Chapter 6 The Show

"You still have to help me find the cattle, you despicable brat."

When Hermes saw Apollo accept the apology gift, her smile became even more genuine. She understood that Apollo wouldn't allow himself to be humiliated in front of everyone, which was why she gave him a way out after admitting her lie.

Before Apollo straightened up and ignored her again, she deliberately touched his arm and whispered, "Thank you, Brother Apollo."

He picked up the seven-stringed zither and, as expected, ignored her completely.

Hermes was not discouraged. This was only the beginning. Although she had used Apollo to open a channel to meet the gods, at least the ending was handled reasonably well, and there was still a long way to go.

Zeus, sitting on his throne, was clearly satisfied with the outcome. He showed no favoritism and greatly admired the clever and intelligent Hermes.

"Then let's leave it at that," Zeus announced with a smile, his deep voice echoing throughout the garden. "Hermes, we forgive your rash behavior, but only if you help Apollo find his lost cattle."

The plan is progressing very smoothly!

Hermes blinked a few times and replied energetically, "Yes, Your Majesty!"

She cannot openly reveal to the gods that she is Zeus's biological daughter. Zeus has not said it outright, and even though everyone knows it, it would be tantamount to cutting off her own escape route, especially with Hera in front of her.

It's alright, she will try her best to win over Hera and make the gods truly accept her.

However, the situation changed in the next moment.

Hera, with her hair neatly styled, stood up. A half-smile played on her mature and beautiful face. As she slightly raised her arms, which were as white as lilies, the noble and majestic aura of the Queen of Gods swept over all the gods present.

“What a bright and lovely child, Hermes.” Hera gazed meaningfully at the girl who looked at her with surprise. Her voice was sweet as honey, yet seemed to carry a hint of icy coldness. “I wonder who your mother is, and where she is now?”

Upon hearing this, all the gods were astonished. Almost all of them could tell that the child's father was Zeus, and some of the higher-ranking gods even knew which goddess she was born to. Moreover, all of this was absolutely not something that could be discussed openly.

It was already an accident that this girl would appear here today, but how could Hera, the queen of the gods, ask her such a question, making the whole thing even more complicated?

If Hera were to expose Hermes' true parentage to the public, even if Hermes was the guilty party, Hermes would still be implicated in the scandal, not to mention the god-king who created it.

This is tantamount to tearing off one's own face and losing all dignity.

Zeus glanced at Hera. Unlike the other gods, he had shared a bed with her for many years, and they were also siblings and comrades who had fought together to overthrow the former king of the gods, Cronus. He could understand her meticulous thoughts.

Hermes, who inherited Zeus's cunning nature, quickly figured out Hera's intentions.

If Hermes dared to deliberately conceal her mother Maia and lie before the gods, then regardless of the truth, she would be firmly in the position of the most heinous criminal, and Hera would have even more reason to punish her without having to consider Zeus's feelings.

What if they honestly revealed Maya's identity? Even if it would embarrass the Queen herself, it would only embarrass Hermes and Maya, who was still in the cave of Kulenne, far away, because Hermes was an illegitimate child.

Why would the Queen of the Gods choose such a mutually destructive path, directly confronting Zeus, the adulterer?

unless……

Hermes bowed his head to the high and mighty Hera, concealing his sudden realization beneath a veneer of reverence and piety.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty the Great Queen. My mother is Maia, the goddess of the mountains and forests. She gave birth to me in a cave on Mount Kulenne, which gives me the opportunity to meet the gods and Your Majesty."

Unless Hera had no intention of revealing her true identity at this time, what the Queen of the Gods wanted to do now was merely to subtly warn her and Zeus, not to actually tear off the mask and humiliate herself and Zeus.

—The scene was calm, at least on the surface.

Hermes understood these truths, but after she finished speaking, she still couldn't help feeling sad, both for the gods' piercing gaze and whispers, and for the fact that her birth was so base and shameless.

Life is precious and lovely, but she, who violated theoretical principles and lived a life of ignominy, naturally belonged to the darkness.

"Oh, this is really..."

"Tsk tsk, what a show!"

The voices of Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, and Poseidon, the god of the sea, are particularly prominent.

It's all that old geezer's fault! If he hadn't defiled Mother...

Hermes was in a low mood, cursing the culprit in her heart, when she suddenly felt a weight on her right shoulder. She looked up in surprise and saw a scene that she never expected.

Apollo, the god of light, placed his hand on her shoulder, his cool and handsome face facing Hera on the high seat.

“That is indeed the case, Your Highness.” Even his voice sounded clear and powerful, with a hint of deep seductiveness. “Mount Kulenne belongs to the Arcadia Mountains under my jurisdiction, and I witnessed Hermes’ birth while herding cattle.”

This time Hermes wasn't lying.

Apollo silently recited the words to himself, his fingers, which were touching Hermes' right shoulder, tightened slightly.

He controlled his strength well, so she didn't feel any pain, but instead felt a sense of relief.

Hermes stared blankly at Apollo's sharply defined profile, her quick-thinking mind realizing that he was filling in the gaps in her memory. Hera, betrayed by Zeus once again, might punish her regardless of whether her words were true or false.

At the same time, she was also quite aware that Apollo and his twin sister Artemis had experienced a situation almost identical to her own. Hera was Zeus's wife, but after marrying her, the latter had an affair and nursed the goddess Leto, which led to the birth of Artemis and Apollo.

They, along with their mother and children, shared a similarly lowly background and even suffered cruel persecution at one point under Hera's rule.

Apollo chose to step forward at this moment, perhaps because he saw his former self in Hermes, or perhaps because he wanted to take the opportunity to demonstrate his authority and subtly imply to His Highness the Queen of the Gods not to try to harm him, his sister, or his mother again, even though he had only recently ascended to the position of the chief god of Olympus.

There were even more outrageous reasons—to win over Hermes, the newly born deity.

But...why?

That's unbelievable. Wasn't she just taking advantage of him not long ago?

Thinking of this, Hermes lowered her head again, feeling increasingly that the situation was getting out of control, making it difficult for her to figure it all out.

She didn't notice Apollo's fleeting glance at her out of the corner of his eye. Her mind was in turmoil, and in her panic, she could only think of a new way to solve the problem.

However, the next second, Hera's voice came on the wind.

"Catch them carefully."

Hermes looked up abruptly and saw something familiar flying from Hera's hand. She instinctively reached out and caught it; it was a pair of winged sandals that landed steadily in her palm.

White wings, golden shoes.

Hermes froze, and Zeus, who was sitting on the other side of the throne, also stopped.

This was clearly a gift that Zeus himself gave to Hermes in the cave of Courne yesterday, and that her mother Maia had buried it underground before Apollo came looking for her today.

“Don’t be nervous, poor little one.” Hera’s red lips curved slightly, her bright golden eyes curving into a smile that blurred the original ambiguous meaning. “With these winged sandals as a gift, I bless your birth, Hermes.”

Even though I hate your existence.

So don't let me down.

Hera's smile faded, and she returned to her sacred throne, ignoring the scrutinizing gaze from her husband beside her.

This farce thus came to an end.

Hermes, feigning composure, held the so-called 'gift' and followed Apollo to bid farewell to the gods and leave Mount Olympus.

Even as her feet touched the grass of the Arcadia Mountains, cold sweat still streamed down her back. She hurriedly tried to return to Mount Kulenne to find her mother, unsure of her safety and genuinely afraid.

But at the very moment she was about to set off, someone stopped her.

Don't forget.

Hermes stared blankly at Apollo's indifferent face.

"You still have to help me find the cattle, you despicable brat."

[Author's Note]

Considering the following two points: [① In mythology, after Hera, Poseidon, Athena, and Apollo's failed rebellion, Zeus punished Hera by hanging her in the air, which angered the gods. Zeus then lowered Hera and promised her to be his only legal wife. ② Zeus's second wife, Themis, the goddess of justice and law, strongly resented his act of swallowing his first wife, Metis, and therefore established marriage laws as a constraint.], this article establishes that of Zeus's seven wives, only Metis ceased to be his wife because she was swallowed, and Themis divorced Zeus voluntarily. Eurynome, Demeter, Mnemosyne, and Leto are all nominal wives; only Hera is Zeus's only legal wife, both now and in the future.