An Ode to Divorce - Chapter 30

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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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#30

Linos subtly averted his gaze.

Just as my eyebrows were gradually rising at his reluctance to speak.

Unable to withstand the pressure of my stare, Linos finally spilled the details.

“I once went to Gert asking him to let me write a heroic poem about him.”

“What?”

At these words I’d never heard before, my eyes widened in shock. Linos muttered as if his pride was hurt.

“Honestly, it’s only natural. You wanted to write his heroic poem so badly you were even going to marry Gert, so why wouldn’t I have felt the same way?”

“No, I can understand that… But you never said a word about it until now.”

“After going to see him and being told that if I ever showed my face in front of him again he’d tear me in half, how could I honestly confess that! Just thinking about whether Gert meant horizontally or vertically had me trembling under my blankets for a whole month!”

“Hmm…”

That Gert would make such a violent statement was honestly hard to believe.

While Gert was reckless and didn’t care what others thought, he wasn’t the type to be violent toward others for no reason…

‘Even if Gert extremely hates tragedies.’

There was definitely information Linos had omitted. I gently coaxed him.

“Tell me honestly. What exactly did you say to Gert back then?”

While what Gert said came out immediately, it seemed Linos couldn’t quite remember what he himself had said. After thinking for a long while, Linos recalled his own words and spoke with a bright smile.

“…I said that if I wrote about a cursed hero like you, it would become such a magnificent tragedy that even Mnemiir would take pity, so if he gave me the right to write his heroic poem, I would pray for Mnemiir to break your curse when the god manifested.”

‘Don’t tell me Gert started hating tragedies because of this idiot Linos?’

It was entirely possible. Otherwise, how would Gert, who didn’t even properly know the types of songs, have known about and disliked tragedies?

Linos’s words had touched every single one of Gert’s sore spots. I was almost impressed by how he managed to hit every key point so thoroughly. At this point, it was actually surprising that Linos was still alive and in one piece.

Completely oblivious to my incredulity, Linos shrugged his shoulders dramatically with a sigh.

“But it’s fine now. Anyway, as long as you’re there, he probably won’t kill me. I’m mentally prepared! So, where’s the next banquet we need to go to?”

“…Well, it’s good that you’re mentally prepared.”

I scratched my chin.

“I don’t need your help anymore.”

“What? Why?”

Though he’d been secretly trying to back out until just now, when I said I didn’t need his help anymore, Linos cried out in a voice full of indignation.

“Gert just asked me to attend social gatherings with him.”

“…What?”

Linos just blinked for a long moment. Then he narrowed his eyes and asked with a sour expression.

“You two… You’re sure you’re not getting back together?”

“We’re not. Besides, does it make sense to reconcile right after getting divorced?”

“It doesn’t make sense, but thinking about you and Gert, it somehow seems possible. Someone who chases after their divorced spouse, or someone who suggests attending social gatherings together after getting divorced…”

Linos shook his head as if we were hopeless. I could understand why Linos kept being suspicious, but we were innocent. I waved my hands in denial.

“Anyway, it’s nothing like that. Gert would laugh if he heard that.”

“But yesterday Gert’s reaction regarding the twins was unusually aggressive. He was totally like a jealous ex-husband.”

“The twins and Gert were always like that. I was just used as an excuse.”

If it had been expedition members who had watched that spectacle together for a year, they would have nodded as if my words made sense.

Linos just furrowed his brow as if he couldn’t understand at all.

“Even if he didn’t want to see guys he doesn’t get along with hitting on his ex-wife, how long had he even been in the banquet hall before he immediately took you and left? That’s definitely strange. He wasn’t even your partner.”

It was certainly unconventional behavior for Gert, who wasn’t my partner, to arbitrarily take me away.

“There was a reason for that. The princess’s attitude toward me was really bad. He probably thought I wouldn’t see anything good if I stayed in the banquet hall.”

“Ah, the princess.”

Linos, who had fled as soon as Gert appeared, seemed to just now remember the princess’s existence. Being far away, he apparently didn’t know the detailed situation.

“I remember you telling me to be careful, but she just unilaterally dislikes me, so there’s nothing I can do.”

“Why on earth does the princess dislike you? She’s not someone who’s hostile to just anyone.”

“She seems to like Gert.”

“Ah, that can’t be helped then.”

Linos sighed as if he truly felt sorry.

Mulling over why the princess disliked me was meaningless. What was more important was why the princess liked Gert.

Since when had she liked Gert, what aspects of Gert did she like…

I needed to know that to be able to interfere properly.

I shrugged and said.

“Anyway, I think I can handle Gert’s side myself now. Instead, can I ask you for one other favor?”

“What? Want me to investigate the princess or something?”

“Oh.”

At Linos’s seemingly sarcastic response, my eyes widened. He figured it out without me even saying anything – he’s quick.

Having ended up actually doing an investigation when he’d only been joking, Linos scratched his neck as if annoyed.

“Sigh… I’ll only do it moderately. Just moderately. I just need to find out mainly about things involving Gert, right?”

“Yeah. And also what social gatherings or banquets she usually attends. I want to avoid them as much as possible.”

Of course, I could also use mice or birds, but there were definitely limits to uncovering complex relationships that way.

‘Even weeds help hold the soil together…’

I usually clicked my tongue watching Linos live dissolutely in social circles, but at times like this, there was no one better than Linos. He would quickly gather all the rumors circulating behind the scenes in social circles.

‘Hmm. I just need to wait about a week.’

***

A week nothing – less than three days after I asked, Linos brought information about the princess. Amazed by the incredible speed, I was genuinely impressed.

“That was faster than I thought.”

“I was worried about where I could dig up information about the princess since she didn’t engage in external activities before her coming-of-age ceremony, but fortunately it seems the princess was interested in the arts. I quickly got information through those channels.”

Linos lifted his chin arrogantly. Though it was annoying, if it had been someone other than Linos, they wouldn’t have gotten information this quickly. I nodded without much objection.

“First, do you know about the current royal family’s composition?”

“Since Dietrich was the expedition leader, I know as much as anyone else does.”

“Including that Prince Dietrich fell out of the king’s favor?”

I nodded.

Dietrich was the legitimate eldest son of the current Petalien king, a prince loved by the people for his good nature and outstanding talents.

However, he had earned his father’s hatred and was not recognized as heir.

The reason Dietrich organized an expedition to Okrolandi, with whom diplomatic relations had been severed for a hundred years four years ago, was also due to the king’s nitpicking about how he should do something helpful for the country as a prince.

Though he had to organize the expedition because of the king’s orders, since all the heroes knew the king didn’t like Dietrich, they couldn’t readily volunteer to join the expedition.

Organizing the expedition itself was an ordeal.

Having no choice, Dietrich asked for help from his old friend Gert, and only after hearing that Gert would participate did heroes begin to gather one by one.

Having been recommended by Linos and entered as the expedition’s final member, I didn’t know such circumstances well.

But during the year we spent together sharing hardships, all sorts of stories came up as topics, so I also learned how difficult it had been to organize this expedition.

“But I don’t really know why the king dislikes Dietrich so much. It would be awkward to ask about that.”

“It’s just rumors circulating behind the scenes in social circles, so it’s not certain…”

Linos touched his lips and trailed off. Then he gestured slightly for me to come closer.

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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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