TSMT 93

Chapter 93 

A Very Simple Reason

“Archery, huh….”

It was a hobby that the women of Panborough didn’t have. Embroidery, raising beautiful birds, playing instruments, singing, dancing the Thali dance… but archery? That was something new.

She had heard vaguely in her past life that the women of the Lordbrooke Kingdom were impressive. After all, they were capable of protecting themselves. Diana hadn’t paid much attention to Lordbrooke’s culture before, but now she thought it was remarkable.

“Archery? What kind of letter is this?”

Princess Kragel looked at the letter Diana was holding, and Diana handed it over. Princess Revian also approached to see the letter.

“This came from the Duke of Islag?”

Princess Kragel asked with a puzzled expression.

“That woman doesn’t invite just anyone to this kind of gathering.”

“Oh my, indeed.”

Oddly, Princess Revian and Princess Kragel agreed. It seemed this was a very rare occurrence.

“If it’s a week from now, we’ll have to prepare immediately.”

“Prepare for what?”

“Archery! Oh, can you shoot a bow?”

Diana shook her head. Of course, she couldn’t.

“I heard you fought Echidna with His Majesty when you were young. Don’t you have any other special skills? Have you learned any martial arts?”

Diana chuckled faintly and shook her head again. Princess Revian laughed brightly.

“Oh, in that case, Our Queen should just take it easy.”

“…….”

“No, I suppose you could just go. You’re the Queen, after all, no one will say anything.”

Diana looked at that irritating woman’s face. She had tried not to think about it, but sometimes she wanted to rip that annoying mouth off.

If she didn’t go, she couldn’t expand her influence. If she went, she wouldn’t even be able to shoot properly and would return mocked and alienated.

Being around a malicious person is exhausting. Diana was glad Princess Kragel was there. Otherwise, she might have gone insane and already killed that woman.

‘Lately, I feel strange.’

Diana felt an unfamiliar surge of emotions inside her. She hadn’t felt much of anything lately, but now various feelings were surfacing, like when she was a dream-filled child. Then Princess Kragel frowned and said:

“You need to practice archery. Are you just going to stand there while everyone else shoots and be laughed at?”

“Can everyone do it?”

“It’s a basic skill here.”

Princess Kragel said this. Looking at Princess Revian, she smiled faintly. Diana felt a blow to her pride.

Maybe she shouldn’t go after all? Diana was already busy enough with budget affairs. She didn’t need any extra opportunities.

“But even as a basic skill, Our Queen doesn’t have to push herself. You’re a foreigner, after all. People should understand.”

Princess Revian spoke kindly, as if understanding Diana’s difficulty.

“Duchess Islag wouldn’t have invited you with good intentions.”

That was also true. What if she went and was simply humiliated? A natural fear rose within her.

The Duchess of Islag was not friendly toward Diana. She had essentially invited her to embarrass her. If she was so strong, she could show her skill, the Duchess seemed to imply.

Diana could avoid it, just as Princess Revian suggested. Or, she could smile innocently and say she didn’t know archery, clapping along like a mere spectator.

However, despite all that…

Diana looked at Princess Revian. That brazen woman was openly telling her not to go. Or if she went, that it was fine to do nothing.

The nearly forgotten emotion resurfaced and strangely turned into resentment.

Humans have a desire to live better lives. People who feel completely powerless have no hope because they don’t believe they can improve their lives, Diana recalled hearing somewhere.

The world around Diana had changed. She had thought it was the worst and closed her eyes tightly, but even now, the world was still somewhat kind to her.

“Then will you teach me archery?”

Diana was startled by the words she had spoken. Her heart wasn’t ready yet, but her words came out first. At the same time, Princess Revian’s face stiffened. Seeing her expression, Diana realized the reason.

It was simple.

She didn’t want to do what that woman wanted. She wanted to see the face of the woman who had caused her downfall—who still wished for her ruin—twist in frustration.

A very simple reason.

However, Diana encountered difficulty from the start.

“No! How can you do it if you can’t even pull the string properly?”

“You can use a lighter bow…”

“Then the arrow won’t fly far! And this is already a beginner’s bow!”

Princess Kragel scolded Diana. Diana wanted to shout that she wanted to quit immediately. Princess Revian, seeing this, laughed.

“You’re trying, Your Majesty.”

Annoying. Diana gritted her teeth.

Diana wasn’t especially skilled in physical training. Archery was also not easy.

She was far from being well-trained, and archery required constant practice. Her back and arm muscles weren’t developed enough… most of her arrows missed the target.

Had these women all been well-trained? Diana thought it was ridiculous as she tried to shoot. Her arrows trembled and missed, embedding into the wood beside the target.

“Pfft…”

Princess Revian laughed, but it was Princess Kragel who was smirking. Diana imagined violently shooting Princess Kragel with the bow in her hands.

What Diana needed was to look “competent.” Who knew even that would be so difficult? She inwardly cursed herself for participating in such a bothersome task.

Adding to her irritation, this was a knight’s training ground, and the Varghati knights kept glancing at her.

The Lordbrooke Kingdom didn’t hold banquets unless something extraordinary happened. Banquets consumed massive resources, and unlike Panborough, Lordbrooke wasn’t abundant in resources. So, small events like this were developed for the nobility. The Duchess of Islag smirked.

‘Obern.’

She thought of her sister’s son. Her sister, married to Count Hailro, had a precious child. Obern had entered Neust Academy but was disgracefully expelled.

Not only that, Obern had lost an arm. The reason given was that the king had cut it off while trying to save “a certain woman.” Her beloved sister was sick, and the Duchess of Islag had ground her teeth.

Tracking down the woman responsible, the conclusion was Diana Brienne. She should have been angry at Obern’s mistakes or the king, but anger always flowed more easily toward the weaker, and the Duchess of Islag didn’t do such introspection.

She intended never to let the woman who caused her nephew to lose an arm go unpunished. She would crush her, over and over.

Diana entered, not wearing a flashy dress like the thoughtless women of Panborough, but modest activewear like the other women of Lordbrooke.

“Welcome.”

The Duchess of Islag smiled cruelly. Her eyes turned to the tray of bows and arrows—enchanted weapons. Developed through magical attacks, these arrows would hit anyone near the target. Production was limited, so they were discontinued.

She watched the servant announcing scores beside the target. What if Diana accidentally hit the servant?

A queen, reckless despite lacking skill, killing a servant of Lordbrooke. Quite the spectacle.

It wasn’t just weak people like Sarubia Revian who might plan to embarrass Diana; the Duchess intended to provoke her, making her seem like one of the cautious noblewomen.

Rather than an individual match, the Duchess decided to split into teams. That would isolate Diana effectively. She generously placed Diana’s attendants on the same team.

“Use this bow.”

“No, thank you. I brought my own.”

Diana smiled and waved the beginner’s bow. The Duchess smiled back.

The magic wasn’t on the bow, but the arrows Diana would use, which had slightly different feather colors.

The Duchess of Islag anticipated the bloodshed. Her heart raced.

Diana drew the bow in a proper stance.

Thwack.

The Duchess imagined the sound and the screams that might follow.

However…

“Waaaah!”

Princess Kragel shouted. The Duchess widened her eyes. What? Diana’s arrow hit dead center.

A defective arrow? No, she had tested them…

She thought there might be defects, but again, Diana’s arrow hit dead center. The next arrow, and the one after, all the same.

“Your Majesty, incredible!”

The highly competitive Count Aiso’s daughter shouted. She was deliberately on the same team because of her competitive nature. Her voice drew everyone toward Diana, amazed by her archery skill.

“I told you.”

Diana smiled shyly.

“I fought Echidna with His Majesty when I was young, remember?”

Even in the Queen’s words, there was calm confidence. The Duchess of Islag looked at Diana, meeting her gaze.

This woman had noticed.