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Chapter 54
Reunion
Their eyes met. For a brief moment, Diana thought Guiscard was angry. But when she looked again, he was gazing at her with the same dry, indifferent eyes as always.
“Forgive me. Your shoulders were bare, I was worried you’d catch a chill.”
“It’s fine.”
Diana smiled softly.
“Still, the wind is cold. Why are you outside?”
“Ann!”
Before Guiscard could finish, a voice called out to her.
It was Philip. He was riding toward them on horseback. Diana stared at his brightly smiling face, and soon her own lips curved into a smile. At that moment, Guiscard’s eyes swept across her face.
It had been such a long-awaited reunion. Diana looked at him—no longer the boy she remembered. He now wore northern-style clothes and a beret with a long feather, standing before her as a young man.
The way he grinned—mischievous and playful—was exactly the same, and it left her with a strange sense of dissonance. Diana adjusted the cloak Guiscard had draped around her, as if to defend herself, forcing a smile.
“Were you waiting out here for me?”
At his casual question, Diana bit her lip. Yes… it felt that way. No, it was true.
“Yes, I was.”
So she spoke the truth. To deny it would be to admit this person meant nothing to her.
Diana looked at him and thought—Did I… like him?
For two years, she had never found the answer. All the while, he had only smiled brightly at her.
“You must’ve been cold?”
As if to deny the thought that she had waited despite the cold, she glanced down at her cloak.
“No, Guiscard helped me with this.”
Philip’s eyes immediately shifted to Guiscard. His gaze lingered on the strikingly attractive male slave, then his expression grew complicated before he forced a smile and extended a hand.
“It’s been a while. Uh… Mister Slave.”
“……”
Guiscard merely looked at the hand. Philip, embarrassed, pulled it back.
“You’re still by Ann’s side. You’ve even grown taller than me.”
For some reason, Guiscard’s expression felt icy. Without replying, he simply turned to Diana.
“My lady. His Grace will summon you shortly.”
“All right. Just a little longer.”
Diana turned back to Philip.
“How have you been?”
“Good, I’ve been well.”
“For someone doing well, you didn’t show up to my debut at the royal palace last year.”
Only the sons and daughters of dukes or nobles who had rendered great service were allowed to debut in society in the royal palace hall. Diana too had made her debut on her fourteenth birthday, with the king’s permission.
“Sorry… but in Ionia they said you looked stunning. That bright red dress—you couldn’t have looked more beautiful.”
“……”
“Of course, I think you look beautiful right now too.”
“……”
“That’s why I brought you a gift.”
From his arms, Philip pulled out a dark-brown box. When Diana opened it, her eyes widened. Inside was a lavish pearl headband.
“You probably can’t wear it in front of Her Majesty.”
Diana deliberately mentioned the queen, watching his face. Philip only smiled, whether he understood or not.
“My grandfather procured it for me.”
At those words, Diana pondered the meaning. Didn’t Philip go to Count Calcos’s household—his mother’s family—in order to formally renounce his claim to the throne?
She knew little about Count Calcos, only that he was a border noble tasked with defending the frontier and uninterested in politics.
But from her memories before death, she recalled—he had been branded a traitor, a turncoat. In the invasion war with the Lodbrok Kingdom, he had sided with Guiscard.
So then, why? What was the count’s intent in giving pearls—a gift the queen despised? Diana studied the headband.
“Philip.”
“Yes?”
“Why are you here?”
Why had he come after two years? Philip seemed to realize she was asking about the hidden meaning behind the pearl headband.
“No special reason… I just wanted to see you.”
His words carried a faint bitterness. How selfish, Diana thought.
“At fifteen, I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of person you had become.”
“……”
“You’re so beautiful. Still beautiful, always beautiful…”
As she turned the gleaming golden pearl headband in her hands, she cut him off before he could say more.
“Philip. Thank you.”
“……”
“Now that you’ve come, that’s enough. If you truly have no hidden motive, then I’ll give you one piece of advice. Return to Count Calcos’s estate at once.”
“What?”
Lifting her head, she looked straight into his green eyes.
“Soon, something big will happen in the royal palace. I don’t want you to end up as a victim in it.”
“What are you…”
Looking at his bewildered face, Diana said—
“Your Highness, Your Highness!”
She spotted an attendant rushing toward them and knew at once what was happening.
Her fifteenth birthday was unforgettable.
“Urgent news!”
“What is it?”
“A large-scale monster outbreak has occurred in Duke Dracel’s territory!”
That was the day she had been upset, watching Ferdinand and her father leave hurriedly upon hearing of the outbreak in the duchy of Dracel—her mother’s family.
But now… it also marked the beginning of freedom. Diana turned to look at the young man standing behind her. Time had passed, and now only the plan remained to be carried out.
“Big sister, do you really have to go?”
Alexa clung to Diana, whining. Diana stroked her younger sister’s hair. Tears welled up in Alexa’s eyes.
“Alexa, your debut is soon. You must become the one to lead the household in my place.”
“But what will I do without you?”
“You’ll do well.”
“Ugh…”
Alexa’s eyes brimmed again. Yet oddly, the once spoiled and immature Alexa had grown calmer with time. She no longer threw tantrums as before.
“But I like you, sister. Why must I always let you go?”
“Alexa.”
“You like me more than the princess, right?”
“Of course.”
“Say you like me a hundred, a thousand times more than the princess, and I’ll let you go.”
Diana burst into laughter. Alexa had even learned how to be playful. She gazed at her beautiful younger sister—unlike Emil, this one was her full sibling, her blood. At times, caring for her felt burdensome, but Diana truly loved her.
“A million times more.”
“Really?!”
Diana smiled. Alexa grasped her hand with an oddly mature expression.
“When you pray to mother, tell her about me too.”
“……”
“Guiscard, you take good care of my sister!”
She pointed sternly at Guiscard, who stood behind Diana.
“Yes. Understood.”
He answered politely. Thanks to his occasional care for Alexa, she no longer disliked him as she once had.
Seeing her little sister’s growth, Diana felt proud.
“Father, I’ll be going.”
When Diana looked at Duke Brienne, he gave a firm nod.
“Emil, that boy…”
“It’s fine. It’s nothing new with my brother.”
In fact, it was easier when he didn’t show up. The duke let out a heavy sigh, then turned his gaze to Guiscard. It was a silent, disapproving look—one Diana knew well.
The older she grew, the more scandalous it became to keep Guiscard at her side. But it no longer mattered.
Soon enough, once this season passed, Guiscard would never return to the Brienne household again.
Diana turned back. Behind her stood over a hundred knights assigned to escort her. With Guiscard along, it would be more than enough.
She climbed into the carriage with him. Without realizing it, she began humming a tune, her eyes fixed for a long while on the man sitting across from her. Soon, they would part.
Diana prayed.
The southern temples all carried a history of a thousand years.
There, she earnestly prayed for the eternal rest of her mother and the others.
This was the temple of Chronosotia, the main god. The silver-white marble was embossed with dragons and hourglasses, gleaming so brightly it was breathtaking.
There, Diana met the priest, Akra.
“It has been a while, Lady Brienne!”
“It has indeed.”
“I’ve heard the news. You are on pilgrimage?”
“‘Pilgrimage’ sounds so grand. In truth, it is only a personal wish to pray for my mother at these ancient temples.”
She smiled radiantly. Seeing such sincerity, Akra’s expression grew gentle, like that of a mother bird watching her chick.
“Your devotion is well known. And this is already the third temple you’ve visited, I hear? I’ll instruct the priests to attend to your needs.”
Then his eyes turned to the man beside her.
“And who is this?”
“My escort knight.”
“Ah, I see…”
She narrowed her eyes slightly at Guiscard. When Akra tilted his head, Diana asked,
“Is there a problem?”
“No, nothing.”
Yet Akra’s expression shifted as if he had realized something. He looked at Diana with an odd gaze before placing his hand on her and murmuring a blessing. Then he withdrew.
Was something wrong? Diana pushed the thought aside and entered the prayer chamber as planned.
Each time she entered, the stillness felt uncanny. Especially now, traveling with more than a hundred in her procession.
She turned over the hourglass, marking the start of prayer, and knelt before a white spherical statue.
On her pilgrimage, she always prayed fervently to the god who had granted her revelations.
My god, do you have no words for me this time? I’m trying to walk the right path as best I can.
It was hard, taking the longer way instead of the easy one… but she stood on the brink of the most important moment.
Besides, aren’t people supposed to gain an advantage when they return to the past? That’s what happens in books. But why does it feel like things only got worse for me?
Though the situations with Ionia and Philip had improved, Diana sighed.
Just then, light shone down on her.
“Huh?”
White petals began fluttering down. But this was a stone building—where could petals come from?
Blinking, she watched as they piled up like snow.
Then came a knock.
“Lady Brienne! Please open the door!”
It was Akra’s voice. The murmur of other priests rose outside. Diana looked at the door and called out—
“Come in. It’s not locked.”
At her words, the door suddenly burst open and priests flooded inside.
“My heavens, we felt a surge of divinity and came rushing—”
“What is this…”
Diana’s eyes widened.
“It’s a blessing! She has received the god’s response! Aaaah!”
The priests dropped to their knees, praying fervently, while Diana sat stunned.
