Chapter 269 Will we win? We will definitely win! (4.1k)
Themis turned to look at Athena who was walking out from the depths of the starry sky and shook her head slightly.
“The jurors should not be allowed to leave.”
"Since you agree that I should attend, it proves that as a juror, I also have the authority to interpret the law, determine the facts, and try the case. In the face of injustice and possible miscarriages of justice, I must speak out about it."
Athena responded with a smile, her tone neither humble nor arrogant.
Themis was silent for a moment, turned the hilt of the sword, and the crack in the starry sky closed. She then released the prisoner's restraints, sat back on the judge's seat, covered her eyes with a veil, and pondered solemnly.
"Okay, you can start your questioning."
Athena nodded and asked the question.
"Let me ask, are the parties committed to improving the judiciary, building order, and practicing justice?"
"yes!"
Themis nodded slightly and gave an affirmative answer.
There is no doubt that the plaintiff before him is the well-deserved founder of the Athenian rule of law, and he has indeed built a brighter order for Athens as he said.
“Has his selfishness hindered the perfection of justice and the execution of justice?”
"no……"
Themis thought seriously for a moment and shook her head.
Indeed, although he has selfish motives, he has a clearer bottom line than most gods and rarely breaks the rules openly. Therefore, he hardly leaves anything that can be called a handle.
"Has his usurpation not yet come true?"
"yes……"
Themis nodded again and gave a frank answer.
Athena had the same smirk as someone else on her face, and her true intentions were revealed.
"So, can we convict an innocent person for something that has not yet happened?"
“…”
Themis was silent for a long time before she let out a faint sigh.
"Is this your reason for defending him?"
"Not entirely. Compared to the justice that is hard to achieve in this world, I care more about the results."
Athena smiled and shook her head, then rolled her eyes at the plaintiff behind her and snorted in annoyance.
"Some people say he can make the world a better place, and I believe it."
“I once thought so too…”
Themis murmured with emotion, her eyes beneath the veil staring at Athena on the field.
"No regrets?"
“No regrets!”
Athena nodded solemnly without the slightest hesitation.
"You are as stubborn as your mother..."
Themis sighed with a wry smile and waved her hand disinterestedly.
"Never mind, I am the one who is meddling."
Suddenly, the starlight in the sky dimmed, the oppressive feeling around disappeared, and Loen, the plaintiff, also broke free from the invisible confinement.
Sister Ya, don't say anything! You are still good to me!
As soon as he was out of trouble, Loen looked at Athena excitedly, wishing he could pounce on her and hug her tightly to kiss the elder sister who saved him from the dire situation.
"puff!"
However, before he could take any action, the goddess of justice on the judgement seat vomited a mouthful of golden blood and fell forward dejectedly.
"Aunt!"
Seeing this, Athena's face changed and she rushed forward hurriedly to help Themis up.
Loen felt mixed emotions as he looked at the goddess of justice, whose face suddenly turned pale as if she had been struck by lightning.
To be honest, he still had some opinions about what Themis had just done.
Although he did use some tricks to drag the goddess of justice into the water, and his motives were not pure in many things, a gentleman is judged by actions rather than by the heart, and no one is perfect in the world when it comes to the heart.
At least in many aspects of dealing with people and things, Loen believed that he was much stronger than the God King and most of the Olympian gods.
But obviously, because she accidentally triggered the PTSD left by her biological father Zeus, Themis, who had been deceived, seemed to have lost her trust in him.
Next, I really don’t know how to get along with this goddess of justice.
Finally, Lorne sighed, walked forward and asked cautiously.
"What's wrong with her?"
"Fortunately, he is not dead, but he is seriously injured and in a coma."
"So serious?"
The unexpected answer made Loen a little stunned.
Athena turned around, glared at the plaintiff, and snorted unhappily.
"Do you think it is so easy to unilaterally cut off the continuation of the marriage law and divide the authority of the God King?"
“……!”
Luo En was stunned, and a bad feeling arose in his heart.
Athena's eyes swept across the dim, flickering starlight around her, and she looked quietly at the plaintiff on the field.
"...To practice justice for the weak and to wield the sword against the strong requires a price. Since this price is not paid by you or Hera, who do you think will be fulfilled?"
Loen suddenly understood and looked at the pale-faced Themis in Athena's arms in surprise. After hesitating for a moment, he spoke in a dry voice.
"What will happen to her?"
"I won't die yet."
Athena snorted in response, then pursed her lips and murmured softly.
"But breaking the oath I made to the Styx, interfering with the power of Olympus, betraying my father, and shaking the most powerful divine throne in the world, all these troubles piled up together and exploded, the situation is not much better than death."
"How is she?"
"The godhead is broken, and she can no longer be the goddess of justice. Her consciousness has been severely damaged, and she will not be able to wake up in the short term. If this continues, she will probably fall into eternal sleep."
Loen was shocked to hear Athena's answer.
He originally just wanted to trick Themis into joining the game, and use the law of marriage to weaken Zeus's power.
Unexpectedly, the goddess of justice really took action under his pressure, and even swung the sword to keep her promise, even at the cost of her own life.
This time, he really screwed Themis over.
Luo En couldn't help feeling a little regretful and asked immediately.
"What should we do then?"
"What else can we do? We can only hope that you will really keep your promise, improve the judiciary, build order, and practice justice. Use this faith to repair her damaged divinity and wake her up one day!"
Athena continued to inject divine power into the unconscious Themis to stabilize her injuries, and the coldness in her voice became increasingly intense.
"So, she had already made her choice the moment she swung the sword?"
Loen was slightly startled, then looked at the unconscious goddess of justice in surprise.
"And she also said she would take me to see Zeus?"
"If I don't say that, will you learn your lesson? And if she really wanted to offer you to Zeus, would she have to touch the divine authority first?"
Athena became angrier as she spoke. She turned around and glared at the culprit standing behind her with a gloomy expression.
"I told you long ago that conspiracies have their limits. If you rely too much on your own cleverness without absolute strength to back it up, you will get into big trouble sooner or later!"
"You even dared to sleep with Hera, and you wanted to use this as an opportunity to pry open the power of the God King. Do you really think your head is harder than the thunderbolt of Olympus? Or do you think that others are all fools who let you manipulate them, and no one can see through your evil intentions?"
"This time, Themis had to sacrifice herself to bear all the suspicion and consequences for you. What about next time? You don't think your tricks will win every time, do you?"
Hearing those heart-piercing questions, Luo En was speechless and felt a deep sense of guilt.
Indeed, he relied too much on his own tricks and forgot a crucial truth.
The practice of justice requires bloodshed.
He got away with it by his cunning, but someone has to pay the price.
Looking at the pale face of the goddess of justice, Loen couldn't help but mutter.
"Why didn't she tell me about such an important matter?"
"Are you honest with her?"
Athena turned around and asked back bluntly.
Luo En was speechless and could only argue angrily.
"Didn't I find the opportunity?"
"Chance?"
Athena glanced at the complainant with a meaningful look.
"In the second trial, do you remember anything different about her face?"
Loen thought for a moment, looked at Themis' pale face, and murmured.
"She took off the blindfold..."
"With the blindfold on, she can't see the identity of the disputants, so she won't be tempted by money or fear power. She is the goddess of justice without any personal feelings. With the blindfold off, she is just Themis, a woman who breaks taboos for you because of trust and a promise."
Athena sighed, spoke with a complicated expression, and leisurely revealed the answer to the mystery.
"She gave you a chance but you chose the worst answer..."
So, what she really wants is not a high-sounding excuse, but a confession?
However, I have too many secrets, and they are too heavy to be easily revealed.
Loen recalled the disappointment in Themis' eyes and remained silent.
Athena waved her hand, breaking the gloomy atmosphere around her, and spoke solemnly.
"Forget it. You have time to regret it. You might as well think about how to fulfill your promise in the future and use less self-righteous cleverness."
Loen nodded seriously and kept the teaching in mind.
Then, Athena used the power of the [Labyrinth] to carefully hide Themis, whose situation was temporarily stabilized. She then turned to look at the disintegrating starry sky and the graceful figure pacing anxiously in the dense forest.
"Let's go. She didn't make it to the end. I have to perform the second half."
~~
"Aunt Themis already knows about your affair, and she wants to tell my father!"
Hearing Athena's firm reminder, Hera's face suddenly changed, and she couldn't help but look at Lorne, who had just been released from the Star Court, with worry.
When the truth was revealed, she and Zeus had already completed the division of marriage and divine power, so she was not afraid of being held accountable by her husband, the king of gods.
But the same may not be true for the little lover in front of her. Ixion, the King of Thessaly who had evil intentions towards her in the past, is still imprisoned in the hell of Tartarus, suffering eternal divine punishment, unable to live or die.
Fortunately, Athena changed the subject and brought good news.
"However, I stopped her and persuaded her to give up the pursuit."
What a good boy!
Hearing this, Hera looked at Athena with a look of emotion and fondness.
Since Athena is the daughter of the first queen of heaven, Metis, she is considered a latecomer.
In addition, as an orphan with no one to rely on, Hera rarely targeted Athena, and the two got along quite well.
Unexpectedly, this insignificant good fortune actually allowed Athena to help her stepmother at the critical moment.
However, before Hera could be happy for too long, Athena added another explanation.
"Of course, there is a price for her agreeing to keep it secret for you."
"What's the price?"
"From now on, I will end my affair with Luo En and never get entangled with him again."
When Hera heard the request made by Athena on her behalf, her face suddenly turned gloomy and she looked unwilling.
"Why?"
"You filed a lawsuit for your husband's infidelity, and Aunt Themis agreed to judge for you and made a ruling in your favor regarding the division of divine power. But you also committed infidelity during your marriage, so to be fair, your previous affair should be severed."
Athena explained the reason in detail, then stared at her stepmother with a gloomy expression and spoke in a deep voice.
"Of course, she did this for your own good."
"For our own good?"
Hera frowned, not understanding what this meant.
Athena then pulled Lorne over and spoke earnestly.
"I know you like him very much, but there is no impenetrable wall. This time it was Themis who discovered the clues, and I can still stop her. But what about next time? If it is my father who comes, can you guarantee his safety and ensure that you will not be punished?"
“…”
Hera opened her mouth, but was speechless.
Yes, she had never thought about this question.
Zeus could cheat without restraint because no one could punish him.
But she was different. Once her cheating was exposed, His Majesty the God King would be able to crush her lover to death with just a wave of his hand and make her suffer.
"I understand your difficulties, and I believe that you are serious about your relationship. But your love is too heavy for him right now. If you insist on having your own way, it will only hurt each other and leave irreparable regrets."
Athena patted her stepmother's shoulder, her eyes full of honesty and sincerity.
"If you want to maintain this relationship in an upright manner, at least you must be able to protect yourself and the person you care about..."
"Athena, you're right, I was reckless."
Hera's mind suddenly became clear, and she looked at her adopted daughter with gratitude for thinking so much about her, and thanked her repeatedly.
Then, the Queen of the Forest took a look at the lover with whom she was involved in this ill-fated relationship, and the scenes of their time together were reflected in her mind. Finally, she turned her head away cruelly and gave Athena a silent instruction.
"Take care of him for me..."
"Um!"
Athena nodded solemnly and watched the stepmother summon the carriage and head towards Olympus with a heavy heart.
As the meteors in the sky disappeared from sight, the goddess of wisdom recalled the flickering eyes of Hera before she left, and turned to look at Lorne beside her with a smile.
"It seems that she cares about you very much."
"But I don't want to be the queen."
Loen replied indifferently, then turned to look at Themis hidden in the [maze] and smiled helplessly.
"Besides, I have so much debt on my shoulders. If I want to pay off the principal and interest, do I have any other choice besides that path?"
He now understood why Themis wanted to drag him to see Zeus. It was probably to make Hera give up and stop bothering him.
Athena glanced to her side and asked playfully.
"Do you regret it?"
“No regrets!”
The same question, the same answer, the two people in the forest smiled at each other, and an invisible tacit understanding emerged spontaneously.
"What should I call you then? Sister?"
"As you like."
Athena smiled indifferently, with a calm look in her eyes.
"You are not them, and you don't need to be anyone else. Just be yourself."
Then, the goddess of wisdom looked down upon the rebel who was plotting against Olympus and made a domineering declaration.
"Anyway, no matter how you choose, I will win in the end!"
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
