Chapter 2

In the end, Lyra asked me to go pick the herbs.

"Orion, could you go to the cliffs outside the temple and pick a moonflower for me? We might need it when we go to bed tonight."

My clenched fists popped. These wretched creatures had no shame.

I had truly underestimated Lyra. We had known each other for three hundred years, and she always played the flawless, pure forest nymph.

She told me the thing she hated most in life was betrayal. But behind her sweet words, she was a greedy, unfaithful slut.

I looked up, glaring directly into Lyra's flirting eyes. The freezing, deathly aura of the Underworld exploded from my body, causing her to panic.

"Orion, w-what’s wrong? Is it your old Underworld injury acting up?"

She reached out to touch my forehead, but she was still covered in the scent of another male.

Disgusted, I dodged her hand.

"Lyra, I think we should postpone our Soul-Binding Ceremony."

Lyra really panicked now. She grabbed my arm.

"Orion, what are you talking about?"

I peeled her hands off and forced a bitter smile. "Don't be nervous. I'm fine. I'm just afraid binding our souls too early will tie you down. We both have long lives ahead of us. Why don't you enjoy your freedom for a few more days before we talk about it?"

Lyra smiled sweetly, hugging my arm and burying her face in my chest.

"I knew you loved me the most. Thank you for always thinking of me."

She didn't know I had already decided to abandon her. Instead, she looked smugly at Darius and her friends.

"Tsk, what a rare, hopelessly devoted fool. So well-tamed!"

"I don't know how he faces his noble Underworld ancestors."

They were all laughing at me, treating me like a toy they could spin on their fingers.

I didn't care. Let them laugh.

Because whoever dared to make a joke out of a High Lord's sacrifice, I would turn them into the laughingstock of all Olympus.

I turned and walked out to pick the moonflower. The second I stepped out, they were already locked in a wild, passionate kiss.

"Damn, you play a dangerous game, stringing two men along at once. Only you could pull this off."

"Oh, shut up, you do it too. Isn't your mortal demigod lover totally fooled by you?"

"Alright, I'm leaving. My lover is washed up and waiting for me in the bath."

Hearing this, I sped up and left.

It was pouring rain outside. The water soaked my robes, making me look pathetic.

When I returned with the herb, the hall was echoing with loud laughter.

They all looked right at me, chatting in their secret tongue without skipping a beat.

"Let's go to the Nysian Valley tomorrow to 'hunt the golden deer.' How about it?"

"Ugh! I don't want to go. Too tiring."

"Fucking in the wild isn't tiring! Hahaha, I'm doing this for our own good!"

Under the table, Darius boldly rubbed his foot against Lyra’s leg. Lyra instantly perked up.

Everyone smiled at me, truly treating me like an absolute moron.

The next day, Lyra took me out to the Nysian Valley to hunt.

At the foot of the valley, her nymph friends started joking again.

"You guys are unbelievable. Having fun out here and you actually brought Orion? Aren't you afraid he'll catch you cheating?"

"If you don't tell, and we don't tell, who's going to point him in the right direction?"

"I just love the thrill of cheating right under the fiancé's nose, haha!"

Right after that, Lyra led me into the woods to find the golden deer.

Not long after, she made an excuse that she needed to relieve herself deep in the forest. She even told me to stand guard outside and not let anyone near.

My heart felt a twisting, numbing pain. I never knew the person I loved could be so shameless.

She was carrying a bag full of aphrodisiac oils and pleasure tools.

Last night, while I was meditating, she had quietly gotten out of bed to pack it, using telepathy to dirty-talk with Darius about what positions they would use in the wild today.

I didn't sleep a wink last night.

Instead, I sliced my fingertip and sent a divine rune deep into the earth.

"I am ready. Give me the Crown."

I had decided to return to the underground and take command of the Underworld's undead army.

But before I completely severed this toxic bond and returned to the abyss, I had to make these reckless ants pay the price for making a fool out of a god.