TSMMT Ch 26

Mirva's Downfall

[Guiscard] "Are you alright, My Lady?"

Dianna widened her eyes, staring at Guiscard, who had just saved her.

Why did he save me?

Under the sunlight, his purple eyes gleamed translucent.

Guiscard extended a hand to Dianna. As if spellbound, she took his hand and stood up. Searing warmth radiated from his palm. Startled, she released her grip immediately and surveyed her surroundings. Duke Brienne watched Guiscard with a stunned expression.

Guiscard inspected Dianna. Mirva's fingers had snagged her collar, causing her to lose her balance, but she escaped injury.

Dianna examined her attire.

What a pity. I should have suffered some injuries. It would look far more dramatic if she had slapped my cheek or grabbed my hair at least once. How could he subdue her so quickly?

Guiscard furrowed his brows, as if reading her thoughts.

[Duke] "Lock her in the dungeon."

The Duke's command snapped Mirva back to reality. She began to plead her innocence.

[Mirva] "Get off me! It was all her! She did it! Your Grace! This wretched girl orchestrated everything! It was all a calculated plot!"

She shrieked in rage.

Dianna observed Duke Brienne. Fortunately, he showed no suspicion toward Dianna, but she still required a plausible explanation.

[Dianna] "Father. If I committed any fault, it was bringing her along to the tea party."

[Duke] "Bringing her? Why on earth!"

[Dianna] "She insisted that because I am still inexperienced and clumsy, I required her assistance."

To tame Dianna, Mirva had subjected her to an excessive education. Her excuse always remained the same: Dianna is too young, inexperienced, and clumsy.

Tears streamed down Dianna's face.

[Dianna] "Her Majesty the Queen kindly invited me…… and I didn't know what to do. However, several noblewomen expressed discomfort because Mirva relentlessly contacted them in private. Therefore, at some point, I began attending those gatherings entirely alone. She built her own intimacy with Duchess Poliana."

Duke Brienne ground his teeth at her words. What could a twelve-year-old child possibly know? He had already discovered through his own investigation that Mirva frantically attempted to meet other noblewomen. He had left Mirva alone, intending to reprimand her later, but she had committed such an atrocity!

[Dianna] "I wanted to inform you multiple times, Father, but I believed I held no right to restrict her social activities."

[Duke] "……."

[Dianna] "The theft of Mother's heirlooms follows the same pattern. My faithful slave informed me that her maid routinely entered my room. I tried to suppress my suspicions, but under these circumstances, I can conclude nothing else except that Mirva is the culprit."

[Duke] "……."

[Dianna] "Given the dire situation, I intended to confess everything to you today. Yet she blames me for everything! How shameless! Father, my heart aches so deeply!"

Dianna beat her chest in frustration and wept bitterly. With her face flushed crimson and her frame shaking with uncontrollable rage, her display appeared entirely genuine to anyone.

Witnessing his normally docile daughter burst into such a frenzy, Duke Brienne let out a dry chuckle. Then, he glanced at Guiscard standing beside Dianna.

[Duke] "It seems you have tamed that slave well."

[Dianna] "Pardon?"

[Duke] "He used to hold his neck so stiffly."

Wait, why bring up the slave right now?

She found her father's sudden focus on the slave baffling.

The Duke narrowed his eyes. Right then, Mirva shrieked.

[Mirva] "Your Grace! Please!"

[Duke] "……"

[Mirva] "Please! You can't treat me like this!"

Her pathetic, desperate cries merely drew an annoyed expression from the Duke.

[Duke] "I went to great lengths to request the King to bring you here, but not to grant you forgiveness."

[Mirva] "……"

[Duke] "I did it to investigate exactly how much wealth you embezzled. Seeing you reduced to this wretched state will loosen the tongues of the silent servants."

[Mirva] "……"

[Duke] "You possess less sense than a twelve-year-old child. Not only did you commit absolute stupidity, but you dare to raise your filthy hands to murder my daughter?"

Rage exploded in his eyes. Total terror gripped Mirva. Only now did she realize her true situation. Having reigned as the absolute ruler of the mansion for so long, she had failed to grasp reality until it was far too late.

[Mirva] "I—I was wrong! I was wrong!"

[Duke] "……"

[Mirva] "I was wrong, please!"

[Duke] "Shut your mouth!"

The knights dragged Mirva away.

Dianna watched her standing father rather than the departing Mirva.

Why does the phrase 'my daughter' cause my chest to ache so bitterly? Is he still my father despite everything?

She found no way to conceal her deep bitterness.

Regardless, the Duke had decided to discard Mirva. At twelve years old, Dianna successfully reclaimed her rightful place.

---

[Mirva] "You filthy slave!"

Because no servant wished to attend to the imprisoned Mirva, the duty naturally fell to Guiscard, the slave. Locked inside the dungeon, she spat on the ground and unleashed a furious tirade.

Guiscard pushed a bowl of water toward Mirva. She drank the water frantically, as the estate provided meals to prisoners only once a day. Just as he prepared to set down a bowl filled with stew—

[Guiscard] "Eat."

[Mirva] "Bring Dianna, that wretched girl, to me!"

He paused, then deliberately flipped the bowl, dumping the contents onto the stone floor. The liquid spilled across the ground, followed by chunks of meat and vegetables hitting the dirt.

[Mirva] "You!"

She shrieked in a frenzy.

[Mirva] "Are you trying to starve me right now?!"

He stood over the food, raised his foot, and crushed the largest chunk of meat to pieces. Unfiltered disgust marked his expression, looking as if he watched a loathsome insect squirming underfoot.

[Guiscard] "How strange."

[Mirva] "What?!"

[Guiscard] "Even as a prisoner, they provide you with such luxurious meals. Yet, why did you starve the young lady of this house so relentlessly?"

[Mirva] "Bring me a proper meal immediately! Do you want to face punishment again?!"

[Guiscard] "Like that time?"

He addressed her, whose eyes turned bloodshot as she screamed for food.

[Guiscard] "People like you are surprisingly fair. You punish both that young lady and me without distinction."

He continued to grind the scraps into the dirt with his boot, thoroughly ensuring she could never scavenge a single bite. She unleashed a roar of fury.

She had withheld meals from Dianna for approximately five days. The family members all shared different dining schedules. Initially, Dianna politely requested her meals, but Mirva ignored her completely. To make matters worse, she pointedly provided lavish meals to Guiscard right in front of Dianna. Even Guiscard recognized the act as deliberate malice.

Duke Brienne stayed away from the estate, and Emil cared nothing for whether his younger sister ate or starved. Alexa acted no differently. Rather than questioning why Dianna refused to play or why she lacked energy, Alexa prioritized her own physical pain and demands for attention.

It is baffling. How did she remain so unyielding?

The maids described Dianna's bright smiles toward Mirva as a sign that she had finally broken. Did she?

From the following day, Dianna refused to even enter the dining hall. She simply starved. She did nothing but starve.

[Mirva] "You are the freak here! A mere slave caring so intensely for his master!"

She mocked him with a sharp laugh.

Pushing aside his thoughts of the emaciated Dianna, Guiscard focused entirely on the woman before him.

[Mirva] "If you remembered Herya, you would never behave this way!"

His expression froze with icy rigidity at those words. Murderous intent bubbled within his purple eyes.

Should I twist her neck and end her life right now?

Mirva burst into loud laughter at his murderous expression.

[Mirva] "Do you know why that wench met such a fate?"

[Guiscard] "……"

[Mirva] "Because our magnificent Duke Brienne is pure trash."

[Guiscard] "……"

[Mirva] "The moment someone refuses to obey him, he treats them like garbage. He is sinister to a nearly adorable degree. Look at yourself, you suffer the same treatment right now."

[Guiscard] "……"

[Mirva] "And do you think the child of that trash will be any different? I know that girl. She views everyone as beneath her. The mercy she extends to you is nothing but a master condescendingly granting charity to an inferior creature."

[Guiscard] "……"

[Mirva] "You should be the one to kill her instead. You have no idea how deeply she looks down on people, do you? The only reason that brat destroyed me is that I am a ruined noble. She thinks I dared to covet her mother's position."

Mirva snickered. Her madness blinded her to the reality that Guiscard wore a magical collar, preventing him from committing murder. She simply desired Dianna's absolute ruin above all else.

The situation was transparent. Because her intentions lay bare, Guiscard turned his back and vanished into the shadows. Her cackles dissolved into a cold, furious shriek.

[Mirva] "You dog! Bring that food back here!"

She spat out a stream of curses. She reached down to salvage any scraps, but Guiscard had ground the meal so thoroughly into the dirt that nothing remained edible. Only the savory aroma of the stew mocked her empty stomach.

---

Hunger gnawed at her. Gnashing her teeth, Mirva slammed her fists against the iron bars.

Right then, soft footsteps echoed. The flickering torchlight illuminated the hem of a white skirt. Venom flared within Mirva's eyes.

[Mirva] "You dog! You absolute demon!"

True to expectations, she hurled venomous insults at Dianna.

[Mirva] "Guiscard! Guiscard, kill this wench!"

She screamed. However, Guiscard offered no response. It made perfect sense, as Dianna and Guiscard had traversed the same area but missed each other completely. Entering through separate passageways, they never crossed paths.

Dianna had overheard their conversation by pure chance. Most of Mirva's frantic words sounded muffled and slurred, yet the name 'Herya' reached her ears clearly.

It sounded familiar—a name that weighed strangely on her mind, yet her memory failed to grasp it. Dianna decided to demand an immediate answer.

[Dianna] "Who is Herya?"

Mirva spat through the bars.

As saliva splattered onto her skirt, Dianna bit her lip. Conducting a rational conversation remained completely out of the question.

[Mirva] "It was all your doing! Your doing! You cunning, demonic wench!"

She looked down coldly at Mirva.

[Dianna] "The term 'demonic' suits a creature like you perfectly."

[Mirva] "……"

[Dianna] "You openly conducted an affair with my father while my mother lay dying of illness."

[Mirva] "……"

[Dianna] "You, who dared to covet my mother's rightful place."

[Mirva] "Why should a merchant's filthy daughter become a noble, while I am banned from becoming your mother?! I held every right to that title!"

She shrieked.

[Mirva] "You ruined everything! You arbitrarily—"

Dianna stared down at her. Mirva looked up with a tear-stained face, her past splendor replaced by complete squalor. The memory of Mirva's genuine, horrific end in the past timeline flooded her mind.

She had encountered the banished Mirva right after assuming the crown as the Queen of the Lodbrog Kingdom. Guiscard understood the bitter history between her and Mirva perfectly.

Why did he bring Mirva to the palace back then?

It was because he desired to maximize Dianna's torment.

Yet he had failed to anticipate one crucial detail: survivors of a ruined nation shared an unbreakable emotional bond. Dianna placed more trust in Mirva than in any other lady-in-waiting, and Mirva managed to display a shred of humanity while staying by her side.

The disaster struck during Mirva's third year of serving Dianna as Queen.

Your Majesty, Your Majesty! No, My Lady, spare my life! Lady Dianna, please!

Imprisoned within the Lodbrog Kingdom, Mirva had begged frantically. Her crime was remarkably straightforward: she had conspired with the surviving remnants of Panborough. Mirva had actively plotted to smuggle Dianna—who once served as the Prince's fiancée—out of the country, desperate to liberate Dianna from that hellish existence.

[Mirva] "Let us escape, My Lady."

Why did she do it?

Was it because I desired to escape the Lodbrog Kingdom with absolute madness?

Was it because I perpetually yearned for my life in Panborough?

Even though Dianna flatly rejected her proposal to flee, Mirva recklessly pushed forward with the plan anyway.

The guards exposed the plot instantly, fracturing Dianna's already perilous position even further. The knights apprehended Mirva.

[Guiscard] "Look closely."

[Mirva] "Please!"

Guiscard forced Dianna to watch Mirva's execution without turning away. Perhaps due to a dull blade, she suffered an agonizingly prolonged death. Her dying moments were utterly horrific.

Beholding Mirva's severed corpse, Dianna wept tears of blood and wailed in profound despair.

It was because of me. She died because of me. I should have rejected her proposal with absolute certainty back then.

Dianna still vividly remembered Mirva's helpless, gasping struggles on the brink of death, and the chilling, amused gazes of the executioners who watched her as if slaughtering livestock.

Therefore, Dianna had always maintained a weakness for Mirva.

[Dianna] "I will speak with Father. I will ensure you leave this estate with your body fully intact."

Mirva's eyes widened in sheer shock.

[Dianna] "Never show your face in this house or before me ever again."

[Mirva] "……"

[Dianna] "And stay away from Emil as well."

[Mirva] "What?"

[Dianna] "Emil is your son, after all."

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