Lilia’s Resolve
I didn’t know how to face Lilia. What other excuse would I have? I sat to one side and silently looked at Lilia, who was still pale after having just given birth. Her child inherited her small ears and was asleep in a cradle.
Ross and I didn’t make it back in time to see Lilia when she was in labour; we only arrived the day after to see her child already born. To my surprise, she didn’t cry, shout or seek death as I thought she would after we told her what happened to Lilia. Lilia and Albert loved each other deeply, yet she was surprisingly calm in the face of the news.
“Could Lilia have found out the truth? I remember there was once a blonde elf with blue eyes who originally loved her elder brother deeply, but then for some reason stopped caring about her husband, who was also her elder brother. Could Lilia…” I wondered.
Lilia calmly wiped her eyes and softly sighed: “Lord Lin, I am genuinely very sad to hear that, but I do not even have the strength to cry now… He casually and confidently left that day, even saying that he had succeeded, so why did this happen…? Why did this happen…?”
“Sorry, Lilia, nobody thought this would happen. He didn’t want this to become a burden for you. This is the divorce agreement he wrote prior to his departure. This was a result of his failure in business; it is not your fault. I, therefore, hope you won’t let Albert’s last attempt to protect you go to waste.”
The weight of the paper seemed too heavy for Lilia’s pale hand. I knew that it was cruel to her. It was just another sheet of paper to me, but it was Albert’s dying wish and the last time he could convey his love to her.
Lilia’s tears fell onto her lap as she silently read the letter from her bed. Watching her shed tears in silence was much more heartbreaking than Ross’ loud cries that day. She put it down to sniffle and wipe her tears. Her smile was partially self-ridicule. With her sobs accompanying every word, she expressed, “I apologise for this unbecoming appearance, Lord Lin… I am already used to losing people and things. I have lost everything important to me once. My parents, home, the forest I lived in, my brother, Ross and now Albert. I am used to it already, Lord Lin. I am used to losing those I care about and love over and over. I am used to it.”
The despair Lilia exuded overwhelmed me. I brought death to Albert and overbearing despair to Lilia. Unlike Sisi, who was a true leader, Lilia was just a wife who loved her husband. She did nothing wrong. Sadly, she ended up as collateral damage of a vengeance.
“How am I any different to Albert when he hurt the succubi now?” I inwardly chided.
I dodged the despairing topic by switching the subject, assuaging, “What plans do you have, Lilia? According to what Albert’s last wish, he gave everything he had to Ross. I will help sort that out, so you don’t need to worry about that.”
“What Albert did has left him in debt with others, correct?” inquired Lilia, with a mellow smile. “Although I do not know how much it is, I insist on repaying the debt for him even if I have to sell everything. This pertains to Albert’s reputation. As his wife, I cannot allow his reputation to be damaged for my own sake. Lord Lin, please help me repay his debt.”
I smiled helplessly: “It’s not a small sum. Lilia, if Albert could easily repay the sum, he would not have died. It’s an enormous sum; however, now that Albert has passed away, his business doesn’t need to shoulder the debt.”
“Regardless of how much it is, I must repay it even if I must sell all of our possessions. As his wife, I must protect his reputation.”
“All right. I will. As it is your wish, I’ll do my best to repay the money he promised.”
I do believe in the common belief that those who do know sympathy wouldn’t accept money from a widow with a child, whose husband only died three months ago. The fact of the matter was that the people already got their hands on the porcelain products, so they had practically bought it and enjoyed it already. As such, the lie wasn’t that harmful. All that needed to be done was appeal to their sympathy.
Lilia nodded with a smile: “Thank you for the hard work, Lord Lin. Are you not going to be marrying Lord Veirya? You need not waste your time on this. Ross and I will sort it out. I would feel guilty if I have to keep troubling you. Before you leave, though, I hope you can accept becoming my child’s god father.”
“What plans do you have for the future? If sell even your house, what will you do?” I solemnly asked.
“I will be fine, Lord Lin. I have experienced this before. I am merely going back to it again,” replied Lilia, with a smile and shake of her head. Her resolve in her gaze was firm as steel. “I promised to raise our child. No matter what life I must live, I will raise our child, Albert’s child!”
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