Metis's face paled in the light of Hades. She almost hastily withdrew her hand, her voice sounding dry and choked with forced aloofness:
"Catia... Don't joke like that. There's much to do in the Underworld; as princess, you should prioritize your duties. How can you act on a whim..."
She didn't finish her sentence, but her gesture of refusal was already completely clear.
She couldn't even look into her daughter's expectant eyes. She turned sharply, her long skirt tracing a somewhat flustered arc, her voice trembling with a barely perceptible quiver: "I... still have matters to attend to."
With that, as if fleeing, she quickly disappeared into the mist on the banks of the Styx, leaving Catia standing alone, surprise and lingering expectation on her face.
Catia blinked, a little puzzled by her mother-goddess's intense and unusual reaction.
She just wanted a younger brother; why was the Mother Goddess so resistant?
Faced with a wall from Metis, Catia didn't give up entirely.
After much hesitation, she turned her attention to Hades, the supreme lord of the Underworld, her father-god, Hades.
She cautiously approached the outside of the Obsidian Hall, and through the open giant doors, she saw the figure of the Father God seated on the throne.
Right there, the icy, majestic and absolutely rational aura quickly melted her courage, like thin ice exposed to the sun.
Catia opened her mouth, imagining herself walking over like the Mother Goddess, tugging at the corner of his robe, and coyly voicing her wish.
But... looking at the Father God's face, those eyes that seemed to see everything yet were indifferent to all worldly feelings, she truly lacked the courage.
She had no doubt that if she actually dared to say, "Father God, I want a clueless brother, as handsome and obedient as Apollo," the Father God would most likely use his unchanging voice to directly instruct Thanatos to triple her workload, so that she would "have no time for such unnecessary thoughts."
Just the thought of that scene made Catia shiver.
In the end, she just stood silently outside the main hall, like a quiet blade of grass, then turned and left, dejected and silent.
Catia walked with her head down, dejected, pondering various unreliable plans against the backdrop of Hades's cold stone walls.
Suddenly, a clear voice, laced with mockery and gloating, sounded in her ears:
"Yo~ Isn't this our majestic little princess of the Underworld? Why are you sighing here? ♡"
With a flash of pink-orange light, the miniature figure of Eros appeared like a phantom, hovering before Catia, hands behind her back, sporting her signature 'little imp' smile—a mix of innocence and mischief.
She seemed to have recovered from the previous 'incident of pain in the posterior' and was constantly looking for opportunities to turn the tables.
Catia frowned slightly, unwilling to deal with this troublemaker: "It's none of your business, Eros."
"Oh, don't be so cold~" Eros flew around her, her pink-violet eyes gleaming with cunning light.
"It seems I just overheard someone worrying about a 'brother'? Got rejected by the Mother Goddess, and didn't dare to ask the Father God... That's really pitiful~♡"
Catia's face stiffened; she hadn't expected this guy to eavesdrop! She glared at Eros: "You were spying on me?"
"Just passing by, just passing by~" Eros waved her hand with a smile, then flew closer to Catia, lowered her voice, and spoke in a seductive tone.
"But Seeing you so upset, as the god in charge of 'union' and 'desire', I can show mercy and help you♡"
A flicker of wariness appeared in Catia's eyes: "You? Help me?"
She hadn't forgotten how this girl had caused trouble in Hades before; her 'help' sounded like an invitation from Tartarus.
"Of course!" Eros puffed out her small chest, looking proud.
"Don't underestimate me! Although... although some people used violence against the beautiful Eros!"
She said this, shooting a glance at Catia, not forgetting her grievance, and rubbing a spot that wasn't there—"But my authority is real! If you want a 'brother', isn't that wanting Metis and Hades to... cooperate~♡"
Catia's brows furrowed even more.
Eros's words were so blunt they made her ears burn a little, but what made her even more wary was the potential danger hidden behind them.
'Cooperate'? Using Eros's authority to influence the Father God and Mother Goddess?
"Put away your dangerous thoughts, Eros." Catia's voice returned to its usual coldness, carrying a warning.
"The affairs of the Father God and Mother Goddess are not for you and me to interfere with. Your authority should not be used against them."
"Eh——?" Eros drew out the syllable, her face full of 'boredom'.
"Why call it interference? I'm fulfilling a sister's 'love' for her brother! What a pure and beautiful desire! Don't you want one? Look at Artemis, she has a follower, but you don't? ♡"
She was precisely poking at the subtle envy and unwillingness in Catia's heart.
"I can help you create opportunities~" Eros continued to enchant, like a little demon shaking a poisoned apple.
"It would just take a little... a little bit of my divine power, quietly creating a little... atmosphere around them? Who knows, maybe it could break the ice and fulfill your wish? That's better than sighing by the wall yourself, right?"
Catia's heart faltered.
Reason told her this was definitely a bad idea, blasphemy, the utmost disrespect to the Father God and Mother Goddess, and the consequences would be unthinkable.
But emotionally, the desire to 'have my own good brother' wrapped around her like a vine.
The seemingly 'possible' sinister path shown by Eros actually held a certain... temptation.
She bit her lip, her heart struggling. On one side was reverence for her parents and the duty of the Princess of Hades, and on the other was a strong and pure selfish desire.
Eros looked at her hesitant expression, knew she was getting somewhere, and smiled even brighter.
"How about it? Give it a try~ Just try it once! I promise, very, very carefully, it will never be discovered! If it works, you'll be a sister with a little brother! ♡"
Eros flew right up to her, blinking wide-eyed, trying to look sincere and harmless, though the mischief in her smile was almost overflowing.
Catia was silent for a long time. Finally, the desire for a younger brother and a hint of youthful adventurous impulse, ignited by Eros, outweighed the warnings of reason.
She took a deep breath, as if making a decision, and looked at Eros, her voice extremely low, with a note of wavering resolve and a sense of burning her boats:
"...You... What are you going to do?"