Surviving the Game as a Barbarian Chapter 765: The Secret Garden (6)

As I read through the diary, Hyeonbyeol asked beside :

“What do you think? It’s good, right?”

“Hmm... not sure?”

Honestly, calling it “good” feels off.

I don’t even like romance as a genre, and I’ve never really cared about other people’s love stories.

That said... I’ll admit I was a little intrigued.

Because the main character of this story is the Marquis.

The man who eventually raised his hand against the king in a move of utter madness—this book supposedly contains the reason why.

'But so far, I still don’t get it...'

Just reading the beginning doesn’t make that kind of motive clear.

So I kept reading the diary.

And skimming past all the fluff, here’s the quick summary:

[She looked at like I’d seen a ghost and asked what was wrong. I told her my pregnant wife was waiting at ho.]

That ended their reunion after six years.

The girl went silent for a long ti, then said, “Then you’d better go,” and the Marquis replied, “Yeah...” and left.

Then...

[The thought wouldn’t leave . What had that silence ant? Could it be... she felt the sa way—?]

How much the Marquis agonized over it didn’t matter to , so I skipped that part.

Ti passed, and his son was born.

He genuinely enjoyed fatherhood, but...

[Still, he couldn’t help but wonder—what if he had a child with her? Would that child be even more beautiful, more precious than this one?]

To wash away that guilt, he poured himself into his family. Around then, he also began managing his household’s affairs in his ailing father’s stead.

He lived busily, devoting himself to work and family, and the mories of his first love seed to fade.

But then...

[She reappeared. Again, after six years.]

It was the day he visited the capital to officially receive his title. On a whim, he went out to the gardens and ran into her again.

[The first thought I had when I saw her was, “It feels like I saw her just yesterday.” Not a poetic expression of longing—it was literal. Her appearance hadn’t changed a bit since six years ago.]

She looked completely untouched by ti.

The Marquis found it odd, but didn’t dwell on it.

[She congratulated on the child and my succession. I was genuinely happy to accept her words. Ti had buried the old emotions, and finally, I was able to ask her what I never could.]

He asked for her na. Asked what circumstances had her hiding away in the royal palace.

[After much hesitation, she finally opened her mouth. But instead of an answer, it was a request. She asked to take her away.]

After so internal struggle, he agreed.

He didn’t know her full story, but now that he was a Marquis, he believed he could handle it.

Also, he figured that once he helped her, she’d tell him everything.

Then...

[After taking her out successfully, I used magic to change her hair and eye color. Around the ti Elthora was born, I brought her to a secret hideout I’d prepared without anyone knowing.]

From the context, it was obvious: the place I was currently sitting in was that very hideout.

Not that it was the most important detail here.

[We spent a long ti together in that hideout. And finally, I learned her na.]

I’d been reading pretty casually, but this part made my eyes sharpen.

There were still plenty of pages left in the book, but finally—finally—I was about to learn what I wanted to know most.

[Mayrin Hwinnvenia Lafdonia.]

...Huh?

[That was her na.]

Seriously...?

***

I’d seen the portrait of a woman—presumably Ragna’s mother—back in the Marquis’s secret room once.

[Mayrin Hwinnvenia —————.]

The last na had been scratched out violently, making it unreadable.

But now I knew her full na.

[Lafdonia.]

That surna was only granted to those of direct royal blood.

The mont I read it, a cold shiver ran down my spine.

Mayrin Hwinnvenia Lafdonia was very likely Ragna’s mother.

Which ans—

'Ragna is... of royal descent?'

Sure, she was an illegitimate child—born from an affair, not marriage.

But the fact remains: she carries the king’s blood.

'Then why... why did the Marquis rebel against the king?'

There’s no doubt the root cause lies with that naless princess, but not knowing the specifics, I kept reading.

Because every answer I needed was supposed to be in this book.

[While staying in the hideout, I listened to her story—again and again. It was far more shocking than I ever imagined. I never thought the royal family harbored such secrets...]

“Wait... does it ever say what the secret # Nоvеlight # actually was?”

“Nope.”

Great. So the Marquis deliberately glossed over it.

“Fine. I’ll keep reading.”

[As shocking as her secret was, what moved more was the life she’d lived—raised as a sacrificial pawn. My sympathy grew with each passing day.]

[Though I had a wife and child, the mont she began to cry, I could no longer deny it. What I felt wasn’t just pity.]

[And it wasn’t one-sided. Today, I confird it. I felt a fulfillnt deeper than I had ever known.]

But the sweet ti they spent together didn’t last long.

[Given the power the royal family holds, surviving even a month was a miracle. Eventually, they found us, and in the audience chamber... I t him.]

[He was nothing like I expected. At first, he seed intimidating. Then, he laughed and made an offer. Said the royal family needed soone in the inner circle who knew the truth.]

[He offered the position of Chancellor. I had no choice. It was the promotion of my dreams, yet knowing what I now knew, I couldn’t rejoice.]

What followed was summarized briefly.

The Marquis returned to the hideout, continued his ti with Mayrin, and their love bore fruit.

She beca pregnant.

And the joy he felt this ti was beyond comparison to when Elthora had been conceived.

But...

'If this were a happy ending, there wouldn’t be this many pages left.'

Even so, what happened next wasn’t sothing I could’ve predicted, despite all the dia I’d seen in my life.

[What shattered our seemingly eternal happiness wasn’t the king’s whims, nor the sches of political enemies, nor betrayal by subordinates. It was more like divine punishnt.]

[One evening, as we lay together, whispering sweet nothings and caressing her round belly, Mayrin suddenly scread.]

[“Who am I? Who are you? Where is this place?” She began rambling like a lunatic, speaking words I couldn’t comprehend—and among them, there was one word she should never have said.]

...

[Dungeon & Stone.]

...

[Mayrin had been possessed by a revenant.]

It hit like a thunderstrike to the skull. My mind went blank.

But once I ca to, a question imdiately rose.

'Revenants can only possess adults, right...?'

I didn’t know Mayrin’s exact age at the ti, but she must have been well past adulthood.

Six years had passed since she was first described as a full-grown woman.

So how could sothing like this happen?

The Marquis never addressed that question directly.

But the early parts of the diary offered a hint.

[She looked exactly the sa as she had six years ago.]

Like no ti had passed.

Maybe—just maybe—sothing had literally stopped her biological aging.

The royal family did have strange life-support chanisms. I wouldn’t put it past them to have sothing like that.

'...Now I get why Hyeonbyeol called this a tragedy.'

After Mayrin was possessed, the Marquis’s life turned to hell.

He sought counsel from the king.

The king, horrified, said there was nothing that could be done. Kill her or save her—do as you please.

It was like the sky fell.

But even in hell, ti moved on. And Mayrin’s belly continued to grow.

Then—

[The “thing,” whatever it was, gave birth—and then took its own life.]

The revenant gave birth to Ragna... and died.

But the Marquis told the royal family that the revenant had died while giving birth to Ragna.

Then he spirited the child away.

He wanted this child—this one—to live a peaceful life.

But...

“So Elthora beca a revenant too, after all that...”

Ti passed, and his only son beca a revenant.

Now the only child left is Ragna.

“The Marquis must’ve wanted to tear every last revenant to shreds.”

I couldn’t even begin to imagine how he must’ve felt.

But if you ask , the Marquis made a foolish mistake.

He planned to pass everything he had onto Ragna.

[October 21.]

The diary now approached the present—just one month before the rebellion.

[Before everything was ready, the king woke up.]

[I have to protect that child.]

That was the final line.

I closed the book and exhaled deeply.

“So? Was it good?”

“Not really.”

My honest review: “Not good.”

I an, co on.

“I thought there’d be sothing exciting at the end, but it just sort of fizzled out.”

“Well duh, the Marquis is still alive.”

“I should’ve just asked you to summarize it in three lines.”

“What? You can’t summarize all that in just three lines!”

“...Huh? Sure you can.”

1. The Marquis fell in love with a princess.

2. The princess beca a revenant, gave birth, and died.

3. His son Elthora also beca a revenant, so he rebelled to protect his last remaining child.

That’s all there is to it.

If the person you’re telling this story to is Ragna, it’s even easier.

'I love you, my daughter.'

One line, and it’s all clear.

'Yeah... it really does feel like this was written for Ragna.'

He glossed over the royal secret. And even while reading, I could tell there were parts he deliberately left vague.

'If the content had been that serious, he wouldn’t have let Hyeonbyeol read it.'

After finishing the diary, my mind was even more tangled with unanswered questions.

“What’s on your mind now?”

“I’m just trying to figure out what the Marquis was thinking.”

“Why? Isn’t it obvious? He wanted to succeed with the rebellion and protect his daughter.”

“Sure. But that’s Plan A. The fact he wrote this diary proves he didn’t think he’d succeed.”

“...True.”

“Knowing the Marquis, I’m sure he had a Plan B to protect Ragna... But I can’t figure out what it is. Just hiding her in a villa and letting her sleep? That’s too lazy.”

Hearing that, Hyeonbyeol tilted her head in thought and offered:

“...Maybe you’re Plan B?”

“...What?”

“I an, co on. You almost married her.”

She trailed off and gave a faint smile.

“He probably knows better than anyone that if it’s for soone precious, you would be willing to point a blade at the royal family.”