creaking, rotting floorboards, descending to the main entrance where a massive carriage awaited.

It was a grand vessel reminiscent of House Brienne's golden era. A coachman dressed in attire far finer than Duke Emil's stepped down, offering an elegant bow.

[Coachman] "Lady Alexa Brienne requests your presence."

Alexa?! That girl?!

Color flushed into his pale face.

[Emil] "She hasn't forgotten her brother!"

Overwhelmed with emotion, he felt vindicated.

This was Father's teaching at work!

The coachman spoke smoothly.

[Coachman] "Please depart for Lodbrog immediately."

[Emil] "Yes! Bring my carriage!"

Emil boarded without a second thought.

Watching the butler bid him farewell, the coachman added.

[Coachman] "You should settle matters here soon and return to the Kingdom of Lodbrog as well."

The butler's eyes widened before he lowered his gaze, his lips curling into a cold smirk.

[Butler] "Ah, so it has finally come to this."

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