"I sat at the dining table, enjoying Cordelia's cooking. The food was exquisite, beautifully presented. Alexia and Nelson sat beside me, while Venasa took her place next to Nelson. Cordelia remained at the table, seated apart, her presence quiet but unmistakable."
She spoke, her tone calm but deliberate."May I call you by your main name?"
I nodded, still focused on the meal in front of me. Her smile was quiet, knowing.
"Ren," she continued, "might I ask… do you find my daughter attractive?"
I didn't hesitate. Why would I not?
She is clearly attractive. Not just in appearance—though that alone is undeniable—but in presence, in the way she carries herself, in the way others respond to her. She knows it. Others know it.
When people say she is attractive, often it is politeness. Yet, in her case… it is truth as well.
I considered the layers beneath her question. Cordelia wasn't merely asking about beauty. She was testing perception, gauging my honesty, and measuring how I saw Alexia—not only as a woman, but as a figure of influence.
I met her gaze calmly. There was no hesitation, no uncertainty. My acknowledgment was quiet but firm, because recognizing the truth does not weaken me—it informs me.
Alexia, beside me, knew my thoughts, though she did not speak. This was observation and understanding, nothing more. Beauty, influence, awareness—they all mattered in the world we navigated. And I saw it clearly.
Her mother smiled at my reply. She lifted her glass, took a measured sip, then looked back at me.
"An interesting answer," Cordelia said calmly. "I like it very much. Alexia said the same about you."
I felt her gaze settle on me—sharp, assessing. Eyes that missed very little. Eyes that gave the impression of seeing everything.
Of course, I allowed her to see only what I chose.
She would not be able to read me as she did others.
I was not so easily examined.
"I am impressed, Ren. To think a man so young—only eighteen years old—yet wielding such power, influence, and status because of the Empire. It must be a strain on you, mustn't it?"
"Does it not strain us all?" I replied evenly. "We all have our own burdens to bear."
She chuckled softly. "Yes, we all have our own burdens to bear." Her gaze lingered on her two children for a moment before drifting away. "Ren, I do hope your partnership with my two children and my daughter-in-law works very well for all four of you."
She lifted her drink and took a sip, smiling warmly at me. The others raised their glasses as well, and I did the same, joining them in the toast.
I left the estate and walked back to the vehicle. Nick opened the door for me, and I entered, laying my face on my fist and closing my eyes.
Through the window, I noticed Cordelia watching me, dressed in her bed robes. She soon drew the curtain, and her gaze vanished.
Nick glanced at me, concern in his voice. "Ren… what happened? Is everything alright?"
"Everything's alright, old friend," I replied calmly. "Nothing to worry about. One more thing—expect another visitor soon. The goddess of marriage, Hera, Queen of Olympus. Wife of Zeus."
Nick raised his eyebrows. "Hera?"
Nick spoke, curiosity in his voice. "I always found her a pitiful woman—forced into a marriage she never wanted, by her own younger brother who violated her. And to think… I'll actually meet a god from the Greek pantheon. Might I ask… how did you two meet, Ren?"
I exhaled lightly. "It's a long story. But it began when I was creating countless things. I made another Earth—a world that contained all the gods we read about in stories: the Greek Pantheon, the Norse Pantheon, and the Egyptian Pantheon. All of them."
I paused, letting the thought settle.
"Of course, these gods don't exist here on the main Earth… but they do on that other one. And who knows? Perhaps one day, if they so wish, they could come here as well."
I told him a shortened version.
"When I first met Hera, I was travelling across Greece. I did something that offended her—enough that she decided to punish me, as gods tend to do. When she realised she couldn't punish me… or even kill me, she became furious.
"She sent others after me instead. That failed as well.
"So I made it worse. I went to one of her temples. I didn't damage anything, didn't defile it—but to her, my presence alone was an insult. Entering her territory without fear was disrespect in itself.
"She descended in person, shouting, trying once more to kill me. And once again, she failed.
"That was when I offered her something she could not ignore."
I paused.
"Freedom. Release from her marriage to Zeus. And the end of her title as the goddess of marriage."
Nick asked for more. "What else?"He sounded like a child listening to a remarkable story.
"I offered it because I was curious," I replied calmly. "I wanted to see if she would believe me. And because I could."
Of course, she didn't.
She called me presumptuous and arrogant—said I dared to offer a goddess freedom from something that bound her, claiming power I did not possess. She told me she had no idea what I was, only that I should leave before she found a way to punish me… or kill me, no matter how long it took.
Before she realised what was happening, it was already done.
Her marriage to Zeus was severed. Her title as Goddess of Marriage was stripped away.
She stared at me in silence—awed, shaken.
I reversed it immediately.
That only enraged her further. She tried to kill me again—pure instinct, fury overriding reason—but she stopped herself before following through. For the first time, she hesitated.
Then she asked for my name.
I told her my true one.
Ren Blackdragon.
She said she had never heard of such a name before.
"Anyway, I'll shorten the rest of the story," I continued. "Over time, we grew closer. Much closer. Eventually, we had an affair."
Hera became pregnant with my children.
"Of course, she was afraid Zeus would discover it. She knew exactly what he was like—erratic, selfish, arrogant, and hypocritical. He had countless affairs of his own, countless illegitimate children behind her back. But that would not have mattered to him. If he had found out, he would have tried to kill our children."
I paused briefly.
"I told her he wouldn't be able to. They would be like me. Unkillable."
"She still worried," I said evenly. "Naturally."
Zeus never found out.
"We made sure of that. Both of us."
I leaned back slightly.
"I can tell you the full story another time. For now, all you need to know is this—Hera will be coming here to visit me."
Nick spoke again, disbelief clear in his voice."You had an affair with Hera… and she bore your children behind Zeus's back? She's always been known as loyal to him—even if she disliked him, or even hated him."
"Of course she was loyal," I replied calmly. "But much of that loyalty was born of fear."
I continued evenly, "Over the aeons, she may have come to care for him in her own way. That still did not change one truth. Deep down, she wanted freedom from him."
"I gave her that."
There was no pride in my voice. Only certainty.
"And yes," I added, "it was also repayment to Zeus—for his countless affairs and the many illegitimate children he fathered without remorse."
I paused briefly.
"She came to love me," I said. "And I came to love her in return."
Nick spoke again, a note of concern in his voice."You do realise Hera is extremely jealous. She can be petty too—like many gods."
"I know," I replied evenly. "I can handle it."
Nick glanced at me again. "Did you ever sleep with other women from the Greek pantheon?"
"Yes," I said evenly. "I did. Hera knew."
"She was jealous at times—only slightly—but she understood. And she slept with others as well." I paused. "Not out of spite toward me."
My gaze remained forward.
"It was out of spite toward Zeus."
"We were never in a formal relationship. We were lovers, nothing more. I never restricted her, and I never cared if she chose others."
Then I added calmly, with certainty, "Because I knew one thing without doubt. Whatever she did, her heart only ever truly belonged to me."
"You're very talkative today, old friend," I said dryly. "And nosy as well."
I chuckled. He chuckled with me.
"I apologise, Ren," he said. "I just find it… fascinating. I couldn't help myself. To think—you slept with Hera herself. Zeus's wife, no less." He paused, then asked more quietly, "What will you do if Zeus finds out?"
I didn't hesitate.
"I'll kill him if I have to," I replied evenly. "One of his children can take his place. That's all."
"Honestly, nothing is a threat to me," I said quietly. "The only things that ever could be are myself… and Venya. Even my own children, perhaps. And in time, not even they would be able to kill me."
I let the thought pass.
"Let's forget about this," I continued, tone lightening slightly. "Let's just go home, shall we? You should spend some time with your family."
A