TSMMT Ch 15

I'll Call You By Your Name

Dianna quickened her pace. Her small feet moved with a light, dance-like rhythm.

Finally, finally! She obtained Guiscard. Though she failed to receive the key to unlock his restraints as expected, this sufficed.

In truth, she refrained from visiting Guiscard during that time. Visiting a slave who didn't yet belong to her would spark a scandal, branding the Duke's daughter as obsessed with a slave.

Mirva undoubtedly monitored her actions to prevent the Duke from granting her ownership.

Unable to change her father's mind directly, Dianna ordered a maid to deliver food and clothing to Guiscard instead.

She knew the reality. Even so, Guiscard surely faced an arduous ordeal over the past few days. She only hoped he escaped an utterly horrific fate.

She let out a dry chuckle as she hurried along.

What am I doing? Trying so desperately to save the enemy from my past life.

She cleared her mind, dismissing her lingering thoughts about him. The past mattered little now. Only her current actions counted.

She arrived at the barn where Guiscard stayed.

He lacked even a proper room. In her past life, the young Dianna pitied his condition and threw a tantrum to her father. Only then did Guiscard secure a spot in a storage room inside the estate.

Since he belonged to her in this life, moving him to a better room was essential.

First, I must change his clothes.

I need to speak with him. Tell him to trust me, because I will free him one day.

Dianna knocked on the door. Receiving no response, she prepared to open the door and enter, but the maid following her stepped forward as well.

The maid acted as if it were natural. However, Dianna didn't permit her company. While maids fundamentally followed her, they required her permission for such actions. Even if the maid simply worried for the young lady, explaining was the correct protocol.

Yet the maids of this estate routinely treated Dianna this way. Despite her status as the lady of the house, they showed zero respect for her wishes.

[Dianna] "Those restraints prevent him from hurting me. Stay right there."

She opened the door without another word. Yet the maid ignored her command, sticking close behind her to follow inside. Dianna forced herself to remain patient.

[Dianna] "I told you not to come inside."

[Cordel] "My Lady, you are doing something incredibly dangerous. The head maid will scold you."

[Dianna] "Who? Me?"

She knitted her brows as she asked, but the maid remained silent.

[Dianna] "Haa."

She let out a sigh. Mirva's opinion always superseded Dianna's wishes. This defined the reality of this estate.

[Dianna] "Cordel, do you realize that you are the one putting me in danger right now?"

The maid blinked at the sudden mention of her name.

[Cordel] "My Lady."

[Dianna] "If even a maid refuses to obey me, do you think a slave will show me respect?"

[Cordel] "……."

[Dianna] "If you respect me, please stay still. I don't wish to punish you."

The maid lowered her gaze as Dianna stared directly into her eyes. Dianna finally managed to step through the door.

The room looked utterly wretched, of course. In truth, it hardly qualified as a room. The cramped space barely offered enough room for two people to lie down. The musty dust nearly triggered a coughing fit from Dianna.

Guiscard sat with his back to the window where the light entered. His dark shadow resembled a massive beast. The moonlight from the window caught his purple eyes. Submerged in the darkness, he stared intently back at Dianna.

The intense gaze nearly suffocated her. Facing the young boy who glared at her, Dianna gripped her skirt tightly. Her heart hammered so fiercely it echoed in her ears. She carefully chose her words.

[Dianna] "It has been a while."

[Guiscard] "……."

[Dianna] "Have you been well…… No, of course you haven't."

She bit her tongue. Looking at the boy leaning his exhausted body as if everything had shattered, she swallowed her words.

It sounded like mockery. Guiscard slowly straightened his back, locking his gaze onto the standing Dianna.

Suddenly, one corner of his mouth curled upward. The expression mirrored his past mockery, causing her heart to plunge.

[Guiscard] "I guess you finally remembered me."

The slave Guiscard had never spoken to her like this before. Back then, he always used formal honorifics with her. It felt like facing an entirely different person. She remembered the young Guiscard as quiet, his thoughts completely unreadable. This marked her first time witnessing him mock anyone.

Why is he like this? Or did he harbor these exact thoughts in my past life as well?

Regardless, it mattered little now. Dianna fought to compose her expression.

[Dianna] "What do you mean, I finally remembered you?"

[Guiscard] "The young lady of this estate sure is fickle."

He continued to sneer.

[Guiscard] "Is that why even the maids look down on you?"

He heard. She let out a soft sigh.

[Guiscard] "Do you know what the laborers around here call you? They say you are an ignorant nobody. A stupid, unlikable girl."

[Dianna] "……."

[Guiscard] "They say you are just the head maid's puppet, desperately trying to act mature."

[Dianna] "……."

[Guiscard] "You delude yourself into thinking you look quite dignified right now, don't you?"

[Dianna] "……."

[Guiscard] "Completely deluded……."

[Dianna] "I hate to break it to you, but I have never spared a single thought on how I look."

She looked down at him.

[Dianna] "Furthermore, I care nothing for whatever gossip the servants whisper behind my back. You don't need to inform me."

Guiscard widened his eyes, staring at Dianna with a flustered expression. Twisted by resentment, he desired to vent his anger on her.

A simple truth explained why the usually silent boy spoke so bluntly. Quite literally, he had not yet endured enough floggings to break his spirit. No horrific ordeal had crushed his spirit completely in this timeline.

Diana addressed him.

[Dianna] "Father permitted me to take you as my slave."

[Guiscard] "Ha."

To him, it meant remaining a slave no matter where he went. Becoming the young lady's plaything offered no comfort.

She studied him, then knelt to match his eye level. Clear silver-gray eyes met clouded purple ones. Reclining sharply as if touching freezing water, he recoiled.

[Dianna] "Why? Do you dislike your new master?"

[Guiscard] "……."

[Dianna] "Even if you do, you have no choice. You are a slave."

He stared at her. She appeared fragile enough to turn transparent and vanish. Her porcelain skin looked pale, and her silver-gray eyes held a chilly yet strangely warm light.

[Dianna] "Nonetheless, I shall offer you a choice."

[Guiscard] "A choice?"

[Dianna] "I want to give you the chance to take my hand willingly, from the bottom of your heart, rather than by force."

Pure nonsense. Such a concept remained impossible for a slave stripped of all choices. Sensing his unspoken thoughts, she smiled.

[Dianna] "I know you have no choice but to take my hand."

Her wide skirt trailed across the dusty floor. It resembled a single petal falling into a world consumed by gray ash. The crimson dress gleamed under the moonlight filtering through the window.

Although darkness cloaked the night, Dianna alone radiated a brilliant white glow, as if she held all the color in the world. The boy watched the girl who suddenly closed the distance between them.

As she reached out, Guiscard flinched reflexively out of fear of violence. Becoming a slave conditioned one to expect blows. Yet familiarity never erased the underlying terror.

Still, his purple eyes continuously observed the strange girl. She delivered no strike; she merely extended her hand. A small, delicate hand easily crushed with minimal force.

[Dianna] "Here."

He shifted his gaze between her and her outstretched hand.

Ah, agonizingly slow. She let out a quiet sigh.

[Dianna] "I don't need to explain it; you already understand. I wield minimal power in this estate."

[Guiscard] "……."

[Dianna] "Therefore, I need someone on my side. Choose me."

Yet she dared to utter the word choice. Regardless of everything, she needed this boy to follow her. She couldn't erase destiny, but she desired change.

[Dianna] "Guiscard."

He flinched at her words. The sound carried his name, a name no one else breathed aloud.

Observing his utterly confused face, she offered a faint smile.

[Dianna] "I can't promise absolute protection, but I will never address you as a slave. I will call you by your name."

A hell offering temporary relief versus an endless hell. She knew both options presented a cruel choice.

Even if it is a hell with relief, I want you to come with me.

She wanted to reveal her grand plan to him. She wished to tell him she intended to free him. Yet she swallowed those specific words. An empty promise served as nothing but cruel torture.

[Guiscard] "So, you want me to take your hand just to discard me when you grow bored?"

She chuckled, dismissing his suspicion.

[Dianna] "It seems you misunderstand a few things……."

I must clear up this misunderstanding before it grows.

[Dianna] "I sent food and clothing to you even during the days I couldn't visit. Did you receive nothing?"

As he signaled a negative response, Dianna nodded. The situation explained itself. Someone intercepted the goods. He also pieced together the current circumstances.

[Guiscard] "You indeed are a powerless lady."

She could find no words to counter his murmur.

[Guiscard] "I have a question."

[Dianna] "What is it?"

[Guiscard] "Why exactly go to such lengths for me?"

[Dianna] "……."

[Guiscard] "Why care about a worthless slave?"

She paused to reflect. She could hardly explain that she sought to alter the future at all costs.

[Dianna] "Simply because it is right."

She could offer nothing more. Nonetheless, the statement carried a strange weight.

---

Issuing orders to wash Guiscard, she stood up with a sigh.

Before heading downstairs, Dianna inspected her attire. Not a single wrinkle could show. The absolute distinction between commoners and nobility rested on this very principle: a flawless appearance without a single flaw.

Dianna descended the staircase. Servants and maids stood perfectly straight near the entrance. She hardened her expression. They required a lesson in discipline.

[Mirva] "My Lady, what is the matter? Why this sudden appearance?"

Mirva, standing by the entrance hall, questioned her. A look of sheer annoyance covered her face, likely because Dianna interrupted her favorite tea time.

The behavior mirrored that of the estate's mistress.

Dianna observed the butler managing the estate. The old man lacked the energy to confront Mirva, opting for quiet obedience instead.

[Dianna] "It appears everyone has forgotten their respective roles."

[Mirva] "What exactly do you mean by that? Forgotten our roles?"

[Dianna] "Mirva. When I speak, your duty is to wait. Your tone sounds dangerously close to an interrogation."

Dianna flashed a bright smile.

The surrounding maids watched the confrontation between the young lady and Mirva, the actual power holder. The young mistress could never defeat Mirva. The servants firmly held that conclusion.

[Mirva] "So, what is it? What has made our little lady so furious?"

A normal twelve-year-old Dianna might have yielded to those words, desperate for maternal affection. Instead, she hurled the pearl necklace in her hand onto the floor.

[Mirva] "Uh……?"

As Mirva lowered her gaze to look at the pearls, Dianna struck her across the cheek.

A sharp, stinging slap echoed through the hall. Direct force offered the highest efficiency.

Plotting behind the scenes required loyal underlings, a luxury Dianna currently lacked.

[Dianna] "A disrespectful maid deserves proper punishment."

After all, she, not that woman, reigned as the rightful mistress of this estate.

---

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