TSMMT Ch 163

The Reason I Saved You

Rolling across the hard ground left Dianna bruised and aching. She knitted her brows and looked up at the man cradling her in his arms.

[Guiscard] "Are you alright?"

He supported her securely.

[Dianna] "I am fine, aside from a few bruises."

Because he had cushioned her fall, she was completely unhurt. Instead, she worried for him, who had absorbed the full impact. As she checked his body for injuries, she flinched under his fierce glare.

[Guiscard] "You foolish lady."

[Dianna] "..."

[Guiscard] "This is precisely why I can't take my eyes off you."

She lowered her head, looking crestfallen. Suddenly realizing she was sprawled atop his chest, she hastily scrambled to her feet.

Fafnir had vanished, leaving Tarascus lying flat on the earth.

[Dianna] "Tarascus!"

She shouted as she rushed toward the fallen dragon. Tarascus twitched slightly, then glared up at her with sharp eyes.

[Taras] "You are a fool."

[Dianna] "Pardon?"

[Taras] "You possess no instinct for self-preservation."

His face twisted in rare fury.

[Taras] "Do you have any idea how dangerous that magic circle was?! Had you stepped inside, your body would have been completely obliterated!"

She stood frozen in shock.

Ah, I see...

[Taras] "Only I needed to vanish! Only I!"

She stared blankly at him. He was expressing genuine, unadulterated rage. His once emotionless, doll-like eyes flared with fury.

She released a heavy sigh and leaned down to support him.

[Dianna] "I am sorry for frightening you."

[Taras] "...Silence!"

[Dianna] "Still, I had no choice. You know how it is. My body moved on its own."

[Taras] "Creature, I find you intensely annoying. Very annoying!"

As he whined like a child, Dianna let out an awkward laugh. Guiscard watched their interaction and interjected.

[Guiscard] "I shall tend to my wife, so perhaps you should refrain from further outbursts."

His cold voice cut through the air as he took Dianna's hand.

Dianna stood beside him sheepishly, watching Tarascus narrow his eyes at them. The dragon crossed his arms and muttered quiet curses under his breath.

She intertwined her fingers with Guiscard's, feeling a profound sense of relief wash over her nonetheless.

[Taras] "You harbor no remorse whatsoever."

He narrowed his eyes as he spoke. He turned his gaze toward Guiscard with a peculiar expression.

---

Upon their return, the news awaiting her thoroughly startled her. Monsters had invaded the royal palace, alongside the sudden appearance of a dragon seeking Dianna.

The royal palace was a scene of absolute devastation. Grand Duke Blake, who had arrived with Sasha to visit Dianna, had repelled the monster horde while Guiscard and his retinue mounted the dragon to search for her.

Riding a dragon.

A dragon slayer riding a dragon. Could such a feat truly be possible?

The royal palace, previously focused on punishing Duke Levian, had been turned entirely upside down.

[Nobles] "Oh, His Majesty, slayer of the evil dragon, can finally command dragons!"

Several nobles clasped their hands in tearful reverence, singing Guiscard's praises.

Amidst the chaos, Dianna had no time to rest. She immediately changed her clothes to inspect the damage to the palace caused by the monster raid.

[Citizens] "His Majesty commands dragons while Her Majesty commands spirits! Does this not make Lodbrog the grandest kingdom in the world?!"

Shouts echoed from every corner of the castle, echoed by the nobles. Everyone was swept up in overwhelming excitement, uncertain where to direct their feverish enthusiasm.

Though the monster raid had been terrifying, the King who rode a dragon was magnificent, and Dianna wielding spirit power was equally splendid.

Despite the destruction inside the palace, the populace rallied behind the King with even greater devotion.

Dianna walked quietly through the palace corridors, inspecting the damage. She spotted Bill standing in deep thought.

Bill knitted his brows, released a sigh, and stood dazed with a fierce expression. Ordinarily, she would have passed by without a word, yet something about his demeanor gave her pause. She stopped and spoke.

[Dianna] "Sir Bill Varda?"

He didn't hear her.

[Dianna] "Sir Bill Varda?"

When she repeated his name, he flinched sharply.

[Bill] "Y-Your Majesty! What brings you... Did I commit a mistake? Ah, seeing the undead for the first time made me curse..."

[Dianna] "It is nothing like that. Is something troubling you?"

He offered a forced smile.

[Bill] "A-Ah, it is nothing at all. Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty."

She nodded quietly. Bill remained deeply absorbed in some grave matter.

---

[Dianna] "I am exhausted..."

Immediately upon her return, she had inspected the palace damage, setting aside all hope of rest. She had not even found time to speak properly with Guiscard, Tarascus, or Sasha, who had traveled to see her.

Interrogating Duke Levian about additional crimes, assessing monster entry points, and surveying the damage meant Guiscard would likely be unable to retire to his quarters for days.

[Mable] "I shall prepare your bath."

She spoke stiffly.

Dianna nodded quietly. She dismissed her attendants to soak alone in the warm bath while her mind wandered.

What on earth transpired? How should I proceed from here?

Fafnir was not from this era, but a dragon who had crossed over from her past life; a rift. She had exacted vengeance upon the world over Herya's death.

Had the past-life Guiscard been swept into that vengeance as well? Or rather, how had a deceased Fafnir returned to life in the first place?

Had she survived from the very beginning? If so, why is Guiscard immortal?

Dianna submerged herself beneath the water, finding no answers. A heavy sense of guilt nagged at her conscience.

Throughout the journey back, those unpleasant shrieks and glares haunted her thoughts.

Must I live my entire life bearing this guilt? The child in her womb was innocent, just like my own child was, yet I killed it alongside its mother.

How do the knights and Guiscard take lives without being crushed by the weight of it?

[Dianna] "It is fine, it is fine..."

She comforted herself softly.

Upon reflection, she had contributed to several deaths already. Emil and Mirva remained confined in their dungeon cell. Given instructions to survive on minimal rations, they were likely languishing, if not already dead.

She had taken Saruvia's life personally. The woman was destined to die by Guiscard's blade regardless.

With her inner turmoil settled for now, she finished her bath and stepped out.

She entered her bedchamber while drying her damp hair, only to find Guiscard waiting for her.

[Dianna] "..."

Having bathed as well, he wore a thin shirt as he looked at her. Water droplets trickled from the tips of his raven hair, his exposed chest rising and falling with steady breaths. Their eyes met.

Startled for some reason, she lowered her head and mumbled softly.

[Dianna] "I assumed you wouldn't return tonight either."

[Guiscard] "...I had to return, since you are here."

He offered a sweet, tender smile. Dianna approached him.

[Guiscard] "I wanted to ask you something."

[Dianna] "About what?"

[Guiscard] "What did you mean when you said you loved me?"

Ah, so that is why.

The confession she had made while fighting the undead had remained on his mind. His eyes sparkled with desperate anticipation.

[Guiscard] "Explain to me in detail what you mean by loving me."

His urgent tone betrayed a total lack of composure.

Dianna narrowed her eyes with a quiet smile. It amused her that he had cast aside all other duties simply to rush to her side. Seeing right through the intent behind his fresh bath brought a silent smile to her lips.

[Dianna] "It means exactly what I said."

She sat on the sofa, and he sat beside her.

[Guiscard] "Is it not difficult to love me? I am..."

She stared directly at him.

How should she phrase this?

Feeling absurdly embarrassed, she poured a glass of fruit wine from the side table and downed it in one gulp. Though low in alcohol, heat flushed her face instantly.

His long fingers traced her neck and collarbone. Dianna recognized the raw desire in his touch.

[Dianna] "I do love you."

She spoke after a long silence. A peculiar ecstasy radiated from his eyes at her words.

She leaned her head against his shoulder. A quiet silence settled between them. He turned his head and stroked her cascading golden hair.

[Guiscard] "Then why do you appear so sad?"

Those words struck her heart unexpectedly. She raised her eyes, her gaze blank.

[Guiscard] "Throughout the entire journey here, you never looked happy."

He was hyper-sensitive to her expressions.

Memories of his days as a slave surfaced. Back then, Guiscard had paid meticulous attention to her every expression: which shoes she favored, which carriage brought her comfort, which tea she enjoyed.

He notices everything. Indeed, this man loves me.

[Guiscard] "Tell me. Why were you like that?"

[Dianna] "Now I see you came not to ask about my love, but to inquire about this."

[Guiscard] "It is both."

She looked into his face. The woman he loved was righteous and noble, pure and untainted. How would he react when she uttered these words?

[Dianna] "I killed Saruvia Levian."

His hand froze instantly.

[Dianna] "It was no accident either. I killed her of my own free will because I wanted her dead."

[Guiscard] "Why?"

[Dianna] "Because I wanted revenge."

A lengthy silence descended upon the room, as if the quiet itself sought to speak.

Is he angry?

Dianna looked up to find Guiscard staring down at her with a terrifying expression.

[Guiscard] "Revenge... for what?"

Reasons to kill were plentiful. She parted her lips, but said nothing.

Guiscard showed zero disgust toward the act of murder itself. Without dismissing her confession, he seemed curious about her motivation.

It felt oddly anticlimactic. Yet seeing him care far more about her underlying reason than the murder itself set her heart fluttering.

[Guiscard] "You shared no significant connection with her. Being driven to the brink of death because of Levian provides more than enough justification."

[Dianna] "..."

[Guiscard] "Yet you don't kill people yourself. That is why your damn brother still languishes in a dungeon cell. If you killed her, the reason can't be that simple."

[Dianna] "..."

[Guiscard] "I want to know the reason."

Ah.

The man she assumed knew nothing was trying to delve into the very depths of her soul. He had finally turned his gaze toward her greatest secret.

---

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