Shattered moonlight poured down through the window as if breaking apart. Between the rays, Himeros petals drifting on the wind could be seen.
Outside the square window, North Wind poked his head in. A gust in the corner went *shh*, gesturing for quiet.
The lord's mood seemed foul.
When the king draped in a black tribon walked out of the darkness, everyone quickly prostrated themselves on the floor.
- Where is Persephone?
North Wind flicked his tail and scattered scent into the air. A body fragrance mixed with soft earth and clear flower fragrance seeped through. It was the Demeter princess's.
Outside the window, Himeros petals drifted on the breeze, humming a song.
- Daughter of the earth...
- Is she sleeping now?
Those creatures seemed quite taken with her as well, riding the night air to search for Persephone.
Now he could feel her presence distinctly even without going through the wind. Not only the Star Palace but all natural beings of the Main Palace had completely fallen for Persephone. So overflowing was their interest that without even being asked, they would rush to report on her daily routines themselves. All except North Wind, who would bury his head in a corner and hide at every opportunity.
The stubborn princess was still kneeling in the Star Palace garden, fiddling with the petal hanging around her neck. The Himeros knew she couldn't hear them, yet they giggled and continued their song.
- Lay your arm upon the soft earth and lie down.
- Close your eyes and cover yourself with the wind.
- So that the moonlight may caress you...
The surroundings were dim with moonlight rippling white like sea foam. The Himeros fragrance drifting between the waves was enough to paralyze the sense of smell.
A night like this should be hazy and pleasant. Yet his heart was desolate. Neither the hazy moonlight nor the dreamy singing... He realized once more that everything in Lethe was close to an illusion. A substance that seemed graspable yet slipped away clouded his mind.
What made it so hollow? When the full moon came, he would witness those who, chasing the moonlight and stepping wrongly, wandering the Himeros fields. The full moon placed slaves of desire upon the testing block.
Those who knelt to pleasure crawled across the ground with wretched faces and eventually lost their true nature. Judgment and punishment were his lot. A tedious and repulsive duty.
He saw the crescent moon hanging in the sky like a hook. The lunar halo was serene. The thick clouds were slowly clearing.
Now little time remained. Soon it would be the full moon, and indeed, everything would be decided.
The Himeros petal in his hand spun in dizzying spirals like a gentle breeze. Chaos stretched its hand from Erebos's throat and asked.
Which shall it be, ruler of the moon... Which side will you choose?
Ψ
The moment dawn broke, Melinoe burst into the quarters. She had been pacing all night, waiting only for the darkness to retreat.
"What in the world happened! Do you know how long I searched?"
She had been shouting in anger, but froze when she saw Asteril's pale complexion. Seeing her clutching her shoulder, the wound still seemed severe. A sigh escaped Melinoe at the sight of her smiling wordlessly.
"Are you alright?"
The heat in her shoulder was severe. The cloth soaked in cold water pressed to the wound was already hot. Inside the frayed edges, a paste of crushed evening primrose and plantain had been applied. It was expert treatment. Jars of herbs sorted by type sat in the corner, as if she had anticipated such a situation.
"I crossed the garden and saw that handmaid dead. What on earth happened?"
Looking at the silent Asteril, Melinoe sat down beside her on the bed, feeling stifled.
"Why won't you say anything?"
The princess of Demeter had always been sharp-tongued, whether speaking pleasantries or complaints. For her to remain silent gave an ominous feeling.
"Princess Asteril!"
Asteril clutched her throat as she looked at Melinoe, who had finally raised her voice. Her fingers anxiously circled her larynx.
"Your throat, why..."
Melinoe's eyes widened in shock. Asteril unconsciously fiddled with the necklace at her throat. The Himeros petal hanging from the thread spun round and round as it brushed her index finger.
"Surely your voice... You cannot speak?"
Asteril stared at the ground with troubled eyes. Melinoe, watching her, narrowed her gaze.
"You met King Hades."
Asteril's expression grew complicated. Gazing at her face, Melinoe asked nothing more. Instead, she silently stroked the back of Asteril's hand.
Melinoe's hand, callused from drawing bowstrings, was covered in hardened knuckles. Among all the princesses, she seemed the most noble... Perhaps that was why she felt all the warmer.
"You returned safely, against the odds."
Melinoe's tone, as if praising her, was gentle. It was unclear whether 'against the odds' referred to the handmaid or the king, but Asteril's tense chest relaxed.
For someone like her, who found it difficult to lean on others, a sharp-tongued person like Melinoe was rather comforting. Come to think of it, Princess Melinoe did resemble her older sister Kiane somewhat.
How would the queen mother and her sisters be faring? Would they think of their youngest sister, even a little?
Longing was something separate from the feeling of wanting to see someone. She had always yearned for something. The hollow gouged deep within her heart was like a swamp. No matter how many times she peered into it, the emptiness grew like a desert.
Perhaps that was why she was always thirsty. What was this craving for? Like a primordial hole present from birth, perhaps filling it was the ultimate goal of her life.
Rainwater had turned the area around the handmaid's corpse into a pool of blood. The other handmaids pretended not to see their colleague's body. They showed no willingness to retrieve it.
"They seem to be deliberately looking away."
They seemed aware of what had happened the night before. Who had severed her breath, and why it had been done so.
Fear was laden in the sidelong glances stealing toward the corpse. Behold how one who broke the taboo was executed. Any one of you could meet such an end. This was an example and a warning.
A handmaid who had been sweeping from the inner courtyard to the garden hesitated when she saw the corpse. The hand gripping the broom bound with olive branches trembled.
Just as she looked up, wondering what to do, she jumped back in surprise and staggered.
It was Rian.
She had come from the Main Palace and seemed to be heading toward the Asphodelos. Her semi-transparent silk chiton dress gleamed, revealing a mesh-like weave.
Melinoe and Asteril watched her retreating figure from behind a corridor pillar.
"Look, can't you see everyone fears her? Are they the sort to feel such emotions easily? When they deal with us, mere formal courtesy isn't enough—they even grab us by the hair and drag us around, using Hypnos's hour as an excuse, don't they? Yet to Lady Rian, they kneel and prostrate themselves of their own accord."
As Rian walked between the trees, she suddenly staggered and grasped a tree trunk. Bending over as if to retch, she lifted her head weakly. She seemed to be looking toward the Asphodelos. Her skin had always been white as jade, but today it was unusually pale, like white porcelain.
"She looks unwell..."
Melinoe muttered, frowning.
As Rian tried to straighten, she swayed again, lost her balance, and thud—collapsed right onto the ground.
Before she could think, her body moved first. Melinoe watched in bewilderment as Asteril dashed out in an instant. Asteril lifted Rian into her arms and made a pleading expression.
"Why? What are you trying to do?"
Asteril pressed her palm to Rian's forehead, then to her own, and gave an urgent look.
"She has a fever? Surely... you're not going to move her?"
Melinoe raised her eyebrows in disbelief. But soon she sighed with a look of defeat.
A moment later, the two of them moved with Rian's arms draped over their shoulders, sweating profusely. Rian's limp legs dragged across the ground.
"She's enormous, now that I think about it. She must rival any sturdy man. And why in the world is she so heavy?"
Melinoe gritted her molars and stepped forward. It felt like carrying a stone statue. What sort of suffering was this, having come all the way to a foreign land...
She stole a sidelong glance at Asteril. Still not a word. It seemed her voice truly was gone. Melinoe was dying of curiosity about what had happened, but keeping silent was the wiser course.
The dead handmaid's condition was so horrific it defied description. Her skull was completely shattered, her neck bone broken, and the joints of her limbs all twisted at grotesque angles.
Only one person in the palace could do such a thing. The lord of the Main Palace, the King of Hades.
What in the world had happened between Princess Asteril and him? Why had the king saved her? Everything was a mystery.
The moment they arrived at the quarters, the two of them, utterly exhausted, laid Rian down on the bed as if dropping her.
"Let's examine her roughly and then leave her in the inner courtyard or something."
Asteril shot her a questioning look that asked, "Why?"
"As I said before, I find her suspicious. Look closely at her complexion. Does this look like pallor from illness? She looks exactly like the handmaids in the palace, doesn't she? Of course, she's incomparably more beautiful. So perfect, as if the Creator had poured all Their might into sculpting her, that you cannot look away. That is precisely why it's stranger. Can a human truly be so beautiful?"
Melinoe added, as if telling her to think hard about it.
"Recall Lady Rian's pupils. Have you ever seen such an eye color? Aren't they similar to the handmaids' red eyes? Why do they cower and tremble before Lady Rian alone? Would they do so unless they were of the same kind?"
Did this mean Lady Rian was their leader?
"It gives me the creeps to leave her here after all. If we'd just left her there, the handmaids would have taken care of her..."
Melinoe glanced out the window with her arms crossed. Asteril suddenly laughed. Seeing Melinoe's behavior—scowling and entering a vigilant state—completely dissolved her tension.
She was reminded of the comrade left behind in Cocytus. The West Wind, who snapped at everything as if a thorn had sprouted on the roof of his mouth, yet did everything asked of him... The cold-looking Melinoe resembled the West Wind exactly. A capricious breath, yet like the gently blowing breeze, so warm.
Before they knew it, it was breakfast time. At Asteril's gesture to go out, Melinoe made a displeased face.
"Will you truly be alright alone?"
She still seemed anxious because of Rian. But they had to go. If both of them failed to appear, the sisters Metea and Tetis would find it strange. They might even come to the quarters.
"I'll make up something to the other princesses; you stay put."
Once Melinoe left, Asteril, as if she had been waiting, removed her tunic dress and climbed onto the bed naked. North Wind peeked through the window with a startled expression, asking what she was doing.
Rian was exhaling ragged, strained breaths. Her closed eyelids still could not lift.
"So perfect, as if the Creator had poured all Their might into sculpting her, that you cannot look away. That is precisely why it's stranger. Can a human truly be so beautiful?"
Perhaps. Because she was not human. She was likely of divine blood, like the King of Hades, or at least a being similar to him.
Asteril held Rian's body tightly and closed her eyes.
How strange. Her breath is so hot, yet her body is cold as ice. When the harmony of body and mind is disrupted, it must be this painful.
Asteril was a high priestess said to be one of the few in Demeter. She had passed the difficult high priestess examination at a young age thanks to her innate natural power.
Unlike divine power, which could be accumulated through long merit, natural power was a supernatural strength one was born with. And among those with natural power, she possessed the rarest ability: the healing arts.
Her healing ability was known to surpass that of any existing priest or priestess, not only in Demeter. The Miracle of Cocytus was the reputation she had gained thereby.
It's been a while; can I still do it?
She reached out and caressed Rian's forehead, then stroked the bridge of her nose, philtrum, upper lip, and lower lip in turn. Her nervous fingertips continued down the long neck and straight collarbone.
She pressed her thumb firmly on the area around the heart on the left breast, her destination, and curved the other four fingers. Warmth began to circulate from the tips of each finger's prints touching the white skin.
Asteril closed her eyes tightly. She inflated her chest greatly and inhaled deeply.
The breath held in her mouth circulated through her entire body via the blood vessels, then seeped into Rian's body through her fingertips.
In the air, a thin membrane formed enveloping both their bodies. A barrier transparent and soft as water droplets blocked the cold penetrating from outside and fiercely fanned the heat within.
Asteril took another deep breath through her nose, then exhaled the held breath long. Her left palm touching Rian's left breast felt burning hot. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead.
Inhaling, moving warmth through the bloodstream, heating the dantian and heart, her exhaling breath becoming my breath...
Rian, who had been frowning in pain, exhaled a deep breath. Her groans gradually subsided. Her pallid complexion was returning to its original color. Asteril quietly pressed her ear to Rian's chest.
Thump, thump.
Her heart began to beat slowly. The two of them were breathing in resonance, inhaling and exhaling together. A smile formed on Asteril's lips.
Fortunately, it seemed the underworld god's breath had not reached her. Though her body was cold, her vitality was tremendous. Sucking in the healer's energy greedily, she was recovering in an instant.
Asteril rubbed her nose against Rian's shoulder. A good scent wafted from her. With her hazy mind, Asteril repeated an incantation:
May her breath become my breath,
May her warmth become my warmth.
Sudden fatigue washed over her. Her entire body sagged like wet sand. Between her heavy eyelids, an auditory hallucination came.
A lovely, tender voice... Could it be the West Wind? Someone was humming a lullaby slowly.
- The wave's hand rocks the waters, do not be afraid.
The sound of water gently churning could be heard. A tender, sweet voice. She missed it so dearly, so longingly, that she felt tears might come.
- The stars are singing, so you shall not lose your way; close your eyes now.
A slow, peaceful melody drew a mournful tune. The rhythm became contour, the lyrics gained color. A faintly visible face rubbed a round belly as it sang the lullaby.
The wave's hand rocks the waters,
Do not be afraid.
The stars are singing, so you shall not lose your way,
Close your eyes now.
The mermaid smiles at the moon's yawn,
May the baby have sweet dreams.
Ψ
Rian opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. Her forehead felt cool. Her entire body was drenched in sweat. Cold sweat—something she had never experienced before.
After a moment, she propped herself up on her elbow. Then the hand resting on her left chest fell away with a light thud. Its owner lay sleeping beside her, facedown with one arm bent beneath her.
It was the princess of Demeter. Looking exhausted, she had exposed her white shoulder and fallen sound asleep.
Rian glanced sidelong at Asteril and let out a sharp "Ugh!" pressing her hand to the floor. Like a reed collapsing in the wind, her body swayed and lost its center.
She could no longer feel the high fever or dizziness. The pain and weight that had pressed down on her entire body were also gone... Was it her ability?
Around sunrise, she had walked following the sun pillar, and her eyes had strangely stung. Only later did she realize it was vertigo. The last thing she had seen was the Asphodelos. If her memory was not wrong, surely at the end of an Asphodelos branch...
Rian furrowed her brow, tracing her memories, and her gaze lengthened.
North Wind was poking his head through the window. He glanced at Asteril, who was sleeping soundly, then lightly perched on the window sill. But upon discovering Rian, he jumped back in shock and tumbled over.
Rian pressed her index finger to her lips in a shushing motion.
- Do not wake her.
North Wind nodded. He was a child known as a rascal even within the Star Palace for having no sense of propriety. He had tormented the sprites and harassed the trees with his constant pranks, but from some point, he had begun following the princess of Demeter everywhere.
He seemed to have met his match, or rather, he appeared to adore her. Though he himself seemed unaware of it...
Rian tightened her collar and stepped down from the bed. But before she could even set her foot down, her wrist was grabbed. Turning over her shoulder, she saw Asteril, still with her eyes closed.
Even while asleep, she seemed to have reached out and caught Rian's wrist. But without strength, she soon let go listlessly. The hand that fell into the empty space clenched into a fist. She curled her slender body up tightly, as if cold.
Between hair spread like a black fan, the curved line of her waist was visible. Rian covered her exposed back with a soft linen cloth. The protruding shoulder blades caught her eye. Curled up like a child, she looked strangely pitiful.
Hesitating, Rian sat on the edge of the bed. And she slowly stroked Asteril's tangled hair. Slowly and softly, as if combing it, as if soothing a crying child.
North Wind, watching the scene, gaped in astonishment. He rubbed his eyes, wondering if this was truly the Lady Rian he knew.
Bees, butterflies, and even birds chattered and gathered beside North Wind. Who would have thought they would live to see the lord of the Star Palace behave so.
Curious gazes gradually became filled with envy. Those who could not endure the crawling jealousy pouted and fluttered high into the sky.
They wished the flower stalk would break, just to fall softly under that hand. They wished the slender branch would snap, just to have a few strands of that one's hair catch on a knot...
Were there only one or two such beings? A spring had sprung; the princess of the southern kingdom had brought a spring breeze to the Star Palace.
"Huk!"
Asteril inhaled deeply as if suffocating and sat up with a jolt.
Her face was pale as she panted roughly. Looking around with unfocused eyes, she clutched her chest and broke into a cold sweat. Her expression was terrible, as if she had seen a nightmare.
Through the window, the sunset could be seen. North Wind approached her worriedly.
- I'm fine. I'm always like this after using my power. Don't worry. By the way, where is Lady Rian? Where did she go?
North Wind waved his hands, telling her not to worry.
- She returned to the Main Palace long ago. Take care of yourself. You look like you returned from death's door.
At North Wind's words, Asteril smiled weakly.
Anyway, wind spirits were all alike—talkative and insincere. The West Wind had said the same.
That you had shortened my lifespan by a hundred years. That please, couldn't she refrain from using that power. He had nagged like a nursemaid.
- Thank you.
She added a small smile to him, who stood with crossed arms and raised eyebrows.
- I would have been truly lonely without you.
Talking like this through spirit speech, she was reminded peculiarly of Cocytus. Since they could not chatter inside the temple, conversations with spirits had mostly taken place through spirit speech.
Asteril turned her head and looked toward the door. The sunset light creeping under the door seemed especially beautiful today.
- Shall we go outside?
North Wind snapped at her to put on shoes. He truly had no skill in expressing concern gracefully.
- I like being barefoot. I even like sleeping naked. I truly hate wearing anything.
North Wind made an exasperated expression, going "Ha!"
- You'll only come to your senses when you step on a thorn and swell up. Only after experiencing that pain will you grab your shoes first even in a flood.
- Anyone listening would think you had feet and had trodden on dirt yourself.
North Wind bristled and chased after her. Even if he lost his temper, blowing hot air on her cheek would only tickle.
Asteril smiled, her dimples showing. But when no voice came out, she soon tightened her lips.
She pushed aside the chattering North Wind with the back of her hand and touched her throat. It was still hard as stone. What kind of curse had been cast? She couldn't even feel any sensation.
- What good is it to be a descendant of a god? Using your power only for such vile things.
North Wind jumped about as if he had stepped on a thorn. Asteril glanced at him and asked.
- What's wrong? Did a wild rose tangle around your tail?
Seeing North Wind flee as if telling her to mind her own business, her brow furrowed. When that rascal acted like that, it always meant...
She swallowed dryly. Her steps halted as she hesitated and turned her head.
As expected.
The earth near where the Asphodelos was planted was especially soft. That made her toes curl. As if gripping the surface of the ground with all her might, strength gathered at her fingertips.
Everything stopped as she faced the wind billowing like waves in her vision.
Sunset settled between the long, drooping branches like thin window bars. Amidst fireflies floating like gold dust, he sat leaning against the garden tree.
It was the first time. Seeing him somewhere not of darkness...
The mask covering down to the bridge of his nose looked unusually black and dark. His skin was whiter than she had imagined. The hair she had thought black as the night sky held a blue tint like the dawn sky.
He was not merely a man with handsome lines.
His colors were beautiful too.
Staring intently at him without a single movement, Asteril reached out curiously. Her finger hesitated, drawing close enough to almost touch the line of his lips.
He's asleep, right?
North Wind, peeking from afar with only his head poking out, could not contain his shock.
That fearless princess of the southern kingdom was finally going to meet her doom today. Indeed, since she boasted daily that her life was tougher than thistles, he might as well watch and see if it was true.
Her hand touched his lower lip. She curled her fingernails and lightly clenched her fist. His breath against her knuckles was cold.
Just as she remembered.
Unlike him, who did not move at all, her breathing expelled unstable gasps. The gradually growing sound of her breath heatedly moistened her lower lip. Asteril clutched her throat as if stifled.
It's unfair. Anger welled up at the sight of him sitting so peacefully, seeking sleep.
For him to look so leisurely, as if nothing had happened, was infuriating.
- Shall I tell the Asphodelos to bear its fruit late?
Her tone came out heavily laced with sarcasm and spite. North Wind sneered from where he watched afar. Asteril shot him a glare. The nerve of him, always hiding in fright first thing.
- You speak with the Asphodelos too?
A gasp. Her eyes grew round.
The king leaning against the garden tree was looking up at her. The dark pupils behind the mask shone even more mysteriously, reflecting the sunset. He had been awake? Since when?
- Did you hear my voice just now?
His gaze looking up at her was composed. All color drained from her face.
- Eavesdropping is unbecoming, Your Majesty...
Even as she spoke, her shoulders stiffened with tension. This time, she might truly die.
No, surely he wouldn't kill her. But he might sever one of her arms or legs...
- I did not know it was your voice.
Asteril stared at him fixedly. Even under her piercing gaze, he said nothing more.
Had he thought it the gossip of garden trees? Their whispers were always as beautiful as song. Had his spirit speech sounded like that too?
Lost in thought, she looked into the air, then suddenly squinted at a fleeting realization.
By the way, he said he heard the spirit speech she had spoken to North Wind? But that was not spirit speech meant for humans.
The spirit speech sent to natural beings like spirits or trees was different from that sent into a human's mind.
Spirit speech to natural beings was impossible for humans to hear. Even priestesses said to possess divine power could not eavesdrop on her conversations with the West Wind.
I see.
Since he was of divine blood, if pressed, he was a being closer to a natural entity. How very interesting.
Asteril drew a satisfied curve at her lips.
- There was a way to converse with you without speaking aloud.
The eyes behind the mask glanced at her sidelong.
- I cannot use spirit speech with people, but I can with spirits. You asked if I speak with the Asphodelos too? If I asked, it would probably stop bearing fruit midway, you know?
Of course, it was a bluff. She had tried to converse with the Asphodelos several times but had never succeeded.
But he did not know this, and his sharp gaze seemed to whisper, *Dare to try, you.*
The temperature of the surrounding air dropped as if freezing. It was his influence. She had already noticed that the king's power governed the atmosphere. All air and wind moved as if belonging to him.
- Then that bud as well—did it form because you asked?
- That bud?
The king gestured with his chin toward the Asphodelos. At the end of its longest and thickest branch, a white flower bud had formed.
Asteril stopped speaking, as if surprised. It hadn't been there until yesterday? It definitely hadn't been there….
Walking up to Asphodelos, Asteril slowly looked around the tree trunk. Her gaze, which had been observing carefully, came to a halt. The bark on one side was split and peeled away. Red bloodstains were visible too.
"Ah!"
It was the spot where the assailant's blade had struck. Asteril's pupils shook with confusion.
Human blood was poison to any natural being. It might cause it to temporarily bloom with flowers and bear fruit, but in the end, it would rot and die.
"This tree drinks the blood of a living virgin once a year."
No way…. As if responding to her bewildered expression, the sacred tree shook its branches in the wind.
Swoosh. The sunset light seeped into her pupils through the swaying branches. The golden sunset rippled, bringing with it the sound of a refreshing wind.
- O sacred nectar, source of Ambrosia….
A low, firm voice seeped into her mind.
- Finally… I greet you….
Asphodelos was speaking to her. Though it had sometimes let out groans that seemed about to break off, it was the first time it had ever formed such perfect sentences.
Asteril extended her hesitant arms. Curving them into a circle, she embraced the tree trunk fully.
It was a strangely familiar feeling. As if this had happened in the past as well. She felt moved, as if reuniting with an old friend. A thick woody fragrance warmly enveloped her.
It's cozy. Asphodelos… do you feel it too?
At that moment, the tree trunk began to glow brilliantly. The sap stretching between the peeled bark throbbed and surged powerfully.
The flower buds at the ends of the branches, drooping like small bells, began to open as if stretching. On other branches as well, white flower buds formed in clusters.
The sunset faded and darkness pressed in. A purplish sky filled the horizon, erasing the reddish-black view. In place of the vanished iridescent clouds, the moon revealed its face and poured down a pale light.
It was the hour when the Goddess of Night drove away the sun chariot and gathered her robes. When she undid the blindfold over her eyes, countless stars would pour from her dark pupils to illuminate the black veil.
The blossoms that had opened while drinking in the moonlight now numbered in the dozens. Though she hadn't noticed while watching the flowers bloom, the leaves had already grown lush.
A sweet, rich floral fragrance pricked her nose. It was an intense scent, as if inhaling breath itself.
Slowly opening her eyes, Asteril gazed before her in a daze.
- It has fully revived.
Before she knew it, the King had risen and approached, watching the scene.
- Never has it bloomed so many flowers. This scent is also new to me. Is it finally going to bear fruit?
- That….
She did not know. Asphodelos was different from other trees. It was unpredictable. As if it possessed a will of its own.
Turning sharply, Asteril crossed her arms and spoke to the King.
- More importantly, return my voice now.
He had a look in his eyes asking why the conversation had turned that way.
He seals a person's mouth without warning, yet stands so proud. That arrogance, so natural it might as well be innate, was undoubtedly something he was born with.
- Let me say this again, Your Majesty: I can chatter all day long using Cheongeum. I can do it for days without sleep. Wouldn't that be even louder?
He remained calm, as if he did not care. She bit her lip.
- If you insist on acting this way….
She ran at him with pursed lips and grabbed his collar. His widened eyes behind the mask glanced down at her.
Asteril pulled hard on the himation clutched in her hand. As he obediently leaned forward, she stood on her toes and pressed her lips to his.
With a soft sound, their lips met and overlapped. For a moment, she felt his hand wrap around her waist.
Her tightly shut eyelids trembled softly. Her heart hammered and surged as if it would burst.
Haah. The breath she had held back burst out heavily. With the exhalation, her closed eyelids opened.
She slowly released the hand gripping his collar. The heels she had raised were gently lowered to the ground. Then she saw his gaze looking down at her, devoid of any readable emotion.
- How mean.
Asteril said, touching her throat. Her voice still did not come out. A disappointed expression formed at the corners of her eyes.
She had expected it, but truly, he did not show the slightest agitation.
- Have you forgotten that the descendants of gods have nasty temperaments?
Asteril flinched.
- So what if you are a descendant of a god? You only use my power for such nasty things.
As I thought, he was listening. He heard everything, and yet….
He leaned down and cupped her cheek. Her chest tensed again at the sensation of his cold hand.
- If I return your voice, will you no longer behave so noisily, my dear?
Though it was Cheongeum, it was deep and mellow, like a whisper right against her ear. A heartbeat incomparable to before began to flow through her veins and surge throughout her body.
- Perhaps.
Before the words even finished, the King devoured her lips. As if he, too, had been barely holding back.
Her body felt heated, floating lightly. To the point where she wanted to stay embraced like this and be taken anywhere.
It was merely an act to break the spell—so did it need to be this sweet? Her waist, caught in his hands, felt as if it would melt.
Something was pulled from her stiff throat. The foreign sensation, surging upward toward her uvula, brushed the roof of her mouth and escaped between her parted lips.
He slightly parted his lips and, bowing his head, caressed her brow and cheek with his hand. Asteril exhaled with her mouth open.
"My voice…."
It had returned. He was still gently touching her cheek and nape. As if wanting something more.
Asteril reached out. Her hand, stretching into the air, slowly traced his sculpted lip line. The King remained still, for some reason.
"Your eyes…."
They were deep crimson. Pupils as red as blood.
He bent down and overlapped his lips with hers, as if cutting off her words. Asteril gripped his collar tightly. Her throat felt choked. No, she could not even breathe.
"Mmm…."
A stifled moan escaped. His tongue stirred gently inside her mouth, as if melting honey, entangling with hers sweetly.
His hand, which had only wandered above her collarbone, traveled down her shoulder and grasped her breast as if to burst it. Her left breast, caught in one hand, ached and swelled.
Why, how…. All such questions were erased from her mind. The violent pounding of her racing heart must have reached him too—through her ragged breathing and the sensation of her stiffly swollen breasts.
Bowing his head, he pressed small kisses to her nape and sucked deeply at her collarbone. It was not forceful. Had she wished to, she could easily have pushed him away.
But she did not want to. It felt better than the West Wind's breath and sweeter than the fruits of the Cocytus forest—there was no reason to refuse.
She wondered if such an ecstatic experience could even exist in this world. She had thought men were merely brutish creatures….
He, too, held her tightly, as if in a daze. With his lips pressed against her damp cleavage, he slowly exhaled his heated breath.
On the day of the eclipse, when day and night were said to caress each other, the young lovers of Cocytus embraced and kissed upon the hill of Nephis. They believed that Selene's blessing would descend upon them.
She had never understood their behavior, writhing like snakes before collapsing into the bushes, but now she thought she perhaps knew. With her mind so hazy, one would not even notice the surroundings darkening and brightening.
"Your Majesty, your name…."
At Asteril's voice, he raised his head. His red pupils had returned to their original amethyst hue, tinged with blue.
"I wish to know it. Can you not tell me?"
He clutched the ends of Asteril's hair in his hand, then gently released them into the air.
"If you tell me the name of one born of the great god's bloodline, I shall show you the fruit of Asphodelos."
As expected, nothing drew the interest of those cool eyes like Asphodelos. Had his indifferent gaze not changed immediately?
It had been nearly half a century since Hades struck terror into neighboring nations and displayed its might. Even ignorant children sang songs of Thanatos's fearsomeness, yet strangely, the name of the ruler of the Black Army remained unknown.
It would be natural for a king to wish his achievements and name to be widely known.
"You may decline if you wish."
- You resort to threats at every turn, my dear.
"It was enticement, not a threat."
She had already realized that this seemingly indifferent man was more mischievous than he appeared. As befitting a descendant of a god, he was capricious and ruthlessly cruel.
Yet there was an unexpected tenderness. Like the kiss from before.
Swoosh.
A gust of wind rose around him as he looked up at Asphodelos, wrapping about him like a tail. His long hair swayed in the wind, concealing his thoughts.
She had thought Asphodelos would suffice, but perhaps not? What would she do after learning his name, his age, or whether he had family….
- Kal.
Asteril's eyes widened in surprise. Without realizing it, she approached and caught his arm.
"…Kal."
She came to her senses at the glance he threw her. She had spoken aloud without thinking, revealing that she remembered. Asteril released his arm and covered her reddened cheek with the back of her hand.
It was an unfamiliar sound. A type of name she had never heard before.
Had not Princess Thetis said so? That no one takes names after the gods. It was peculiar and unfamiliar, yet it suited him.
In that moment, the silent King approached and bent down. Meeting her gaze, he slightly lowered his eyelids.
- It is your turn.
The flower petals of Asphodelos had fallen thickly at their feet, carried by the wind.
She blinked several times, as if she had completely forgotten. She drew an ambiguous smile on her lips, like an oracle priestess of Delphi delivering a prophecy.
"Asphodelos has bloomed so many flowers, so it shall bear fruit in short order. It will not take long."
His pupils, silent for a moment, slowly clouded. Asteril smiled slyly. Like an innocent child, as if she did not see the killing intent in his gaze in the slightest.
"I only said I would show you it bearing fruit. I never said when."
- ….
"You seem displeased. Now that I think of it, that was how I felt then."
- You said you would send me back, but you never said when.
She felt a strange exhilaration merely from the flicker of his pupils.
But she should stop here. If she went further, she might shorten her lifespan.
"I jest. I shall show you right this moment."
Passing his shoulder, she reached out toward Asphodelos. She was newly surprised to find that she had such a provocative side.
Could it be that she wished to see the man who seemed to not have a single drop of emotion in his veins crumble, just once?
She wanted to see his eyes shaken. She was curious whether this man, too, could feel anxiety, impatience, and be swayed by joy and sorrow.
Suddenly, Lian's face flashed through her mind. A person with as little change in expression as the King of Hades.
In an instant, her heart, which had been fluttering like spring, withered as if being crushed. Asteril placed her hand on Asphodelos. If Lian were to learn of what happened today….
A corner of her heart suddenly darkened.
- Asphodelos….
As if responding to her gloomy whisper, the sacred tree shook its branches. As the fresh woody fragrance pricked her nose, her eyes reddened.
Conscience was truly an inconvenient thing. Not even darkness could hide it. Did it not clearly paint in the night sky even the things one could pretend not to see by squeezing one's eyes shut?
Asphodelos, you must have witnessed everything from this spot? Lian passing by every day, and the kiss I shared with him today….
Asteril inserted her finger into the crack in the bark—split by the thug's blade at the inn. Her fingertip, rubbed against the sharp bark, was cut and began to bleed.
She deliberately pressed harder on her wounded hand. The continuously flowing blood seeped between the old tree's bark.
She had not been certain. It was only a guess. But the moment she saw Asphodelos sucking up the blood and emitting a thick woody fragrance, the guess became conviction.
Instinctively, Asteril embraced Asphodelos in a circle. The moment she touched the sacred tree, her whole body grew hot as if engulfed in flames.
- Asphodelos… are you alright?
It was painful. Was it because she resonated with Asphodelos? Unlike her, Asphodelos emitted a fragrant woody scent, as if feeling pleasant.
If human blood were a curse, this could not happen. Was it because of her own innate healing power? Did it work on Asphodelos as well?
She had healed beasts before. The story of Rhea, the black panther raised at the Cocytus temple.
On the day Asteril turned eighteen, heavy rain had poured all day outside the temple. Rhea, who had wandered out, did not return until late at night.
When a young priest went to search the Cocytus forest and brought her back, there was a deep wound on Rhea's flank, as if slashed by something.
Everyone consoled Asteril, telling her to prepare her heart, but she did not give up.
She stayed by Rhea's side for two days and nights. When all the moisture in her body, including tears and sweat, seemed to have drained away, the groaning Rhea raised herself. It was the first time Asteril had healed a non-human being.
Wiping away the sweat beading on her forehead, Asteril turned around. Kal stood with his back to the moonlight, watching silently.
"Can you see?"
She pointed to the end of an Asphodelos branch draped over her shoulder and continued.
"It is Ambrosia."
A green, unripe fruit had opened. It resembled an apple but was smaller and rounder. The King had a look in his eyes asking how she knew.
"Asphodelos told me. It said this is the food of the gods. Nectar and Ambrosia."
Kal gazed at Asphodelos. Its presence was overwhelming. Its tremendous vitality was enough to make the entire palace surge like waves.
The thick floral scent of Himeros paled before Asphodelos's woody fragrance—except for one person: the princess of Demeter standing before him.
She would not know. How it had been when she embraced Asphodelos just now. An indescribable, strange energy had surged and swept through the garden.
The birds on the branches had bowed their heads as if intoxicated, and the shrubs and bushes had drooped and lain prostrate upon the ground.
"The princess of Demeter always keeps her promises. As promised, I have placed Ambrosia in your hands, so Your Majesty will surely send me back to my homeland. I believe this without a doubt."
It had drunk only a few drops of blood. Other sacrificial maidens had been forced to drain nearly all the blood in their bodies to produce even a single fruit.
Dozens of flower blossoms on every branch seemed to send fragrant smiles. How strange. Their scent felt similar to the body scent of the princess of Demeter.
The sound of a pounding heart traveled clearly through the air. A heart thumping as if it would burst at any moment.
This, too, belonged to the princess of Demeter.
Though she stood straight, pretending to be composed, her breathing was ragged and gasping, as if she had sprinted from the River Styx to Lethe's palace. It seemed the mischievous North Wind had not taught her of such things.
His lips slowly parted.
"I promise you, Princess Asteril."
Asteril inhaled and held her breath. It was a low voice that made one imagine an unseen Adam's apple.
He was a man who made her whole body tingle even with Cheongeum alone, yet his real voice was deeper and more beautiful than that.
"I promise you, Princess Asteril."
At that moment, the scene before her felt engraved in her mind like a relief.
It was more thrilling than the passionate kiss. A feeling of something gripping and churning the deeper recesses of her heart.
She wanted to run to him again, grab his collar, and check. Whether his pupils looking at her from within the mask were trembling.
Imagination alone was no longer enough. Curiosity was the thing that made one wish to launch a boat even when swept away by waves.
As the gust disappeared into the deep darkness, the mischievous North Wind appeared, rustling.
It ran wildly between the drooping branches, showering her with questions—"Princess of the southern kingdom!"—but she stared fixedly at one spot, as if entranced.
At nothing but the shadow of the man who had disappeared, leaving behind only a dreamlike sensation….
It was a tumultuous night.
Ψ
The third full moon since coming to Lethe was approaching.
"So my voice returned safely, and I treated Lady Lian…."
Melinoe trailed off with a suspicious gaze. An Asphodelos petal was spinning round and round on the back of Asteril's thumb as she stared blankly into the air.
It spun remarkably well on its own without being touched. Melinoe frowned at the petal. The North Wind, puffing breaths on her shoulder, stifled a laugh, seemingly amused by such a princess.
Amphitrite stopped in the middle of crossing the inner courtyard when she saw Asteril and Melinoe having refreshments. Meeting Asteril's eyes, she turned her head away and sharply turned down a different path.
"It seems she has gotten the wrong idea because of me…. Wouldn't it be better to explain?"
It would be fortunate if an explanation worked, but the second princess of Poseidonia was too young to understand the complicated affairs of the palace.
"I cannot tell everything to a young princess yet."
"Fifteen is not that young. Was it not the death of an irreplaceable comrade? She has the right to know the truth."
"Then staying here itself would become too cruel. Did you not do the same, Lady Melinoe?"
Melinoe closed her mouth for a moment, as if struck in a vital point.
"How are you so composed? Are all priestesses like this? Or… is there something else troubling you?"
"Something troubling me?"
"I mean the King of Hades."
Did she mean that man who had not shown himself for a full week? It was impossible to know whether he was away or holed up in the main palace.
"Did he summon you to the main palace? Or did he command you to remain here with him instead of returning to your homeland?"
"No, that cannot be…."
On the contrary, he had promised to send her back. Without a moment's hesitation.
"What do you mean 'that cannot be'? Could it be because of Lady Lian?"
Melinoe clicked her tongue, then spotted Lian walking by and stiffened her expression. She glared with displeasure. She still seemed suspicious of Lian.
Asteril stared blankly at Lian. Her complexion had grown quite haggard after several days without seeing her. She placed the Asphodelos petal in Melinoe's hand and stood up.
"I shall take my leave first."
Melinoe watched Asteril's retreating figure with an exasperated expression. She could neither stop her nor do anything, and only frustrated sighs poured out.
"Lady Lian!"
She had been exceedingly curious, as Lian had rarely shown herself since collapsing that day.
Lian turned and waited for Asteril. Simply standing still, an air of dignity flowed from her upright posture. Asteril had seen only one such person in her life: Kiane, the first princess who would become the next queen of Demeter.
Strict not only with herself but with her younger sisters as well, she was someone Asteril respected and admired as much as the Queen Mother. Whenever Asteril saw Lian, she kept thinking of Kiane's cold back. Her older sister, who always made her take deep breaths and feel nervous.
The Queen Mother had told her youngest daughter that becoming a priestess was already excellent, but for a perfectionist like Kiane, that alone was insufficient. It was no exaggeration to say that Asteril had taken the High Priestess examination to satisfy Kiane.
"I shall soon leave Lethe. Asphodelos has borne fruit, and His Majesty has promised to send me back to my homeland."
"…."
"What about you, Lady Lian? Will you remain here?"
Her complexion was as pale as before. Her bluish lips lacked strength.
"Your complexion is still not good."
Asteril gathered both of Lian's hands in hers. They were cold as ice. Her condition had worsened. It should not have been possible….
"Does His Majesty know of your condition?"
Lian had a look asking why she would ask such a thing. Asteril made a puzzled expression.
"You are his lover."
"Lover?"
"Yes. Though not the queen, his concubine…."
"You think I am the King's concubine?"
"That is what I had understood…. Is it not so?"
Lian's eyes widened and stiffened. She seemed flustered. No, absurdly baffled.
"You are not."
A strange sense of relief soothed her lungs. It felt as if something heavy that had settled in a corner of her heart melted away like snow.
"Then what is your relationship? You reside in the main palace, after all."
"He is my…."
She trailed off, turning her gaze away as if troubled. Asteril suppressed her impatience and waited. After a moment, Lian spoke in a small voice through her teeth.
"My flesh and blood."
"What?"
Asteril lost her words and stared at her. The North Wind had already hidden its tail between them, afraid sparks might fly.
"Then are you also of divine blood?"
Could descendants of gods fall ill? Were they not immortal? Spirits could perish. But gods… she did not know. Even a priestess could not fathom all of the divine realm.
Asteril plopped down on the garden floor. Looking up with her knees gathered like a small animal, she saw Lian sit down beside her. Asteril smiled in satisfaction. Thinking about it, Lian was unexpectedly kind.
"I like you, Lady Lian."
"…."
"I have liked you from the start."
Lian made no reply. Though her face was expressionless, Asteril could feel from her gaze tilted toward her that she was listening with interest.
"It does not matter what you are—whether the spirit of Asphodelos or a half-divine being. What matters is how I feel when I am with you. It is cozy and warm. Though I have often been nervous, strangely I feel at ease at the same time. Though I first met you in Lethe, it feels as if I have known you for a long time. How can this be? How…."
Staring intently at Lian, Asteril stretched out both arms and wrapped them around her neck. Lian's flustered hands hovered in the air.
"You make me feel normal, Lady Lian. My abilities and my actions… everything feels natural and obvious."
Though renowned as the Miracle of Cocytus and famous as a priestess, in the capital Syde she had been an unwelcome existence. She was sometimes treated as a monster and received scornful looks. Even her family—the Queen Mother and her elder sisters—sometimes looked at her as if she were a stranger, overwhelmed by her abilities.
"I will definitely heal you. I can heal you. So stay with me for now. Do not disappear so suddenly like last time."
Lian stared over Asteril's shoulder with confused eyes and asked.
"Why are you crying?"
"I do not know. I suppose it is because I hate that you are in pain."
Her muffled voice held stubbornness.
"It is not pain."
"Then what is it?"
Lian grasped Asteril's shoulders and pulled her away to look at her. Her gaze, about to say something, turned to the sunset sky. Her clouded eyes held thoughts.
"Lady Lian?"
Her healing power was not omnipotent. Most improved, but if it was already too late, it could not be reversed.
There was only one case where it was too late.
Death.
If the god of the underworld had already kissed her, this was irreversible.
"I am a healer, but I often have strong premonitions about the future. And they usually come true with uncanny accuracy. Now is such a time. If I let you go like this now…."
Lian's figure looked hazy. Strangely, her presence seemed weak. The particles of light always felt around her had faded like a halo.
"I have a premonition that we will never meet again. Is that not so?"
For example, even if she was still breathing, if she had suffered a fatal wound—stabbed in the heart or severely injured in the head—Asteril could not save her no matter how hard she tried.
Asteril did not know the exact limits of her abilities. But she knew the realm of impossibility. Her power merely maximized the patient's own recovery ability.
"It is not so, is it? Please tell me you have not given up. That you will not die…. Please say that we can meet again."
"I do not die. However, I cannot promise that we will meet again."
"Why?"
Lian's hand caressed Asteril's head. Her eyes grew hot at the gentle stroke running through her hair.
"Are you… going somewhere far?"
"Did you not say you hate that I am in pain? I think I hate that you are crying."
Most priestesses were accustomed to restraining their emotions. She, too, was like that outwardly.
It was good that she did not have to suppress her emotions before Lian. She did not have to hide her true self. Because in Lian's eyes, she would not be a strange being.
"You like me too, Lady Lian."
She looked back with a frown, her silent gaze brimming with doubt.
“People sometimes embrace because they like each other, but they say you can also come to like someone from knowing them. That’s how it was when I first saw Rea at Cocytus. At first, I played with her without even knowing what she was. But at some point, I realized that having Rea by my side made me feel content, touching her made me drowsy, and hugging her felt cozy. It’s the same with you, Lord Lian. If you hated me, you would have pushed me away when I hugged you like this, but you didn’t.”
“Rea?”
“A black panther raised at the Temple of Cocytus. So, to Lord Lian, I am a being like Rea. If you gently run your fingers through my hair like this, Lord Lian feels good, and so do I….”
Asteril trailed off, then paused, suddenly wondering if the comparison had sounded strange. Had likening herself to Rea been a bit inappropriate? Then again, it wasn’t as if she were a being like the west wind either.
“The Demon King and my older sisters call me Lil. Please call me that too, Lord Lian. To me, Lord Lian is now someone special, like family.”
Asteril burrowed into Lian’s embrace as if seeking warmth.
She had seemed independent, no doubt from a life spent away from home, yet now her longing for affection made her look just like a child.
“Please.”
When she pressed her, Lian opened her mouth as though she had no choice. After a moment’s hesitation, a low voice emerged.
“…Lil.”
“Did you know? I’m deliberately keeping the Ambrosia in an unripe state right now. If the fruit ripens, I’ll return to Demeter, and then I won’t be able to… I mean, I won’t be able to see Lord Lian anymore. I begged His Majesty to send me away like that, so it’s rather funny, isn’t it? I don’t understand it either, this contradictory heart of mine….”
Since that day, Asphodelos had spoken to her only on very rare occasions. Their conversations never exceeded three phrases. It was partly because Asphodelos was taciturn, but also because long conversations were still too much of a strain. Asphodelos was pouring all his strength into bearing the Ambrosia.
Ambrosia.
It was said to be the sustenance of the gods. The sole and absolute nourishment for immortals who lived eternal lives.
“Didn’t you say so, Lord Lian? That the fate of a certain clan rests upon the Ambrosia….”
“The fate of a certain clan rests upon this tree.”
“Which clan?”
“If Asphodelos cannot bear fruit….”
“Could Lord Lian’s condition also be because of the Ambrosia?”
“It has nothing to do with that. However, the Ambrosia must not be delayed in ripening.”
Lian looked down at Asteril and spoke firmly.
“Hades is no place for a human like you. This is where the cursed come to meet their end.”
“Do you want me to leave, Lord Lian?”
“….”
“Would His Majesty want me to return as well?”
It had been a week since he had so much as shown his face. Was he not the least bit curious about her?
“Did you not promise to do so?”
“So I did. Even I think it’s strange. I believed there was only one heart, yet yearnings are growing and spreading wildly into many branches inside me. I wished he would hesitate even a little.”
Lian gazed at Asteril wordlessly. After a brief silence, she opened her mouth.
“The King returns to the palace tonight. Go to the Himeros flower garden when the moon rises. He will be waiting.”