Chapter 8 Failed Marriage
Chapter 8
8.1
When Euridice suddenly said, "Let's break off the engagement, Lorenz."
The wine glass in Lorenz's hand fell to the ground with a clang.
He muttered, "What?"
Ah, yes, thought Euridice.
He should have been shocked.
Euridice repeated calmly, "I say, let's break off the engagement, Lorenz."
Lorenz was so shocked that he was speechless for a moment.
The living room was completely silent. The wine glass shattered at Lorenz's feet, spilling white wine all over the floor. The aroma of the wine gradually spread, from sweet to bitter.
Lorenz stood among the broken porcelain pieces on the ground, his lips moving blankly.
He made no sound, but Euridsi understood what he was saying:
He was asking: Why?
Why, Tissi?
Why did you suddenly break off the engagement?
"It's simple," said Olidesi, "Because you have made me lose the ability to live independently on this ethereal continent."
Lorenz's eyes widened in shock.
Olidisi said: "I was murdered, and I think the biggest culprit is you."
Euridice's words were so calm, yet so certain—she almost never lied. Lorenz looked at her in surprise and doubt: "Tisi, what are you talking about?"
Euridice seemed not to hear Lorenz's shock, and just said calmly:
"What we have is not only a heart-pounding young love that happened in college, but also like-minded fellow travelers, each other's closest partners and most loyal comrades.
"You're working hard on everything I want to achieve.
"You protected me behind you and shielded me from the wind and rain.
"You fought and fought so hard for everything I wanted, but Lorenz—
“I lost the ability to do all that myself.”
Lorenz was speechless.
Ouli Desi's words were vague, but she knew that he could understand.
After all, he is Lorenz and she is Euridice, and they understand each other better than they understand themselves.
Euridice said slowly, “You understand, Lorenz.
"Because of you, I have lost the ability to face danger alone.
“I lost the ability to protect myself when someone attacked me.
“I lost the ability to create the career and life I wanted.
"It seems that I have gained everything through my marriage with you, but in fact, I have lost everything in my marriage with you."
The fire in the fireplace was still dancing, reflecting the broken glass on the ground, which sparkled like tears flavored with white wine.
Amidst the crystal tears, Euridsi looked at Lorenz sadly.
"The Duchess is right," she said. "Reynardel is right, and Anne is right."
Oledsi said, closing his eyes.
All this was said not so much to Lorenz as to Euridsi himself.
She murmured, “The Duchess didn’t dare to do anything to me, only because of your existence, not because I have the ability to protect myself… As soon as you left, she killed me immediately.
"Anne said, 'I have changed.' I went from being Euridice Aquitus, who was determined to overthrow the aristocracy, to being a countess who did nothing.
"Yes, she's right. For my ideals and ambitions, I didn't do anything... I didn't do anything. I stood behind you, giving you advice, but the real work was done by you, Lorenz.
"Reynardel is not wrong. He doesn't really respect me. The person he really respects is you, because you are the one who is actually doing the work, not me.
"I'm no longer the alchemist who can debate with the masters from the podium. I'm just... Lorenz Ebrard's wife. An ordinary countess.
"And the culprit of all this is you, Lorenz."
Oulidsi's tone was vague and he spoke accusatory words, but there was no real accusation in his tone, only a deep sadness.
There were originally two wine glasses placed together on the table, but now only one is left, standing alone.
Lorenz stood there, his shadow stretched long by the light from the fireplace. His shadow, like the remaining wine glass, stood alone on the ground.
He lowered his head, not looking at Euridsi, but said softly and with difficulty: "Tisi, I... I thought..."
Olidisi shook his head slightly.
She stood up, put on her shoes, stepped on the broken glass on the ground, and slowly walked to Lorenz.
Lorenz lowered his head, and Euridsi reached out and gently held half of his cheek.
"You don't have to say anything, Lo," she said.
Lorenz shuddered. Euridsi said sadly, "You're doing this for my own good. I know. You have a kind and sincere heart. I can see that."
He was really good to her.
Lady Beatrice had once mocked her humble origins to her face, looking down upon her and saying, "I advise you not to entertain those aspirations that are inappropriate for common merchants. It is an honor for you to be a countess; do not dream of getting involved in the affairs of Oplenci."
Before Oledsi could react, Lorenz stood up without hesitation, stood in front of her, and said to his mother, "If Oledsi doesn't work, it will be Oprensi's loss. She does more than any master of noble birth."
Not only in front of his family, but also in front of the administrators and judges of Opulensi, Lorenz firmly defended Oulidesi and affirmed her contributions.
She still remembered that when the hot summer flood season arrived and Lorenz proposed a plan to repair the north dike, several administrators disagreed and the discussion room was in turmoil. It was Lorenz who calmed the scene with a single sentence:
He said, "Oulidsi has pored over epic poems and handwritten manuscripts left by wise men, borrowed from the Queen's personal library, and worked tirelessly to come up with three plans together with the construction officer and the academy's masters. We have no reason not to believe her."
When the dike repairs actually began, several construction officers distrusted her and murmured, "Who knows if the plan was really made by the Countess?"
The next morning, she saw Lorenz standing by the dike early in the morning, wearing light armor, and saying to all the fortification officers, "If you have any doubts about Euridice, please provide evidence. According to the Heideberg Code, offensive remarks without evidence are called defamation. They will be judged."
When people talked about her, Eulidesi didn't care; but when Lorenz defended her, she felt a pang of pain in her heart.
Sometimes, after finishing their work at night, the two of them would sit side by side on the terrace of the castle and look up at the stars in the sky together.
Occasionally, she would say, "Sometimes, I'm not sure if I'm doing the right thing."
And Lorenz would respond: "No one can be sure. We do our best, and that's enough."
In those days, Ouli Desi once really thought about—
Just live like this.
This kind of life is pretty good.
As Olidisi thought about this, tears suddenly flowed from her eyes.
She stood among the broken glass and said with tears in her eyes, "That's why I became a 'frog being slowly boiled in warm water,' Lorenz."
Seeing her tears, Lorenz's eyes also turned red. Euridice looked out through the tears, and his appearance gradually became blurred in her eyes.
"Lorenz," she said, "if you were a cruel, arrogant, and oppressive aristocrat, as self-righteous as your mother and as false and hypocritical as your father, then I would have no faith or hope in you.
“I will grit my teeth and rely on myself, because I can only rely on myself.
"And by your presence, Lorenz, you have ensnared me in a sweet trap:
“You made me think that in this ethereal continent, there was someone else I could rely on besides myself.
"But it's not like that, Lorenz.
"The gods of the Ethereal Continent taught me a painful lesson:
"Can't.
“Anyone other than yourself will get hurt, will die, and will leave.
“Only yourself can be your eternal, only and true support.
"The evil and conspiracy on the Ethereal Continent will never disappear. I must grow into someone who can save myself. I must be able to rely on myself to survive on this Ethereal Continent. I must protect myself from harm and have the ability to create the career and life I want with my own hands."
As she said this, Olidisi blinked her eyes and wiped away the tears.
"So," she said, "let's break off our engagement, Lo."
8.2
When Euridice said, "Let's break off the engagement, Lorenz."
Lorenz knew she meant it.
Her voice was very calm, without any anger or accusation.
She wasn't discussing it with him; she had already made the decision and was simply informing him: "We are breaking off our engagement, Lorenz."
This ending wasn't without foreshadowing. When they first got married, Oulidsi murmured, "I'm finally getting married... I really hope I won't become your appendage."
He laughed at the time and said: "You never will be. You are the one standing shoulder to shoulder with me."
But now, Lorenz realized:
They agreed to walk side by side, so since when did he start standing in front of her with a "protective" attitude?
When she said, "I was murdered, and you are the biggest culprit."
He heard it, and even understood it.
He couldn't refute it.
Every word she said was the truth, and he fully understood it. Therefore, he also fully understood that his marriage had been sentenced to death.
There is no room for redemption.
Lorenz's eyes were red as he stroked her cheek: "Tisi, about this matter, maybe, I..."
However, before he could say anything else, the door of the living room was suddenly pushed open with a "bang"!
Lorenz was startled, his face darkening slightly, but the new maid ignored the count's unhappy expression and said in panic: "Count, Countess, it's not good!"
Before Oledsi could speak, Lorenz subconsciously frowned: "What's wrong?"
"It was the Duchess... The Duchess said that the Count and Countess must come to the Temple immediately."
Looking at the frightened waitress, Lorenz felt a sense of foreboding: "Now? Why?"
The waitress trembled and said, "The Duchess said that the statue of the goddess suddenly shed tears of blood and brought down divine punishment on the temple. And the Countess... the Countess, it is very likely that she is the sinner who needs to be punished by God!"
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