TSMMT Ch 164

The Present

His violet eyes stared as if piercing through everything, filled with the desperate look of a lost child seeking help. Those mysterious eyes pinned Dianna in place.

Truthfully, they had rarely engaged in a proper conversation, an ironic reality for a married couple. Consequently, his question made her heart sink.

Perhaps it was a natural question. Yet she had never anticipated he would ask about her grudge. She had been foolish to think otherwise.

[Guiscard] "Tell me again. You don't hate someone without reason."

[Dianna] "..."

[Guiscard] "Nor are you someone who kills without cause."

She bit her lip, a bitter look settling over her face.

[Dianna] "I am not such a good person."

[Guiscard] "Don't dodge the question. Tell me."

Was it simple curiosity or a lover's possessiveness?

He grimaced and ran a hand through his hair.

[Guiscard] "I told you everything."

[Dianna] "..."

[Guiscard] "Even the things I failed to mention, you discovered. Including my immortality..."

She closed her eyes tightly.

[Guiscard] "Why did you hate her so fiercely?"

She averted her gaze from his repeated question as the sweet atmosphere dissolved into stillness.

What would improve if I revealed everything here?

Should I tell him he tormented me relentlessly in my past life, and that Levian inflicted horrific cruelty upon me as well? That she remained at my side, tormenting me constantly?

What am I supposed to say?

[Dianna] "She is already dead."

[Guiscard] "..."

[Dianna] "The grudge is already settled. Must you know?"

She forced a smile.

[Guiscard] "I want to know."

It was a poisoned chalice, a harsh truth far too cruel to reveal while blinded by love. If he learned the truth, they could never remain together.

Only through his ignorance of a past that never existed in this life could Dianna bring herself to confess her love for him.

[Dianna] "I... can't reveal everything to you. Just as you harbor secrets, so do I."

[Guiscard] "I have nothing left to hide from you."

[Dianna] "That doesn't mean I am obligated to reveal everything."

A flicker of agony crossed his face at her words.

Speaking only bred mutual wounds in their relationship, sharing truths impossible to believe and destined to inflict pain on them both.

[Dianna] "You don't need to concern yourself with it any longer. Nothing happened. It is nothing at all."

She offered a gentle smile. She reached out, took his hand, and spoke softly.

[Dianna] "I love you."

[Guiscard] "..."

[Dianna] "Right now, that is what matters most to me."

[Guiscard] "..."

[Dianna] "So please... don't seek to know any more than this."

Could you ever comprehend how difficult it was to admit this feeling of love?

She caressed his cheek.

A chilling silence fell over the room. Guiscard closed his eyes, his long eyelashes casting subtle shadows across his cheeks.

[Guiscard] "You are right."

[Dianna] "..."

[Guiscard] "The present is what matters most."

[Dianna] "..."

With those words, he suddenly pressed his lips to her face.

What she expected to be a gentle kiss proved surprisingly rough. Dianna tensed under the deep, intoxicating kiss. Though caught completely off guard, she soon closed her eyes and surrendered to his embrace.

His large hand traced the nape of her neck like fingers pressing piano keys. His long, thick fingers glided down from her collarbone to rest beneath her chest.

Her robe fell to the floor as his hands caressed her bare skin. Heat radiated from her thighs while the sweet aroma of fruit wine filled the air.

[Dianna] "Wait, Guiscard... ah!"

He bit gently into her neck. Like a vampire seeking blood, he gave her a sensation that felt ticklish yet intensely thrilling, making her lips part involuntarily. He scooped her into his arms and laid her upon the bed.

[Guiscard] "The present is what matters. The present where you love me."

[Dianna] "..."

[Guiscard] "And the present where you desire me right now."

[Dianna] "..."

[Guiscard] "The present where you will be mine right now."

He spoke as he looked down at her, sounding as if he were reciting a chant.

Like prey pinned by a predator, Dianna felt an overwhelming pressure. A soft breath escaped her lips from the intense weight pressing against her lower body.

[Dianna] "Ah... ngh..."

She squeezed her eyes shut. He bit and suckled her flesh possessively, leaving crimson marks blooming across her pale skin.

Ordinarily, when intense stimulation overwhelmed her, he would kiss her elsewhere to soothe her. Now, he fixated exclusively on her chest.

[Guiscard] "You enjoy sharing intimacy with me, do you not?"

His voice echoed. Strangely, an eerie chill lay beneath his feverish tone. His dark, sunken violet eyes met hers. After Dianna shuddered under his touch, he delayed no longer and entered her completely.

Her cheeks flushed as red as ripe apples. A rich fragrance wafted from their damp, entwined bodies.

Guiscard claimed Dianna fiercely, stealing the sweet gasps that spilled from her lips. His movements were intensely, painfully rough.

He felt almost like the Guiscard of her past life. Dianna could only surrender helplessly to his fierce momentum. The ecstasy he bestowed made her mind blank and return in dizzying cycles.

Gasps and wet friction filled the room, bringing together the fevered panting of a man and the rhythm of passionate union, punctuated by Dianna's sharp, sobbing moans.

When the act finally concluded moments later, she lay gasping for air.

She lifted her trembling body, still reeling from the aftermath.

Guiscard sat up immediately and pulled her close from behind. Yet her eyes widened when she felt his hardness pressing against her waist once more.

[Guiscard] "My Lady, do you love me?"

She gave a subtle nod. He smirked without warmth against her cheek, his fingers gently tracing the dip of her spine.

[Dianna] "Ah, Guiscard... wait..."

He had no intention of stopping. He interlocked his fingers with hers and pressed her hand against the wall. As her eyes widened, his palm traced her waist.

As their bodies merged once more, cries erupted anew under his touch. His vigor showed no sign of waning during their second union, only growing more intense.

Dianna could do nothing except pant breathlessly, adapting to his rhythm.

It was an embarrassing posture. She couldn't see his face. As she tried to bite her lip through blurred vision, his thumb forced its way between her lips.

[Dianna] "Ah, ngh!"

Her parted lips yielded as saliva trickled down. Guiscard pushed her to her absolute limits. And again, and again, he refused to grant her respite.

Entwining their bodies and stealing her breath, he seemed obsessively fixated on reaching ecstasy, kissing her deeply as he took her again and again.

Her gaze grew hazy. She reached out toward his dark eyes and pleaded softly.

[Dianna] "Guiscard, please... let us rest now."

[Guiscard] "No."

He pressed a deep, possessive kiss to her lips.

Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes, her swollen lips throbbing with soreness. He licked her lips with his tongue and claimed her once more.

A raspy moan escaped her throat.

Though driven mad with pleasure, he appeared oddly desperate. He seemed to be grasping at something destined to vanish, craving a warmth that might soon cool.

He held and claimed Dianna Brienne repeatedly, as though frantically gathering a woman made of sand in his hands.

---

Dianna stared blankly at the sky.

Over the next five days, Guiscard continued to dine with her and tend to her physical well-being with utmost care.

He smiled at her often. Each evening, they shared intimacy as if it were the most natural thing in the world. They presented the picture of a loving, stable couple.

Yet why did a chill touch a corner of her heart despite his gentleness? Though undeniably happy together, their bond felt precarious.

Then one day, she received news from Lady Kragel.

[Leonie] "Your Majesty! That wench's corpse was discovered!"

[Dianna] "That wench...?"

She turned her head. In truth, she knew whom Lady Kragel was talking about without asking.

[Leonie] "Saruvia Levian."

[Dianna] "..."

[Leonie] "When Your Majesty was abducted to her estate... They found her buried beneath the earth. Supposedly buried alive?"

It was the exact death Dianna had intended. She lowered her eyes and released a quiet sigh.

[Leonie] "However... something strange was discovered."

[Dianna] "What is it?"

[Leonie] "That woman... was not pregnant."

Dianna froze in stunned silence. She nodded as if lost in thought, but then her face contorted in devastating agony. As if a supporting pillar had collapsed beneath her, tears welled in her eyes.

[Dianna] "How was that determined?"

[Leonie] "Well... since she claimed to carry His Majesty's child, a physician examined her. Yet she was not pregnant at all. She had ingested a herb that faked pregnancy symptoms."

Dianna tightened her lips and lapsed into deep thought. Then, with a composed face, she dismissed Lady Kragel.

Left alone, she stared into space. Her eyes turned red as tears began to stream down her face.

[Dianna] "Ah, aaaah! Aaaah!"

An agonizing shriek echoed through the chamber.

It was a cruel morning.

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