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Chapter 77
Slander
Diana pressed her forehead. Rivus had insisted on arranging a meeting the very next day. After all, there weren’t many high nobles she had to receive an audience from, and since they lived in the capital, it would be best to meet them immediately—that was his reasoning.
It was something she had never even done in her past life. But Rivus’s dismissive attitude—telling her to just do it—made her bristle with anger without even realizing it.
In her previous life, Diana had felt as though even breathing was like swallowing shards of glass. Every step she took was as precarious as walking on thin ice, with everyone’s eyes fixed on her.
Build power?
Yes, that was true. But how was she supposed to build it? Who would have supported a queen who wore a slave collar on her wedding day?
Everyone had mocked her. Narrowing her eyes at Rivus, Diana had agreed. She had received greetings as queen many times before.
It was the same anyway. Those who bowed their heads before her were all mocking her deep down. Some even ridiculed her openly.
Even knowing that was the kind of place it would be… she had accepted. And now Diana regretted it.
Why did I agree?
What a foolish mistake. While she sat in her room with her head buried in her arms, someone knocked on the door.
“Ah, Your Majesty the Queen!”
Diana looked up at the boy who had come to see her. It was Logafl.
“Congratulations on your marriage. I’m on duty this time!”
He beamed as brightly as ever. But, having grown up with many older sisters, he quickly sensed Diana’s gloom.
“Do you have worries on your mind?”
Rivus had nearly died several times before, but today he really thought he would.
The moment the great council ended, Giscar dismissed all the administrators and knights around him, then glared at him with such fury it seemed he might kill him. Rivus forced a smile.
“How dare you treat the queen of this country like that….”
It reminded Rivus of the expression Giscar had worn when he killed his enemies in the past. The face of someone desperate to protect what was his was truly terrifying. Giscar was even scarier now. For a brief moment, Rivus regretted what he had done.
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”
“How many times must I tell you? The only reason I made it out of there alive was because of that woman—because of my wife.”
“……”
“And yet you dare insult my wife in front of others?”
Had there been a sword at hand, Giscar would have already drawn it.
“B-but, she’s already my wife….”
Rivus sighed and called out his friend’s name, trying to calm him.
“But Giscar, do you know how much talk there was because the queen didn’t appear in the banquet hall….”
The look in Giscar’s eyes made Rivus immediately grovel. Giscar ruffled his own hair in frustration.
“What exactly could my wife have done there? Be ridiculed?”
Rivus let out another sigh.
“Yes, even so, it had to be done.”
His tone became unusually serious, his face twisted in annoyance as he continued.
“Your Majesty, whatever the case, it’s the place beside the king of a nation. She’s the woman you won by refusing the marriage alliance with the Duke of Rivian’s house.”
“……”
“Mockery, ridicule? She has to endure it. If you shield her too much, it’s the same as declaring openly that the queen is your weakness.”
He wasn’t wrong.
“We’ve barely dealt with Mikhail’s remnants and the Fangs of Fenrir. Even Islag and Kragel still covet your life. They don’t yet acknowledge you as the true king.”
“……”
“Your Majesty, your authority is still unstable. Please….”
The only reason Giscar couldn’t kill Rivus was because of such candid advice. That mouth of his made one want to kill him, but that same mouth also kept him alive.
“I don’t care if she becomes my weakness. The queen’s audience is canceled.”
“Wasn’t it Her Majesty’s wish?”
“You forced it with that silver tongue of yours.”
Rivus gave a short laugh.
“You don’t need to protect her so fiercely.”
“……”
“That lady is no ordinary woman. I saw it on the way here, and it hasn’t changed now.”
“……”
“So rest assured. You did not marry an ordinary woman.”
Giscar didn’t reply. But Rivus realized that Giscar agreed with him. Still, it wasn’t long before news arrived that enraged his friend beyond measure.
In the training grounds, the knights were polishing their swords. Their lives always began and ended with their blades.
Even though there were no bandits, noble rebellions, or monsters at the moment—times that should have been peaceful—the men were brimming with fury.
“This is an insult to us!”
“How could His Majesty…!”
“Even Lord Rivus was displeased.”
They all held boundless respect for Giscar, their de facto commander. And for good reason. He wielded a massive greatsword as though it were paper, his swordsmanship sharp yet precise. Anyone who had seen him butcher monsters could not help but revere him.
“That woman. The criminal’s daughter.”
With Clover gone to the council, the knights voiced their complaints about the new queen.
She had driven them out even during the proposal ritual, and now again. A ruler’s consort was expected to honor her lord’s retainers with a greeting.
“Enough. Don’t you realize such words insult His Majesty?”
Darium, the more rational one, intervened. But Bill couldn’t accept it.
“It’s not His Majesty we’re insulting—it’s she who insults His Majesty!”
He shouted. It was infuriating enough that she had failed to greet Giscar’s men, but he might have let that go. He knew well the insufferable sense of entitlement the Fanborough nobles carried.
But to then snub even the nobles of Lodbrok, making the king look bad? That was intolerable.
“His Majesty told us to rest. Why not restrain yourselves?”
Darium’s voice was cold. But when someone has already decided to hate, no defense will be heard.
“Logafl says she’s His Majesty’s first love.”
Ines spoke up. He had always looked after Logafl like a younger brother and often talked with him.
“I hear she isn’t a bad person. Not at all.”
“Right. His Majesty must have his reasons. Maybe some personal feelings as well.”
Some knights still clearly remembered the drunken prince once speaking fondly of a girl.
“If His Majesty ordered it, then we must obey.”
Opinions varied—some accepted reluctantly, others obeyed blindly, others still burned with resentment.
But when the crowd dispersed, Bill, cornered, only grew angrier.
“What? First love? Bullshit.”
He spat out a curse he hadn’t used since becoming a knight.
“She’s not even that pretty.”
“Bill. That’s crossing the line.”
But Bill shouted anyway.
“Fine, she’s decent-looking, I’ll give her that. But doesn’t she seem like a rotten tree inside? And those dull, lifeless eyes….”
“……”
“You can’t even tell what she’s thinking. With that haughty face, she probably looks down on us knights and the kingdom of Lodbrok as barbarians. That’s why she didn’t greet us. His Majesty must’ve covered for her, saying it was his order.”
“Bill!”
“If she were as gentle and beautiful as Lady Rivian, I’d at least understand. But that stiff, ugly woman….”
“Hey!”
Darium shouted. All the knights’ faces suddenly froze in horror as they looked toward one spot. A chill ran down Bill’s spine. He turned his head.
“Uh….”
There stood the very woman they had been disparaging.
The queen, who should have been resting in the castle, was there in a light green gown and a white fur shawl.
Diana was not smiling.
As all eyes fixed on her, she lowered her gaze slightly and spoke softly.
“I came to see Commander Clover.”
“……”
“I had intended to arrange a proper gathering with you all later, but I came to greet you beforehand.”
She glanced at the maids behind her, who carried baskets filled with appetizing food.
“Y-Your Majesty….”
Logafl, standing at her side, turned pale. The timing couldn’t have been worse. Had he known they were in the middle of slandering her, he would never have brought her here.
“Everyone is waiting for Her Majesty’s greetings.”
Logafl tried to smooth things over. Diana hadn’t entirely dismissed the idea of greeting the knights. She had hesitated, but Logafl had assured her it would be fine.
“If our Varghati Knights stand as your escort at the audience ceremony, the sight will be formidable! They’ll follow you gladly!”
“They dislike me.”
“Some do, yes, but not all! I swear on everything, it’s not like that!”
She didn’t truly believe it. She knew well that these knights were excluding her. Still, she didn’t want to stand unprepared in a pitiful audience, mocked with no defense. That’s why she had agreed.
“I regret that I was careless toward you all—the swords His Majesty treasures most.”
Her voice was calm as she continued.
“But I have never once thought of you as barbarians. Please don’t misunderstand.”
Silence. Not a single breath could be heard. Then Diana turned to her maids.
“Take it back.”
Sandwiches from Fanborough cuisine would likely only offend them. With that, Diana turned her back.
The knight’s words—Lady Rivian would have been better—echoed in her mind.
She knew. She knew already.
Still…
She walked away with poise. Looking up at the sky, she gave a sorrowful smile.
Ah, I understand now, O God. I lost my senses again.
She had thought that this life was different from her past one, that something had changed. But it was the same after all.
A stiff, ugly woman.
Was that truly how she looked in people’s eyes?
Diana lowered her gaze.
It’s fine. I just have to endure three years. Such humiliation is fine. Truly.
But still, a dull ache throbbed in her heart.
