TSMMT Ch 141

Duties of Royalty

The atmosphere turned suffocatingly heavy at the echoing voice.

[Ionia] "Sister Ann!"

A clear, cheerful voice seemed to linger in her ears. In Dianna's memories, the girl had inhabited a brighter, far more vibrant world.

She had assumed the girl would forever remain a bright child living in a lively world, rather than standing on this spotless white marble floor where the slightest flaw would stand out.

Fair skin and flushed cheeks. A girl whose image lingered far more vividly in her memory than her frail younger sister, Alexa.

Yet standing before Dianna now was an emaciated woman with dark, sharp eyes that appeared somewhat irritable. Princess Ionia looked as though she had lived her entire life amid harsh, biting winds. Shock rippled through Dianna at the sight.

[Dianna] "Princess Ionia..."

She called out, overwhelmed by emotion, yet Princess Ionia severed the connection coldly.

[Ionia] "Don't address me by that title."

Ionia stepped forward, her expression frigid.

[Ionia] "Panborough has no king, and therefore no princess."

Hostility bled through her face and words.

The members of Dianna's retinue stiffened. The Lodbrog nobles were in no position to display displeasure, while Dianna closed her mouth, her expression hardening.

In her past life, Ionia had been mocked as a bed-wetter, retreated into isolation, and was eventually executed by the Lodbrog army. A miserable life.

The present seemed little different. For some reason, Guiscard had spared Ionia's life, prompting her to seek refuge in the temple to survive.

Both in her past life and the present, Lodbrog remained the sworn enemy that had destroyed her family and kingdom.

So this was their scheme.

The Holy See had welcomed her warmly on the surface, yet intended to humiliate her in this manner. The moment the Kingdom of Lodbrog stood as the weaker party, they sought to coldly berate and ridicule their past misdeeds.

[Dianna] "His Holiness the Pope possesses remarkable consideration."

[Ionia] "Don't misunderstand. I requested to handle your group personally."

She responded frostily.

[Ionia] "I wished to see your face. To see what kind of face the woman who once served as my maid would wear now that she is the wife of the king who destroyed my homeland."

A cold sneer accompanied her words.

Looking upon her pitiful state, guilt and pity naturally surged within Dianna. She felt sorrow for her, and remorse for having forgotten her. Yet Dianna maintained an unshakable composure.

[Dianna] "I understand that entering the temple as a priest requires severing all worldly ties."

[Dianna] "Regrettably, the priests of the Holy See seem ill-prepared to receive the Kingdom of Lodbrog, tasking a mere believer rather than a priest to receive us."

By pointing out Ionia's failure to sever worldly ties, Dianna implied she was unfit to be treated as a priest.

Whispers erupted among the clergy. Dianna fixed them with a frigid gaze. Everyone stared at her in astonishment, while subtle, satisfied smiles touched the faces of several knights.

A satisfied smile? Why?

Regardless, despite arriving as suppliants seeking grain in a crisis, Dianna appeared arrogantly dignified. Even the Lodbrog nobles looked at her with slight embarrassment. Yet this awkward atmosphere was precisely what Dianna intended. If her expression faltered even once out of guilt, they would become the ones being lectured.

Ionia's face flushed crimson.

[Ionia] "H-How can you be so insolent?! War erupted because of your family! Look at what became of our kingdom! Yet shameless as you are, you became the wife of that king!"

[Dianna] "Ionia, years have passed, yet you remain utterly unrefined."

Dianna countered coldly.

[Ionia] "Shut your mouth!"

Ionia shrieked in a high-pitched voice.

Facing her pale, trembling countenance, Dianna spoke with cruel, absolute tranquility.

[Dianna] "Princess, I have never once felt sorry toward Panborough."

[Adelheit] "Your Majesty."

[Leonie] "Your Majesty."

Adelheit and Lady Kragel called Dianna's name as if to intervene. Further conflict benefited neither party. Yet Dianna held no intention of stopping, hurling sharp venom uncharacteristic of her usual self.

[Dianna] "Do you find comfort in blaming others and harboring resentment, believing the kingdom fell solely because of Lodbrog and my family?"

[Ionia] "Dianna Brienne!"

Unable to contain herself, Ionia shouted her name.

Dianna narrowed her eyes, speaking frostily.

[Dianna] "Had the kingdom fallen after a valiant, desperate struggle, such resentment might be justified. If it were an undeniable injustice, blaming my house would be appropriate."

Observing Ionia's flushed face with cold disdain, Dianna continued.

[Dianna] "You had ample opportunity to prevent the invasion long before it occurred. Had your mother refrained from playing factional politics, and had your father cared for the kingdom a little more, the kingdom would have been preserved."

[Dianna] "Had he not been swayed by a courtier's foul words into burning an innocent woman at the stake, and had he protected the nation even after such an error, the outcome might have differed. Ultimately, it was the King who led the nation, not my father."

[Ionia] "What absurd..."

[Dianna] "Those born of royalty live for the nation. Failing to protect your kingdom, you ought to bow your head in shame as royalty, yet here you are, airing personal grudges and blaming others in a place like this. Do you possess no shame?"

[Ionia] "You!"

Murderous fury surged across Ionia's face. Unable to contain her rage, she raised her hand to strike Dianna's cheek, only for a priest to step forward and restrain her.

[Dianna] "I might accept resentment from the people of the Brienne domain or the citizens of Panborough, but I can't bring myself to listen to the resentment of a princess."

[Adelheit] "Dian, calm your temper. Please, just a bit!"

He whispered desperately. Dianna shook her head.

[Dianna] "I am not angry, nor have I lost my reason."

She spoke as she watched Ionia being dragged away.

[Dianna] "I was Princess Ionia's lady-in-waiting, and she viewed me as an elder sister. I taught her many things."

Dianna had taught her many things not merely as a maid, but as an elder sister. How to visit the washroom elegantly when she struggled in her youth, how to refrain from anger, and how to show consideration for others.

The vibrant, gentle girl of the past was gone. Though prone to bouts of irritability, the mostly gentle and affectionate girl had become a ghost of a fallen kingdom.

[Dianna] "I never taught Ionia that she could throw tantrums in a place like this. This outcome occurred because those who bore the weight of the kingdom failed to take responsibility. As royalty, one must bear that weight. Blaming others is merely hideous."

As a noble and a member of the Lodbrog royal house, Dianna had assumed all sinful burdens in her past life. Reflecting on whether the royal house of Panborough had functioned properly, Dianna knew in her past life that it had not.

Duke Brienne's tyranny, the Queen's factionalism, and the exclusive privileges enjoyed by the Queen's faction and the Duke's faction had rapidly rotted the nation from within. The past life and the present were identical.

Furthermore, the Lodbrog Kingdom had invaded under the justified pretext of avenging the humiliating execution of the favored concubine, Herya, and the capture and enslavement of Guiscard.

While she opposed war and invasion, Lodbrog possessed a justification so absolute that even the Holy See and neighboring nations couldn't openly intervene.

How could royalty who surrendered such justification and failed to prevent war hold their heads high? As royalty, they ought to have acted. Yet they did nothing. Dianna knew Ionia had possessed no authority, much like herself.

Even so, Ionia was an adult. She ought to have viewed the kingdom clearly and understood what her mother had perpetrated.

[Priest] "I offer our sincere apologies for Priestess Ionia's insolence."

A priest stepped forward to resolve the situation.

Feeling the gazes of the Lodbrog retinue upon her, Dianna offered them a gentle smile. A chilly silence descended among them.

[Dianna] "Let us proceed."

They nodded with dazed expressions.

[Knight] "Does Her Majesty have Lodbrog blood mixed in her veins?"

[Knight] "Hey, our Queen is impressive."

Whispered voices echoed from somewhere in the crowd. Dianna ignored them.

---

Duke Levian gnashed his teeth. Absolutely no opening presented itself. He had intended to seize this opportunity to push into the royal castle and assume the regency, yet Revius granted no leeway.

[D. Levian] "Things are not progressing well."

He released an irritated sigh. Surprisingly, the populace seemed to genuinely believe Dianna could procure grain.

The foolish citizens of the capital uttered hopeful words, convinced the Queen would secure food. Even when grain arrived from Panborough, they clung steadfastly to hope.

[Crowd] "The Queen is saving the Kingdom!"

The people babbled incessantly.

[D. Levian] "Dammit..."

He muttered once more. He had ordered an attack on the carriages transporting grain from Panborough, yet Revius had deployed the Vargrhati Order to defend them with ease.

It was fortunate that all the mercenaries committed suicide, as his involvement had nearly been exposed.

[Saruvia] "Father, give up. That wench will succeed."

[D. Levian] "...My child."

An emaciated Saruvia spoke mournfully. Barred from attending social gatherings, she spent much of her time lost in thought.

[Saruvia] "Furthermore, if our involvement is exposed, every noble will turn into our enemy."

She spoke with a somber face.

[Saruvia] "Duchess Islag seems to harbor her own schemes as well. If we form an alliance, she would be a suitable choice."

[D. Levian] "I shall handle such matters, my child. You ought to rest your body."

Observing his pitiful daughter, Duke Levian spoke with deep sympathy.

[Saruvia] "No, Father. I can't remain like this. We must kill her. That Panborough vermin."

She glared intensely, murky murderous intent swirling within her wide eyes.

[Saruvia] "Panborough is a fitting grave for her. Because we can lay all the blame on Panborough."

She giggled softly. Duke Levian concealed an inward shudder.

[Saruvia] "Kill the Queen first. Then all of us can return to how things were, Father."

Duke Levian looked at the dolls scattered around his daughter. Dolls with pale blonde hair and grey-blue eyes. Dolls with snapped necks, gouged eyes, impaled by blades, or hanging by ropes. Deep, concentrated murderous intent swirled within her room.

[D. Levian] "Very well. Let us do so."

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