Fun times? 

Despite being mocked for being old-fashioned, I wasn’t a fool. I understood what Aphrodite’s abrupt statement implied. 

Normally, I would have ignored her completely and driven away, leaving her and her son behind. What fun could Hades possibly have in the underworld!

But now I couldn’t do that. Even knowing that ignoring her and leaving would be the wisest action, I couldn’t.

‘Could she possibly know that I’m keeping Persephius?’

My hands seemed to tremble. I hid them under my cloak as well.

“Step aside. I’m on my way to meet my brother, and I have no time to be detained by pointless provocations.”

Fortunately, thanks to my long life in the underworld, neither my face nor my voice revealed any cracks.

“I saw what you stole,” Aphrodite said.

Until she said that.

“A youth pretty enough to tempt even me. He’d need to age a few more years to be my type, but quite a delicious man nonetheless. Now, who was it that abducted him?”

I nearly screamed.

‘Persephius! She knows about Persephius!’

But I wasn’t a weak deity who would reveal my hand when startled by bluster. 

After barely collecting myself, I replied coldly, “Why make such unfounded assumptions about the ruler of the underworld?”

“Unfounded assumptions? You’re the one making assumptions now. Hoping that Aphrodite doesn’t know the truth, hoping not to reveal the name of the toy you’ve hidden in your dark bedchamber.”

“I need not listen to baseless insults. Your joke goes too far.”

I stood my ground until the end. I judged that regardless of what she had heard or where she heard it from, she would have no evidence. 

Given that there had been minimal friction between us, I thought I could ignore her and move on without issue. I was about to tell her that I would report this to Zeus. 

Aphrodite sneered with embers glowing in her large eyes.

“Insults? Baseless insults? That’s exactly what I received! Do you think I came looking for you without reason to pick a fight? Have you completely forgotten that you started this?”

“What?”

“Weren’t you the mighty Hades who needed no husband and treated the kestos himas like garbage? Ah, now I understand why you would give away my girdle even to dogs. Why bother with charm and sensuality when you can simply drag someone away and take them by force? Of course, of course, to the death god buried in a tomb, the love goddess sitting on a golden chair must seem like nothing!”

Her coral-colored finger pointing at me without hesitation was flushed red with excitement and anger. I lost the words I was about to say. 

Aphrodite’s eyes met mine. I drew in a breath. I recalled my argument with Zeus, and how I had reacted with unnecessary coldness regarding Aphrodite’s girdle.

“Aphrodite, that’s a misunderstanding. I can explain.”

“Ha, you dismiss my power, my girdle, and then think calling it a misunderstanding is enough?”

Aphrodite seemed to have no intention of listening to my explanation. I had no talent for persuasion, and her indignation even appeared somewhat justified. I didn’t know what to do. 

Apologize? The atmosphere wasn’t conducive to accepting an apology, and Aphrodite had also deeply insulted me. Wasn’t her slander dozens of times worse than my rejection of the kestos himas? 

Apologizing now would only damage Hades’ dignity.

I pondered with an impassive face.

‘Fine. She’s angry because she thinks I belittled her power. But that’s all. I need to stay calm. She can’t possibly know about what happened between Persephius and me. It must be speculation. Being the goddess of desire, perhaps she sees some change that only she can detect. Something like seeing special traces in those who have experienced carnal knowledge. She’s clearly trying to shame me by connecting me with the missing child. I shouldn’t act overly sensitive. Even if it will eventually come to light, it should properly be revealed through Zeus or Hera.’

Having calculated this, I stared at Aphrodite and her son. Unlike his furious mother, the son looked somewhat anxious. He twisted his legs, fidgeted while clutching his quiver tightly, and couldn’t even meet my eyes.

“If you don’t want to hear my explanation, so be it. Whatever the truth, you’ll believe what you want to believe. Then continue to be angry. I have a long journey ahead and must leave.”

Watching me grasp the reins, Aphrodite seemed momentarily flustered. The deep violet burning in her eyes briefly returned to purple. 

She apparently hadn’t expected me to maintain such a cold distance. 

I raised my whip. Just before striking the horses, Aphrodite called out, “Aren’t you curious why I blocked your path?”

I didn’t reply. The horses began to stamp their feet. The goddess of beauty, gritting her teeth, shouted sharply, “Do you think Persephone loves you?”

My body moved before my mind. I gripped the reins fiercely. The horses, about to spread their wings, made choking sounds from the sudden restraint. My heart pounded.

“Persephone doesn’t love you, you pitiful creature!”

I didn’t turn my head. Yet I could vividly imagine what expression Aphrodite must be wearing. It was strange.

“Ah! How did I know who your playmate was? Obviously because I saw it with my own eyes. It was the Enna Valley, wasn’t it? That boring yet lovely place carpeted with daffodils. The ground split open, nymphs wailed, and you stole away that pretty youth. Quite a spectacle. Every deity should witness such a sight at least once.”

“…What did you see?”

“I saw female Hades kidnapping bachelor Persephone. Deny it all you want. But nothing in matters of love can be hidden from Aphrodite. Aren’t you heading to Olympus because of Persephone? What’s the point of denying it here?”

Aphrodite laughed. It sounded like a silver saw cutting through a thousand layers of silk, subtle yet penetrating.

“Did you ask how I knew to stand here? Ah, I instructed my son to call me immediately if you emerged like a plague. Yes! I knew you would eventually spring out of the abyss! To demand that sweet child like a sugar candy. How enjoyable was it? Did you have a lot of fun? Well, in a place of perpetual night without light, what else is there to do besides that?”

“That’s not true.”

My voice sounded strained. It seemed no one would believe me now.

“I have no intention whatsoever of asking for him.”

“Oh, stop it. Politics isn’t my concern. Asking for something small while wanting something big, pointing to one thing while desiring another, that sort of thing. Not interesting at all. Above all, my specialty lies elsewhere. And you still haven’t answered my question.”

Aphrodite approached my chariot. The sound of her treading on clouds was sweet, like sugar sprinkled on pastries.

“Tell me. Tell the goddess of love. Do you think Persephone loves you?”

How should I have answered?

No? Yes?

My tongue dried up and stuck to the roof of my mouth. The hand holding the reins froze like ice.

Persephius’s face flashed before me. His kiss came to mind.

“How foolish! That child was struck by a golden arrow!”

“…A golden arrow?”

I finally had to turn my head toward Aphrodite and the owner of the arrows standing beside her.

“He… was struck by a golden arrow?”

Eros had his head bowed so low he might fall forward. Guilt and fear were evident throughout his body. 

I wanted to lift him up and face him directly, to ask if what Aphrodite said was true. But what difference would questioning him make?

“What did he whisper to you? Surely it was spine-tinglingly sweet and ecstatic? But what a shame! It was all lies! I wonder what sweet talk he used to try to put his thing between your legs. Ah, the golden arrow! A deception stronger than an aphrodisiac and more terrible than a love potion!”

Everything she said was true. Eros’s reaction was proof. Without a doubt.

Persephius had never loved me. Not for a single moment.

Aphrodite looked refreshed, as though a thousand years of resentment had been resolved. The glow on her cheeks was an ecstatic rose color, and her eyes soon appeared sensually flexible to the point of lewdness.

“Yes, I ordered it. Revenge for daring to despise and scorn my power! Do you think love is more trivial than death? How does it feel to experience it firsthand?”

—

T/N: THESE f*cking GODS I SWEAR! They all have their heads up their asses thinking “oh, she doesn’t want my girdle? She must be mocking me!” Gurl she doesn’t give a d*mn about you. She has a whole as$ domain to manage. Now you come stirring trouble because you felt “insulted” kjdfhgkdsfgk NOBODY CARES!