TSMMT Ch 150

Dreams

Preposterous. He couldn't possibly be awake. The season had not even changed. Yet why was he standing here with open eyes?

Dianna stared at Guiscard's face. She wished to speak, yet words failed her.

How long had it been since she last beheld those eyes? She wondered if the man gazing at her was merely an illusion.

Yet the moment she witnessed overwhelming rapture in his gaze, seeing his eyes redden and glisten with tears, all doubts vanished.

[Guiscard] "I saved you."

[Dianna] "..."

[Guiscard] "At long last, I saved you."

His voice sounded overwhelmed. Dianna remained speechless.

At long last...?

Warm breath brushed against her skin.

Dianna collapsed into his tight embrace. Somehow, amidst the overwhelming emotion, drowsiness washed over her as the long-strained tension snapped.

A drowsy voice echoed in her ears.

[Guiscard] "Thank goodness. Thank goodness."

Why? What was there to be thankful for?

Yet even so, Dianna found herself understanding that her emergence alive was the sole cause of his relief.

The open air felt invigorating, and the sunlight dazzled her eyes. The vibrant blue sky, white clouds, lush greenery of the trees... and this man as dark as night.

The man who had once plunged her life into an abyss wept while holding her tightly, endlessly thankful for her survival.

---

The knights fighting the bandits survived by a narrow margin. Situated far from the area where the landslide erupted during combat, they stood utterly despondent upon realizing Dianna and the ducal ladies had been swept into the disaster.

The Queen and ducal ladies were trapped, buried by the collapse. The cave holding them was completely obscured beneath trees, rocks, and soil.

[Knight] "Your Majesty!"

They called out in faint hope, yet no human response reached them.

Making matters worse, rain began to fall. Drenched in the downpour, the knights fell into despair.

Could anyone survive in there? Had soil flooded the cavern interior? Indeed, was air even circulating?

Overwhelmed by helplessness, the knights began rescue operations under Clover's command. Knights representing each house dispatched urgent missives to their respective family heads.

Yet the terrain continued to collapse. They understood the deadly consequences of a landslide. Even so, they had to recover at least the remains.

Alerted to the crisis, Panborough nobles arrived first to initiate excavation under Count Kilcos' orders.

Soil had to be cleared before another downpour began.

How helpless humans were before nature.

They dug through soil and hauled boulders, yet rescuing the trapped group remained a distant dream. The endless labor dragged on.

Despair settled in. Even if they cleared the earth, no one could possibly remain alive.

Even assuming survival through the collapse, did those trapped in the cave possess water? Did they have food?

At the end of this grueling ordeal, all they would uncover were decaying corpses.

[Knight] "Y-Your Majesty..."

[Knight] "L-Lady..."

[Knight] "Aaaah..."

Quiet grief enveloped the rescue site. Hope was entirely absent. Before long, the ducal families of Lodbrog arrived upon receiving the news.

[D. Kragel] "What in the world is happening?!"

Duke Kragel expressed shock at the uncleared mound of earth. Several individuals collapsed to their knees.

[Y. D. Islag] "Ah, my sister..."

Young Duke Islag fell to his knees, while Duchess Eirick sobbed hysterically as if on the verge of collapsing.

[Dc. Eirick] "A-Aaaagh!"

Surviving knights worked without lifting their heads. Spotting the mountain of massive boulders, they recognized the impossibility of rescuing the women.

Rain began falling once more when a cold voice sliced through the gloom.

[Guiscard] "What are you doing?"

The knights felt as though they were beholding a phantom.

Mounted on horseback stood a man clad in the shabbiest attire imaginable.

[Guiscard] "What in the world are you doing?"

Knights swallowed hard. Murderous intent sharp enough to pierce flesh radiated from him. Why was the incapacitated King standing here?

Violet eyes gleaming behind strands of hair bore lethal sharpness. Terrified by his ferocious killing intent, none dared lock eyes with Guiscard.

Consequently, no one dared inform him that over a fortnight had passed since Dianna's confinement, nor that she had likely perished from lack of water and food.

Guiscard stared at the boulder-blocked cavern. His brow contorted, an expression belonging to a husband who had lost his wife.

Cold, drizzling rain soaked him completely, curly wet hair clinging to his face. Looking desolate, he stared at the rocks sealing his wife inside.

[Guiscard] "I... I have not even freed her yet."

Wearing a dazed expression, he drew his sword, unleashing dark violet energy. The sole reason knights had avoided using sword energy during the landslide was that destroying a boulder caused those above to roll down.

Triggering a secondary collapse, the knights had opted to excavate piece by piece. Yet what if one sliced apart even those falling boulders?

The knights witnessed an incomprehensibly miraculous spectacle. Pure sword energy sliced through rock again and again. Reaching the pinnacle of sword energy manifestation, Guiscard sliced through solid stone with a steel blade like a god of war.

He was desperate. Without exception, the knights cleared the sliced stone fragments repeatedly. Oddly enough, they felt as though someone were assisting them in clearing the debris, as small stone fragments vanished the moment anyone attempted to move them.

Thus, Guiscard wielded his sword without rest for two days. Fortunately or unfortunately, boulders sealed the cave entrance, meaning those inside had not been crushed beneath the earth. Yet was that truly fortunate? Realizing the tragedy likely unfolding within, nobles exhaled heavy sighs, several already weeping.

Finally, the rocks blocking the cave were pierced. Hope remained nonexistent. Being thoroughly pragmatic, they knew survival inside was virtually impossible.

Their sole concern was praying the remains were not mangled, for gazing upon agonized corpses was never pleasant. Trapped in a cave without water or food, they had surely perished in agony.

Stepping forward to prevent others from starving, only to starve to death herself, presented an ironic tragedy. Yet when someone walked out slowly, screams erupted.

[Knight] "S-They are alive!"

[Y. D. Islag] "My child!"

Rosalia cried in her brother's embrace. Behind her emerged the other ladies. Everyone was alive. Everyone!

Joy filled the grief-stricken site once more.

The King walked inside nonchalantly, carried the Queen out, and embraced her.

At this moment, everyone present understood; none could deny it.

The King loved the Queen madly, desperately, willing to cast aside everything.

---

Guiscard observed a sobbing girl.

It was a dark room. Deep underground, the woman was weeping.

Wearing iron restraints around her neck, her face flushed red as she wept. Yet only raspy, metallic friction left her throat instead of cries.

Guiscard understood why. She had cried until her vocal cords turned raw.

Having heard Herya make such sounds, he recognized it immediately.

[Dianna] "Guiscard, save me."

[Guiscard] "..."

[Dianna] "Guiscard."

He wished to reach out and hold her hand, yet he knew this event had already transpired. Thus, he could only watch helplessly.

It was a cruel torment.

Believing himself abandoned, tending only to his own wounds while wielding his blade in hatred and resentment.

What manner of life had that woman endured?

How had she lived? What kind of life...?

Why had he assumed Duke Brienne cherished his own daughter?

Reflecting on it, the Duke had known Guiscard harbored feelings for Dianna. The Duke had derived pleasure from watching him ache over what he could never possess.

Had he been a loving father, he would never have tolerated a slave harboring feelings for his daughter. Instead, he had permitted them to remain close like breeding livestock, enjoying the spectacle.

She was far too precious, seemingly unattainable. Fearing he might taint her, he had hesitated to hold her hand. Yet the Duke had struck and trampled such a precious being as if she were the most insignificant thing in the world, much like Guiscard himself...

She was not someone who deserved such treatment.

She was not someone who should crawl along the floor weeping, nor someone who should call his name as if he were her sole salvation.

Yet she had been broken so severely, collapsed so completely, that she begged a mere slave to save her.

I want to kill them. I want to slaughter them all.

[Voice] "Dost thou wish to slaughter them?"

[Voice] "Dost thou wish to slaughter them? Dost thou wish to kill them? Thou wishest to murder everyone, doest thou not?"

A low, whispering voice echoed. Guiscard looked around. Something thoroughly familiar was instilling hatred within him.

[Voice] "Look upon it. This truly transpired."

I want to kill them. I want to kill them. I absolutely want to slaughter them all.

Killing intent surged in his eyes as he gnashed his teeth. Yet despite the rage, he seemed to hear Dianna's soft voice from somewhere. Shaking his head through eyes stained with murderous intent, he resisted.

[Guiscard] "That is not what I desire."

[Voice] "Why?"

[Guiscard] "She has already exacted her revenge. Nothing changes even if I do this."

[Voice] "Look closely! Thou didst create this. Thou... desirest this! It is the world that murdered thy mother!"

[Guiscard] "What I desire... is..."

[Voice] "Thou insane bastard!"

The whispering voice sounded strikingly like Herya's.

Guiscard ignored the irritating voice. Someone was attempting to manipulate his mind through hatred. Reminding him of his mother, it thoroughly annoyed him.

Dianna. I want to see her. I want to meet her again.

Thus, he opened his eyes.

Five days after Dianna's departure.

---

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