[Greek Mythology] The Demons Under My Command - Chapter 12

A Bedtime Story

Li Jia felt like a rag doll from a novel.

She didn’t need to do anything.

Winslow packed her, bed and all, and sent her straight to the Deep Palace.

Of course, she didn’t have much luggage.

Dusk had just passed, and night descended.

Li Jia wanted to beg Winslow not to leave so quickly, but Winslow gave her a peculiar smile that said, “I understand,” and swiftly closed the door to the Deep Palace.

What exactly did she understand? Why didn’t Li Jia understand?

In truth, Li Jia was particularly puzzled. The Hot Spring Cascade had nearly twenty large and small palaces. Why was Hera stubbornly unwilling to allocate one to her?

Was Hera planning to make her work like a slave and serve her thoroughly?

The Deep Palace was Hera’s private chamber. According to Winslow, in a thousand years, this was the first time she had seen Her Majesty willing to share a residence with someone.

Winslow even cheered Li Jia on: “Perhaps you are special to Her Majesty.”

At this moment, two little figures were fighting in Li Jia’s mind.

A white figure said she was judging a noble person by her own base standards; how could a goddess as lofty as Hera possibly make things difficult for a small fry like her?

The other black figure transformed into the face of Mama Rong from My Fair Princess, pricking Ziwei and Xiaoyanzi, and gloomily pulled out an embroidery needle: “I prick, I prick, I prick, prick, prick.”

A faint scent of frankincense drifted through the chambers, intertwining with the aroma of roses wafting in from outside the window, forming a soft, warm mist.

The backyard of the Deep Palace was planted with a vast rose garden. Li Jia could see the passionately fiery blooms dancing in the night breeze just by pushing open the window.

They were truly like the one who planted them.

Dazzlingly beautiful, noble, and aloof.

White sheer curtains were hung around the wooden bed, the edges embroidered with Hera’s exclusive silver serpent divine pattern, and the headboard was carved with interwoven reliefs of grapevines and olive branches.

A gentle breeze stirred a corner of the curtain, vaguely revealing a thin quilt woven from snow-white silk inside, with delicate pearl tassels hanging from the corners.

It must be incredibly comfortable to lie on.

And that’s exactly what she did.

Li Jia’s mind was a mess, so she simply decided to stop thinking.

The essence of a salted fish (a term for someone lazy): If a problem crushes me, I’ll just fall down with it.

She hadn’t had dinner yet, feeling both hungry and sleepy.

Li’s Salted Fish Law No. 1: Be good to yourself within your capabilities.

But she didn’t dare to speculate on the Demon’s thoughts, nor was she willing to sleep on the floor.

After much hesitation, the fatigue of her body and the craving for the bed overcame Li Jia’s inner fear.

Didn’t Hera say, “It’s fine,” “It’s okay”?

That must mean “it’s okay” by default, right?

Therefore, Li Jia’s greatest concession was to run to the small pond by the rose garden, wash herself thoroughly, not even sparing her toenails, checking them several times.

Only after confirming that she didn’t have a speck of dust on her did she get onto Hera’s bed.

She took off her complicated dress and changed into a lace, pure cotton nightgown.

This was a style Li Jia had roughly described and custom-ordered.

Fearing that her description wasn’t clear enough, Li Jia had specifically drawn a draft and begged Winslow to help her find a human merchant to custom-make it.

She could wear ordinary clothes for daily life, but she would never compromise on certain things.

Li Jia had extremely high requirements for sleep.

In her words, after working hard all day, when she finally didn’t have to wear “work clothes,” she absolutely had to strip down and get as comfortable as possible.

To completely shake off the “office smell” (a term for work-related exhaustion)!

Although Winslow didn’t understand what “office smell” was, her good friend had taught her so many recipes, so she had to go above and beyond for her sister—these were small matters.

She happily trotted off and brought back two sets for Li Jia. Li Jia was very satisfied with the material. As expected, it was handmade from unpolluted raw materials.

The only slight drawback was that the tailor couldn’t make the chest pads in Li Jia’s drawing; it was an unheard-of design.

With ninety-nine percent advantages and one percent that barely counted as a flaw, Li Jia was naturally satisfied.

Only women lived in the God Realm, so what did she have to fear?

Moreover, without the constraint, her two little mountains could also breathe.

Sometimes she wondered how… she could have such large “boobies.”

She was an A-cup in her previous life and now a C+.

She couldn’t help but sigh that foreigners were indeed naturally gifted.

As soon as she lay down.

The ultimate skin-friendly texture, the cool silk against her skin, reminded Li Jia of modern air conditioning.

A good bed really was different!

The mattress was soft, like a modern Simmons!

Unknowingly, Li Jia fell into a deep sleep.

Li Jia curled up on her side in the corner of the wooden bed, which was her habit.

It was the maximum sense of security Li Jia could give herself.

Her flaxen curly hair was undone and scattered on the soft pillow. A few strands of hair unintentionally rested on her collarbone, gently rising and falling with her breathing. The thin blanket pulled up to her chest also trembled slightly with this rhythm, slowly slipping down.

Moonlight sneaked in through the curtain gap, illuminating her profile like a layer of soft frost.

The young girl seemed to have cast off all her worries, her lips slightly pursed. As if she was dreaming of something sweet, a subtle curve quietly turned up at the corner of her mouth.

The entire inner chamber fell silent. Only her steady breathing and an occasional soft murmur in her sleep wove a gentle net around the Deep Palace.

When Hera returned, this was the scene she witnessed: the sleeping face of the young girl on the bed was peaceful, and her pink neck and jade peaks were completely exposed as the fabric of her nightgown slipped.

One small, lovely pink “grape” was exposed to the air. The nightgown was a light pink close to her skin. The other “grape” showed a hint of pink through the snow-white nightgown in the dim light.

She seemed nearly naked, but more seductive than completely so.

The woman suddenly intruded into this sensual scene. Her throat tightened, and she instinctively waved her hand, closing all the doors and windows tightly.

No one could trespass into her God Realm unless brought by her, not even other Gods.

Her Deep Palace was also sealed with a prohibition. Without her explicit verbal order, Dolin and Winslow would only dare to wait outside the door.

But when Hera saw the girl on the bed, even though she knew no one else could see, a trace of displeasure arose in her heart.

Having gone to such lengths and used such clumsy methods to get to her side…

How could she be so completely unguarded?

Sometimes, Hera didn’t understand her either.

Fortunately, there was plenty of time for her to reveal her true intentions.

Hera walked close to Li Jia and sat down, pulling her nightgown back up and carefully covering her with the silk blanket.

A sweet, bloody taste surged up her throat. She forcefully suppressed it, but a drop still trickled down the corner of her mouth onto her gown, blossoming into a small, plum-colored stain.

Her soul body was not yet fully repaired, and forcing herself out of seclusion was still too much of a strain.

After careful consideration, Hera cast a cleansing spell on herself, changed into a clean sleeping robe, and lay down on the bed. She then slowly moved closer to Li Jia and closed her eyes.

Why did this little thing like sleeping in the corner so much?

Hera was tall. As soon as she got into bed, the originally flat mattress instantly dipped down, and Li Jia naturally rolled into her arms.

Hera did not push her away but held her closer. Li Jia slept right on her chest, and a pleasant woody scent burrowed from her hair into Hera’s nostrils.

Hera focused her gaze on Li Jia’s face, not wanting to miss a single detail. Normally, Li Jia was so afraid of her that she didn’t dare to lift her head, but now she was obediently sleeping in her embrace.

She was very beautiful.

It was the kind of beauty Hera liked, completely non-aggressive. Her oval face had two adorable little dimples when she smiled. Hera extended her palm and gestured above Li Jia’s cheek—it wasn’t even as big as her palm.

Only when she encircled her in her arms did she truly feel her physique.

Narrow shoulders, thin shoulder blades.

She felt like she would shatter with a slight force.

Before coming to her side, she had spent many years with such a body.

How did she endure it?

Her fingertips were covered with thick calluses.

The Vance family was very unkind to her.

So thin and weak.

Where did she get the courage…

To willingly come to her side.

To become the attendant of this Demon.

Hera lifted Li Jia’s wrist. The red ring on her middle finger flickered in the night like a fiery star. In response, the ring on Hera’s own hand also lit up with a knowing glow.

Her other hand gently stroked Li Jia’s cheek, and her thumb brushed against Li Jia’s lips—they were very soft, and her eyes grew increasingly tender.

She whispered into Li Jia’s ear, “Little liar, don’t forget, you were the one who said you loved me first.”

Li Jia was woken up by hunger. She had a habit of eating breakfast, and her biological clock always woke her up at that time.

Opening her eyes, she felt something was wrong. Logically, sleeping in the corner of the bed, the first thing she should see was the window.

But now, when she looked up, she saw a cold, mesmerizing face, and it seemed she was sleeping in her embrace.

Li Jia didn’t dare to move, as the Demon seemed to still be in a sweet dream. If she woke her up and she got angry and destroyed her, what would she do? She was still very attached to her life.

Cherish life, everyone’s responsibility.

Her head was resting on Hera’s collarbone. The hot breath she exhaled spread over Li Jia’s forehead and ear cartilage, making her feel both itchy and hot. She was so close that she could even hear Hera’s “thump-thump” heartbeat.

This was too torturous. Hera, like a rattlesnake, had tightly coiled around her waist, trapping her so she couldn’t move up or down.

She might as well just go back to sleep.

This fell under Li’s Salted Fish Law No. 2: Life should be taken as it comes; don’t push yourself too hard.

If you can’t change it, then enjoy it.

The two, one large and one small, lay on the bed and slept soundly.

By the time Li Jia woke up again, it was already dusk. The space beside her was empty, which gradually eased her stressed heart.

She wasn’t ready to be completely honest with Hera yet.

With fewer worries, the faint rumbling in her lower abdomen had now turned into a loud protest, audible even through the thin nightgown.

So hungry.

Li Jia’s sense of smell became exceptionally acute. She smelled the aroma of food from a distance.

She got out of bed and followed the scent to the central round table in the Deep Palace. It was set with toasted bread, cheese crackers, and a honey-glazed roast chicken.

This was the recipe she had shared with Winslow. Li Jia immediately tore off a chicken leg and put it in her mouth. It was sweet and had crispy skin; it seemed it had just come out of the oven.

Her luck was too good; she woke up to food delivered right to her.

…

It was just poor Dolin who had to stand in a remote corner outside the door, waiting to collect the plates.

Just as she finished eating, Winslow arrived with the Goddess of Weaving. After receiving Li Jia’s permission, the door to the Deep Palace automatically opened.

This thoroughly startled the Goddess of Weaving. Who in the entire God Mountain didn’t know the temper of Hera, the Goddess of Marriage? Yet, she would share the access rights to the Deep Palace with an attendant and personally invite her over to tailor clothes for this person.

One should know that the other ten divine rulers all bought their clothes in bulk from human tailoring shops.

However, this wasn’t entirely unusual. At least, for now, she was making human clothes.

Artemis had asked her a few days ago to make hundreds of seasonal outfits for her little penguin, custom-made everything from tops and skirts down to socks. She couldn’t even take measurements by hand; it was all done by eye, but even that didn’t stump her.

She was a gold-medal tailor; it was an easy task.

Li Jia liked bright colors. She chose over ten bright color cards: goose yellow, light green, orange, rosy red, etc. Winslow also joined in and picked a few white color cards of different shades.

After measuring Li Jia’s dimensions and selecting a few currently fashionable styles for her, Li Jia also offered some of her own suggestions, such as whether the skirt could have two extra pockets sewn on to hold snacks—these kinds of detailed questions.

The Goddess of Weaving loved a challenge. She contentedly hugged the fabrics and returned to her workshop, promising to personally deliver the dresses to Li Jia a few days later.

She seemed to somewhat understand why Hera treated her differently. A young girl so lovely, creative, and imaginative was truly worth being liked.

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