Chapter 21

Late at night, at Bocapet Palace.

The palace is lavishly decorated, with magnificent gilded carpets covering the corridors and halls. Portraits of past monarchs and members of the royal family hang on the walls, and a golden throne sits atop a high throne, surrounded by sword hilts and flags symbolizing royal power.

"We must bring Lorella back this time, no matter what."

The woman on the throne had a fierce look on her face; all her plans had been ruined by this evil dragon.

"Your Majesty, please do not be angry. Since the person from the Temple of Marriage has accepted the marriage invitation, he will surely help us bring the princess back safely."

A man wearing thin-rimmed gold glasses stepped out from behind the curtain and placed his warm fingers on the woman's vulva, massaging and relieving her discomfort.

“If she doesn’t come back, are we really going to have our daughter marry the Crown Prince of Rivis? That vicious and tyrannical man?” the woman said bitterly. “Loreira should have been his sixth queen.”

Everyone knows perfectly well how the first five died.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have humbled himself to seek a marriage with a non-legitimate queen from a neighboring country.

"She will come back. She is the princess of Bocape. She should stay in the palace until she is married off as a member of Bocape," the man said calmly with a half-smile.

"You're right, even an insect can't escape its cage."

Overestimating one's abilities.

—————

Hera, carrying Li Jia, did not leave the inn. Instead, she asked the owner to book two bedrooms so the little one could rest when she was tired, otherwise she would be sickly all day.

She shared a room with Li Jia, while Winslow shared a room with Doreen. Winslow was initially reluctant and wanted to share a room with Li Jia, but after being glanced at by the God, he dared not utter a sound.

Hera felt that Li Jia was hiding many things.

Where did she come from? Where is she going? Why did she approach her? Why did she stubbornly only want to become her servant?

And why, despite forming a master-servant pact with Li Jia, which should have allowed them to share divine power and lifespan, Hera could feel her life dissipating day by day, and she could not connect with her fate.

If she wanted to find out the whole story, she had to go to hell and bring Li Jia's spirit-binding lamp out of the abyss of the underworld.

The Abyss of the Underworld is located deep within the netherworld, imprisoning souls that cannot be redeemed.

There are restrictions between the underworld and the sacred mountain, preventing each other from entering.

But it's not entirely without a solution.

When that day truly comes, even if she faces eternal damnation and divine punishment, she will rekindle her spirit-binding lamp and reconnect it with herself.

She will cut off anyone or anything that tries to take her away.

Hera placed the girl on the bed, stroking her fine, shiny hair. Finally, a hint of obsessive malice appeared in her red eyes: "Li Jia, this is your own doing. You provoked me. I gave you a chance."

You are given the opportunity to choose someone else.

But now, the opportunity is over.

Li Jia woke up in the middle of the night because of the heat. Just as she was about to turn over, she felt a large hand on her waist.

He slept in her arms again.

She was her human-shaped body pillow. Li Jia clearly remembered that the book said that gods did not need to sleep or eat.

Since she arrived, no matter how late she works outside, she always comes back to the inner palace to sleep with me. She also especially likes to pinch the soft flesh under my arm.

Okay, it's flabby arms. In a fit of anger, Li Jia decided to lose weight. After Hera discovered her intention, Winslow's meals became more and more sumptuous and suited her tastes every day.

Forget it, she gives up, she surrenders, because she's a salted fish.

My dream is to have money without working. Why can't living a life of leisure and doing nothing be my number one goal in life?

People who think that such dreams lack ambition are not from the lower classes like her.

You are not a fish, how can you know the joy of fish?

That doesn't make sense.

"Are you awake?"

It was time for their evening heart-to-heart talk again. Li Jia discovered that the devil had this hobby: when she came home at night and happened to be conscious, he would pull her up and interrogate her.

The questions were incredibly boring, asking her what she had done all day in the deep palace, what she had eaten, and what she had done, like an old-fashioned patriarch.

"You're awake, Your Majesty."

Li Jia was honest and straightforward.

"Is there anything you want to say to me?"

The classic question: Li Jia quickly reviewed the events of the entire day in her mind, trying to see if she had done anything to displease this devil.

Suddenly, Li Jia sighed; she knew she couldn't avoid it.

Age-related joke.

Hera will definitely question her, so she might as well apologize in advance. Today is in front of everyone, so it's not good for her to make things difficult for her. There's a saying that goes, "You can't hit someone who's smiling at you."

She can just be a simp and keep licking him; a simp will eventually have everything.

Li Jia pulled her arm away from Hera's grasp and traced circles in Hera's palm with her fingertips, making her palm feel tingly and numb.

Seeing that Hera didn't speak, Li Jia knew that she was comfortable.

Hera's spirit is a snake. Snakes are cold-blooded animals and cannot generate heat on their own, so she likes to hug herself while sleeping at night because Li Jia has a heat source.

He would cling to her tightly every night.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty."

The little guy rested his head against her chest and muttered something shyly.

Hera's eyes were gentle. In the darkness, the single lamp was not enough to reveal her expression, but it could clearly see the little one's expression.

"Then tell me, where did you go wrong?"

The tone was not angry but rather teasing, so Li Jia knew she wasn't angry. Luckily, she apologized in time.

"I should not call Your Majesty 'sister' while I am outside today. I am merely Your Majesty's attendant and should not tarnish Your Majesty's name."

"His Majesty has shown me great favor. If it weren't for His Majesty, I would still be living a life of hard labor in the Vans family. Sometimes, I don't even dare to think about these days, for fear that thinking about them will shatter this dream."

He said half of what he meant sincerely and half of what he meant by begging for her mercy.

Sure enough, Hera was stunned by Li Jia's words and immediately sat up straight. Li Jia fell off her chest onto the bed with a "thud".

What kind of madness is this?

Seeing Hera sitting, Li Jia dared not sleep and obediently sat up as well. The two of them, one big and one small, had Hera's back covering Li Jia's slender body.

Li Jia felt a chill run down her spine, wondering what she had done to offend this devil.

"Your Majesty...did I say something wrong that upset you?"

It wasn't good for the two of them to just stay in this stalemate on the bed. Getting Hera to say it herself was probably unlikely, so Li Jia thought she should find out as soon as possible and resolve the matter.

"People can't fall asleep with emotions, and neither can gods. It will produce harmful toxins in the body." Li Jia used the same trick again, tugging at the corner of her sleeve, like a puppy that had done something wrong, with its ears drooping.

Hera looked up into her eyes, took a long breath, and said, word by word, "You are the servant I chose. You don't need to be so obsequious. What makes you inferior to others?"

Li Jia was secretly delighted; she had taken the bait. She knew all too well what kind of goddess Hera was; the more she belittled herself, the angrier Hera would become.

Unexpectedly, I transmigrated into this world with the script of a scheming, innocent girl. How can Zeus's skill in pursuing girls compare to hers?

Too young.

Li Jia secretly pinched her thigh, and the little pearls fell out of her mouth from the pain: "To be able to receive His Majesty's protection is the greatest honor of my life. His Majesty is the bright moon in the sky, and I am just a dry stone in the river. How dare I casually tarnish His Majesty's glory?"

After speaking, she looked at Hera with red eyes, as if she had been wronged.

"So what if you are a withered stone? The moonlight will only shine on you, and you will be a dazzling gem."

This was the promise she made to Li Jia, a vow from the gods, never to be broken.

“What if others want to harm me? For example, Zeus or Poseidon, or some other gods who are more powerful than Your Majesty, and want my life? What then?” Li Jia threw the question to Hera, and then said self-deprecatingly, “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have thought so much and caused trouble for Your Majesty.”

Hera smiled. "Why would they want your life if they have nothing to do with you? If that day really comes, do you think I'm dead? Or are you questioning my abilities?"

Li Jia was silent for a moment: "What if I wanted to harm someone else?"

Hera said coldly, "You don't have the ability. You may have your reasons for wanting to harm others, but wanting to do it is one thing, and doing it is another."

Damn, who do you think you are?

Why can't she have that ability?

"After you go back, you have to start classes after playing for a while. You can't be lazy. You have to exercise with Doreen every day and at least have the ability to protect yourself."

When Li Jia heard this, she felt like the sky was falling. Why was she having class here?

Hera relayed the lesson to Li Jia. She had asked Artemis, and found that their servant penguin was just as bad as Li Jia, as they could barely recognize any words.

The two priests felt deeply that solving the problem of illiteracy needed to be put on the agenda.

This is not Li Jia's fault. The grammar here is all in English and Ancient Greek. She can guess and make up the English based on her past experience as a student, but she has no way of understanding Ancient Greek grammar.

They formed a support group for the two of them. Artemis's mansion had many small animals, making it look like a large zoo.

Considering their young age, it's beneficial for their physical and mental health to learn alongside peers. The teaching should also be gradual; rushing through the material won't be effective.

So Hera would send Li Jia to Artemis's residence during the day and pick her up in the evening. Since she also knew Lina, she could go out of the residence to play, so Li Jia didn't resist as much.

Finally, under Li Jia's strong protest, a five-day work week and a two-day rest policy were adopted, and an agreement was barely reached.

Seeing that Hera had calmed down and slowly lay down, she lay on her side again, but instead of facing her, Li Jia knew that she was still a little angry.

He gently tugged at her hair again and whispered in her ear, "Won't you be angry if I call you 'sister'?"

Hera muttered, "No."

Li Jia continued, pecking at rice like a chick, "Then can I keep calling you 'sister'?"

"Can."

"Sister, I love you."

As if possessed, Li Jia whispered those words into her earlobe, and she instinctively wrapped her arms around her waist, but her arms were too small to hold her.

Before she could react, the man turned around and pulled her back into his arms, humming, "Go to sleep."

Li Jia couldn't really explain it; her "I love you" contained a hidden thought that she herself couldn't articulate.

She was originally a lost soul from another world. In that world, she was superfluous to everyone, and no one needed her.

So, having been able to come back to life, Li Jia had no regrets; she would live one day at a time.

The system assigned her a task, and her fate seemed to be tied to the cold and ruthless woman in the book.

But this woman was very lonely. Li Jia could sense her loneliness, and Li Jia herself was also very lonely. The two lonely people stayed together, and Li Jia could tolerate all her sharpness and temper.

Correspondingly, Hera shielded her from all the storms, and the time she spent here was the most relaxed and comfortable time Li Jia had ever experienced in her life.

She no longer has to worry about being kicked out of her rented room or being followed by unknown thugs. She can do whatever she wants and be herself.

No matter how much she misbehaved, Hera would never interfere, and sometimes she would even come over and ask if she could play on the seesaw she had just made.

She believed everything this person said; if it was a dream, Li Jia hoped she would never wake up.

Lost in thought, Li Jia drifted off to sleep in her arms.

In the darkness, a large amount of golden sand slid down from the hourglass necklace around Li Jia's neck.