Inside the small courtyard, the atmosphere fell into a bout of silence.
Looking at Lorne's tightly furrowed brow, Atalanta felt apprehensive in her heart and quickly spoke up to explain.
"Teacher, I only want to know who my parents are. Where do I come from?
I absolutely do not mean to draw a line between us! I always keep in mind the care you and Lady Artemis have shown me!"
"I know."
Lorne nodded, casting a reassuring gaze toward Atalanta.
On an island in ancient Greece, one day as the sun was setting, Socrates looked out at the boundless sea and sky and posed three questions:
Who am I? Where do I come from? Where am I going?
Once these questions were asked, they became the ultimate propositions of philosophy, continuously testing human wisdom and dialectically examining human existence.
Because when everyone reaches a certain stage, they will basically ponder similar questions, exploring the meaning of their own lives.
Clearly, Atalanta had also reached this age.
Lorne could naturally understand this and did not get angry because of it.
What he was actually thinking about right now was another question.
"If I tell you the answer, what happens after you meet them?"
"I want to know why they abandoned me."
Atalanta answered without a second thought, her face full of seriousness.
Lorne sighed and calmly revealed the truth.
"Because your father wanted a son to inherit his family estate, but you turned out to be a baby girl.
Therefore, to him, you possessed no value whatsoever."
Hearing this, Atalanta's pretty face turned slightly pale.
Unknowingly, her fine silver teeth bit into her cherry lips, leaving a trace of blood.
Abandoning a newborn baby in a deserted jungle; the outcome was self-evident.
Had it not been for her teacher and Lady Artemis hunting in the Arcadian Mountains at that time, she would have likely become minced meat under the iron hooves of centaurs, or food in the mouths of magical beasts...
Atalanta clenched her silver teeth and asked in a deep voice.
"Who is he? I want to see him!"
"And then?"
Lorne asked the exact same question, his deep gaze scrutinizing this student of his.
"Accept him? Obey him? Spurn him? Or kill him?"
Hearing these questions that struck straight at the soul,
Atalanta became bewildered, standing blankly on the spot.
Indeed, even if father and daughter could recognize each other, she did not know with what kind of attitude or in what kind of way she should face that blood relative who had abandoned her.
Looking at Atalanta's completely lost and disheartened state, Lorne couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.
The daughter was a good daughter, but the father might not necessarily be a good father.
The King of Arcadia, Iasus, whom they had just met together, was the unscrupulous biological father Lorne spoke of who had abandoned his daughter Atalanta in a fit of rage because he couldn't produce a son.
Furthermore, in order to never see this daughter who made him feel ashamed again, he had specifically ordered his servants to abandon the newborn Atalanta in the Arcadian Mountains, far away from the main city.
His intention was clearly to let this shame of his die completely in the deserted, deep mountains and old forests.
What made it even more chilling was that after Atalanta grew up and shone brilliantly during the Calydonian Boar Hunt, this King of Arcadia proactively came forward to claim the relationship, hypocritically bringing Atalanta back to the royal palace.
What awaited Atalanta next was not her father's guilt-ridden affection, but one forced marriage after another.
Since a daughter wasn't suited to inherit the throne, she should marry a man to give him a maternal grandson.
—This was the true intention of that King of Arcadia.
From beginning to end, he did not possess even a shred of repentance for the crime of abandoning his daughter.
Under her father's repeated soft and hard pestering, Atalanta ultimately softened her heart and agreed to set up a martial arts tournament to choose a husband.
But as a follower of Artemis who had sworn to maintain her virginity forever, her choice was equivalent to betrayal to the Goddess of Hunt of the original mythology.
Consequently, she lost the protection of Goddess Artemis and was subsequently influenced by the authority of Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, marrying an obscure suitor—Hippomenes.
In the end, Hippomenes, who had won the beauty, was cursed because he forgot to make sacrifices to Aphrodite.
Atalanta was also dragged into this, accidentally committing the sin of blasphemy, and was turned into a lion to pull chariots and serve the gods.
Reviewing Atalanta's life experience in his mind, Lorne spoke with deep meaning and patience.
"Think about it carefully. Once you figure it out for yourself, it won't be too late for me to tell you the answer."
Coming back to her senses from her bewilderment, Atalanta sensed the concern within those words and nodded gently, then walked back to her bedroom carrying a mind full of confusion and contemplation.
Indeed, how to face that father who had abandoned her was something she needed to consider thoroughly.
Looking at the somewhat lost back of his student Atalanta, and then thinking of his junior sister Medea's tragic life, Lorne felt an immense headache.
'Sigh, neither of these two lets me worry less.'
After muttering to himself, he raised his hand to draw the shattered fragments of the crystal ball scattered in the pond into his palm, preparing to bring them back to his bedroom to properly study the meaning behind the divination just now.
No matter what, Hecate, as the Goddess of Crossroads, still had some skill in the prediction business.
If he could decipher the meaning of that omen, it might provide some help for the upcoming journey to suppress the Beast Disaster.
Very soon, Lorne erased the traces in the courtyard and walked into his bedroom carrying a bag of crystal ball fragments.
However, before he could start his research, a gentle knocking sound came from outside the door.
As the door opened, Helen, with her graceful figure, was standing quietly in the dark shadows of the corridor, carefully handing over an exquisite food box hidden behind her back.
"My brothers and I haven't had the chance to formally thank you for the previous matter, so I specially made some pastries tonight and wanted to invite you to taste them."
Though she said this, based on the golden-haired beauty's sneaky movements just now, the pristine white dress she had specifically changed into, and the scent of roses left on her skin after bathing... among other signs,
Lorne estimated that this box of pastries likely had nothing to do with the careless Gemini brothers and was merely Helen's personal action.
Although he knew this was a trouble, looking at this golden-haired beauty's small face full of hope, he could only nod helplessly.
"It just so happens I'm not asleep yet, come in."
Hearing this, a bright smile blossomed on Helen's face.
She quickly slipped into the room, opened the food box, placed several plates of freshly made pastries on the table, and invited her savior to taste them.
As for herself, after Lorne took his seat, she sat opposite him, propping up her chin while staring at her savior, looking him up and down.
The undisguised curiosity and a touch of sudden, fierce burning within those bright eyes made the latter feel somewhat like he was sitting on a bed of needles.
The expression of emotion among lifeforms of the Age of Gods was often unrestrained and passionate.
Judging by Lorne's years of experience acting as a "friend to women," this Princess Helen had very likely taken a liking to him.
Of course, this was merely sparked by desire and extended from appearance, a type of instinct for life to pursue beauty, and was still far from anything resembling actual love.
Just like the old dark humor: only when a handsome man saves a beauty does the plot of "this humble woman has no way to repay you except by offering herself in marriage" occur.
If he's too ugly, sorry, "in the next life I will serve as a beast of burden to repay your kindness" is your instance.
And with excellent parental genes coupled with the Love Goddess authority from the [Rose],
Lorne's appearance and attractiveness were already at the top-tier level among male gods.
Furthermore, he had stood forward twice along the way, not only saving Helen herself but also pulling the Gemini brothers back from the brink of death.
Under the suspension bridge effect, it wasn't surprising that this appearance-focused Princess Helen would fall for him.
However, Lorne was somewhat indifferent toward this number one beauty of Greece who had proactively delivered herself to his doorstep,
On one hand, this was not a settled woman.
After being married for several years, because she became infatuated with the visiting Trojan prince Paris, she chose to blindly listen to that pretty boy's sweet talk and eloped with him to chase so-called "love," ultimately triggering the Trojan War.
On the other hand, although
Lorne was a bit of a scumbag, he hadn't reached the point of loving every single one he saw.
His Thetis was already at Helen's level, not to mention her Goddess' Aura and Sea Nymph's body...so he wouldn't get charmed.
Not to mention, besides Thetis, there were plenty of beautiful goddesses around him who fit his preferences and had unique traits.
Why go out of his way to provoke this love-brained young girl?
Many beautiful things are best appreciated from afar; it isn't necessary to pick them all and stick them into one's own vase.
Lorne responded neither warmly nor coldly with a few remarks.
After roughly tasting the pastries Helen brought, he prepared to stand up and see his guest out.
Seeing this situation, Helen grew a bit anxious, quickly raising her flushed small face and speaking falteringly.
"I, I feel that you are a very good person, so..."
"Mm, thank you for your affection."
Lorne immediately cut off Helen's combo chain, reminding her with a smile. "If there's nothing else, go back and sleep early. I need to rest as well."
Hearing the order to leave from the opposite side, Helen couldn't help but freeze on the spot, her youthful small face filled with astonishment and bewilderment.
As the little princess of Sparta, she had been thoroughly doted upon since childhood.
Coupled with her staggering beauty, the people around her always listened to her every word.
Especially the opposite sex; almost no one would ever refuse any of her requests.
But why was the man in front of her not only indifferent to her advances, but also seemingly intentionally keeping his distance from her?
Unable to figure it out after a hundred thoughts, Helen naturally asked it out loud. "You seem to be avoiding me?"
"Mm, a little."
Lorne nodded, giving a straightforward answer.
The girl became even more bewildered.
"You don't like me? Why? Could it be because I'm not beautiful enough?"
"This has nothing to do with being beautiful or not. Liking someone is a matter between two people."
Lorne shook his head, advising her patiently.
"If you can't figure it out, then think about this question when you grow up. All this is too early for you right now."
"I'm not a child!"
Helen protested poutingly.
Having suffered successive setbacks, her heart felt quite indignant.
Looking at this little girl in front of him who was trying hard to stand on her tiptoes to save her own dignity yet looked no older than a high schooler, Lorne felt somewhat amused and then said solemnly.
"Alright then, tell me, what is liking someone? What exactly is love?
If you need to enter a marriage with someone you don't love, what choice will you make?"
"..."
Hearing this rapid-fire succession of questions, Helen was momentarily stunned, her face completely blank.
Liking someone is just liking someone, right?
How can there be so many whys?
The Spartan princess, unable to answer the questions, was pushed out of the room in a daze.
"It won't be too late to come find me after you have figured these questions out."
The man at the door closed the room door directly after saying this sentence.
A gust of cold wind blew through the corridor.
Princess Helen, wearing a thin dress, suddenly couldn't withstand the night's chill, and couldn't help but cross her arms, her delicate body shivering slightly.
But compared to the chill seeping into her body, the cold reception that had just struck her soul was far more powerful.
Right now, she was even starting to doubt her own charm.
Just as the frustrated Spartan princess was about to turn around and leave, the room door opened with a creak, and a warm blanket was draped over her body.
"It's cold outside, don't catch a cold. Put this on."
After a brief explanation, the door closed once again.
Helen shrank a bit into the warm blanket, stopping to gaze at the door for a moment, as a cheerful smile bloomed on her originally completely dejected face.
'He still cares about me!
It's just that I'm too young and temporarily cannot answer those questions he asked.'
'Then what if I find the answers?'
Thinking up to this point, Helen's eyes lit up and she immediately wrapped the blanket around herself, walking excitedly toward her bedroom.
~~
'Finally gone...'
Lorne stood by the window, watching Helen's departing back, and breathed a sigh of relief as if a heavy burden had been lifted.
He had said everything he ought to say.
Hopefully, this little girl could take it to heart and stop walking down her old path of becoming a disastrous beauty.
In the original history, the Gemini brothers who doted on Helen should have inherited the Spartan throne, allowing this sister of theirs to live a carefree life.
However, due to the mockery of fate, one of the Gemini brothers died young, and the other followed him in death to ascend into the sky, together turning into stars to embellish Zeus's heavenly divine authority, causing the Spartan throne to remain vacant for a long time.
The King of Sparta was left without a successor, and therefore kings and princes from various city-states arrived in an endless stream.
They either lusted after Princess Helen's beauty or coveted the Spartan throne, together exerting pressure on the aging King of Sparta.
Besieged at his doorstep by a crowd of demigods, the King of Sparta felt frightened by this situation.
He feared that choosing one suitor would provoke the wrath of all the others, so following the advice of the clever Odysseus, he devised a solution.
Every suitor would swear a sacred oath to respect Helen's choice of husband and, should anyone ever threaten that marriage, all the others would unite to defend it.
This became known as the Oath of Tyndareus.
As a result, Menelaus, the younger brother of King Agamemnon, grabbed the ring and successfully married Helen.
Because of the favorable conditions of the marriage covenant, the Kingdom of Mycenae, where the two brothers resided, leaped to become the leader of all Greek city-states.
Whoever possessed Helen possessed the strongest Spartan warriors and could use the marriage oath to command all the heroes of Greece.
This was the true reason why Helen was called the "Number One Beauty of Greece."
—A title based not on beauty, but on power.
And as a political sacrificial lamb, Helen's marriage naturally couldn't be called happy either, which was why the story of her eloping with the Trojan prince Paris happened.
King Agamemnon of Mycenae, who was just preparing to expand his territory, took advantage of this fine opportunity to call upon the city-states and military forces of the entire Greece in his capacity as leader to attack the city of Troy.
Achilles, Odysseus, Ajax the Greater and Lesser, among other demigod heroes, were forced by their past oaths and had no choice but to obey Agamemnon's deployment, joining the ranks of the expedition, thereby staging a protracted Trojan War.
At the very beginning of the war, the eldest prince of Troy, Hector, knew the inner workings well and also understood that this war was unavoidable.
He had once given Helen a chance to choose anew, allowing her to return to the side of the Greek allied army.
Helen ultimately chose love, standing on the side of Troy and her lover Paris.
But with the passage of time and the deterioration of the war situation, Paris's nature as a good-for-nothing pretty boy was completely exposed.
Not only did he not dare to duel with Helen's ex-husband to resolve their personal grievance with a duel between the two of them; thereby reducing the sacrifice of innocents;
Even according to the records of the epics, after this pretty boy prince was struck by a poisoned arrow, in order to beg for his life, he went so far as to say classic scumbag lines to his first wife, Oenone.
"Noble wife, do not harbor hatred against me in my suffering.
The cruel Goddess of Fate brought Helen before me, causing me to leave you. I swear by the gods and plead with you by our past love, please have pity on me and use medicine to heal my wound, freeing me from this unbearable pain, because you once predicted that you alone could save my life."
That's right, just like Helen, the pretty boy Paris had a legitimate wife, a nymph who had accompanied him since the time Paris was down and out.
For the sake of beauty, he had abandoned his original wife.
And in order to receive help from his original wife when he was dying, he threw all the dirty water of infidelity and chaos onto Helen.
Oenone, remembering that Paris had abandoned her for Helen, refused his request, and he died.
So....after paying a tragic price and bearing the infamy of being a disastrous beauty, this number one beauty of Greece ultimately failed to obtain the "love" she wanted.
Therefore, Lorne posing those questions was hoping Helen would return to rationality and truly think about what kind of love and marriage she truly wanted, lest her head get hot and she continue to walk down her old path.
But speaking of which, the Golden Apple incident; the Gemini turning into stars, the Spartan oath — the Trojan War...
These interlocking events seemed to be full of scheming intent.
It was as if an invisible pair of large hands was manipulating the destinies of a crowd of mortal heroes and beauties.
Thinking of the lineage inside Helen, Lorne raised his head to look at Olympus among the stars, understanding clearly in his heart.
Tsk, Zeus, it's you old boy again!
(End of this chapter)