[Greek Mythology] The Demons Under My Command - Chapter 34

Li Jia’s solar plexus felt as if it were being fiercely stabbed by countless silver needles. She opened her eyes, frowning, the dull pain accompanying every heartbeat.

Was she hungover?

Unlike the blur of sleep, she clearly saw two figures reflected in the mirror on the ceiling.

Though covered by a thin blanket, the mirror showed her exposed areas—collarbones and cheeks—covered in red marks. Perhaps having been overly satisfied, the person next to her had bitten her deeply on the shoulder. The tooth mark, like a brand, proved she was someone’s property.

The room was filled with a faint woody fragrance mingled with an intoxicating scent of passion, confirming the previous night’s intimacy, where the two of them had ascended to the heights of pleasure.

When Li Jia finally saw the face of the person beside her, only two words remained in her mind: It’s over.

How did she end up sleeping with her boss?!

And clearly, her boss was the one on top.

How did she become the one on the bottom?

“Sigh, I clearly wanted to be the top one…”

Initially, Li Jia was a little scared. A modern young person having a one-night stand (419) was perfectly normal. Although she was an inexperienced ‘little yellow chick,’ she roughly knew what had happened between her and Hera. Her mind conjured up all sorts of scenarios.

Li Jia’s memory cut off after she touched the light vortex. After touching it, her body became uncontrollably hot, and she remembered the little mermaid girl.

A burnt child dreads the fire—this saying was true.

In the future, she must not pick roadside wild flowers, nor should she casually touch strange little girls!

From Li Jia’s perspective, a self-respecting deity like Hera would never be the one stumbling along with her. Most likely, she herself had fallen victim to the little girl’s scheme, having been poisoned by some kind of aphrodisiac, the kind you only read about in novels.

Then, her bodily functions might have exploded, causing her to take advantage of Hera.

A sin, a sin…

How could a person commit such a huge mistake?

However, apart from a little soreness, her body felt fine. The technique…

Was excellent.

Did Hera have experience in this area?

If so, how many women had she been with before her?

Would such a magnificent deity really not have many lovers and paramours by her side?

Fear was quickly overtaken by a sour feeling.

Li Jia kept reassuring herself that she was no Qing Dynasty relic; it was perfectly normal for Hera to have had a sex life. But her heart felt blocked by something, a dull, painful ache.

Struggling to breathe, feeling severely uncomfortable, Li Jia, who had been sleeping in Hera’s arms, slowly broke free and turned onto her side, no longer looking at her.

Her eyes felt hot and swollen. Suspicion, like a thorn, pricked her heart. Li Jia bit her lip to prevent herself from crying out, but her shoulders trembled uncontrollably.

Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes, and a muffled sob escaped her throat, like a kitten whimpering. The pillow was soaked with tears.

“Why are you crying?”

The female voice was slightly softer than usual, yet still cool in tone: “You’re not hot anymore.”

Turning her body back towards herself, Li Jia saw Hera’s defined jawline. Her fingertip was pressed against Li Jia’s forehead. Hera’s brow furrowed tightly, then slowly relaxed.

Li Jia had her own stubbornness. She didn’t want Hera to see her jealousy. She opened her mouth to say, “It’s nothing,” but the remaining words dried up in her throat, leaving her only to move her lips in vain.

The woman got up and brought a prepared bowl of warm water from the table. The edge of the porcelain bowl carried the unique warm touch of body temperature: “Drink some water first. You had a fever for half the night, and you’ll be dehydrated.”

Li Jia nodded and took the bowl. She was incredibly thirsty. Her fingertip accidentally touched Hera’s palm, and her face flushed hot. She quickly retracted her hand, like she had been burned, holding the base of the bowl.

After drinking the water, she handed the empty bowl back to Hera, who returned to the bed. The two were silent.

The atmosphere was utterly silent. Li Jia’s heart was fluttering nervously.

What was this?

Post-coital water?

Didn’t the novels always say that after a night of passion, the male lead would lazily light a post-coital cigarette by the bedside, then look at the female lead affectionately and say, “I will take responsibility for you”?

Li Jia hadn’t had a systematic sex education. All her imagination and sources of knowledge about sex came from restricted books and films.

Her first formal introduction to sex was in middle school biology class, but the chapter on reproduction was glossed over by the teacher. The male students below snickered, hiding their mouths with their textbooks, while the female students lowered their heads.

Li Jia flattened her textbook on the desk, her fingertip tracing words like “ovary” and “fallopian tube.” These black printed words felt unfamiliar and rigid, far less vivid than the descriptions in the novel she hid at the bottom of her closet.

She saw the front male student’s textbook open to the illustration page of the reproductive system. He and his desk mate were looking at it as if it were something hilarious.

Li Jia felt an unjustified anger. The biology teacher spent less than ten minutes on the chapter, skipping over it: “This chapter won’t be tested. You just need to know a little bit; you’ll understand naturally later. It’s common sense.”

When the bell rang, the boys gathered in the hallway, jeering. The “Fertilization Process” in the textbook had awakened some kind of desire in them. They spoke vulgar words without instruction. The girls, hearing them, blushed and avoided them, none daring to stop and discuss.

Li Jia didn’t understand. No one had told her, or rather, no one had told them, how to understand things outside of that “common sense.”

For example, the vagina and the urethra are not the same place. Or how to prevent “small fruit” when “stealing forbidden fruit.” And that the first time usually doesn’t involve bleeding; any blood is usually due to rough action causing a tear.

These things had to be guessed and fantasized about.

Reproductive knowledge was vague, yet reproductive desire was intense.

Li Jia sat on the edge of the bed, her back to Hera, knees bent, arms wrapped around her shins, her gaze fixed on the patch of morning light on the floor, lost in thought.

Her hair was still loose, the ends a little wrinkled, a curve pressed into them from the night before.

Hera guessed that Li Jia was probably pondering. She was always intelligent. Now, she was likely wondering how to broach the subject with her, or thinking up an excuse to quickly get dressed and run away.

Li Jia was so absorbed in her thoughts that she hadn’t moved for a long time. Seeing her silence, Hera reached out and pinched the soft flesh under Li Jia’s arm.

The pinch grew harder, making Li Jia yelp in pain.

Hera looked at her reaction and suddenly found it amusing, yet also a little tender. She moved closer, snuggling up next to her: “Come here. Why are you so far away? Are you afraid I’ll eat you?”

Li Jia’s face instantly turned red, spreading from her earlobes down to her neck. She hesitated, then slowly moved closer in compliance. Her knee almost touched Hera’s leg, but she quickly drew it back, like a cautious, sensitive kitten trying to get closer to warmth.

“What are you thinking about?”

She asked, her voice softer, afraid of scaring her.

“Why were you crying just now? Are you still uncomfortable?”

Li Jia pursed her lips. After a while, she whispered, “N-nothing… I just feel like, it’s a bit unfair.”

Hera was confused, her tone full of bewilderment: “What? What’s unfair?”

Li Jia bit her lip hard. Her sadness had turned into indignation: “You weren’t a virgin, and I am. You’re a liar!”

As soon as she finished speaking, she saw Hera’s expression freeze. She frowned, her confusion deepening, and her tone was serious, something Li Jia had never heard before: “What are you thinking?”

“Well…” Li Jia’s voice grew smaller, her face flushed crimson, but she still braced herself to say, “Last night… we did something only a couple should do. I fell asleep in a daze. You made me very comfortable. You didn’t seem nervous at all yesterday… Have you had many other women?”

Hera finally understood. She stared at Li Jia’s red-rimmed eyes, smiled helplessly, and reached out to pull her into a hug, her voice incredibly gentle: “I was so nervous I didn’t sleep all night, afraid of hurting you. Didn’t you notice?”

She lowered her head and pointed to her fingertips: “Look, I helped you last night. This part is all wrinkled. Didn’t you pay attention?”

Seeing Hera’s utterly open gaze and reconsidering the fragmented memories in her own mind, Li Jia’s voice dropped: “You mean… we didn’t actually…”

Hera cleared her throat twice: “You were poisoned by the Siren’s Elixir, a secret medicine of the Merfolk, yesterday. Without relief, you would have died. To save you, I had no choice but to resort to that.”

“It was my fault. I took liberties with you.”

Seeing Hera’s white, wrinkled fingertips, Li Jia felt embarrassed. How could she have judged a noble person with her petty mind?

Her knotted emotions instantly untangled. She tried to sound nonchalant: “Your Majesty did this to save me. I won’t tell anyone. Your Majesty has been kind to me. I will keep this matter locked inside me until the day I die.”

Li Jia knew she had offended the deity. Although they hadn’t actually had intercourse, engaging in such an intimate act with a lowly, ‘dirty’ slave was likely to bring ridicule.

This matter should be known only to heaven, earth, you, and me. If she didn’t speak of it, Hera surely wouldn’t reveal a word.

From ancient times to the present, from West to East, without exception, a woman’s reputation was highly valued. A woman with multiple relationships would be regarded as promiscuous.

However, a man would not be; he would only be called a ‘reformed prodigal’ or “lucky.” There isn’t even a word comparable to the derogatory terms used for women.

After Zeus and Hera married, his countless fleeting affairs and illegitimate children mostly earned him remarks like “romantic and unconventional” or “blessed.”

Hera, on the other hand, was saddled with the reputation of the First Jealous Wife, seen as intolerant and unable to manage her own man.

Li Jia had never been willing to let her fall into malice.

“I’ll pretend it never happened, and Your Majesty shouldn’t worry about it either.” Li Jia avoided Hera’s deep gaze, her voice as thin as a mosquito’s: “I won’t ask you to be responsible. We didn’t have any substantial action anyway.”

“Pretend it never happened?”

Hera’s smile vanished abruptly. She stood up and took a step closer, her shadow enveloping Li Jia: “Li Jia, do you know what you’re saying?”

Her fingertip brushed the red mark on Li Jia’s collarbone, then traced the tooth mark on her arm, self-mockingly: “What about these? These marks? Can you casually erase them and pretend they never happened?”

Li Jia was restrained by Hera’s hands, her back against the cold wooden headboard, panicking: “Your Majesty! This was an accident! It was the Siren’s Elixir’s lure, not our own free will…”

Hera’s tone grew cold: “You were the one holding onto me last night, saying you were uncomfortable, and now that you’ve been soothed, you want to clear your name?

“How can things be so easy?”

“I said, these were all accidents…”

Li Jia’s defense was not convincing; it was a feeble excuse: “We’re both adults, and besides, we didn’t go all the way…”

“Your Majesty, please forgive me.”

The girl was practically begging.

“So you don’t have to be responsible?”

Hera interrupted her, her eyes flashing with an anger Li Jia had never seen: “Li Jia, I regret it.”

“What?”

Hera stared at her evasive eyes, her voice tight and low: “I should have just taken you right then and there. In your eyes, is the night I spent with you only worthy of being ‘pretended never happened’?”

Hera suddenly gripped her wrists hard, pulling her close, until their breaths mingled.

“Accident?”

She suddenly let out a low laugh, her fingertip tracing the unhealed tooth mark on Li Jia’s neck.

The Siren’s Elixir only amplifies desire; it doesn’t create false craving.

“Last night, you called my name, I counted.”

“Twelve times in total.”

“The moment I pulled away, you called my name, begging me not to stop.”

Li Jia’s pupils instantly contracted, her earlobes burning red.

Those chaotic memory fragments surged forward like a tide. In her delirium, she had clutched the woman’s hair, chanting that name repeatedly, as if it were the only piece of driftwood she could grasp in an ocean.

To have it so starkly revealed by Hera now, Li Jia was consumed by shame and helplessness, a vine suffocating her throat, making her unable to speak.

“That… that was just because of the Siren’s Elixir…” Li Jia bit her lip, trying to argue, but dared not look into the dark undercurrent surging in Hera’s eyes.

Hera suddenly pinched her chin, forcing her to look up and meet her gaze: “But when you’re awake, you’ve never once called my name.”

Li Jia’s breathing hitched.

Indeed, when awake, she always respectfully addressed her as “Your Majesty,” never daring to overstep.

But last night, those uncontrolled cries seemed to have torn open the deepest, most secret crack in her heart.

Hera’s finger slowly moved down, stroking her cheek, collarbone, arm, abdomen, lower leg, and fingertips. These intersecting kiss marks were suggestive.

“These marks, every single one, is branded with my name. Do you think one phrase, ‘it was an accident,’ can wipe them all away?”

“I…”

Li Jia wanted to explain, but her voice was caught in her throat. She could only watch the anger in Hera’s eyes gradually fade, replaced by a deeper melancholy.

The hands were still cupping her chin, not too forceful, but preventing her from escaping.

“Li Jia.”

Hera’s voice dropped, carrying a hoarseness she had never heard: “Did you think I saved you just because you are my attendant?”

This question made Li Jia momentarily stunned. She had always believed that Hera, as the supreme deity, showed concern for her merely as pity for an attendant, or maintenance of a subordinate.

But at this moment, the other person’s eyes were too bright, so bright that she didn’t dare delve into the emotional meaning behind them.

“No one can force me, unless that person is you.”

Hera’s fingers released her chin, but she wrapped an arm around Li Jia’s waist, pressing her more tightly against the headboard.

“But I am only an attendant, Your Majesty. How can a supreme deity like you be with me…”

Li Jia’s tears flowed freely, rolling onto Hera’s hand.

“Li Jia.”

Hera called her name.

She said: “Do you remember? You were the first to say you loved me.”

“Now.”

She leaned down, her fingertip gently wiping away the tears on Li Jia’s cheek. The next second, the sentence that was powerful enough to shatter all her anxieties fell clearly beside her ear:

“Your Goddess has fallen in love with you.”

Hearing this, Li Jia was slightly stunned, but no longer because of shame or helplessness. Her heart pounded like a drum, her eyes flashing with disbelief.

She raised her hand and clutched Hera’s wrist, her voice choked with tears, but much firmer than before: “But Your Majesty… this is against all propriety.”

“Propriety?”

Hera’s voice was tinged with a playful tone, her fingertip slowly moving down to lightly touch her trembling lips.

“The moment you opened your mouth and said you loved me, I personally shattered all the rules.”

Li Jia’s pupils widened slightly. She looked at her reflection in Hera’s eyes—the humble attendant now next to the deity, sharing the same light and shadow.

Well, then. Li Jia was a little tired from crying. She had suddenly been promoted from subordinate to the ‘boss’s wife.’

“Then, can I call you by your name from now on?”

Hera looked at her red eyes and smiled, gently tapping her nose with a fingertip: “More than that.”

She pulled Li Jia into her embrace, resting her chin on the top of Li Jia’s head, her voice so tender it could drown: “From now on, I will let you know that calling my name has never been wrong.”

“Be bound to me.”

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