TSMMT Ch 173

Adventure

Rewind to one hundred days ago.

Dianna had not gone to Panborough. Instead, she arrived at her grandfather's merchant guild headquarters in the Kingdom of Lodbrog.

Anders crossed his arms and tried to peek into her room, but Alexa pulled him back.

[Anders] "Look at the state of her!"

His missing granddaughter had finally reappeared. He wanted to rush to her side immediately, but Dianna refused to see him at first. She insisted that any association with House Brienne, mortal enemies of Lodbrog's king, would ruin his business. Anders cared little for profits. Though Guiscard himself had visited to assure him of her safety, seeing her in this condition shattered his peace of mind.

[Anders] "That miserable bastard!"

King of Lodbrog or not, regardless of his motives, Guiscard had brought tears to his precious granddaughter. That made him a wretched scoundrel in Anders' eyes.

[Anders] "I knew something was off about the way he looked at her!"

Alexa sighed and tugged on her enraged grandfather's arm.

[Alexa] "Grandpa, please. Calm down."

[Alexa] "At least she came to us. Isn't that a good thing?"

[Anders] "Well... yes. You're right."

Dianna never relied on anyone. As the eldest daughter, she was accustomed only to caring for others.

Yet in her weakest moment, she had returned home. That alone was both heartbreaking and comforting. The fact that she still viewed them as family and turned to them in her darkest hour touched Ander's heart deeply.

The royal separation was a painful tragedy. Guiscard had publicly announced Dianna's deposition without offering a single explanation. Although the news was quickly buried by the horde of undead surrounding the borders, the stigma of her fall would haunt her relentlessly.

[Anders] "Dammit! I can't take this! Someone fetch the Mercenary King!"

[Alexa] "Are you planning to start a rebellion?"

Anders shouted, his temper flaring again. Just then, the door to Dianna's room swung open.

[Dianna] "Grandpa..."

[Anders] "Yes, my child..."

Dianna stared at him with hollow eyes. She looked a complete mess, her eyes swollen, nose red, and lips puffy from relentless crying. Alexa stifled a sudden urge to giggle at her usually pristine sister's disheveled state.

It was a grave situation. Her sister had been forced into queenhood, disgracefully deposed, and driven away. It should have been a tragic spectacle, yet as she sat there, Dianna looked like a heartbroken girl crying over a breakup.

[Dianna] "No rebellions. He's already dealing with enough complexity."

[Anders] "Unbelievable. Are you defending him in front of me?"

She sniffled and wiped her tears away.

[Dianna] "I just mean you shouldn't."

[Dianna] "Grandpa."

[Anders] "Hmm?"

[Dianna] "Could you do me a favor?"

As always, Dianna found it surprisingly easy to ask her grandfather for help.

[Anders] "Of course! Anything! Do you want me to start that rebellion after all?"

[Dianna] "No, not that... Please summon Revius. The Prime Minister... I need to meet him without Guiscard knowing."

[Anders] "Why him?"

Tarascus handed her a handkerchief, and Dianna blew her nose.

[Dianna] "Crying for days cleared my head a bit."

[Anders] "Huh?"

[Dianna] "I thought about everything calmly."

Alexa looked at her in disbelief.

[Alexa] "You sobbed like the world was ending, and you call that calm?"

Five days. Just five days after her arrival, Dianna prepared to act.

---

Revius marched toward the Gryphine Merchant Guild's armory with an irritated grimace.

Anders had offered a shipment of weapons, perhaps in retaliation for Dianna's deposition, but demanded that the Prime Minister inspect them in person. It was too vast a supply to ignore.

Grumblings aside, Revius arrived accompanied by the knights.

The moment they met, Anders spoke up.

[Anders] "Knights know weapons better than politicians, don't they? Let them inspect the supply while we speak in private."

I knew it.

Anders was Dianna's grandfather, so he obviously had something to say.

The merchant led Revius directly to a reception room, where someone was already waiting.

It was Dianna Brienne.

[Revius] "Have you not left Lodbrog? A sinner—"

As he opened his mouth to berate her, Dianna offered a faint, chilling smile.

[Dianna] "You are a terrible actor."

[Revius] "What..."

[Dianna] "Both you and Guiscard are dreadful at lying."

Wait.

As Revius turned to leave, a massive figure blocked the exit, cracking his knuckles. Fists the size of Revius' head filled his vision.

[Anders] "Ah, don't misunderstand. He's my bodyguard."

[Revius] "...If I am not mistaken, he is the Mercenary King."

[Anders] "We're acquaintances, so he handles security for my residence."

The sharp cracking of joints echoed through the room. Revius turned back to Dianna.

[Revius] "What is the meaning of this? Are you threatening me?"

She smiled serenely.

[Dianna] "Revius, you claim to respect me, yet you keep me at the furthest distance. You care for my well-being, but Guiscard always comes first. I know how you operate."

Revius muttered a faint curse under his breath.

[Dianna] "The only thing you trust isn't my heart, but my ability. You know I can be useful."

[Revius] "What nonsense—"

[Dianna] "It made no sense from the start. Guiscard would never banish me like this. He would never claim he was taking another woman."

[Revius] "Wait, Miss Dianna! Thinking like that, you must be insane—"

[Dianna] "Pull yourself together for Guiscard's sake!"

Her voice cracked, yet it carried a desperate, overwhelming authority.

[Dianna] "Should I pretend to leave Lodbrog, only to sneak right back in?"

Revius looked defeated.

[Revius] "Please... Miss Dianna. Can you not respect his wishes?"

Dianna shook her head.

Unable to withstand her pressure, Revius finally confessed the truth behind their clumsy charade: the hundred-day reprieve.

---

[Dianna] "This is actually better."

Having uncovered the truth, Dianna spoke with newfound clarity.

Actually better.

She was not referring to the impending crisis, but to her own banishment. The gloom lingering over her face vanished, replaced by a fierce spark.

[Dianna] "I was already contemplating leaving the palace anyway."

A strange sense of relief washed over Revius, and a sliver of hope dawned as he watched her.

[Revius] "What are you planning?"

[Dianna] "I must do what I can. For that foolish man."

A smile bloomed across her face.

Was a woman in love always this stunning?

The figure burdened by the world's despair was gone. In her place stood a woman glowing like a flower in full bloom.

[Dianna] "Just as he protects me, I will protect him. So, you will cooperate, won't you, Revius?"

[Revius] "Just kill me instead."

Revius was tasked with requesting reinforcements, which meant Dianna needed to accomplish something far greater.

She turned to Tarascus, who was playing with a toy beside her.

[Dianna] "We are going to meet the dragons."

[Taras] "What?"

[Revius] "Pardon?"

Revius gaped at her foolishly.

[Dianna] "Even a single dragon will do. We need their aid."

[Taras] "Didn't I tell you? Dragons never help humans."

[Dianna] "We have to try."

Revius shook his head at Dianna and let out a soft chuckle. Warmth filled his gaze as he looked at her.

Unburdened by hesitation, Dianna stood up. Thus began her journey across the world.

Tarascus had no choice but to follow.

How can a person become so bright out of love for another human?

Tarascus found her fascinating.

[Dianna] "You'll give me a ride, won't you, Tarascus?"

Tarascus nodded as if spellbound. He could hardly comprehend his own compliance, yet remaining by Dianna's side had taken precedence over Fafnir's demise.

---

With a dragon at her disposal, Dianna traveled faster than expected. Shielded by her elemental spirits, she survived the journey's hazards and reached the domain of the dragons.

She traveled beyond the ocean to uncharted continents, deep beneath the waves, across bone-chilling, snow-capped peaks, and through scorching deserts.

Dianna confronted dragon after dragon. The path was treacherous, pushing her to the brink of death multiple times.

[Dragon] "Foolish human woman. The dragons bound themselves by a sacred covenant. Dragons don't protect humans; we live only for ourselves. That is our pact. Don't force your demands upon us."

[Dianna] "Yet this destruction was wrought by a dragon. You must take responsibility as her kin."

Without Tarascus, Dianna would have perished time and again. Dragons awakened from their slumber were inherently volatile.

[Dragon] "Tarascus! Were it not for you, I would have torn this human limb from limb!

And listen well, human! We intervene only when one of our kind interferes in mortal affairs as a dragon. Fafnir is dead. She attacks humans not as a dragon, but as the monarch of monsters. It is beyond our concern!"

[Dianna] "I ask for no grand intervention. If that violates your covenant, then grant us counsel on how to proceed!"

She was relentless.

[Dianna] "Besides, why does no one question Tarascus? Has he not revealed himself and interfered in human affairs?"

When she exposed the contradiction, the dragon narrowed its eyes at Tarascus. Tarascus shook his head, prompting the Red Dragon to narrow its gaze further.

[Red Dragon] "Impudent creature. Yet I see why you earned Tarascus' protection. Seek Balaur, the White Dragon."

The dragons remained stubborn, unyielding in their refusal to intervene directly.

Dianna listened to Tarascus' explanation. In the beginning, dragons protected humanity. However, they didn't protect mankind as a whole, but rather specific individuals. Because of this, dragons fought and slaughtered one another. Some descended into the devils of mythology.

Ultimately, the dragons were the ones who suffered. Possessing immense power, they were exploited for their caring. To ensure they were never manipulated again, they established the covenant.

[Balaur] "Foolish human, your demands are unreasonable. Go seek Leviathan, the Water Dragon beneath the sea."

As dragons, they would never offer assistance. Loving a human and bearing offspring was permissible, so long as it didn't disrupt the mortal realm. Any act revealing their true draconic influence was strictly forbidden.

Being exploited had grown nauseating. Being betrayed always stoked fury. Letting go was eternally agonizing.

Never suffer again.

The dragons refused to act, refusing to be wounded anew.

Across the vast expanse of time, Dianna gazed upon the deep, unhealing scars of the dragon race.

---

A reader request. If you enjoy it, feel free to leave a rating or review on Naver Series and KakaoPage.