Page 337 of DATE
So what should have been a heavy and serious moment of disclosure suddenly turned into the two of them swaying on a swing, the night breeze brushing against them.
She held a box of warm honey apples, gently swaying in the quiet courtyard, occasionally taking a small bite.
In the distance, the candles had already been lit by Dechio, glowing like the moon suspended in the sky.
“I thought about it for a long time,” he said slowly, “and then realized, there’s really nothing to think about.”
“You are you, whether it’s five hundred years ago or five hundred years from now.”
Hedy turned her head, biting into the apple as she looked at him. “You don’t think I’m some sort of monster?”
“If that’s the case, then I’d like to be a monster too.” He leaned in, biting off a small corner of the apple, like another secret kiss.
She blushed a little, lowering her head to finish the apple.
“And thinking about it like this... you crossed so many years just for me to meet you.” He whispered, “That’s my luck.”
“…It’s my luck too.”
Hedy sighed, “Well, there’s no escaping now, we have to get married.”
Some things seemed destined, as if they were fated from the start.
“Don’t worry about a grand wedding.” Leonardo said seriously, “Of course, if you like parades—”
“No,” she reflexively interrupted, “Absolutely not.”
Wearing extravagant clothes and parading around the city for three whole rounds? She’d had enough of that over the years.
The two of them tilted their heads back, gazing at the sky full of stars, swaying gently with the swing.
It felt as if they had returned to the innocence of childhood, with the countless trivial matters of the world irrelevant to them.
"Five hundred years from now, people don’t ride horses or sit in carriages," Hedy suddenly spoke.
"...Do they fly directly in the sky?" Leonardo asked curiously. "Or ride other animals? Wolves?"
"No, there's something called a car," she gestured with her hands. "It's a square-shaped machine that can be driven by people and travel all over the country."
"Oh, and there are airplanes too," she laughed. "They're somewhat like what you designed, but usually, dozens of people sit together. They can cross mountains and oceans."
She began telling him about the history she knew, from the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to the rise of America, from the Industrial Revolution to the technological revolution.
Leonardo was a genius, and even with her simple explanations,he was able to fill in the gaps with even more fitting information.
History, culture, revolutions...
"Then what about love?" he suddenly asked.
"How is love and marriage five hundred years from now different from now?"
"Different?" Hedy blinked.
She remembered everything she had encountered before and smiled nostalgically.
"Love is still the same as now."
People in the present believe in gods, while people in the future believe in material desires.
