TSMMT Ch 21

The Resolution

Dianna returned to her bedchamber with a bloodless face, hovering on the brink of collapse. She sank into a chair with immense effort. Intense tremors racked her hands.

[Guiscard] "Did you see them?"

[Dianna] "What was your intention in revealing this to me, Guiscard?"

Guiscard himself failed to understand why he exposed the truth. Did he find it pathetic that Dianna masqueraded as a mature adult while remaining oblivious to an open secret known to every servant in the estate? Or did he simply want to force the cornered girl to confront her harsh reality?

[Dianna] "Why don't you answer?"

Her voice carried a sharp edge.

Guiscard realized he forgot a fundamental, pathetic human instinct: humans rarely direct their anger at the powerful oppressors who harm them; instead, they vent their fury onto the weak. Since he was her slave, his turn to endure her wrath had arrived.

[Dianna] "Speak."

He answered carelessly at her prompting.

[Guiscard] "I merely wanted to inform you because you remained completely oblivious."

[Dianna] "……."

[Guiscard] "Every servant in this estate knows exactly how that woman seized control of the mansion, yet you alone deluded yourself."

Deluded.

Guiscard could have softened his words, but he chose a harsh delivery. A person intent on venting anger would rage regardless of what he said. He expected Dianna to snap instantly. In truth, he desired to strip away the pretty mask covering the young girl's face.

I am completely twisted, so stop acting noble and scream. Show me your pathetic dark side. Stop pretending to be an adult when you are just a child.

[Dianna] "I see."

[Guiscard] "……."

[Dianna] "Thank you."

Once again, Dianna delivered an answer that defied his expectations entirely. Guiscard stared intently at her. The young girl showed no desire to vent her anger.

Why did she react this way? Why express gratitude? Even if she chose not to rage, his actions hardly warranted a thank you. Did this situation even justify gratitude?

[Dianna] "You are right. I remained utterly oblivious. I never would have suspected it without you."

She fell into deep, serious thought. Guiscard watched her in absolute astonishment.

---

As Duke Brienne rarely returned home due to pressing political affairs, Mirva's reign began. Backed by the Duke's explicit permission to manage the girl, she began to exert absolute control over Dianna.

To punish Dianna for her past defiance, Mirva picked apart and found fault with every single detail of Dianna's clothing and education. Although her tutors consistently praised Dianna's excellence, Mirva reported to the Duke that she still lacked proper skill, driving the Duke to enforce an even harsher educational regimen.

After all, Dianna had dared to challenge her, yet Dianna remained the most vulnerable person in the mansion. Mirva never forgot the sheer humiliation of being slapped in front of the servants. Consequently, she slashed Dianna's personal budget, and the maids neglected her needs entirely.

Taking advantage of the Duke's prolonged absence, she even withheld meals from Dianna, leaving the young lady near starvation within her own family estate.

No outsider would guess that the young lady of the realm's foremost ducal house suffered beneath Mirva's heel. She ruled the estate like a true mistress; a mere child like Dianna stood no chance against her.

Observing that Dianna remained completely silent even after starving for days, the maids quickly shifted their allegiance back to Mirva, obeying her every command. The newly appointed head maid did the same.

The household staff secretly pitied Dianna's wretched state. Yet, perplexingly, she began to flash bright smiles whenever she encountered Mirva. She maintained this cheerful demeanor even when Mirva provided cheap clothing, withheld meals, or stripped away her personal attendants.

Mirva revelled in absolute triumph, concluding that the young lady finally recognized who held the upper hand. She believed Dianna was completely broken and tamed. Convinced of her victory, she began granting Dianna small, trivial rewards.

A month later, Princess Ionia extended another invitation to Dianna. Mirva dressed Dianna flawlessly this time. After all, the Duke had raged over the pearl necklace incident, explicitly warning Mirva that he would show no mercy if a similar blunder occurred.

Even so, a bitter resentment festered within Mirva. She remained confined to managing the estate, while Dianna traveled to the royal palace by virtue of birthright. The high society circles she deeply craved to enter belonged exclusively to Dianna.

I need to become the Duchess.

No matter how much power Mirva wielded as the queen of this mansion, she amounted to absolutely nothing in the outside world. She forced down her bitter resentment with that resolution.

Upon returning from the royal palace, Dianna delivered astounding news.

[Dianna] "Princess Ionia wants me to become her official lady-in-waiting!"

The little girl announced her imminent departure from the confines of the estate.

---

Dianna watched Guiscard swing his sword. He possessed a natural genius for swordsmanship. Though he had yet to master advanced techniques, his striking power, raw speed, and visual reflexes stood out as exceptional. She locked her gaze onto the restraint around his neck.

Prompted by an occasional desire to liberate Guiscard, she searched her father's study for the key to unlock the collar, but came up empty-handed.

An opportunity will present itself eventually.

Guiscard unleashed a fierce shout, swinging his blade with terrifying precision. His current skill level defied belief for a mere three months of training. This innate brilliance explained how he would rapidly master the sword to slay the venomous dragon in the future, ultimately securing the throne of the Lodbrog Kingdom.

Dianna pondered the root cause of this timeline. Why did a prince of the Lodbrog Kingdom end up in Panborough? Why did the King of Panborough bestow this royal prince to Duke Brienne as a mere slave?

Whenever she broached the subject of his origin, Guiscard immediately shut down and retreated into absolute silence. Despite her knowledge of the future, she remained entirely ignorant of the underlying truths. Her father's illicit affair with Mirva fell into that exact category.

Right then, her gaze locked with Guiscard's. She expected him to resume his training, but he lowered his sword and walked directly toward her.

[Guiscard] "……"

He bowed before her.

[Guiscard] "What brings you all the way out here, My Lady?"

[Dianna] "I heard you were practicing your swordsmanship."

[Guiscard] "Yes."

[Dianna] "I will not be able to visit you very often from now on."

His expression hardened at her words.

[Dianna] "I will be entering the royal palace regularly. Once I secure the Queen's final approval, my appointment will begin immediately."

[Guiscard] "……."

[Dianna] "You understand my situation. My duties will multiply significantly."

[Guiscard] "Are you…… leaving this place?"

His question carried a hidden anxiety, as if asking if she intended to abandon him entirely.

Dianna smiled softly. Confinement within this estate offered her nothing but suffocating oppression.

She resolved to accept the harsh reality that her father was a profoundly disappointing human being. Despite the Duke's occasional warmth and kindness, an invisible wall had always separated them, rooted in his absolute selfishness.

Having lived her past life with rigid righteousness, Dianna never suspected her father of maintaining such a scandalous affair. The Duke was another foolish man eager to show off for the woman he shared his bed with, and Dianna was the casualty of his betrayal.

[Dianna] "So, please look after Alexa for me. Keep practicing your swordsmanship diligently."

[Guiscard] "……."

[Dianna] "I already taught you the alphabet, so memorize the letters perfectly. You must at least know how to write your own name properly."

Guiscard nodded. Dianna studied him with genuine concern. Anxiety gripped her at the thought of the servants abusing him in her absence. She aimed to protect everyone for the sake of the Brienne house, yet the household remained utterly blind to her intentions.

[Guiscard] "Does this mean you will no longer be my master, My Lady?"

[Dianna] "No, that is not it. I refuse to sit idly by any longer; I must take action."

He fell silent, searching her face as if longing to voice an unspoken thought. Yet she walked away without waiting for his response.

---

Everyone would assume Dianna sought an escape to the royal palace simply to avoid Mirva. In her past life, that assumption held. Socializing served as a desperate flight from her reality; her hard-won success in high society earned her father's rare approval while liberating her from the estate's domestic torments.

But at this exact moment, she refused to endure this abuse helplessly. Waiting until she turned fifteen was an agonizingly distant prospect.

[Dianna] "How laughable."

In her past life, the maids had fed Dianna scandalous reports. They accused Mirva of abusing staff and embezzling the Brienne family fortune. Worse still, rumors of Mirva hosting debauched orgies with the servants left Dianna feeling so thoroughly defiled she wished to scrub her own ears clean.

Acting as the estate's rightful mistress, Dianna exposed these crimes to her father, who delivered a swift judgment and banished Mirva from the mansion.

Yet, reviewing those memories now, the sequence of events felt entirely unnatural. Why did the maids who previously bowed to Mirva suddenly betray her? Why did every piece of evidence fall perfectly into her lap?

She finally understood the dark truth: Duke Brienne orchestrated the entire purge. Once his daughter reached a suitable age to manage the household, the Duke simply disposed of his wasteful mistress.

But Father, I refuse to wait that long.

Her eyes flashed with icy resolve. Previously, she believed her moral righteousness sufficed to banish Mirva. Dianna kept her head down, desperate to avoid bringing ruin to her family line. But exposing Mirva's crimes without suffering personal loss was completely impossible.

The moment Dianna witnessed her father's deep sin and endured days of forced starvation under Mirva's orders, she abandoned all loyalty to family morality. She stood ready to execute any cruelty necessary.

[Herald] "Her Majesty the Queen requests your presence."

Dianna stepped into the grand palace. The world of a twelve-year-old child had grown punishingly cruel, but she carried the soul of an adult—a queen who had survived the absolute lowest filth of the Lodbrog Kingdom floors.

She refused to break under such petty torment. After all, she had firmly resolved to live a completely different life.

---

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