MTMT 40

Chapter 40

Honest Conversation

Diana cried for a long time. Giskar quietly watched her heaving shoulders. He had never seen Diana cry like this before. Her sobs, which seemed like they would subside, continued unabated. At that moment, Giskar perked up at a sound from outside.

“Please don’t cry.”

“…Waaahhh!”

Diana’s crying burst out uncontrollably, no different from Alexa in that regard. But while Alexa cried blaming others, Diana blamed herself. It was foolish. Then Giskar shouted again.

“Miss! I said don’t cry!”

“I, I… I was greedy for nothing…!”

“…”

“You… and I… are going to die…”

“Ah, I said don’t cry!”

Diana opened her eyes wide. Giskar seemed to think she had snapped out of it, so he yelled.

“Miss! Now is not the time to cry!”

“Shh!”

Diana covered Giskar’s mouth. Wait, who was silencing whom? Until just now, Giskar had been telling her to be quiet. Unaware—or perhaps fully aware—of Giskar’s frustration, Diana lowered her voice and secretly listened to the surrounding sounds.

[Where a-a-a-a-are you? Come o-o-o-out!]

It was the monster’s voice. Giskar looked at Diana, eyes wide. Did she know something? How could she sense the monster’s presence?

In reality, Silph had been keeping watch. As soon as she heard the warning, Diana regained her composure.

Diana stared straight at Giskar’s face. She realized that her hand was still on his mouth.

Too close. Giskar now looked more like a young man than a boy. Strangely, it didn’t feel uncomfortable. Perhaps facing imminent death numbed that sense of unease.

When the snake monster’s voice faded, Diana lowered her hand and averted her gaze. She felt incredibly embarrassed. Covering Giskar’s mouth, so close together… Giskar also placed his hand over hers, whether in discomfort or habit.

Diana shrank her shoulders and let out a small whimper. Her arm, bitten by Lepus, hurt. Giskar’s violet eyes shifted to her wrapped arm, where dark red blood flowed freely.

“Why… why didn’t you say it hurt?”

Giskar’s voice was low, but forceful.

“It’s okay. It’s just a bite.”

It was only a tooth mark. Diana forced a smile, and Giskar immediately tried to tear the fur cloak she was wearing. The thick cloak wouldn’t tear, so Diana lifted her skirt.

“Tear this.”

Seeing her undergarment, Giskar froze.

“Giskar, I don’t have the strength to tear it myself.”

Giskar squeezed his eyes shut and reached for her undergarment. Tear! The fabric ripped. Diana knew perfectly that the material was suitable for bandaging.

A bandage was wrapped around Diana’s arm. The cloth helped ease the pain, and she accepted Giskar’s touch.

“Thank you.”

When she gave a faint smile, Giskar said nothing. He looked outside the cave and then at the girl beside him.

“I thought you would refuse my hand.”

“Huh?”

“My hand… isn’t it a slave’s hand?”

“Because it’s a slave’s hand, you would refuse? Even in a situation like this?”

Diana asked, puzzled. She couldn’t understand Giskar’s intent. Slave? Refuse? When had she ever treated him that way? If anything, she had been too careful, earning Philip’s reproach.

“I never did that…?”

“Seems you are unaware.”

Diana’s expression showed shock at Giskar’s words. She may have been afraid at times, but never like that.

“Did I… did I ever despise or loathe you?”

“…”

“Really?”

Diana’s face showed so much incredulity that Giskar remained silent. Instead, he spoke in a low voice.

“Only… only my hand… when it touched you, did it cause that. Sometimes, seeing my face… you disliked it…”

Ah. It was fear that had caused the misunderstanding. How could she resolve this? Diana thought for a long time.

“The reason I did that was…”

“…”

Giskar stared at her. She closed her eyes tightly, unwilling to say it, even with a serious expression.

“Because you were a stranger.”

Huh? That answer was so unexpected that Giskar’s mouth let out a foolish sound. Diana continued, seriously.

“When Mirva brought you here, I don’t even know the filthy things said. That’s why.”

“…”

“Noble women shouldn’t be promiscuous. One must always keep proper limits. If dirty rumors spread, no marriage proposal would come.”

Giskar didn’t look fully convinced, but he gave a cold smile at the mention of marriage proposals.

“And I was unfamiliar with you… and scared. Since I don’t consider you a slave, that feeling is natural, isn’t it?”

“But…”

“Hm?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Giskar seemed deep in thought. Diana looked at him.

“Then… can you tell me now?”

“…”

“Why did you try to betray me?”

Giskar finally realized what he had said. Diana’s expression was calm as she spoke.

Betrayal.

Giskar admitted he had contemplated betrayal, that he should have doubted Emil…

“Now I understand why Emil betrayed me.”

Diana’s face remained neutral, but her voice seemed soaked with tears. She sighed, explaining how her brother had driven her to the brink of death.

“No wonder I thought something was wrong. Even though we were outside the forest, all Brienga’s knights followed Emil.”

“…”

“I don’t know what happened with the snake monsters, but the Lepus swarm seems like my brother’s doing. I heard a particular leaf scent attracts Lepus. It’s coming from this cloak. The cloak and the hat… my brother gave them to me.”

Giskar sniffed the fur cloak. A sharp fragrance hit him. His expression froze.

If they stayed like this, the Lepus might come again. Giskar threw Diana’s cloak far away. She tried to throw the red hat, but Diana stopped him.

“It seems Emil even betrayed you. My brother must have hated me so much he wished me dead.”

At Diana’s words, Giskar lowered his eyes. Seeing his embarrassed face, Diana asked:

“Did he offer you freedom?”

Giskar didn’t answer. Diana wasn’t angry; he simply avoided her gaze, closing his eyes.

“Yes.”

“…”

“I am sorry.”

“That’s not necessary.”

The girl who had cried uncontrollably earlier now accepted her slave’s betrayal surprisingly calmly.

“Why… are you so calm? Aren’t you angry?”

At Giskar’s voice, Diana opened her eyes wide.

“You said you wanted to be free?”

Giskar had a look of disbelief. At that moment, his expression seemed to crumble.

Diana didn’t care. She had already endured persistent betrayal in her past life. Feeling betrayed was almost impossible for her, yet she allowed herself to feel it.

The slave she saved had returned and slaughtered her family. Could there be a greater betrayal? This made sense. Knowing the truth of someone she had found inscrutable felt refreshing.

If she released him later, she would at least be pleased.

Should she tell him her plan now? But Diana’s plan relied on knowing the future. What if Giskar discovered that she knew the future? She remained silent.

“But, you considered betrayal, not acted on it.”

“…”

“I don’t want my master to die.”

Naturally. Diana nodded, and Giskar’s eyes shifted as if he had realized something.

“Indeed. If I had told you at the moment your brother made the proposal, it wouldn’t have been betrayal.”

“…”

“Even contemplating it was betrayal.”

Giskar finally understood, his face filled with guilt.

‘You didn’t have to think that far…’

Despite Diana’s words, his face remained pale.

“I am sorry.”

There was no real need to apologize. Diana simply tugged on Giskar’s cloak.

“Giskar, it’s cold without your cloak.”

He suddenly realized. Giskar took the cloak from his back and draped it over Diana. She leaned weakly on his shoulder. At that moment, Giskar flinched.

[Silph.]

Diana called to Silph, who had been watching. Silph flew over.

[Hang this on top of a tree. High enough that the snake monster can’t see it.]

Silph nodded and flew off with Diana’s hat, which had fallen below. Giskar was shocked watching the floating hat. Diana gave no explanation.

The first priority was the rescue request.

Diana was exhausted. She closed her eyes beside Giskar. Time in the small cave… she drifted into a light sleep.

A sweet rest before death. Diana briefly dreamed of Giskar in the past, the prince who became a hero after slaying the poison dragon. Remembering that figure, she jolted awake. Ah, yes, that’s how it should be.

Earlier, she had shown a pitiful side, but she didn’t intend to die like this.

“Giskar, let’s get out alive.”

“Do you have a plan?”

“Yes.” Diana smiled.

“We just have to kill that snake.”

Some things can’t be avoided. To survive, Diana had to face it head-on, just as Giskar had in his past life.