TSMMT Ch 189

The Love of Cowards

Was Guiscard the only guilty one? No, everyone besides himself shared the blame. Those wretched souls who had mocked Dianna deserved to die just as much.

Yet he didn't swing his blade. First, he had to eliminate the other Guiscard.

Besides, slaughtering every noble single-handedly would consume too much time. He knew this well, as he had already bathed the kingdom in blood once before.

What if Dianna took her own life again before he finished?

So, he surrendered his body to Fafnir, the master of monsters. Fafnir harbored a searing hatred toward humanity following Herya's death. Her power stemmed from the dead, and she turned every fallen soul into an undead thrall under her domain.

Though Fafnir raged that she had been returned to the union of Dianna and Guiscard rather than the moment before her daughter's death, she nevertheless gathered a horde of monsters to erase the kingdoms of Lodbrog and Panborough once more.

The blood of a million victims soaked the earth. Fafnir absorbed that tragic essence and mutated into something far more monstrous.

In turn, Guiscard became a horrifying entity himself.

None of it mattered to him. Absolutely nothing mattered. What did anything else signify if he could bring Dianna back to life?

He dispatched swarms of gargoyles to lay siege to the capital. He reasoned that once the royal palace collapsed, she could break free. It was then that he saw Dianna Brienne.

Why are you fighting in the capital? Ah, those despicable nobles pushed you to the brink of death once again.

Yet Dianna fought with surprising prowess. Why was she so different now? Fafnir explained that it was the power of the spirits, a heightened spiritual affinity gained because Dianna had crossed over from death itself.

Come to think of it, so much had diverged from the past he knew.

Panborough, destined for total annihilation, bled minimally, and its fallen prince was still alive. Dianna Brienne commanded elemental spirits. Furthermore, word spread that Dianna was the one who had liberated Guiscard from his days as a slave, personally securing his freedom as a reward for rescuing the King of Panborough.

[Fafnir] "Dianna Brienne possesses memories of her past life."

Ah, so that's it.

The Dianna he remembered had been resurrected. Naturally, Guiscard couldn't bring himself to appear before her. If he approached her recklessly, what would he do if sheer revulsion drove her to take her own life again?

Instead, he decided to offer her a gift, granting her the vengeance she deserved. How deeply she must have loathed that woman after losing her child. Yes, that would be ideal.

With that resolve, Guiscard made his agonizingly slow approach toward Saruvia Levian.

He couldn't tolerate the existence of this timeline's Guiscard. Unwilling to forgive the living souls of Lodbrog, he transformed into a walking calamity. He lived solely for Dianna, obsessed with her survival above all else.

Dianna stood frozen in shock as the full tragedy of his obsessive devotion washed over her. The silvery-blue aura wrapping around her hummed softly. She knew this marked the absolute end of his memory.

How could a life like this exist?

How could anyone live such a cursed existence?

Just for my sake?

To save my single life?

Why?

Dianna shrieked in agony.

This man had turned into a bloodthirsty slaughterer who laid waste to a whole kingdom, all for the love she had foolishly abandoned.

Dianna knew what she had to do.

She resolved to return to the past once more. She knew precisely which moment she had to reach.

---

[Guiscard] "Ah... ah... it's... so... hard, A-Ann..."

Human speech felt foreign on his tongue after so long. Yet around the bed where she slept, vibrant flowers bloomed, bathed in a sacred halo of golden sunlight.

Adorned with delicate blossoms as if arranged by a gentle hand, the room rested in quiet warmth. There, the sharp contours of Guiscard's face softened into gentleness.

Only one person remained to be killed.

How should I do it?

As he pondered, he sensed a presence nearby. He raised his blade with a flicker of hope, only to freeze in astonishment. The woman resting among the flowers was slowly opening her eyes, a living miracle.

She awoke at last, bathed in golden sunlight. Her slate-gray eyes fixed on him.

Guiscard watched speechless as the miraculous vision unfolded before him. Surrounded by breathtaking flowers, Ann, Dianna Brienne, opened her eyes once more.

[Guiscard] "Ah... there's still... one person left..."

He felt painfully ragged. He should have at least washed his face before facing Dianna. Drenched in dried blood, he appeared no different from a wild beast. The ruthless killer lowered his head in bashful shame, looking like a timid young boy.

[Guiscard] "Uh... ah... n-no..."

He shook his head frantically. But when Dianna offered him a bright, gentle smile, he froze as if spellbound, his uncontrollable trembling coming to a halt.

[Dianna] "Guiscard."

Clearly, one sacrifice was still missing. Something was wrong. Surely... and yet, Dianna had awakened, offering him the very smile he had craved so desperately, a smile he had never truly seen since their marriage.

She was radiant.

[Guiscard] "Ah... ugh... w-wa..."

Tears welled in the killer's eyes and streamed hot down his blood-stained cheeks.

The past to which Dianna could return was this exact moment. She couldn't leap further back, nor was there any future worse than this one.

[Dianna] "You have suffered far too much."

She stepped toward Guiscard. He stumbled back a few paces before yielding completely, sinking into her embrace. The ruthless killer, drenched in stale blood, the very calamity that had plunged the world into ruin, wept like a helpless child in his lover's arms.

He had slaughtered countless lives to behold this single smile. In doing so, his mind had fractured into madness, bringing everything to ruin.

[Dianna] "I won't blame you for everything."

She lowered her gaze.

She wouldn't glorify his actions as a heartbreaking romance. She had witnessed every soul he slaughtered, seen the full scope of his violence, and knew his atrocious deeds were beyond forgiveness.

[Dianna] "Even so, I owe you an apology."

Not everyone in this world makes the right choices. Every living soul stumbles through life making mistakes. Yet Dianna chose to seek forgiveness from the one she had wronged.

[Dianna] "I'm... so sorry."

[Guiscard] "..."

[Dianna] "I chose how our story ended, all on my own... I..."

She whispered into the quiet.

[Dianna] "Without even trying to speak with you, I recklessly chose death, stripping away any future we might have had."

Her surroundings had been ruthless, trapping her in a living hell. She had dragged herself through life in helpless despair, never asking for help and never crying out in pain.

Believing their bond was broken beyond repair, she had chosen death to escape the humiliation of losing her title as queen.

She had abandoned her own future. Without a single word, she had placed a final period on her life.

This was what Dianna Brienne needed to apologize for. She had surrendered her life far too hastily, choosing death to shield herself from further pain.

They could have talked. Clinging to her remaining pride, she had refused to bend even once.

[Guiscard] "Why... why are you apologizing?"

[Dianna] "..."

[Guiscard] "You have nothing to apologize for. I am the one at fault."

Perhaps owing to their reunion, Guiscard's stuttering vanished. Thus, the man and woman separated by death reunited beyond its boundary.

[Guiscard] "I brought you here selfishly, just to possess you."

[Dianna] "..."

[Guiscard] "I showed no consideration for your proud spirit. You were so fragile, yet I should have protected you..."

[Dianna] "..."

[Guiscard] "I should have at least told you that I loved you."

The killer confessed his heart, an emotion deeply selfish and twisted, yet purely blind in its devotion.

[Guiscard] "I just... wanted you before my eyes."

[Dianna] "..."

[Guiscard] "I wanted you to smile by my side, just like you used to."

Tears trickled down Dianna's cheeks.

Ah... how bitterly ironic.

Ultimately, all both of them had ever desired was a smile on each other's faces. Their hearts had longed for the exact same thing all along.

What a foolish love story.

What a sinful love.

Just to utter these words, she had died, Guiscard had slaughtered countless lives, and he had crossed into another timeline only to claim death once again. All because two cowards failed to take a single step forward, caught in a tragic misunderstanding.

[Dianna] "Guiscard, look at me."

[Guiscard] "..."

[Dianna] "I am alive and well. I am no longer as fragile as before. I know how to say I'm hurt, and I know how to ask to be loved."

[Guiscard] "..."

[Dianna] "I will never die again."

Guiscard met her gaze through blurred vision. Whether by Tarascus' power or fate itself, the moment their eyes met, memories of the second life Dianna had lived flooded his mind.

The world that unfolded after her regression: Dianna freeing Guiscard, Guiscard putting an end to his cruelty toward her, his confession of love, liberating her from a forced marriage, the two of them opening their hearts, loving each other truthfully, smiling and holding hands despite every hurdle, leaning on each other's warmth while sharing their painful pasts.

In that second life, they were living happily.

A soft, natural smile graced his face as he witnessed that alternate reality. As tears fell from his eyes, he mumbled softly.

[Guiscard] "Ah... ah..."

[Dianna] "..."

[Guiscard] "Ah... I could have lived like that, too."

[Dianna] "..."

[Guiscard] "I could have lived... so much less foolishly."

Tears dripped continuously from his eyes. As his paralyzed sanity slowly returned, he confronted the reality of his actions.

He sobbed uncontrollably for a long moment. Then, as he looked down at Dianna cradled in his arms, he smiled. He knew what must be done.

[Guiscard] "There's... one person left."

His smile felt bittersweet.

Guiscard stepped back from Dianna and plunged his sword straight into his own chest. Blood spattered, soaking the floor.

With the blade embedded, he collapsed to his knees.

[Dianna] "Guiscard!"

As he watched the woman kneeling beside him in frantic worry, Guiscard offered a tranquil smile.

To complete the grand magic, only one sacrifice remained. Guiscard offered himself.