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Chapter 99
The Return of Giskar
Diana looked at the man reaching out to her. His gaze was fixed on her face. It felt as if she could be drawn into those vivid violet eyes.
“Why are you….”
Her voice came out strained, barely audible. Diana’s breath caught. He seemed both angry and tormented at the same time. Though he said nothing, Giskar grabbed Diana’s hand and lifted her up.
“Ugh!”
But as her wrist was held by the gargoyle, blood trickled from the injury. Releasing her hand, he lifted her into his arms.
“Wait!”
Diana struggled, but Giskar spoke firmly:
“Stay still!”
“My hand’s the only thing hurt, I can walk!”
Even after Diana protested, Giskar didn’t let her go. In fact, he held her tighter.
“Your Majesty!”
“Where you should be right now is deep inside the palace, not here.”
“…….”
“Were you trying to run away?”
Diana lost the strength to reply at his cold words and just looked at his face. Unable to stand it, one of the knights spoke up.
“Pardon me, Your Majesty. The Queen came here at the request of the Chancellor.”
“…….”
“Her Majesty’s abilities were crucial to dealing with that nest. Without you, there would have been many casualties in this operation.”
Diana noticed that his breathing had quickened.
“Are you trying to show me your incompetence? That your skills were so poor you had to bring someone in who shouldn’t have stepped outside at all for help?”
Though Diana couldn’t see Giskar’s face clearly while being held, she could hear the anger in his voice.
“We apologize, Your Majesty.”
“We apologize.”
Diana heard the knights’ voices. Why were they apologizing? She didn’t think she was exceptional, but she had some strength. She knew roughly the power she had wielded when they killed Echidna together before.
So why blame the knights?
“Is that all you can say to those who risked their lives?”
Diana spoke coldly. Being held in his arms with one hand was humiliating, but she had to say it.
“Don’t you dare… say another word.”
At his growling tone, Diana let out a dry laugh.
“Yes, I’ll be quiet as you wish.”
As Diana’s sarcasm cut through the tension, the atmosphere froze. She didn’t speak another word until Giskar carried her back to the palace.
She had always thought meetings could be the worst, but this was among the worst reunions she had ever experienced.
Returning to the palace, things were bustling. Giskar’s return had been sudden. Even though he still had five days left in his schedule, he had hurried back early. Regardless, Giskar simply sat still.
“Hand it over.”
Why the sudden formal tone? Diana didn’t even look at Giskar. Feeling her hand pulled, she let out a groan and glared at him. She tried to pull her hand away, but Giskar held it firmly.
“Ah!”
“Stay still, will you!”
He spoke irritably and brought over a disinfecting cloth. The sharp scent of alcohol hit her, and Diana gritted her teeth.
“It hurts, so does it feel real?”
“Ugh….”
Though he held her hand tightly, the disinfecting was gentle. It was only a shallow scratch from a claw. Thankfully, it hadn’t hit any major blood vessels. The only extra pain came from her wrist being bent slightly. He pressed on her other wrist, disinfected it, and wrapped it in bandages.
“Damn it….”
He continued muttering curses while glaring at her.
“I know you have some kind of extraordinary ability, but barging in like this is presumptuous.”
“Presumptuous….”
Diana stared at him with a hardened face. There was a flicker of surprise in Giskar’s eyes, but Diana let out a hollow laugh.
Why did he have to get angry this way to feel satisfied? He hadn’t sent a single letter—he couldn’t possibly be worried—so was he just angry that his knights needed the help of someone they deemed weak, namely her?
“I never asked you for any of that.”
At Giskar’s words, Diana responded with a cold expression.
“But people demanded I fulfill that role as Queen.”
“…….”
“And that’s presumptuous?”
She thought it would have been better if he had returned later. When he didn’t answer, she added:
“If it’s presumptuous, then you want me to play that kind of role.”
“What?”
“A slave. Like the hellish thing you experienced yourself.”
“How dare you….”
“Why not? You didn’t want me to do anything. Isn’t that exactly what it means?”
“Diana.”
“What you want from me now… you want me to go through what you did. That’s why I’m here, isn’t it? Against my will.”
Anger flared in Giskar’s eyes, but Diana’s gaze remained impassive. She spoke with a cold smile.
“If I do something you don’t like, you dethrone me and make me a slave who only obeys. You married me just to confuse me, didn’t you?”
Diana could tell that Giskar was genuinely angry at her words. He said nothing, staring at her in simmering rage for a long while. Diana felt a twinge of fear—what if his angered hand struck her cheek?
But Giskar spoke calmly.
“Yes, if I had known you’d do this, I would have put a leash on you. Regret it now.”
Hearing that, all positive feelings Diana had toward Giskar vanished. At least hitting her would have been simpler.
Yes, that’s how it was. In her previous life, he’d made her experience the same. People never change.
“Honestly, what makes you different?”
She had thought he was slightly different, but his core remained the same. He acted just a bit differently so he could be gentler. The memory of wearing a leash and the wedding was not diminished at all.
Diana looked at Giskar with disgust.
“You should have at least put a leash on me when we married. Then you’d have understood my place.”
“That damned leash!”
“You brought it up first, Your Majesty.”
“You were the one who said ‘slave’ first.”
Neither yielded. Giskar widened his eyes as he stared at Diana.
“Do you think I wanted to be manipulated in a place like this?”
“…….”
“I only tried to help a little, yet even that, you…”
“…….”
“I really hate it.”
Tears welled in Diana’s eyes. The anger in Giskar’s eyes completely dissipated. Regardless, she buried her face in her hands and sobbed.
“Ann.”
“…….”
“Ann, I….”
Shaking her head, Diana simply cried. She hadn’t wanted to, she tried not to, but all her efforts were invalidated by him, leaving her frustrated and helpless.
From the next day, rumors spread that the Queen and King had fought fiercely. Diana didn’t care—it was true.
Did they fight?
He had simply ordered her to be a slave unilaterally. She was only grateful it was called a “fight.”
“You should rest a little.”
Unable to hold back, Princess Levian spoke. Diana smiled coldly.
“Can I neglect my duties at a time like this?”
She resumed reading documents and attending to her work. In truth, as Princess Levian had said, it was right to leave everything to her. Even in her previous life, assigning Princess Levian as a maid and giving her all authority would have been Giskar’s will.
A sense of foreboding crept in. Perhaps Giskar would return, see what Diana had done, and get angry…
Originally, Diana was treated like a slave—he might think that was presumptuous too. Luckily, he said nothing for several days. But Diana’s mood was at its worst; she ignored Giskar completely.
She was accustomed to acting like this in her past life. She would greet him, then turn away or avoid eye contact.
Put on a leash…
That would be suicide. She would die instantly. Though one under the slave collar could never take their own life, she would be tricked into it in a heartbeat. Her thoughts spiraled out of control.
“I think the King is definitely at fault here.”
Princess Kragel clicked her tongue. Of course it was Princess Kragel. Since Diana was handling the budget, she sided with her. Diana unconsciously softened at the sight of her.
“Honestly, it’s so ungrateful. She made this rotten palace livable, fought bravely with her body, and yet he gets angry like this.”
“…….”
“Can’t he at least give her some room?”
Princess Kragel asked. What did she mean—room for him to enter?
“It’s uncomfortable for me.”
As expected, a selfish woman. Everyone around her was like this. Diana muttered and looked away. Princess Kragel said:
“He keeps staring at you. Continuously, continuously, continuously!”
“…….”
“Even now!”
Diana looked where Princess Kragel pointed: the window. Through it, her eyes met Giskar’s. Diana glared at him and said:
“So?”
“Are you going to keep doing this? It’s not just me; they’re suffering too.”
When Diana looked at her hands, the maids averted their gaze in agreement. She exclaimed in disbelief:
“If you don’t like it, just give an order.”
“You say ‘order’ between a couple… what is that…”
“You told me not to meddle, so what am I supposed to say?”
“Really? Did the King really say that?”
Diana felt a surge of anger. Rumors like this should be avoided, yet she had spoken without realizing it. Even at Duke Brien’s, she wouldn’t have made such a mistake… truly.
“Wow, that’s harsh, really.”
“…….”
“Did the King really do that? All that fuss and yet he was the devil himself.”
Princess Kragel’s rough words strangely comforted her. Tears fell from Diana’s eyes. Being understood made it feel as if she could breathe.
“I said worse things, but I’ll just… not say them.”
“Don’t. Even now, it was too much. You worked hard as Queen, and he doesn’t acknowledge it. Truly a great mistake.”
When Princess Kragel looked back, the maids nodded while frowning. Usually composed and mature, seeing Diana cry so bitterly made them genuinely believe the King was in the wrong.
