He lifted his head and straightened his chest, then entered the throne room with firm steps. He bowed respectfully in the manner befitting a king's presence.
Nemesis wore a glass crown crafted from carved red rubies and sat upon his royal throne. Narcissus himself had designed the crown. Two enormous torches stood proudly on either side of him, their flames reaching almost to the ceiling. It was rare for Nemesis to light them, except when foreign guests visited or when he was about to make a decision of great importance.
Narcissus looked directly into the king's eyes. Red eyes, the exact same color as his hair.
"My lord..."
The king cut him off and asked only one question.
"Do you love her?"
Shu lowered his gaze to the floor.
"No, my lord."
"I don't want to hear a lie."
Narcissus raised his head again.
Nemesis's eyes looked less angry than they did heartbroken.
Narcissus quickly shook his head.
"By the seven goddesses, I swear I have no feelings for your queen."
"Does she love you?"
He fell silent.
Perhaps it was the longest silence of his entire life.
When Nemesis received no answer, he called out to his soldiers in a loud voice.
Two soldiers hurriedly entered the throne room.
"I order you to execute him at sunrise tomorrow."
Narcissus's eyes widened in shock.
The soldiers were equally stunned by such an order.
After several seconds of hesitation, they finally approached Narcissus, grabbed both of his arms, and began dragging him backward toward the exit.
Furious, Narcissus pulled his arms free from the soldiers' grasp and shouted loudly,
"I order you to release me!"
Without resisting, the two soldiers immediately let go and stepped back two paces.
The king's orders always came first.
However, the minister was not someone whose words could simply be ignored—even by the king himself.
Narcissus took several steps forward, moving closer to the throne.
With a nervous laugh, he asked,
"On what charge are you ordering my execution?"
He felt betrayed.
He had spent his entire life serving his king.
And this was the answer he received for everything he had done?
"For the crime of capturing the heart of your kingdom's queen."
His nervous laughter grew louder.
"You've lost your mind."
Fear and terror spread throughout the two soldiers standing behind him.
No one was allowed to speak to the king in such a manner.
At any moment, they expected Nemesis to not only reduce Narcissus to ashes but also burn the two unfortunate soldiers who had witnessed his rage.
Years ago, when the king had heard several citizens saying how perfectly Narcissus suited Aphrodite and how they would make the ideal couple, he had burned every one of those people alive.
The entire incident had lasted less than five seconds.
From that day onward, people from other regions—especially human territories—no longer dared to even speak the names Aphrodite or Narcissus.
Yet, to everyone's disbelief, Nemesis ignored his minister's insolent words.
He rose from his throne and walked down.
He stopped in front of the silver-haired young man and stared into his blue eyes.
"If the person who loved Aphrodite had been you, I would have stepped aside. I would have forgotten my queen and let her go."
He paused.
"But you..."
"With your breathtaking beauty, you made her surrender her heart to you."
"Don't you think someone like that deserves death?"
He was hearing the most irrational words of his entire life from the ruler of his kingdom.
It was impossible.
There was no way.
Nemesis—the child he had raised with his own hands—could never kill him.
"You won't kill me."
Nemesis looked at him one last time.
Every detail of the face whose beauty he had always admired, and which now he wanted to erase from existence for that very same reason.
Then he gave his order.
"Take him away."
Without another word, the soldiers obeyed.