An Ode to Divorce - Chapter 18

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#18

Did Gert treasure her that much? To the point where he wouldn’t want her to face even the slightest danger because of him?

So much so that he would rather choose to die himself?

“Do you have any idea why Gert suddenly tried to break the curse?”

It seemed like my realization was showing on my face.

Not knowing how to answer Tamar’s question, I just moved my lips for a long while.

In the meantime, Tamar added,

“Or how about just telling Gert about the regression? If he finds out that he already failed and died, he wouldn’t bother leaving to break the curse, right?”

I had considered revealing it to Gert too.

But when I didn’t know about the underworld, I thought Gert wouldn’t believe my words, and now even if he would believe me, I couldn’t reveal it.

Because to explain Gert walking into the underworld, I would inevitably have to mention the existence of ‘that woman.’

‘It would be troublesome if I ended up stirring up unnecessary trouble by speaking carelessly.’

And it felt awkward to reveal all of that with my own mouth.

I confessed about these circumstances with a sigh.

“I couldn’t mention it earlier, but Gert has a woman he loves. It seems like he left for the underworld because of that woman too. So even if he learns about what happened before the regression, I don’t think he’ll change his mind.”

“…Wait, a woman he loves? Spill everything from beginning to end.”

***

Under Tamar’s pressure, I confessed about the existence of the proposal ring along with the suspicious attitudes Gert had shown.

Of course, at first I tried to exclude the story about sleeping with Gert.

‘Even though we’re friends, it’s a bit embarrassing to reveal bedroom stories.’

Especially since it wasn’t even a planned and negotiated encounter, but happened because we were drunk – and on alcohol that was a tribute from Tamar’s country, which we ended up stealing and drinking.

But as Tamar kept interrogating me persistently, I ended up confessing everything.

Tamar’s expression grew increasingly serious as she listened to the story.

“I take back what I said about trying our best to save Gert. How about just letting him die and writing a heroic epic about a new hero? I’ll recommend a decent hero for you.”

“No, what happened that time wasn’t entirely Gert’s fault either… If we’re being precise, Gert was the one who suffered the loss.”

“What kind of nonsense is that!”

“Well, it seemed like Gert was the one who valued purity more importantly…?”

I rolled my eyes and added as if making an excuse.

“I’m not the type to attach that much meaning to who I had my first experience with… Of course, I did feel a bit betrayed. But still, if I think about it, I was married to a hero among heroes, and rather than divorcing without ever sleeping together…”

“Enough. You’d better not speak.”

Tamar grumbled and covered my mouth. I quietly closed my mouth and waited for Tamar to calm her anger.

“I mean, even if you drank Okrolandi’s golden wine, still! Does it make sense to mistake someone for another woman you like! Is that love? Huh?”

Tamar raged by herself. After sufficiently cursing Gert, her anger seemed to subside somewhat, and the spreading wildfire-like rage calmed down considerably.

Tamar turned to look at me and said,

“Fine. If Gert really resolved to break the curse for the woman he likes, then half-hearted persuasion won’t work. Even if we tell him he failed before the regression, he’ll probably say we don’t know if he’ll fail this time too.”

“Right. Moreover, since we’re even getting divorced and the reason for my death has disappeared, he might argue it’s even more irrelevant to him.”

“He might even think you’re interfering with him.”

“That’s probably how it would be.”

I nodded my head.

Gert is someone who pushes through with whatever he decides, no matter what. To put it positively, he’s decisive, but to express it negatively, he’s mercilessly uncompromising.

If we had the same goal, he’d be reliable, but if our goals differed, it would be problematic.

“Then it’s better not to reveal the regression after all. It would become too troublesome to move around.”

“I think so too.”

Soon Tamar and I faced each other and sighed simultaneously.

“The problem is… the woman Gert likes. We don’t know who she is, right?”

“Yeah. But I think Gert hasn’t fallen in love yet.”

“That’s fortunate, but are you sure?”

Tamar asked while letting out a quiet sigh of relief. I nodded.

“When I trace back my memories, there was definitely a time when Gert’s attitude became strange. Like when he suddenly started keeping his distance from me… At that time, I was focused on the heroic epic and didn’t think deeply about it, just let it pass, but there was definitely some emotional change then.”

I answered definitively while recalling the past that hadn’t come yet. It was probably about five months from now, around a month before I slept with Gert.

Thinking about it, there were signs from that time.

‘That’s why I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to drink with Gert.’

I thought we were quite close, but when he suddenly kept his distance, even I couldn’t help but be concerned.

Thanks to that, I was able to gauge Gert’s feelings as a result. Though my heart ended up in tatters.

“At that time, well, it would be almost like he met a woman and immediately fell in love. But even so, to risk death for a woman he’d only known for a short time? I find it hard to believe that Gert was such a romanticist.”

Tamar frowned as if finding it hard to believe. I also agreed with Tamar’s words.

The Gert I knew was also a man far from things like love.

Usually, he didn’t value marriage and had a cynical way of thinking.

Not only that? He also had a tendency to regard people other than himself as ‘utterly fragile beings.’ In other words, he didn’t acknowledge other humans as equal counterparts.

For such a person to fall in love – I couldn’t imagine that sight at all.

‘…What do I really know about Gert anyway.’

They say the flames of love can melt even iron.

I thought that even Gert’s heart, quiet as the deep sea and impossible to read, could be tossed about like being swept up in a storm.

I added somewhat self-deprecatingly,

“Maybe sleeping with me shortly after realizing his feelings touched his sense of guilt. Since he lost his purity, he might have wanted to prove his love with other values to that extent.”

“But that hasn’t happened yet. Since there won’t be anything happening between you and Gert now, wouldn’t it be fine?”

“The problem is I can’t be certain of that.”

I shook my head from side to side. Then, belatedly realizing my words could be interpreted ambiguously, I hastily added,

“I mean, what I can’t be certain of is whether Gert will be fine. There won’t be anything happening between Gert and me.”

“Oh my. You startled me.”

Tamar patted her chest. I chuckled and explained,

“I don’t know how rapidly Gert fell for that woman. Even without what happened with me, he might have wanted to break the curse for that woman.”

“It’s ambiguous.”

Tamar clicked her tongue as if disgusted. Then she leaned against the sofa backrest and looked at the ceiling for a moment, before tapping the table with her fingertips and summarizing our conversation so far.

“Alright, so your goal is to make the heroic epic perfect, right?”

“Yeah.”

“To do that, you either let Gert die and write a tragic epic, or save Gert and go with the ending you originally planned. But the former is impossible because Gert would hate it.”

“Right, right.”

“Then there’s only one answer.”

Tamar clapped her hands together and spoke in a clear tone.

“Somehow identify that woman and prevent Gert from falling in love with her for a year. If Gert doesn’t fall in love, he’ll never think of going to the underworld, and there’ll be no reason for him to die.”

But to do as Tamar suggested, I felt a slight pang of guilt. I felt like I was becoming a love saboteur. I asked hesitantly,

“But she’s a woman Gert likes enough to risk death for… would it be okay for me to interfere?”

“Think of it as revenge for the incident where he mistook you for another woman and spent the night with you. Then you won’t feel too sorry, right?”

Tamar scolded me as if it were absurd. When I still seemed hesitant, Tamar waved her hand.

“Well, it’s not like you’re preventing them from meeting forever, just for one year. If they’re such destined lovers, no matter how much you interfere, they’ll find a way to meet again.”

“Oh.”

Is that so…?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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