TSMMT Ch 8

The Witch and the Slave

[Dianna] "Brother!"

She threw her arms around her brother.

Am I dreaming? If so, this is definitely heaven.

[Emil] "What are you doing?!"

[Dianna] "Brother!"

[Emil] "Fine, whatever."

Even so, her brother, Emil, didn't push her away, pleased by his sister's rare affection.

[Emil] "I thought turning twelve meant you grew up, but you're exactly like Alexa."

[Dianna] "Twelve?"

[Emil] "Did you forget your own age? Dummy!"

[Dianna] "......."

[Emil] "You didn't forget our visit to the royal palace today, did you?"

[Dianna] "The royal palace?"

She frowned in confusion.

[Emil] "Oh great, you plan to disgrace the family the moment you turn twelve! Do you intend to greet His Majesty looking completely unprepared?"

[Dianna] "......."

[Emil] "Hurry up and get ready!"

His urgent voice shattered Dianna's illusion; this was no heaven. Her brother's sharp personality, her twelfth year, her first visit to the royal palace—everything matched her memories perfectly.

---

[King] "Welcome, Duke."

Memories of her own greeting remained blank. Yet, the calm reactions of the royal couple, her father, and Emil proved she committed no blunders.

The adults sipped their tea. A cup of fragrant milk tea sat before Dianna. She stood face-to-face with her distant past.

[King] "Ah, Lady Brienne. I hear today marks your twelfth birthday."

[Dianna] "Yes, Your Majesty."

[King] "Grow into the finest jewel of our kingdom."

[Dianna] "Thank you for your immense grace, Your Majesty."

[King] "I grant you a sapphire pin as a gift."

A sapphire pin? The repeating events triggered her suspicion.

Is this really heaven? Heaven wouldn't loop the past like this. Something is wrong with this place.

She focused on their conversation. Once the birthday wishes concluded, the adults returned to business.

[Duke] "Surely that witch can't cast a curse from beyond the grave?"

The King nodded at her father's words. Perhaps because he sat before a young child and his loyal ally, the Duke, deep worry lined the King's face.

Dianna blankly recalled the past.

[Duke] "It is only natural for such a wicked woman to face divine punishment."

This conversation sparked her memory. They discussed a woman's execution.

[King] "Yet her vulgarity and wickedness worry me."

[Dianna] "......."

[King] "People even call her a woman spawned from the swamps."

[Duke] "If she possessed the power to scatter curses, she would have unleashed them before facing the executioner."

[King] "True, but……."

Her father's firm tone soothed the monarch. The strong words put the King at ease.

[Queen] "Lady Brienne."

Dianna looked up at the sudden voice. The Queen, who had remained silent until now, wore a benevolent smile. Dianna recognized the hypocrisy instantly. The Queen disliked her.

[Queen] "What are your thoughts, My Lady?"

[Dianna] "Regarding what, Your Majesty?"

[Queen] "Do you believe curses exist in reality?"

Dianna narrowed her eyes. This gathering originally aimed to introduce her to the First Prince, Ferdinand. Her father wanted Dianna to become the Queen of Panborough. However, the Queen's hatred for her explained Ferdinand's absence today. The matchmaking arrangement had already failed.

She combed through her hazy twelve-year-old memories. Back then, she had stood frozen like a fool, unable to answer. But she was no longer that child; she had lived as the scapegoat Queen of the Lodbrog Kingdom. She knew exactly what fueled the Queen's question. The woman wanted to humiliate a child by weaponizing advanced vocabulary.

Dianna smiled brightly.

[Dianna] "I believe curses don't exist."

[Queen] "I am curious to hear your reasoning."

[Dianna] "Curses are merely the product of a guilty conscience. When someone commits an act that weighs on their mind and misfortune strikes by chance, they naturally blame a curse."

The adults exchanged glances at her response. Then, the King spoke.

[King] "Does that mean I am a weak monarch, worrying over things that don't exist?"

How did he distort my words into that?

She found the logic absurd but stared directly at the King. She knew his timid nature well.

Just as her father opened his mouth to intervene, she spoke up.

[Dianna] "Taking a life, even a criminal's, warrants hesitation. Your concern reflects a king's mercy and caution."

The King stared in surprise.

[King] "Mercy and caution……."

The King burst into a chuckle at her innocent words. The Queen knit her brows.

Dianna watched them. The Queen vented frustration on a twelve-year-old girl because she loathed the Brienne family's high status, while the King trembled with anxiety over executing a single woman.

To a real twelve-year-old, these rulers felt like the heavens, but now she saw through them. The fall of Panborough was inevitable.

---

[Duke] "Splendidly done."

Duke Brienne excelled at showing affection without words, having always showered Dianna with everything. He gave his own form of love, only to die a hollow death during that monster Guiscard's revenge.

Guiscard.

Dianna conjured his face.

Why did my beloved father bring Guiscard here as a slave?

He never even raised his voice at the servants. Why did he bring Guiscard into their home and allow such deep resentment to fester?

[Duke] "The weather is turning foul. I have more to discuss with His Majesty, so head back home first."

With those final words, Duke Brienne turned and vanished.

It had been an exhausting day. Dianna thought to herself as she boarded the carriage. Heavy gray clouds choked the sky.

Returned to my twelve-year-old self?

She repeated the unbelievable fact over and over.

[Emil] "What was that talk about curses? Where did you read that?"

[Dianna] "What do you mean, where?"

[Emil] "You were always the one terrified of curses. Claiming you'll die if you step on black marble four times in a row, or if someone writes your name in purple……."

[Dianna] "Those are superstitions, not curses."

They bickered back and forth.

[Emil] "I think curses exist. Our mother fell victim to one."

[Dianna] "What?"

[Emil] "I saw those foreign slave brats in the capital casting strange spells before their execution."

Slaves. Her gaze grew unfocused. Panborough practiced slavery. Living in the Lodbrog Kingdom had made her forget.

[Dianna] "That wasn't a curse. Brother, curses don't exist."

[Emil] "What?"

[Dianna] "Avoiding a curse is simple. Just don't mistreat the weak."

A witch's curse stemmed from tormenting a woman, and a slave's curse arose from forcing people into chains and abusing them. The nagging guilt born from oppressing the vulnerable—that was the true essence of a curse. Dianna understood that truth completely.

Rain pattered against the carriage exterior. The splashing sounds pulled her deep into her thoughts.

It happened more than twenty years ago. A special occasion—her very first visit to the royal palace—left only a vague memory behind.

Yet an unsettling sensation lingered, as if she had forgotten something important. Dianna forced the unease aside. Her primary task was preventing her father from bringing Guiscard home.

Guiscard would arrive soon. She had to stop the impending tragedy. She remained a twelve-year-old child who had lost her mother. How could she stop her father?

If only three years had passed…….

At fifteen, she held the authority to speak her mind at home. She clicked her tongue.

[Alexa] "Sister! What's taking you so long?!"

Alexa's sharp voice echoed. She surely threw a tantrum because her siblings left her behind to visit the palace. A world where Alexa lived—a miracle had occurred.

Dianna entered the room with a smile.

The young Dianna used to hate comforting Alexa. Because of Alexa's frail health, their father indulged her every whim, making her selfish. But now, none of that mattered. Knowing her sister was alive sufficed. A true ally sharing her blood—how desperately Dianna had craved this.

A sudden ache throbbed in her abdomen. Once, she had carried her own true ally for a brief moment. She fought to erase that memory from her mind.

[Alexa] "Did you have fun at the palace?"

[Dianna] "Not at all. Look, it's raining. Reading a book to you will be much more entertaining."

Alexa's anger vanished instantly. Dianna read to her. She used to consider this chore a nuisance, but now deep gratitude filled her.

Because of the rain, Alexa's cough grew worse. After giving medicine to her sister, lightning flashed across the sky. For some reason, her heart hammered. She should be celebrating this fortunate return to the past, yet an inexplicable tension turned her fingertips ice-cold.

[Servant] "His Grace has arrived."

Dianna rose from her seat. Her memories of this day remained hazy. Perhaps her past self had failed to answer the Queen, faced her father's scolding, and spent the entire day weeping alone in her room.

Clutching her skirt, Dianna walked downstairs. The sound of pouring rain echoed through the mansion. The front door slammed open with a heavy thud. The sudden blast of noise shattering the rainy quiet made her flinch instinctively.

The Duke entered, holding an umbrella. A bright smile graced his usually stern face. The unfamiliar sight made her heart pound harder.

[Duke] "Children, I brought you a gift."

The Duke gestured cheerfully, his voice bright.

At that exact moment, a flash of thunder illuminated the world. Dianna gasped, covering her mouth in shock at the sight before her.

The person entering with a leash around his neck was undeniably the man who had ruined her life. Looking more wretched than any ordinary slave, a boy with purple eyes entered the house as a dog—no, as a slave.

Dianna understood the truth. She had believed her first meeting with Guiscard occurred much later in the mansion; she never knew the exact date of his arrival.

Blood drained from her face. The god of fate mocked her openly. She hadn't simply returned to a random day in her twelfth year. Time had reset to the exact day she first met Guiscard.

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