A singer with the appearance of a country youth stepped onto the audience chamber carpet.
Orpheus lowered his gaze and slowly walked towards the throne.
Before long, he stopped about eighteen steps away from the throne and bowed politely.
Hades hastily took out the [Greeting] sign from behind the pillar.
Persephone glanced at Hades and casually greeted Orpheus.
“Welcome to the palace of the underworld, stranger. I am Hades, the merciless monarch who oversees my shades. And you are?”
“I am Orpheus, son of Oeagrus and Calliope.”
Persephone crossed her legs and rested her elbow on the armrest of the throne.
She tilted her head back slightly in an arrogant manner and looked down at Orpheus, who was clutching his necklace.
“Well… let’s skip the formalities and get straight to the point, as it will be bothersome for both of us. I believe your request is not something that can be immediately concluded here anyway.”
“…I understand, O ‘Wealthy One’.”
Hades blinked, slightly surprised.
Persephone’s impromptu response was better than expected.
From the very beginning, she started the negotiation with a clear destination in mind for this audience.
She must have remembered and applied what Hades had said about ‘not agreeing to revive someone unconditionally at the end of the conversation’.
‘Did she cut off the possibility from the start by saying that a conclusion cannot be reached right away?’
Although it was unsettling for her to take an improper posture that he would never do, it seemed that the audience could be handled smoothly to this extent.
Hades wrote on the next page, [Ask why his wife should be revived].
“…You said you came to the underworld to retrieve your wife.”
“Yes, that’s correct. She is someone precious to me.”
“Why is she precious to you?”
Persephone asked the question as if whispering, but in a voice that was clearly audible to Orpheus.
As the bard remained silent for a moment, she laughed in disbelief, saying “Huh,” and stood up from her seat.
Hades’ mouth involuntarily fell open as he watched Persephone’s acting.
“Is it really simply because she is your beloved wife, hm?”
A slightly indifferent tone.
“Think about it, bard.”
“…Yes.”
“Countless people lose their loved ones and grieve on the earth. The tears of sorrow they shed are enough to fill the rivers Acheron and Cocytus.”
“…”
“So why should I, of all people, revive your wife?”
That attitude implying that it was terribly annoying for a demigod, who was insignificant compared to the king of the underworld, to ask for his spouse to be revived.
“Just because you have brought amazing talent to move all living creatures and plants, doesn’t mean there is a reason to release your wife.”
“…”
“It is you who possesses the talent, not your wife.”
Finally, she raised one corner of her mouth in a mocking manner!
…At this point, Hades became curious about how he himself appeared to Persephone, but for a moment, he had the illusion that he had become a spectator of a play, due to her meticulous acting.
And either way, it was quite fortunate that Orpheus, who had been an intruder, seemed to have been overwhelmed from the start.
Hades decided to enjoy this play a little more.
Persephone’s interpretation of the ‘King of the Underworld’ was very interesting.
Orpheus also seemed to think that the king of the underworld in front of him was not easy to deal with, so he took two or three deep breaths.
After hesitating for a while, he carefully opened his mouth.
“Of course, when the Wealthy One considers it, the circumstances of our couple may not seem different from those of other couples.”
“Yes. But?”
“However, King of Wealth, there is one thing wrong with your words.”
Persephone’s eyebrows rose.
Hades also held his breath, and in the silence, Orpheus parted his lips again.
“I did not marry my wife out of ‘love’.”
Hades’ breath stopped for a moment.
Persephone also froze like ice. But Orpheus enthusiastically argued, regardless.
“So, strictly speaking, this is not a husband coming to ask for his wife back, but a request to return a companion.”
“…There doesn’t seem to be much difference between a spouse and a companion. Is there a distinction?”
“…”
Orpheus rolled his eyes and took a deep breath. His clear voice resounded in the audience chamber.
“My wife on the family register, Eurydice, is my patron.”
Patron.
‘So… the wife is the one who provides money? She was a sponsor, is that what it means?’
No, I thought he came to retrieve her because he loved her, but that wasn’t the case.
Before the startled Hades could even write on the papyrus, Persephone retorted with a chilling expression.
“…Are you saying your wife was a ‘muse’?”
“No, she is my ‘patron’.”
“Ah, so she was a patron who became a muse…?”
“No, patron is correct.”
“…”
Persephone’s face became as sour as if she had bitten into a lemon. She snapped at Orpheus.
“You can’t make much money?”
“…All artists are like that.”
“Ah, is that so…?”
Persephone, who had blurred the end of her sentence, stared into the distance for a moment.
It was a gaze filled with an indescribable sense of futility, as if she didn’t know what she was doing here.
She also seemed strangely angry.
But as if she had already sorted out her emotions, Persephone asked Orpheus in a light-hearted tone.
“Orpheus. If that’s the case, have you ever thought about dying? I think I could become your sponsor.”
“Pardon?”
“How about working as a court musician in the underworld?”
As if wanting to torment that damned materialistic artist somehow, Persephone twisted her lips to the fullest.
Then Orpheus bowed his head as if he was deeply grateful.
“Th-that is not a blessing someone like me can accept!”
“Hmm…”
“…I only ask that you return my wife to me.”
He added in a small voice.
“And although the probability is very low, I have taken all detoxification measures on the surface, so she may not be dead yet.”
“…”
“O Wealthy One, please reconsider this humble one’s request.”
Orpheus bowed as if he had nothing more to say.
‘Something is strange.’
Hades, who had been watching, frowned.
In fact, if you think about it from a common-sense perspective, the argument that “she may not be dead yet” would have been a better justification for reviving that patron wife.
Because the underworld only accepts those who are completely dead.
‘But the fact that he emphasized first and foremost that his wife is his patron, and that this is different from other couples… isn’t that too inhumane?’
It may not be something for the divine Hades to say, but Orpheus was excessively materialistic, even for a human.
Asking to revive his wife because she is his source of money, what kind of nonsense is that?
‘But his expression looks too desperate. It was said that he couldn’t bear the sense of loss even at the city walls.’
However, the atmosphere would never be like this just from losing a source of income.
For an expert like Orpheus, he could find another sponsor at any time. There was absolutely no reason to come all the way to the underworld like this.
Anyway, there were more than a few things that didn’t add up. Hades held up the papyrus towards the silent Persephone.
[Demand confession]Ah, just in case Persephone misunderstood, he hurriedly added one more word.
[Truth] [Demand confession]What Hades intended was to urge Orpheus to reveal his true feelings as much as possible. Of course, it didn’t mean the absurd notion of demanding a love confession from Orpheus.
She would do well this time too.
Thinking optimistically, Hades waved the papyrus like a puppy’s tail. As if telling her to go ahead and do it.
Persephone’s gaze fell on the message Hades was holding.
“I see…?”
Persephone slightly nodded her head towards Hades and directed a question at Orpheus, who was bowing.
“Then, son of Oeagrus and Calliope.”
It was around that time when her pale and smooth lips twisted ominously.
“Tell me you love me, right here and now.”
The papyrus slipped from the hand that had become calloused from farming work.
Male lead is reincarnated to save his wife
I’ve also read this one twice already. The female lead is kinda soft and gets embarrassed easily—not really my type, but the plot is definitely worth reading. Hurry up and read it, y’all!
Intro
When Shen Yuan encountered Su Jin again in his previous life, she had already become the Prime Minister of the current dynasty. As for him, the former top young master of the capital, he had long since fallen into the abyss, becoming a singer on a pleasure boat.
After a song ended, he was redeemed and sent to the Su Residence.
Su Jin respected and cherished him, gave him a roof over his head, and bestowed him with warmth. Shen Yuan fell deeper and deeper, but before he could express his feelings, Su Jin passed away.
Shen Yuan died to follow her in death, but instead, he returned to when he was fifteen years old.
At that time, he was not yet engaged, and Su Jin was just a poor scholar.
Shen Yuan gritted his teeth, casting aside all his pride, and thought of ways to coax and entice her every day.
The colder and more indifferent Su Jin was towards him, the more proactive Shen Yuan became.
He was not afraid of being mocked by the world, only wanting to marry his Wife-master early, to hold her hand and never let go for a lifetime.
[Note: This story will not specifically point out the male lead’s reincarnation time point; it’s all in the details. Whenever you feel that the male lead is acting strangely, he has most likely been reincarnated.]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
