MTMT 27
Chapter 27
Fear
“Uh… how….”
Mirva looked at Diana in shock. In truth, it was just something Diana had thrown out impulsively. She had seen Mirva’s face reflected in Emil’s tear-streaked face, and telling the duke, “You shouldn’t do this to me,” felt strange.
It was just a sudden instinct. The way Emil held Mirva, and Mirva crying while looking at Emil—she wasn’t a child, but an adult, and she had enough sense to notice that.
“You… you! How did you know?! Did Emil tell you?! How did you know I gave birth to him?!”
Mirva yelled.
“I just tested it, and you answered like this.”
At Diana’s words, Mirva’s eyes widened. She ground her teeth in disbelief. She hadn’t noticed at all. The mother she remembered never neglected Emil. Either by some trick she considered him her own child or treated him as one. It had to be one of the two.
“You, you take after your mother, cunning little….”
Mirva gritted her teeth, realizing she had fallen for such a cheap trick.
“Did your mother know? That you had that kind of relationship with Father? That you were Emil’s mother?”
“Hah!”
Mirva laughed. She opened her eyes ominously and looked at Diana, as if she were thinking of someone other than Diana herself.
“You never even dreamed of it. That foolish thing!”
“…”
“He thought everything naturally belonged to him. Even my son!”
“…”
“My son, my man! He thought he was his own son!”
“…”
“That nobleman couldn’t have become a duke’s wife otherwise! He had an illegitimate child! He married under the condition of accepting that child! You are not a noble-born lady, but the child of a lowly merchant!”
“…If you were so lowly, Mirva, why didn’t you become the duchess?”
Diana gave a bitter laugh.
“I… I came first!”
She screamed, almost like a shriek. Diana wasn’t particularly surprised. Instead, she calmly pondered.
“Emil is your child, but why did he marry Mother? You were her maid since you were a child, right?”
“That’s…”
“You had a child with Father, but since he wouldn’t marry you, he married Mother instead, right?”
At those words, Mirva’s eyes widened. She still thought Diana was a child and hadn’t realized she could be so perceptive.
It was obvious. Father had been nearly bankrupt at the time. But with the union of a merchant who had purchased a title—Diana’s mother—he had revived his fortunes.
Was Mother and Father’s meeting a coincidence? Who was in the middle? The answer was clear.
“So, Mirva, everything was not because of me—it was because of your own choices.”
“…”
“You are the one who made your own life that way.”
“You little…!”
Mirva screamed. Diana, knowing the Mirva from her previous life, couldn’t be completely harsh. In their past lives, she and Mirva had shared years together.
They didn’t have a particularly good relationship, but as survivors of a fallen country, they leaned on each other.
Mirva’s past actions had only put Diana in minor trouble without disgracing her family, so even returning to the past, Diana hadn’t acted aggressively against her.
However, once she realized Mirva had betrayed her mother, Diana had to become sincere. And now, Mirva had fallen so far that she was screaming in front of her.
“Know this—Emil will forever be my beloved older brother.”
Diana stepped outside. She wanted to resolve the old ties. As she turned her back and walked, she noticed a figure leaning against the wall. It was Giskar.
“You didn’t leave?”
“I heard a presence.”
Giskar stared at Diana.
“Why did you enter here without anyone else?”
Diana laughed lightly, forgetting the situation. She saw the door to the surface.
“I don’t know. I came to trample on you, as you said. And yet… pitiful, and annoying, all at once.”
Trying not to recall the Mirva of her past life, Diana spoke carefully.
“I never want to meet that woman again.”
“…”
“I just want this bond to end, now.”
Giskar didn’t answer. Even if Diana had become his bride by fate, he wouldn’t have considered it. Diana stopped, letting the memory come, and looked back.
“Ah.”
“…”
“Giskar, who is Herya?”
Had Diana been more rational, she would have spoken the name later. After thinking and failing to recall, she, frustrated, asked about her just as she had asked Mirva.
“Where did you hear that name?”
“I overheard a conversation.”
“…”
“Who is Herya?”
The second time she asked, the air on her skin suddenly turned cold. Her heart dropped. Diana’s eyes widened as she saw Giskar transform.
He remained expressionless. No frown. He just stared at her. Yet her heart pounded as if she had encountered a wild beast.
She knew he was restrained and couldn’t harm his master’s family.
Yet for a moment… the darkness of the underground prison descended, and she felt as though she might vanish into it.
She imagined him snapping her neck with his powerful grip. His eyes, bright in the darkness, seemed to squeeze her throat with cold intensity.
I want to kill.
It felt like he was whispering it. The moment she saw the clear murder intent in his face, Diana imagined Giskar as a bloodied monster coming to claim her as his bride. That monster…
“I’m sorry…”
“Huh?”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I was wrong, Giskar!”
Diana looked at the monster with tear-filled eyes. Giskar’s eyes reflected confusion, but she didn’t notice.
“I’m sorry if I made you angry. I didn’t mean to. So…”
So… don’t take me. Diana squeezed her eyes shut and avoided the hand Giskar extended. She opened the door to the surface.
Her body was soaked with cold sweat. She ran without looking back.
She had almost died. Did she almost die? No matter—she had felt as though she would.
She entered the room, gasping. Honestly… a slave? Ridiculous. Diana closed her eyes and thought.
Diana was… afraid of Giskar.
I’m scared of him.
I can’t endure it.
I hate him, but I’m scared.
He was the destroyer and ruthless killer who controlled her fate. Just his stern look was enough to crush her.
Diana closed her eyes, trying to calm her trembling body.
Even after driving Mirva away, Diana didn’t quit her maid duties. Primarily, doing the work meant her pockets filled with money.
She needed her own personal wealth. Of course, she already had assets. Although Mirva had sold many of her mother’s heirlooms, the most valuable pieces remained in Diana’s hands.
Letting Mirva squander the heirlooms also served the purpose of giving Diana her own wealth. At twelve years old, she had just gained the power to control the mansion, but no money for other “purposes.”
Diana decided how she would release Giskar. For that, she needed a lot of money. She would have to visit guilds and find suitable people…
And, Diana sighed.
She had to find another master for Giskar. It seemed his skills had long surpassed his previous teacher.
Diana let out a small sigh.
Since then, she hadn’t seen Giskar. She intentionally avoided him. Standing before him made her feel exposed. She tried to stay composed but kept becoming emotional.
Giskar seemed to want to speak to her. Previously, he had stared at her intently whenever they crossed paths.
Was he going to ask if she would abandon him?
Even after wanting to kill her at one point… Diana pushed that thought aside as she saw Ionia rushing forward.
“Ann!”
“Yes?”
“Look at this. Isn’t it pretty?”
Princess Ionia held out a round ball. Of course, the round shape was cute—but it had the face of a monster with glowing red eyes and a wide-open mouth. That was the problem.
“Isn’t that… a monster?”
“Not at all! This is a manapet! How could you not know something so cute!”
What kind of wizard with nothing to do made a pet with mana? Strange tastes indeed.
“Prince Philip will surely like it.”
Will Philip like it… Diana sighed. The royal palace was abuzz with preparations for Prince Philip’s birthday party.
Philip was turning sixteen. Though the first queen was still alive, making Ferdinand the de facto crown prince, rival noble houses tried to promote Philip.
That was likely the reason for Philip’s potential death. Luckily, he survived until his sixteenth birthday.
“Ann, what will you prepare as a birthday gift for Prince Philip?”
“Yes?”
“Will it be bigger than what you gave me for my birthday?”
Diana smiled awkwardly. Unlikely. Any gift she gave would only be on the scale of what Father had arranged.
She felt pity for Philip. Without a mother, and with the border-count Carcos (her mother’s family) unlikely to visit due to border duties, he had little support.
“I don’t have that kind of money.”
Yet Diana still thought about the gift list. She had given Ferdinand the birthday gift her father had prepared.
But she wanted to give Philip something special.
As Ionia’s maid, she met Philip often. He always watched over Diana and occasionally gave her candy.
Candy given with pure goodwill. Enough to fill a glass jar, meaning his goodwill was abundant.
At that time, Diana didn’t realize that she would end up giving Philip an even grander gift than what she had given Princess Ionia.
