[Greek Mythology] The Demons Under My Command - Chapter 54

Li Jia’s fingertips traced the cold, silver cutlery. The candlelight in the deep palace chamber flickered, reflecting the seat opposite her, which remained empty.

For a full month, her wife seemed to have had all her personal time drained away, leaving Li Jia alone to face a table full of dishes that were slowly losing their warmth.

Li Jia had privately asked Dolin what the Divine Master had been busy with recently, but Dolin’s perpetually impassive face remained cold.

She merely said that the stack of yuan tie (marriage fate documents) was piled high; male same-sex marriage fraudsters needed to have their marital history files checked, and women being forced into heterosexual marriages required mediation for marital disputes in the mortal realm.

“The Divine Master is busy sorting out the new rules. Don’t overthink it.”

The explanation was flawless. Li Jia opened her mouth, but ultimately couldn’t bring herself to ask the question, “Is she so busy that she doesn’t even have time to eat a meal together?”

After holding it in for half a month, she couldn’t resist inviting Winslow and Linai to meet up at the reservoir.

The shimmering water reflected the three figures. Li Jia rotated her empty flower teacup halfway, her brow furrowed with distress: “I always feel like she’s avoiding me. No matter how busy she was before, she would always stay and talk to me before bed.”

She was at a loss about the problems that had arisen in her relationship with her wife.

“Do you think the novelty has worn off? That she’s found someone else outside?”

Linai, cracking sunflower seeds, pinpointed the issue sharply. She was, after all, half a master’s in psychology, and this situation was quite common.

It was the “law of diminishing happiness,” which refers to the satisfaction and happiness people derive from acquiring goods, but which decreases as more of those goods are acquired.

In the early stages of a relationship, we easily feel happy because of our lover’s thoughtful gestures. As the relationship progresses, we become accustomed to these behaviors and can no longer experience similar happiness.

This is true for all couples, let alone those who live together day in and day out.

“It’s hard to say. Better safe than sorry,” Winslow also grabbed a handful of seeds and began cracking them, her tone hesitant: “Even though I’ve followed the Divine Master for hundreds of years, emotion is the hardest thing to predict. Otherwise, why would there be so many sorrowful stories in the world?”

Li Jia instantly dismissed their guesses.

In the few years she had been by her side, not to mention other women, she hadn’t even seen a female mosquito. Men, well, that was even less likely.

So where exactly was the problem?

Linai suddenly leaned closer, winking and lowering her voice: “At the end of the day, isn’t it just one thing between husband and wife? How long has it been since you two… you know?”

Li Jia’s face instantly flushed crimson. She twisted her fingers in her skirt, stammering for a long time, unable to speak.

Linai leaned her head right next to Li Jia’s ear. Only then did Li Jia bite her lip and whisper a few words that only the two of them could hear.

“Huh?” Linai’s voice abruptly rose, then she quickly lowered it: “You’ve had your marriage certificate for over two years, and you still haven’t done it?”

She glanced at Winslow, then turned back to Li Jia, “You’re really making things difficult for her.”

“It’s not my fault…”

Li Jia’s voice carried a hint of grievance: “Every time we start, I feel pain. The moment she sees me frown, she immediately stops and says it’s okay, and we’ll wait until I get used to it.”

Linai and Winslow exchanged a look, both seeing the answer in the other’s eyes.

Hera wasn’t aloof; she was clearly afraid of pushing too hard and making Li Jia uncomfortable, so she could only suppress her own desires. Fearing she might give herself away, she intentionally kept her distance, never expecting that this abnormal behavior would make Li Jia panic.

Two days later, Linai sneakily produced a small black cloth bag for her, and Winslow somehow managed to get a small booklet with an all-black cover, telling her to return to the deep chamber.

Li Jia walked toward the deep chamber with the items, completely bewildered.

“If she can’t capture her with this, then I’m out of ideas,” Winslow sighed, watching Li Jia’s retreating figure. Linai patted Winslow’s shoulder: “Unless your Divine Master is impotent, I can’t think of a reason for failure.”

Li Jia returned to the deep chamber. The candlelight cast her shadow long, falling upon the silver chair opposite, which was still empty.

When she opened the small cloth bag Linai gave her, the blood rushed instantly to her head.

A piece of sheer fabric, adorned with cherry-pink ribbons and tiny pearls, flowed downward to a string of round, white pearls. The sheer gauze draped along her waistline, vaguely outlining her skin.

Her fingertips touched the pearls, the cold sensation making her quickly withdraw her hand, her cheeks burning hot.

Although she knew she shouldn’t, after taking a bath, she bit her lip and inexplicably changed out of her usual nightgown.

As the fabric clung to her body, it brought a silky coolness. The ornamentation gently swayed with her movements, sending a shiver of excitement through her heart.

She turned to face the bronze mirror. Her back was largely exposed, held only by three thin straps that crossed, making her waist appear even more slender. The satin tassels dangling by her waist made her involuntarily tighten her spine.

Just then, familiar footsteps sounded outside the chamber—Hera was back.

Li Jia’s heart instantly leaped into her throat. In her panic, she quickly hid in the bed. As soon as she pulled the blanket over herself, the chamber door was pushed open.

When Hera walked in, her gaze first fell on the empty dining table. Not seeing anyone, she scanned the room and saw the little one buried motionless under the covers.

Knowing she was having a petty tantrum, Hera quietly walked over.

She called her name, but Li Jia neither responded nor acknowledged her. Hera then pulled back the blanket, intending to have a good talk with her.

Upon seeing Li Jia’s appearance, the hand holding the blanket paused. Her Adam’s apple involuntarily bobbed, and her originally fatigued and weary eyes instantly darkened, like a lit spark, burning intensely upon Li Jia.

“You…”

Hera’s voice was lower than usual, carrying an almost imperceptible rasp. Her gaze fixed on the swaying pearls. Her fingertip lifted, but stopped just before touching: “Is this…”

Li Jia’s face was utterly red. Her hands clenched the skirt hem, and she buried her head low, her voice as faint as a mosquito: “Linai… Linai gave it to me.”

She secretly glanced at Hera, seeing no sign of displeasure in her eyes; instead, they held a scorching intensity she had never witnessed, making her heart pound even faster.

“You’ve been busy dealing with yuan tie lately, and I…”

Before she could finish, Hera’s hands gently encircled her waist. The warmth of her palms radiated through her skin, instantly causing Li Jia to tense up.

Hera rested her chin in Li Jia’s neck, her breath carrying a familiar, clean scent mixed with the warmth of Li Jia’s body, enveloping her ear: “Afraid I’m neglecting you?”

Li Jia nodded, then quickly shook her head.

As she turned, she brushed against Hera’s palm. The other woman’s fingers slightly tightened: “I was always afraid of hurting you before, so I didn’t dare push you.”

Hera lowered her head, placing a kiss on Li Jia’s forehead, then moving lower to her flushed earlobe.

“But now…”

“You are mine.”

Her fingertip lightly picked up the ornament, rolling it, brushing against Li Jia’s skin.

The scorching temperature created a strange contrast with the cool pearls.

“I think… I can’t hold back anymore.”

The candlelight in the deep chamber flickered, casting the silhouettes of the two women onto the bronze mirror. Outside the window, a light rain had begun to fall sometime ago.

The pattering of the rain conveniently masked the sounds, as well as Hera’s low, soothing words.

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