Aphrodite's Choice

Chapter 53 – Words Like Knives

Without even waiting for an answer, Hera’s subordinate walked away quickly. Seeing Hephaestus left by himself, the nymphs guarding the entrance quietly laughed at him. Whether the subordinate or the nymphs, their actions were definitely enough to receive a scolding. But he was so used to it that he didn’t even feel angry. Hephaestus turned away slowly, hiding his expression.

He gripped the small pouch he was holding. He had obtained some high-quality silver, and had used it to make a bracelet suitable for Hera. He hadn’t even expected to be able to stay and talk with her, he only wanted to give her this gift and leave.

But he had been stopped at the door, and before he could even ask if he could just leave the gift for her, he was asked to leave. Even if he didn’t ask, it was evident that it was not her underlings acting on their own accord, but rather following Hera’s orders.

It was not difficult to recall Hera’s disgusted expression. He didn’t get to see his mother very much, but her expression whenever she saw him was always the same. Just recalling that expression made his heart feel as if it was being stabbed.

Hephaestus shut his eyes tightly.

“Hey!”

At that moment, something flew in and hit his forehead hard. There was a loud sound, and his head felt dizzy. When he opened his eyes, he saw red. It was because his flesh had been torn and started to bleed. He felt the wound and pressed it with his palm. He was not able to stop the bleeding right away, but he could at least see in front of him this way.

That was when he saw him.

“Ah, what the hell! I missed.”

Seeing him open his eyes, the boy frowned as if disappointed. The other son of his mother.

“Ares.”

“Damn, you’re really fine, huh? Seeing as you can recognize me.”

Ares, approaching him, challengingly raised his head at him. Hephaestus looked down at Ares, wiping the blood on his forehead. The two pairs of eyes that were so similar yet so different, met. Ares was the first to open his mouth.

“So damn large. Just looking at you makes me feel nasty. Maybe I should’ve thrown it from above, so your neck would sink in instead.”

His words, spoken from such a pretty face that resembled Hera’s so much, were ugly, rude, and even cruel. Hephaestus gathered from his words that it was Ares who had thrown the stone at him, and that it had not been a mistake, but obviously intentional. It was also not difficult for him to guess why.

“Bastard, always looking down at me. That’s annoying. Get on your knees.”

“Was that it?”

He was annoyed that Hephaestus was taller than him.

“Was what it? Just do as I tell you. Or are your ears also defective, and not just your legs? Or do you not understand what I’m saying because you’re an idiot?”

Hephaestus stared at Ares, who was always controlled by his own temper. Ares had grabbed his collar, forcing him to bend down a bit.

“Bastard!”

Ares was born much later than Hephaestus. If they had both grown under normal circumstances, he should currently be an infant, about half of Hephaestus’ height. However, his growth was so rapid that Ares now looked like he was in his early teens. From the time he was born, Hera had kept him close to her, raising him and feeding him the elixir of the world.

So really, it was Hephaestus that should feel offended by their small difference in height. He had grown up neglected in a small, unpolished sanctuary, passed around between lower spirits. Ares, on the other hand, had grown up in the most comfortable room of Hera’s personal sanctuary, learning to walk by stepping on all the most precious things in the world, growing quickly each day.

Though they were brothers from the same mother, there had been a gross amount of discrimination between them.

“Hey! Are you an idiot? I said to get down! Or else I’ll tell my father and have him crush your head with a rock!”

Most of Olympus thought that the cause of the discrimination was Zeus. Hephaestus and Ares. Both were sons of Hera, but only Ares was born of the seed of her husband, Zeus. And Zeus called Ares his son without any hesitation.

For those who didn’t know the truth, they thought that Zeus’ attitude was what turned Hera’s heart away. But that wasn’t it. Zeus did not call Hephaestus his son because that’s what Hera wanted. She had warned him, in fact, that she would never forgive him if he ever called Hephaestus his son.

“Your father, huh?”

“Yeah! My father, which you don’t have!”

Ares didn’t know this, and the reason for that was simple. It was because he had only been a new-born in his cradle when it had happened. Hera had sharply told Zeus that their son had no older brother, and Hephaestus, who had come to see his younger brother was left standing awkwardly alone with his head down, had been expelled from the room.

Ares could not know, and it wasn’t his fault for not knowing. But…

“What, why are you looking at me like that, idiot?”

His head was hurt, so perhaps it was causing him to have poor judgment. Hephaestus grabbed Ares’ collar and twisted it. Looking down at his red eyes that were now round and widened, he admonished him.

“If you hurt someone, you’re supposed to apologize, Ares.”

“What did you say to me?”

“I said, you should start with an apology.”

This was the first time that Hephaestus had responded with emotion and force. Perhaps that was why even Ares was at a loss for words for a moment, but the effect was short-lived. The young god wasn’t easily scared by that sort of thing, and on top of that, Hera’s sanctuary was right behind them.