Styx recounted everything she had learned about Eros, including the details of his conflict with Poseidon, without embellishment or judgment.
"Father, that's all I know. What do you plan to do?"
She offered no suggestions, just stood quietly, awaiting Oceanus' response.
"I understand. You don't need to concern yourself with this any further."
To her surprise, Oceanus' tone was uncharacteristically subdued.
Normally, the elder deity, so fond of arranging marriages for his children, would have enthusiastically taken Eros in as an adopted son, bestowed a divine rank upon him, and offered Amphitrite's hand in marriage.
Could it be… he truly doted on Amphitrite so much that he didn't want to marry off his youngest daughter?
"Styx, don't overthink it. Matters here are more complicated than you realize and beyond your ability to influence."
Oceanus gently stroked her head. Before him, this mature goddess truly seemed like a little girl again.
"Don't worry. Return to the Underworld soon. For now, don't get too involved with that human."
"…Understood."
Though she didn't quite understand, Styx still obeyed her father's wishes.
"Go now. And bring the human to see me."
Oceanus set her down with a soft smile.
Styx bowed respectfully and turned to leave the divine throne.
But when she returned to the hallway before the throne… the sight that met her eyes left her momentarily speechless.
"What… is going on here?"
Eros was pinning Hebe to the polished floor, both of her wrists twisted behind her back, rubbing her helplessly against the marble like a captured criminal.
Perseis stood to the side, enthusiastically cheering him on. Even Amphitrite was there.
She was gone for only a moment—how did things descend into chaos so quickly?
"Don't misunderstand!" Eros called out hastily. "I didn't start it. She threw the first punch."
"That's right, I can vouch for that. She struck first," Perseis added.
"Exactly! For a so-called Goddess of Youth, she's awfully bold. Doesn't she know I can hold my own with Apollo?"
Did she not know that when they fought the monstrous Python, Apollo needed Eros just to land a proper hit?
Pinning her down with one hand? Zero pressure, easy win.
"You arrogant-!" Hebe gritted her teeth, struggling beneath him. It was all because of his damn mouth. If he hadn't been so infuriating, she wouldn't have lost control.
Curse it. If only this avatar wasn't so weak…
"What? I was talking about your mother, not you. Why are you taking it personally?" Eros, still straddling her back, kept up the verbal assault.
"Did I say anything untrue? Your mom has serious anger issues. Doesn't she ever stop to ask whether she's even in the right?"
"All she does is pick on the easy targets. So mighty, yet never dares to scold your dad?"
Hebe's jaw was so clenched she could've cracked pearls between her teeth.
Finally, Styx, unable to bear it any longer, rushed over and yanked Eros off her.
"That's enough. She's still the daughter of the King and Queen of the Gods."
If Eros was already bold enough to ride on top of the King's daughter, Styx didn't dare imagine who he'd ride next.
"What? C'mon, Sis! You know she started it!"
Perseis had fully aligned with Eros, completely ignoring the fact that Hebe had been singlehandedly crushed.
"Enough out of you!"
Styx glared at her.
"Father said he knows exactly what's in your heart. He told you to stop fooling around and return to Olympus now."
"I—!"
Perseis opened her mouth to argue, but Styx cut her off.
"No 'I.' I'm leaving too."
"Huh?"
Even Amphitrite let out a soft sound of confusion, her cheeks faintly flushed.
Only then did Styx realize how her words could be misinterpreted. She quickly corrected herself.
"I meant Father asked me to return to the Underworld as well. I didn't mean I was like Perseis."
"Eh?"
Now Amphitrite looked genuinely puzzled.
"I just thought… with both of you leaving, I'd be left all alone. It's a little scary."
"…Big Sister, what do you mean you're not like Perseis? Not the same in what way?" she asked, her voice pure and innocent.
Ah yes, the natural-born scatterbrain—always landing a critical hit at the worst moment.
Styx froze completely.
Then, in silence, she grabbed the still-snickering Perseis by the collar and dragged her away.
As she left, she looked back at Eros and reminded him, "Father is waiting for you at the throne. Perseis and I will be going now."
"If there's another chance, I'll invite you to visit my realm sometime."
With that, she disappeared down the corridor, tugging a giggling Perseis behind her.
The sultry married goddess with the easy-to-flirt-with vibes was gone.
Eros felt a pang of regret. He wanted to stop them—but couldn't.
Was it possible that Oceanus had seen through his intentions? Was this entire "order" just a clever ploy to protect his daughters from Eros' advances?
Too cruel. What kind of father willingly leaves his daughters lonely, cold, and unloved?
For a moment, Eros lost even the motivation to keep teasing Hebe.
Finally free, Hebe shot him a glare so intense she looked ready to burn holes through his face.
No one in the world had ever dared treat her like this before—not like… this.
She wanted to explode. She really did. But the humiliation had already been done—lashing out now would only make her look worse.
She had to endure it. Just a little longer. She would have her revenge one day.
"…Huh?" Eros looked at her in surprise.
"I'll be damned. You're a bit dumb, but you've got restraint."
"Okay, now I believe you weren't sent by your mother."
Implying, of course, that she wasn't smart enough to be a convincing honey trap.
Hebe clenched her fists, her slender legs trembling in anger.
"All right, all right," Eros sighed. "Let me apologize for testing you earlier."
Surprisingly, he sounded sincere this time.
"You understand, right? I'm just a mortal. Being targeted out of nowhere by the Queen of the Gods… it's a lot of pressure."
Pressure? He didn't look very stressed.
Hebe snorted coldly.
"Especially after I was attacked at sea by monsters your mother sent, I've developed some serious trauma. That's why I'm so cautious."
He really did sound sincere. His voice, rich with subtle emotion, had Amphitrite silently sympathizing with him.
A mere mortal—wronged without cause, hunted by the Queen of Heaven herself.
How frightened he must have been. What kind of desperate escape had he survived?
It stirred the instinct to comfort, to protect.
Even Hebe found herself momentarily touched. She was, admittedly, a sucker for sentimental appeals.
…Wait a second. What's with the handholding?
She snapped back to her senses and jumped back a few steps, glaring down at her hand—just recently squeezed by Eros.
Unacceptable. She needed to wash that hand thoroughly, twice.
Eros didn't even flinch. He just grinned, shameless.
"Well, since you understand my position, I'll take that as you accepting my apology."
"I'll go meet this Oceanus now."
Without giving her a chance to respond, Eros darted down the corridor like the wind.
Hebe stood frozen, grinding her teeth, stomping furiously in place.
Run? Go ahead and run. You'll have to come back anyway. And when you do, just you wait.
************************
Hey everyone! I'll be dropping an extra 1 chapter once we hit 400 power stones! If you're enjoying the story, don't forget to spend some power stones. I'd really appreciate the support. Thanks a bunch!
For advance chapters, please do visit and consider joining me on P(a)treon, it really helps me out and I'd love to have you along for the journey!
p(a)treon.com/Lnee
*remove () to open it