Chapter 37.1 Marriage Proposals
Zeus was a god of his word. The next day, he summoned all the Olympian gods, announcing that he had a major announcement to make.
With great fanfare, Zeus gathered the divine assembly. The gods, never daring to delay when called, hurried to the throne hall of the King of the Gods.
Among them was Thanatos, who donned the Helmet of Invisibility and cloaked himself in a black robe. Silent as a shadow, he slipped into the midst of the gods, preparing to listen in on the crucial plan.
Recently, the Norse gods had suffered a catastrophic disaster, which posed a threat to the Greek seas. Poseidon had shared the news with both the underworld and Mount Olympus. The King of the Underworld, Hades, responded by furiously reinforcing the defenses of the underworld. Although his forces were small, they were all on high alert, prepared for whatever might come.
However, there was no sign of any such precautions from Mount Olympus.
Hades, ever cautious, knew that Zeus had long harbored ambitions of uniting the three realms. He suspected that Zeus was up to something, plotting in secret to strike a devastating blow to both the underworld and the seas. Recently, there had been a surge in the study of the Chinese language on Mount Olympus, which only served to strengthen Hades’ belief that Zeus had a hidden agenda. The need for such a cryptic language could only mean that something covert was afoot.
Thus, Hades had sent Thanatos to learn the language, even lending him the Helmet of Invisibility to ensure that no one could detect him. His mission was to infiltrate Mount Olympus and gather information.
Thanatos had spent several days quietly observing on Mount Olympus, patiently waiting for the moment when the gods would discuss their plans.
When that moment finally arrived, Thanatos stood in a shadowed corner of the great hall, unseen by the gods. Confident in his ability to overhear their conversation, he was well-prepared. He had mastered the Chinese language, and no matter what encrypted words the gods might use, he would understand every single one.
When the gods were almost all there, Hephaestus arrived late, silently taking a seat in the corner.
His forge was located in a remote area, and Hephaestus, with his mobility issues, was always the last to arrive at any gathering. But the other gods barely took notice of his late entrance. They would only glance at him for a moment before turning back to their lively conversations.
If it weren’t for Hephaestus’ good relationship with Venus, and the attention he had drawn at his coming-of-age banquet, he might not have even received that brief glance.
Thanatos stood not far from Hephaestus, observing as the gods mingled and chatted among themselves. Meanwhile, the God of Fire sat alone in a corner, isolated, as though invisible. Although he wasn’t wearing the Helmet of Invisibility, he might as well have been a transparent god.
The structure of the underworld was simple. At the top was Hades, the king of the dead, flanked by his two deputies — Thanatos, the God of Death, and Hypnos, the God of Sleep. Then there was the God of the Abyss, Tartarus, who never spoke and had taken on the form of hell itself. When he spoke, the whole realm would fall silent, as though everyone had become mute in response.
Hypnos was a gentle and lively soul, the little sun in the underworld. Unfortunately, his boss was taciturn, his brother was distant and socially anxious, and Tartarus was effectively mute. He would try to chat, but there was no one to respond.
In such an environment, it was hard to engage in political scheming. Thanatos didn’t understand the meaning of exclusion or isolation. But seeing the scene before him and imagining himself in Hephaestus’ shoes, he felt his own social anxiety beginning to rise.
Luckily, at that moment, Zeus made his grand entrance, breaking the awkwardness that had been spreading in the corner.
The gods immediately stopped whispering to each other, their expressions becoming serious. Thanatos shifted his focus to Zeus, entering his eavesdropping mode.
“I’ve called you all here today to announce some important news,” Zeus declared loudly.
The gods fell silent, waiting in anticipation. If it were just an ordinary announcement, the King of the Gods would have sent Hermes to deliver the news. But for Zeus to make the announcement personally, it must be something of great significance.
“Yesterday, Venus came to me and confessed that he had feelings for my son, Hephaestus, asking me to arrange their marriage,” Zeus said with a smile, turning his gaze toward Venus. “How could I refuse the request of the God of Beauty? Today, I will take matters into my own hands and grant their union. Why wait for an auspicious day when we can make it happen now?”
Venus clenched his fists tightly, struggling to hold back the urge to flip the table and splash the wine all over Zeus’ face.
Zeus certainly had a knack for twisting the truth!
A flicker of confusion passed through Thanatos’ silver eyes beneath his hood.
This?
What kind of big event was this?
However, in Olympus, this was indeed a major matter, a truly monumental one.
As soon as Zeus finished speaking, the hall erupted in surprise.
The gods immediately turned their gaze to Hermes, Zeus’ most trusted messenger, silently questioning him to see if he had known about this in advance.
Hermes quickly shook his head frantically, inwardly cursing his luck.
Even the most well-informed among them, like him, had no clue. It was clear this was completely unexpected. Besides, how could he want Venus to get married? He was still dreaming of having a relationship with Venus!
The gods on Mount Olympus could hardly remain seated. They all knew that the God of Beauty, could never belong to just one person. It was a common understanding among them that Venus was for everyone. How could the God of Love and Beauty be bound by the chains of marriage?
And to make matters worse, he was marrying the ugliest of the gods……
Even though, at Venus’ coming-of-age banquet, the gods had noticed that Hephaestus, with his birthmark hidden, had an astonishingly handsome and strikingly beautiful face, the deep-seated prejudice that had persisted for centuries was hard to erase. Especially now, with him about to marry the most beautiful god on Mount Olympus, jealousy would cause the gods to overlook his merits and magnify his flaws, dragging them through the mud to prove he was unworthy of Venus.
The wine in Dionysus’ cup spilled over, but he didn’t even seem to notice. Hermes, usually carefree and lighthearted, had lost his grin. Even Apollo, usually calm and composed, pursed his lips, his jawline tightening for a moment.
Artemis glanced over lightly. “Brother, mind your manners.”
Apollo relaxed again, his expression becoming indifferent as he took another sip of wine. “I won’t get involved.”
It was Ares, with his notorious temper, who stood up first to object. “I disagree!”
His wound, which had been bleeding incessantly until last night, had finally stopped bleeding, but his lower body still showed no signs of recovery. It was enough to put Ares in an abysmal mood. Then, hearing that his father was arranging Venus’ marriage to Hephaestus, it felt like adding a thunderbolt to his cloudy mood.
If Venus was to marry, why couldn’t it be him?
“Father, I like Venus too. I ask you to give his hand to me!” Ares shouted loudly.
“Father, I too wish to marry Venus.” Dionysus, the God of Wine, suddenly stood up as well. It was rare for him to address Zeus as “Father.”
Hermes cleared his throat. “Ahem, Father, actually, I quite like Venus as well. May I marry him?”
Apollo set down his cup and gracefully stood up. “Father, I too have feelings of admiration for Venus.”
“Apollo!” Artemis shot him a glare. Didn’t you say you weren’t going to get involved?
Apollo blinked innocently and mouthed the words: Sister, I’m just going with the flow.
Zeus stared at the scene in disbelief. Has Venus managed to charm all of my sons?
“Father!” The three Graces and the nine Muses stood up as well.
Zeus, his expression darkening, glared at his daughters. “What are you all standing up for?”
One of the Muses spoke up. “Father, who said that only our brothers can marry Venus? We want to marry him too!”
“When Venus came to us to learn singing and dancing, his beautiful and captivating presence won over all of our hearts. We are willing to marry him together!”
Zeus: “……” Very good, except for the three Horae, Venus had seduced all of his daughters as well.
The three Horae remained seated, unwilling to rise.
They too admired Venus, but…… they knew Venus was already promised to the King of the Sea.
The other gods were unaware of this information. Zeus knew but didn’t care. The Horae didn’t dare to intervene at such a critical moment, knowing that adding a fatal blow to this already chaotic scene would only make things worse.
With Zeus’ sons and daughters taking the lead, the other gods exchanged silent glances before quietly rising to express their admiration for Venus.
Now it was almost a complete standing ovation.
Zeus: “……” If it weren’t for the difference in strength, he suspected that his kingship had been toppled. Mount Olympus was simply Venus’ world.
Venus sat in his seat, looking at the sea of gods standing around him. He swore he hadn’t tried to seduce anyone. He considered each of them a friend. It was his overwhelming charm that had caused so many to fall for him. He hadn’t wanted this!
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