TSMMT Ch 180

Resolve

Dianna locked eyes with Guiscard. Neither wanted to hate the other, nor did they wish to cast blame.

The truth. Only the truth mattered, and she needed to hear it directly from his lips.

She calmly spoke of her past. Just as Guiscard had once shared his own history.

He studied her face. Recounting one's tragic past so openly, and listening as the person who might have been the perpetrator… What must it feel like to know you wronged your beloved in another life?

Revealing her regression left Dianna slightly embarrassed, as if she were accusing him of being a monster. Yet Guiscard listened intently until the very end, even through the account of her suicide. Had he witnessed it in his dreams, the story likely would have differed very little.

[Dianna] "I lived so foolishly."

[Guiscard] "..."

[Dianna] "What you saw was real. I did love him, though I realized it far too late."

[Guiscard] "..."

[Dianna] "Still, the hatred ran deeper."

[Guiscard] "Did looking at my face bring you pain?"

[Dianna] "Immensely."

The Guiscard of her past life was the man she had deemed a monster. Dianna laid bare her emotions without losing her composure.

Guiscard’s expression clouded over.

It had been agonizing. Watching him grow had made looking at his face harder and harder.

[Dianna] "And yet, I loved him."

[Guiscard] "..."

[Dianna] "Honestly, I can't be certain what kind of emotion it was."

Did she wish to fulfill an unrequited love?

Or did she love him because he was a different man, despite sharing the same face?

She had no answer. But right now, she wanted to protect him.

[Dianna] "As I said before, the one thing I know for certain is that I love the you standing right here."

He had apologized, offering sincere penance. That was why she could love him now.

Guiscard offered no reply. He gently released her and rose to his feet. Before she could wonder what he was doing, he dropped to his knees before her.

[Dianna] "Guiscard!"

His sunken eyes, steeped in shadow, held a murky despair.

[Guiscard] "I don't know how to ask for your forgiveness."

[Dianna] "..."

[Guiscard] "Dianna. I won't hold you back."

[Dianna] "..."

[Guiscard] "I can't be selfish enough to tie you to me."

He bowed his head, his voice dripping with despair.

[Guiscard] "I really was a selfish bastard. A wretched, cruel monster."

Tears streamed down his face once more as he lifted his gaze. Before she could speak, he pressed on. He must have bitten his lip hard, for blood trickled from his mouth.

[Guiscard] "Why couldn't I see it? If I knew you remembered everything, I should have realized why you didn't kill me, why you allowed me to live."

[Dianna] "..."

[Guiscard] "Dianna. Dianna Brienne."

He drew a sharp breath.

[Guiscard] "In that dream, I saw you imprisoned. You were locked away."

[Dianna] "..."

[Guiscard] "When I decided to depose you as queen, I used that method..."

[Dianna] "..."

[Guiscard] "I chose the method that would hurt you most."

His expression turned grim.

Right before stripping her of the crown, she had felt a haunting sense of déjà vu. Guiscard had mirrored the memory from his dream, bringing her to the exact state she had been in before taking her own life...

She stared at him, her gaze hollow, before exhaling a soft breath.

Oddly enough, rage didn't rise within her. Instead, she felt only sorrow for Guiscard. Was it because she had failed to cherish herself? Should she be horrified that he had reenacted the cruel method from his dream?

Dianna shook her head. Her past had spilled over into reality, warping the present. He had acted to save her, to send her away before anyone else. He had resorted to desperate cruelty only to ensure she wouldn't return. It was not to harm her, but to keep her alive. So, it was all right.

[Guiscard] "I..."

[Dianna] "You've already apologized, so that is enough. Please, say no more."

[Guiscard] "..."

[Dianna] "Just... don't say anything."

She accepted his apology.

[Dianna] "The past life should remain in the past."

The memory of the previous life had invaded his mind, dragging his past self into the present. Had Guiscard weaponized those dreams purely to break her, she would have abandoned him without hesitation.

She rested his head upon her lap.

If I said I couldn't forgive you, you would leave immediately. You would let me go.

Now she understood his heart. She knew how agonizing it was to walk away from someone for their own sake, rather than remain by their side.

[Dianna] "So, let's never do this again."

Let us never abandon each other in the name of protection.

She gently stroked his hair.

Mistakes demanded reflection, and sins required repentance. But forgiveness was also a way forward.

Am I growing, then? Am I becoming a better person?

It seemed so. The moment she accepted his apology, the shadow of the past Guiscard flickered through her mind, the terrifying man she had once called a monster.

---

While Guiscard met with the nobles and knights inside the castle, Dianna walked out to the gallery. Positioned near the border, the architecture favored defense over beauty. Moss clung to the bleak gray stone, and the brickwork was pitted with scars.

Though it was a spring night, the breeze carried a crisp chill, and the stars gleamed brightly above.

A voice called her name.

[Voice] "Dianna."

She turned at the sound and gasped. A tall man, towering over her, strode forward. With striking features, silver hair, and silvery-blue eyes, he stopped directly in front of her.

Indeed, he was a man now. She stared with wide eyes at the figure before her.

[Dianna] "Tarascus?"

He gave a small nod. The child who had looked no older than five stood before her as a fully grown youth, his gaze fixed on her.

[Dianna] "How...?"

[Taras] "My power is returning. Besides..."

He smirked and shook his head.

[Taras] "No, forget it."

He left the sentence unfinished. Dianna studied his profile, sensing something distinctly altered.

The round tip of his nose had sharpened into masculine contours, and the soft cheeks had hollowed, defining the sharp jawline of a mature man. As she looked at this transformed being, she felt a sudden unfamiliarity.

Yet beneath that strangeness lay the quiet realization that this was his true form. Broad, solid shoulders framed an ethereal figure, with pale, almost translucent skin and long eyes etched with striking beauty. Every flutter of his lashes exuded an unearthly, distant presence.

And yet, what anchored her back to reality was his signature sullen expression and vacant stare.

[Dianna] "I didn't expect you to grow like this."

[Taras] "...Neither did I."

In his adult form, Tarascus appeared subtly more human, perhaps because he seemed slightly self-conscious. Yet she noticed an underlying strain. His complexion was somber, his lips downturned in quiet melancholy.

[Dianna] "You said your power returned. Are you unwell?"

[Taras] "Did your conversation go well?"

[Dianna] "Yes."

[Taras] "I am glad."

He must have observed my timeline.

[Taras] "You never cease to amaze me. I assumed you would agonize, torn between the two."

[Dianna] "Me?"

She looked at him.

[Dianna] "Perhaps you're right."

Her feelings remained tangled, and the turmoil had not entirely vanished.

[Dianna] "You seem so ignorant of the world at times, yet you understand human emotions all too well."

[Taras] "Because I have observed them endlessly. My mind is practically bursting with data on how humans think and react."

Was it because he was a deity? She wondered what it felt like to view countless lives through his eyes.

As she lost herself in thought, he spoke up.

[Taras] "You are strange indeed."

[Dianna] "Pardon?"

[Taras] "Nothing changed between us, even after learning I am a god. Adelheit fell to his knees immediately."

[Dianna] "You said yourself you were merely a creator."

The gods she knew were omniscient and omnipotent. Yet Tarascus was fragile, frequently wounded, and naive.

A faint smile touched his lips, perhaps at her response.

[Taras] "Dianna Brienne."

[Dianna] "..."

[Taras] "I am going to kill the man from your past life."

She gave a firm nod. She knew this was inevitable. Tarascus had descended to this world as the ultimate Arbiter. The moment she realized his true identity as a deity, everything fell into place.

[Taras] "I must take responsibility."

He had resolved to seal the rifts. His deepened voice lent gravity to his declaration, and he fully intended to carry it out.

[Dianna] "Is that even possible? You're weak, Tarascus."

His expression contorted slightly at her blunt remark.

[Taras] "I am still an extraordinary dragon!"

Her heart eased at those words. This was the dragon she knew.

He grumbled in annoyance before speaking again.

[Taras] "It is clear that he remains far stronger than I am in physical might and raw power."

[Dianna] "..."

[Taras] "Yet there is something only I can accomplish."

[Dianna] "..."

[Taras] "Because, as I said, I am an extraordinary dragon!"

[Dianna] "And... what is that?"

He locked eyes with her.

[Taras] "Will eliminating him make you happy?"

[Dianna] "...It will bring peace to Guiscard."

[Taras] "And will it make you happy as well?"

[Dianna] "Presumably, yes."

[Taras] "I see."

He offered a quiet chuckle.

[Taras] "There is one method to bring about his absolute destruction."

[Dianna] "..."

[Taras] "I told your regression happens for a reason, did I not?"

[Dianna] "..."

[Taras] "I require your assistance."

She stared directly into his eyes. As his lips moved, her eyes widened in shock.

[Dianna] "Ah, that..."

[Taras] "However, you may have to pay a steep price."

Her pupils trembled at his solemn warning.

Urgent shouts shattered the silence, and knights bolted down the corridor. In the distance, smoke billowed into the night sky.

She spotted a familiar face among the rushing knights and called out.

[Dianna] "Bill! What is happening?!"

Bill halted and turned toward her.

[Bill] "Another monster army is gathering!"

[Dianna] "..."

[Bill] "It looks like they're preparing an all-out assault!"

[Dianna] "..."

[Bill] "Your lovers' quarrel with His Majesty is finished, isn't it? Please seek safety immediately, My Lady!"

Bill delivered his warning and hurried back inside. Dianna watched his retreating back.

The threat still loomed. The monster had not given up. Countless lives hung in the balance, facing imminent slaughter. And the current Guiscard as well.

She met Tarascus' gaze and gave a firm nod. Some tasks had to be done, regardless of her desires.

She clenched her fists tight.

---

T/N: I know, I can hear you guys screaming about the cliffhanger in chapter 172. So I dropped 8 chapters at once to give you a little peace of mind.

20 chapters left until the finale. Stay tuned!