Chapter 18: 17

Chapter 17

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Every day spent at the territory estate was comfortable, especially in comparison to how she felt back at the capital. Diana’s heart was gradually becoming more stable as she rested far away from Iandrus and the capital, where all the misfortune began. It made her feel much better.

Not to mention how Guinness fussed over Diana, giving her attention at all hours of the day.

“But, while you’re here, Guinness, how is Floraine doing?”

Floraine and Guinness were newlyweds who’d only been married for about a year now. They’d been dear friends since childhood, so both of them cared deeply for Diana. But if Guinness spent all his time here, Floraine might get upset. Diana only realized this after she’d started to feel better, regaining her ability to look at things around her.

She’d begun to feel too relaxed thanks to the life that the Philadelphia territory estate brought her.

“You’re kidding, right?” Guinness jokingly said back as Diana’s eyes widened. “Floraine is studying abroad right now. She won’t be back until the end of this year.”

“Oh…..” Come to think of it, Diana vaguely remembered something about Floraine studying abroad. “That was around this time.”

As far as she could recall, Floraine managed to return safely once the end of the year came.

“So it’s like that……”

“Jeez, you.” Guinness shook his head. “Anyway, you don’t have to worry about Floraine. Right now you…..you just have to focus on recovering, Diana.”

“I’m okay.”

“Well, Dysen and I don’t think you are.”

Guinness carefully set down his coffee cup. As soon as they arrived at the estate, Guinness requested a doctor be sent down from Philadelphia. He specifically wrote a letter to the Grand Duke asking for them.

The wound on her wrist that was struggling to heal was a problem, but it was also bad that Diana’s emotional stability was so torn that she was capable of doing that to herself. Diana was still terrified, like she was being chased by someone. According to Jesse, she couldn’t even sleep without the aid of medicine.

She would scream and struggle all night before stirring awake at the break of dawn.

Diana was just getting paler and thinner. This was a time when she desperately needed someone’s help and Guinness was happy to be that person.

“You need to rest more, Diana.”

Diana splashed some water on her face.

She felt more comfortable after coming here, but she still felt so uneasy. Even while resting, it felt like fate was tugging at her heels—like it was inevitable that fate would consume and destroy all of Leonid and Diana.

At night, she would still have nightmares of the day Scintilla died.

She could remember the last face her daughter made, unable to protect her with her own hands, and she would wake up as she ran from the death that continued to chase her. After that, she wouldn’t be able to sleep again. She would just cry until her face turned pale and morning came.

“Diana, you’re not alone.”

“Guinness….I…….”

“You’re the only one who knows the future, but you aren’t alone in overcoming it. You have me…..and Prince Iandrus as well.”

“He’s…..!”

“Diana. In the story you told, I can’t help but feel as though the prince is a victim in it as well.”

Diana’s body shook. She had lost so much weight that her blue eyes seemed bigger against the rest of her features. Guinness sighed, holding out a teacup to Diana.

“Drink first. You look like you’re going to faint.”

Lowering her head, Diana stared blankly at the table. Like the ripples in the teacup, she could feel her whole body swaying from its core.

Guinness wasn’t wrong.

In some ways, Iandrus was also a victim. He couldn’t bear the burden that was placed upon his shoulders and ended up creating more victims as a result. At first, Diana was filled with compassion for Iandrus because of this.

She wanted to ease his sorrows and give him the strength needed to overcome his pain.

Jaymus acted as emotional support for Iandrus, and Diana knew that they had a bond deeper than most brothers.

Losing someone like that, Diana could understand the deep despair he must’ve felt. Diana also had siblings among the Philadelphia family that she was close to, especially Guinness. Guinness had even come to the territories to support Diana.

The thing that completely removed Iandrus from her heart was……….

It was when I lost Philadelphia.

Diana’s hands trembled. She knew she and Iandrus weren’t that different.

“Diana,” Guinness called out to Diana in a softer voice. He didn’t bring up this to hurt Diana. He just thought she needed to try seeing things differently. “I’m not saying you’re wrong. I only wanted to give you another perspective. I can understand why you want to avoid Prince Iandrus, but can the future you experienced be prevented that easily?”

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It was like he had thrown a rock into Diana, causing waves as if she were a lake.

“It’s up to you whether or not you want to forgive Prince Iandrus, but I think this problem needs to be solved differently,” Guinness explained carefully.

There was no reason for Guinness to ignore Diana’s refusal and push her to get married. In fact, he was thinking of trying to convince the Grand Duke and Duchess in order to help her.

However, this was a problem that involved Branneux, Philadelphia, and the royal family.

“If Branneux is a part of this, we’ll be harmed one way or another.”

Diana clenched her fists.

It was like she was stuck in a mire, the swamp nagging at her legs. The more she struggled, the more she couldn’t escape. Even if she tried to get out with all her might, she would only be swallowed whole, and no matter how she reached out, nothing would reach back.

Diana would have no choice but to sit there.

Guinness is right.

She hated having to admit it, but the start of the tragedy was not Iandrus.

After her mind was given the time to calm itself, she was able to see things a bit more clearly. The start of the misfortune began with Jaymus’ death, the events leading to which were kicked off by the death of Catherine.

Guinness looked over Diana’s expression.

Her face, which had grown pale over the past couple of days, was filled with agitation. Guinness rubbed his forehead in frustration. The wound on her wrist was improving, but the wounds in her heart weren’t getting any better.

He chugged his cold coffee out of frustration in response to his aching heart, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth.

It would be nice if he could be sick instead. It was clear that there were still things Diana wasn’t confiding in him about. Holding in her pain like that, it must be eating her up from the inside out. And there was nothing he could do to help.

Diana was not the kind of person who could take off her coat while the wind was blowing harshly. Only under the warm sun would she feel comfortable doing that.

“You’re right, Guinness……”

“Diana……”

“I was wrong,” Diana nodded with a pale face. “The biggest problem wasn’t Iandrus. Prince Jaymus cannot be allowed to die.”

“Alright.”

“We have to solve that first. And if we don’t want Prince Jaymus to die, then we can’t let him go to Branneux, and for that to happen, it would be best if the Princess of Branneux never comes here,” Diana said, slowly thinking over the events of the past. “……Is it possible to save Lady Catherine?”

“Do you remember when she died?”

It was late spring, near the end of May. It was the season when the leaves were still green and everyone was preparing their new attire. Then came the season of beautiful colors when leaves of red and yellow grow under a blue sky. During that season, Diana was married, and Catherine died before the wedding.

Summer between late spring and the fall.

So the summer…..

“In June. It happened very suddenly and there was nothing anyone could do. The royal family and the Craydon family passed it off as a chronic illness, but some people said it could’ve been poison. That’s how sudden it was.”

“I see,” Guinness nodded.

“Then we’ll treat this like a murder. Actually, I already talked to Prince Iandrus.”

“What…..?”

“I thought Prince Iandrus would be helpful for this.”

Sitting still for a moment, Diana tried to understand and nodded. “Okay.”

“He said he would look into Branneux as well as Catherine. From what he said, Catherine was selected by the queen after much consideration. She also paid attention to her health.”

“So it wouldn’t make sense for the daughter of the count to suddenly become sick and pass away while at the capital. But still……is it possible to save her?”

“If we try, but I definitely think we’ll need Prince Iandrus’ help.”

It was a matter related to the royal family, so the decision to get help from either Iandrus or Jaymus was a sound one. It didn’t make sense to avoid getting easy help. Besides, they were running out of time. It was already late spring, so it would be June soon enough.

“Lady Catherine….June……”

June.

At that time……..Diana thought, closing her eyes and fumbling through her memories.

It was the period before her wedding. Young Diana, who was still in the midst of being excited for her marriage, was so distracted by the preparations for the wedding that she wasn’t very interested in anything else. But even Diana could remember Lady Catherine’s death. It was such a sudden and shocking incident. Diana suddenly opened her eyes with a glimmer.

“It was June twenty-ninth.”

She was able to recall the exact date because it was the same day as the Kingdom’s founding. Of all things, people were talking about Catherine’s death on the Founding Day. They all murmured that the death of Catherine, the future Crown Princess, would lead to disaster for the royal family.

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