HBWnovel Chapter 206 - 50
Chapter 206 - 50
Underworld, Aphrodite’s Temple.In the silent glow of polished marble and shimmering bronze, Aphrodite stood before her mirror, tilting her chin slightly to the left, then to the right, her fingers grazing her own jawline as though searching for flaws that were never there.
The goddess of beauty did not need validation, for she was perfection incarnate, yet she found joy in the act of self-admiration.
It was not vanity in her eyes, it was ritual, a reaffirmation of her domain, a reminder to the world and to herself that she was the embodiment of desire and grace.
She spun slowly, her silken gown flowing like waves of dawn, and smiled with satisfaction.
"Perfect," she whispered, her voice carrying the softness of honey.
She pressed her lips together, then let them part into a playful smile, the kind that could make empires crumble if she so wished.
Today, she decided, would be one of those days where the world revolved entirely around her. More specifically, where he would revolve around her.
With a buoyant laugh that sounded like bells, she left her temple and stepped onto the paved streets of Nox, the underworld’s capital.
The air here was colder than inside her temple, thick with shadows and darkness, yet she felt none of the gloom.
Everywhere she passed, gods, divine spirits, and even ancient heroic spirits paused to bow or greet her with reverence.
Some addressed her as Lady Aphrodite, others as Goddess of Beauty, but she accepted each greeting with the same radiant smile, waving with the delicate grace of someone who knew every movement of her body could inspire longing.
Inside her mind, however, her thoughts were anything but calm.
He will be there... Her heart fluttered like a trapped bird as she imagined Hades, stern and untouchable, buried under his endless paperwork, his dark eyes fixed on her with that indifferent expression he so often wore.
She imagined the way his voice would sound when he finally addressed her, deep, steady, carrying the weight of the underworld itself.
She shivered, hugging herself.
’Why does he do this to me? Why does the coldest god of them all make me burn the most? Is this not unfair? I am the goddess of love and passion, and yet it is I who has become addicted to him...’
The more she thought, the faster she walked, her heels clicking against stone streets until she finally stopped at the vast shadow looming above the city: Hades’ fortress, a floating citadel suspended over the very heart of Nox.
She tilted her head back, her lips curling into a dreamy smile. Even his fortress is grand, unyielding, untouchable.
Just like him.
With effortless grace, she lifted from the ground, her figure gliding upward like a drifting star.
The fortress gates opened as though the walls themselves bent to her beauty, though she knew better.
The guardian spirits at the entrance immediately bowed, their hollow, armored figures lowering their heads without hesitation.
She responded with a sweet giggle, humming a tune as she strolled past them.
Her footsteps echoed through the fortress halls, and she let herself imagine.
How would it feel, truly, if he accepted her? If she stood beside him not as a guest, not as a distraction, but as his chosen?
Would the entire underworld bow to her as their queen? Would her authority as goddess of love and desire stretch to every corner of death and eternity?
The thought made her cheeks flush. She clasped her hands before her chest, closing her eyes briefly.
She doesn’t know what will happen, but she knew that she would drown in it.
The power, the devotion, the intimacy... It would consume her entirely, and she would not resist.o me?"
Her hand rose to the door, trembling ever so slightly. She paused, inhaled deeply, then exhaled with a smile that could shatter the heavens.
"Today," she whispered to herself, "today, this realm will have a queen."