- ...ril.
A shrub in the garden called her name as though singing.
- Look over there.
Beneath the sunlight, Rian, clad in pure white, walked between the trembling trees like flowing water.
Asteril ran barefoot upon the dirt, unaware that her loosely tied hair was coming undone. The shadows of her long hair poured over the tops of her wind-like running feet, swaying and dancing.
“Lady Rian, have you been well?”
As always when Rian came, Bukpung curled its tail and hid, and the garden trees and shrubs fell silent. But they did not do so because they disliked Rian. Rather, unable to conceal their excitement, they trembled and were busy each emitting their fragrance. The silence was awe, and hiding their forms was akin to bowing their heads somewhere.
“Did you sleep here?”
Rian asked, glancing sidelong at the liquor jar fallen on the ground.
“Ah….”
She had been drinking honey liquor with dried figs and fallen asleep without a soul knowing. These days she often dozed off in front of Asphodelos. At first, the attendants would move her to her quarters, but now they passed by pretending not to see.
“Originally, my healing method involves sharing body heat. Among those, the most effective is sleeping together. Sleep is the fundamental rest and recovery method that living beings seek.”
A doubtful gaze turned toward Asphodelos, as if asking whether it was truly recovering properly.
“I may not look it, but I possess Demeter’s greatest healing ability. As for the liquor jar… I originally enjoy wheat wine and persimmon wine, but the palace of Lethe has especially excellent wheat wine.”
“Since when have you had that power?”
She seemed to have little interest in the liquor jar. That wheat wine was so sweet it seemed to melt the tongue, but did Lady Rian not like alcohol?
“I’m not sure. I have no memories before the age of nine. As a child, I suffered a severe fever and even reached death’s door. They say it was the blessing of the gods that such a weak child miraculously recovered in the year she turned nine. But I was in a state without any memories whatsoever. I couldn’t even speak properly, like a newborn baby.”
It was a story known only to the Queen Mother and her older sisters. To think she was revealing such inner circumstances to someone she hardly knew… She herself found it wondrous.
Was it because of those purple eyes that seemed to suck in one’s soul? They say even the world’s most beautiful vase is fired with miltos or cinnabar, do they not?
“The place in my oldest memory is the forest of Cocytus. One day I opened my closed eyes there, and in that moment, I immediately knew that countless spirits surrounded me. I began conversing with spirits before people. There was no need to speak aloud with them with my tongue. I don’t know either. Since when I had this ability….”
It had taken quite a long time to realize that this was a power others did not have.
“So perhaps that is why I feel Lady Rian more intimately. It is my first time meeting someone with such strong divine power besides myself.”
She wanted to grow closer. She wanted to draw nearer. She wanted to know more about her.
“I also have something to ask.”
Rian was a person of the main palace. The one closest to the King of Hades. She would know much, but there was no guarantee she would tell much.
“It is about the maidens who have died until now. Do you happen to know how they died?”
“You mean the Persephones?”
“And the other princesses as well. Do you know how they died?”
“….”
“Do you not know?”
Who died, how many died, why they died…
“Nothing at all?”
“You are full of curiosity.”
Or was she pretending not to know?
“My survival is at stake, so of course. I nearly died to that person called Lady Aris last time as well, you know?”
One attendant carrying a water jar, walking toward the inner courtyard, halted upon seeing Rian with Asteril. She quickly set the jar down and prostrated herself on the ground in greeting.
When Rian glanced sidelong, the attendant’s hands on the ground trembled. Though it was merely a cast gaze, an irresistible dignity was felt.
“In this place, screams are heard every night. Just why does the King do this to the women….”
The wrist of the attendant fleeing as if escaping was as white and slender as porcelain. Her cheeks showed veins through the skin, and her lips were purple-tinged from lack of blood. Her pupils were bloodshot with capillaries spreading like a spiderweb. This was often how the sick looked just before they drew their last breath.
Watching the attendant’s retreating figure, Asteril blankly murmured at a sudden realization.
“No… Why are the attendants being executed?”
Why had she not realized? Because they usually moved like shadows, she had not thought of it, but looking closely, they resembled the women who had been naked before the flames.
“Did you go out at night?”
The main palace was forbidden to enter, and Hypnos was supposed to be an hour of silence.
“My night hearing is sharp. With such screams, how could I sleep?”
“You heard screams?”
“Startled by the sound, I went out and saw something terrible happening near the main palace.”
It was a burning at the stake. Those struggling to escape the flames were forcibly pushed back in by soldiers with sharp spears.
“It was a horrendous sight.”
Her voice came out trembling as if sobbing. The terror of that day unfolded before her eyes again. The smell of roasting flesh, the vivid flames shooting into the dark blue sky, the shadows of corpses discarded on the ground.
“You are saying that sound reached your ears?”
“Did you not hear it, Lady Rian?”
Come to think of it, it seemed none of the princesses had heard it. Even though it had been so loud.
“Not hearing them is the norm.”
The line of Rian’s lips, staring intently at Asteril, was deliberately stiff.
“Right? As I told you, my night hearing is quite sharp. Anyway, why were those attendants being executed?”
“They are criminals. Called Mainades….”
“Mainades?”
- They mean fanatics, Princess. Women who lost themselves and committed crimes in frenzy.
Bukpung, hiding behind the fig tree, murmured in explanation. And it quickly added:
- This is a place to reform and punish them. Understand, Princess? Those women were paying for their sins.
“What did they worship fanatically to commit sins?”
In that moment, the image of a man with eyes blacker than darkness, smiling like a child, flashed through her mind. Tethys’s voice rang out sharply like an alarm bell.
“Hades means ‘the hidden one, the hidden land.’ There is a claim that the etymology came from the worshippers of Nyx. They say the name was given because they secretly gathered and performed mad rituals.”
“Nyx?”
Rian cast narrowed eyes instead of answering.
“Did Bukpung tell you?”
“What? Ah, that’s….”
Bukpung, peeking from behind the branches, flinched and hid quickly between the leaves.
“No being remains here of their own will. Whether human or spirit, all are bound by something. There are those who fulfill their responsibilities and duties, but there are also those who committed crimes and are receiving punishment.”
Like the attendants who lost their emotions and wandered the night. Rian’s gaze stung toward where Bukpung hid.
“Wandering the darkness and chasing the wind are your freedoms, but remember. This is a place where the distinction between good and evil is ambiguous. If you are not careful….”
You will end up putting your own neck in another’s chains. And then it will already be too late for regret.
The darkness will swallow you whole.
Ψ
It was the hour of Hypnos. The problem was that sleep would not come. Asteril sighed and rose from her bed.
It couldn’t be helped… She had heard such stories during the day.
It was already early evening. She tiptoed and quietly stepped outside her quarters. The attendants were nowhere to be seen. Even if they were, they would not stop her much. It was a privilege. Since promising to look after Asphodelos, she had been freed from restrictions on night walks.
“Bukpung.”
When she called in a whisper, Bukpung approached softly, as if spring snow were melting. Its gestures showed it was in a good mood. A sweet scent emanated from the tail of the creature spinning and dancing in circles.
Drunk on flower scent, it seemed.
A fragrance that could intoxicate a wind spirit should be extremely rare? What was certain was that within the separate palace, there was no flower with such a scent. Then…
“You said it, didn’t you? That the main palace has a garden far larger and more beautiful than the separate palace.”
As Asteril moved her feet, startled Bukpung quickly bit and clung to her hem.
- Are you mad, Princess of the Southern Kingdom? You must not go there!
In the distance, an attendant was seen walking. Holding a torch, she looked around. Watching to see who dared wander during the hour of Hypnos.
“You, quickly go to my quarters and close the door. I think I left it open by mistake.”
- You’re sending me away to go to the main palace alone? Not a chance. Have you gone mad wanting to die?
“Don’t you always ask if I’ve gone mad wanting to die? What did you say last time? That I’d lose my life if I spoke to Lady Rian? Look, am I dead? Is my head cut off?”
At that, the creature hopped about saying this was a different matter entirely. It hissed and vehemently insisted that this time it was real.
“I won’t die. With Asphodelos here, would he kill me?”
- Yeah, I think he would. He is someone perfectly capable of that.
She was at a loss for words for a moment. Just what had it seen and heard to act like that?
“I’ll wait here, so hurry and go.”
Then Bukpung shook its head and blocked the path with arms crossed. Even if she gathered her breath and blew, it would only be ticklish like down feathers…
“Hey, hurry!”
Bukpung, unable to shake its doubtful gaze until the end, glanced back and flew up.
Bukpung was a cute companion, but before that, it was the King’s watcher. They had grown close, but it was true that she could not completely trust it. Moreover, Lady Rian had also said…
“No being remains here of their own will.”
Today, there were neither screams nor the smell of burning corpses. The bracelet on her wrist chimed with a light clang, matching her light steps.
Something was hidden in the main palace. Something that she and all the princesses should not approach…
At first, she thought it was the King of Hades. The princesses who saw his form were killed; rumors that maidens who contacted him lost their lives also played a part. He was considered a taboo by his very existence.
“Whether human or spirit, all are bound by something.”
What if the King of Hades was also one of those who were bound?
The path to the main palace garden was easy. She need only follow the scent that Bukpung had wrapped around its tail. As expected, the creature had clearly visited the flower field blooming under the moonlight.
Upon entering the garden entrance, a white stone pavilion caught her eye. It was a stone pavilion carved in relief with dancing nymphs. Passing through the four stone pillars raised in a square shape, white poplars densely planted welcomed her.
So this is the path to the underworld.
The white poplar has leaves green on the front and white on the back. They say it shows the two faces of life and death, so it is commonly seen only at the entrance to the underworld.
When the crescent moon hidden behind the clouds revealed itself, the flowers receiving the moonlight opened their pistils and stamens, beginning to dye their bodies pale yellow.
Wow…
She could not tear her eyes away from the flowers planted across the horizon, so beautiful were they. The petals, thin and transparent like a mermaid’s scales, were believable as fabric for weaving a goddess’s hem. It was as if stars from the sky had poured down and briefly embroidered this land.
Would the night sanctuary where the dawn goddess Eos briefly lies down to rest look like this? Or would the sight of the Milky Way spread upon the earth be like this?
Asteril approached the flower field, blinking with curious eyes and looking closely.
They resembled narcissus but had shorter stems and smaller buds. The petals were a more pointed shape, and they gave off a unique fragrance.
- Aah…
Voices thin and delicate as maidens’ sang in chorus.
- Welcome, beautiful stranger…
- It is the scent of the earth.
- A warm breath…
- Where have you savored it?
Asteril lost herself to the voices endlessly flowing into her mind.
- Closer… Even closer…
- Touch us.
Her hand, reaching out unconsciously, gradually fell powerlessly toward the whispering flowers.
A little closer.
Yes, just a little more.
Just a little…
- Enough.
The flowers that had been softly seducing Asteril flinched and curled their bodies in surprise.
Displeasure seeped from the low, muttered voice, as though the bounds of forbearance had been crossed. Holding their breath, the flowers quickly clenched their buds like clams, afraid they might harm her.
- Do not move rashly.
At the King’s words, Asteril’s eyes went round, putting strength even into her fingertips. The frightened flowers lowered their buds as if nodding that it would be best to obey his words.
“Why? What is it?”
- Himeros is poisonous.
“Himeros?”
- That is the name of the flowers whispering to you.
In the center of the flower field was a small spring. Clear water bubbled and surged, and glittering waves flowed toward the large ash tree planted beside it. It was an ash tree with hard grain. The King revealed himself beneath the branches spread like an arch.
- Beautiful stranger… Be careful of touching us. If you do not wish to awaken your deep desire and rush into madness…
One day, the moon goddess looked down upon the earth and fell hopelessly in love with a young man hunting. Every night, she secretly watched his daily life and suffered in her heart.
It was the dark of the moon. The young man was running through a shaded forest, hunting at night. He discovered a wild boar drinking at the spring and drew his bowstring, but then he twisted his ankle. The stray arrow grazed the boar’s rump, and the enraged boar began pawing the ground and charging toward him.
The flustered young man stumbled backward, but his limping leg would not obey. The boar charged at terrifying speed and gored his abdomen with its tusks. His screaming body, pierced by the hook-like tusks, was flung wildly in the air.
The goddess wailed in fury. She hurried down to earth and embraced the young man’s body. But his body had already gone cold.
Ah, my love… The goddess’s tears fell drop by drop upon the corpse. The moonlight flowing from the fabric of her clothes seeped into the blood-soaked ground.
The young man’s blood, the goddess’s tears, and the powder of moonlight.
Purity and rage and lust mixed together. A single flower bloomed upon the moss-covered earth. Its petals, sharp and glittering like glass, were beautiful but filled with deadly poison.
The flower was named Himeros, from the meaning of unfulfilled longing, or unstoppable desire.
“How does one get there without passing through the flower field?”
The King raised his body, which had been leaning against the tree. His stride, neither fast nor slow, tread upon the fragrance of Himeros as he walked. The black himation draped over his shoulders rustled each time it brushed the petals.
“Is it alright for the King to touch Himeros?”
The flowers answered quickly, as if singing.
- Maiden… Our poison is useless against him.
- Only those with desire are poisoned… The Lord of Lethe has no desire, no longing whatsoever.
Could there be a being that knows no thirst? Thirst is longing, and longing is desire. For those who live and breathe, desire was the force that made the heart beat as naturally as respiration.
- How did you come to be here?
The legend of Himeros must have been wrongly transmitted. The moon god must have been so beautiful he was mistaken for a goddess. If that man draped in moonlight like a banner were not the moon god, who would dare symbolize the moon?
His face revealed beneath the moonlight was covered from forehead to bridge of nose by a mask of plaster-like material. Yet the rest of his face could not hide its mystique even in the shadows of night.
His lips revealed below the bridge of his nose aroused a sudden impulse to touch. The lip line suggested a soft texture. His jaw, straight as a carving, cast a perfect shadow upon an elegant neck, and his shoulder and collarbone briefly visible through the himation looked stronger and more beautiful than those of any beast.
“You… Do you not age?”
- O Nyx of harmony.
- Child of Uranus.
“O King, you….”
He treads upon moonlight and embraces the wind. He rules the atmosphere and governs the night. He receives nature’s awe and commands spirits as servants.
“Are you a descendant of the gods?”
Whatever words came from him, she would no longer be surprised. This was the world of dreams and demons. This was the boundary between the earth above and the earth below.
“Forty years ago, Hades led Thanatos and invaded Demeter, subjugating it as a vassal state. The face of the Queen Mother, who was a young girl at the time, bears the rings of age, yet O King… Why is it that you alone escape the shackles of time?”
- …
“Did not one called Nyx address you thus? As the child of Uranus. Even newborn infants know and cry at the name of Uranus, the progenitor god. Who would dare take their name from the progenitor’s title?”
A serene gaze was felt. He had been staring fixedly at her.
- Think as you wish. It is your freedom, curious Persephone.
“My name is not Persephone.”
Strangely, she was angry. Why would he not answer a single thing properly?
She was so curious, she wanted to know, about Hades, about him…
“Did you not say you would dissolve the contract of Persephone if I saved Asphodelos? Asphodelos has already regenerated and is recovering quickly, is it not? So please no longer call me Persephone. I am the Third Princess of Demeter and the High Priestess of Cocytus, Asteril. You certainly told me to save Asphodelos, not to make it bear fruit. Yet out of nowhere you demand fruit within a month? This was not part of the original bargain.”
- I have changed my mind. If it bears fruit, I shall send you back to your homeland.
W-what…
Asteril’s eyes went wide.
“What law is there for this? Did we not make a promise? This is… This is unfair. No, it is an unreasonable condition. Within a month is really….”
- Remember that the descendants of gods are capricious.
Even amidst this, she was bothered that he had called himself a descendant of the gods.
“If you truly are of divine blood, you would not break your promise. That you would dissolve the contract of Persephone if I saved Asphodelos, and that you would send me back to my homeland—will you deny these?”
- I said I would send you back, but I never said when I would send you back.
O God, what are You doing? To not strike lightning upon the crown of the man standing before my very eyes! Seeing that You do not act even against this impudent attitude, he must truly be of Your blood.
Her anger flared to the top of her head, but she barely suppressed it in her lower abdomen and plopped down on the ground.
How much time passed that way? Leaning against the tree opposite, he said nothing as if asleep. To think he could sleep while standing—the descendants of gods seemed to have all sorts of abilities.
Asteril looked around the garden with bored eyes. When he was present, all of nature fell silent. Among them, he existed as naturally as if painted by darkness.
She rose from her spot and dusted off her bottom. The field of Himeros filling the horizon was a sight to behold even upon second glance.
“So beautiful.”
As if hearing her murmur, the Himeros laughed aloud. The flower spirits were generally full of laughter. Even so, it was rare for it to echo so resonantly, filling her head.
- Come here, Lil…
- Do pick just one petal.
Her vision spun. In her sight, blurring like rippling water, only glittering petals entered her eyes.
- It will suit your beautiful ebony hair.
Her dazed pupils lost focus and blurred. The fragrance of Himeros was terribly strong. It paralyzed the sense of smell and made one lose reason.
She reached out without resistance. Her fingertips touching the night air advanced following the scent.
- Come closer. Just a little more…
Yes, just one flower.
Just one petal.
It will be fine.
Then, the atmosphere vibrated and shook. The Himeros that had been shaking their whole bodies to seduce her squeaked and quickly shut their mouths. Rustling, the Himeros that curled their bodies whimpered as if frightened.
Asteril plopped down on her bottom and blinked her now-clear eyes.
- Foolish one.
The King was looking down as if in pity. She was bewildered as to what had happened. Her head gradually cleared.
Having come to her senses, Asteril glared at Himeros on purpose. Those things were no ordinary monsters. She had nearly been caught in an instant, like one caught in a spiderweb.
“Thank you… for helping me.”
Her voice was as small as an ant’s, and her expression just as sullen. She rose with her head lowered. In that moment, a cool breeze reached her hunched shoulders.
Swoosh.
Her eyes went wide as she raised her head and turned around.
A fierce whirlwind had surged into the sky and was scattering. The Himeros blossoms swept up within it became a cascading flower rain, pouring down in waves.
- Take them.
The petals holding moonlight danced in circles in the air. They shone as clearly as pearls in the sea, looking like a great swarm of fireflies circling around.
“But the poison of Himeros….”
- There is nothing to fear. The poison of fallen petals vanishes immediately.
The moment he finished speaking, her face brightened. Watching Asteril reach out with joy like a child, the King folded his arms and stared fixedly.
“May I take them all? All of them?”
- …As you wish.
A gust of wind approached and blew a breath. Then the petals slowly spiraled down onto her palm.
“They are truly beautiful, so beautiful.”
The fallen petals became transparent like scales. Perhaps because her skin showed through, they turned apricot-colored. Asteril picked up one petal with her thumb and forefinger and held it up to the sky. Then it reflected the moonlight and glowed pale yellow.
“From the petal….”
A moonlit fragrance, like the scent that wafts from you.
Her gaze looking at him flickered as if beating along with her heart.
Her blood vessels expanded and pulled up the corners of her lips. Her heart tickled and whispered.
It’s alright, he won’t harm me. Yes, at least until Asphodelos bears fruit…
Was it reckless arrogance, or intoxication from the scent of Himeros—where had such courage sprung from? She reached out. As swiftly and nimbly as a swallow’s first flutter of wings.
His masked face glanced down at her. To be precise, he was looking at her hand grasping his. Because it was the second time and not the first, he did not look particularly surprised. If he had intended to avoid it, he could have easily done so.
Asteril held her heart that felt like it would burst and forcibly lowered her voice, raised by excitement.
“It’s a gift.”
He raised his head, holding the petal he had received unwittingly in his hand. She hid her trembling hand behind her back, concealing it slyly.
“It is… Does it not resemble the moonlight rising between the two of us?”
Why did her heart flutter so when it had been unshaken reading before crowds of thousands?
Yet it was not bad. Her cheeks were hot, and heat escaped past her lips. She felt good. It was the feeling of being alive and breathing to a maddening degree. Like the day she had raced energetically through the forest of Cocytus.
“Anyway, I shall take my leave now.”
As she turned, Asteril shouted as if recalling something.
“Oh, I wish to come to the main palace garden again, so please tell the attendants and maids not to stop me. You will, won’t you?”
Afraid he might say no, she quickly turned. An excited laugh escaped her. She was more thrilled than when she had first tasted persimmon wine with her tongue.
“Let’s go quickly, Bukpung.”
Her footsteps were as light as if treading on clouds.
The King, watching her retreating figure, discovered something falling above his head and raised his gaze. Bukpung, which had not shown the tip of its nose while hiding somewhere all this while, was scurrying after Asteril.
The Himeros petals that had been falling from the creature’s tail swayed left and right, drawing lines in the air. Then they stuck firmly onto the back of his thumb.
“You just watched silently even though I was so entranced that I nearly touched the poisonous herb?”
- Princess, you are truly a fool. A complete fool!
“You’re the fool, see? Your words were wrong again. I’m returning perfectly fine, aren’t I?”
- Forget it, I won’t give you any more advice. Try living in the palace without me!
“I know you don’t have any more advice to give. I’ll play with you even without that, so don’t worry and hurry up.”
The bickering dialogue of the two as they faded into the night air tickled the ears.
“It’s a gift.”
What a brazen princess.
He had given the petals meaning that she should not come to the main palace garden again, but there had been no chance to tell her so.
He brushed away the petals stuck to the back of his hand as if annoyed, flicking them off. Then he paused.
“Does it not resemble the moonlight rising between the two of us?”
A single petal held in his palm clung there, seeming about to fly away in the wind yet reluctant to leave. Slowly, he closed his hand into a fist. With all his strength drained, lest the petal he held be crushed.
The girl’s voice, which had been chattering noisily with Bukpung, was no longer audible.
Only then did he cast a sidelong glance. The Himeroses that met his eyes quickly snapped their calyxes and bowed their heads, feigning ignorance.
— Try enchanting her just once more, and I shall burn this entire flower garden to ash.
The pale yellow petals turned white like sheets of paper. The flowers trembled, unable to speak a word.
— The night had grown deep.
He had to return before the goddess of dawn opened the door for Helios.
A wind swept in to attend its lord and cut through the night air. The song of the Himeroses bidding farewell to the king’s shadow began to fill the languid garden.
— Come quickly, beautiful one….
— Have you come seeking the scent of life?
A figure hidden among the bushes slowly raised its head. The choir of Himeroses seemed to melt the ears.
— Come closer….
— Touch us.
The shadow, which had been surveying its surroundings, moved like a lizard crawling along the ground. Then it pressed its hands to the dirt, approached the Himeroses, and cautiously reached out a hand.
— Closer, even closer…. Yes, just one petal.
Fingers swaying to the song plucked—tap—a petal. An intoxicated breath exhaled pleasantly, savoring the fragrance.
The Himeroses laughed. Things without mouths seeming to tear the corners of their lips and giggle.
Ψ
It was a sunny morning. The sky of Lethe was clear without a single wisp of cloud.
All was pale blue. Such days tended to lift one’s spirits for no reason. Moreover, today happened to be the day before Leuke departed from the palace.
The sisters Tethys and Amphitrite had called everyone together, saying they had prepared a farewell party for her. Asteril’s eyes widened at the lavish spread.
“If you had told me, I would have helped….”
“Asteril, you are busy with other matters. Instead, Metea took care of all the trivial details.”
Upon the marble table decorated with flowers and vines, liquor and food were laid out in abundance. It was Metea’s handiwork. She had decorated every dish with olive branches and even made wreaths by mixing lilies and violets.
Amphitrite, who had claimed the seat beside Asteril, pouted and spoke.
“I heard that Melinoe, who was closest to Princess Leuke, did not even prepare a single flower. I suppose the depth of friendship changes moment by moment like the face of the moon. Today is the new moon, so perhaps Princess Melinoe’s heart is as black as the new moon.”
“Amphia!”
At Tethys’s scolding, Asteril could not hold back her laughter. Fortunately, Melinoe did not seem to hear. Seated at the edge, she was calling a handmaid to pour wine into her cup.
Finally, the two protagonists appeared, walking under the awning. Leuke sat down proudly, wearing a wreath of white lilies upon her head. Ischys smiled awkwardly, bowing to the princesses. On his shoulder hung a purple chlamys, upon which the vine patterns Leuke had spent months embroidering were meticulously rendered.
“Lord Ischys, are your wounds quite alright?”
“They have almost healed. It is all thanks to you, Asteril.”
The rumors about the High Priest of Cocytus appeared to be true. Was it not miraculous that such a deep wound had nearly healed in just three days?
The inner courtyard grew boisterous. Amphitrite, who had recently celebrated her fifteenth birthday, tasted the wine and her cheeks flushed red. The one who looked the happiest was undeniably Leuke. Drunk, she clapped her hands and laughed. Metea, seated beside her, leaned in and asked Ischys,
“But how did the allied army come all the way to Lethe?”
“Well…. I fear you may find it hard to believe….”
“What is it? Please tell us! There is nothing unbelievable here.”
“When we reached the banks of the Styx, a man draped in black cloth approached and asked if we were going to Lethe. The moment I answered yes, a curtain higher than the castle walls appeared before my eyes. Like black waves undulating vertically…. Truly, it was an ominous and terrifying form. The serpently surging curtain was hollow inside, so we could walk in. The man said….”
“Erebus is our womb. Enter, for I shall gladly lead you into darkness.”
“Someone shouted that we should hurry, and we all bit our lips and walked in.”
And when we came to our senses, we were before the palace of Lethe.
Amphitrite’s eyes widened as she asked,
“You moved instantaneously? All those soldiers?”
“We too could not fathom how it happened. At first, we thought we had died and come to the underworld.”
Asteril stared blankly at the wine in her cup. Her hand trembled without her realizing it.
“Peekaboo.”
A man who had teleported to her side in an instant. The garden trees trembled and called him thus:
The Ruler of Darkness.
The man’s tone and behavior that Ischys described reminded her of Nyx. It could not be the King of Hades. Having invited them, he would not capture and kill them.
Asteril asked quietly,
“The voice…. what was that man’s voice like?”
“Now that you mention it, his voice was strange. For a man, it was extremely thin. High and thin like a child’s. Had it not been for his attire, I might have thought him a woman.”
It was Nyx. That uniquely thin, high voice was unforgettable once heard.
Did the King of Hades know? That Nyx wished to place them in a difficult situation. She did not know the reason, but one thing was certain: he hated the King of Hades.
And she too…. found Nyx unpleasant.
As the mood turned strange, Leuke waved her hands in the air and shouted,
“Let us stop with such dark talk!”
She said she did not want to recall that day when her beloved Ischys had nearly died.
Leuke, who had scowled and changed the subject, stole a sidelong glance at Asteril. She seemed quite worried to see Asteril lost in thought with a grave expression.
Tethys, who had been resting her chin on her hand, raised an eyebrow.
“Oh my, what is that around Asteril’s neck that I have not seen before?”
Metea stretched her neck toward the necklace and examined it closely.
“Goodness, how pretty! What sort of jewel is this? It looks like crystal….”
“This is a petal from a flower called Himeros.”
“Himeros? I have never heard of such a flower. Where did you pick it? I want to go see it too!”
Metea, who loved flowers, looked at her with expectant eyes. None of them knew of Himeros. Even Melinoe, who had shown no interest in the conversation, glanced sidelong while taking a drink.
“Ah, well…. It would be difficult to see near the Annex Palace.”
“What? Is it?”
Seeing Asteril unable to answer readily, the quick-witted Amphitrite asked,
“Don’t tell me…. Is it a flower from the Main Palace? Right? It is, is it not? Sesika said so before. There are a lot of flowers in the Main Palace too. She said you can see them clearly if you climb the western hill.”
“But the Main Palace is off-limits.”
“If one is invited, one could go.”
A sharp gaze was felt from somewhere. Asteril glanced sideways and flinched. Melinoe was glaring at her with a murderous expression.
Meanwhile, Amphitrite continued excitedly,
“Could that petal also be a gift from the King?”
“Well…. I have no choice but to meet him to care for the Asphodelos, after all.”
“And yet to receive such a gift! Asteril, you are truly special.”
Silence soon became affirmation. An exclamation of admiration burst from Amphitrite’s lips.
“At this rate, will you not go to the Main Palace like Lady Rian?”
Crash! The sound of terracotta wine cups falling and shattering on the floor. Melinoe could be seen rising from her seat.
“Did you not mix water!”
The handmaid’s cheek rang with a slap. Melinoe glared, having thrown the cup.
It was customary to dilute wine with half water. Even so, was that any reason to slap a cheek?
The other princesses looked at the handmaid pitifully. Of all people, to have been caught by Princess Melinoe. The handmaid silently bent down and cleared the broken dishes.
“Princess, please calm yourself. If it is wine, I shall pour it for you.”
“No, my mood is ruined. I shall take my leave first. Princess Leuke, please return safely.”
“But who is the one who ruined the mood…?”
Amphitrite poked her sister’s side in disbelief. Tethys said nothing.
Melinoe walked away with irritated footsteps. Leuke, drunk, leaned on Ischys’s shoulder and closed her sleepy eyes. With the protagonist in such a state, it was awkward to continue the farewell party.
Metea rose and began to tidy the disheveled table. With Melinoe’s departure, the mood naturally dispersed.
As Asteril left the inner courtyard, Amphitrite scurried over like a small bird and clung to her side. Then she whispered secretively,
“As expected…. Is not Princess Melinoe suspicious?”
Asteril smiled ambiguously. Amphitrite wrinkled her small forehead and added,
“Actually, I have suspected Princess Melinoe for a while. Everyone liked Sesika, except for Melinoe. Princess Melinoe always got angry, saying Sesika and I were too loud.”
“I do not know…. From what I see, I think Princess Melinoe likes you quite a bit, Amphitrite?”
“What? That is impossible. And this is something everyone knows but keeps hushed—Princess Melinoe likes the King of Hades enormously. Just now, she was acting spiteful out of jealousy toward you.”
“Surely not.”
“It is true! Did you not see how her expression soured every time Lady Rian appeared? She talks back so impertinently to the other princesses, yet says nothing to Lady Rian. She is afraid of being hated by the King.”
That was true. Melinoe was quite mindful of Rian. She kept her head deeply bowed and could not meet eyes. It was an attitude unbecoming of her usual authoritative and confident self.
Her footsteps hesitated, then changed direction. Asteril placed her index finger to her lips, telling Bukpung to be quiet.
“Let us go to Princess Melinoe’s chamber.”
Among the princesses’ chambers, the northernmost one. Between the deep-shadowed corridors, a dress hem rustled softly. The smell of earth was musty. This side was always damp and moldy with moss caught between the earthen walls.
Asteril, walking quickly, cast her gaze toward a corner.
A human presence was hiding. She could see the protruding shadow on the ground heaving with its breath.
Bukpung nodded. Asteril silenced her footsteps. But the opponent seemed to have noticed as well. The figure hidden behind the pillar leaped out wielding a knife.
“Haaah!”
The woman in a black robe swung her blade wildly, shouting. A sapphire bracelet on her white wrist clanged.
Asteril hurled the fruit basket she was holding. Then she scattered a handful of dirt into the air.
“Bukpung!”
Bukpung blew a great breath toward the opponent’s face. The woman shrieked and vigorously rubbed the dirt from her eyes. To make matters worse, she stepped on fallen fruits from the basket and stumbled. Yet she did not stop swinging the dagger she held in the air.
“What are you doing, Princess Melinoe?”
Asteril crossed her arms with an absurd expression. The flustered Melinoe hesitated and stepped back. She still gripped the knife tightly in her right hand.
“Do not approach!”
“Pardon?”
“I said do not come near! Do not come near!”
It was a voice filled with fear.
“I will not approach, so please calm down and lower the knife.”
“You have been there, have you not? The flower garden of the Main Palace, the spring beneath the great tree…. You have been there!”
Princess Melinoe knew of Himeros. Probably about its poison as well.
Asteril responded calmly,
“The petals that have fallen off carry no poison.”
“How would you know!”
“The King said so.”
For a moment, the agitated Melinoe faltered. The strength in her hand gripping the knife hilt visibly loosened.
“The King…. said so?”
“Yes, so please rest easy. I am perfectly fine.”
Still, she did not lower her guard. Sharp eyes scrutinized every corner of Asteril’s face. Checking her complexion, her lip color, then staring piercingly at her pupils. She circled around Asteril, examining her meticulously, before finally setting down the knife.
“Follow me.”
On the door woven of ash wood hung an evening primrose. Evening primroses had the power to drive away impurity. Thus, even in Cocytus, they hung evening primroses on the doors of the sick.
Asteril, arms crossed, gazed at the evening primrose hanging on the door. Its petals were withered and on the verge of falling. It had been hung quite some time ago. At least a month or two prior….
“Why do you not enter?”
The air of the chamber was chilly. Melinoe, perched on the bed, hugged her shoulders and coughed repeatedly.
“Try boiling cassia bark, jujubes, and dried ginger to drink.”
Melinoe gave her a look as if to ask what that was about.
“Your chest feels uncomfortable whenever you cough, does it not? Ginger or jujube tea would be more effective than evening primrose.”
“That is…. not why I hung it.”
She had been about to add that even if it were to drive away impurity, it would not help. But she stopped. Melinoe must have hung it with the desperation of one grasping at straws.
To get to the point, Asteril folded her hands together on the table.
“You know Princess Sesika, do you not?”
“….”
“It is about her death.”
Melinoe pressed her forehead as if tired. She sighed and stared at the floor.
“If you are going to tell me that Princess Amphitrite suspects me, I already know.”
“I know it was not you, Princess Melinoe.”
“How do you know?”
“Simply intuition.”
Melinoe let out a hollow laugh.
“Intuition? Is that the great ability of a high priest?”
“Yes.”
“How impressive.”
“I know you do not believe me…. Princess, I truly hear the voice of the wind.”
“….”
“I hear the whispers of trees. I hear the laughter of reeds. I hear the anger of the earth.”
Feeling that Asteril’s eyes and tone were different from usual, Melinoe’s expression hardened. When she stopped sneering, the air grew even heavier.
“Not that I can know everything. That is why I have come to you. Princess Melinoe, you know who the culprit is that killed the princesses, do you not?”
“How would I know that?”
“You generally do not drink. Once, you deliberately dropped a bee into your wine cup. Today, you picked a needless quarrel about water not being mixed into the wine.”
Melinoe opened her mouth to speak, then stopped. Her brow furrowed, and her eyes flickered.
“I enjoy liquor and often bring fruit wine or rice wine to drink alone in my chamber. But I am not the only one who brings wine to drink.”
Asteril’s gaze turned to the pine table beside the bed. A liquor jar sat upon it.
“You do not seem to dislike it…. Are you afraid someone might poison the wine? What makes you so fearful?”
Melinoe’s pupils shook violently. Her gaze turned to the window. It was a moonless darkness.
“The new moon approaches soon.”
“It does.”
“Nights of the full moon and the new moon must be approached with caution. All who have died in the palace were murdered on full moon or new moon nights.”
Melinoe put strength into her clasped hands. Her knuckles turned white and trembled. Veins stood out on her pallid face.
“If we do not keep our wits about us, I too, and you too, may end up the same. It is not only wine one must be wary of. Those who pour the wine must also be watched. There are many things here that cloud judgment. Even now I suspect whether I am trapped in a long, long nightmare….”
A long sigh escaped her. There was a look of resignation in her eyes.
“Yes, I saw what killed Sesika. I saw it clearly. It was neither human nor beast…. It was a terrible monster I had never seen in my life.”
The whites of her eyes, staring at the floor, trembled as if Phobos himself were beckoning.
The women of Aphrodisias had a custom of bathing in spring water with flower petals on full moon nights. It was to wash away the impurity and irreverence accumulated on their bodies for a month.
The petals usually steeped in the spring water were evening primrose and purple-leaved honey herb. Evening primroses bloomed at night, so they had to be picked after sunset.
She had secretly climbed the western hill late at night and picked the flowers, sneaking past the handmaids. The problem was that the spring was not visible.
It was a ritual she had observed every year without fail from the age of five for over twenty years. Naturally, she believed the gods would be angered if she skipped it.
In the end, she tucked the bouquet she held into her bosom and left the Annex Palace. The moon was so bright that her feet were clearly visible. Strangely, there were no people in the palace, and reaching the forbidden place was easier than expected.
— Come quickly, you who have plucked the colors of the night….
She wondered if this was the place where Ananke was said to have bathed. The spring formed from dew gathered where the goddess of dawn had lain sprawled and risen.
— Closer, even closer….
A thin song moistened her ears. To reach the spring, she had to cross the flower field holding the moonlight.
But there were those wandering nearby. Women with hair disheveled as if tearing it out. They crouched and reached toward the flowers. Their faces bathed in moonlight were pale. Their chapped lips were white.
One of them snapped off a flower. The moment she held the transparent petal in her hand, she cried out “Ah!” in agony. Soon, she gasped for breath, raised her head, and began to run, emitting bizarre cries like a beast. In her other hand, she gripped a gleaming dagger.
Melinoe fled the Main Palace in shock. She could not even remember how she returned to her chamber. She clutched her pounding heart and curled up on her bed.
The next dawn, an eardrum-shattering scream erupted within the Annex Palace.
A noble lady from Demeter lay dead with a knife stuck in her heart. Handmaids gathered around the body that had been cast aside in the inner courtyard as if discarded. Though it was an obvious murder, no one seemed particularly surprised. Among them, the tallest head handmaid hoisted the corpse and carried it on her back.
“Alone? Even a man would have found it difficult to lift by himself.”
Asteril asked in a bewildered voice. Melinoe answered,
“Have you never seen their bizarre physical abilities? How could words describe it?”
Asteril was at a loss for words. Melinoe continued with a bitter smile,
“I thought I would stop breathing. The moment I saw the dagger hilt lodged precisely in the left side of the noble lady’s chest….”
It must have been a coincidence; daggers all look similar.
She believed so, she wanted to believe so.
The incident passed, leaving only questions behind. The King of Hades had not the slightest interest in the affairs of the Annex Palace. The strange thing was that a few months later, the handmaids, including the head handmaid, were nowhere to be seen. New handmaids had begun working in the Annex Palace.
Around the same time, princesses from various kingdoms began filling the Annex Palace. Among them, the presence of two young princesses was so full of vitality that it was like hearing the music of spring.
Sesika and Amphitrite.
Sesika was a princess who loved flowers and often climbed the western hill of the Annex Palace.
To the young princess’s eyes, the young king must have seemed as mysterious as a rose blooming upon a snowy plain. At an age when she did not even know what fear was.
“How can I describe it, Amphia! From him, I felt as though I were touched by the breath of the moon….”
The excited conversation of the two princesses about their meeting with the King of Hades, overheard from behind a pillar, halted even Melinoe’s footsteps.
A young girl’s excitement, shy as a wildflower.
What captured Melinoe’s gaze as she turned her steps was the shadow lingering between the corridors. The shadow eavesdropping on the princesses’ conversation soon vanished into the darkness as if seeping away.
But Melinoe had seen clearly. When the owner of the hiding shadow touched the pillar, the bracelet on her wrist was revealed.
It was woven from Himeros flower stems.
Six days later, the new moon.
It was a night filled with an ominous premonition. During the new moon, the night roads were dark, and the faces of handmaids appearing here and there in the palace often looked as pale as dough. Like plaster masks placed upon the faces of the dead.
As usual, Sesika had gone to Amphitrite’s chamber to play and stepped outside around sunset.
The god of the golden chariot was truly mischievous. Why, of all times, did he race his two-wheeled chariot with red wheels across the young princess’s head just then?
As the garden soil was dyed red by the sunset, Sesika’s pupils wandered aimlessly. It was a scenery that reminded her of her homeland.
As twilight descended heavily upon the horizon, the young princess continued playing with the dirt. Watching the scene, Melinoe’s insides burned with anxiety.
Go back now, please, go back to your chamber now….
The words circling in her mouth were about to become a thorn lodged in her throat. The young princess finally lifted her bottom.
But relief was brief. No sooner did her fern-like hands brush off the dirt than a sudden assault followed.
“Kyaaaah!”
The girl rolled back her eyes and trembled violently. The culprit who stabbed a dagger into her small chest fell forward on all fours, burying its head. Then it lapped at the blood flowing from the princess’s heart. It lapped frantically, like one starved for three days.
It was a bizarre and grotesque sight. What was more terrifying was that there was clearly only one beast-like thing, yet another appeared from somewhere, and two became three, and four….
Each time the women raised their heads, their dilated pupils were bloodshot. Blood-caked mouths and eye whites wandering with burst blood vessels were exactly like corpses.
Melinoe covered her mouth in shock and turned away. Torches placed between the corridors illuminated the women’s features. They were all familiar faces. Were they not the handmaids she encountered every morning in this place?
It was too horrific. And too frightening.
Her vision blurred. Silent sobs flowed through the gaps of her hand covering her mouth.
I’m sorry, Sesika.
She had no choice but to flee. When she barely returned to her chamber, a handmaid stood guard before the door. The handmaid grabbed her hair and dragged her into the room. Melinoe thrashed and screamed.
“Let go! Let go of me! What do you intend to do!”
The handmaid stuffed a wad of cotton into her mouth and threw her body onto the bed. The strength was greater than a man’s. Then she glared with murderous eyes, as if warning her to be quiet.
“It is the hour of Hypnos. None may wander.”
At that moment, her excitement subsided. At least that handmaid’s pupils were not bloodshot like the women who had lapped Sesika’s blood.
“Do the handmaids eat people?”
“Not all, but yes.”
Asteril lowered her gaze silently. Melinoe brought her clasped hands to the bridge of her nose.
“From my observations, on full moon nights they go to the Main Palace garden and wander around the Himeros flower field as if entranced. And on new moon nights, they kill people and drink their blood. They do not touch flesh.”
“And their victims were princesses who had contact with the King of Hades, or noble ladies from Demeter.”
“Yes.”
“Then their next target would be me.”
“If you are not their accomplice, then yes.”
The two fell into silence.
Asteril gazed at the gold bracelet on her wrist. The pine-nut-shaped red jewel embedded in the center of the twisted bracelet glowed brilliantly.
The handmaids were sinners, the Maenads, fanatics of Nyx. Himeros drew out the deep desires hidden within and drove one to madness.
If the result of that madness was murder, what was the desire of the Maenads? Why had they killed the princesses?
“Princess Melinoe, lend me your ear for a moment….”
At Asteril’s gesture, Melinoe leaned in, bringing her ear close.
Only dim light seeped from beneath the firmly closed chamber door. Fortunately, the whispering voices of the two princesses were buried by the hooting of an owl.
Only Bukpung, perched on the window sill with chin in hand, watched that sight intently.
Ψ
Several days had passed.
The sky, overcast since the afternoon, gradually darkened, and from the corner pond of the Annex Palace came the sound of frogs croaking.
Rain began to fall with rumbling sounds.
The Asphodelos stood under the pouring rain, shedding water coolly through the cracks in its bark. A smile formed on Asteril’s lips as she touched the spaces between as if taking a pulse.
“Is it refreshing?”
It had already been four days since Reuke and Iseukiseu left Lethe. Though merely a single princess had departed, the atmosphere of the Star Palace had suddenly grown dreary.
Tonight was the dark of the moon.
The sun had set beyond the western mountain, and within the garden, a lax vulnerability reigned—solitary and unwatched.
Plip-plop. Around the time the raindrops beating against the leaves had grown quite heavy, complete darkness fell. Above the dark clouds, the Goddess of Night lay prone, fanning her hand to raise sudden gusts.
Still bare of leaves, Asphodelos could not block the raindrops falling between its long, outstretched branches. Aseteril brushed at her drenched shoulder.
It was in that moment.
“Be careful, Princess!”
Bukpung shouted urgently. In the flash of lightning, a blade glinted with gruesome light. Aseteril’s pupils dilated as she turned. An assassin wearing black cloth stood there, having secretly approached from behind.
Gripping a sharp dagger tightly in hand.
Bukpung rushed over like an arrow and blew a great breath. The opponent who had raised her dagger high staggered and swayed in the fierce wind. Wet cloth flapped; long hair streamed.
Regaining her balance immediately, the woman re-gripped her dagger and swung it in a diagonal arc through the air.
Swish-swish. The blade cutting through air crossed her field of vision with dreadful speed. Aseteril barely evaded the blade by stepping backward. Her speed was no less than that of a reasonably well-trained soldier.
“Stop, Bukpung.”
At Aseteril’s command, Bukpung withdrew with a nervous expression. When the wind ceased, the opponent’s attacks grew faster. She felt her back touch a tree trunk. Asphodelos. She braced her hand against the tree and twisted her body to avoid the blade.
The sharp tip of the blade grazed her shoulder. Dress straps snapped, and a scream burst from between her lips.
“Agh!”
Aseteril clutched her shoulder where flesh had been cut. She quickly dodged around the tree. The assassin pulled the blade lodged in the trunk and chased after her before she could escape.
Fwish.
Then an arrow came flying from somewhere, piercing through the rain. The arrowhead that split the air embedded itself precisely in the outer side of the woman’s thigh. The woman let out a sharp scream and crumpled to a knee.
Melinoe emerged from between the bushes, bow in hand. Aseteril, clutching her shoulder, breathed a sigh of relief and said,
“Your archery is remarkable.”
“In Aphrodisias, women hunt as well. Every year at the New Year Festival praying for a bountiful harvest, I myself caught and offered a young deer.”
Offerings presented at the New Year Festival were considered sacred in any nation. Thus, it was customary for the king to hunt personally, or for the high priest to choose and offer prey he had caught with his own hands. It was not something one could claim merely by virtue of high status.
Delving needlessly deep was not to her taste. Aseteril erased the chain of follow-up questions from her mind.
“I’m glad we were ready in time.”
“It would have been difficult alone.”
The two of them had spent several days and nights making bow and arrows.
“It’s a good thing you didn’t have that bow when you attacked me, I suppose.”
“Seeing you have the leisure to jest, it seems your shoulder wound isn’t too deep. At first, your movements were so fast that I couldn’t draw a bead.”
Though she spoke thus, she seemed inwardly apologetic. Having roughly grasped Melinoe’s disposition by now, Aseteril smiled playfully.
She was someone easily misunderstood due to her cold and indirect manner of speech. In truth, she was quite loyal and took tremendous care of her own. Speaking so bluntly was, in a way, a self-defensive attitude. There must be a reason she could not easily open the door to her heart to others.
“I’m fine. By the way, that one over there seems to have lost consciousness?”
“I coated the arrowhead with the deadly poison of monkshood and daphne. She should count herself fortunate if she does not die.”
Aseteril’s eyes widened as she looked at the fallen woman. She grabbed Melinoe’s arm violently.
“Watch out!”
An arrow fell from the quiver Melinoe carried with a clack. Melinoe staggered and kicked out reflexively. The woman they had believed unconscious had raised her upper body and seized her ankle.
“She shouldn’t have been able to move due to paralysis… how could she…?”
“She is dragging her leg. Even so, she looks unharmed.”
The woman was panting roughly. Hissing like a snake, she trembled, the hand gripping her sword shaking.
“That woman’s target is me in any case. Lady Melinoe, please stand aside.”
“What nonsense! I too—”
“Do not worry. I do not die easily.”
Aseteril pushed at the back of Melinoe, who was looking at her with worry. Melinoe narrowed her eyes at Aseteril’s dimpled smile.
“Return to your quarters, lock the door tightly, and warm yourself in wool. I shall come to see you when your wet feet have warmed.”
“I would sooner die here together than flee alone.”
“I told you, I will not die.”
“No, you are a priestess, not a god. How can you be so certain?”
“Then please go to your quarters and bring new arrows. In the meantime, I shall try to manage on my own.”
Melinoe’s pupils wavered. The night of the farewell party suddenly came to mind.
Reuke, who had fallen asleep drunk, had come to her quarters late at night. Holding her lover Iseukiseu’s hand tightly. Melinoe had frowned, displeased by the sight. She had been inwardly upset. That princess had been the closest to her, yet she was leaving her behind without a thought….
“How can you leave trusting that man? Do you think the boatman will let you aboard so easily?”
“The King said he would give orders to the boatman. It seems Lady Aseteril spoke so that Iseukiseu and I could leave the palace safely. In any case, you must acknowledge our Lady Aseteril’s competence. She had that fearsome King Hades wrapped around her finger, you know?”
“…”
“Lady Melinoe, if anything happens, go to Lady Aseteril. She is someone you can rely upon.”
She had said they would go east. She had added that if fate allowed, they would meet again. In just a few days, her manner of speaking and conduct had come to resemble Demeter’s princess exactly. The way she rattled on about fate and gods….
And yet, it was strange. Reuke’s back looked as comfortable as if she had cast off a heavy burden. She felt a little envious of her footsteps, which looked so free.
“Then… I shall go bring them quickly.”
As Aseteril nodded, Melinoe ran toward the inner courtyard. Tilting her head to the sky, she spat out a curse.
“Where in the world has the wind spirit gone without lifting a finger to help! Is it quenching its throat with rainwater?”
Melinoe had been confident that her faith was deeper than anyone’s before coming to Hades. She had believed coming here was fate as well. She felt capable of accepting everything—until she saw those monsters….
For months, she had raged and raged again. She had believed that God had truly abandoned her. She suppressed her indignation gazing at the withered evening primroses. At times, gripping a wine cup, she would wallow in self-pity, thinking her situation was exactly like those evening primroses.
It was around the time she wished to give up on everything. Another maiden was offered from Demeter. And as expected, this time it was of royal blood. She was a princess who gave off an inexplicably unpleasant feeling.
Talking to the air all day, or suddenly plopping down on the dirt to smile at wildflowers—she was a woman who looked insane no matter who saw her. Had she been sent here like an exile because she was mad?
But strangely, she radiated light. Like someone dancing alone in the sun, she seemed a person from another world. At times, Melinoe wondered if she wasn’t mad but actually saw something.
“Princess, I truly hear the voice of the wind.”
Though she had never seen the true forms of gods and spirits, she had thought thus. If they truly existed, would they not look like her?
Meanwhile, Aseteril watched the woman stride toward her and calmly caught her breath.
— Will you help me a bit?
Then a swarm of bees came buzzing from the other side of the garden. The swarm flew at the woman’s face, attacking relentlessly with their stings. At first, the woman waved her arms to drive off the bees, but then gritted her teeth with a swollen face. Her eyes, red as charcoal, were ominous.
“Kyaaahk!”
She let out a sound that was neither scream nor roar and charged. Aseteril reflexively clutched her wounded left shoulder. She had luckily avoided earlier, but this time she did not know what would happen. The monkshood poison would spread in less than half a half-gak. Moreover, moving like that would only hasten its spread; symptoms should have appeared by now….
The woman’s physical abilities were comparable to those of a beast. What in the world was she? Was she even human? And where had Bukpung gone? He had vanished without a trace.
What was she to do now?
The woman raised her sword high to the heavens. It was not a distance Aseteril could avoid. But she mustn’t be afraid. A priestess was one who must bear a smile even in the moment the God of Death kissed her.
Aseteril glared at the sword tip with feigned ferocity. A smile was beyond her, but she thought she could at least pretend to be composed.
— Hanpung.
In an instant, a voice deeper than the bottom of the River Styx resonated through the darkness. With a whoosh, a sudden gust swept in, surrounded the woman, and sent her flying fifty paces away. Unable to even scream, the woman crashed with a bang! against an inner courtyard pillar as if nailed there.
The cold wind scoured her cheeks. As if checking if she was unharmed.
The King of Hades emerged between the gusts, his Klarys draped over his shoulder fluttering as he turned. He inclined his body toward her, who stood blankly. He seemed to examine her shoulder wound. Perhaps because of the rainwater, the bleeding would not stop, and blood kept flowing.
A flickering pupil was visible through the eye hole of the black mask.
Bukpung let out a deep sigh and swept his hand down his chest. He looked relieved, as though he had timed his arrival well.
The King straightened and walked toward the woman who had been sent flying. The woman, crumpled before the pillar, had lost consciousness but was now wriggling and raising her body. The King seized the woman’s head with one hand. The woman dangled in the air and thrashed. He rammed her body against the pillar once more. The woman, having cracked her head on the stone edge, let out a croak like a frog.
As a flustered Aseteril reached out, Bukpung shook his head, warning her not to intervene.
“Kiaaahk!”
The woman howled like a beast and made her final resistance. The King grasped her bulging-veined neck and twisted it lightly. A crisp snap of breaking neck bones rang out. The woman went limp without even a final death scream.
She’s dead? A chill ran down her spine.
He slowly released the strength in his hand. Then the woman’s lifeless body fell to the floor with a thud.
Aseteril paused upon seeing the woman’s face. Swollen from bee stings, yet somehow familiar. She looked more closely.
That’s right. She was the woman from Reuke’s farewell party.
“Did you not pull your punch at all!”
She was that innkeeper who had been slapped by Melinoe, cleaned the broken dishes with an expressionless face, then vanished without a trace….
Aseteril, checking the hand that had held the sword, hesitated in surprise. The back of the innkeeper’s hand was covered in age spots and wrinkles. She checked the face again. Seen up close, the corners of her mouth were visibly drooping. Back then, she had looked thirty at most.
Removing the cloak pulled over her head revealed an even more shocking sight. The hair along her forehead’s edge was growing white. Her neck had lost all elasticity and was deeply wrinkled.
Bukpung clung to the small of her back like a lizard and whispered. Mixing in a mocking giggle.
— The God of Time who wields the scythe, you see, sends them a harsher wind than others. That severe blade-wind withers the flesh into deadwood after just a few strikes. Thus, whenever they look upon their reflections in the water, they let out terrible screams. Pitiable, but do not pity them. What can be done? They are sinners. Those who have broken the taboo.
Aseteril turned and looked at the King. He was leaning against Asphodelos, silently looking this way. Utterly nonchalant. For someone who had killed a person mere moments ago.
“Why did you not help? You could have saved us so easily.”
As expected, no real answer came.
“I am asking why you pretended not to know.”
— Pretended not to know?
“The maidens who came to Persephone. The other princesses, including Lady Sesika! If you are the King… could you not have saved them?”
He fell silent for a moment. He seemed slightly baffled. A low voice asked back dryly,
— Why must I do that?
At a loss for words, her breath grew tight. This emotion was a first. Perhaps due to anger, she could scarcely blink.
Why must he?
On the day she became the high priestess, Seopung had said so. Not to dedicate everything to the gods. Seopung, floating about with arms folded behind his head, clicked his tongue and said,
— The gods are, in truth, exceedingly cruel. Because by nature they are indifferent to all things.
Now she understood how the murderous innkeepers had run rampant within the palace. It was because this so-called King was indifferent to everything. Whether princesses came from foreign lands, whether people died, whether corpses rotted outside the palace….
The prohibition known as the Hour of Hypnos had not been for the princesses. It had been shackles for the innkeepers. The reason there were no people in the palace was because this place had never been meant for humans.
If that were the case, he should have locked the gates so no one could enter. He should have sent the princesses staying in the Star Palace back. He should have blocked the road to Lethe with rocks—done anything to stop their steps.
“Are you not of divine blood? Are you not a being who must watch over, protect, and guide us? For this, humans build great stone edifices, offer flowers and sacrifices at temples, burn incense, and prostrate themselves in ritual, do they not?”
“For the sake of Asphodelos, you even draw the blood of living humans…. And when they become useless, you care not whether they are devoured by wild beasts or stabbed to death? And yet you call yourself King? And yet you call yourself a descendant of the gods!”
— What is it that you expect?
“What do I expect…”
— Are you not the ones who call us gods and worship us as you please?
“I was mistaken. I thought you would be different. I believed that even if you were of the same race as that Nyx, your thoughts would differ…. I suppose blood truly is blood.”
His gaze changed.
“You should have simply left me to die as well! Ah, but I was still useful, was I not? Then what? When you are done with me, will I too eventually die and be thrown outside the gates?”
The King grabbed the arm of Aseteril, who was snarling, and looked straight down at her.
— You are truly noisy….
“Wha—”
Cold breath touched her upper lip.
What was he doing?
Her lips were swallowed. Aseteril tensed the arm he held.
“Mmph!”
His tongue, roughly pushing breath inside, invaded deep into her throat. He grasped her arm that tried to flee and embraced her as if binding her. All the blood vessels in her body throbbed and raced with excitement. Her eyelashes, unable to resist, trembled, steeped in shock.
Aseteril desperately grabbed at something with her captured hand. The hem of his clothes, flapping in the wind, was clutched in her hand. A cool fragrance seeped from the fabric touching the tip of her nose.
Was this what a man’s scent was like? Unlike floral scents, it was felt directly through the skin. The breath touching her upper lip, the pulse of his wrist rubbing against her cheek….
As if noticing her pounding heart, his hand began to caress her nape. With his other hand, he held the back of her head and pushed his tongue deeper. The sensation of his tongue touching her palate was cold.
“Ah…”
Her breath was cut off. The inside of her throat seemed to harden like plaster. The breath moistening her gums tingled like snowballs from a snowy field.
She flailed her entire body. Then the hand that held her body as if to crush it grasped her chin and separated their lips. As their lips met again with a smack, breaths overlapped. He held both her cheeks and lapped with his tongue, sucking her lower lip as if to soothe her.
His blurred gaze traced a diagonal line and moved to her shoulder. A cold hand caressed the tender flesh above her collarbone as if brushing it. She saw him tilt his head, seeking the spot where her pulse beat. His parched lips grew urgent, as if feeling thirst.
A sound like sucking juice was heard. He buried his face in her nape and fiercely sucked her flesh.
A tickling scream burst out. Her pupils, turned toward the sky, lost strength and unfocused. A cry like a baby’s tried to escape.
Why? Her voice… her voice wouldn’t come out.
Aseteril clutched her throat with both hands and looked up at him with anguished eyes. Like a terrified fish, only opening and closing her mouth.
As the King slowly released his arm, Aseteril staggered out from between his elbows. He cast his gaze silently toward her.
“Wait….”
Aseteril urgently reached out. A swirling Hanpung appeared and shoved her chest forcefully.
“Wait, just wait….”
A gust of wind rose. She squeezed her eyes shut in the dust-laden wind, and when she opened them again, the King with Klarys wrapped around his shoulders, and his scent too, had all vanished into the rain.
Aseteril placed her palms on both cheeks. The heat showed no sign of cooling. The sensation remaining on her upper lip like a ball of fire and her nape, which had been sucked as if being inhaled through his lips, burned alternately.
“What in the world is this feeling….”
Strength drained completely from between her legs, and she plopped down on the ground. She could not think of anything.
She sat there blankly for quite a long time.
― Continued in Volume 2