《小三》唐紫

6、Chapter 6. Prussia X Austria 修成正果

　　Roderich knew Ludwig would fail. Anyone who went against history and justice must fail. But he had never thought that it was not Ludwig but Gilbert who was sent into prison.
　　After the marriage to Ludwig was announced illegal, both Roderich and Ludwig were imprisoned separately at home. While Ludwig was upset and accepted what the jury, indeed Alfred F Jones, Ivan Braginski, Arthur Kirkland and Francis Bonnefeuille, did on him, Roderich, tried every means to escape from such situation. Finally after swearing that he would never get married to anyone, Roderich was set free.
　　Now Roderich, a newly single bachelor, took out a little jewelry box and opened it, looking at the wedding rings inside. They meant marriage, but Roderich wanted none of them.

　　Vash was surprised at the unexpected sight of Roderich, but he was much more surprised when he saw all the wedding rings Roderich took out and put on the table in front of him.
　　‘I need some money; you know I don’t have much private fortune to spend at ease.’ Roderich tried to clear Vash’s confusion.
　　‘For him?’ Vash raised his brows.
　　Roderich responded with silence.
　　‘I believe you have enough money to make a trip for prison-visiting.’ Vash shrugged his shoulders.
　　‘Well I need to get through some difficulties on the way.’
　　‘I see.’ Vash took over the rings and put them in the little jewelry box, ‘Trust me; I’ll give you a good offer.’
　　The two sat in silence for a while.
　　‘I have always thought that if we had not broken up… had I married you, everything sould be completely different now.’ Vash looked at Roderich with sorrow.
　　‘It’s useless imagining might-have-been.’ Roderich released a bitter smile, ‘Are you blaming me? I know I’m just like a jailbait in people’s eyes, bringing misfortune and loss to everyone who married me.’
　　‘Well, I do not mean that. Actuallyyou are always loyal to your true feeling and beloved one. You just couldn’t be an eligible wife to those husbands you don’t want.’
　　‘Thank you for understanding, Vash. Are we still friends?’
　　‘Of course we are.’ Vash patted Roderich’s hand on the table.
　　Roderich smiled with something glimmering in the eyes, ‘Besides, I had quite bad relationships with my ex-s. If we had got married, I might have lost a good friend but had an angry ex-husband.’

　　Seeing Roderich leave, Vash went back, opened the jewelry box and looked at all the wedding rings Roderich had. Vash suddenly grasped all his courage and strength to hope that there was one from him.
　　Do you know my feeling when I witnessed your marriage one after another?
　　Do you know you are my first and only love?
　　Do you know I had always loved you?
　　Do you know I never had the chance to say my love to you?
　　My love to you is just like edelweiss that grows in freezing wind and cold snow.
　　I just want to let you know that I’ll be always on the other side of Alps behind you.
　　But I still thank God that I had not married you, so I’ll never be forgotten in your memory as an ex-husband with an abandoned ring. I’ll always be in your heart as you best friend.

　　‘Welcome … Ah, Roderich, dear Roderich,’ Antonio rubbed his hands at his pants with surprise and excitement, ‘I am so glad to see you all again. Come in.’
　　‘I didn’t know you would come to see me.’ Antonio happily made Roderich seated, ‘Coffee?’
　　‘Yes, thank you. Two more cubes of sugar, and no tomatoes.’ Roderich added when he saw Antonio take out a basket of fresh tomatoes.
　　‘OK.’ Antonio looked a bit upset for a little while but he managed to make a shiny smile soon. ‘I still remember when I saw you put four cubes of sugar in your coffee for the first breakfast after we married.’
　　‘And you ate five fresh tomatoes, which astonished me a lot.’ Rodeirch retaliated without batting an eyelid.
　　‘Yeah, how happy we were at that time! We had big fortune and large territory. We enjoyed watching sunrise together and the sun never set in our empire.’ Antonio immersed himself in the glorious past.
　　‘Yes, those old golden days.’ Roderich remembered whenever and wherever they appeared in public, they received crazy hooray and enthusiastic applaud from crowds. Everyone on this ancient European continent believed their empire would last forever until Antonio’s navy got terribly defeated. From then on, as they took charge of their own business more and more, the couple took separate ways and finally divorced under Francis’s attempts.
　　‘I don’t blame Francis. I knew our marriage would end. You have Gilbert in your heart… I don’t blame you either. I just feel sad for all of us. Neither Francis nor I could bring you happiness. The only one who could can not marryyou.’
　　‘Well, Antonio, it’s over. Everything is over. I’m not coming to recall the past. A…actually, I am coming today to see if you mind my selling the Habsburg wedding ring of ours.’
　　Seeing Antonio’s face turned red, Roderich added, ‘I’m selling all the wedding rings, not just ours.’
　　‘Are you in need of money? I could…’
　　‘No, Antonio. No, thank you. I know you are leading a hard life now because of the economic restriction…’
　　‘Well, it’s fair. It’s the punishment for my being cunning neutral and sitting on the fence during the war.’
　　‘I know… you’ve already done you bit.’
　　‘But I think I’m lucky enough, compared to what you three have suffered…’ The Beilschmidt brothers, Antonio did not continue. He knew it was a deep scar on Roderich’s heart.
　　‘I’m free now.’ Roderich overlooked the topic on purpose, ‘though I paid a lot for it, it’s worthy.’
　　‘Could… could you sell the wedding ring of ours to me?’ Antonio stuttered, ‘I mean,you sell them for money and, and you don’t mind who will buy them. So I want to buy the Habsburg one.’
　　Roderich was a bit surprised but the pleased, ‘Well, I’m afraid you have to go to Vash. I’ve left him in charge of the deal. You know he is always a successful businessman.’
　　‘OK, I’ll go to him. Never mind. And good luck my dear ex-wife.’ Antonio got up and kissed Roderich on lips for the first time after they got divorced. ‘Send my regards to Gilbert. I know you will go to see him. Tell him he and Francis are always my best friends even if they broke my marriage. I won’t be upset if you marry him as long as you are truly happy.’
　　‘I am forbidden to marry anyone in my future life.’ Roderich smiled bitterly with sarcasm, ‘that’s the price I paid for my freedom.’
　　Antonio’s heart hurt at the sadness in Roderich’s purple eyes.
　　‘It’s all right; they didn’t forbid me to love.’

　　Roderich used to think Francis was the one who would never forgive him. The extreme aspect in his personality and what he suffered during the war endued him every right to hate the cheating ex-wife who finally turned into enemy.
　　However, when received in Francis’s house, Roderich realized that the romantic playboy was changing nothing. He still liked flirting with Roderich.
　　‘So you do not mind my selling the wedding ring at all, do you?’ Roderich withdrew his hand from Francis’s kiss without being noticed.
　　‘No, not at all as long as my dearest Roderich still has me in your heart. And now that you come to see me, I feel greatly honored to be remembered in your heart.’ Francis picked up Roderich’s hand once more and kissed for quite a long while.
　　‘Well, now that you are one of the victors who have tone to voice, ’Roderich did not withdraw his hand this time and chose his words carefully, ‘I’m coming to inform you I’ll pay a visit to Ivan Braginski’s house.’
　　‘Visiting that dangerous polar bear?’ Francis took in what he heard with attempt, ‘Oh, I see, my dearest Roderich,you are visiting Gilbert there.’
　　‘Whatever, I’m going. Are you in my way?’
　　‘No. No, my dearest Roderich. I understand that thoroughly.’ Francis smiled with an exaggerated gesture. ‘I’m happy to see my ex-wife and one of my best friends happy together. I’m not as powerful as a century before. I won’t be in the way. Moreover, as the most romantic and loving man in the world, I believe anyone who disturbs love affairs should be knocked down by a horse even if there is a bear.’
　　Hearing this, Roderich set his heart at rest.

　　Roderich dare not face Elizaveta, the only woman in his marriage, whose happiness was ruined because of her love to Roderich, so he rang. However, she was not available. Wondering where she was going, Roderich left her a message.
　　When Roderich came back home, he found Ludwig waiting for him.
　　‘I’m going to phone you and have a talk with you and you are here. What a coincidence!’ Roderich took off his long overcoat and hung it up. ‘So, they set you free.’
　　‘I have some words to speak to you as well.’ Ludwig murmured.

　　‘Get off me, Ludwig. What are you doing?’
　　‘I want you.’ Ludwig was drunk.
　　‘Don’t forget what our marriage brought to all us.’
　　Just at that moment, the phone rang, which rescued Roderich.
　　‘Hello, who is it?’ Roderich rushed to the phone and picked it up.
　　‘It’s me, Eliza.’
　　‘Elizaveta, where are you? I called you but you were not at home.’
　　‘Well, my dearest Roderich. I’m planning a big deal. Don’t ask me now. I’ll show you and surprise everyone.’ Elizaveta chuckled, which gave Ropderich an ominous presentiment。
　　‘Elizaveta, are you all right?’
　　‘Yeah,yeah, I’m OK. I just hate what Ivan Braginski has done on my land. I’ll show him some color to see. Don’t worry, my dearest Roderich. You know my strength and I used to defeat all of you before.’

　　‘I’ve always wondered if you are my mother.’
　　‘What?’
　　‘If you are, I am the man with the most severe sin in the world. I married you, my mother. I’m just like Oedipus.’
　　‘Oh, my God.’ Roderich touched Ludwig’s forehead to make sure he did not have high fever, ‘What indeed made you think like that? I’m a man, Ludwig. I’m nobody’s mother.’
　　‘Well, before I married you. I had negotiation talks and meetings with Elizaveta and Feliciano, neither of whom were in favor of our marriage at all. Elizaveta told me if I married you, I would end up with Oedipus tragedy. So I doubt whether Gilbert and you are my parents.’
　　‘Of course we are not.’ Roderich felt feeble, ‘Is that what troubled you so long?’
　　‘Yes, the feeling of guilty lingered all the way after we got married. I even believe my failure was because I married my mother.’
　　‘Dear and dear,you really imagined yourself to be that unfortunate young Greek king of Thebes.’

　　‘Do you have any words for Gilbert? I’m going to see him.’
　　‘Yes. Tell him I’m sorry. Sorry for what I have done to others, especiallyyou two.’

　　‘I’m just curious. Who indeed could charm unconcerned Vash，obtuse Antonio，dissolute Francis, sober Ludwig and irritable Gilbert?’ Ivan Braginski smiled as if he was a harmless beast.