TSMMT Ch 151

Saved

Upon awakening, Guiscard summoned Revius.

Though utterly astounded to find the King awake, Revius offered a cheerful grin before explaining the current situation. Smirking, he began teasing him.

[Revius] "Why aren't you searching for her?"

[Guiscard] "What are you talking about?"

[Revius] "Her Majesty the Queen."

[Guiscard] "Why should I search for someone who left me?"

[Revius] "Good grief, what absurdity... Her Majesty returned to follow you."

Come to think of it, he recalled hearing her voice, promising she couldn't leave…

Was that real?

Unprompted, Revius recounted everything Dianna had done and everywhere she had traveled. Though his passionate praise earned sharp glares from Guiscard, he delivered every detail nonetheless.

[Guiscard] "I see."

[Revius] "Oh? You aren't going after her?"

Guiscard knitted his brows.

Pursue her? Why? What would I do after chasing her down? Drag her back again? Force her back once more?

[Guiscard] "I know her... I know the lady. She returned to fulfill her responsibilities, not to return to me."

[Revius] "Good grief..."

His sole duty was to wait, to await Dianna's voluntary arrival. Guiscard resolved to silently fulfill his part. Yet why did fate persistently torment them?

The moment he learned she was trapped by a landslide, he abandoned everything and bolted toward the site.

He should have pursued her from the start; no matter what, he should have stayed by her side. Had he done so, this catastrophe would never have unfolded.

Ultimately, it was his fault. He consistently made the worst choices, and Dianna suffered repeatedly as a consequence.

Miserably abused like the vision in his nightmare, abducted, and surrendering to despair, his beloved lady had repeatedly attempted to cast away her life.

Dianna, Ann, my lady.

You should have lived nobility itself, forever surrounded by fine things, wrapped in silk, leading a peaceful life.

Clutching his sword beneath the pouring rain upon arriving at the collapsed mountain, Guiscard muttered quietly. A hollow laugh escaped his lips as he watched the drizzling downpour.

This must not become our end.

[Guiscard] "If you die, I die as well."

Even if his body crumbled and perished, he would find her. If she died, he would follow her into death, completely and utterly.

Thus, he spared nothing. Even as his physical form drained of all strength, he sliced through boulders and dug through earth.

He recalled what he had spoken to that strange, Herya-like voice echoing within him.

[Guiscard] "What I desire is to save her."

Ever since discovering the truth, he knew he desired not to possess her, but to rescue her. He yearned to save Dianna, his wife, the woman he loved.

He wished he could have taken her hand back then and fled. He wished to be her savior.

He would gladly return to that dungeon, endure the lash in her stead, or bark like a dog if required. Anything to break down in her place and beg on her behalf.

He had wanted to drag Dianna out of that pitch-black room.

Yet now she was trapped in darkness once more. Having finally escaped her past, she was confined again because of him. Thus, his existence belonged solely to her.

If Dianna died, he would die as well. He held no lingering attachment to life.

He sliced through the final boulder. Watching the survivors emerge, he spotted Dianna standing in the shadows when she didn't immediately step forward.

In a desperate embrace, he wrapped his arms around his wife.

So this time, he had saved her.

---

Upon hearing that the Queen and ducal ladies were swept up in a landslide, the ducal houses of Lodbrog swiftly dispatched their heads or heirs to the scene. Regardless of noble status, losing family to an untimely tragedy was a hollow, tragic affair.

Hoping to recover at least the remains, they assisted frantically in the excavation. Convinced they would find only cold corpses, they mourned in advance.

Yet they walked out alive. Every single woman emerged alive.

[Lady] "Her Majesty the Queen saved us."

[Lady] "It is all thanks to Her Majesty..."

Every rescued woman echoed the sentiment. Yet how had the Queen saved them?

Amidst their confusion, someone spoke up.

[Knight] "Her Majesty the Queen... is a spirit summoner."

A shudder passed through the crowd at those words.

A spirit summoner? The Queen is a spirit summoner?

It sounded absurd, yet every survivor provided identical testimony.

Dianna circulated air through wind spirits, acquired food through earth spirits, and kindled fire through fire spirits.

As the world advanced and grand magic faded into history, spirit summoners had long become extinct. Neither Lodbrog nor Panborough possessed any living spirit summoners.

And that extraordinarily rare spirit summoner was Dianna Brienne?

Furthermore, she commanded three of the four primary elements. Though only low-tier spirits, commanding three whole elements was mind-boggling.

Everyone lapsed into stunned silence at Dianna's capabilities. Believed to be merely a fragile, ornamental noblewoman from a foreign realm, she possessed extraordinary talents.

[Leonie] "Had it not been for Her Majesty, we would surely have perished. Beyond the spirits... she was the only one who refrained from weeping, comforting us all."

[L. Eirick] "Though she must have suffered the most..."

[Maid] "Indeed. She cared for young Lady Islag with utmost devotion. She remained steadfast throughout, tending to us. We, who were meant to serve her, were the ones cared for instead."

Unending praise poured from everyone's lips. The nobles kept silent, exhaling quiet sighs.

Leadership, audacity, negotiation skills, judgment—she excelled in every facet.

She embodied the ideal woman desired by the men of Lodbrog. It became entirely understandable why the King had forcibly taken her as his wife.

The nobles exchanged subtle glances, lost in thought, particularly those who had acted hostile toward the Queen in the past.

The Islag family members, who had once driven Dianna away during the gargoyle attack, couldn't lift their heads. The heir wore a complicated expression.

[Y. D. Islag] "Mother must abandon her foolish ambitions."

He whispered while looking at his younger sister. Rosalia nodded silently with closed eyes.

[D. Kragel] "Has Her Majesty the Queen still not emerged?"

[Knight] "Indeed."

Everyone longed to see the Queen. Regardless of how it was done, she had saved them all—down to the last maid—with utmost care. They wished to express gratitude to the Queen who had comforted them through that desperate plight.

Yet while others recovered rapidly, the Queen remained confined to her chamber. The woman who had appeared so steadfast during the rescue had collapsed.

Dianna possessed neither iron stamina nor an unbreakable spirit. She was merely an ordinary human with a fragile psyche.

A strong person leading others inspires respect. Yet a fragile person leading others inspires profound awe.

That someone frail enough to collapse immediately upon rescue had cared for everyone was something no one else could have accomplished.

When word spread that Dianna lay bedridden, tormented continuously by nightmares, people worried for her sincerely—the Islag family included.

---

Dianna opened her eyes. Looking up, she spotted a dark ceiling, the roof of the cave.

She gasped for breath frantically.

Ah, it was a lie after all. This is definitely an illusion. There was no rescue.

The low ceiling and faint flicker of firelight barely sustained her life. Suffocation gripped her chest. No spirits were in sight.

Dianna searched for the others, yet no one appeared. Wandering forward, she arrived at a dungeon.

A dungeon.

The clanking of iron chains echoed through the air, causing her to scream.

Ah, it was another dream of being inside the cave.

This time, a high ceiling came into view.

Yet was this reality? Was this not another dream?

Perhaps the mountain had collapsed, she had never been rescued, and she remained trapped in that pitch-black place, dreaming endlessly.

A void untouched by a single ray of light stretched before her eyes.

Back then, she had been desperate to survive. She had suppressed the surging trauma, an ominous darkness resembling her past dungeon. She had known that if she collapsed, everyone would perish.

So she had pretended to be fine. She had frantically summoned the fire spirit. The dark, pitch-black subterranean void, and the voices whispering within...

In that place, Dianna had lacked the confidence to maintain her sanity. Physical pain was manageable; as long as she could escape that pitch-black darkness, she could endure anything.

She had endured. She had buried her terror, buried her fear, and buried her grief.

Because she did so, they were rescued. The problem arose after the rescue.

How cunning human psychology was. The moment relief assured her that collapsing wouldn't mean death, she crumbled completely.

Whenever she fell asleep, she felt trapped inside that pitch-black cave once more. Each time, Guiscard held her hand and embraced her. Yet she was terrified.

Was this merely an illusion?

[Guiscard] "It is alright, it is alright, Dianna."

Her heart pounded frantically. In her mind, the cracking of a whip echoed. Emil's sneering laughter and her father's neat footfalls reverberated through her head, accompanied by the clanking of iron chains.

Tears welled in her eyes. I

 am terrified. I am frightened. That suffocating darkness is driving me insane.

Where am I? Ah, I am awake right now. What am I even doing?

Should she avoid collapsing disgracefully? She must not break down like this. She needed to rise and demonstrate her well-being.

Was she not behaving like a young child unable to wake from a nightmare?

Doubting everything, realizing reality, self-mocking…

She rested in his embrace as he stroked her hair.

Was this truly Guiscard? Was it a dream?

Yet the sensation of his hand stroking her hair was real, as were his warmth and scent.

[Guiscard] "I know you despise me. My lady, you likely hate me to death. Once you recover, you may leave whenever you wish..."

He whispered softly. Hearing those words, a faint jolt of realization stirred within her mind. For days, Guiscard had repeated only "it is alright," never uttering such words.

[Guiscard] "Perhaps even this is selfish of me. I shall step outside for now."

The Guiscard in her trauma-driven imagination would never say such things. In other words, this man acted beyond her imagined scenario. He was real.

Dianna lifted her hands and slowly wrapped them around his waist, causing his body to flinch slightly.

[Dianna] "No. Stay still."

This posture, his face, everything differed from her imagination. Being distinct from her imagined scenarios proved he was real. Entirely real.

[Dianna] "Don't go. I am not alright."

[Guiscard] "..."

[Dianna] "I am terrified... I am terrified to death."

Why did I become like this? Why did I grow so weak?

Stepping outside, she embodied the dignified Queen, yet the moment she entered her chamber, she collapsed into this pathetic state.

Guiscard's arms tightened around Dianna. Shedding tears, she wept in his embrace for the first time. The moment she admitted her terror, every pent-up emotion burst forth.

She curled her body in pain, as if begging him to see her true state. He held her hand.

He had destroyed everything to come fetch her. How could she possibly despise such a savior?

[Dianna] "I am not alright. I am not alright. I have never been alright."

On the fourth day after waking, Dianna spoke her true feelings for the first time. Admitting she was terrified, that she was not alright.

For the first time, she voiced her emotions to another and burst into tears.

She confessed for the first time that she was not alright. Exposing her weak, fragile vulnerability, she willingly collapsed inside his embrace.

---

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