Page 157 of DATE
"And the latter?"
"The latter?" She paused, raising a crescent-shaped brow. "What are you trying to ask?"
Da Vinci swallowed hard, trying to appear calm. "Do you plan to get married?"
"Wait—hopefully there’s no misunderstanding between us," Hedy laughed softly. "You’re not planning to be the next one to be rejected, are you?"
"No, I only have friendship for you, and I hope you don't misunderstand," he instinctively clarified. Then he asked, "Have you ever thought about it?"
"Not at the moment," she shrugged and continued examining the olive beside her.
Several weeks passed, and there was no progress in the study of the mold cultures. The mold derived from them was almost identical to the one from the orange peel. Some of them fermented slightly faster, but the difference was negligible.
"So when will we..."
"Leonardo, this isn't like you to ask such a question," she put down her tools, stood up, and walked over to him, her expression a mix of amusement and mild exasperation. "If I were to consider marriage, it would only be for one reason."
"And that is...?"
"That I suddenly find myself facing an unavoidable crisis, and only marriage could help me escape it."
He let out a long sigh of relief, but then, with some hesitation, asked, "What about love?"
"Love?" She laughed lightly. "That fleeting thing? It's best to avoid it."
She had been married six times, with three of those marriages lasting less than two years.
Love, passion, commitment.
None of them were eternal.
If this were the modern world, perhaps she would muster the courage to love again.
But this was the Middle Ages, where divorce was impossible.
Women had relatively more freedom in deciding whether to marry, but divorce was absolutely forbidden. This meant that, as a powerless commoner, if your husband was decayed and foolish, or a compulsive gambler and drunkard with countless illegitimate children, you could not legally leave him.
She had already had a significant cognitive dissonance with the opposite sex in this era, and the allure of wealth and appearance continuously diminished, leaving almost nothing that could move her.
Given these existing shackles, the thought became clearer and clearer.
Absolutely—never gamble everything for so-called love.
At that moment, as the answer emerged, Da Vinci instinctively smiled, extending his arms and giving her a tight hug.
"I knew it—I knew you would make this choice."
How could I lose a friend like you?
It was simply impossible.
He seemed to release many of his concerns and worries, and at that moment, returned from his strange, twisted state to one of carefree ease.
Hedy, somewhat surprised, reached up to pat his back, clearly feeling his jubilant mood.
Was he really this happy?
Was this person hoping I would end up lonely and be eaten by the cat I keep?
