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Chapter 104
Dogfight
Something was definitely wrong. Or maybe her eyes were deceiving her. Or maybe everything she had believed until now had been wrong. Mirva might be like a mad dog, but Mabel wasn’t supposed to be like that. She was always the one who worked quietly with a stern, stiff face.
But then again, what are people? People have light and shadow. Diana didn’t know everything about them. Yes, maybe Mabel was like that all along. You can’t truly know someone just from a glance. Besides, the Kingdom of Lodbrok itself was a nation with warrior blood flowing through its veins. Perhaps Mabel too…
“Please, come to your senses!”
Diana flinched. One of the gathered maids had shouted while looking at the two fighting. Startled out of her attempt to escape reality, Diana forced a calm expression and said,
“Wouldn’t it be better to stop now?”
After indulging in denial for so long, Diana still managed to imitate a gentle but angry tone of voice. The moment she spoke, the air in the room froze.
“Her Majesty the Queen is here. Please, stop.”
Unexpectedly, Mirva was the first to regain her senses. She broke into wails.
“Oh, my ladyyyy!”
Diana wanted to run away. She didn’t want to be dragged into this. But Mirva, hair disheveled like a wild beast, fell to her knees right before Diana and wailed.
“I truly can’t bear this misery anymore. I can’t work here.”
“What’s going on?”
“She—she…!”
“That woman dared to deceive Her Majesty the Queen!”
Mirva’s eyes gleamed fiercely as she pointed at Mabel.
“What do you mean?”
“I heard Her Majesty had been weakened by the cold air.”
Diana nodded. Lately, the heating had often failed at night, so she had developed a light cough. Even this morning, she had coughed a little. Mabel’s face was strained as though she couldn’t bear it.
“It’s all her doing! That venomous woman is behind everything!”
Mabel pointed back at Mirva. Each was blaming the other. It felt like she was an adult caught between bickering children. Mirva shouted, her face full of unjust grievance.
“No matter if I am from another country, how could I be falsely accused like this! I already explained—it wasn’t deliberate that the fire wasn’t lit!”
“We only refrained because my lady dislikes the heat.”
“What a shameless excuse!”
Mirva’s performance was so convincing that Diana almost wanted to applaud.
“Who would ever toy with the health of the one they serve?”
Mabel’s voice carried frustration. Diana briefly wondered if her coughing was really such a big deal. Of course, she knew that a noblewoman’s health was a serious matter to the servants attending her.
So this is what they get angry over…
She suddenly felt sorry for Mabel.
“You clearly told us not to light the fire!”
“No, I didn’t!”
The moment one maid shouted, Mirva immediately denied it. Complaints against Mirva spilled from the maids’ lips. Diana, meanwhile, noticed Lady Kragel standing off to the side, arms crossed, lost in thought.
Lady Kragel had clearly decided not to get involved in this matter, while Lady Revian was watching Diana with a testing expression.
Turning her back on Mirva and the maids, Diana bent slightly toward Mabel and said,
“Mabel.”
“……”
“You must be tired. It would be good to take a break.”
She said no more. But it was clear whose side she had taken. The maids’ eyes instantly changed. Even this foreign queen only cared about her own people.
Mabel studied Diana’s face carefully before lowering her eyes.
“…Understood.”
She accepted her mistress’s betrayal without a word. As if the dogfight had never happened, she stood and left. Yet Diana could almost swear she heard laughter behind her back.
*
From that day on, Diana lost the maids’ favor. Their friendly attitude turned hostile in an instant. No one mocked her openly as in her previous life—not yet—but the maids no longer praised her.
A few days later, Diana received a visit from Ribus. After the greetings, he said,
“I’m curious—what were you thinking?”
“What do you mean?”
Diana frowned. Unlike Giscarr, who hadn’t questioned her, Ribus seemed full of curiosity.
“I know now you’re not the sort to do something foolish. Nor are you the type to treat mere maids with disdain.”
His rare serious expression made Diana stare at him. Why was this man acting as if he believed in her?
“Even His Majesty didn’t reproach me, so why does the Chancellor?”
At that, Ribus looked incredulous. It was true. The incident had been reported to Giscarr, but he hadn’t said a word. Probably because he didn’t care…
“Ha! That guy—no, His Majesty—he likes whatever you do. You could probably get drunk and shout ‘Long live Panborough!’ in front of the nobles, and he’d still like it! But this is supposed to be your period of reflection!”
Period of reflection… Diana recalled Giscarr, quietly eating and then leaving without a word. Was that his way of repenting for what he’d said? She hadn’t tried to continue conversations with him.
“Period of reflection…”
“You committed a wrong, so you must reflect.”
“……”
“When I heard he had spouted that nonsense to you, I and those Vargati bastards… no, never mind, I won’t say more.”
She suddenly recalled Giscarr breaking a fork at dinner with a grim look, but quickly forced the thought away. Ribus and Giscarr had always been comrades, allowed even to speak near-treasonous words.
Again, Ribus said seriously,
“Your Majesty, you are deliberately damaging your own reputation.”
“……”
“If you were foolish, I’d understand. But you’re far too clever for this to make sense.”
Diana tilted her head.
“And you, Ribus—why did you let the palace run in such shambles all this time?”
Back when honorary positions were being removed, Diana had wondered. Surely Ribus had noticed. He looked exasperated.
“Because it wasn’t my responsibility.”
“…Pardon?”
“If a mere commoner official had overturned everything, I would’ve been vilified. I thought you would be more conservative than I am. I never imagined someone willing to bear the scorn would step forward.”
Then, narrowing his eyes as though realizing something, Ribus grinned slyly.
“Ah! So you had something you wanted to achieve, even if it meant taking the blame.”
“……”
“Of course. That must be it. That’s why you’re my queen.”
Who’s your queen?! Diana was genuinely angry. That face of his, as though he felt a kinship with her, made her want to flee. Still, seeing his willingness to treat her favorably, she realized what she had to do.
“So, will you help me?”
At her words, Ribus’s face lit up brightly. She felt a pang of rejection, but there was no choice. Ribus was a powerful ally, no matter what.
*
Diana fell back into the pattern of her previous life. She avoided going out, lived in seclusion, and received only the bare minimum of service.
Giscarr was busy with the ceremony preparations and hardly spoke to her anyway. Sometimes he would say a few words, but Diana responded passively.
Mirva, however, was excessively loyal. Her overbearing devotion often made Diana wonder if the woman was truly mad.
Not long after, Mirva said,
“Let’s run away, my lady.”
Diana’s eyes widened. Mirva clutched her hand desperately, just as she had that day in Diana’s past life.
“Let’s run away together.”
“……”
“You’re not happy here. Everyone here is your enemy.”
Her pleading eyes were filled with urgency. Diana lowered her gaze in thought, but Mirva pressed her further.
“Do you think His Majesty truly regards you as his wife?”
“……”
“He didn’t even consummate the marriage after you arrived, did he? The source of power is the king’s love. If he shudders at even touching you, what power can you have?!”
“……”
“My lady, wake up. You can never be happy here. Let me take care of you.”
Diana lowered her eyes, lost in thought.
Wow. She’s saying it exactly the same as in my past life.
Looking at Mirva’s face, Diana forced a trembling smile.
Yes, this was what she had wanted to hear.
This was why she had been pretending to act gently, to seem guarded yet quietly trusting, to feign agreement with everything.
She looked at the old woman before her. That same pitiful face, those seemingly innocent eyes, just like in her past life. Diana felt tears threaten to rise, but she held them back and whispered,
“Do you think… I can really run away?”
“Of course!”
“……”
“I’ll take care of everything!”
Hearing Mirva’s confident words, Diana closed her eyes briefly and then opened them again.
Got you.
She gave a cautious nod. Beneath her lowered head, her eyes glinted coldly.
