Persephone gasped as she heard Hades’ voice.
‘Aaaaah!’
She collapsed on the spot and let out a silent scream.
I should have pretended I wasn’t in the room!
She glared at the door like it was her mortal enemy as she squirmed.
She still couldn’t bring herself to believe in Hades as a god enough to have a face-to-face conversation.
Aside from whether she could adapt to the Underworld, she couldn’t be sure if he had any ulterior motives.
Considering the prophecy Demeter had told her, Hades could be the reason she would meet her death – that is, the cause of her eternal stay in the Underworld.
‘I’ve already answered, so I guess I have to open the door.’
Persephone swallowed hard and opened the door slightly. Stretching out her neck like a snake, she tried her best to pull up the corners of her mouth.
“A-are you coming in?”
Hades was standing with his back to Persephone’s door, hands behind his back.
He turned around at her stuttering.
“…What?”
He raised an eyebrow and shook his head nonchalantly.
“No, how could I enter a lady’s room alone? If you want to talk, come out. I have a few things to tell you.”
Persephone looked around and cautiously stuck out her foot like a clam.
Seeing her cautious attitude, Hades’ gaze also wandered around.
“What’s wrong?”
He pulled up his divine energy and covered the floor with darkness.
Persephone flinched and lifted her toes slightly, but the darkness skillfully avoided the space where she stood.
It took only a few seconds for the darkness, thicker than shadows, to sweep through the entire corridor.
“There’s no one here. Or were you bothered by evil spirits? If you tell me their characteristics, I’ll take care of them.”
Hades added, scanning her slightly pale face.
“…There’s someone working right next door.”
“Ah, I see. Thank you.”
Persephone nodded, finally realizing that the light was on in a nearby room.
Hades also nodded slightly, as if to say she could stay there if she wanted and not follow him.
Persephone bowed her head, pretending to be obedient.
“Is the guest room alright?”
“Yes, it’s nice. The furniture is pretty. The tapestry patterns are so intricate, it was good for zoning out. Thank you.”
“…I see.”
His low response echoed softly in the corridor.
‘Oh, this is awkward…’
Unable to bear the atmosphere, Persephone bit the inside of her lip.
It was uncomfortable. She wanted to run away right now.
It felt like she would get one-word answers no matter what she tried to say.
She wished someone would get her out of here.
“…Um.”
Just as she was about to directly ask about the reason for his visit, feeling urgent…
“If there’s any inconvenience in your stay, please let me know.”
Hades beat her to it.
“And take this.”
A bundle of parchment emerged from Hades’ pitch-black sleeve.
Persephone caught the parchment he tossed with a little jump.
She untied the ribbon and spread out the parchment, her eyes widening at the first words she saw.
[Underworld, Hades]What Hades had given her was a map of the Underworld.
His finger pointed at the map.
“The Underworld isn’t complicated, but there are a few places you should not enter. Usually, the security is tight enough to prevent people like you from getting hurt, but…”
“Ah, you mean don’t poke the beehive, right?”
“…Well, you could think of it that way…”
“It’s okay, Lord Hades. I eat beehives well and clean them well. I’m good at removing beeswax too. You can expect that from me.”
As Persephone smiled as if to say not to worry, Hades barely opened his mouth.
“…I recommend not touching it from the start, but alright.”
Hades’ kind explanation continued.
“Now that you’re temporarily a member of the Underworld, you should be able to communicate easily with spirits you couldn’t talk to before.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. So if you ever get lost, talk to the nearby spirits. Most of the Underworld dwellers here are ordinary citizens, but they’re decent enough souls, so it’s okay to ask for help.”
“I see, understood.”
Persephone nodded readily.
‘Giving me a map doesn’t seem to have bad intentions…’
Her eyes scanned the king of the Underworld, whose intentions she still couldn’t fathom.
Then, Hades abruptly added.
“If there’s anything you want, do as you please.”
“Pardon?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Don’t I need permission or something?”
Hades twisted his eyebrows and twitched his finger.
“…No matter how I think about it, I don’t think you’ll cause a bigger incident than what you did before. Honestly, I’m confident that nothing will surprise me anymore.”
Persephone laughed inwardly, dumbfounded.
‘Ah, I see. Understood.’
“Then I guess I have no choice but to surprise you even more, what should I do?”
One corner of her mouth lifted up.
By the time she realized her true feelings and what she wanted to say had switched, it was already too late.
“…What?”
“Oops.”
Persephone belatedly covered her impudent mouth.
“……”
“……”
Silence settled densely in the corridor.
Persephone looked at Hades, sweating coldly.
However, he didn’t get angry and answered calmly.
“Go ahead and try. I’m curious too.”
“…Really?”
“From the beginning, I wanted to compensate you for the damage.”
Persephone’s gaze clouded with questions. Hades continued leisurely.
“That’s why I wanted to see you again. The task I requested from Hermes was to find you.”
“Ah…”
Persephone let out a small exclamation.
‘Then he wasn’t trying to kidnap me?’
Her eyeballs spun in confusion.
Hades could be lying nonchalantly, but if those words were true…
Just as she was about to sink into contemplation while holding the map…
Rustle…
Hades carefully took the map from her hand.
Wondering what he was doing, she looked up to see him taking out a reed pen from his bosom.
“Name.”
“Yes?”
“What’s your name?”
Suddenly, he was asking for her name.
Persephone reflexively gave the familiar name.
“Kore.”
“No, your real name. Not your childhood name.”
Hades shook the map slightly as if telling her to get her act together.
“I said earlier, didn’t I? If Thanatos and Hermes don’t know your name, this is a more serious problem than we thought. You probably know the reason well enough, but it’s because our gods’ names have divinity in them.”
“……”
“I don’t know for what reason Lady Demeter gave you a nickname, but… Now that the goddess of the earth has left the Underworld, you, who symbolize the only abundance in this barren land, need a name to support your ‘existence’.”
Hades put the tip of the pen at the top of the map.
“So, won’t you tell me your real name, daughter of Demeter?”
“……”
His low voice settled in Persephone’s ears.
She scanned the constellations cast behind his back, and eventually nodded as if entranced.
“Persephone.”
Persephone answered in a whisper, then…
“It’s ‘Persephone’.”
She confidently stated her name once more.
“A beautiful name.”
Hades nodded and played with the reed pen on the parchment.
‘…Is it beautiful?’
It felt somewhat unfamiliar, as she had never spoken it to anyone except her family, nor had she ever written it with a reed tip.
Persephone touched her lips and nodded casually.
Hades handed her the map with her name written on it.
“Alright, Persephone. This map is now yours. From now on, I too will call you by your real name.”
Persephone’s gaze scrutinized her name written at the top of the map.
[Περσεφόνη]The elegant handwriting danced on the map.
Just as a faint joy was about to settle on her face…
“Ah, and I’d like you to clarify something soon.”
Hades’ voice lowered.
“…What is it?”
At that moment, she could sense it. The true reason he had come to find her was about to be revealed.
Hades avoided her persistent gaze. His hand covered one side of his face.
“…I’m curious about your intention.”
‘What intention?’
Persephone tilted her head and stared intently at Hades.
He rubbed his face dryly, and finally, as if he had made up his mind, clenched his fist tightly.
“When I tried to catch you on the ramparts… why did you mention ‘that problematic word’?”
“……”
“Was there a special reason it had to be that particular word?”
Persephone’s eyes grew so wide they looked like they might pop out.
“Li-like er-erotic literature!”
The landmine her past self had planted came back to bite her.
__________
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
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