Hmm, and regarding Hypnos, there’s not much to say. Being the god of sleep, he spent most of his time with his pillow, and his attendance during official duties was hardly exemplary. 

But one thing is certain: he never welcomed me either. Whenever we crossed paths, he would squint his eyes pretending to be drowsy and never greeted me with the proper courtesy due to Demeter’s son. 

And now? Believe it or not, Hypnos bows to me first! 

Though I don’t feel genuine respect from him! With a face as white and ambiguous as poorly kneaded flour, he offers his greeting, then backs away and dissolves into darkness. Like he’s reached his limit of tolerance. Wow!

Momus still complains now just like before, but gods whom I barely knew by name occasionally initiate conversation with me now. I only learned Philotes was a goddess when she greeted me. 

A young goddess with dark brown hair braided into two sections, she had eyes like ripe grapes. Unlike Momus or Apate, Philotes had never treated me unfairly before, even when she encountered me doing something foolish. 

Thinking about it carefully, it’s not strange that she approached me. Love and longing. Isn’t that exactly what I am right now? 

Perhaps Philotes had noticed the emotions budding inside me all along. This thought made me feel even better.

I encountered Eris in the corridor leading to the royal garden. Since Hadeia had magically concealed her chambers, I couldn’t find her bedroom again after that night. I could only circle around in place like a dog howling mournfully at the moon. 

That day too, I had just escaped after breaking down the door of an empty room where I’d been locked up, a room containing only unused chairs. Ivory chairs! 

One should never lock a strong young man like me with such dangerous objects.

“Oh, son of Demeter.”

Eris recognized me from a distance. She stopped in her tracks and laboriously circled around to approach me. She still wore a navy blue dress, but silver brooches glittering like secretive humming were lurking here and there. 

I greeted her skillfully, like a man who grew up surrounded by sisters and wearing women’s clothes.

“Pretty ornaments. I don’t think I’ve seen them before.”

“You have a good eye.”

Eris giggled and twirled in place, showing off. I smiled awkwardly. She had an atmosphere about her that made viewers uncomfortable, like a spider balancing on its web.

“There are many good things happening in the palace, aren’t there? I’m happy too, so I’m celebrating in my own way.”

“Good things?”

I feigned ignorance and asked back.

“Hehe, you know perfectly well.”

Eris giggled, showing her large teeth. Then, for some reason, she suddenly raised her eyebrows and made a commotion. Following her untidy black eyebrows, her eyes grew larger too, and her hooked nose seemed even more enormous.

“Well, I shouldn’t be so familiar with you. Oh my, I completely forgot! What kind of person accomplished these good things. Please forgive me with your generous heart.”

“It’s thanks to your advice. There’s no need for such exaggeration.”

“My goodness! What a blessing to serve such a kind queen!”

“Queen?”

“Of course! The Queen of the Underworld! Haha!”

The laughter of the goddess of discord! It should have been ominous, but at that moment, how it excited me! 

Like war drums beating before two armies clash on a plain! A sound that hastened my heartbeat and made the ichor in my veins race!

I stared at Eris with my mouth foolishly open. Enjoying my gaze, Eris bowed with exaggerated movements like a comedy actor.

“What are you doing? You don’t need to bow to me like that, you know!”

“That might be true for the son of Demeter. But for the Queen of the Underworld, this level of respect is only proper.”

“Queen, you say.”

“Oh, yes. Why wouldn’t you be? How could our king maintain a face before the goddess of grain without taking responsibility for her only son?”

To me, who had only heard rejections, refusals, and reproaches, this exaggerated courtesy from an underworld resident was stimulating like wine drunk after a long abstinence. 

I didn’t deny Eris’s words. I felt too pleased for that.

Seeing my satisfaction, Eris smiled even more widely, splitting her lips.

“What does Your Majesty say? Is she still postponing the marriage?”

“Yes. She probably thinks I’m too young. But I think it’s just a matter of time. This is about our honor and dignity, just like you said. Of course, there’s love too. Definitely.”

“Love?”

“Without a doubt.”

“Haha!”

Eris laughed, holding her stomach. This time, it wasn’t a particularly pleasant laugh. Still, I maintained my proud expression. I stood straight with my shoulders squared. 

I hadn’t said anything embarrassing. I loved Hadeia. It was an unchangeable truth, just like the fact that I was Demeter’s son. And Hadeia, me.

“Love! Love without a doubt! Did you hear that clearly?”

But then Eris began pointing her finger. She even raised her voice, seemingly for someone else to hear. This was quite unpleasant. 

One moment she elevated me by calling me the king’s consort, and now she suddenly mocked me? 

I was about to open my mouth, intending to warn her to stop if she was planning to toy with me.

“Ah, look at that poor nymph over there!”

Eris’s finger wasn’t pointing at me. 

It was directed at a nymph standing behind the asphodelos mound in the garden, which could be reached by descending the stairs connected to the colonnade behind me. A nymph with a pale face, wearing an ash-gray tunic, with cobweb-like silver hair.

“Oh, forgive me, Your Majesty! When I see such a face, I just can’t help but laugh. It’s my sad nature. Ah, isn’t his face really blue? Haha, ha!”

Minthe’s eyes met mine. I saw colorless flames burning in his pupils.

He disappeared, still clutching a few unbroken asphodelos flowers in his arms without greeting or permission.

Eris was still laughing, her body shaking intermittently.

“My goodness, I’ve never been this amused in my life!”

I eventually gave up trying to find Hadeia’s chambers and retreated. I simply wasn’t in the mood. Although she had locked me in an empty room like a disobedient puppy while she rested comfortably in her bedroom, still. 

My mind was utterly confused. Eris’s voice cackling with the title “Your Majesty” echoed in my ears, and my chest felt chilled by the way Minthe had looked at me. 

Though he was a scrawny figure I could easily overpower with one hand, given my robust build, there was something in his eyes. A cold, venomous quality that made one reflexively withdraw.

‘He’s just a powerless nymph, a palace servant, right? If I marry Hadeia, he’ll have to obey my orders. No, even now before I marry her, he shouldn’t treat me disrespectfully. I’m the son of Demeter and Zeus, while he’s merely the son of one among many rivers. Yet he always acts so disagreeable.’

Thanatos disliked me too, but compared to Minthe, he was moderate. That silver-haired nymph hated me in a completely different way and direction. 

From our first meeting when I was waiting for offerings in Hadeia’s hall. The way he looked at me, his grinding tone toward me, and his words that fell short, seemingly not wanting to touch me. 

All those moments when he ignored my feelings and mocked my judgment, ultimately ridiculing me for not being a real man. If that’s not hatred, what is? Hatred! 

A word and concept I had never heard or experienced while growing up. What a remarkable teacher he was to introduce it to me.

Anyway, Minthe’s shocked expression became a catalyst for me to consider the position of Underworld Queen. Although I’m not sure whether he was more shocked by the title “Your Majesty” or the word “love.” 

Since I loved Hadeia and wanted to marry her, love and queenship weren’t separate concepts for me.

‘Queen. Could I become the Queen of the Underworld? I mean, legally?’

In a world where Hades is Hadeia and Persephone is me, it seems nothing should be impossible. But when I recall the marriage proposals showering down on Hadeia like hail, I feel uncertain.

‘Surely I don’t need my mother’s permission to get married? I’m a grown adult, after all?’

This is the more difficult issue. They’re related topics too.

It’s been a very long time since I thought about my mother. Her face, her voice, her hand reaching out to me like putting a bridle on a foal. 

Just recalling these memories made me nauseous. I shook my head, rubbing my face dry.

‘Ask mother for permission? Not a chance. And that’s not all. To explain everything to mother and persuade her, I’d have to return to the surface, right? If I leave the underworld, forget marriage, I’d never be able to come back. Unless I jump into the Cocytus River and swim back like a fish. Even if I risked all those dangers and went up, mother would never give permission. If I just mentioned that Hadeia took me, she’d immediately split the earth and create a wasteland. What if I told her I slept with her?’

Better to die. 

I bit my lip. Mother would definitely blame Hadeia. From a general perspective, most would think that way. 

I’m just a naive child, but she’s the ruler of the underworld, my aunt’s age, much older than me. She’s clearly the one who snatched me and abducted me underground. 

If we revealed we had slept together in this situation, hmm, it’s obvious which way the scales of blame would tip. 

I puffed up my right cheek with my tongue.

Mother would never acknowledge that I wanted it, that I desired her more than anything in the world, more than returning to mother’s side, more than throwing off women’s clothes and tearing apart the loathsome peplos, more than wearing sturdy leather sandals with a long sword at my side and setting off on a journey with a large staff. 

She would treat it like it never happened, like she didn’t know, like I was mistaken. Just like how she responded whenever I criticized her overprotection and tried to run out of the flower garden.

‘Oh, my child, you’re sick. You can’t think properly because you’re sick. Come here. Let mother embrace you. I’ll braid your hair with cornflowers. They’ll match your eyes and look dazzlingly beautiful. No one has ever given birth to a child as lovely as you… What? Still talking about that? Child, how many times must I tell you? I’m trying to protect you… to keep you safe… so you won’t die… so you’ll forever be my child…’

Mother’s voice echoed chaotically in my head like an auditory hallucination. I suddenly felt dizzy. I spat on the floor. 

Only after doing this twice did my mind clear somewhat. Belatedly, I looked around, but there was no one except the eerie blue torches and empty darkness. 

I hurriedly rubbed the white foamy saliva with the sole of my shoe, thinking how fortunate it was that the underworld palace had few people around.

‘So, can I officially marry and become queen without mother’s permission?’

This was a proposition I couldn’t easily judge. I was as ignorant about marriage, ceremonies, and the crowns proudly worn by the great gods as a robin.

Asking Hadeia would be foolish. No matter what question I asked now, I knew what answer I’d get.

—Oh? Why not go back to the surface and ask your mother? She would answer anything for you.

I mimicked her, moving my lips exaggeratedly. Hmph.

‘Thanatos isn’t even an option. Hypnos would be difficult too. Momus? He’d never tell me.’

My thoughts extended to the friendly Philotes, but I soon shook my head. Though she was kind to me, I still didn’t know her well. 

She didn’t seem knowledgeable about the requirements for the Underworld Queen either. I didn’t want to create awkwardness with one of my few potential allies in the underworld with unnecessary questions.

Then Eris?