TSMMT Ch 119

Happy Ending

The path the young girl walked was righteous. Because she walked a righteous path, there ought to have been a happy ending.

She lived a second life. Knowing the future, she should have escaped every danger.

Life should have been better than before. Only then would her past agony and misfortune be compensated. That was how the world was supposed to work.

Yet, the laws of the world Dianna believed in betrayed her entirely. In the pitch-black nights, all she could do was repeat her avenger's name. Praying for the slaughter of the very family she had tried so desperately to save, she called his name.

Only he could save her.

Yet, Guiscard never came, and her expectations crumbled mercilessly.

In that dark place, she lost her smile. She lost the value of her own body, her self-worth, and her memory of stars in the night sky. She forgot the quiet happiness of ordinary days.

The life she reshaped through "right" choices ultimately tore her body and soul to shreds.

---

Indeed. Her first life and her second life were both miserably tragic in their own distinct ways. Yet, she had striven to hide those feelings.

Knowing none of it was Guiscard's fault, she blamed her father, her brother, and the King of Panborough, who instigated it all.

She smiled through her streaming tears.

[Dianna] "You have no right to be angry with me."

[Guiscard] "..."

[Dianna] "I never once raised my voice at you, never blamed you for everything, never demanded to know why you didn't come sooner."

Tears spilled from her eyes. This was the past, a past that could never torment her again. Her father was dead, and Emil lay dying over there, crushed by her trap and Guiscard's fists.

He pulled her into his arms, wrapping his hands around her shoulders. Bowing his head, he gasped violently for air, breathing so deeply and rapidly that he seemed on the verge of collapsing.

[Guiscard] "I... Dianna, I..."

[Guiscard] "..."

[Guiscard] "I..."

He had crossed the implicit boundary Dianna had set. Because he did, he ended up witnessing the very trauma she wished most to hide.

Why is he suffering so much? Why is he weeping like this? Why do you crumble so easily because of me?

She looked up at the ceiling, crying silently. She felt ashamed, ashamed enough to wish for death.

---

Dianna sat staring blankly into space. She remembered his violet eyes gleaming in the dim underground light and the tormented roar of a beast weeping over her.

[Carlea] "Ann, Her Majesty the Queen, what are you doing?"

Her friend's voice snapped her back to reality. Dianna offered her friends a bright smile.

Only five days remained of the Panborough festivities.

[Carlea] "You need to eat your meal."

[Dianna] "Ah, yes."

[Carlea] "I heard His Majesty hired a renowned chef from Panborough."

[Dianna] "Pardon?"

[Carlea] "They say His Majesty went to great lengths, worried that Lodbrog cuisine wouldn't suit your palate."

[Dianna] "Where did you hear such a thing?"

[Carlea] "Lady Kragel told us! Hoho!"

Lady Carlea spoke brightly.

Dianna recalled Leonie pouting lately. Though she had repeatedly asked what secret schemes Dianna was pulling without her, she remained silent, prompting Leonie to turn her back in a huff.

She complained that I abandoned her once my friends arrived!

Yet, despite her pouting, she treated Dianna's friends with remarkable warmth.

[Celano] "We always knew, but His Majesty truly adores you."

[Celano] "Even back in Panborough, the way he looked at you made my heart flutter so much I couldn't sleep. Seeing that makes me want to marry right away..."

Lady Celano let out a soft sigh. Dianna murmured the word quietly.

[Dianna] "Love..."

[Celano] "Pardon?"

[Dianna] "No, it's nothing."

She tried to process the word, but her mind went blank. The concept felt daunting and terrifyingly elusive.

[Novara] "Who knows? Perhaps Her Majesty, who sent a letter saying she was running away, was actually courting His Majesty all along."

[Dianna] "That wasn't the case..."

After sending that letter, Dianna was dragged away by her father and brother while trying to escape. Her friends seemed to believe she had run away with Guiscard. Had the two of them appeared naturally together?

[Celano] "Should we marry Lodbrog nobles as well?"

[Novara] "I would hate leaving Her Majesty all alone."

Her friends giggled. Despite the gravity of her secrets, laughter escaped her.

[Carlea] "Still, His Majesty is the absolute best person to stand by Her Majesty."

[Celano] "Agreed."

Dianna looked at them and asked hesitantly.

[Dianna] "Do you really think His Majesty loves me that much?"

Her friends exchanged glances.

[Novara] "You didn't know? Wait, you really didn't know?"

She fell silent at Lady Novara's reaction.

[Celano] "Anyone can see he is completely besotted! Even back in Panborough, calling you 'my lady, my lady' while fending off every nobleman around you!"

[Carlea] "Always finding excuses to stand beside you and hold your hand."

[Novara] "Never taking his eyes off you... and nothing has changed here either!"

Dianna tried to deny it.

[Dianna] "Doesn't it just seem that way because we are husband and wife?"

[Celano] "Unless he's insane!"

[Novara] "You can't fake a gaze like that! How could anyone act like that every single moment?!"

[Carlea] "Those who have it all are always the greedy ones!"

Their banter grew lighthearted and playful, yet Dianna listened with a rigid, contemplative expression.

---

Guiscard offered no word regarding the shock of Emil's incident. Curiously, he continued to show subtle support for Dianna—upgrading rooms for nobles favorable to her and dining privately with their families.

Yet, he abstained from the nightly banquets. Dianna grew inexplicably anxious.

[Dianna] "Where is His Majesty?"

She inquired among the castle staff, but the knights offered evasive answers about him leaving the castle, while the servants claimed he was working or attending meetings; every story contradicted the next.

Several days passed, bringing the eve of the Panborough guests' departure. Setting aside any lingering regrets about their leaving, Dianna waited for Guiscard.

A wave of confusion washed over her. She needed only to proceed with her revenge against Emil. Whether he lived or died mattered little, so long as he suffered.

So why? Why am I waiting?

Like a convict awaiting a verdict...

And why, when he finally learned the truth, did I feel nothing? It was embarrassing, yet an odd sense of relief washed over me.

She couldn't decipher her own mind. Only one thing remained certain: she desperately wanted to know Guiscard's thoughts.

[Emil] "Once he realizes you were just as filthy, that bastard will discard you too!"

Could it be? Is that why?

Returning early from the banquet, she brushed her hair, her hands trembling at the thought.

A knock sounded, and she turned toward the door as Guiscard stepped inside.

She gasped. Bandages wrapped his arm, and his sharp jawline appeared hollow and gaunt, his cheekbones protruding, clearly far from well.

Words failed her. Looking around the room, he approached and knelt before her.

Why is the king kneeling before me?

He raised his head. Meeting his clear violet eyes, she bit her lip instinctively.

[Guiscard] "Dianna."

[Guiscard] "..."

[Guiscard] "I thought about it for days on end."

[Guiscard] "..."

[Guiscard] "I believed you were laughing after abandoning me, that you brushed aside a nuisance like me and lived happily with those princes, completely oblivious to my existence. The mere thought enraged me. I couldn't bear the fury."

[Guiscard] "..."

[Guiscard] "That anger was the source of my strength."

Murmuring quietly, he took her hand with utmost tenderness.

[Guiscard] "I will let you go."

[Guiscard] "..."

[Guiscard] "Return to Panborough."

Those were the words she had once longed to hear, a signal of the end of a warped destiny.

[Guiscard] "No, it doesn't have to be Panborough. Go wherever you wish."

Yet, no joy filled her heart. Escaping his side brought no happiness.

[Dianna] "Why?"

Sudden fear gripped her, accompanied by a hollow emptiness. She should have rejoiced at being freed from his bonds, yet she felt no relief.

[Dianna] "Why are you doing this all of a sudden?"

Was this how he felt when I freed him from slavery long ago?

Back then, he had avoided her gaze. But now, he looked straight into her eyes with unwavering clarity.

[Guiscard] "Because I love you."

---

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