The night sky with the full moon was close to indigo blue. The fan-shaped clouds moved with the wind as if revealing white feathers even in the darkness.
Kalian lay staring blankly at the ceiling with a shocked expression.
It was the first time, such humiliation.
Even when he was defeated in a duel with his father as a child and his entire body was battered, he had never lost consciousness. Such a man experienced an irresistible state of unconsciousness for the first time in his life.
It was a terrible feeling, as if he had been swallowed by Erebos's stomach, digested, and then excreted in a soggy mess.
Asteril was also sleeping with louder breaths than usual. She made a sound like air escaping between her lips, then groaned and rolled onto her side.
It seemed she had finally had a drink before falling asleep. It appeared she had also tossed off her clothes in her sleep.
The more he looked, the more such suspicions arose. Was she actually the daughter of Ananke, not Gaia? Why did she have so many traits resembling her mother? Yet he found himself repeatedly surprised by the fact that she could still be a lovable existence.
Or perhaps, like the lyrics of those called bards, he had become a slave to blind love? Did he fall in love and go blind, or did he go blind and thus fall in love?
It was a question humans would love to debate. They would gather in the agora and argue from dawn to dusk, spitting at each other. Bringing up a winged, blind god of love who didn't even exist.
Kalian approached from behind Asteril and pressed his lips to her wing bone visible outside the blanket. She was fragrant, as if she had bathed in water infused with rose petals the night before.
He pulled back the blanket and slipped his hand between her soft breasts visible beyond her collarbone.
Having succeeded in embracing her from behind, he grabbed and twisted her softly sagging nipple. Her sleeping nape flinched reflexively. Asteril tilted her head back with a soft moan.
While continuing to knead her breast with one hand, he rubbed his other hand between her thighs and entered.
"Ah-eut..."
At her moan, Kalian roughly pulled out the fingers that had been digging into her flesh. Sticky fluid trailed from his hand as it came out with a squelch.
He licked his hand with his tongue and leaned in to whisper at her ear.
"This isn't your usual taste. Did you do something here too?"
"I, I don't know..."
He who had been licking his slippery hand with his tongue glanced up and gazed at her. When their eyes met, he saw a darkly undulating crimson desire.
"Kal..."
He lifted her legs high and buried his face between them. Asteril panicked and tried to narrow her legs, but he applied more force and spread her thighs wide.
She could directly feel the touch of his warm lips on her swollen flesh from arousal.
"Ah, ah..."
The tongue that dug into her parted flesh probed inside with its tip pointed. Clear fluid flowed out around the front mound where his breath reached and became mixed together.
He spread the flesh covering the entrance with his thumb and index finger. Staring at the hole that repeatedly contracted and expanded as if breathing, he began to suck fiercely at the moisture seeping from within.
"Aheut... Hah, heok, haahng... Ah!"
Asteril didn't know what to do and covered her face with both hands.
"S-stop..."
Her pleading voice was quickly drowned out by the sound of him sucking noisily. It felt as if her hot, wet flesh and the pooled fluids were all being sucked into his mouth.
A moment later, he raised his head and wiped his glistening mouth with the back of his hand as if oiled. The action was so neat and elegant that she was left speechless.
He lowered himself until their upper bodies would rub against each other and climbed on top of her. At the moment they were close enough to breathe in each other's breath, he whispered softly.
"You are the nectar9) for me."
His hand twisted her nipple, awakening her hazy consciousness.
"Your breath is the aether10) meant only for me."
"What you just did... don't do that anymore."
"Even though your scent lingering on my lips drives me even more crazy?"
"E-even so..."
His chest vibrated shallowly and heaved. A pleased breath sounded like a stifled laugh.
Asteril, who had been covering her eyes with her hands, quickly lowered her arms and looked at Kalian.
It seemed like the corners of his mouth had risen... but they were gone. Was it an illusion?
As usual, he was expressionless, but his pupils that seemed to suck in her soul gazed down at her transparently. A gaze that held only her, sometimes cruel, sometimes affectionate.
Seeing her nipple reddened like a pomegranate about to burst, Kalian bared his teeth and lunged at it. He bit and pulled at the swollen peak as if tearing it off, but at her cry of "Aheuk!", he rolled it gently with his tongue, then took it into his mouth and sucked.
As her waist twisted, he ran his fingers down along her side. Past the cleft of her peach-like round buttocks, he entered between her thighs soaked with slippery fluids.
When one long finger thrust in, Asteril's hips rose. When two entered, she could feel them touching her inner walls. When three entered, she let out a shallow scream.
Her waist curved round and trembled. Before she knew it, he had moved down between her legs and buried his lips again. He wore eyes soaked in pleasure like a male god drinking the most fragrant wine in the world.
Spreading her flesh and stirring inside with his fingers while staring intently, he tilted his head and began to suck fiercely on her reddened swollen inner flesh again.
"Aheut! Ah... Aheut!"
The pleasure that spread chillingly behind her buttocks flashed down her spine and flowed throughout her entire body.
She felt like she would go crazy, and her buttocks rose and fell. Each time, Kalian gripped her pelvis tightly and fixed his lips as if swallowing fruit juice.
Holding both of her legs raised high and burying his face between her buttocks, his appearance was not in his right mind, like a god who had lost his soul to some nymph and stripped down to pounce.
"S-stop! I... Kal, I..."
Asteril, who had been twisting her entire body like a twisted tree, screamed and jerked her upper body up.
"Ahak! Aheut..."
The trembling woman suddenly released all tension from her body and let out a languid moan as her arms dropped limply.
Kalian raised his head at the unusual reaction. She was letting out slender moans like a cat and bending her head far back. Her closed eyelids were seen convulsing finely and rolling back.
Her parted lips were plumply swollen, and her nape and chest mounds covered in red spots showed blood vessels translucently.
He put all four fingers inside her. As he thrust his hand deep with a squelch and shook it inside with slapping sounds, her body bounced unconsciously and showed a disintegrating reaction.
Kalian grabbed her two legs and put his hardened body in while whispering.
"Must I again do this with you while you're unconscious?"
She hadn't completely fainted. Through her flown-away consciousness, her hazy pupils looked up at him loosely.
Her body, with all nerve bundles slackened and rattling, wrapped around him and dragged him into her flesh that clung like scales, becoming more slippery, more wet, and performing stronger tail movements like mermaids in heat. That ecstasy could not be expressed in words.
Every time a squelching sound was heard, moisture flung from her splashed onto his thighs. His eyes that glanced to confirm this held satisfaction.
The blanket was already soaked. When the sour scent pricked his nose, his arousal heightened even more.
She flinched and trembled as she tightened her pelvis. Even though it was an unconscious action, he felt a chill run through his entire body.
Kalian, who had considerable self-control even among Ketons, had his eyes roll back from the pleasure piercing through his spine. The elastic sensation of her inner flesh rubbing against the side of his heated pillar was ecstatic.
Kalian gripped her waist and focused solely on thrusting in and out of the hole that was warmly wet, quivering, and repeatedly drawing him in and pushing him out.
The speed of his moving hips gradually increased in rhythm with the slapping sounds. He could feel the bed creaking and sinking.
Her body wasn't shaking but rather vibrating, barely receiving the speed of his pounding thrusts.
Kalian bit her lower lip as if stretching it out. Then he took a large bite of her swaying, rotating breast and sucked fiercely with sound, holding the bud shape as if milk would come out.
"Hah... Haaahng..."
Asteril seemed to regain consciousness and whimpered while heaving her hips. It was a moan of pleasure.
It was bestial intercourse. An act at a level that would be impossible even if one wanted to do it in a Keton's body.
Kalian leaned against the wall at the head of the bed and quietly looked down at her with a sweat-soaked face.
The seed that gushed out from inside her dripped down between their bodies joined without a single inch of gap.
It felt as if the lightning Uranos had thrown flashed before his eyes.
Asteril pulled his head into an embrace and closed her eyes, immersed in happiness. The joined inner flesh relaxed softly, then clinging like wet clothes in accordance with her long breath, tightened around his member.
Startled, Kalian hastily propped up his upper body and narrowed his eyes blurrily. His broad shoulders were seen convulsing.
"Ah... Uht..."
A broken moan leaked from between his lips at the suddenly erupted pleasure.
His member, which had ejaculated once more inside her, swelled and subsided as if breathing. He was still spitting out low moans like convulsions.
"Why... are you like this?"
He raised his hand as if to say don't say anything, then collapsed onto the bed avoiding her body. Rapid breaths were heard.
The prone man reached out and caressed her lips. He touched her chin and swept down her sweat-soaked neck.
His gaze stared at her naked body. His languid eyes were listless but undulating with something about to pour out.
"Ril."
His hoarse voice leaked out as if it had been deeply aged over time.
"You must know."
"..."
"That I am in love with you."
The whisper that flowed out unable to be contained was full of emptiness as if there was nothing to be done.
The more he loved, the more he realized. The puddles created by unknowingly trampling were far more numerous and deeper than he had thought.
"That I would dare to..."
A voice soaked in dawn confessed wrapped in guilt.
"Love you beyond measure."
Ψ
Bright light was felt beyond her eyelids. Sunlight warmly shone on her moist entire body.
Asteril discovered that the arm holding her from behind had dropped down below the bed. She felt regular breaths from his lips touching her shoulder.
Bracing against the bed, she slightly raised her hips. She felt something heavily penetrating between her thighs. She closed her eyes tightly and gently moved her body side to side. Then, their seamlessly connected lower bodies slowly separated.
"Ah, hah..."
A moan leaked out at the sensation of flesh rubbing. "Haa, haa..." Right when she had barely pulled everything out with labored breaths, something grabbed her waist with a start. The moment she flinched and glanced sideways, Kalian whispered against her ear.
"What are you doing right now?"
His gaze directed downward. The two hands that had caught her stealthily escaping waist were pulling her back to the original position.
"Because you've been inside me all night..."
Her flesh was wet. His member that had slipped out rubbed against her thigh and smeared fluid.
"Who said you could pull that out as you please?"
Under his half-closed eyelids, blurred eye corners were visible.
"But it's already dawn. It's morning now..."
"So?"
"Shouldn't we go outside? People will be waiting..."
"Ketons who have undergone Anteros enjoy the joy of intercourse until the constellations have all passed through Eos's veil. We've only just spent one night, where do you think you're going?"
Until the constellations have all passed through Eos's veil? Does that mean until all positions in the night sky have been passed?
"...You do it all year round?"
Unlike the appalled Asteril, Kalian had a look asking what the problem was. It might be a natural thing for Ketons.
"If you want to do it with a corpse, then go ahead."
She shot back mercilessly like a sharpened blade and slipped out of his embrace. He caught her arm.
"Nothing will go wrong with you in my arms."
"If we keep doing it like last night, my heart will stop."
"Your heart always beats too much, that's the problem. You don't need to worry about it stopping..."
"Kalian!"
Asteril covered his mouth with both her hands. Amusement could be seen in the corners of his eyes.
"Do you even know? I am human. A mortal!"
"…."
"So... I need rest."
"Then take your rest. You can just close your eyes and do nothing. Just as you always have."
"It might have looked like I was always asleep, but I was actually awake the whole time, you know? I knew exactly what lewd things you were doing."
"You were awake?"
"Yes. When I was asleep, you came right behind me and..."
Asteril glanced over her shoulder with flushed cheeks. Kalian asked with an expressionless face.
"Came right behind you and... did unspeakable things?"
"…."
"You knew everything, huh..."
He half-lowered his eyes and whispered, deeper and more secretively.
"I am truly pleased and satisfied. To think you would embrace even such dirty and filthy desires of mine."
She had forgotten for a while because he treated her so affectionately. How shameless and straightforward this man was.
He was truly a being who had lived without even needing to make excuses or deny what he had done, simply because he was too omnipotent.
His eyes turned crimson. Whatever he was thinking, seeing the power of Erebus activate, it was clear he was recalling something that would be better for her mental health not to see or hear.
"Then from now on, even when your consciousness is fully intact..."
"No, don't do it."
"…."
"Rather..."
"…."
"Just do it when I'm unconscious."
It was not once or twice that she woke up from sleep to find her entire body slick with the marks and fluids he left behind, or the mound between her legs swollen as she tightly clamped down on his thing still buried inside her.
Even if she had no choice but to confirm the result with her own two eyes, it was better not to know the intermediate process. It would be better for her mental health to dismiss her vague memories as just dreams.
Kalian kissed Asteril's forehead with a smack, then whispered softly to her ear, which he had licked multiple times.
"I will do so. For it will be a pleasure you need never know about forever."
Asteril didn't retort anymore. She was just increasingly dumbfounded by his response of readily agreeing even when told to do it alone.
Ψ
The old man of the Jujube Tree House, the oldest in Prear village, was staring intently at the house decorated with olive leaves and flowers, with his hands clasped behind his back.
What on earth happened? Was there an earthquake last night? The house that was perfectly fine just yesterday was tilted askew.
Is it senility? Yeah, that could be it. His wife keeps yelling lately asking if he's gone deaf, and there were more than a couple of times he almost ended up in a coffin because he couldn't even hear that.
The old man was startled when the rotten wooden door at the entrance creaked open.
His bulging eyes, like a frog's, blinked widely. His wrinkled throat, like an old tree, gulped. That was the maximum reaction he could muster.
From inside, a young man and woman were coming out, drawing back the white cloth curtains. The woman, in particular, looked haggard, as if she hadn't slept a wink all night, and she yawned repeatedly with sleepy eyes, her hand placed over her mouth.
"I have no strength in my legs. In Lethe, Hanpung always gave me a ride, so I didn't know... How am I supposed to walk like this?"
Only after seeing their appearance did the old man finally convince himself that the sight before his eyes was not an optical illusion. He rejoiced with a smile in his wrinkled eyes. It really was tilted. It definitely tilted as if collapsing.
"But isn't the building a bit strange? Something towards this way..."
Asteril, who came outside and stared intently at the village chief's son's house, was horrified, covering her mouth with her hand.
One side of the building was tilting outward at a slant. 'Tilting' was an understatement; in reality, the plaster had all pushed out and was on the verge of collapsing. It was the direction of the wall Kalian had braced his hand against while making love to her all night.
"Oh my, what happened here!"
"Good heavens!"
The villagers who gathered one by one screamed with somewhat artificial shrieks, their eyes wide open.
Asteril swallowed dry saliva. It might have been her imagination, but Kalian's complexion also looked pale.
When one person screamed, two gathered, and soon their parents, siblings, and sisters flocked in, and the front of the Thalamos quickly became a sea of people.
Kalian, seeing that sight, couldn't move as if his limbs were frozen. His long, narrow eyes glanced left and right, then began to waver with agitation.
Everyone was looking at him, giggling with lewd gazes. His ears, sharper than others, eavesdropped on the whispering conversations as if sucking them in.
"The groom must have done that, right?"
"What on earth did they do inside?"
"What could they have done..."
"Right?"
"They fed him that much alcohol... This is a performance exceeding expectations. He wreaked havoc like a stallion destroying a stable."
"Did he have a go at it after taking a satisfying piss?"
"Really, unnie! Piss? What piss!"
"What piss... Urine, of course. If you drink alcohol, you have to pee."
"Ah, urine."
"Yeah, they probably shat out other things too, though."
"Shouldn't we go inside and check the room too?"
"With the wall like that, what about the room... It must be at the level of a landslide."
"Landslide? Isn't it a flood?"
When someone shouted that, giggles and laughter erupted here and there.
Asteril turned around, her face bright red. She muttered to herself and quickly walked away.
"Right, I was just about to go to the spring to take a bath. Which way was it again..."
She could feel Kalian looking at her as if asking where she was going, but she tried hard to ignore it and headed for the narrow path.
"Ahem, where are you going?"
The village chief suddenly grabbed Kalian's shoulder as he tried to follow her. Kalian turned around stiffly. For a moment, a furious expression like a father's thunderbolt flashed across the gentle face of the village chief. You rascal! It was you!
As if he had never done so, the village chief smiled benignly again.
"You must explain what on earth happened first."
Kalian stared intently at the back of Asteril, who was hiking up her white dress to her calves and running away towards the forest.
Her running skills, which she had to use to flee at all times in Lethe, had improved day by day, enough to be awarded a laurel wreath. She disappeared into the shade of the forest without even looking back. Was her bath so urgent that she'd leave her groom in a death trap...?
"This house, you see. I built it with my own hands to give to my son when he gets married, from baking the dirt to plastering and painting it."
"…."
"You, your strength is certainly not inferior to the bull of Crete... I suppose I don't need to worry unnecessarily? If you just restore it to its original state, I won't hold you responsible at all."
The village chief laughed with his hands behind his back. Behind him, about fifteen village women laughed along. He didn't know which of them was the chief's wife, but finding that out wasn't the important issue.
Kalian nodded without resistance. The moment he saw their forearms, he realized who the owners of the thick hands that had grabbed him by the collar and ears last night were.
Walking absentmindedly, she came across a sparkling stream, like silk released by a goddess. Asteril cast a vacant gaze at the clear sound of the water.
I've come too far.
It seemed as if the valley of the Aetos mountain range, moved by the blessing of the sun god, had sent its waters to reach this small pine forest.
Smooth stones gleamed turquoise under the sunlight beneath the babbling current. The texture of the pebbles, carved by the water flow and covered in moss, was as soft and moist as thick silk.
Asteril, who was sitting on a flat rock with her feet submerged, looked up at the leaves obscuring the sky.
Why is the forest so quiet?
Belatedly noticing the strangeness, she swept her surroundings with a sidelong glance. The trees and herbs were all dead silent. The small beasts that liked to gather at her feet were nowhere to be seen. There was usually only one reason a forest felt afraid.
Asteril tossed her words out as if calling someone.
"What is it, were you here all night?"
Then, a rustling sound was heard from beyond the bushes. The approaching footsteps stopped in front of the stream on the opposite side.
"What are you doing here?"
"I was going to the spring, but I got distracted and came too far."
"Why the spring?"
"The morning after the Gamos, the bride must go to Kalirore and take a purifying bath with thyme."
Aris looked Asteril up and down. She was still wearing the white ceremonial dress from yesterday. Crumpled untidily here and there.
"It doesn't suit you at all."
"Really?"
"To put such a ridiculous outfit on Lian."
"Ah... Kalian? Well, he only looked splendid to me?"
"Splendid, my foot! A ceremonial dress fitting for the position of the throne would have to be made of fabric woven from the wings of the Okeanos butterfly swarm or Himeros flower petals, densely embroidered with the scales of the carp my father raises, and individually decorated with the pearls of the shells from the Pontos Sea."
Asteril narrowed her eyes as if dumbfounded.
"Why are you being so spiteful? It can't be because of the Gamos..."
"…."
"What is it, do you still have feelings for Kalian?"
"It's not because of Lian."
"Then why?"
She became genuinely curious. Why was he suddenly so angry like a child, when just yesterday he was clinking glasses with the other guests and laughing loudly at the drunken Kalian?
Asteril's pupils, which were looking at Aris, wavered. It was because of his piercing gaze directed at her.
It was a look asking if she still didn't understand even now. It felt as though he would step right up to her face and press his breath against her.
"Lord Aris...?"
Aris splashed across the water and reached out, placing his hand on the rock she was sitting on. She ended up trapped within his arms.
"Go over there."
"I don't want to."
"I'm going to take a bath."
"This is not Kalirore."
"It doesn't matter. Hurry up. I'm going to take off my clothes."
"Go ahead."
It was hard to read any emotion from Aris's expressionless face. He was just like Kalian. His lifeless, glass-like eyes made it hard to breathe just by looking at them.
"This kind of joke... is not amusing at all."
"Joke?"
Aris stared intently at Asteril's lips as she tried to pretend she wasn't nervous. Feeling his gaze, Asteril forced a smile.
"What are you doing, really."
"Why do you like Lian?"
"Pardon?"
"Where, what about Lian is so good."
"Why did Lord Aris like him, then?"
"I was with Lian from the moment I was born. Did you adore him from the very first moment you saw him after coming to Hades? Probably not. You must have been scared at first. Overwhelmed by the aura Lian exuded, it must have been hard to even breathe."
"…."
"That day, you encountered Ketos for the first time since you were born, and you mistook that fear and awe for love. Am I wrong?"
"…."
"If I had met you first instead of Lian, you would have come to adore me."
"I don't think so. I can assure you. That wouldn't be the case."
"…."
"It would absolutely never be you, Lord Aris."
"Why would it absolutely not be me?"
"Because you, Lord Aris... Mmph!"
Aris leaned in, his tongue pushing between her lips. Asteril pushed his shoulder away with widened, startled eyes. Then, his hand grabbed her resisting wrist as if tying it up.
Asteril slowly let go of the strength in her hands. She clenched her teeth and accepted his lips. Aris's jaw and shoulder twitched slightly. The kiss, which had been forceful and predatory, changed into something pleading.
As if suppressing his passionate emotions, he took a deep breath and slowly straightened his body.
Aris quietly stared at Asteril, who was standing and putting all her strength into her wide-open eyes.
"Even after this... is it really no?"
"Yes."
Her stubbornly glaring gaze was protesting.
Asking why he was acting like this all of a sudden. Why now, when he was smiling and chatting just fine among the guests during the Gamos.
Aris also read the reproachful look in her eyes. He smiled bitterly.
That's right. Until I saw you shouting those words at Lian with that face across the bonfire.
"I love you, so much."
It felt like all the noisy sounds and the laughter of the drunks were fading from my ears.
The world stopped once again. Black-haired princess, only you were in my vision. But your eyes were solely on Lian, like a girl seeing a rainbow for the first time.
Suddenly, my mood turned to utter shit, as if my foot had plunged deep into a muddy swamp.
I also wondered why I was always late. Realizing things, acting on them—it was all too late.
"Originally, I was just going to stay like this and drink the water of oblivion."
"Then go ahead. I will give you as much of the ingredients as you want."
Asteril wiped her lips with the back of her hand and slipped past him, giving his shoulder a light shove.
She dusted off her sandals and slipped them on over the wet sand. Aris watched her back, his face devoid of any will to fight.
Are you really telling me to do that? To drink the waters of forgetfulness and erase your very existence? Is that truly all I am to you? So much so that you don't care whether I erase you from my memory forever or not?
"What is it you want me to do?"
Her knack for speaking as if reading his mind was still uncanny. He could see her glaring at him with sharp eyes.
"Did seeing Gamos make you want to take me as your mate? O almighty and great Keton."
"If you mean a mate... are you speaking of Anteros?"
"Yes."
Aris was rendered speechless when she snapped back without hesitation at his careless remark.
"Do you even know what Anteros is?"
"Isn't it what Ketons call their mates?"
"Yes, Anteros is a sacred ritual that can only be performed between Ketons."
"I am a child of a Keton, too."
"It has yet to be concluded whether you are Lady Gaia's daughter or not."
"Is that really so important?"
"It's not so much about importance..."
"Then what if it turns out I am Lady Gaia's daughter? Will you make me your Anteros then? Can you promise me that?"
"That is..."
Aris's voice shrank. He looked cornered. Glancing around as if thinking, *What do I do?*, he was suddenly startled. *Whoa, holy—*
Kalian was sitting on a tree stump, staring intently at the two of them.
"Did you go through with it?"
He asked, his gaze darkened.
"Ri-rian..."
Aris almost asked when he had arrived but swallowed the question. Judging by his demeanor, he had seen and heard enough. Making no sound at all—it wasn't like Rian.
"To think the one you recalled back then was her."
Kalian pressed down on the hilt of his sword, which was planted on the ground between his legs, and stood up.
Kalian, who had been staring at the ground for a moment, raised his head. Seeing his eyes gradually darken like wine, Aris tensed.
With a sharp *swish*, dust kicked up.
Moving in a flash, Kalian knocked Aris to the ground and clamped a hand over his mouth.
"And so..."
A murderous voice demanded fiercely.
"How were her lips? Were they so sweet and soft that you couldn't bear to let them go from your mouth?"
For a moment, he thought Nyx had come. Kalian's eyes, which usually revealed little emotion, were flashing with murderous intent.
"To us, the guilt of transgression is as intoxicating as the last remaining juice of ambrosia. Did you feel it, Aris?"
Was this the madness of a Keton consumed by jealousy? If so, what was he thinking in the first place, letting me kiss the black-haired princess?
Aris's eyes wavered, then froze. *Did he do it on purpose? On purpose... Why?*
Kalian raised his right hand. Wrapped around the back of his hand like a hook was Hanpung, transformed into a blade.
*Slash.*
The sound of slicing flesh and splattering blood pattered heavily against the ground. The trail of blood drawn on the earth formed a straight line, revealing the lethal intent behind the attack.
"Urgh... Uck...!"
A groan of suppressed pain leaked out. Asteril, who had turned away and crouched down, squeezed her eyes shut while covering both ears.
Aris, holding a hand over his mouth, watched Kalian violently shake his hand in the air.
Amidst the blood droplets scattering in all directions, the severed flesh and skin could be seen flying away. Hanpung hastily blew away and cleaned the beads of blood caught between its master's nails.
"Those who covet another's Anteros shall be torn limb from limb and plunged into the lava of Tartarus."
Kalian murmured low. Aris let the hand covering his mouth drop limply.
His face was revealed—his lips and the surrounding skin tissue sliced away, leaving his gums and teeth fully exposed like a skull.
"...Anteros?"
The questions she had asked earlier flashed through Aris's mind like lightning.
"Did you come to want to make me your mate?"
"Are you speaking of Anteros?"
"Yes."
Pulling himself up, Aris stared back at Kalian, who was watching him expressionlessly. He had already regained his composure.
He was equally beautiful and merciless, whether as a Keton or a human. In truth, Aris had wanted to ask for a while. Why he would go out of his way to don a human body, even setting aside the pride of immortality.
There had been an entirely unexpected reason. Anteros, of all things. Anteros.
"Then what if it turns out I am Lady Gaia's daughter? Will you make me your Anteros then? Can you promise me that?"
His face flushed hot. The sight of himself, hesitating and mumbling without being able to answer that question, suddenly felt despicable.
Aris turned onto his side and curled up, shielding his face with both arms. Asteril said nothing. He just suffered, his face contorted in agony.
A moment later, Aris muttered bleakly.
"You are cruel."
He couldn't lift his head. He wanted to scream at him not to look at his face. Standing up with both hands still covering his face, Aris trudged away. His shadow stretched long and wavering as he entered the pine forest.
Aris cast one last glance back. Even from this distance, his expression seemed vividly clear. He looked utterly wretched, consumed by humiliation.
Kalian stared fixedly into the shadows where Aris stood. Like a master standing with a whip, lest a banished slave dare to return.
Aris knew it too. He forced a smile, his lips twisting. It was profoundly desolate. Her heart ached.
"Why did you just watch?"
Kalian said nothing in response to Asteril's question. As if hoping she wouldn't ask him anything at all.
"Did you know about Lord Aris's feelings?"
"..."
"You did know."
*Then why?* Her long, sidelong gaze seemed to ask just that.
"Don't tell me... you were jealous?"
Kalian lowered his eyes. He didn't deny it. Or perhaps it was a look that said, *You're only realizing this now?*
"Since when?"
"Always."
"Always?"
Whenever the two of them were pulling at each other's hair and sneering, only to suddenly start growling and arguing, Kalian would often stare at them with his chin propped up, or watch in silence with his arms crossed.
There had been times she felt his killing intent. Of course, since Kalian threw out killing intent out of habit, she had brushed it off as him just playing around.
"Perhaps I..."
"..."
"Might have noticed deep down as well..."
The fact that she was only now realizing she had known all along was a problem, but still.
She had thought it was nothing more than a small scratch. A fissure that would heal soon, as if grazed in passing. She thought it would fade naturally, like a bruise.
She had thought he was just leaning on her for a moment to soothe the pain of being rejected by Kalian. She never bothered to meticulously dissect Aris's feelings, like scraping the last bits of meat off a rib.
Because he was a Keton, an immortal, she had assumed his heart would be infinitely resilient to wounds.
Kalian stared past Asteril's shoulder. There was nothing. The figure of Aris, who used to hover like a shadow behind her, was gone.
His gaze, pretending to be nonchalant and grumbling, had always been chasing her back with sidelong glances. He had loved her. That guy loved her too.
Suddenly, a spark of Hestia flew in, crackling from the direction of the forest. Both of their eyes widened. The gentle ember circled around them before quietly slipping under Asteril's fingernail.
"What... is this...?"
She asked hesitantly. The base of her right thumb flared hot as if scorched by fire, then faded.
Kalian remained silent, lost in thought. Aris had relinquished his position as Hestia's guardian. It might be more accurate to say he had quit. Either way, he had thrown it all away and left.
"He probably won't come back anymore."
"What?"
..."
"Lord Aris?"
Aris, who had curled up as if trying to hide in a mouse hole, wrapping his head with both arms, his face flushed red.
It would likely be a long time before he could face his own reflection again, having trembled so violently in shame.
"Lady Asteril, Lord Kalian! So this is where you were! I've been looking everywhere for you."
Just then, someone came bouncing through the bushes, calling out to them. It was Leuke, who had gone from being a princess of Crete to a minor commander of Hecate. Following behind her was Iskis, a bow slung over his shoulder.
Having seen a drunk Kalian shoot an arrow yesterday, piercing straight through the exact center of every swinging target in a single line, Iskis had become his fervent devotee from that very moment.
"The village elders have prepared Burlanika. Let's go and drink it together."
"Burlanika?"
Kalian asked back, clearly having no idea what it was.
"It's a beverage made by reducing a sun-ripened wine with a beautiful hue like your eyes and mixing it with white milk. It's also called the red drink, and it's typically a special fruit wine consumed during purification rites."
Listening to Asteril's explanation, Leuke chimed in, "Ah, right!"
"They've piled olive branches, pine cones, and Sabine herbs together in the threshing floor. They've also prepared to burn myrrh. They're going to light a sacred fire."
"It seems they are preparing an offering. We must go before the burning laurel begins to crackle. We need to announce our union to the almighty protectors of the household."
Kalian still wore an expression of incomprehension.
The gods were already right here, so who were they supposed to be offering the rites to?
"They said that in Aphrodisias, they usually only burn incense for Ananke, but after hearing that you are a Demeterian, Lady Asteril, they decided it would be best to offer a rite to Gaia as well, so they prepared both."
"Oh my, how thoughtful of them."
At the mention of Ananke and Gaia, Kalian's eyes widened. He lowered his head and whispered to Asteril.
"You mean my mother and yours?"
"Ah... Yes, I suppose so?"
Gaia was one thing, but if they sent for his mother Ananke right now, she would come running immediately. Asteril threw him a sidelong glance and added an explanation.
"It's a rite offered to Ananke, the great Goddess of Destiny, not my husband's mother."
"You are my Anteros. You are now a daughter of Ananke and a daughter of Uranos."
She avoided Kalian's glancing gaze and muttered softly.
"I know. Lady Ananke said so herself. That I am now no different from her daughter."
"And? What did you say to that?"
"Well..."
Asteril flushed and cleared her throat awkwardly.
"I couldn't say anything."
*Because I was too embarrassed.* She mumbled in a voice so small she might as well have been crawling into a mouse hole. Her ears were burning red.
Kalian's eyes gradually softened. He could easily imagine how fondly his mother must have looked upon her.
"The Goddess of Fate does not utter words she cannot take responsibility for. You are a true daughter of Ananke."
Asteril dipped her head low. "Yes, I know," she replied, her voice still shy and timid.
Kalian realized anew that when Asteril was overwhelmingly happy, she couldn't even lift her head, simply overcome with shyness. His mother declaring, "You are now my daughter," must have been an immense happiness for her.
His chest vibrated with a shallow tremor. A bitter ache of tenderness rose in his mouth. He wanted to pull her into a tight embrace just like this, retreat under the covers of their private chambers, cover her body in worshipping kisses, and tell her that she was the joy and pride of all, the very wellspring of happiness.
"Oh, right! Lady Asteril, have you bathed yet?"
Leuke, who had taken something out of Iskis's quiver, asked with a bright smile. She unfurled her hand to reveal a small cluster of jagged-edged flowers.
"Iskis and I climbed the mountain this morning to pick them."
Asteril leaned toward the flowers Leuke offered, inhaled their fragrance, and let out a gasp of delight.
"Is this thyme?"
It was an herb called thyme, so named because its floral scent was said to carry for a hundred miles. Since it typically grew on cliffs or among rocks at mountain peaks, it was a medicinal herb difficult to acquire unless one was in a royal palace or a temple.
Thyme could be boiled whole and used as medicine, but more than anything, soaking in water infused with its leaves produced an exquisite fragrance.
"Not yet. I haven't cleansed myself in the Calirrhoe yet."
Asteril, who was especially fond of the scent of thyme, murmured as if entranced.
"Then let's go bathe first, Lady Asteril. If a bride who has undergone Gamos still hasn't immersed herself in the Calirrhoe, Lady Ananke might find it disrespectful. And the men over there are washing their hands in the sacred jars before drinking the Burlanika."
Kalian wore a deeply skeptical expression.
Did they know that Ananke had secretly visited Gamos yesterday? She had already watched the wedding of her son and her newly acquired daughter, Asteril, with a pleased expression.
Yet now, to burn myrrh and offer sacrifices to her—could there be a more ridiculous turn of events?
"Le... Let us go."
Iskys spoke with a tense expression. Kallian reluctantly turned away. Asteril's appearance, smiling amiably with Leuce as she looked at Baekrihyang, seemed so joyful; and just as she had put it, he decided to respect the value of the formalities and rituals where mortals publicly conducted their affairs to gain recognition.
All the way back to the village, Iskys kept glancing at the silently walking Kallian, maintaining a stiff expression.
The villagers knew him as an ordinary youth. Even though the members of Hecate knew he possessed supernatural power, they had never experienced terror down to the very depths of their souls over what it was.
Iskys had.
On his way to Hades, he had experienced Nyx's barrier unleashed before the river Styx, and during the night raid on Lethe, he had seen Kallian appear amidst the wind.
Watching his ability to sever a person's neck like a reed, he had dropped his sword hilt, his legs giving out as he collapsed under a chattering, teeth-clenching terror.
"Um... Lord Kallian."
He could see the look in his eyes asking what he wanted. Those amethyst eyes staring down coldly were wondrous every time he saw them.
"I c-congratulate you on your marriage to Lady Asteril."
"..."
"I need to propose to Leuce as well.... Haha."
Silence ensued. Was it an expression of disbelief? He could feel the gaze staring at him a bit more intently than before.
"By any chance... could you teach me how to use the bow?"
"..."
"Or even the sword."
Iskys, who had been timidly meeting his eyes, flinched. He saw those purple eyes narrow, crumpling as if surging with irritation.
"I-I'm sorry. Please forget it."
Kallian stopped in his tracks. Iskys had plopped down, his knees giving out. He breathed a sigh through his slightly parted rose-colored lips.
Kallian sent a signal to Hanpung, who had been following along perched on his shoulder, and then snatched the deerskin bow slung across Iskys's back.
Iskys wore a bewildered expression. Kallian was inspecting his bow from various angles.
Shortly after, like a young god hunting wild boars through the forest, he drew and released the bowstring once in a straight, dignified posture.
Iskys was entranced. He felt he understood why Leuce was so enraptured every time she looked at him.
"Iskys."
"Y-Yes, sir!"
When Kallian tossed the bow, he scrambled to catch it. A look of awe swept across Iskys's face as he fiddled with the bow.
"This is..."
"Ketons do not use weapons like mortals. Therefore, I cannot teach you the art of archery."
He did not know what sorcery it was, but the bow was as light as a feather. Moreover, the stave and string sparkled with unidentifiable crystals, as if salt had been sprinkled over them.
"I infused it with my breath. Draw it just a little, and it will fly to unseen distances."
"Ah!" Iskys cried out, dropping to his hands and knees on the ground. He hadn't even dared to expect such an honor. He felt like he might cry.
"I-I will cherish it as a treasure, as precious as my very life, for generations to come."
Humans—creations he had once disregarded like mere weeds. In the past, he had taken the awe, fear, and worship they offered with raised hands for granted, yet considered them trifling.
But now, he found it difficult to turn a blind eye to their bowed backs. Kallian almost opened his mouth to speak without realizing it.
That is enough, so stand up. Am I truly a being so dazzling that you must look upon me as you would the Sun God?
Only after a long while did Iskys brush off his knees and rise, blowing the dirt off the bow.
As Kallian resumed walking, looking ahead, his gaze abruptly halted. He turned his head to peer between the pine branches.
Had he been in his Keton body, his field of vision would have expanded, revealing the far distance in vivid detail as if it were right before his nose.
Straining his eyes, he focused his gaze in the direction where he sensed something amiss.
It was only after staring for a while that he realized it was an overturned cart. Hanpung, who had scouted the scene first, blew a puff of breath.
It was the scent of blood.
Noticing Kallian's gaze, Iskys grabbed his bow and broke into a run. Following behind him, Kallian confirmed the wheel tracks in the dirt and the debris of the shattered cart.
"Are you alright?"
Iskys's voice rang out. He had pulled the man pinned beneath the cart to safety and was slapping his cheek vigorously.
"Wake up, Ivar!"
At the name Ivar, Kallian's pupils dilated, glowing red. In a flash, he was beside the two men. Iskys, crouching low as he cradled Ivar in his arms, looked up at Kallian with a pale face.
"L-Lord Kallian! Ivar is..."
Ivar opened his eyes blearily. He appeared to struggle for breath. With every inhalation, a wheezing, metallic sound escaped him.
Kallian checked the chest area Ivar was clutching. A broken bar from the cage had pierced between his ribs. Dark, clotted blood welled up from the wound.
"Let's get him to the village first. He needs medical attention."
"What about that?"
Kallian asked, unconcerned with the man's condition. This was more important.
"Where did it go?"
The side of the cage where Ivar and the other prisoner had been confined was completely smashed to pieces.
Clear footprints were visible on the dirt-stained blanket. They were too small to be Ivar's. The footprints of the other escapee led toward the ridge on the opposite side.
"Psyche... you mean?"
Ivar averted his gaze as if in shame. Sensing something behind him, Kallian whipped around warily.
A raucous flapping of wings echoed through the quiet trees.
Caw!
The crisp scent of the conifers wafted on the breeze. Upon the verdant branches, carrion crows sat shoulder-to-shoulder, cawing noisily with their black beaks agape.
Blood-red eyes glared down at them, rolling in their sockets. A black bird that locked eyes with Kallian tilted its head. It was a peculiarly large specimen, with a purplish hue on the underside of its wings.
"It was those crows. They... suddenly attacked the cart..."
Coughing, Ivar couldn't finish his sentence. Iskys pressed down hard on his side, attempting to stop the bleeding.
These creatures... Did they realize that Aris was not around?
Just as Kallian was about to unleash the wind to attack, the murder of crows flashed their eyes and simultaneously spread their wings, taking flight in a flurry.
Kallian's face drained of color as he watched the direction they flew off toward.
It was behind the temple—the direction where Kallirhoe was.