Hades meant 'the unseen.' The land beyond the River Styx was always blanketed in thick fog, so nothing could be seen. Thus, it was a region where mystery and terror intertwined.
Over the passing years, rumors had been plentiful.
They said the king of Hades was a cannibal who roasted and ate the flesh of captured soldiers and citizens taken as prisoners; that he poured their blood into silver cups and drank it like wine, and sometimes bathed his body in it.
They said the king of Hades was so hideous in appearance that he never revealed himself beneath the torch of Hemera, and even under the moonlight of Nyx, he covered his face with a grisly mask. They also said he was so debauched that there were two thousand sex slaves within the palace of Lethe, and he brought a different maid into his chambers every day.
"The truth is, the more you try to see it, the less you can. I suppose Lethe is that kind of place."
Was it because she was exhausted from the journey? She had expected to toss and turn all night, yet when she opened her eyes, it was morning. Contrary to her expectation that the sky, the river, and the land would all be dark as the throat of Erebus, gentle sunlight roused her sleepy eyelids.
"Isn't that right, North Wind?"
North Wind, who had been crouching on the windowsill listening, let out a small sigh and shook his head. As if to say, Princess of the Southern Kingdom, you know nothing.
She was hungry.
Come to think of it, she hadn't eaten anything since yesterday. She had gone a full day starving. Just then, the fragrant smell of food wafted over.
She carefully opened the door, which had been shut tight last night as if it were not meant to be opened. North Wind, as if telling her to follow, darted out between the corridors of the detached palace with his tail whisking away. Chasing the sound of the playful wind's laughter, before she knew it, she was walking upon the soft grass of the inner courtyard.
In the center of the inner courtyard stood a large fig tree basking in the streaming sunlight. Beneath the shade created by its outstretched branches and leaves, women could be seen sitting in a circle on spread silk, having breakfast.
Around them were maids and court ladies serving them. The boy servant kneeling and pouring apple wine into a small terracotta cup was the same child who had guided her to her room yesterday.
The curly hair that had fallen in ringlets between his brows didn't seem to bother him today. And no wonder—the mischievous North Wind was sitting on Asteril's shoulder, yawning with a bored expression.
"Persephone, this way."
When the court lady extended her arm to guide her to the seat, the women who had been chatting softly suddenly looked at Asteril. Clad in flowing chiton dresses, they were clearly of high status at a glance.
"Are you the princess who has come from Demeter?"
The woman with bright blonde hair set down her terracotta drinking cup and asked; the woman sitting beside her also rose with a curious expression.
Asteril lowered her head with a smiling face and greeted them first.
"It is an honor to meet you. I am Asteril, the third princess of Demeter."
"Welcome, Lady Asteril. I am Tethys, princess of Poseidonia. And this is my younger sister, Amphitrite."
Surprisingly, all the women gathered here were princesses from foreign kingdoms. Unlike the two princesses of Poseidonia who had welcomed her kindly, the remaining three glanced at Asteril with wary eyes. At the behavior of the princesses sitting with their lips tightly sealed, Tethys smiled gently and introduced them in their stead.
"The princess with black hair and an obsidian necklace is Lady Melinoe of Aphrodisias. And this beautiful lady with ash-gray eyes is Lady Metea of Athenai, and beside her is Princess Leuce of Crete."
"Hello?"
Once again, an awkward silence ensued. Tethys clasped her hands together as if clapping and sat down. Her younger sister Amphitrite was still staring at Asteril with round eyes.
"Aren't the tribute maidens sent from Demeter usually noblewomen? Why has a princess come?"
"There are circumstances...."
Just then, Melinoe set down her cup with a clink. Leuce, sitting beside her, opened her eyes wide and swallowed.
"Sister, it's Lady Lian."
As Amphitrite whispered, Tethys quickly straightened her clothes and stood up from her seat. Asteril, who had been trying to figure out what was happening, turned her head.
A woman was walking across the garden thick with dark trees. Her hair was silver, close to ash-blonde, and she wore an Ionic chiton dress. She had an enigmatic atmosphere, like mist seen during the day.
The woman bent her waist and reached out her hand as if checking each and every flower blooming in the garden. The shrubs that touched her fingertips could be seen trembling with joy.
Could it be... a priestess? It was rare to see nature so enthralled by a human's touch and attention. It was a phenomenon that could only occasionally be seen in the case of a priestess with high divine power or natural power.
"That is Lady Lian, the master of the detached palace. You should also be sure to act politely when you see Lady Lian."
"If she is the master of the detached palace, is she also a princess?"
"No, Lady Lian is a noble of Hades. This detached palace is practically the harem of Lethe. The king of Hades is outwardly single. The king, who has no queen and no children, keeps her as the only woman by his side. She is essentially no different from an official wife."
So the king had a woman. It was a strangely reassuring point.
"When did you come here, Lady Tethys?"
"Amphitrite and I have been here for nearly half a year now. Lady Melinoe arrived long before us, and Lady Metea and Lady Leuce came a month after us."
"Then did all of you also come as tribute maidens?"
Leuce, who had been standing quietly, burst into laughter.
"As if. Demeter is the only one who offers tribute maidens to Hades."
"Then why are you here..."
"We came of our own accord."
Leuce's gaze turned coldly toward the ground. Asteril looked at Tethys and Amphitrite, who stood silently. Their desolate, powerless expressions looked as though they had already given up on everything.
None of them had come here because they wanted to. They weren't tribute maidens, but how was that different from being held hostage?
"Excuse me first."
Princess Melinoe wiped her mouth and rose from her seat. She, who had been silent like a solitary island all along, frowned and disappeared with quick steps. As if used to such behavior, Tethys paid it no mind and continued speaking.
"We all came as candidates to be the king's official wife. To form an alliance through marriage, you see."
"..."
"Demeter has been offering tribute maidens to Hades for decades now. Thanks to that, peace is being maintained. There are even rumors that the two kingdoms have formed an alliance.... In any case, the coalition nations, anxious over this, have sent princesses all at once."
Having been cooped up only in the temple of Cocytus, she was rather ignorant of diplomacy and the political situation. If her older sister Kiane had been here, she would have explained it in an easy-to-understand way.
Asteril put a dried fig into her mouth and gazed at the sun-drenched garden. The silver-haired woman who seemed to hold the dark moonlight of the new moon within her.
The lingering image of Lian, who had been strolling through the garden, did not leave her mind.
Ψ
One day became two, and before she knew it, a week had passed. It was an excessively peaceful daily life. The king seemed to have forgotten the very existence of the tribute maiden sent from Demeter; he did not spare her even a speck of attention.
When it was time for breakfast, the princesses unfailingly gathered beneath the fig tree in the inner courtyard. Their daily lives were as precise and tedious as the sun rising at dawn and darkness creeping in when the moon rose.
The princesses, weary of boredom, sometimes stared blankly up at the sun as if sunstruck. Then the wind would raise a single patch of cloud in the clear sky, sketching out their desperate hearts that longed for freedom, if only for a moment.
The weather in Lethe was basically cool and clear. However, it was more arid than Demeter, and the severe daily temperature difference was a fatal flaw.
"These days, my skin really feels like parched earth, cracking and splitting."
Leuce said in a worried voice, touching her cheeks with both hands. Her long, curly hair was also losing its shine grotesquely, like pig bristles.
"Indeed. Lady Asteril, your skin is so lovely—do you have some secret?"
"Me?"
"I heard Demeter's people tend to have somewhat dark skin, but Lady Asteril is as white and translucent as a woman of the Northern Kingdom."
"Do you resemble Princess Penelope greatly, Lady Asteril?"
Amphitrite asked with curious eyes. Come to think of it, the prince of Poseidonia who was to marry Penelope would become the older brother of these two sisters.
"Not at all. First of all, Sister Penelope has hair close to blonde. Her eyes are an endlessly tender brown, and her slender face with its full, beautiful lips is said to be the greatest beauty in the kingdom, if that's not understating it."
"My brother would like her. He takes after our father in that he can't control himself when it comes to beauties...."
"Amphitrite!"
When Tethys scolded sharply, the thoughtless princess shut her mouth with a snap. Leuce clicked her tongue as if exasperated and raised her fruit wine.
"By any chance...."
Asteril, who had been fiddling with a dried fig, reluctantly opened her mouth.
"Do you know what happened to the tribute maidens from Demeter who came before me? I don't see any trace of them in the detached palace."
"Ah...."
Princess Tethys, as wise and cautious as her name suggested, held her tongue for a moment. The deep wrinkles creased into her forehead seemed to convey the conclusion beforehand, and Asteril's heart grew heavy. Unable to continue, Tethys dismissed all the court ladies and maids serving them.
Silence fell over the space where only the princesses remained, and only then did Tethys open her previously sealed lips.
"We haven't been here for more than a few months ourselves, so we don't know the details. However, we have our guesses as to what happened."
"Please tell me. What happened?"
"They all died."
A cold voice struck her ears. It was Princess Melinoe, who had been sitting with a cold expression the entire time. She glanced sidelong at Asteril, who was looking at her with a shocked expression.
"Why so surprised? Weren't you expecting it?"
"Princess Melinoe!"
Tethys called her name as if rebuking her. Melinoe snorted and caressed the gold bracelet on her left wrist.
"They were all killed. Not a single one was spared...."
"Killed... do you mean they were murdered?"
"There were originally eight princesses in the detached palace as well. Four died, and four remain."
"Princess Melinoe, please..."
"Isn't she going to find out anyway? Why try so hard to hide it, Princess Tethys?"
Melinoe twisted her mouth and smiled. While everyone else was uncomfortable, she alone was composed.
"The first princess died on the day a banquet was held in the main palace. She was a princess who came from Corinth."
Whenever the round full moon briefly revealed its face between the thick clouds, the heart of the princess from the city of wealth swayed back and forth, filled with conflict.
One must not set foot in the main palace.
It was the one and only rule that any princess arriving at the palace of Lethe heard from the very first day. Still, the curious princess eventually made her way there.
Thinking that no matter how tyrannical a monarch might be, how could he dare do anything to a foreign princess who had merely gotten lost wandering the palace?
And the next morning, the princess's corpse was wrapped in a straw mat and thrown onto the muddy road outside the palace where carts passed.
"Did the king of Hades kill her?"
At Asteril's question, Melinoe stared into empty space with hazy eyes.
"The second princess was foolish as well. Even though she had clearly seen how brutally the princess from Corinth lost her life, she couldn't control her foolish curiosity. She, who had been loitering near the main palace every day, came running one day, excited that she had glimpsed the king's figure."
She said he was the most beautiful man she had ever seen. That his skin was sculpted from the radiance of Phoebus, and his eyes painted with the breath of Erebus—a perfect image of a male god.
"Even if he is the death god who rules over darkness and the underworld, if he is that beautiful, I would gladly lay down my life."
Although the dim moonlight had only sketched a faint outline, even that made her heart pound and her whole body tremble as if she would faint.
"And so she too, on the night of the banquet when the full moon rose, secretly hid in the main palace and never returned."
Suddenly, the image of the king of Hades sitting on the throne and looking down at her the day she arrived here came to mind. She couldn't see his face, but she could tell he was a young man.
"The tribute maidens from Demeter must have been killed for the same reason. Unlike us, the maidens from Demeter seem to have personally met the king at regular intervals."
Melinoe's gaze flickered toward Asteril.
"So be careful, Princess. They say the king of Hades is so enchanting that merely looking at him can steal a person's soul. If you reach beyond your station out of greed, you'll be thrown outside the palace and left to rot as food for eagles."
Just then, Leuce brought her index finger to her lips and hushed, "Hush." Everyone lowered their heads and glanced sideways with widened eyes. Leuce's gaze, sharp as an arrowhead, pointed toward Lian walking across the inner courtyard as she whispered.
"It seems she's returning from the main palace again today as usual. The king is truly something, isn't he? Seeing as he summons her to his bedchamber almost every day."
The princesses' gazes turned to her chiton dress. The style with intricate pleating on the chest caught the eye.
"Which region's silk is that? The fabric is as beautiful as if butterfly wings were joined together."
"They say if you cross the eastern continent's sea, there is a kingdom where a vast desert unfolds, and the silk woven there shines like gold dust, as if the moon's shell had been peeled away. Truly exotic."
"Could it be a gift from the king?"
"She receives such favor, so perhaps."
Lian was always the center of attention. Just how had she captured the heart of that vicious king of Hades? Had he been bewitched by that beautiful silver hair? They wondered about her charm, yet at the same time were thankful that because of her, they could remain safe. However, she too was not the king's official queen.
Asteril looked at North Wind. Every time Lian appeared, North Wind promptly hid behind a dark tree and cowered as if frightened. Even when asked why he did so, he would clamp his mouth shut and not answer. He would only mutter as if in passing:
Princess of the Southern Kingdom, never meet eyes with that one.
Ψ
The next day, breakfast continued without fail. After the morning meal, they all moved to follow the warm sunlight and drank tea. Today, following yesterday, the protagonist of the conversation was once again the ninth princess from Demeter, Asteril.
"You are a priestess, Lady Asteril?"
"Yes, I served in the temple of Cocytus."
Tethys set down her fruit wine as if surprised. She pronounced the place name 'Cocytus' with her round lips, then covered her mouth with her hand.
"I've heard of the High Priestess of Cocytus before."
At her words, everyone made interested expressions. Amphitrite, her sister, was narrowing her brow as if trying hard to recall.
"I heard that a plague once swept through a city in Demeter. They said the god was enraged and laid a curse. Thus the entire city was stricken with the plague and waiting only to die, when suddenly a priest appeared there? The High Priestess who came from the capital extended the hand of healing to all the city's patients, and amazingly, they all recovered. Cocytus, which had been called an ominous region for being close to the land of the dead, later became known as the land of healing, and its fame reached even our Poseidonia. Could that person be you, Lady Asteril?"
Everyone looked at Asteril with curious eyes. Asteril, who had briefly shown a troubled expression, smiled as if embarrassed.
"I didn't know the story had spread as far as Poseidonia."
Someone gasped in surprise. They had only known her as an ill-fated princess abandoned by the royal family and offered as a tribute maiden, yet to think she was such a famous priestess! To the point that even the figure of her sitting there looked different anew.
"Rumors of miracles gain wings in an instant and cross the sky and sea. Actually, my father also showed deep interest in the miracle of Cocytus. He wanted very much to invite you, Lady Asteril."
At the mention of her father, shadows gathered beneath Tethys's eyes. She had felt it before—whenever she spoke of her father, her eyes held a cynical light.
Was it loathing?
Asteril quietly lifted her tea and remained silent.
One of the main duties of priests was to listen to people's worries and concerns. Therefore, priests were generally tight-lipped and cautious. They did not move their lips needlessly except when conveying the voice of the god.
She was the same.
"Then do you also deliver oracles to the faithful, Lady Asteril? Do you foresee the future?"
As Amphitrite asked excitedly, Melinoe snorted. She clicked her tongue as if the young princess were truly naive and said:
"Does Your Highness think just anyone can deliver oracles? Only the Pythia of Delphi can deliver oracles. Only the chosen priestess of the sacred land can do so."
Delphi was worshiped as the holy land of oracles, a place that maintained neutrality by not politically colluding with any nation.
However, in the past, Delphi had been a city belonging to Aphrodisias. The people of Aphrodisias still felt a deep connection to Delphi and believed that it would one day be subordinated to Aphrodisias again.
The Pythia was a priestess who served Ananke, the goddess of fate, and her role was to hear the voice the goddess whispered and prophesy the future to the faithful.
Princess Melinoe seemed more devout than she had thought. In any case, that was a good thing. Which god one served wasn't particularly important.
"Lady Melinoe is right. I cannot hear oracles. But I do tell simple fortunes."
"Fortunes?"
Amphitrite repeated with an excited air. Tethys tapped her younger sister's back as if telling her to restrain herself. However, Amphitrite had already moved to the seat next to Asteril and was opening her eyes wide.
"What kind of fortunes? Oh, surely not entrail-reading?"
"Have you ever seen entrail-reading?"
"The priests of Poseidonia all divine fortunes using goat entrails. I saw it from afar when I went to the Temple of Pontus—it was terrible."
It must have been shocking for the young princess. That was why most temples did not tell fortunes for those under eighteen. They used the excuse that an immature, fragile soul might become tangled in the threads of fate.
"Fortunes, what nonsense is that? I don't believe in them. As Lady Melinoe said, aside from the priestesses of Delphi, they're all swindlers. How many times have priests deceived foolish worshipers and cunningly stuck out their tongues to obtain wealth?"
Leuce nudged Melinoe's arm with her elbow as if asking didn't she agree. Melinoe quietly raised the corners of her mouth. At the two princesses laughing with sidelong glances at each other, Amphitrite made a displeased expression.
"Lady Asteril is a priestess of healing! We're talking about the miracle of Cocytus."
"Did you witness that miracle with your own eyes, Lady Amphitrite? Did you verify it?"
"No, but...."
"Demeter must have an abundance of miracles. It seems anyone can become an incarnation of Gaia."
Her calm chest began to churn coldly. Asteril quietly looked down into the teacup in her hand.
"Or perhaps the king of Demeter secretly spread such rumors lest his daughter be slighted...."
"Lady Leuce."
At Asteril's voice, Leuce retorted curtly, "What?" As if asking if she had said something wrong.
Whoooosh.
Suddenly, wind rushed around the seats where the princesses were sitting. Branches shook and blue leaves rustled down. The surprised princesses looked around and blinked.
Asteril set down her teacup and clasped her hands together, staring fixedly at Leuce. Leuce flinched and closed her mouth. For a moment, chills ran down her spine. The princess of Demeter was staring at her intently with her characteristic jet-black eyes, as if piercing right through her. Her expressionless face looked wrathful for an instant, like a stone statue of a goddess erected in a temple. It was chilling. At the same time, her lips began to tremble as if she had stepped barefoot onto frozen ground.
"How is your waist?"
"M-my waist? Why ask about my waist all of a sudden...."
"You fell from your bed a few days ago while sleeping, didn't you? It seems you have been suffering ever since you twisted it then."
Leuce's eyes widened shockingly. She blinked her eyes with her lips parted as if in a daze.
"How did you...."
Leuce hurriedly looked around. When she saw the maid holding the fruit wine, she gritted her teeth. You brat, it was you! You dared to wag your tongue.
"The children did not tell me. You haven't told anyone else in the first place, have you? You pay attention to your gait, pretending not to be in pain until you reach your chambers. Recently, you've also had stomach pain, haven't you? Since you can't relieve yourself properly, your stomach is always bloated."
"How does Your Highness...."
When Leuce asked in surprise, the other princesses' eyes also widened. Amphitrite hugged her own arms and shivered as if creeped out.
Asteril drew a curve at the corners of her mouth. Pulling up one corner of her lips and forming faint dimples, in an instant a kind and lovely eye-smile was formed.
"A wind spirit whispered it to me."
"What?"
"They're the first friends I made after coming to Lethe's royal palace. Wind spirits are all very curious, very playful, and very talkative—true chatterboxes. So too is Lethe's North Wind. Oh my, now North Wind is saying...."
Asteril slightly rose and gestured for Leuce to come closer. Leuce, who had been watching with a suspicious expression, showed a reluctant look and then subtly leaned her upper body forward. Asteril whispered softly into her ear.
"They say you are quite the chatterbox even when you sleep. That you snore and talk in your sleep."
"What nonsense...."
"Especially that you shout the name Iskis often? Iskis, Iskis.... Who is he?"
"How rude of you, Lady Asteril!"
She shouted in a burst of anger and rose while sputtering. Her face was flushed red with confusion as she clutched her clothes.
"Excuse me first."
Leuce, having lost her reason, turned around sharply and walked quickly, but she seemed to trip on a stone and staggered, falling over. "Aack!" she cried out, placing her hand on her waist as she raised herself up. Amphitrite, seeing this, burst out laughing with a "Pfft!"
Asteril picked up her teacup again. Glancing sideways, she saw North Wind perched on the fig tree giggling as if greatly amused.
—Princess of the Southern Kingdom, you have quite the mischievous side, contrary to your looks, don't you?
At North Wind's words, Asteril closed her eyelids, pretending not to hear. A smile as soft as a spring breeze still hung at the corners of her mouth.
Ψ
Oceanus was a place known since long ago as a sacred region. The lake that had pooled as if nestled between the Nemean valleys was said to be the tears the moon had shed.
Some interpreted the pale waves flowing in the moonlight as the desire of a male god to impregnate a female god. There was also a theory that it was the entrance to the womb where gods were born.
The cradle of the gods.
This was the place where the gods gathered to perform their most sacred rites. It was where male and female gods received the blessing of the clan when taking a mate, and it was also an execution ground for judging those who violated the rules.
In the center of the semicircular lake, there was a rock jutting up like a horn, and that was where the Thrones—the supreme leaders of the clan—held their council. The clan called this place Olympus.
Around the lake, dazzling like a silver tray, long-branched peach trees stood shoulder to shoulder, densely encircling it. The peach blossoms here bloomed profusely all year round, because the primordial god Uranus had bound the ankle of the warm spring breeze at the mouth of the valley for his wife, who loved the scent of peach blossoms.
Hundreds of crows flew in flocks and descended onto the branches where the peach blossoms were in full bloom, fluttering their black wings.
Amidst the scattering white flower petals and black feathers creating a contrast, a sudden gust of wind began to blow. The gale raced here and there like ringing a warning bell. Then, hunched silhouettes gathered between the shaded valleys.
—That is the sound of Uranus arriving.
—And Pontus?
—There he comes.
Ripples wrinkled the calm surface of Oceanus, and waves arose. Moonlight filtered through the coolly surging spray, shattering like broken glass. Between it, a figure appeared and ascended to Olympus, stepping upon the waves as if riding a chariot.
Uranus and Ananke had already arrived. The couple welcomed Pontus, who had just arrived, and his consort Thalassa.
"It smells of the Peloponnesos front sea."
Pontus furrowed his brow and retorted to Uranus, who wrinkled his nose saying it smelled of salt.
"You smell of the sandy wind of Hiti."
A faint smile hung at the corners of both their mouths. To Uranus, who served as chieftain of the clan, Pontus was an irreplaceable friend.
Just then, a silent wind overtook the moonlight and swept in from all four directions. A fierce gale that obeyed none but Uranus knelt with formality upon the surface of Oceanus.
Ananke, who had been conversing with Thalassa, started and turned around. When she confirmed the face of the one alighting gently upon the rock and walking toward them, a bright flush spread across her face.
“My baby!”
Watching his wife run to tightly embrace her child, Uranus was at a loss for words. Pontus pushed back his curling hair and could not hold back a laugh.
“Ananke, how old is this child that you still call him a baby... Everyone is listening, are they not?”
“Well, so what? Even after a thousand years, even after ten thousand years, in my eyes he shall still be my cute little baby.”
Seeing the lad silently endure his mother's excessive affection, patting his cheek the moment he arrived, a smile came to Uranus’s lips as well.
Ananke of Fate, renowned as the most beautiful in the clan yet also the most ill-tempered. The child, having inherited his wife’s beauty completely, possessed an innate temperament as calm and placid as the surface of Oceanus reflected in the moonlight. However, Uranus knew. That the passion seated within the lad’s innermost being was fierce beyond anyone’s ability to match.
He could not help but anticipate, yet simultaneously worry about, the ripples that a small pebble cast upon that quiet surface would raise.
When Uranus raised his hand, the gale rushed forth and coiled around Olympus like a serpent. Vision and sound began to be severed by the whirling wind.
The gazes of the clan members, positioned between the valleys watching, quietly retreated a step back.
— Nyx is nowhere to be seen.
— It seems she is absent again this time.
— Does she intend to oppose the Five Thrones like this?
Uranus swept his surroundings with sharp eyes. Hundreds of jackdaws sat on the branches, flapping and folding their wings.
“They are Nyx’s envoy birds.”
Pontus muttered with displeasure. Until when did she plan to keep acting so contrarian?
— Let the assembly of Olympus commence.
Uranus’s clear voice rode the shifting breeze and permeated deep into the darkness.
Groooooh.
The gale, crashing against the rugged valleys, howled and raced forth.
Uranus of the Sky, Ananke of Fate, Pontus of the Sea, Nyx of Harmony, and Gaia of the Earth.
These five are the Ketons of the Five Thrones who lead the clan. Though humans revere them as omnipotent gods, they call themselves Ketons. They are beings born long ago by the Creator Chaos, immortal existences closer to darkness than light, and nearer to destruction than creation.
“Is the ambrosia not ready yet?”
The young Keton, guardian of Lethe, slowly shook his head.
“The maiden from Demeter?”
“Her blood shall be the final attempt. However...”
A tone implying it would likely be difficult formed vaguely.
Ambrosia was the clan’s spirit fruit. The only sustenance they could consume. The sacred trees that bore it had all withered away, with only a single tree remaining barely alive.
Originally, it had been Gaia’s duty to oversee the clan’s spirit fruit, ambrosia, but one day she suddenly vanished. Though the entire clan tracked her traces in every possible way, they could not find so much as a single hair of Gaia.
“Has Gaia truly died?”
As Pontus muttered feebly, silence fell for a moment. No one could easily answer, yet all harbored the same doubt inwardly.
The clan is immortal.
Beings who cannot even die at will, let alone Gaia of the Earth, said to be the greatest among the Ketons. She had been responsible for the clan’s continued existence, yet one day all word of her had been severed. And now, several decades had already passed.
Uranus interlaced his hands, steeped in anguish, and bit his lip firmly.
This was a grave matter. If Gaia were never to show herself again, what would become of them? The clan might be driven to extinction.
Watching Uranus knit his brow with a dark expression, the remaining Thrones could not hide their wretched gazes.
Just as none within the clan could accept her death, Uranus too judged that it was still too soon to rush to a conclusion.
O Gaia of the Earth. Only your warm breath could melt the frozen surface of Oceanus.
Therefore, return swiftly. We need your power more desperately than ever before. Only you can overcome this crisis.
Gaia of the Earth! Our sole life, the mother of Ambrosia....
Ψ
Rumble.
The dark clouds filling the sky finally spewed forth booming thunder and poured down a torrential rain. The sound of rain striking the ground gradually quickened, and soon it battered down fiercely with a whoosh.
“The Lord Uranus has come.”
At Tethys’s words, Asteril looked out into the inner courtyard. Deep darkness had settled beneath the fig tree where she had sat with the princesses that morning. The rain-bathed trees seemed to be rejoicing. Even North Wind was overjoyed, spinning round and round with its tail in its mouth as it danced.
“Indeed. I suppose he intends to lay with the Mother God.”
“There is also a story that Uranus’s wife is not Gaia, but Ananke.”
At Tethys’s explanation, Leuke’s eyes widened as if to ask what she meant.
“If the consort of the god of the sky and wind is not the goddess of the earth, then who would it be?”
“That would make sense in theory. But according to the sages, it is said that Uranus, riding his thunder chariot and racing through the Nemean valley, fell in love at first sight with Ananke, who was weaving the threads of fate there.”
“Oh my, but wasn’t Ananke of Fate said to be hideously ugly?”
“That is what is known in the world. In truth, she is said to be more beautiful and sensual than any other god. Truly, is that not what fate is? While irresistible in its intensity and beauty, it is also cruel, merciless, and painful. Thus, those whose lives are arduous and sorrowful curse the god of fate and believe that she must possess a revolting appearance. In reality, she is a goddess of such beauty that one cannot take one’s eyes off her.”
Fate is beautiful yet cruel. Humans constantly pursue fate, resist fate, and prostrate themselves at fate’s feet, learning the wheel of life.
Do the gods do the same?
Asteril was suddenly struck by a question. What is fate to the gods? Is fate a trial given only to humans?
“Then with whom exactly did Gaia...”
“It is said the Mother God loved the beings of this land so deeply that she did not pair with anyone. She holds deep affection for us humans and all things of nature. Unlike the other gods who spend most of their time in the heavens above those clouds.”
Tethys knew much. She was as inclined to seek knowledge as the high priests of Demeter famed for their virtue. According to her, in Poseidonia there were many scholars learned in ancient legends and myths. Poseidonia, where commerce and culture flourished, was a kingdom superior to Demeter academically.
“What does Lady Asteril think?”
Metea asked. The other princesses too gazed at her with curious eyes.
Asteril smiled quietly. The majority of the people of Demeter also believed Gaia and Uranus to be husband and wife, but her thoughts differed.
“The Mother God Gaia was a virgin goddess. Do you remember the numerous statues of Kore erected in Demeter?”
The queen mother Ampita had said so to her since she was young. Kore means virgin. Gaia had formed no marital bond with any god.
“I wonder.”
Priests do not speak of gods carelessly. Asteril avoided answering with such an ambiguous smile.
“Be careful with every word you utter. You must keep in mind that there, a single word can cost you your head.”
These were words Kiane had repeatedly admonished before departing from Cocytus. Unlike her older sisters, she was far removed from politics and the art of worldly dealings. “If only you were at least like Penelope....” Kiane had muttered so, trailing off with a dark complexion. Though lacking experience, she was not without perception. Asteril knew what Kiane feared.
She could not trust any of the princesses in the Star Palace.
Had her sister Kiane been here, she would surely have warned her thus.
Ψ
It was when half a month had passed since coming to Lethe. Leuke came to Asteril’s quarters.
As if embarrassed, Leuke cleared her throat and slipped past the threshold, sitting on a creaking chair.
Asteril had her hair braided and pinned up, wearing a sheer chiton dress made of ramie. She fixed the waistline that slid down like water with a golden sash, and asked with a sidelong glance.
“What brings you all the way here, Lady Leuke?”
“Hmm... I wish to have my fortune told....”
“Your fortune?”
To Asteril, who asked with curious eyes, Leuke hesitated for a moment before finally opening her mouth with difficulty.
“I have a lover I left behind in my homeland.”
“...”
“Will that person wait for me?”
Asteril, who had been listening with a playful expression, slowly wiped the smile from her lips. Leuke’s trembling eyes looked desperate.
She was a childish and selfish princess. Whenever she uttered spiteful words and acted petulantly toward Tethys and Amphitrite, Asteril had to hold back the urge to rebuke her several times over. Not unlike Melinoe, Leuke too insisted on locking herself in her quarters after breakfast; Asteril had suspected there must be some twisted aspect to her.
She could see the dark circles under the princess’s eyes. Her rough-looking hair and the skin texture she always complained was chapped were laid bare again.
“If you cry like that every night, all the moisture in your body will dry up, Lady Leuke.”
Asteril quietly took Leuke’s hand. Leuke, who had been holding on with a grimace, bit her lip firmly and scrunched up her brow. In the end, she burst into tears.
“Please answer me, Lady Asteril! Will that person wait for me? Is he truly waiting for me?”
North Wind, listening with chin propped outside the window, sighed and shook its head. Even the wind racing through the heavens could not fathom everything.
“Return to Crete, Lady Leuke.”
“How? As Lady Asteril knows, one cannot enter the Palace of Lethe with personal attendants or guards. His Majesty the King will not even know whether I am alive, nor will he care. I am a discarded princess. All the princesses who came here are the same.”
Asking to have her fortune told had been an excuse. She had simply wanted to unburden her painful heart to someone. Her aching waist was from lack of sleep. Her stomachache was from not eating properly, causing her stomach to fail its function.
The princess was a wreck. And she was not the only one. Asteril realized for the first time that all the princesses here wept every night.
Because the night had to remain silent, everyone muffled their sobs beneath their blankets every night.
Death always comes without sound, and silence is like the breath of death. One who loses their words gradually grows weak, which signified the imminent loss of life force.
The maidservants of Hades’s palace were as wordless as if their upper and lower lips were sewn together with thread. It was impossible to converse with them, their eyes lacking focus like dead fish. The princesses felt as though they lived among walking corpses each day. It evoked a melancholy impossible to express in words.
As the sun fell, night air whiter than breath settled atop their feet like snowflakes.
It was a drizzle.
Asteril, who had come out with cloth draped over her head, looked up at the night sky.
A fishy smell clung to the damp moisture. North Wind suddenly dashed and blocked the path before her as she stood on the wet ground.
“North Wind?”
She narrowed her brow at North Wind, who shook its head back and forth. When North Wind still would not budge, she scolded it to go back quickly.
“Kiaaaak!”
It was a scream. North Wind, which had been holding Asteril back, began to plead.
— Princess of the Southern Kingdom, you must not go that way. Don’t you know? That direction is....
“I know too.”
This road leads to the main palace.
A place the princesses of the Star Palace must never set foot upon. A place where if they walked, they would be beheaded.
What should I do?
She deliberated, then looked at North Wind and sighed. Yes, I should do as you say. As she turned around, a scream that seemed to tear through her eardrums echoed out again.
“Kiaaaak!”
“Heuaaak!”
The shrieks that burst forth in succession were so horrific they made one want to cover one’s ears in an instant. A woman who had been shouting in different directions sobbed as if wailing, then gagged, “Kek!”
Her footsteps quickened. Asteril, who had been walking treading on mud with squelching sounds, was now running before she knew it. The silk covering her head fell onto the wet ground with a plop. North Wind panicked, not knowing what to do, and stamped its feet atop the silk.
“Please spare my life....”
“Please, just my life, please....”
Terrified voices pleaded. It was not one or two people. Asteril carefully approached between the shrubs and hid herself between two trees, peering out quietly. Her dilating pupils trembled with shock.
The blazing flames were as huge as a fortress. The women kneeling in a circle around it were all naked, their pale flesh exposed.
Women who had been clasping their hands and begging desperately for whatever sin they had committed were being thrown into the flames one by one while still alive. Soldiers in black armor grabbed a woman’s arms and began dragging her struggling.
“Aaaak!”
The woman flailing her arms in the flames and screaming for her life was eventually swallowed by the inferno and turned into black ash.
Just what was happening?
Her lips trembled from fear. The hand gripping the tree shook and quivered. Corpselike pale skin and emaciated bodies with protruding ribs. The moment she thought the bloodless women’s appearances looked familiar, a memory from before flashed through her mind.
They were the women who, on the first day she arrived here, had lurked in the darkness glaring at her as if to kill her.
A man clad in a purple chiton with a black chlamys draped over his shoulders gazed silently at the women burning to death.
One of the women crawled on the ground and grabbed the hem of his attire, beginning to plead.
“Please, please, Your Majesty... I was wrong. I dared... I dared to harbor greed with this lowly body, aspiring to what I should not. Please have mercy, please spare my life, spare my life.... Hic, Your Majesty....”
Despite the desperate plea, he did not move a muscle. Before long, he lowered his gaze slightly toward the woman clinging at his feet. His shadowed face was invisible, but one could tell a chill emanated from him.
A soldier ran up, grabbed the woman, and pulled her off. The emaciated woman was tossed as if fluttering in the wind. The flames devoured the white lump of flesh with a roar. The woman, feeling her body cook in the blazing fire, let out a scream, “Kiaaak!”
The soldiers blocked the woman struggling to get out of the flames by any means, prodding her with sharp spears to prevent her escape. Asteril firmly covered her mouth, which was about to let out a scream.
The king, who had been watching the process with an unwavering gaze, now turned his back as if to say do as you will.
With a gust surging up like flames, the king vanished in an instant. Had she imagined it? Only the soldiers thrusting their spears at the women remained before her eyes.
The massive blaze swallowed the anguished screams and burned for a long while.
Asteril trembled with her mouth covered. It was hard to keep watching. It was the most horrific scene she had witnessed in her life.
And yet she could not tear her eyes away. Because the color of darkness he left behind was strangely beautiful, and because the patterns drawn by the flames within it were as mystical as a spell....
It was a night as though the god of death were smiling.
Ψ
“...teril-nim... Lady Asteril!”
“Yes?”
Coming to her senses and answering, Amphitrite was looking at her with a curious expression.
“What were you thinking so deeply about?”
“Indeed, Lady Asteril seems a bit strange today. You’ve been so dazed....”
“Did you not sleep well last night?”
How could she have slept well? She had seen people burning to death alive. Even if she fell asleep, only nightmares awaited.
The screams that had torn through her ears.
The hands reaching out of the flames, begging to be saved.
“It is understandable. It is about time you begin to miss your homeland.”
Tethys muttered sympathetically. Melinoe, glancing sidelong, narrowed her brows upon seeing the back of Asteril’s hand. Noticing her gaze, Asteril quickly lowered her hand and gave a bitter smile.
“I suppose so. I’m sorry, what were you all discussing?”
“Ah, actually, it will soon be Princess Amphitrite’s fifteenth birthday. Since the princess is the youngest here, we were thinking of holding a small celebration.”
Amphitrite was like a ray of vitality in the Star Palace. Despite her youth, she was so refreshingly pleasant and quick-witted, flitting here and there to pluck flowers and bringing amusing stories to put smiles on the princesses’ lips.
Even the cynical Melinoe would sometimes quirk up the corner of her lips at Amphitrite’s silly jokes.
“What does Princess Amphitrite like?”
“She cannot resist honey. And among fruits...”
“Shh! It’s Lady Rian.”
At Metea’s words, everyone looked toward the garden entrance leading to the main palace and fell silent. No one could explain why an awkward silence fell whenever Rian appeared.
The princesses neither particularly disliked nor feared her. But strangely, the moment she appeared, they would lose themselves, forgetting what they were saying as their gazes were stolen.
Rian, leisurely walking while leading a young maid, suddenly halted. When her turned pupils gazed this way, Metea was the first to notice and whispered.
“Wait... doesn’t it seem like she’s looking this way?”
“What?”
“She’s coming this way?”
The surprised princesses jumped to their feet in alarm. Rian, stopping beneath the fig tree, quietly looked at the princesses’ faces.
The color of her pupils was truly profound.
Should it be called amethyst? Her deep pupils were as dark as pitch-black darkness, her gaze indifferent yet monotonous.
Did she perhaps know? What had become of the eight Persephones who had not returned.
“Princess of Demeter.”
It was a voice without inflection. They didn’t even realize her lips had opened.
“Are you here?”
It was a tone of asking a question. In reality, the princesses held higher status, yet none could retort with a word like “How dare you!” Even Princess Melinoe listened quietly with downcast eyes.
As if having made a promise, the princesses all glanced at Asteril at once. Asteril stepped forward and bent her knee to lower herself.
“I am the princess of Demeter, but what business do you have...”
Rian’s gaze lingered on Asteril’s face. It was as though a beautiful statue were blinking and looking at her.
She sent a glance as if to say follow, and turned around. When Asteril hesitated, Tethys, standing beside her, quickly pushed her back as if to tell her to follow.
Her steps were fast. Though her stride did not seem wide, if one let one’s attention wander for even a moment, she was already far away.
“Lady Rian, where are you going?”
She wondered if the Star Palace garden had always been this vast. And Rian seemed to know the Star Palace as well as her own front yard.
Following a narrow path overgrown with shrubs, a small pond appeared, and walking around behind the pond, a low hill came into view. As they walked the gently sloping incline, squirrels and rabbits between the bushes pricked their ears in surprise and looked at the two.
“This is....”
Upon the western hill overlooking the Star Palace at a glance, a single massive giant tree stood alone tall.
It was a lonely sight.
It felt so resolutely steadfast that one wanted to approach and gently caress it.
Asteril’s eyes suddenly grew wide. Gasping in shock, Asteril urgently turned and asked.
“What is wrong with this child?”
“...”
“Heavens, who would do such a thing....”
“What do you mean?”
“If left like this, it will die.”
“Die?”
“It’s screaming. It’s crying out that it’s horrible, begging for help....”
A truly foul stench wafted up. Asteril, who had been sniffing, grimaced and pinched her nose with thumb and forefinger, covering her nostrils.
“Did someone pour pig’s blood here or something?”
Rian, who had been looking at the old tree with impassive eyes, opened her lips again and spoke quietly.
“This tree drinks the blood of a living virgin once a year.”
“What did you say?”
“It drinks virgin blood?”
“I do not know what you mean, but if this is not stopped immediately, this child will die.”
“If it is going to die anyway, for now give it blood so that....”
“It will not die anyway! Since it can be saved, why are you trying to kill a perfectly fine tree?”
“You can save it?”
“Of course.”
Rian’s eyes slowly widened. An emotional coloration draped over her face, which had shown no change in expression, as faint and subtle as a shallow breath.
“Asphodelos... you can save it?”
Rian muttered as if asking herself, and frowned. She seemed unable to believe it.
Asphodelos.
Was that the name of this sacred tree? It seemed the reason she had strolled through the garden every day was most likely to check on this Asphodelos.
Feeding a natural being the blood of humans and beasts is fatal. It is an act that goes against the laws of nature and destroys vitality. It is also a kind of curse ritual.
“First, we must transplant the tree. On this soil, even a freshly bloomed flower would wither immediately.”
Crouching down, Asteril caressed the base of the tree and scooped up a handful of soil. After smelling it, she grimaced and flung the soil to the ground as if scattering it.
“No, this hill will not do at all. Heavens, the smell of blood reeks from everywhere!”
Rian stared at her fixedly as if observing her, then opened her mouth.
“You are a bit different from the children who came before.”
The children who came before.
“Do you mean the Persephones?”
To Asteril’s question, Rian said nothing. Instead, she merely gazed intently at her with pupils mixed with purple and gray. At that gaze, Asteril stiffened on the spot.
After a moment, she withdrew her gaze and turned around. Watching Rian descend the hill first, Asteril finally moved her frozen body with a shiver.
She seemed to have something she wished to say.
It was a gaze that was not warm, yet not hostile either. Trapped in that stare, her mind felt dazed as if her soul were being sucked away.
Suddenly, the words North Wind had tossed out as a warning came to mind.
“Princess of the Southern Kingdom, never meet eyes with the master of the Star Palace.”
“If you do... you will lose your life.”
Having eaten dinner and returned to her room, Asteril fell deep into thought. She cast her gaze out the window with a worried face.
To feed a tree human blood, how could anyone think of such a thing....
Now everything was clear. The King of Hades had demanded a “Persephone” because he needed virgin blood. For the sacred tree called Asphodelos planted upon the hill.
Just then, North Wind tapped on the windowsill as if speaking to her.
“Later, North Wind... let’s talk later.”
Had Rian taken her before the sacred tree today in order to extract her blood and offer it?
Hwi-iing.
The direction of the wind changed. A cool sensation seeped moistly down her spine as if licked by a tongue. At the eerie premonition, she snapped her head up. The mischievous North Wind had already fled in a flash.
Outside the darkened window, a thin crescent moon hung in the air, illuminating slender clouds.
Her body shivered. The very moment Asteril felt a sudden chill and turned around wrapping her arms around herself.
Click.
The firmly closed door burst wide open with a fierce gust of wind. A shallow scream escaped her lips. Her widened pupils trembled nervously.
Was it a maid carrying a water jar? Or a servant coming to replace the flowers in the vase?
“Who is there?”
Hwi-ik. The wind rushed in and extinguished the candles in the room one by one, hup, hup. The dim moon hid its face behind thickening clouds. Profound darkness seeped between the cracks of the red ocher plastered walls.
Asteril stood still in confusion, staring toward the door. The breath of night wafted toward her. At that moment, a story West Wind had once told her came to mind.
West Wind would sometimes inhale deeply the scent of moonlight from a far distant place and hold it in its mouth. And it would say that this lingering fragrance it carried was stolen secretly from a place humans could never reach.
They say the nights there are so beautiful that at times even the moonlight weeps tears of wonder, dripping down with sighs. Those tears gather to form a deep lake between the valleys, and according to Seopung, the only living beings who can go there are the Ketons—the Creator’s most perfect creation, existing on the boundary between gods and humans.
As Seopung recounted the tale in a soft, gentle voice, Asteril vaguely imagined the sacred realm of the gods, quietly closing her eyes to the dense fragrance of the moonlight.
“Seopung… is that you?”
She asked, pushing the door open with a creak. My kind and warm companion… have you come to find me?
Her heart began to pound strangely. Her steps quickened as she left her quarters. She began to run, chasing the scent of moonlight that drifted like smoke through the darkness. Her loosened hair, glistening with luster, fluttered in the air.
Entering the center of the garden, Asteril whispered playfully.
“Seopung, come out here.”
She moved carefully so as not to wake the other princesses. It felt like playing hide-and-seek with Seopung in the forests of Cocytus.
The wind blew once more like a breath. She felt a current tickling over the bridge of her nose. At the same time, a thick lunar fragrance surged coldly into her nasal membranes. It felt as though she were cupping moonlight in both hands and breathing it in deeply. She sensed vitality within the fragrance. It was enough to give her the illusion that she had stepped directly into the valley of the gods that Seopung had described.
“Seopung… where are you?”
The sound of stepping on grass and leaves rustled on. When she slipped through the bushes, the sight of a gnarled old tree with its bare branches stretched out like two arms came into view.
“Asphodelos? Why is that here?”
The slender stream of wind, which had seemed so faint, was felt no longer, as if holding its breath. A desolate silence settled heavily over the garden, devoid of even the slightest breeze.
Her eyes, which had been staring intently into the darkness, slowly widened. The old tree, stripped bare of even a single leaf, revealed a red aura as if shedding tears beneath the moonlight. Between the cracks in its bark, ominous colors were visible, as though steeped in blood.
Then, from behind the sickly Asphodelos, a man draped in black silk slowly walked out.
His hair, dark as pitch-black, began to glow subtly, reflecting the pouring moonlight as he stood on the boundary between the tree’s shadow and the moonlight. Whenever the wind brushed past, his long swaying locks alternated between an ashen hue like the surface of the moon and a deep blue-black sinking like thick darkness.
Through the dying gusts of wind, she saw the man’s pupils staring fixedly at her. They were the color of the Styx River’s surface illuminated by the moon. Within the calm blue ripples, cloud-veiled moonlight was entangled. The endlessly deep and dark waters made the beholder’s heart clench with anxiety.
“Have you come out for a walk?”
Asteril, hesitating as she opened her mouth, looked at him standing silently and continued as if muttering.
“I thought my companion had come…”
But it was not so. Despite her voice brimming with disappointment, he gave no answer at all.
Less than ten paces lay between them. It was a distance where voices could be heard but faces could not be seen clearly. Especially on his side, where tree branches cast shadows, making it even harder to make him out.
“Could it be that His Majesty ordered it? To be moved here from the hill….”
Come to think of it, who could have done it? Inside the palace, aside from the princesses, the only people she had seen were young court ladies and little maidservants. Thinking about it, it was strange. In this palace, there was no sign of soldiers or priests anywhere.
How could security be so lax in a place where the king resides? Where on earth is Thanatos, the army that Hades prides itself on?
“That sacred tree… I mean the Asphodelos.”
She saw his chin lift slightly. It was the first sign that he was showing interest in her words.
“It would be best not to feed it human blood any longer. This is not something I say because I am Persephone…. The blood is killing the tree.”
Only then did he glance toward the tree at her words. Ah, now she knew. Where the scent carried by the wind had originated. It was this very person. Though he had only turned his head slightly, an overwhelming fragrance of night and moon emanated from him.
- Is it true?
“Pardon?”
- I asked if those words were true.
It was Spirit Speech. A whispering method used by natural bodies and elementals to converse, a manner of dialogue impossible even for most priests. Not only ordinary people, but most priests as well could not even hear the voices of natural bodies, let alone use Spirit Speech.
However, one curious thing was that Spirit Speech was usually characterized by a light, thin tone, like singing, but his voice was different.
A voice as silent as the stillness beneath the water’s surface, heavy as the darkness of a new moon. It rang as if shattering the inside of her head.
“It is true. If it is fed human blood even once more….”
- You. Can you truly save the Asphodelos?
The overwhelming voice resonated more firmly in her head. It felt as though he had strode right up to her face and leaned down to ask. For a moment, fear icily swept up her spine.
“So long as there is sunlight blessed by the subordinate god and soil imbued with the life force of the Mother Goddess, any ailing nature is bound to recover.”
- Then save it.
“Pardon?”
She felt dizziness and a headache along with a ringing sensation in her head. Asteril squeezed her eyes shut, rubbed her temples, and lifted her eyelids.
- I told you to save it.
“So suddenly you tell me to save it….”
- If you cannot save it….
Cannot? A sense of foreboding washed over her at his cold, dropping voice.
- Demeter shall not survive either.
“W-what do you mean by that….”
Crunch. The sound of stepping on leaves was heard. A cold gaze was felt from the king, who had stepped forward. She felt as if her breath were being choked.
- Will you save it?
His gaze was staring holes into her. Cold sweat trickled down her back, but she calmly retorted.
“Do I even have the right to choose? That Demeter will not survive… How can you utter such atrocious words?”
The war between Demeter and Hades had occurred before she was even born, but she knew of its horrors better than anyone. Those who had lost family back then still trembled and covered their ears at the mere mention of the King of Hades and the army Thanatos. The scars left upon their hearts by the war had still not healed.
“I have a condition.”
Anxiety was hidden within the man’s silence. To him, saving the Asphodelos was an extremely important matter.
“I presume that Hades desired the virgin tribute from Demeter in order to offer this sacred tree maiden’s blood. However, if I heal the sacred tree, virgin blood will no longer be needed. If so, the ancient treaty between Hades and Demeter—Persephone—would also be deemed unnecessary. If that comes to pass, Your Majesty, I humbly beg you to dissolve the Treaty of Persephone.”
He fell silent for a moment, as if lost in thought. Soon, a brief answer returned to her mind.
- Very well.
The answer came so easily that she was at a loss for words. Asteril, blinking her eyelids a few times, quickly added more, not missing the opportunity.
“I have one more request.”
This time, the king sent a glance from within the darkness, as if asking what else now.
“Please send me back to my homeland.”
It was evident that the King of Hades had no interest in the princesses of the outer palace anyway. If Persephone was no longer needed, her existence as Demeter’s princess would hold no meaning to him either.
But then again, one could never know. He might keep her as a hostage in case of emergency.
She did not know how much force such a verbal contract would hold, but it was better than not receiving a promise at all.
- I permit it.
The king, who had been staring at her, turned away beneath the tree’s shadow, his black garments fluttering. Then he sent a warning via Spirit Speech.
- But do not forget, you. If you fail to save the Asphodelos….
Your homeland, Demeter, shall be destroyed.