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Chapter 34
The Griffine Guild
Diana ascended the building with her bodyguard knights. Unlike the guild buildings she was familiar with, this one was very small. The doorman naturally instructed the knights to step aside, and Diana complied.
The knights protested, but when Diana explained that it was a necessary security procedure, they reluctantly waited. Diana didn’t want to openly reveal that she intended to “train” Giskar.
After all, hiring a teacher to teach a slave the sword seemed a bit excessive.
Diana knew that the bigger she became, the more people would suspect her relationship with Giskar. And if her plan were discovered… what then?
The doorman, who had entered the room, closed the door and listened intently to the sounds outside, checking if anyone was eavesdropping.
What if this is a group of assassins and I’m in danger? Diana thought for a moment. Now that she considered it, it was strange that no one else was in this guild. Could something happen in the middle of the city? Surely they wouldn’t attempt a kidnapping… right? Her thoughts were heading toward the worst.
“Miss.”
The doorman’s voice sounded unusually low. Diana flinched as he approached. She tightly held the necklace in her pocket and summoned Sylph.
“Wait, if you come closer, I’ll scream…”
“Ugh… my eyes are so crooked! I need to poke them!”
“….”
“You look so much like Rudina, I… I can’t handle it!”
Sobbing, the man suddenly hugged Diana. She didn’t scream. The name he called sounded familiar.
‘Mom?’
Rudina was her mother’s name. Why was this name coming from the guild doorman? At that moment, the door swung open violently.
“What is this? Why is Duke Brien’s carriage here?!”
“….”
“And Rudina… what now?!”
Apparently, there was another room inside this room. Though narrow, a door hidden in the wall was pushed open, and people rushed out. Those with swords immediately noticed the smallest figure among them—Diana.
“Oh my… oh heavens.”
“Lady Rudina’s daughter is here.”
“Ah, miss!”
Diana blinked. Who were these people? Why were they treating her like some kind of spectacle…? Diana didn’t like being a spectacle. No, she hated it. It reminded her of the nightmare that was the Kingdom of Rodbrock. Her face hardened coldly.
“What kind of manners are these? Explain the situation to me.”
The people immediately covered their mouths at Diana’s words.
“She really does take after Lady Rudina.”
“Oh my goodness…”
“Master Anders, you’d be so pleased!”
Anders? That name sounded familiar. Diana tried to understand the situation.
“So this must have been our maternal grandfather’s guild.”
“See? Smart, just like Lady Rudina.”
Maternal grandfather’s guild… Diana surveyed the place with cold eyes.
“Master Anders is in the Kingdom of Rodbrock, Miss. If you send word, he will come.”
“No. That won’t be necessary.”
Diana stood up. What a waste of time. She shouldn’t have even come here.
As she approached the door, the doorman blocked her.
“Miss, why are you doing this?”
“….”
“Since it’s come to this, ask your grandfather for what you wanted to buy!”
“I don’t need what grandfather offers.”
Diana frowned unusually and delivered a cutting remark. The guild members seemed surprised by her cold demeanor.
“You’re not really grandfather and granddaughter, are you? Saying it like that makes it sound like you are.”
Someone shouted in response.
“Even if grandfather is a merchant, isn’t this too much?”
Diana paused. The guild members spoke while watching her back. How dare they? They had never met her since birth—how could they say such things? Their mistake was knowing what the guildmaster was like but not knowing Diana.
Only the doorman, standing by the door, could see her face. He widened his eyes and let out a sigh.
“Ezio, be quiet. Don’t speak to the lady so carelessly.”
“This is too much. And it seems you don’t even treat Master Anders like a grandfather…”
“Perhaps it was your guildmaster who failed to treat me as a granddaughter first!”
Diana turned around and said this. Ezio, who had been sneering with a rebellious tone, stiffened when he saw her face.
The girl’s face was completely expressionless. Not a tear, not a frown. Yet her gaze… her gaze was full of profound sorrow.
“You’re right. I am not Master Anders’ granddaughter.”
“….”
“I need no welcome, no help.”
With that, Diana walked out. Soon, the bodyguard knights followed.
“What did you buy?”
“Everything sold in that guild was worthless. I decided not to buy anything.”
Diana glared at the building as if it were her grandfather. What is family? If blood is what defines family, then her grandfather, the owner of this guild, and she were certainly family.
Her grandfather and mother were family.
Then why… had her grandfather never come?
“Ah… Mom. Mom…!”
When her mother was facing death, Diana had seen her weeping and calling out for her. That memory remained vivid.
She too had once roamed the Kingdom of Rodbrock, clutching her chest and calling for her mother.
“Father… Father…!”
Even in her sickness, her mother called for ‘Father.’ Mother and father… even just this gap was evident. Diana clutched her chest and called for the absent grandfather.
“Father… Father…”
Grandfather, grandfather, where are you? Mother is in pain; please come quickly. Diana spoke to her father, but he replied with regret.
“Grandfather hates your mother.”
Diana wept for her mother. No one came when her mother and father were needed. How lonely, how sad that must have been.
When healthy, her mother sometimes told her about her grandfather.
“Grandfather was a merchant.”
“….”
“Mother traveled on ships and through deserts following him.”
“…I want to go too.”
“No, you are a princess.”
Her mother paused while reading and stroked Diana’s head.
“Is grandfather dead?”
“No, he is very much alive.”
“….”
“Grandfather must have been angry with your mother. His anger must not have subsided.”
Even then, her mother’s face was bitter. Grandfather was angry about something, enough not to even witness his daughter’s final moments.
Because of this, in her previous life, Diana never sought her grandfather’s help during the war. As a merchant, he could have saved her. But she chose to die at the hands of Rodbrock’s army.
Of course, no one had ever offered help first, so calling it a ‘choice’ was almost laughable.
That arrogant grandfather even abandoned his granddaughter’s death.
Diana climbed into the carriage. The doorman who followed her looked at her with a dazed expression. If he had anything to say, he could have said it—but instead, he looked around and sulked as he returned.
Seeing that, Diana bit her lips tightly.
See? Even you, a subordinate of my grandfather, have nothing to say. She clenched her fist tightly, emotions stirring and making her eyes sting.
Why… this is familiar. Diana, you’ve been betrayed, you’ve lost a child. You’ve endured far worse as an adult.
Why, then, are you shaken by this? Childishly so. She tried to calm herself.
After a long time, Diana arrived home and hurried to her room. Yet, strangely, the house was bustling.
“The prince is waiting for you.”
“Which prince?”
“The second prince has arrived.”
“….”
“He is currently touring the garden.”
At that moment, Diana could no longer hold back. Why Prince Philip was here didn’t matter. She just needed comfort. She wanted someone to console her, to stroke her hair.
She wanted someone on her side.
Diana saw Philip in the garden. He was reaching for a tree, gauging its height as he looked upward—she didn’t care.
He should have had bodyguards; he could have been nearly assassinated. Given his temperament, he probably bit someone. Therefore, she approached Philip without hesitation.
“An?”
Diana hugged Philip’s waist. Unconsciously, she leaned into his chest. The body of a boy transitioning into a young man was larger and firmer than expected.
“An, is something wrong?”
At his gentle question, tears almost spilled. When his hand reached to stroke her hair, she held back the tears that threatened to burst. She could survive. She could make it.
“You must have had something upsetting happen.”
In her life, there had been no gentleness. She needed this kindness desperately. She didn’t let her emotions overflow. She merely collected the precarious feelings that threatened to spill.
And Diana didn’t realize that someone’s gaze was watching her.
