The moon was bright and stars were few; the night was deep and heavy.
Having been busy in her room for quite a while, Princess Helen arranged the carefully selected roses and myrtles, wiped away the fragrant sweat seeping from her forehead, and looked at the simple altar that had taken shape on the floor, nodding with satisfaction.
Promptly, she took a few steps back, crushed several gemstones stored with magical power, and chanted prayers aloud, calling upon the true name of a certain main god.
A moment later, the crisp sound of ocean waves came from within the altar, and pure white froth piled up layer upon layer.
A peerlessly beautiful figure emerged within the glowing runes, while translucent, phantom-like flowers grew across the floorboards, filling the air with a rich, fragrant floral scent.
"Is it you who calls upon me?"
Accompanied by a lazy voice, the goddess draped in light gauze examined the young girl making the sacrifice with great interest, a flash of astonishment surfacing in her eyes.
"What a truly beautiful child..."
Helen lowered her head bashfully and softly spoke her plea.
"Goddess Aphrodite, I need your help."
As the goddess in charge of love and beauty, Aphrodite could always display enough tolerance and affection toward beautiful things.
She proactively spoke up to ask, looking with a smile at the beautiful young girl in front of the altar.
"Speak, what do you want? A handsome and reliable husband? Or a lover worth abandoning everything for?"
"Neither!"
Helen quickly shook her head, then bit her cherry lips gently, speaking in a deep voice.
"I want to know the answers to a few questions: What is liking someone? What exactly is love?"
Since she couldn't answer these difficult questions herself, she would seek guidance from the goddess who ruled over love and beauty.
Hearing this rare prayer, Aphrodite was first slightly stunned, then a playful smile spread across her face as she asked with great interest.
"Interesting... What exactly is going on? Tell me about it first."
Helen did not hide anything, recounting everything that had happened in recent days exactly as it was to the Love Goddess in front of her.
The moment she finished speaking, the Spartan princess impatiently asked.
"Lady Aphrodite, what is the answer?"
Looking at the ignorant girl in front of her, Aphrodite suddenly couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Silly child, you shouldn't ask me this question, but rather ask yourself."
"Why?"
Helen's face was entirely blank, her eyes filled with surprise.
"Could it be that even you don't know the answer?"
"To be precise, it is that [liking someone] and [love] themselves have never possessed a so-called 'standard answer.'"
Aphrodite corrected with a smile.
Promptly, a rare look of sighing and seriousness surfaced on her breathtakingly beautiful face as she spoke unhurriedly.
"The reason for liking someone varies from person to person and is often completely different; love is even more blind, needing no reason at all. Therefore, I cannot answer your confusion.
You must find the answer yourself."
"So that's how it is..."
Helen was instantly deeply disappointed, her small head drooping somewhat dejectedly.
Watching the sullen young girl, Aphrodite covered her mouth and laughed softly.
"Silly child, don't you understand yet?
The lack of a standard answer means that any answer is acceptable. And him posing this question was merely to confirm whether you are mature enough, and whether you truly understand what love is."
"I..."
Helen opened her mouth, not knowing how to answer.
Seeing this, Aphrodite asked straightforwardly. "Then do you like being with him?"
"I do!"
Helen answered subconsciously, cradling her chest with her hands as she murmured to describe that complex feeling.
"Every time I see him, I feel my heart beating so fast, and being by his side makes me feel very safe. Even though he rarely looks at me, I always want to attract his attention."
"That's it, this is exactly love!"
The Love Goddess's eyes lit up, immediately delivering her final conclusion.
However, hearing this result, aside from her shyness, Helen felt somewhat troubled.
"But he doesn't seem to like me, and he keeps avoiding me."
"What man doesn't like to stray, let alone when a girl as beautiful as you proactively delivers herself to his doorstep?"
Aphrodite snorted softly, and then a sliver of admiration surfaced within her eyes.
"Being able to restrain his own desires, posing these questions, and inspiring you to think precisely proves that he cares about you very much, and that he possesses a very high level of morality and self-restraint. This is a very rare type among the men of Greece. If you truly choose him, you will definitely have a good husband. Therefore, you must grasp the opportunity!"
"Then what if he already has someone he likes?"
"Where there's a will, there's a way.! True love is priceless!"
Hearing the experience and advice imparted by the Goddess of Love, a cluster of fierce fire was ignited within Helen's eyes, and she immediately nodded heavily. "Mm, no matter how many times I fail, I will never give up!"
"Good! You have ambition! I just like this kind of good child who can disregard everything for the sake of pursuing love."
The Goddess greatly praised Helen's courage, then, in her excitement, raised her hand and swept it forward, bestowing her favor.
Looking at the three golden, continuously sweet-smelling apples appearing on the altar, Helen was somewhat curious.
"Lady Aphrodite, what are these?"
"Golden Apples! These are treasures forged using my authority. Ordinary people can hardly refuse their temptation.
And if one eats them, they can increase your charm several fold within a short period, to the point where even gods will fall prostrate under your skirt."
Aphrodite answered proudly, her beautiful face full of triumph.
During the previous Golden Apple incident, she had not only been mocked but had also only received a piece of the skin.
Since she couldn't take her anger out on the instigator, she could only channel her resentment into the Golden Apples that had caused the dispute.
'Not giving it to me, right? At worst, I'll make them myself, and I'll make them even more tempting and in greater quantity than the ones at the wedding!'
Thus, three Golden Apples embedded with the Love Goddess's authority were freshly made.
And right now, seeing how devout the petitioner in front of her was and how much she suited her own tastes, Aphrodite acted on a whim, generously bestowing these three Golden Apples upon Helen, hoping that with her help, she would harvest a passionate love.
However, the Goddess, whose own love life was now fulfilled, still very conscientiously gave a word of advice.
"Love cannot be created out of nothing, so even if you eat the Golden Apples, it will merely ignite the flames of mutual desire, which is destined to not last long.
Therefore, if you truly want to keep the person you love and harvest a fulfilled love and marriage, you still need to rely on your own efforts."
"I understand, I promise I will not fail your expectations!"
Helen nodded solemnly, carefully picking up the three precious Golden Apples.
Aphrodite smiled with relief, waving her hand to encourage her.
"Then, good child, go pursue your happiness. I will bless you."
Watching the figure on the altar gradually vanish, Helen stared at the three Golden Apples in her hands again and again.
Ultimately suppressing the desire in her heart, she packed them away neatly into a wooden box.
Carrying her "love" with a face full of sweetness, she fell peacefully asleep.
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"Achoo~!"
For no apparent reason, Lorne felt a sudden wave of sinister chill in his room, and couldn't help but let out a heavy sneeze.
He rubbed his somewhat itchy nose, looked at the three shattered crystal ball pieces flowing with shifting colors on the table, and murmured darkly.
"Hermes, the God of Swiftness; Typhon, the Progenitor of Monsters; Demeter, the Goddess of Agriculture... Could this Beast Disaster be related to all of them? Or is there only one correct answer?"
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Meanwhile, inside the Arcadian Royal Palace.
A figure holding a double-serpent staff, draped in a star-and-moon robe, with their facial features hidden within the darkness, stepped into the grand hall under the guidance of a maid.
(End of this chapter)