An Ode to Divorce - Chapter 22

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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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#22

“Followers?”

I recalled Princess Lairinne who had attended my wedding in the past. A shy, scrawny little girl.

Considering how she couldn’t even speak to me properly and hid behind the king, it was hard to imagine she had grown to match the glamorous rumors of being the Lily of Petalien or having followers.

But three years had passed since then, so there was no telling how the princess might have grown.

Just then, the sound of minstrels performing could be faintly heard from outside the banquet hall.

Childhood days are setting

A new dawn is breaking

Before you who have come of age

May glory and joy abound

It was a song always sung at coming-of-age ceremonies. The familiar verses made me unconsciously hum along.

“May glory and joy abound…”

As I hummed a few lines, the flowers decorating nearby bloomed more vividly. I gently touched the petals with my fingertips. The flowers trembled as if they were delighted.

The fact that the notes could be heard clearly from afar and the voices weren’t muddled showed the minstrels’ skill wasn’t bad.

They really had put a lot of effort into this banquet, as rumored—it showed in details like this.

“By the way, for a banquet of this caliber, they must have been very selective with the guest list. You managed to get an invitation quite well.”

“Hmph, if the marquis really wanted to make this banquet a success, he naturally had to invite me. The atmosphere changes depending on whether I attend or not.”

“Sure, sure.”

“What, you don’t believe me? Fine, don’t be surprised when people swarm us once we enter the banquet hall.”

“They’re not debt collectors or anything, right?”

As we bickered while walking toward the banquet hall with lyres tucked under our arms.

Even before we had entered, we could see people pointing at us and whispering from far across the banquet hall, apparently recognizing us.

“Is that really them?”

“How many people could have such pale hair? Oh wait, there are two of them. Anyway…”

Recognizing the attention directed at him, Linos puffed up with pride and arrogantly lifted his chin.

“See that? I told you I’m at this level. They recognize me from way over there.”

Linos puffed out his chest and walked toward the banquet hall with a business smile. As soon as he entered the banquet hall so majestically, what greeted us was…

“Orphea! It really is Orphea!”

“You came without saying anything…! You startled me!”

“…”

It was my expedition comrades who came rushing over.

Since Gert was attending, I had thought quite a few other expedition members would be here too…

But I hadn’t expected everyone to welcome me this enthusiastically, so I was a bit flustered.

While I was momentarily stunned, the expedition members continued their conversation among themselves.

“How long has it been? This is the first time since the expedition ended and you got married, right?”

“I saw someone who looked like you in the banquet hall and ran over happily, but it was some man! Why does he have to look so much like you for no reason… Ah! Right! This man! It was this man!”

An expedition member who belatedly noticed Linos jumped up and shouted.

“…If we’re being precise, I was the one who came into this world with this face first.”

Linos grumbled sullenly from the side. But no one paid attention to Linos’s words. Ignored, Linos’s face turned even redder.

For Linos, this was probably the first time he’d found himself on the periphery of others’ attention like this.

Being mistaken for me wasn’t exactly pleasant for Linos. But since we both had the same white hair braided long to one side and were carrying lyres, it was understandable that others might mistake us at a glance.

“Seeing you appear in social circles like this, I guess it’s really true.”

“What is?”

“The rumors about your divorce.”

Since this was my first public appearance after the divorce, I had known the topic of divorce would come up. I nodded calmly without any emotional disturbance.

“While many details differ from the facts, it’s true that I got divorced.”

However my attitude was interpreted, a strange emotion flickered across my expedition members’ stern faces.

‘Sympathy? That doesn’t seem right…’

Why… do they all look oddly excited?

While I wasn’t particularly unhappy, from others’ perspective this shouldn’t be a joyful situation. And my former comrades weren’t trash who would enjoy others’ misfortune.

“Don’t worry about the rumors circulating in social circles. At least none of us expedition members believe those rumors.”

“Right, there may be no man stronger than Gert, but there are many men better than Gert.”

‘…Was I mistaken after all?’

Seeing my former comrades’ hearty attitude, it seemed I had been mistaken in thinking they were happy about my divorce for a moment. Feeling sorry for misunderstanding them, I added sheepishly.

“Thanks. You’re better than my own blood relative. That guy heard the rumors and immediately believed I really had an affair.”

“No, I meant I support you whether you had an affair or not…”

Linos rambled in his defense. As I was listening to Linos with one ear and letting it out the other, I noticed one of the expedition members surrounding me blushing and hesitating. He soon stepped forward with a determined expression as if he had resolved something.

“Um, Orphea. Are you perhaps seeing someone else…”

Just as I was momentarily flustered by him getting too close, the other expedition members pulled him back.

“Hey, are you trying to get a head start like this?”

“What, what did I do! I was just going to ask.”

“Ask what?”

Seeing them obviously hiding something from me, I frowned and asked.

But instead of answering my question, they started pushing each other’s faces and grabbing each other by the collar.

“You bastard, I already didn’t like how you were being so cunning.”

“Who’s being cunning? You think I don’t know you’re always hanging back watching and then butting in?”

‘…Why is this happening?’

I was flustered by the situation suddenly escalating to a fistfight. Linos seemed equally confused as he quietly whispered.

“Should we leave them like this?”

“What can we do? Still, since it’s someone else’s party, they’ll probably fight moderately and stop.”

As a mere minstrel, I couldn’t intervene between these renowned heroes to stop them.

Even without me stepping in, someone suitable to stop them would soon intervene.

Sure enough, just before things got serious, people stepped in between them.

“I wondered what all the commotion was about.”

“An honored guest has arrived.”

It was the twins from the host Tyndareus family, Castor and Pollux.

The two people with fox-like slanted eyes and dark green hair were still as identical as mirrors. While Linos and I were said to resemble each other, these two were truly difficult to distinguish with the naked eye.

When the twins appeared, the expedition members’ heated momentum, which had seemed ready to erupt into a brawl, cooled down as if cold water had been poured on it.

After all, this was a celebration for the twins’ sister coming of age. Participating in someone else’s party only to cause trouble instead of celebrating would be tantamount to declaring a fight to the death.

As my former comrades regained their senses, Pollux, the one with the lighter voice among the twins, spread his arms toward me.

“It’s been a while, Orphea.”

“You’re beautiful today too. If the goddess of beauty descended to earth, she would look like you.”

“Jokes right after meeting for the first time in ages? Is teasing me that fun?”

“Teasing? We’re being sincere.”

I lightly embraced each of the twins in turn. And just as I was about to step back, Castor pulled me into a tight embrace and whispered.

“Do you know how much we’ve missed you? You never showed yourself in social circles, always just holed up in Rübenherts Castle.”

“Right. We thought Gert was keeping you confined.”

Such exaggeration. I chuckled as I freed myself from their embrace.

“You should have just come visit Rübenherts Castle. If you had sent a visiting card, I would have accepted immediately.”

“If our cards could have reached you, we would have.”

“Huh?”

“It’s nothing.”

The twins exchanged glances, then smiled and trailed off.

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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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