TSMMT Ch 20

Disappointment

[Mother] "Ann."

A mat covered the garden grass. Dianna worried.

Is it acceptable for a noble to lie down in the garden like this?

Even as a young child, she knew that gossip surrounded her mother’s background.

A wealthy merchant’s daughter who bought a title. Even though she held noble status and purchasing a title broke no laws, the label 'merchant's daughter' relentlessly followed her mother.

In truth, her mother often said that labels like merchant or noble mattered very little. Dianna agreed.

[Mother] "Under that sky, we are all equal. Everyone possesses great worth."

Her father taught noble pride, while her mother taught that everyone deserved respect.

[Mother] "Ann, isn't it beautiful?"

Her mother smiled happily, stroking Dianna's hair.

[Dianna] "Mother, if you love stargazing so much, why did you name me Dianna? It means the moon."

Her mother chuckled at those words.

[Mother] "It shines the largest in that sky."

[Dianna] "......"

[Mother] "And it looks the most magnificent among them all."

The reason was incredibly simple. Her mother smoothed Dianna's hair.

[Mother] "My cute little rabbit."

[Dianna] "I told you not to call me that. I am an adult now."

[Mother] "......"

[Dianna] "I will grow up quickly to help you. I will even nurse Alexa in your place."

Perhaps the moonlight reflected in them, for her mother’s silver-gray eyes gleamed with unusual brightness.

[Mother] "You don't need to do anything."

[Dianna] "......"

[Mother] "Ann, your mother is right here. You must not try to become an adult so soon."

Her mother wrapped her arms tightly around Dianna's waist and kissed her forehead.

The soft touch tickled, making Dianna burst into giggles. She, too, once enjoyed a time under someone's protection.

[Mother] "If you ever find yourself alone in the future, Ann...... you must find an adult who will protect you."

[Dianna] "Someone to protect me?"

[Mother] "That person is......"

She whispered a grand secret.

After that day, an illness confined her mother to bed, preventing her from ever stargazing again. Dianna wept so intensely that she completely forgot those words, which felt like a final legacy.

---

Crying her heart out brought a sense of relief. Dianna sat on the bench, while Guiscard stood before her. He remained silent. She had no way of knowing whether he pitied her or found her pathetic.

It didn't matter. She preferred his pity, for it would prevent this man from becoming cruel.

[Dianna] "I showed you an unsightly side of myself."

She looked up at the sky again. It remained as clear as it was back then. Her mother's warmth, her caressing touch, her absolute love—she missed everything deeply. Yet, she wiped away her tears.

I wish I had awoken in the past when Mother was still alive. Even if I had to force her, I would have taken her to watch the stars.

The thought was useless. She bit her lip.

I am no longer the baby rabbit Mother loved. I must protect this place. I will not despair; this is happiness.

Back in the Lodbrog Kingdom, she had missed Panborough and the Brienne Estate with absolute longing.

[Dianna] "I am genuinely happy right now. In truth, expecting everything to be perfect is simply greedy."

She gave a bitter smile.

[Guiscard] "Happiness?"

He asked, a rare occurrence. He knitted his brows as if hearing an utterly bizarre statement. At that moment, she realized she had merely whined about her comfortable life in front of him.

[Dianna] "Yes. I am happy right now. If we faced misfortune, we would never share a peaceful moment stargazing like this."

In the Lodbrog Kingdom, stargazing together leisurely remained completely impossible. Guiscard suffered, and Dianna thrived. That was the reality.

She murmured to herself, not intending for Guiscard to understand. Because of this, they were not holding a casual conversation. Thus, his hand twitched, unnoticed by Dianna.

She wept like a child, yet gathered her emotions like an adult. Due to this stark contrast, the boy didn't know what to do.

[Dianna] "Guiscard."

[Guiscard] "......"

[Dianna] "Thank you for finding me."

[Guiscard] "......"

[Dianna] "If I ever vanish from the estate, I will definitely be right here."

Her face flushed red like a rabbit's, and Guiscard nodded. Watching Dianna attempt to stand up again, he suddenly hardened his expression as if making a firm decision.

[Guiscard] "My Lady."

[Dianna] "Yes?"

[Guiscard] "You will not be able to drive Lady Mirva away easily."

[Dianna] "What?"

She had never mentioned Mirva to Guiscard. Yet, he clearly understood the situation.

It was the same in my past life. But why...... why did he bring Mirva to the Lodbrog royal palace back then?

Her next thoughts shattered and vanished at his following words.

I want to know the truth. I must know the truth.

---

Dianna hurried her steps. The Duke's bedroom lay on the floor above her own room. As she stepped into the hallway, a knight blocked her path.

[Knight] "You can't enter."

[Dianna] "Pardon?"

[Knight] "His Grace ordered that no one enter today."

[Dianna] "Why? Did something happen?"

[Knight] "He stated that he wishes to rest alone."

A shred of pity lingered in the knight's eyes. Recognizing that sign, Dianna inhaled sharply.

In her past life, her father also stationed knights at the entrance of the hallway rather than right outside his bedroom door.

I used to think a high threat of assassination caused this, but now I know otherwise. If assassination were a major threat, he would station knights right in front of his bedroom door.

[Dianna] "I understand. Then, may I at least retrieve a book from my father's study?"

He pointed to the study located on the same floor. Since the study sat far away from the bedroom, the knight nodded.

Entering the study, she caught her breath. She knew the secret passage leading to her father's room. During the war with Lodbrog in her past life, her father and brother had revealed this passage to her before fleeing to their estate. In truth, it barely qualified as a secret passage.

Flipping a switch and pushing the bookshelf exposed the tunnel. This path connected directly to her father's bedroom. Since the door remained shut, she wouldn't run into her father.

I know I shouldn't do this.

Yet, after hearing Guiscard's words, she resolved to check.

Dianna stepped inside the passage. After crawling for a short distance, a sweet, nasal moan echoed through the space. For a moment, she considered turning back. Yet, as if possessed, she pressed forward.

Why did Guiscard reveal this to me?

She bit her lip. Her hands trembled violently. Listening intently right in front of the bedroom door, she covered her mouth.

[Mirva] "Ah, Your Grace!"

A breathless voice echoed again—unmistakably Mirva's. "Your Grace" definitely referred to her father.

Ludicrously, despite being in her father's bedroom, Dianna doubted and doubted the reality.

Father's voice is absent. That wicked woman must have brought someone else inside. Father is away right now...…

Yet, as a man's voice responded, Dianna had to accept that it belonged to her father.

[Guiscard] "You will not be able to drive Lady Mirva away easily."

[Dianna] "What?"

[Guiscard] "Because she is the Duke's mistress."

[Dianna] "......"

[Guiscard] "I heard that the two couple every single day."

Why did he tell me this? Out of pity?

She initially rejected the thought. However, a cold smile traced Guiscard's lips as he spoke.

[Guiscard] "They must be fully engrossed in each other today as well."

She couldn't tell if his words carried a deep sneer. So she came to verify it.

Hearing her father couple with another woman—especially one she despised—inflicted pure torment. She wanted to stand up and flee immediately, but her feet remained frozen. In truth, she forgot her circumstances and what she needed to do.

Low murmurs drifted through the door as the acts concluded.

[Mirva] "Did you scold the young lady severely?"

[Duke] "......Moderately."

[Mirva] "Oh, Your Grace, you are far too strict with her. It has barely been any time since she lost her mother."

[Duke] "I know she tries hard. But she is too impatient."

[Mirva] "......"

[Duke] "If she lets things take their course, everything will naturally become hers when she turns fifteen. Why must she cause such trouble? She never used to behave this way."

[Mirva] "I will handle the young lady myself."

[Duke] "Very well, do as you wish."

Dianna listened to their voices helplessly. They conversed exactly like a married couple.

Right. This is Father's private life. He promised never to take a new wife, but he never said he would abstain from other women.

[Mirva] "Your Grace, could the young lady have found out?"

Dianna lifted her chin. Did they discover me?

[Duke] "Found out what?"

[Mirva] "That we love each other."

Dianna bit her lip until it bled. Then, her father's amused voice drifted out.

[Duke] "That child has no idea."

[Mirva] "I worry. In truth, I still worry about it."

[Duke] "......"

[Mirva] "What if she behaves this way toward me because she knows?"

[Duke] "What could she possibly know?"

[Mirva] "That we were already in love when we first arrived at this estate."

[Mirva] "......"

[Mirva] "You are her father, but I am merely a lady-in-waiting. Would she ever leave a woman who deceived her mother alone?"

Dianna clenched her fists, trembling. Rage slowly mounted, clearing her mind. Resentment toward Father, rage toward Mirva—everything blurred.

Mother did nothing wrong. Many nobles take a second wife, yet everyone claimed Father only had eyes for Mother. Was it all a lie?

A young Dianna would have confronted them immediately. But the present Dianna knew exactly how to conceal her wrath.

She gave a bitter smile. The world experienced by a twelve-year-old child differed vastly from the world of a Dianna who died after living more than twenty years.

Guiscard's words proved absolutely correct. Mirva was definitely not an opponent she could simply drive away. Her father harbored a deep attachment to this lady-in-waiting. Unlike his feelings for her mother!

It is fine.

Dianna continuously repeated the words to herself. Sorrow for her poor mother and utter disappointment in her father filled her heart. The paradise she envisioned while rotting away in the Lodbrog Kingdom shattered into a total illusion.

[Mirva] "You promised not to interfere with the young lady."

[Duke] "Yes."

[Mirva] "Just wait. I will make her a well-behaved girl again so she can't cause any more trouble."

Her coquettish words carried a strange, lingering weight.

---

Requested by one of our lovely readers, I hope you enjoy it. If you do, please consider supporting the author on Naver Series and Kakaopage.