TSMMT Ch 43

A Chance Encounter (2)

How sweet and beautiful she looks.

Dianna stared at the young lady's face. The pale face shone brightly, and the pink hair resembled candy. Even the jade eyes enhanced her beauty. Saruvia exuded a vibrant life, a stark contrast to Dianna, who looked like a faded doll.

[Dianna] "……."

When she remained silent, Lady Levian tilted her head. She couldn't move her mouth. A single mistake would let a stream of insults pour out against the lady.

She focused solely on suppressing her intense hatred, forcing herself to look calm. That task alone proved overwhelming.

Ah, I want to strangle that thing. I want to stab her with a knife.

Her lips trembled, but she forced a smile and spoke.

[Dianna] "Forgive me. This is my first time meeting someone from the Lodbrog Kingdom, so I was taken aback."

[Saruvia] "Oh, please don't be."

[Dianna] "It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Levian. I am the eldest daughter of the Brienne House, Dianna Brienne."

[Saruvia] "I am Saruvia Levian, the eldest daughter of Levian House of Lodbrog."

Speaking the name 'Brienne' in front of Levian was painful for Dianna. In her past life, Saruvia had fiercely mocked the Brienne House, calling it an enemy family that dared to enslave a king, a family destined for ruin. Uttering the family name brought absolute shame.

As she gripped her skirt and bowed, Saruvia smiled brightly.

[Saruvia] "Forgive my sudden visit, Lady Brienne. My cousin married Count Joudrel next door. I came to see the festival on my way home from celebrating their wedding."

[Dianna] "I see."

[Saruvia] "I heard the festival of Panborough is wonderful. I begged Count Joudrel and Duke Brienne because I wanted to see it so badly, and I am glad they accepted my childish request."

[Dianna] "……."

[Saruvia] "You welcome me as well, do you not, Lady Brienne?"

Mentioning Duke Brienne's permission was a clear demand for a welcome. Dianna nodded.

[Dianna] "Of course."

[Saruvia] "Oh, how wonderful! We are both legitimate daughters of ducal houses. I wanted to meet someone my age so much! It is a pleasure."

Dianna forced a smile as Saruvia spoke affectionately. Remaining in Saruvia's presence was torture. Saruvia spoke again.

[Saruvia] "You must be my companion while I am here. Promise me?"

[Dianna] "Of course."

Ah, Dianna, you should refuse right now.

Yet, she couldn't voice a refusal. She was pathetic. Unconsciously, she tried to please the lady. Nodding was all she could manage. At that moment, Saruvia's gaze shifted to Guiscard standing behind Dianna.

Wait. Does this woman know his face? What if she recognizes him?

Dianna instinctively stepped into Saruvia's line of sight to hide Guiscard. She refused to let Saruvia see him. She hated everything about their meeting.

[Dianna] "Welcome to the Brienne Duchy. I hope you enjoy your stay before you depart, Lady Levian."

She forced the corners of her mouth upward. Her cheeks twitched with tension.

---

[Dianna] "Urgh, blegh!"

Returning to her room, Dianna retched, vomiting everything in her stomach. A sickening nausea consumed her. Guiscard patted her back to comfort her, but the gesture irritated her.

[Dianna] "Don't touch me."

Though she wanted to scream at him to get away, she spoke as softly as possible. This was the limit of her courtesy.

Dianna detested Guiscard, who stood behind her. The hatred was unbearable. Even though she knew the boy was entirely innocent, she couldn't separate him from her past.

Why, why did you do that?

Why did you drive me mad?

Why did you name me your wife only to ruin me?

Why did you father a child with that woman who killed my baby?

Why did you try to turn me into a whore later?

Guiscard Lodbrog!

She struggled to suppress the thoughts tearing through her mind. Madness threatened to consume her. She alone knew this truth.

Is the memory of my past life just a dream? Am I losing my mind?

Yet the physical phantom pain in her abdomen and the fury of that day returned with absolute clarity.

Ah, aaaah!

[Guiscard] "I will summon a doctor."

His calm demeanor fueled her rage.

[Dianna] "No! Just... get out."

[Guiscard] "……."

[Dianna] "I want you to leave. Now."

Still, she held onto her last shred of reason. She had to remember that those events belonged to a past life, and this slave was a pitiful victim. Therefore, she suppressed her words over and over. She wanted to blame him, to curse him, but she couldn't.

Guiscard studied her face with a strange expression, then nodded.

After he left, Dianna retched several more times.

Pain flared in her abdomen. The agonizing loss of the child she had carried for a brief moment, the helplessness she felt for failing to protect it, the rage toward those who ruined her, and the despair of living through that hell—it all broke loose.

[Dianna] "Ah, aaaah!"

She cried out continuously. Tears streamed down her flushed face. Her body shook with rage.

[Dianna] "Sylph, Sylph!"

She screamed. Responding to her fury, Sylph appeared.

[Sylph] "What is it?"

[Dianna] "Kill that woman! Kill that girl!"

Sylph looked confused by her sharp words. Dianna shouted like a madwoman.

[Dianna] "I told you to kill her! End her life right now!"

Sylph's expression turned frantic.

I want to kill her. I want to crush that gorgeous, innocent face under my feet.

I want to tear that bitch to pieces—the one who destroyed my family under the guise of justice and murdered my baby.

I hate her carefree, smiling face. I loathe it.

[Sylph] "Why, why are you acting like this?"

[Dianna] "Kill her! Please, kill her!"

Yet she knew the truth. Spirits couldn't kill humans. Unlike their effect on monsters, a low-ranking spirit's wind was a mere breeze to a human. Furthermore, even if she commanded it to kill someone, the spirit lacked the intelligence to identify a specific target. A spirit was not human.

Precisely because she knew this, she could vent her murderous desires safely. She knew the current Levian was innocent. She knew it all too well! That was why she didn't seek revenge against Guiscard either.

She remembered her past life. Simply because her family committed crimes, she had been crushed worse than a dog. She had survived hell.

The wounded me definitely exists, yet these people have committed no crimes in this timeline. Where should this hatred go? Where on earth should my heart turn?

I know, I know. I know I shouldn't hate her because she is innocent, but the hatred remains. I understand that Guiscard's revenge was justified, but I still detest him to the point of madness!

Dianna wept and sobbed for a long time. She was utterly isolated. Living with memories from a different time and world, she remained trapped in isolation and agony.

---

Guiscard was locked in a room. For a long time, his presence went ignored, and no summons came. Thick dust covered the dirty room, and cold bit through the space. He expected abandonment this time. His prediction proved true. The awakened Dianna surely realized what he had almost done.

A similar shock struck him. When the slave brand marked his skin, he found the reality disgusting. He believed little changed beyond the mark itself. Yet the moment reality hit him, showing him what it meant to be a slave, he wept.

His condition as a branded animal horrified him, forcing screams from his throat multiple times. Dianna surely experienced the same shock now. His master finally understood the horror of his near-betrayal.

Locked inside the storeroom, Guiscard pondered alone over and over.

It is strange. Why does relief wash over me? Why does her breakdown bring me peace?

He visualized Dianna's face repeatedly.

She, who always stayed calm, suffers because of me. Because of me. That must be it. Yes, that is right.

He let out a hollow laugh, facing his own wicked nature. This emotion resembled the cruelty of the people who enslaved him. It was the mindset of a beast. He chuckled at his own absurdity.

Have I turned into a monster just like them?

He accepted that he deserved abandonment. Yet, Dianna Brienne didn't cast him out. Although his room was miserable and colder than his previous quarters, the clothes she provided kept him warm, and meals arrived on time. Waiting for a master who refused to summon him, he thought of Dianna endlessly.

What will happen now? Has she abandoned me forever? Will she curse me, claiming the kindness she showed a slave returned as poison?

Guiscard pulled his knees to his chest.

He previously considered Dianna foolish, but he was the ultimate fool. Refusing Emil's offer brought no real solution.

I wavered. She was the only person who fought for me. Why did I make such a foolish choice, swept away by a passing emotion? Looking back, that choice brought sheer joy.

His mind raced.

He dwelled on Dianna—a girl more mysterious than anyone else, warm yet distant, fragile yet unyielding. He longed for her like a boy in love, driven by desperate urgency.

So, Dianna Brienne. Please find me soon.

He visualized her face over and over. The boy dedicated every passing thought passionately to his master.

---

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