TSMMT Ch 73

The Wedding

The sudden pressure of his lips was soft. A heavy scent of wood blended with a sharp, biting fragrance. Receiving the embrace, her mind went entirely blank.

Why are his lips so hot? Did he swallow a burning stone?

While she wondered about the intense heat, his face slowly moved away.

Only now did Dianna look directly at the man before her. In her past life, wrapped in humiliation and grief, she had never once properly looked at this executioner of her punishment.

Cloaked in a thick, dark-blue fur cape, the man resembled a hunter more than an arrogant, dignified king. Gold thread formed a wine pattern across the black doublet he wore underneath. He was captivating and remarkably handsome. Had this man not been the monster who dragged her life into the abyss, she might have taken great satisfaction in her groom's appearance.

Dianna studied the young man standing before her once more. Then, Guiscard gently stroked her cheek with a finger. A strange heat flowed directly from his touch. His violet eyes drew her in. She couldn't look away.

[Priest] "Therefore, the union of these two……"

The priest's words concluded. Applause should have followed, yet the crowd merely stared at Dianna and Guiscard. The onlookers hesitated, uncertain whether to celebrate.

Did Guiscard crown the daughter of a criminal out of sheer revenge?

Did he wish to flaunt the destruction of Panborough to the world?

Or did the King actually hold this woman in his heart?

The nobles remained completely ignorant.

---

White snowflakes drifted down, silently blanketing the earth. Her gaze searched for Philip among the crowd, yet the prince was nowhere to be found.

Was it merely an illusion?

Dianna stood frozen, staring blankly at the guests.

[Guiscard] "I have never heard of a bride turning her back on her husband during the wedding itself."

Confronted by his voice, she looked at him. Her features turned pale as she nodded.

[Guiscard] "What are you doing? Bring the cape immediately!"

Irritation marked his voice, prompting the maids to hurriedly drape a fox-fur cloak over her bare shoulders. Heated beforehand with hot stones, the fur cloak provided profound warmth. Tremors wracked her entire frame.

[Guiscard] "Follow me."

She nodded. Though officially husband and wife, no sweet affection existed between them.

[Dianna] "Follow you? But what about the banquet……?"

Did he intend to skip the celebration entirely? In any kingdom, a bride changes her attire after the ceremony and enters the hall to greet the guests.

[Guiscard] "Do you wish to attend?"

She opened her eyes wide at the question.

Did he not want to go to the banquet hall?

In the past life, Guiscard had locked her away in the bridal chamber immediately. Yet the King misunderstood her reaction.

[Guiscard] "If you have no desire to go, don't participate in such vanities. Follow me."

Once again, he spoke with formal deference, as if he were the polite servant—even though Dianna was the one reduced to a slave.

In the past life, Guiscard frequently adopted his old servant speech, usually to mock her. Yet this carried no trace of mockery. A reigning monarch still addressing the daughter of a defeated duke as "My Lady" was utterly ridiculous.

Lost in thought, Dianna stared at his retreating figure. The pathetic boy she once protected had vanished; only his broad back remained.

[Guiscard] "If that is not the case, then come along."

Not attending the banquet, where was he leading her?

Dianna feigned composure under the searching glances of passing nobles, tracking his steps closely.

The door swung open, and she opened her eyes wide at the figure inside. A young woman with pale blonde hair and blue eyes stood staring anxiously out the window. She recognized the silhouette instantly.

[Dianna] "Alexa?"

[Alexa] "Sister!"

Spinning around, Alexa dashed forward and threw her arms around Dianna. Weeping heavily, she mumbled incoherent words against her shoulder. Yet Dianna couldn't find joy in this reunion.

Why is he showing me my sister? Why now?

In her past life, Guiscard had used Alexa's safety as a weapon to threaten her.

Terrified, Dianna looked up to face the King, but he had already slipped out of the room.

[Alexa] "Sister, I missed you so much. After you left like that…… I……"

Dianna's hands shook violently.

Why did he bring Alexa here? Why? And how?

She had specifically begged her maternal grandfather to secure Alexa's safety.

[Dianna] "Is Granpa…… well?"

Noting the unnatural strain in Dianna's voice, Alexa pulled back. Flinching, she studied Dianna's features.

[Alexa] "Sister, did you not receive my letters?"

[Dianna] "What?"

[Alexa] "Granpa is perfectly healthy. He intends to settle down here in the Lodbrog Kingdom."

[Dianna] "……."

Come to think of it, she recalled faint mentions from the distant past that her grandfather traded goods from the Lodbrog Kingdom.

[Alexa] "Oh, sister, I missed you so much!"

Alexa clung to her sister, weeping continuously. The small, fragile girl Dianna remembered had grown into a remarkably healthy young woman. Yet putting the emotional reunion aside, her mind swirled with dark calculations.

Is this a threat, or an act of kindness?

---

Alexa explained that she would depart the following day. She had traveled here disguised not as a daughter of the House of Brienne, but as a member of the Gryphine Merchant Guild managed by their grandfather.

[Alexa] "Will you not contact Granpa?"

[Dianna] "No."

Dianna desperately wanted to see her grandfather. She held no illusions of asking him to help her escape; she craved the presence of family.

Yet if she established contact with her grandfather, what disasters might unfold?

What would happen if the public discovered that a member of the detestable House of Brienne—the family that enslaved and trapped the King—was Ander's granddaughter?

Her grandfather had already fulfilled his obligation by taking Alexa in. That was enough.

Summoned by Mable, Dianna rose from her seat. The reunion was brief, but knowing Alexa was safe sufficed.

[Alexa] "Sister!"

She turned around at the desperate cry.

[Alexa] "Sister, I am so sorry."

[Dianna] "……."

[Alexa] "I was young and foolish, leaving everything to you……"

Dianna offered a soft laugh and gestured a refusal. An older sister could shoulder that burden. Only a sister. Trapped inside the living hell in her past life, Dianna had loathed Alexa's bright innocence. Yet she felt fine now.

[Alexa] "I am so sorry for abandoning you to face it all alone. I want to help you now, sister."

An unexpected wave of emotion hit Dianna. Yet she wished to remain a strong elder sister Alexa could rely on. It was enough for Alexa to remember only a beautiful past, unlike the horrific timeline Dianna carried.

[Dianna] "We shall meet again."

Dianna exited the room with a smile. Mable guided her toward the bridal chamber. Due to the wedding banquet, Guiscard would undoubtedly arrive late into the night. The maids washed her with care and adorned her once more.

The chamber felt warm. The heavy bridal gown enveloping her body was gone, replaced by a sheer slip as thin as a dragonfly's wing. Dianna wore the garment with complete indifference. A blue silk robe hung loosely over the revealing attire.

Settling onto the bed, she lost herself in thought. Alexa's weeping echoed in her ears, and the fleeting silhouette of Philip flashed through her mind.

[Philip] "I am sorry, I am sorry…… Ann."

The memory of his sobbing voice as he embraced her remained vivid.

It must have been an illusion, a mere resemblance.

Philip had inherited the title of Count Kilcos from his maternal grandfather; there was absolutely no reason for a noble from a defeated foreign nation to attend this wedding.

The moon rose, and the window grew dark without a single lamp lit inside. Under the sudden wash of golden moonlight, Dianna concluded. Whether Guiscard brought Alexa here as a threat or out of kindness mattered nothing. To ensure these brief three years of marriage passed smoothly, she needed absolute submission. Keeping the King pacified was all that mattered.

Witnessing this behavior, her friends and Philip would surely grieve her broken spirit. Yet reality was brutal. Under the crushing weight of physical agony, human pride and dignity shattered far too easily.

Just then, the door swung open. Huddled like a frightened animal, Dianna raised her gaze.

The man entering the bridal chamber let out a low sigh, looking perfectly at home. The groom had also discarded the heavy ceremonial attire blanketing his frame. Clad in a loose white shirt, Guiscard stared at the woman sitting upon the bed.

[Guiscard] "I expected you to be weeping."

The words emerged like a soft sigh. In her past life, she certainly had wept, paralyzed by terror. Yet fear no longer gripped her now, for she knew exactly what transpired between a husband and wife on their wedding night.

[Dianna] "You didn't desire a weeping bride on your wedding night, after all."

She rose from the bed cautiously. His purple eyes locked onto her, tracking her every movement. His gaze traveled down her silk robe and the sheer slip visible underneath.

Is he judging me?

Evaluating how defencelessly her slender neck lay exposed, or how pale her legs appeared—a sight reserved strictly for a husband. Yet she believed she possessed absolutely no beauty. A withered, decaying tree; that was the reality of her physical form.

That must be why he shared a bed with Levian in the past.

She let the robe slide off her shoulders. Instantly, a sharp intake of breath shattered the silence.

[Guiscard] "What on earth are you doing……?"

[Dianna] "Is this not what a married couple must perform on their first night?"

She stepped closer to him. Though she had never undressed a man before, the task had to be executed. The impending reality brought absolutely no surprise to her.

The dark-haired King watched her struggle to unbutton his shirt. When her clumsy efforts stalled, her hands brushed against his flushed, heated skin.

Staring blankly at her touch, Guiscard muttered in a daze.

[Guiscard] "I…… possess no patience. It is only three years……"

The words escaped him with intense difficulty.

Three years? What does he mean?

The once tranquil air instantly turned scalding hot. Guiscard gripped her face and pressed his lips against hers once more.

---

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