"You saved ?"
"Hardly called a rescue, seeing you lying on the grass, worried you might catch a chill, I took the liberty of changing your bed."
Luo En gave a slight smile, his playful words lightening the seriousness the lady opposite brought, while he passed the roasted pheasant to the noblewoman beside him.
Having mastered the art of saying the right thing to the right person, he was remarkably adept.
Knowing the lady opposite had a fierce temper and strong pride, Luo En naturally decided to smooth things over to prevent any unnecessary trouble from a disagreent.
After all, following this evening, they would go their separate ways, no need to spoil their brief encounter with harsh words.
"Thank you, thank you..."
The noblewoman hesitated as she took the pheasant.
It was unclear whether she was thankful for the food or for the earlier assistance.
Furthermore, her tone was quite stiff, as if she seldom thanked strangers.
By all appearances, she was likely so high-ranking royalty.
Luo En muttered to himself, casually offering a bowl of mushroom soup she passed on asking, "By the way, I haven't asked for your na yet."
The noblewoman thought for a mont, then responded in a deep voice.
"Kella, from Argos."
"Bax, from Thebes,"
Luo En nodded, smiling politely, stating the future Roman na of the God of Wine.
By the way, Bax also had a nickna, "the God of Many Faces."
As they consud several rounds of soup, and after exchanging nas, the atmosphere between them gradually ward.
Harnessing his curiosity, Luo En casually inquired.
"Lady, who left you in such a condition? With such a serious situation, why didn't you inform your family, coming alone to these deep mountains, it's hardly safe."
"My husband..."
"?"
"It was my husband who inflicted these injuries on ."
Kella spoke expressionlessly, her face under the firelight as cold as frost.
The previously easing mood chilled once again.
Talking about exactly the wrong thing, Luo En reflected on himself for a mont, quickly changing his approach.
"Marital disputes are inevitable, and misunderstandings can be resolved, perhaps there is still a chance for clear skies after rain."
"He is dead; I did it..."
"Ahem, ahem."
Luo En coughed violently, at a loss for words, quickly changing the subject.
"This at here is ready too; co, eat..."
Kella took the wild rabbit Luo En offered, her sharp teeth ruthlessly biting down, the grinding sound chillingly eerie, as if she were biting into her deceased husband.
Dostic violence and retaliatory killing? Do all you Argives play this wild?
Luo En silently criticized, sowhat regretting that he had carelessly opened a perilous topic.
But driven by intense curiosity, he found himself compelled to ask.
"What exactly happened? Perhaps you might feel better if you talked about it."
Seeing the fluctuating expression on the noblewoman's face, Luo En quickly added,
"Talking about it might make you feel better..."
Hearing these comforting words, Kella felt a surge of sorrow, unable to restrain her desire to express herself, she vehently shouted.
"Not only did he cheat on behind my back, but he also dared to strike for another woman and an unborn bastard! The last straw was when he claid that the child's birth was divine guidance, a calling for his great legacy!
Divine guidance! A great legacy! Such lofty excuses for his baser urges!
"I— cough, cough..."
Kella coughed violently, her handkerchief stained with crimson blood.
"Don't get worked up, please, don't get worked up!"
Luo En hurriedly cast several spells to stabilize the mind and assisted the lady to sit down.
After venting, Lady Kela's accumulated resentnt finally eased sowhat, but aimless sorrow followed.
"Many people say that love is the most beautiful thing in the world, but why am I suffering so much?"
"Because love and marriage are two different things,"
Luo En sighed and explained in a deep voice.
"Love is sothing that easily moves one's heart, it's more about mutual enjoynt, about reckless romance, and about freely pursuing passions, leaning towards the ideals one craves.
However, marriage, in my view, is about mutual guardianship. Even if love exists within, it often seems faint, eroded continuously. The responsibilities and obligations towards each other gradually beco the base of marriage, and once you encounter soone with a weak sense of duty or poor morals, the other half naturally suffers."
Upon hearing this, Lady Kela thought carefully about all she had experienced and nodded silently.
"You're right, I mistook these two as the sa, which is why I've been in such agony."
"If this marriage is causing you so much pain, why keep tornting yourself? Why not just get a divorce?"
Luo En casually replied, looking at the distressed lady with a look of surprise.
Similarly, Lady Kela looked back at the kind-hearted young man with a surprised and puzzled expression.
"Divorce? Why would I get a divorce?"
"Didn't you say you were suffering?"
"Does divorce really solve the problem?"
"Why force yourself to endure unhappiness? Life didn't co into this world just to marry and procreate—that's an important part but not everything. Why not watch how flowers bloom, how water flows, how the sun rises, and when the sunset falls? Or perhaps understand so truths, encounter so interesting things, wouldn't that also be good?"
Luo En smiled, looked at the lady with a aningful expression, and mused.
"Marriage is pursued for happiness, and so is divorce."
"...!"
An unanticipated answer surged into her mind, and Lady Kela was profoundly shocked.
Marriage is pursued for happiness, and so is divorce?
But then, a strong fear arose in her heart.
If that were true, what was the aning of her long-standing perseverance, or the extre and twisted asures taken to sustain this marriage?
"Nonsense!"
Lady Kela shook her head in denial, her face cold.
"What do you, a child who has never experienced the beauty of marriage, know?"
"Beautiful, is it?"
Luo En smiled, looking at the lady with her lips pursed, forcedly composed, and inquired quietly.
"Then, how long has it been since you genuinely laughed from your heart?"
"…"
"How long has it been since you truly relaxed and enjoyed yourself?"
"..."
"How long has it been since you took a good look at this world's myriad phenona and felt touched?"
"...…"
Lady Kela opened her mouth to respond, but her silence only grew longer.
Indeed, she couldn't answer.
Since entering into marriage with her husband, she had always lived amidst hatred, maintaining a marriage that was barely existent, and preserving her status had nearly cost her normal emotions and preferences, slowly becoming sowhat distorted.
So, was this truly the happiness she sought?
Lady Kela was at a loss, staring at the flickering flas, her thoughts in disarray.
"Would you like a drink? It might make you feel better."
Lady Kela subconsciously took the waterskin tossed to her, pulled out the wooden stopper, and a scent of fernted grapes wafted through the air.
It was wine.
Initially, she had no particular feelings for this beverage, it was her unworthy children who couldn't stop praising it, revealing embarrassing drunken antics all day.
As a result, her impression of wine had also deteriorated.
"Don't worry about things you can't figure out yet, don't do things you can't finish yet, life is long, no need to rush."
Listening to these comforting words by her ear, Lady Kela steeled her heart, and drank the crimson wine, gulping it down deeply.
Right, to hell with it!
Watching the lady gradually letting go of her inhibitions and worries, indulging in the banquet, Luo En's face showed a content smile.
His title "Friend of Won" was not for nothing. Back on the Crete Island, who knows how many unmarried and married won lined up to seek his psychological counseling? What kind of emotional issues and deep-seated grievances hadn't he seen?
So, may this lady, unfortunate in her marriage, also receive the blessings of the God of Wine, overco the troughs and confusions of life, and find her own joy.
Under the firelight, the God of Joy raised his glass with a faint smile.
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