[Greek Mythology] The Demons Under My Command - Chapter 10

Li Jia was lightly tapped on the shoulder in her sleep, and someone called her name in her ear. She opened her eyes to see Dorin’s cold face.

And Winslow’s reluctant expression.

“Didn’t you see I was taking a nap?”

Winslow, spoiled by Dorin, was a bit of a ‘princess,’ and stood up to face Dorin, carrying the crankiness of insufficient sleep. Unfortunately, the person in front of her was much taller, so Winslow could only glare up at her and complain.

Li Jia couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

Winslow looked like an angry little bird, while Dorin watched her expressionlessly.

“And you’re still laughing! I’m helping you fight for your legitimate rights.”

Li Jia immediately nodded, indicating that she strongly agreed with Winslow, afraid of having the cannon aimed at herself.

Dorin said with a cold face, “It’s already twilight; there’s no such thing as a nap. Sleeping outside late at night, and it’s raining—it’s one thing if you catch a cold alone, but don’t get her sick too.”

Winslow was rendered speechless by Dorin’s words, stammering defensively, “I just overslept; I would have woken up on my own in a bit. It’s not that easy to catch a cold; my body isn’t made of cotton.”

Rain?

When did it rain?

Looking at the damp ground and water stains around, Li Jia’s eyes held obvious confusion.

It had rained? Why hadn’t she and Winslow felt it? Their clothes weren’t even wet a bit.

But Dorin didn’t explain, and Winslow didn’t ask, so there was no need for her, an ordinary person, to fuss over such details.

Dorin stretched out her hand and flicked Winslow’s forehead with minimal force, saying lightly, “Stop quibbling. The Queen and I weren’t home; is this how you take care of someone? It’s excusable if she’s clueless, but you shouldn’t be.”

Winslow dared not speak, as Dorin was stating a fact.

“Her Majesty Hera wants to see you tomorrow,” Dorin said, turning to Li Jia after admonishing Winslow. “Don’t mess around with her. Get some rest early.”

After speaking, she glanced at Winslow, warning her not to take Li Jia running off aimlessly.

Even if Winslow was displeased, she had to consider the dignity of the Divine Sovereign. She rolled her eyes at Dorin with her peripheral vision and sullenly replied, “Oh.”

“So, where do I sleep tonight?”

Since the Divine Sovereign hadn’t been in the residence for the past few days, and Winslow liked to pester Li Jia to talk about recipes she’d never heard of, they had been sleeping together in Winslow’s bedchamber these past few nights.

“You will still stay with Winslow tonight. Her Majesty Hera will arrange an auxiliary palace for you tomorrow.”

Everyone had their own auxiliary palace, which was their own piece of heaven on earth. Li Jia had seen Winslow’s auxiliary palace, which resembled a miniature gourmet training school, fully equipped with all sorts of kitchen utensils and molds.

It felt like her own home.

Li Jia yearned to have a home of her own.

In modern society, based on her salary and the rate of housing price increases, she would have to carry a mortgage for at least thirty years to own her own apartment.

Like most girls, what Li Jia needed was not marriage but a place to call her own.

Li Jia hadn’t expected that she, as Hera’s apprentice, the lowest and most humble servant in the book, would also get her own auxiliary palace.

Just as Winslow had said, everyone was equal before Hera; she didn’t seem to regard her as her slave.

Harboring both nervousness and excitement, Li Jia didn’t know how to express herself.

Tomorrow, she would confront her target: the cold and frosty Divine Sovereign.

And she would also receive her own auxiliary palace.

In the end, joy outweighed fear, and Li Jia fell into a peaceful sleep.

Day and night alternated.

It wasn’t until the first ray of sunlight in the morning that Winslow woke her up this time.

Unlike Li Jia’s calmness, Winslow seemed nervous, standing barefoot in front of the wardrobe, rummaging through clothes. This was the epitome of realizing one has nothing to wear when the time comes to dress up.

Her build was similar to Li Jia’s, in the 1.67 to 1.68-meter range. Dorin and the Divine Sovereign were both tall, over 1.8 meters, so their clothes were unusable for Li Jia.

She regretted not having the Goddess of Weaving, Neith, come over earlier to take Li Jia’s measurements.

Winslow loved white, and most of her dresses were based on various shades and styles of white. Unable to decide, she handed the choice over to Li Jia.

Among the pile of white, Li Jia immediately spotted a light blue Ionian Chiton. The dress reached her ankles, with fine pleats, and was suspended from the shoulders with a thin linen cord—simple and elegant.

Winslow herself couldn’t recall when she had made this dress, but since Li Jia liked it, she generously gave it to her.

Winslow helped her apply a decent, light makeup, though her skill was limited to: whitening the face, drawing the eyebrows, and painting the lips bright red.

Fortunately, Li Jia was naturally beautiful, and Winslow’s casual application made her look quite lovely.

Winslow couldn’t help but exclaim, “There are champions in every trade!”

She hadn’t realized that besides being a good cook, she was also so talented at makeup.

Li Jia: sigh

She suddenly wanted to know what kind of environment Winslow had grown up in.

Winslow looked at Li Jia from left to right, very satisfied with her technique, and patted Li Jia’s back: “This is definitely going to charm Her Majesty Hera so much she won’t know up from down.”

Li Jia: sigh Your idea is truly dangerous.

Winslow also changed into a white maid outfit. Li Jia noticed that the style was the same as what Dorin wore, only the color was different, so she curiously asked, “Is this our work uniform?”

“Work uniform?”

Winslow heard the term for the first time, finding it novel yet fitting.

“Are you talking about this?”

“This is a special Service Attire. The Divine Sovereign of every deity’s domain customizes Service Attire for the apprentices and slaves within their domain. They bear symbols that identify status.”

“For example, we belong to Her Majesty Hera, from the Temple of Marriage. Her Majesty Hera’s divine crest is the silver serpent, and our chests naturally feature the divine crest mark.”

Winslow pointed to her chest, where a faint reddish silver serpent pattern indeed shimmered intermittently.

So it was a uniform with an embedded identifier.

“What about the style…”

Li Jia still found it strange; Hera didn’t seem like someone with peculiar fetishes…

“That’s because originally, there were only Dorin and I in the domain. It didn’t matter what Dorin wore. I won the vote myself and chose this set from over a hundred designs. It’s so cute!”

Winslow’s girlish heart swelled, and she was very confident that her original choice was the most suitable.

“Don’t you like it?” Winslow asked weakly.

“No way, of course not. I like it a lot, too.”

Unable to refute her innocent gaze, Li Jia gritted her teeth and said sincerely.

“That’s good. After meeting the Divine Sovereign today and having your auxiliary palace designated, Neith will immediately come to tailor clothes for you, and we’ll be able to wear the exact same Service Attire.”

Well, on top of free food and board, they also got all-inclusive seasonal clothing.

She could only accept it with tears in her eyes.

Winslow led Li Jia around the mountains, palaces, and ponds until they reached the main hall located in the center.

The main hall was hidden deep within a mountain stream, built from silver-white gold foil. Vine-like wooden reliefs floated on the hall’s pillars. At the entrance stood two ten-meter-tall coiled serpent stone statues. They were expressionless, their eyes set with rubies that shimmered faintly in the shadows of the trees.

The entrance to the temple was only an irregular archway. Li Jia followed Winslow inside. The ground beneath their feet was paved with moonstone, and looking up, the dome of the hall was inlaid with countless opals, resembling an inverted starry sky.

“Moonlight” reflected on the floor, and “stars” hung in the sky, making it hard to distinguish up from down.

In a trance, Li Jia felt a sense of marrying into a wealthy family.

So this was what it felt like to follow the right leader. No wonder some people were born to work; with a boss like this, she’d feel energized every day.

The people have faith; life has hope!

Li Jia followed Winslow into the main hall, constantly looking around because it was simply too extravagant!

It was either gold, silver, or priceless gems. She suddenly felt that the bag of gold coins given by Conrad was nothing. If she could randomly pry a gem off a pillar and take it back, she’d be set for three lifetimes.

Winslow led the person to the front of the hall. Dorin stood on the left side of the steps, and Winslow automatically took her place obediently on the right.

Li Jia stood in the very center of the hall, not even daring to raise her head.

The sheer pressure was suffocating.

The Divine Sovereign was seated on a gilded chair upon the steps, golden hair spilling over her arm, her hand resting casually on the chair’s armrest, supporting her face.

Seeing her in such a timid state.

She really did look like a scared little cat.

“Step forward.”

“Raise your head.”

Li Jia had no choice but to take a few steps forward, meekly, wanting to gaze upon the deity who resided in the high position.

Li Jia had actually done some research. Since Hera had compassion even for a bird, and she forcibly carried herself out of the fire, it was enough to prove that she was not a cold and heartless person, based on the words she’d coaxed out of Winslow.

This target was clearly one who responded better to softness than hardness.

What was this called? Right! Tsundere.

Cold exterior, warm interior; someone who says one thing but means another.

She could try entering her world from the perspective of a weakling.

The System wasn’t present now, so she couldn’t consult it on how to proceed with the strategy.

But since the game had begun, she naturally had no reason to give up.

So she lifted her head.

This was the first time Li Jia saw her face.

Autumn water as spirit, jade as bone.

She was so beautiful that Li Jia lost herself in wonder. Their eyes met.

In an instant, she realized her impropriety and fearfully lowered her head again.

With a shiver, her legs gave out, and she knelt directly in front of the grand hall.

Li Jia couldn’t help but curse herself internally for being so spineless, how she could be so mesmerized by mere physical beauty.

The woman’s golden hair was like molten gold and fired stone, her crimson pupils like quenched diamonds. The corners of her eyes were slightly upturned, giving her a look of condescending, yet nonchalant, languidness.

She showed no obvious emotional fluctuation, yet she made Li Jia feel on pins and needles, as if she were being inspected repeatedly by a venomous snake, trying to see right through her.

A black Empire-line long dress covered her calves, the collar and cuffs outlined and adorned with intricate gold embroidery. Unlike Winslow and Dorin, Hera’s silver serpent divine crest was etched onto her collarbone, enchantingly alluring.

Upon closer inspection, one would find that the entire divine crest seemed to flow, like a lifelike little snake coiled around its owner.

Black leather, red-soled stiletto heels elongated the curve of her calves. Seeing the startled little cat, she seemed to possess a playful, pet-like amusement.

The woman on the high seat counted the beats one by one, her high heel tapping up and down, making a crisp sound.

“Clack.”

“Clack.”

“Clack.”

…

Li Jia’s heart followed, restless and pounding.

It was indescribable.

She even felt like she was about to die.

Like a game of cat and mouse—catch, release.

Catch again, release again.

Relentlessly.

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