Death Knocks on Hell’s Door Chapter 28

Chapter 28 Favoritism

A new scandal had erupted on Mount Olympus, stirring Hera’s discontent and jealousy.

When Venus visited Hephaestus in his forge, she overheard the Goddess of Youth, Hebe, complaining to him.

“……Father has gone too far this time! It was bad enough that he kept so many lovers outside, but now he’s openly sleeping with that man right under Mother’s nose,” Hebe fumed, her frustration evident. “And to make room for Ganymede as the new cupbearer, he accused me of negligence! My hands were steady, not a single drop of wine was spilled! He’s just blinded by lust.”

Hebe, the daughter of Zeus and Hera, was the younger sister of Hephaestus and Ares. Graceful and captivating, she possessed the divine ability to grant eternal youth. Before Venus arrived on Olympus, she had been the most beloved goddess on the mountain, just as Apollo had been the most favored among the gods. But now, both had been overshadowed.

Hebe was originally responsible for serving wine to the gods on Mount Olympus. At every banquet, she would gracefully pour the wine brewed by the God of Wine for the deities. But recently, Zeus became infatuated with a mortal youth named Ganymede, brought him back to Mount Olympus to serve as the cupbearer, and found a clumsy excuse to dismiss the original cupbearer, Hebe, all to make room for his beloved boy.

Naturally, both Hebe and Hera were infuriated. It was one thing for Zeus to indulge his whims elsewhere, but to bring his latest fancy into their home? That was a direct insult.

Seeking solace, Hebe turned to her closest brother, Ares, venting her grievances. But after listening, Ares merely shrugged and said, “If I had Father’s power, I’d bring Althea to Olympus too.”

Althea was Ares’ mortal lover.

Hebe stared at him in shock before blurting out, “Aren’t you supposed to be pursuing Venus?!”

“But Venus is still underage. Seducing a minor is illegal,” Ares reasoned. “I can’t be expected to stay celibate for two hundred years, can I?”

It was nothing more than lust, how could he possibly remain faithful for that?

Ares: “If you ask me, Mother has no reason to be upset. Father is a shameless philanderer. She could just keep a few lovers of her own instead of tying herself to one man. I know Althea has lovers in the mortal world, and I don’t make a fuss about it.”

Hebe sneered. “Then why do you get jealous every time Venus spends time with our eldest brother?”

Ares: “……”

Ares: “Venus is different. He’s too beautiful. You can’t compare him to mortal women.”

It was the kind of beauty that made people want to possess him exclusively. But they all knew they couldn’t, and that only made them mad with longing.

Hebe stormed out, slamming the door behind her. “You gods are all the same!”

She stormed out of the Temple of War in a fury. But after calming down and thinking it over, she realized that, aside from the underage Venus, the only male god on Olympus who was still a virgin was her eldest brother, Hephaestus. Every other god had at least two lovers.

Hephaestus was still single because of his appearance. No goddess took a fancy to him, and he was unwilling to approach other gods. However, his relationship with Venus had recently progressed by leaps and bounds.

Hebe felt utterly disillusioned with the world.

So she changed course and headed for Hephaestus’ forge, repeating her grievances to him in the hopes of finding some comfort.

Hephaestus was forging metal in his palace.

Although he had barely spoken to his younger sister before, he treated Hebe with slightly more patience than he did their second brother, Ares. But this was only to the extent that he didn’t chase her out.

Hebe stood to the side, venting her frustrations about the injustice she had suffered. Meanwhile, Hephaestus sat on a bench, hammering away in silence. The two barely acknowledged each other, yet the scene was oddly harmonious.

That was, until Venus arrived.

The moment Hephaestus saw him, he immediately stopped working. Not only did he stand up, but he even attempted to offer Venus his seat. Realizing that a simple wooden bench was far too unworthy, he hastily conjured a soft, plush sofa and, with a shy expression, invited Venus to sit.

Hebe was utterly dumbfounded.

She had just experienced what preferential treatment was like.

After listening to the full story, Venus tilted his head in curiosity. “Is this Ganymede really that beautiful?” Otherwise, how could he possibly drive the King of the Gods to such madness?

Hebe scoffed. “He’s average at best, nowhere near your level. Half the gods on Olympus are more attractive than him. Father is just fickle. He got bored of women, saw a boy for a change, and thought it was exciting. Yesterday, he loved Europa; today, he loves Ganymede; tomorrow, who knows? That boy won’t last long here.”

“I’m afraid he will suffer at the hands of Mother before Father gets tired of him,” Hephaestus remarked coolly.

Hera had always been fiercely jealous. Countless lovers of Zeus had met tragic ends because of her. To Hephaestus, his father was despicable, but his mother was pitiful.

Their great-grandfather Uranus had disrespected their great-grandmother Gaia, so she simply killed him and established a new king in his place. But Hera, bound by love, could never bring herself to harm Zeus. Instead, she took out her rage on his lovers. Yet no matter how many she eliminated, there would always be more.

Venus frowned with concern. “Should we try to protect him?” He couldn’t just stand by and do nothing, knowing someone was about to suffer.

Hephaestus remained almost indifferent. “It wouldn’t solve the root of the problem. As long as Father refuses to change, there will always be new victims.”

Venus insisted, “At the very least, we can save this one.”

Not long after, at a grand banquet, Venus finally laid eyes on the boy who had recently captured the King of the Gods’ favor.

There was no denying that Ganymede was a beautiful youth. However, in Olympus, where divine beauty was commonplace, his looks were hardly remarkable. Standing beside the God of Beauty, he was utterly overshadowed, his radiance dimmed to nothing. Fortunately, since Venus was still underage, he was only allowed grape juice instead of wine. This spared Ganymede the humiliation of serving him, avoiding an even starker comparison.

He also paled in comparison to Hera’s regal elegance. As he moved through the banquet, pouring wine for the gods, there was an undeniable air of frivolity in his manner.

But the allure of the wildflower surpasses that of the domestic bloom, and Zeus just liked this kind of thing.

When Ganymede poured wine for Zeus, he lifted the cup to his own lips first, letting them barely brush the rim before turning it halfway and offering it to Zeus.

Zeus accepted the cup with a smile. “Wine tastes better when poured by my favorite.”

Seated nearby, Hera watched their shameless flirtation, her expression darkening.

The gods were all silent, thinking that this boy, who didn’t know the immensity of heaven and earth, might not live to see the next sunrise.

Even Venus, naive as he was to the ways of court intrigue, could sense that Hera was in a foul mood. But Ganymede, emboldened by Zeus’ affection, continued to provoke her, oblivious to the storm he was inviting upon himself.

Hebe muttered under her breath, “Shameless little seducer.”

Hephaestus sighed. “Fool.”

After the banquet, Venus called out to Ganymede.

The youth turned, and upon seeing the God of Beauty up close, he was momentarily stunned. For a full ten seconds, he simply stared, utterly mesmerized, before finally snapping back to reality. “Your Highness, is there something you need from me?”

Venus asked, “Can you swim?”

Ganymede blinked in surprise. “I can.”

“Then I advise you to leave the mountain immediately. I know a secret path down the mountain that can prevent you from being discovered by the King of Gods.” He was even willing to reveal his own secret passage just to give the boy a chance. “If you stay, I can’t promise you’ll live to see Apollo rise tomorrow.”

A flash of hostility flickered through Ganymede’s eyes. “Are you telling me to leave His Majesty? Don’t waste your time. You may be beautiful, but His Majesty loves me. I’m not going anywhere.”

He had mistaken Venus for a jealous admirer of Zeus and was now issuing him a warning.

“That’s not it,” Venus said urgently. “Don’t you realize you’ve already angered Hera?”

But Ganymede remained unfazed. “His Majesty will protect me. If that’s all, Your Highness, I’ll take my leave.”

Venus stood frozen, unable to stop what was about to happen.

That very night, Olympus was shaken by a great event.

Queen Hera stormed into Ganymede’s chambers, her voice dripping with regal disdain. “Since you love pouring wine for the gods so much, then you can stay in the sky and pour wine forever.”

Ganymede’s face lit up with joy. “You mean…… you’re allowing me to stay?” He thought Zeus must have loved him so deeply that even the Queen of the Gods had no choice but to accept his presence.

Hera let out a cold, mirthless laugh. Only then did Ganymede realize something was terribly wrong. He turned to flee, but it was already too late.

A light flashed. In the next instant, he turned into the constellation Aquarius in the sky.

It would take at least a thousand years for a constellation to regain human shape. By then, fickle Zeus would have long forgotten who Ganymede even was.

When Zeus discovered what had happened, he erupted into a furious argument with Hera, his anger so great that he stormed down to the mortal world. There, he happened upon a young woman named Eraleia, and within moments, the two had fallen passionately in love. In the blink of an eye, Ganymede was forgotten.

High above, Aquarius watched from the heavens. But the wine he poured from his celestial urn was no longer sweet ambrosia but bitter tears.

Venus was stunned. “Is His Majesty really just going to leave him like that? He was calling Ganymede his favorite person just this morning!”

Hephaestus, long resigned to the ways of the gods, merely replied in a quiet, knowing voice, “An Olympian’s love is nothing more than desire.”

Venus sighed. This place was so messy.

Venus had once thought that if he ever possessed Zeus’ power, he would bring Adonis to Olympus. But now, he realized just how dangerous this mountain was. Mortals were better off staying far away.

If danger ever came for Adonis, Venus vowed he would do everything in his power to protect him.

“But,” Hephaestus suddenly said, turning to look at him, only to quickly avert his gaze, a faint blush dusting his face. “If I ever marry…… I would be loyal to my wife alone.”

Venus, utterly oblivious, smiled. “You’re really a good man.”

Hephaestus: “……”

His eyes darkened slightly as he watched Venus, so pure and unknowing. He parted his lips as if to speak, then hesitated, swallowing the words before they could leave his mouth.

The Goddess of Fate endowed Venus with a divine nature that would make him even more amorous than Zeus in the future, yet his youth was so pure and beautiful.

Hephaestus loathed Zeus. And yet, he had fallen in love with Venus.

Perhaps he, too, was doomed to become just as pitiful as his mother.

After witnessing all the night’s chaos, Venus made his way back to the Temple of Beauty alone. He lifted his gaze toward the sky, where Aquarius shimmered among the stars. Only that morning, Ganymede had been a living, breathing boy. Now, he was nothing more than a silent constellation. A strange heaviness settled in Venus’ chest.

If only he had tried harder…… he thought. If he had insisted, if he had convinced him to leave, he wouldn’t be up there now. He wouldn’t have turned into a constellation.

As Venus walked, he overheard the voices of two gods conversing ahead.

“Another new constellation in the sky. Looks like Hera’s been causing trouble again.”

“Her methods are getting more creative by the day,” a young voice responded animatedly. “Not long ago, she turned a nymph into a cow and left her to graze on a hillside, then stationed the hundred-eyed giant to guard her. I had to go through hell and back to kill that monster and rescue the poor thing. By Zeus’ command, of course.”

“That’s nothing. When my mother was with Zeus, Hera tricked her into demanding to see his true form. The moment she did, she was burned to ashes.” He spoke of the King of the Gods without the slightest reverence, calling him by name as if he were just any other man.

“You’re not the only one. My mother had to give birth to me in a cave, all to escape Hera’s wrath.”

“Apollo and Artemis know that pain all too well. When their mother, Leto, was pregnant, Hera forbade the earth itself from giving her a place to give birth. She had to flee to a drifting island in the middle of the sea before she could finally bring them into the world.”

Venus couldn’t help but gasp.

The Queen of the Gods is so terrifying.

His reaction must have been loud enough to be noticed. The conversation abruptly ceased.

Carefully, Venus stepped forward and greeted them. “Good evening.”

Under the moonlight, two gods sat at a stone table, sharing a jar of wine. One was a sharp-eyed, dark-haired youth with an air of cleverness about him. The other was a melancholy beauty, his curls tousled in a way that made him seem both weary and carelessly elegant.

They were respectively the God of Commerce and Trickery, Hermes, and the God of Wine, Dionysus.

Seeing Venus approach, Dionysus curled his lips into a lazy smile. “Ah, Little Venus.”

Hermes gestured toward an empty stone stool. “Have a seat.”

Venus sat down hesitantly. “I didn’t hear anything.” He had overheard far too many secrets, was there a chance they might silence him for it?

This conversation shattered everything he had believed. He had been pampered since birth and thought the whole world was beautiful, and everyone on Mount Olympus was having a good time. But out of his perspective, some things were so terrible, and everyone’s relationship was tense.

“Relax,” Dionysus said, swirling his wine before downing it in one gulp. “Everyone on Olympus knows about this.”

Venus, reassured but still unsettled, reached for the goblet in front of him, curious to finally taste real wine.

“No drinking for minors.” Dionysus plucked the cup from his hand, poured the wine onto the grass, and replaced it with a goblet of grape juice.

“……” Venus sulked and turned to Hermes in protest. “But he gets to drink.”

Hermes chuckled, eyes glinting with amusement. “I only look young. I’ve got a few hundred years on you.”

Venus had been born in an adult form, yet his mind was as pure as untouched snow. Hermes, on the other hand, had retained his youthful appearance for eternity but was among the most cunning minds on Olympus.

Unhappily sipping his grape juice, Venus finally asked, “Why does the Queen of the Gods do such things?”

“What else could it be?” Hermes said with a shrug. “A woman’s jealousy.”

Venus frowned. “I think His Majesty is also at fault. If he weren’t so fickle, fewer people would be heartbroken.”

Hermes burst into laughter.

Dionysus chuckled as well. “Oh, Little Venus, do you have any idea how many hearts you’ll break when you grow up?”

Venus, the God of Love and Beauty, the jewel of the sea, the darling of Olympus. Countless gods had already fallen for him, worshiped him, longed for him. And he was still in his youth. Once he reached adulthood, who knew how many more entanglements would follow?

Venus shook his head. “I don’t know. But I would never hurt anyone on purpose.”

Dionysus swirled his wine, gazing into the clear green of Venus’ eyes. “The Goddess of Fate have already foretold that one day, the pure and innocent white rose will bloom into a sultry, crimson red. You were born to be adored, Venus. Everyone will want to pluck you, to taste your fragrance. And those who can’t have you? Their hearts will break. But you only have one flower to give, how will you divide it among so many?”

Venus thought for a moment. “I can give each person a petal, as long as they don’t pull me up by the roots. That way, I can bloom again and share more petals.” However, he would give Adonis two petals.

He did not yet understand what it meant to love only one. In the divine nature of the God of Pleasure, there was no concept of fidelity or exclusivity. For him, favoritism was already an extraordinary act.

Hermes laughed uncontrollably. “Venus, isn’t that exactly what it means to be fickle?”

Venus looked troubled. “Is it? But I don’t want anyone to be sad. If one petal isn’t enough, I’ll give each person two.” But that way, he would have to give Adonis three petals.

Oh no. If he thought about it that way, wasn’t he just like Zeus?

Venus gave up struggling. “Alright, fine. I admit I’m fickle. But is there any other way?”

Hermes laughed so hard he choked on his wine.

Dionysus couldn’t help but let amusement flicker in his eyes. “You were born as the God of Pleasure.”

People might possess his body, but none would ever truly claim his heart.

After bidding farewell to the God of Wine and the God of Commerce, Venus still didn’t return to his palace.

Instead, he ran to the Queen of the Gods’ hall, seeking an audience with Hera.

The grand hall was in complete disarray. Shattered objects littered the floor. Hera wiped away the traces of her tears and turned to Venus with an unkind expression. She put on an arrogant posture, unwilling to let anyone see her embarrassed appearance.

“What are you doing here?”

Venus said, “I want to give you a gift.”

Hera remained indifferent, barely interested. As Queen of the Gods, she had received countless precious gifts.

Venus unfastened his golden belt. “This is a belt infused with the magic of love. Whoever wears it will be irresistible. Perhaps it might help you capture His Majesty’s heart.”

Hera’s expression shifted. She immediately took the belt, running her fingers over it with fascination. Her demeanor softened. “Thank you.”

After handing over the belt, Venus politely excused himself from the palace. As he stepped outside, his gaze lifted to the heavens, where the constellation of Aquarius gleamed. He let out a silent sigh.

He doubted that relying on external magic could truly mend the rift between this estranged couple. Hera, the Goddess of Marriage, could not even protect her own union. Just as he, the God of Love, did not yet understand what love truly was.

But if the belt could keep Zeus captivated, if it could stop him from constantly seeking new lovers and spare others from Hera’s wrath, then the world might know a little more peace.

If the Goddess of Peace, Eirene, knew of his efforts, she would surely be grateful for the God of Love’s help.

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