King of Underworld

Chapter 105: The Story of Eros and Psyche – (4)

Drawn as if in a trance, Psyche stepped inside the palace and looked around. Somewhere, soft music began to flow.

The beautiful sound of a lyre gently caressed her ears, easing her tension.

Inside, various fruits and other dishes were laid out.

The dishes were no less impressive than what Princess Psyche, a royal, was accustomed to eating.

Feeling the pangs of hunger, she slowly plucked a single grape and brought it to her lips.

Pop — The fruit burst in her mouth. It was filled with the sensation of Demeter’s blessing.

How could they have made such fruits and dishes? Maybe her husband was indeed the monster as foretold in the prophecy.

Still, if she spent 100 days with her husband without seeing his face, she could escape her fate of marrying a monster…

Before she realized it, time had passed, and as the black darkness settled over the land, fatigue overtook her, and she lay down on the bed.

‘Will my husband show up today? Since he hasn’t appeared until the evening, maybe tomorrow…’

Psyche, lost in thought, found herself unable to sleep.

Lying still beneath the blanket, she heard a strange noise.

Clunk. Clunk. Whooosh—

“Gasp…!”

When she turned her head towards the open window where the wind was blowing in, a dark shadow that hadn’t been there before was standing.

Who is that person that entered the house? A monster? Her husband? Did they come through the window?

Psyche trembled with fear but soon realized she had no reason to be afraid.

It was thanks to the hesitant words of the shadow cloaked in darkness…

“Um. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Psyche. I am your husband… no, your suitor.”

“S-Suitor?”

A low, deep, and handsome voice. It sounded similar to the voice of a man her age.

But suitor? What did he mean by that? Wasn’t she supposed to live without seeing her husband’s face for 100 days?

For now, could she trust this figure whose face was hidden in the darkness?

“A suitor… Then, does that mean we will now…”

“Please, don’t misunderstand. I have no intention of laying a hand on you.”

“Huh?”

“I am busy during the day, so I can only come here in the evening to spend time getting to know you.”

Psyche couldn’t understand what was going on. Marriage, she thought, involved a man and a woman having a relationship…

And living together… that’s what she knew. Wait, he introduced himself as a suitor earlier.

“…You said suitor earlier.”

“That’s right.”

“So… does that mean I’m not married to you?”

The dark figure hesitated for a moment before speaking.

Perhaps it was her imagination, but Psyche sensed that he was blushing.

“Not yet. So…”

“…?”

“After 100 days, please decide if you will accept my proposal. I will court you without laying a finger on you for 100 days.”

Could that be true? The relief of not being forced into marriage. The hope that perhaps he wasn’t as bad as she feared.

But along with that, came curiosity and a touch of suspicion.

However, her suitor wouldn’t answer any more of her questions.

“Um…”

“I imagine today must have been overwhelming for you. I’ll leave now and return tomorrow at the same time. And remember, everything in this palace is yours to use as you please. As long as you don’t leave the palace, you’re free to stroll around or write letters. My invisible servants will assist you.”

Whooosh—

With the sound of the wind, Psyche’s suitor disappeared once again.

She could only think one thing about the man who had left so quickly, seemingly out of embarrassment.

‘He could have closed the window on his way out…’

It was cold since it was nighttime.

***

From that point on, their strange cohabitation began.

If it could even be called cohabitation, her suitor came to visit her every night…

They would talk briefly before falling asleep together. Though, by the time she woke up in the morning, he would already be gone.

Yet, he never laid a hand on her, which left a strong impression.

One week. Two weeks. As 30 days passed, Psyche’s wariness slowly started to fade.

Though she had been a bit scared on the first day, talking with him every day revealed that he was somewhat innocent and seemed to genuinely care for her.

His respectful attitude, never crossing the line and maintaining their boundaries, also contributed.

So, one day, Psyche decided to ask him a question.

“Um. There’s something I’m curious about.”

“If it’s your question, I’ll answer anything. Please, ask.”

“Why don’t you lay a hand on me?”

A very reasonable and obvious question. There isn’t a man in the world who dislikes a beautiful woman.

Most Greek men, even the gods, praised her beauty, so why wasn’t he moved by it?

By now, Psyche was feeling a slight blow to her pride.

Her suitor seemed to pause for a moment before slowly answering.

“Truthfully, I did intend to take you by force at first. But… if I had done so, you would never have opened your heart to me.”

“Then why did you change your mind? Yawn~ I’m no warrior, so I wouldn’t have been able to resist…”

“…The most fair and merciful being in the world gave me an epiphany. They taught me that the human heart cannot be taken but must be earned.”

Even though his face was hidden in the darkness, she could sense he was smiling gently.

His tone was filled with reverence. Who could this most fair and merciful being be?

The most fair and merciful… Being the best in a certain field meant they must be a god.

Wait a second. If that’s the case, could it be?

Even though she was feeling sleepy, Psyche’s mind began to piece together the puzzle.

The new oracle her parents received at Pluto’s temple, and the alternate name for the god Pluto…

“Over the next 100 days, please consider my proposal. I truly love you.”

The god of the underworld, wealth, and mercy.

The ruler of the underworld, who, at the end of life, makes fair and strict judgments.

However, a kind god who was said to not be harsh to mortals.

“Rest well. You must be tired from today.”

‘So that’s it. Thank you, Lord Pluto…’

***

The 100 days passed quickly.

On the exact evening of the 100th day, Psyche greeted her suitor as usual.

“…Today is the 100th day.”

“Indeed it is.”

Psyche reflected on the past 100 days.

Her husband, no, her suitor, had been very kind to her. He had treated her with great respect…

When he lay next to her at night, his body felt surprisingly firm.

Her life here was more luxurious than it had been in the royal palace and was not bad at all.

A vast garden, a mansion filled with jewels, loyal invisible servants, and a suitor who courted her but never crossed the line.

Following her parents’ repeated warnings from the oracle, she had not seen her husband’s face even once.

She had exchanged letters with her two sisters, and they had constantly reminded her.

– Psyche, you mustn’t see his face. You only have about 60 more days to go.

– We followed the dove that delivered your letters, and now we know where you are. You’re about three days away from the kingdom…

Before they received Pluto’s oracle, Psyche’s sisters had come to the kingdom to warn her out of fear.

They told her to secretly check her husband’s face with a torch and, if he was a monster, to stab him with a knife.

‘My sisters must have been so worried about me… I miss them.’

As Psyche reminisced about the past, her husband slowly approached.

Instead of lying next to her, he merely sat at the edge of the bed for some reason.

“Why aren’t you lying down next to me today?”

“…Actually, the reason no suitors came for you is all because of me.”

“What?”

“I fell in love with you at first sight, so I used a little of my power… You could say that.”

Hearing the sadness and slight tremor in his voice, Psyche felt confused.

Not only was it because of him that she had no suitors, but why was he telling her this now? If he hadn’t told her, she would never have known.

“Why are you telling me this all of a sudden? If you had kept it to yourself…”

“…I wanted to be honest with myself. Even if I tricked you into marriage, Lord Hades would never allow it… And with tomorrow’s decision about whether or not you’ll accept my proposal, I didn’t want to hide anything. I’m sorry.”

He mentioned Lord Hades. No mortal, unless they were a priest, would dare utter his name so casually.

Death was as fearsome as a thunderbolt from the sky or the deepest part of the sea.

Yet, instead of using the name Pluto, he called him Hades.

As Psyche had vaguely suspected, he was indeed a god.

“It’s… fine.”

“…What did you say?”

“It’s fine. If you hadn’t done so, I would have been sold off to a prince in a neighboring kingdom as part of a political marriage.”

Psyche was surprisingly calm about it because of this reason.

For a princess like her, known only for her beauty, the best outcome would have been to be sold off to a prince who treated her well.

In that sense, the mysterious suitor she had seen for the past 100 days wasn’t bad.

And… when she thought about how he might no longer be with her starting tomorrow, something felt missing.

It was a little troubling that he was a god, but…

“What if I grow old and lose my beauty? Will you still love me?”

“If that’s your concern…! I swear by the River Styx… And I will plead with Lord Zeus so that you can become a goddess.”

After confirming each other’s feelings, they finally consummated their relationship after 100 days of their delicate cohabitation.

Precisely after the stroke of midnight… Psyche finally saw her suitor’s face.

A god with a beautifully sculpted, handsome face and wings made of pure white feathers. This is…

“Thank you for trusting me, Psyche. I am the god of love, Eros.”

“Ah… Eros…”

The 100 days of patience had been a preparation and a trial to earn the right to behold the face of a god.

Now that she had passed, even Aphrodite could no longer deny their union.