TSMMT Ch 130

Immortal Man

The following day, Guiscard was dragged away to Gren Brienne, that despicable man.

[Gren] "In truth, I recognized you from the very first moment. Your eyes were far too similar to hers."

At first, Guiscard resisted. He refused to kneel before that vile creature. Yet, brutal beatings broke him.

Once his battered body was patched up, the brand followed. A harsh sizzle echoed as flesh seared, and Guiscard writhed in agony.

[Gren] "Why such distress, Guiscard? Your mother died enduring pain far worse than this."

He chuckled maliciously.

[Gren] "Tell me in detail. Your screams sound somewhat like hers. Hmm?"

He shrieked as Gren twisted the branding iron back and forth.

[Gren] "I pondered whether to spare her, but I decided killing her would be far more satisfying."

[Guiscard] "..."

[Gren] "I wondered what I would do if I regretted her death afterward. Seeing you proves there was no need for such concern."

He spoke cheerfully, his face glistening with sadistic delight.

[Gren] "What a pity you aren't a girl. Such a pity. But it can't be helped. Life is naturally full of unwanted outcomes. Sometimes, one must accept such irrational realities."

He lashed his whip at Guiscard, who glared back with fierce defiance.

[Gren] "Keep glaring like that. Keep rebelling."

Laughing, Gren kicked him and stomped on his face.

Guiscard realized his life would only plunge into deeper darkness, and he surrendered. He abandoned his life without struggle. This was hell, a realm from which escape was impossible.

Yet, in that bleak hell, he met a young girl who wept upon seeing him.

It was a maddening paradox.

She was the daughter of Gren Brienne, that hated man. Yet, she was warmer and kinder than anyone he had ever known.

She wept when she looked at him. She treated his wounds, taught him how to read and write, and smiled at him. She was gentle, compassionate, and beautiful.

Ah, curse it all, loving her was inevitable. Clinging to her was impossible to resist. Because she was the sole person who willingly stepped into his filthy, wretched life, he believed that as long as he could behold her smile, he would be fine.

He should have heeded Herya's warning about beautiful women. He had directly violated his mother's single useful legacy.

He adored this woman. He loved seeing her smile, especially when she smiled at him. He wished her eyes would rest on him alone. Yet, his miserable existence lacked the right to hold such a precious person. He served as Emil's punching bag and a plaything for the disgruntled duke.

Gren whipped him constantly, muttering filthy insults. Whenever his body was left battered and broken, Guiscard hid so Dianna wouldn't see. Yet, he positioned himself where he could see her best, watching her write letters.

At times, he detested his severe injuries, yet welcomed them. Because then she would wear a pained expression and tend to him with her own hands.

She always listened to refined music, wrote beautiful words, wore exquisite clothes, and rested her fragile body in a beautiful sanctuary upon awakening.

People pointed fingers, claiming Dianna's kindness stemmed from being a greenhouse flower, that she was gentle only because she had never known hardship.

Yet, Guiscard—only Guiscard—knew the truth.

He knew what she fought against, the nature of her struggles, and how desperately she strove to survive in her own way. Fools could never comprehend how noble and beautiful it was to maintain consideration for others under such circumstances. Those idiots knew nothing.

Dianna Brienne. Dianna. Ann.

His master grew increasingly breathtaking as she matured. Her voice became graceful and articulate, her gaze calm and serene. As the baby fat melted from her slender jawline, the soft contours of her body occasionally gave her the air of a full-grown woman.

He believed that remaining her slave and seeing her happy would suffice.

Yet, night after night, his thoughts spiraled. He harbored secret lust, imagining himself licking the nape of her neck and her exposed collarbone. He wondered how sweet her pomegranate-tinted lips would taste, how soft her skin would feel, and how intoxicating her scent would prove when burying his nose in her hair.

Desiring her, he claimed her over and over in the quiet of the night. A damned slave, violating his master repeatedly in his dark fantasies. A filthy, relentless lust.

Watching her back, he tried to see what she gazed upon, striving to understand her emotions. Since he could never possess her, he thought fully understanding her mind would be enough.

Yet, Dianna Brienne exceeded his capacity for understanding. Guiscard was not a vessel capable of holding a soul like hers. And so, she thoroughly abandoned him.

Thus, he became Guiscard Lodbrog.

---

[Adel] "...Dian, I know this is difficult, but His Majesty is recovering."

Dianna sat frozen, staring at Guiscard's collapsed form. The scorched, blackened skin continued to recede. Flesh tones had returned above his navel, spreading up to his arms. She knew watching him wouldn't hasten his recovery.

[Adel] "Dian, there is a decision you must make."

She felt a surge of resentment toward the grand duke. Even if his body was restoring itself, his face remained a lump of charcoal. No certainty existed that he would truly return to life.

[Bill] "Your Majesty, I beg of you."

Bill addressed her with profound respect.

[Bill] "There is a matter Your Majesty must decide."

As Logaple stepped forward to speak as well, Dianna's expression shifted. Seeing that she was prepared to listen, Logaple spoke directly.

[Logaple] "How should we handle the dragon?"

[Dianna] "What...?"

[Logaple] "We have captured the dragon."

Surprisingly, Dianna had completely forgotten about the dragon that had attempted to kill her. She hadn't been in her right mind. Had its initial strike failed, it ought to have attacked again, yet it hadn't.

[Dianna] "Is such a decision... mine to make?"

She longed only to look at his face.

Adel released a heavy sigh.

[Adel] "I intended to handle it myself, but the knights insisted we must seek your judgment."

[Bill] "While His Majesty is incapacitated, Your Majesty holds supreme authority."

The weight of those words settled heavily upon her. Dianna looked at the knights. As Logaple nodded in affirmation, she rose to her feet.

[Adel] "Dian, under normal circumstances, capturing a live dragon means keeping it for magical research."

[Adel] "Yet, this creature targeted you and nearly killed His Majesty. Therefore, I agree with the knights who insist it must be executed."

[Adel] "However, if we kill it now, we will never uncover why such a massive entity targeted you specifically."

Adel wished to spare the dragon. Even though it had tried to kill Dianna, he wanted to preserve its life. Speaking not as a man harboring feelings for her, but as a scholar and a mage.

[Dianna] "Where is the dragon?"

She decided to assess the beast's condition first. Yet, the colossal creature she had seen earlier was nowhere in sight. She glanced around in confusion.

[Adel] "Over there."

Her face hardened.

[Dianna] "Are you joking?"

[Adel] "I am not."

He shook his head.

Dianna looked down. A bloodied, tightly bound child was staring back at her.

Clear blue eyes tinged with silver glistened beneath radiant silver hair as the child fixed its gaze on Dianna.

[Dianna] "How...?"

[Adel] "We were fortunate."

[Dianna] "What do you mean?"

[Adel] "The dragon slayer confronted the beast. I thought it odd that its size was smaller than expected, but it turned out to be a hatchling."

[Dianna] "No, before that, how can a dragon take human form...?"

[Adel] "Did I not tell you before? Dragons roam the world by polymorphing into human form."

She had dismissed it as a mere fable or fairy tale, yet to see it in reality...

[Knight] "We must execute it immediately."

[Logaple] "Your Majesty, we must kill it now."

The knights spoke with urgent entreaty, pleading for her not to waver. The boy appeared no older than five years old.

Dianna shared the knights' conviction. It had tried to kill her and ruined Guiscard. It undeniably deserved death.

It was at that moment.

[Dragon] "Thou creature existing outside of time, fragment of time's rift."

She glanced around frantically. Yet no one else seemed capable of hearing the voice.

[Dragon] "Thou creature that crossed over from another time."

This dragon knows I returned.

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