TSMMT Ch 178

Playing at Love

What does it mean?

Dianna shook her head in disbelief.

[Taras] "Dianna. You don't know the state of the world after your death."

[Dianna] "..."

[Taras] "What do you think happened once you died? What sort of catastrophe do you think the dragon's malevolent vitality wrought?"

[Dianna] "Even if I died, the world would have remained unchanged."

She shook her head, clinging to her conviction.

Her demise couldn't have altered anything. Levian would have married Guiscard and borne a lovely child.

Had she not always believed that? Had she not always believed her body had been thrown to wild beasts like a criminal's corpse?

[Dianna] "Are you saying he grew weak because I died?"

[Taras] "..."

[Dianna] "That makes no sense. I couldn't possibly be the reason."

Yet the present Guiscard's words resurfaced in her mind. He had insisted that his former self must have loved her.

[Dianna] "It's true. He never even looked at someone like me. I was nothing to him, as light as a feather in his life."

Tarascus remained silent, observing her with an unreadable expression. Was it pity? Compassion? Or sheer contempt?

Dianna desperately rejected the possibility. The bastard was not such a man. He had come here for one reason alone: to pursue her. Yes, that had to be it. Furious that she had died just to spite him, he had chased her into this life.

She knew her logic was absurd, yet she had to cling to it to stay sane.

An indescribable anguish surged within her. The staggering truths were impossible to digest.

Why? Wasn't death supposed to be the end?

Why? It was just a world like any other.

Why must he appear before me in such a foolish, hideous state?

This is wrong. This... this isn't right.

[Dianna] "I don't believe it."

She shook her head, yet her sobs broke through. For a long time, the two men quietly watched her weep.

No words of comfort could soothe her heart. She had barely escaped a miserable existence, only for the man to return and shatter her fate once more.

Fear, sorrow, and disgust tormented her, yet beneath it all lay a lingering, painful pity.

After hours of weeping, her tears finally dried. She sniffled and steadily regained her composure before raising her head.

[Dianna] "Tarascus, you mean he has to be killed, don't you?"

[Taras] "..."

[Dianna] "No, there's no need to ask. You're right. He is a calamity here."

Guiscard's reappearance alone was horrific, but the reality that he must now be killed nauseated her. She clamped a hand over her mouth as a tide of horrors rushed in. For a brief moment, she wanted to hurl herself from the window.

It felt as though the world was strangling her.

So it was my fault. I was the cause. Choosing death brought about all of this.

She crumbled under the weight of the realization. This was the ultimate price for forfeiting so much so easily.

---

Rain fell from the heavens, yet the triumphant victory songs drowned out the downpour. Joyous music echoed everywhere.

As Dianna walked through the celebration, she felt as though she moved through death itself, drifting like a specter toward the lord's castle where the King of Lodbrog resided.

At the entrance, Inez recognized her and hesitated.

[Dianna] "I wish to see His Majesty."

[Inez] "Well..."

[Dianna] "Is that not allowed?"

As Inez stammered, Bill interjected.

[Bill] "Please come in."

Inez started to object, but Bill shook his head.

What is this? Was there an order forbidding my entry?

She followed Bill into the castle. The two were hardly on friendly terms. Ever since she had overheard him mocking her appearance, their relationship had been hostile. Yet surprisingly, he greeted her first.

[Bill] "Your Majesty... rather, My Lady, I owe you my life."

Embarrassment washed over Dianna at his greeting. Bill noticed her reaction and offered a solemn look.

[Bill] "I also apologize for my past foolishness."

[Dianna] "..."

[Bill] "It still weighs heavily on my conscience that I wounded you."

Dianna hesitated before nodding. She lacked the energy to harbor hatred, nor did she wish to treat the man who had granted her entry with hostility.

Bill took her silence as acceptance, his expression brightening slightly.

As they walked toward the king's chambers, he spoke in a surprisingly friendly tone.

[Bill] "One of those undead... it was definitely me."

[Dianna] "..."

[Bill] "To be honest, it's unsettling. Why was a dead version of myself standing among them?"

Why is he asking me about that?

She glanced at him. He didn't seem to be probing.

[Bill] "Truthfully, I saw myself back at Levian's residence when you were held captive. That was when it started creeping me out. And now, I've seen myself again here."

He let out a heavy sigh.

[Bill] "My apologies. I am rambling endlessly."

Who could maintain composure after witnessing his own corpse moving among the enemy, especially if it belonged to a life in another world?

The eerie reality struck Dianna anew.

[Bill] "My Lady, did the dragon say anything about it?"

She locked eyes with him. Naturally, this was terrifying for him. It must have been the same for Guiscard.

After a moment's hesitation, she spoke truthfully.

[Dianna] "He said it was your deceased self from another world."

[Bill] "Dammit, I knew it."

He grumbled under his breath.

[Dianna] "Still... it will be resolved somehow."

[Bill] "You're right. After all, we emerged victorious."

Could this be called a victory?

Unlike her tangled thoughts, Bill smiled brightly.

[Bill] "We have His Majesty, who is undefeated. We have you, and you have us. Everything will work out."

[Dianna] "..."

[Bill] "If you are carrying too heavy a burden, My Lady, let us share it with you. So..."

[Dianna] "..."

[Bill] "Please take good care of His Majesty. He has been rather prickly lately."

He bowed politely. She offered a faint, awkward expression.

In her past life, her relationship with Bill had been far from pleasant. Though she had not known his name then, he was one of the hostile knights who used to insult her within earshot.

That version of him had died and become undead, yet the living Bill before her now reflected on his sins, apologized, expressed gratitude, and even entrusted his king to her care.

Dianna gave a quiet smile instead of a response and stepped into the room.

---

Guiscard lay asleep on the bed, looking just as he had when half his body was reduced to ash.

What kind of dream is he having this time?

Dianna gazed at him with a worried expression. As she watched his sleeping face, her mind drifted absently to the past Guiscard, not the man before her, but their eerie reunion in her previous life.

He had certainly been far from normal then. Though not undead, he had looked more like a ghost than a living man. Long, tangled hair, prominent cheekbones, hollow eyes... The faltering voice as he looked at her, his slurred speech... Everything about him had been unsettlingly foreign.

Was their triumph truly a victory? The moment she aimed a blade at her own neck, he had swiftly withdrawn the undead knights and monsters.

What would he do now? How would he act next?

She let out a quiet sigh.

At that moment, Guiscard opened his eyes. As their gazes met, he stared at her coldly. His icy look matched his demeanor from before their separation.

Bill had mentioned Guiscard being prickly lately, and in truth, they had not properly spoken since parting ways. Technically, they were still estranged.

[Dianna] "Guiscard, stop pretending."

[Guiscard] "..."

[Dianna] "Glare at me all you want. I'm not leaving."

Guiscard rose from the bed. Before Dianna could register the strange glint in his eyes, he seized her hand and pulled her onto the mattress beneath him.

As she winced in pain, his lips pressed against hers in a sudden, feverish kiss. Gasping for air, she yielded to his touch. His wet lips parted, his tongue ravenously plundering her mouth.

Her tense body relaxed, welcoming his intense embrace. He glared down at her with burning eyes, trailing deep marks along her neck and shoulder before pulling back.

She understood the intent behind his suffocating kiss and the hand roaming her waist, and she caught his shoulders.

[Dianna] "Guiscard, wait."

[Guiscard] "Why?"

He wiped the moisture from his lips with a strangely intoxicating demeanor. He noticed her gaze locked on his face, and a cold sneer curved his mouth.

[Guiscard] "You like this face, don't you?"

[Dianna] "..."

For a moment, the truth of his words struck her speechless. As she opened her mouth to speak, his thumb brushed over her lips.

[Guiscard] "Dianna Brienne."

[Dianna] "..."

[Guiscard] "Dianna Brienne."

[Dianna] "..."

[Guiscard] "Eldest daughter of Duke Brienne of fallen Panborough... and my prisoner."

[Dianna] "Guiscard, what are you..."

[Guiscard] "For a proud lady like you to wear a restraining collar like a dog's leash and enter a marriage without taking your own life... there could only be one reason."

He gently stroked her lips and spoke again.

[Guiscard] "Did you enjoy it, then?"

He chuckled, but it was the bitter laugh of a man whose world had shattered.

[Guiscard] "Dianna Brienne. My damned lady."

[Dianna] "..."

[Guiscard] "I know because I loved you. Because I loved you so frantically, I know."

[Dianna] "..."

[Guiscard] "You loved him."

[Dianna] "..."

[Guiscard] "Not me. Him."

Miserable tears spilled from his violet eyes.

[Guiscard] "Did it make you happy... dragging me into your damned game of love with that bastard?"

---

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