I've Possessed Persephone (9 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 10

Hades’ brow furrowed sharply at the question.

“…….”

“Just say it out loud.”

“……What strange—”

“—Ah, just try it!”

Hades fixed Hermes with a cold stare, but unusually for him, Hermes snapped in anger.

His usual playful demeanor was nowhere to be seen.

After a brief hesitation, Hades cautiously added,

“I refuse. Even if I consider myself lacking, upon reflecting on my deeds, I’ve never done anything shameful till now.”

“Really?”

“I swear it upon the River Styx.”

Hermes’ eyes widened.

An oath sworn on the River Styx was an unbreakable vow, even for the gods.

Breaking such an oath would plunge one into a coma for several years.

Seeing Hades invoke the Styx oath, Hermes suddenly realized something was off.

For a moment, his face muscles twitched freely before he pressed his ear close to Hades’ heart.

“How strange—normally, a liar’s heart races. Lord Hades, have you already broken your oath and passed out? Why is your heartbeat so slow?”

“…….”

“Or could it be… you don’t even think what you did was wrong? Oh dear, that’s even worse….”

“……If you add another word, I’ll charge you with defamation and slander and lock you up in Tartarus. Shut up and first explain why you’re acting like this.”

Hades pushed Hermes away as he tried to check his pulse.

Hermes pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head.

“Fine. Since you’ve sworn even upon Styx, I suppose I have no choice but to believe you… but there’s one thing I’d like to ask.”

“What is it?”

“Kore… did Lord Hades deliberately run her over with your chariot?”

Hades froze completely. Hermes boldly raised his index finger and adjusted his hat.

“If that’s truly the case, as the god of righteous thieves, I cannot possibly obey your request!”

Hades’ sense of disbelief slapped him across the cheek and stormed off in righteous indignation. He snapped sharply,

“What kind of person do you think I am?”

“Huh? Well, I was considering the possibility you’re trash who ran over a girl you liked with your chariot, and when you couldn’t hold onto her, even went as far as threatening the messenger god!”

“…….”

“Rumors are even going around that you fantasized about marrying that girl.”

“……Who? Me?”

When Hades pointed at himself, Hermes nearly leapt into the air.

“Hydra and Thanatos said so! According to them, Lord Hades is remodeling the palace for his ‘bride,’ and that runaway ‘bride’ is none other than Kore—the very girl you ran over with your chariot!”

“When did I ever say I had someone I loved?”

“Huh?”

“What.”

“Are you seriously trying to deny it?”

“Do I look like you?”

“……Uh, what?”

The focus in Hermes’ eyes gradually began to fade.

Hades groaned and buried his face in one hand. He had a strong intuition that things had gone terribly, terribly wrong.

“Bring Thanatos and Hydra here.”

“What?”

“Now!”

* * *

Hades took in Hermes leaning against the corridor wall.

“Hehe….”

The boy chuckled lightly but fidgeted with his fingers, clearly embarrassed.

Now he understood how the misunderstanding that he’d kidnapped Kore had arisen—it was because neither Thanatos nor Hydra knew he’d run her over with his chariot, so they mistook her for their boss’s “runaway bride.”

First, he needed to clear things up with Hermes.

“I have absolutely no relationship with Kore. We’re complete strangers.”

Hades had pulled Hermes aside and explained that he absolutely had no intention of getting married, and that Kore’s attempt to flee the Underworld was simply because she wanted to return to the land of the living.

“Oh, so you really weren’t trying to kidnap her, then?”

Only then did Hermes, having resolved all his doubts, smile brightly.

Hades exhaled and lightly tapped the corridor wall with his knuckles.

“Do you understand now?”

“Yes, of course! That girl should still be somewhere in the Underworld—I’ll find her quickly.”

Hermes saluted with the edge of his hand to his forehead. A faint smile tugged at Hades’ lips.

“It’s a miracle you didn’t go straight to Lady Demeter first.”

“True. Consider yourself lucky that instead of going to your would-be mother-in-law, I came straight to you to declare war.”

“For making such a baseless assumption, you’re awfully proud of yourself. If you really don’t trust me, once you’ve found Kore, contact me first—then take her straight to Lady Demeter. I’ll apologize to both her and Kore at once.”

“Understood.”

Hades pulled aside the tapestry covering the window for Hermes.

The messenger god kicked off from the windowsill and soared across the Underworld sky at the speed of light.

Back in his office, Hades now eyed Hydra and Thanatos, seated in a row along one wall.

‘They’re not children being punished….’

Seeing them quietly processing documents felt strangely touching.

“Hydra, bring me the list you wrote.”

At Hades’ gesture, she silently handed him a sheet of paper.

At the very bottom was Hydra’s handwritten note of the final item needed for the guest room:

[Friend(?)]

“…….”

The moment he saw that problematic word, Hades instantly realized:

Ah, she misunderstood the word again….

He handed the paper back to the crestfallen Hydra and tapped the end of it.

“It’s not ‘friend’—it’s ‘bedding.’ Things like pillows for the bed.”

“Oh… So she didn’t need a conversation partner after all.”

“……Correct.”

Hydra, looking sheepish, picked up her reed pen. With a sharp nib, she crossed out ‘friend’ and wrote ‘bedding’ instead.

Watching her, Hades suddenly asked,

“But how exactly did ‘friend’ turn into ‘bride’?”

Thanatos, seated beside Hydra, calmly admitted,

【Well… that was my doing. My apologies.】

“How on earth?”

Thanatos shook his head and continued,

【It didn’t seem entirely unreasonable that Hydra might have misheard ‘bride’ as ‘friend.’】

“…….”

【Moreover, the colors you specified were exactly those used in weddings—especially the yellow and red, which stood out to me quite a bit.】

“……I see. Noted.”

Hades looked at Thanatos with an expression that said, ‘I didn’t expect even you to do something like this.’

Thanatos’ wings drooped like wet feathers.

Seated, Hades silently glanced at his assistants diligently processing paperwork.

“Hydra.”

“Yes?”

“I’ll personally commission the palace renovation myself, so don’t take on this task.”

Stunned, Hydra wobbled where she stood. Barely regaining her balance, she turned to look back at her superior, trembling.

“S-so… does that mean I won’t need to go outside anymore?”

“Yes. It seems unnecessary for you to go out. I’ll handle it myself. That should be sufficient.”

“…….”

“You have a problem with that?”

“……No.”

Hydra gave a small reply, her lips curving upward—but her eyes didn’t smile.

Immediately afterward, as Hydra muttered about her failed escape from the Underworld, Thanatos interjected from behind her, “That wasn’t an escape—it should be called an outing.”

Hades sighed as he watched Hydra’s hand rise toward Thanatos’ face and Thanatos dodge her twisting grip.

‘Each one of them is quite capable on their own—so why do they become half a person when together?’

Their work efficiency dropped to a mere quarter.

Hydra had only recently gained the ability to communicate verbally, so that was somewhat understandable—but Thanatos, son of Nyx, was senior even to Hades himself…

‘How on earth did I end up gathering such people?’

Hades, the very one responsible for assembling “these people,” let out a deep sigh.

To stop them from fighting like siblings or sworn enemies, he addressed Thanatos,

“Thanatos, aren’t you older than I am? You’ve held a position in the Underworld even before I arrived here.”

【Age lived and mental maturity are different matters. I tend to adjust my mental age according to the level of those around me.】

At the word ‘mental maturity,’ Hydra hissed like a cat.

With one hand and both eyes on paperwork, she began fiercely attacking Thanatos with her other hand.

“If you can’t even speak properly….”

Hades clicked his tongue and shook his head.

Just then, a messenger bird flew toward Thanatos.

It wore a bronze breastplate.

Noticing it, Hades raised an eyebrow. Thanatos explained,

【I sent messenger birds to the Underworld’s wall guards to help find Lady Demeter’s daughter. This seems to be their reply.】

“Give it to me first.”

Hades reached out his hand.

Receiving the bird from Thanatos, Hades summoned dark energy along his veins.

As he manifested his divine power, black ink-like characters swiftly appeared in the air:

[‘Lady Kore’ attempted to scale the wall.]

“Unbelievable….”

Hades’ expression changed instantly.

Just as he feared, this time she was desperately trying to climb over the wall itself.

His eyes quickly scanned the rest of the message.

[She falsely claimed to be Hecate, Demeter’s attendant.]

Hades’ eyes widened.

Wasn’t Hecate the goddess who often lingered by Demeter’s side?

Using her name… it seemed the girl Kore had inherited her mother’s remarkable boldness.

A weary smile spread across his lips.

‘Well… at least the soldiers will stop her.’

Even if she didn’t want to stop, she’d have to. They were strong, after all.

But his dark, ocean-like eyes truly began to waver only when he read the next line:

[She is adamantly refusing the soldiers’ pleas to stay.] [Requesting backup]

“What…!”

[Without support, the soldiers are in danger!]