The Underworld. Morning.
Wave after wave of melodious birdsong drifted through the carved window lattice into the bedroom. Lorne stretched comfortably on the bed, opened his eyes, and roused himself from meditation.
Stepping down from the bed, he pulled open the curtains and windows.
The fragrance of earth and a breeze carrying floral scents washed over his face, filling the heart with peace and joy.
The lush, elegant garden before his eyes made it hard to believe he was in the sunless Underworld.
However, once his gaze crossed beyond that border of greenery, the gray and deathly stillness of the true landscape would surge back into view.
To put it plainly, no matter how beautifully this garden before him was crafted, no matter how exquisite it was made to be, it was still nothing more than an elaborate cage.
And the Queen of the Underworld Persephone was the golden canary kept within it.
But birds were born to belong to the sky.
Though she had already broken free of the shackles on her own body and could no longer take flight again herself, she did not wish her daughter to follow in her footsteps, spending the rest of her life in this sunless underground Underworld.
'The heart of every parent under heaven is the same...'
Just as the moved Lorne was quietly sighing to himself, the tightly shut door was shoved abruptly open, and a rebellious-looking teenage girl with pale skin and short black hair crawled inside.
"You..."
"Mm?"
Lorne raised an eyebrow and turned, sending a quiet gaze toward the visitor.
In an instant, the once insufferably arrogant Underworld princess Melinoe pulled her neck in like a mouse that had spotted a cat, hastily lowered her head and changed what she was going to say, calling out a form of address that still sounded a little unfamiliar.
"Bro... Brother..."
"Mm. Remember to call me that once you're outside."
Hearing that voice, unwilling as it was but finally having been said, Lorne gave a satisfied nod and spoke in the tone of someone who had been through it all.
"Don't think I'm taking advantage of you. This is for your own good. Escaping the Underworld is only the first step, and a relatively simple one at that.
The hard part is how to avoid being dragged back after you escape.
If you want to live freely up above, you need to learn to forget your identity as an Underworld princess first and live quietly. Otherwise, Sisyphus, who has escaped three times and been thrown back into Tartarus each time, is your example."
"Oh..."
Melinoe nodded hastily, putting on the expression of a well-behaved child humbly receiving instruction.
Lorne swept a glance at the well-behaved child before him, his gaze falling to her feet, and spoke quietly.
"Also. What else did I teach you? Knock before you come in."
Hearing this, Melinoe hurriedly retreated back outside the door, raised her hand and knocked on the door panel, and only after receiving permission did she pitch her voice carefully and ask softly.
"Since you're up, would you like to have breakfast together? Brother? Mother made it herself."
"Mm. Go ahead first. I'll be there once I've changed."
Lorne glanced at the Goddess of Scheming outside the door who had been thoroughly tamed by him, gave a satisfied nod and wave.
And having received a definitive reply, Melinoe only then carefully pulled the door shut, wiped away a cold sweat from her forehead, and shook her fist ferociously at the empty air.
There was nothing to be done about it.
Back when she had been at her peak, she had thrown everything she had at him and still couldn't beat him, and had even gotten herself thoroughly dealt with on top of it.
Not to mention now, with her divine power sealed, her divine artifact [All-Law-Breaking Talisman] confiscated, and even her mother Persephone standing behind that fellow and backing him up.
Circumstances were stronger than the individual.
When it was time to bow her head, she had to bow her head.
Of course, knowing Melinoe's temperament, it wasn't as though she hadn't tried resisting and retaliating.
For instance, after suffering the goat punishment, that very night she had taken advantage of the pitch-dark windy weather, grabbed a small knife, crept into a certain someone's bedroom, and prepared to stab him a few times in revenge while his guard was down.
The result was that the scheming fellow had been prepared in advance.
Not only did he catch her with conclusive evidence, he had also pulled the Queen of the Underworld out from where she was hiding in the shadows to serve as a witness.
From that point on, Persephone, thoroughly disappointed in her, had gone from biological mother to wicked stepmother overnight, paying no attention to this own flesh-and-blood daughter of hers while throwing her full support behind the outsider instead.
And just like that, no sooner had she gotten out of bed than she was thrown into the dark room by that fellow for another session with the goats, crying and making a scene as she received the remaining one hour of cruel punishment that had been left over from before.
Suffering setback after setback, Melinoe was naturally unresigned in her heart.
After recovering, she rallied herself and launched another retaliation.
And that time, having reflected deeply on her failures, she got one step ahead and slaughtered every goat in the garden first, figuring that even if she failed she wouldn't have to keep being rammed by goats.
However, she had assumed the goat punishment was the limit of this fellow's inhumanity, only to discover the other party could still sink lower.
The water drop torture.
During this punishment, the victim's body was bound and their head was fixed in place.
Water drips fell on the same spot every single time.
The cool water made the forehead grow colder and colder, body temperature slowly seeping away.
Especially with the eyes covered, everything was darkness.
In the sealed room the victim was completely alone, and the only sound to be heard was the water dripping onto the forehead.
The dark, silent environment, the maddening confinement, and the attention-capturing water drops created a dual torment of body and mind.
The coffin punishment.
A coffin barely a meter in each dimension, just enough for one adult to sit hunched over or curl up lying down like an infant.
The inside was filled with gel that fixed the body in place, keeping the subject in a specific posture, unable to make any movement.
After the coffin was sealed and buried in the earth, not a single point of light could be seen anywhere, nor any sound whatsoever.
It was quiet enough to hear one's own heartbeat.
And yet the body, having been granted a protective blessing, remained utterly awake and alert, able to feel clearly the passage of every single second, and a loneliness more terrifying than death itself.
Under her biological mother's permissiveness and even cooperation, a certain scoundrel had continuously entrapped her with set-up schemes, lured her into taking the bait and making mistakes, and then used these increasingly inhumane punishments as pretexts to torment her again and again.
All under the noble-sounding name of [Character Education].
And it even came to the point where that scoundrel was considering using ants in place of goats to let her taste the sweetness of honey...
However, before things could get that far, Melinoe completely gave in.
After enduring one round of that punishment, she came crying and wailing into the Queen of the Underworld's bedroom, begging her mother for protection and swore on the River Styx that she would never again retaliate against a certain scoundrel.
From that point on, both sides could at last be said to have formally made peace.
Lorne, entrusted by the Queen of the Underworld, also began giving Melinoe some special training on integrating into human life.
The Underworld princess, whose temper had been almost entirely worn away, could only nod obediently.
And after a brief period of instruction, Lorne's education had already begun to show results.
At the very least, after eating enough bitter lessons, Melinoe was no longer as unbridled and lawless as before, openly broadcasting to everyone that she was plotting revenge.
She now finally had a bit of the look of a Goddess of Scheming and understood patience and disguise.
Schemes operate in the darkness of night and beneath chaos.
The more brazen they are, the more easily the plot is exposed and the backlash invited.
Melinoe had bought this precious experience through blood and tears.
Though her seal had still not been lifted, she had a vague sense that she and the divinity of the Goddess of Scheming within her had achieved a deeper integration.
This was also why Melinoe, who had suffered one loss after another, was willing to swallow her pride and make peace with a certain chief culprit.
Of course, only temporarily.
She was a goddess who presided over plots and schemes, not some merciful and loving saint.
'When an opportunity came, revenge still had to be taken. Just wait until you fall into my hands. You'll have it coming!'
In the pleasant glow of this spiritual victory, Melinoe raised the corner of her mouth with a sinister air, a cold smile of ill intent spreading across her face.
"What are you thinking about? Smiling so happily?"
The quiet question by her ear instantly pulled the scheming goddess out of her reverie and back to reality.
Seeing that smile-that-wasn't-quite-a-smile at the door, Melinoe couldn't help giving a shudder.
She worked hard to squeeze a sweet and innocent smile onto her youthful face, and waved her hand cheerfully.
"Of course I'm just so happy that I get to have a meal together with you for once. Brother..."
Lorne gave a nod and offered a warm-toned assessment. "Mm. Reaction was quick. But the reason was too fake and the expression wasn't natural. Next time you're thinking about something not entirely wholesome, pay attention to your surroundings."
And hearing these words, the cold sweat Melinoe had just wiped off her forehead immediately broke out again in fine droplets.
Her dry throat couldn't help swallowing several times.
'Damn. Found out. He's not going to throw me into the dark room again tonight, is he?'
Just as the Goddess of Scheming was feeling mortified inside, a hand lightly patted her slightly trembling shoulder, and a quiet murmur followed by her ear.
"Threats are the most foolish form of self-exposure. Releasing anger without thinking is the most dangerous form of recklessness.
So before you have the ability to deal with a problem, never let others easily know what you're thinking. Especially your enemies."
Lorne shook his head with a teasing smile and flicked a finger toward her.
"Trying to scratch someone before your claws have even grown in.
You're a little too impatient. If you want to be a proper Goddess of Scheming, start by learning to manage your expressions, my dear little sister..."
"Oww..."
Melinoe clutched her stricken forehead, crouching on the ground with a pained muffled groan.
Only after Lorne's figure had walked out along the corridor did she carefully lower her hand.
The exaggerated pain on her face disappeared, replaced by a look of puzzlement.
'This fellow had a change of heart today? He actually didn't take the chance to get back at me?'
Though, the things he said did sound rather reasonable.
"Don't let others know what you're thinking. Especially your enemies..."
Melinoe murmured this to herself as she stood up, stretched out both hands to rub her slightly stiffened cheeks, then broke into a sweet, radiant smile and jogged forward with a wave.
"Brother, wait for me!"
As Lorne stopped at the sound, Melinoe immediately hooked her hand into his arm, swaying this "brother" of hers with half her body as they walked side by side into the living room.
At this moment, Persephone, carrying a dozen or so plates of food to the table, looked up at the sound and caught sight of the brother and sister walking in side by side and couldn't help blinking in slight surprise.
"The two of you..."
"Mother, let's eat quickly. I'm starving."
Melinoe stepped forward and proactively helped, taking a plate from the Queen of the Underworld's hands and setting it on the table, pouting with a giddy smile.
Lorne meanwhile pulled out chairs and set out utensils, smiling along in agreement.
"Same here. These past few days I've rarely had the chance to eat the pastries and dishes you make."
"That's only because those old-timers at the bottom of Tartarus refuse to settle down. Otherwise I'd much rather stay in the garden and make food for you every day."
Persephone unconsciously picked up the thread of conversation, looking with warm affection at the pair of harmoniously getting-along children before her, as though feeling the atmosphere of the "home" she had long dreamed of.
'A family?'
A bright smile spread across the Queen of the Underworld's beautiful face.
She affectionately beckoned Lorne and Melinoe to sit down beside her, continuously piling food into their plates.
The food heaped up like small mountains in their plates seemed like all the guilt she had accumulated over the years and the love she had been unable to give her children.
"Eat, eat. Both of you eat quickly. There's still mushroom soup in the kitchen. I'll go ladle it out."
Watching Persephone busying herself back and forth, not willing to rest for even a moment, Melinoe, who had originally only been attempting this disguise with a "just for fun" mindset, felt a complicated tangle of emotions rising in her heart.
Lorne beside her took in every change in Melinoe's expression, swallowed the food he had been chewing, and smiled slightly. "You can tell. Mother really does dote on you."
Melinoe came back to herself, and without any ceremony shot him a sidelong glance.
"That's my mother. What does it have to do with you? Stop trying to claim relations that aren't yours!"
"A moment ago it was brother this, brother that, and now you're already backing out? I'm so heartbroken."
Lorne pressed a hand to his chest and put on an aggrieved expression, then pointed at the Queen of the Underworld busying herself in the kitchen, and smiled with narrowed eyes.
"But never mind. Even if you don't acknowledge it, Lady Persephone will agree. She's dying for me to keep calling her mother from now on."
With her biological mother right there, Melinoe felt a bit more emboldened, and was just about to stand up and give a certain shameless fellow a piece of her mind.
Unexpectedly, a meaningful murmur reached her ears. "Eat well. This may be the last meal between the three of you for a while."
"What do you mean?" Melinoe blinked in confusion.
"Your lessons are finished. The unrest in Tartarus has mostly settled down too. We're just about at the time when we should be leaving."
Lorne swallowed a small lamb chop, elegantly wiped his mouth, and spoke quietly.
"If you don't want to disappoint her, and don't want to undergo [Re-education], then cooperate with me and play out this scene properly."
Melinoe listened, her expression shifting between cloudy and clear for a moment, before she gave a light nod of cooperation.
Though whether it was out of filial feeling for her mother, or fear of the power of [Re-education], was hard to say.
Or perhaps both.
Lorne shook his head, set down his fork, let a warm smile spread across his face, and went to meet Persephone coming out of the kitchen.
"Here, let me help you."
"Mother, I'm coming too!"
As though competing for favor, and yet also as though acting out of spite, Melinoe called out louder, darted ahead, snatched the soup pot, and carried it to the dining table, swiftly ladling out a bowl each for herself and Persephone.
When it came to Lorne's turn, she hesitated for a moment, but in the end, under a certain someone's smile-that-wasn't-quite-a-smile, she gritted her silver teeth, forced a bright smile onto her face, and scooped out a full ladle of thick soup, delivering it into Lorne's bowl.
"Brother. This is for you. Eat plenty."
Lorne lowered his eyes and looked at the bowl, more than half of which was taken up by ingredient packets and a few slices of overcooked, mushy vegetable leaves. His expression darkened.
'This little sister of mine really does still need dealing with.'
Lorne's face betrayed nothing. He picked up the soup bowl, maintained a warm smile, and continued to enjoy this special family dinner.
Only the gaze he occasionally sent toward Melinoe carried a deep, quiet menace.
'There's plenty of time ahead. Once we're up on the surface with no one covering for you, let's see if you cry.'
Seemingly sensing the invisible chill, the Goddess of Scheming beside him pulled in her neck, reined herself in considerably after that, and patiently maintained an atmosphere of a loving mother, obedient children, and harmonious family.
Watching Melinoe's clumsy performance, along with her roundabout attempts in front of the Queen of the Underworld to get her mother to lift her seal and give her back her agency, the popcorn-munching Lorne found himself more entertained the more he watched.
At this moment, he finally had a rough understanding of how Athena must have felt when she was tormenting him back then.
A completely lopsided match was just satisfying.
Not only in a battle's one-sided thrashing, but also in the intellectual teasing.
Finally, the family dinner came to a thoroughly enjoyable end. Lorne set down his utensils, looked seriously toward Persephone, and opened his mouth to get to the point.
"We've troubled you for so long. Calculating the time, we should be setting out."
The Queen of the Underworld's heart gave a tremor. Though the look in her eyes was reluctant to part, in the end she gave a gentle nod.
'There was no banquet under heaven that did not eventually end. The unrest of Tartarus was almost resolved. Letting them stay any longer was not safe.'
"However, before we set off, I have some questions I need to ask your guidance on."
Lorne deliberated for a moment, looked at the Queen of the Underworld nodding and listening, and quietly voiced the confusion that had been weighing on his heart for some time.
"Since in the last divergence of fate, the three Moirai representing [Inevitability] had already won, why did they not press their advantage and completely devour Hecate? Why did they still grant her such authority and treatment? Surely it can't be that the divine king held back out of gratitude for Nyx's nurturing of him in the past?"
"If he were truly like that, that divine king would not have flayed his own wet nurse the goat Amalthea and fashioned her into the [Aegis] and the [Cornucopia]."
Persephone shot back with a contemptuous remark, then fell into thought for a moment, and spoke gravely.
"From what I know, it seems to be because my godmother holds an absolutely crucial secret, one that even Zeus and the three Moirai dare not act rashly against."
"What secret?"
"The specifics I'm not clear on either. But it seems to be connected to the [Blessed Realm]."
Hearing the Queen of the Underworld's answer, Lorne's gaze flickered quietly, and he murmured under his breath.
'...Elysium again?'
(End of Chapter)