After an unknown amount of time, Lorne's consciousness was roused from chaos by a slight prickling pain in the back of his neck.
"Where is this?"
He shook his somewhat aching head and looked blankly at the somber, simple room before him.
"My bedchamber."
A low voice responded as Hades, who had been pruning a potted plant, put down his scissors and looked up at Lorne, a hint of approval in his eyes.
"Only unconscious for two hours, not bad."
Lorne immediately became alert upon hearing this, cursing inwardly.
He remembered now; this old man had knocked him out and captured him.
However, it was fortunate that he always drew on Thetis's experience for every action, accustomed to layering himself with a dozen or so disguise spells.
Although Hades's divine power tremors had broken most of them, he still retained a few crucial spells, and the blessing jointly bestowed upon him by the Memory Goddess and the Nine Muses also had the characteristic of distorting perception.
Therefore, he didn't have to worry about the King of the Underworld recognizing him at a glance in a crowd later on.
"What are you doing? If you wanted to summon me, you could have just said so. How could I possibly refuse?"
Lorne rubbed his throbbing neck, got up from the ground, feigning weakness and complaining with a resentful expression while subtly probing Hades about his intentions for abducting him.
"Whatever your command, just say it! As long as I am capable, I will go through fire and water without hesitation!"
Hades gave the prisoner, who was trying to curry favor with him, a faint glance and went straight to the point.
"Very simple: hand over my daughter."
Lorne's smile faded, his face showing helplessness.
"I'm afraid I can't do that. I promised Queen of the Underworld that I would safely escort Princess Melinoe away."
"Away? To where? The human world?"
Hades scoffed in response, then looked at Lorne with disdain.
"The Underworld is her home! I am her father, and my family matters are none of a stranger's business! What's more, an unknown living person!"
Clearly, unlike Queen Persephone, Hades, as the father, did not trust Lorne, the Stranger, and was unwilling to simply hand his daughter over to him.
"Your Majesty, let me reiterate, taking Princess Melinoe out of the Underworld was the Queen of the Underworld's decision. I mean no offense; I am merely doing my best to repay that great one's kindness to me."
Lorne clarified his neutral stance and then produced the dim and faded horn of plenty, half-truthfully weaving a touching story.
"You must know what happens to living people who carelessly stumble into the Underworld.
Fortunately, I met the Queen of the Underworld. She not only showed me the way out but also sacrificed her own life artifact to help me dispel the death aura clinging to me."
"She was willing to do this for you?"
Hades frowned deeply upon hearing this, a strong sense of doubt rising in his heart, and his gaze towards Lorne gradually became strange and sinister.
He had to admit, the young man before him was handsome and very attractive to the opposite sex.
If that were the case, he couldn't let him live!
Lorne seemed unaware of the killing intent rising in the King of the Underworld's eyes, merely immersed in certain past memories, a bitter melancholy showing on his face.
"Perhaps it's because I called her 'mother'?"
The unexpected answer made Hades slightly stunned.
Seeing this, Lorne recovered, quickly reining in his "accidentally" exposed vulnerable emotions, and explained with embarrassment.
"To be honest, I lost my mother when I was young, and after learning that the Underworld is the resting place for all spirits, I always hoped to find her here someday and reunite with her."
Hades listened intently, subconsciously asking, "And did you find her?"
"She's gone…" Lorne shook his head with a bitter smile, the sadness on his face deepening.
Hades fell silent, the wariness and hostility in his eyes towards the person before him having imperceptibly transformed into a hint of pity.
In the Underworld, "gone" meant that the mother had completely vanished into thin air.
After all, not all souls were so fortunate as to perfectly retain their form and memories from life, entering the Underworld to await judgment and rebirth.
"Fortunately, fate still favored me."
However, Lorne then smiled, proactively breaking the somewhat oppressive atmosphere in the bedchamber, and continued recounting the past.
"When I was at my wit's end, I met Queen of the underworld. Her back looked so much like my mother's in my memory, so I, by some impulse, called out to her.
She seemed very happy, not only saving me but also helping me escape from the underworld."
After speaking, Lorne saw Hades's still gloomy expression, as if fearing the other party wouldn't believe him, and immediately raised his hand to swear solemnly.
"I swear that everything I have said above is true. If there is even half a lie, then let the Styx River bring punishment upon me!"
That figure stood silently waiting, and the Styx River, which guards oaths, indeed did not cause any abnormality in him.
Seeing this scene, Hades's doubts immediately vanished.
Clearly, everything this boy said was true.
Of course, it was all true.
However, these were only some of the truths…
Lorne, having once again successfully bluffed, chuckled to himself and then looked at Hades with a serious, sincere expression.
"Although Queen of the Underworld hasn't said anything, in my heart, I already consider her as another mother! Of course, this is just my personal thought, and I absolutely do not mean to offend you."
Hades, in his silence, nodded slightly, his expression quite complex.
He probably understood why his wife was so fond of this young man.
The reason was that word, "Mother."
If not for that accident during the Titanomachy, that child named Zagreus would probably have grown up to be like this now.
One was a child who had lost his mother, and the other was a mother who had lost her child.
A chance encounter connected them to each other.
With his thoughts clear and the whole story understood, the King of the Underworld sighed softly, a hint of gentleness appearing in his gaze towards Lorne, and he actually, uncharacteristically, offered a comforting remark.
"No matter, this is your good fortune…"
"Mm, I think so too."
Lorne nodded, then spoke with a sincere expression.
"So, after I recovered from my injuries, I went to the Underworld again, wanting to quietly visit the queen of the Underworld. I just didn't expect her to encounter trouble she couldn't solve and that I would actually be able to help."
Hearing that exclamation, tinged with a hint of cheerfulness, Hades couldn't help but frown and snort coldly.
"No need! I will solve my daughter's problems myself! Hand her over, and you can leave. This King will not pursue your trespassing in the Underworld!"
"You can solve it? Perhaps not?"
Lorne shook his head, looking at the King of the Underworld with a meaningful gaze, and spoke slowly.
"If you could truly be a reliable support for the mother and daughter, why would the Queen of the Underworld entrust the princess to me, a stranger with whom she'd only had two encounters?"
Hades's face clouded over upon hearing this, and he erupted in anger.
"Impudent!"
"I am merely stating facts!"
Lorne stood firm, unafraid, enduring the surging divine power around him, staring directly at the enraged ruler of the Underworld, and spoke without reservation.
"I've already heard the general situation from the queen of the Underworld.
Even if Princess Melinoe is kept in the Underworld, by your side, what then? Can you refuse Goddess Hecate from coming to discipline her disciples and subordinate gods?
Or can you block the prying gazes of the Olympian god-king and the three Fates?
Moreover, you know the true nature of the Underworld; it is nothing but a prison, an execution ground where countless Old Gods are confined.
Once something goes wrong, the Underworld itself will be the first to suffer!
Even if you intervene then, it might be hard to control the situation. Can you protect her for a moment and protect her for a lifetime?
What's more, as a father, can you bear to let your daughter live in a prison forever, constantly hiding in the shadows, no different from the prisoners of Tartarus?"
Hearing those accusatory questions, Hades flew into a rage, glaring at the presumptuous living person before him.
"Enough! It's not your place to lecture me!"
"I wouldn't dare to dictate to you; I am merely considering the queen of the underworld."
Lorne spoke calmly, though his words were rather sarcastic.
Provoked by his words, Hades immediately became furious. "Shut up! Where is my daughter? Hand her over!"
Lorne puffed out his chest, speaking righteously: "I must refuse! I was entrusted by the queen of the Underworld to escort the princess out of the Underworld.
Without that great one's word, no one can keep the princess here unless they step over my dead body first!"
"You're courting death!" (Ah, I always wanted to say this.)
Hades's face turned ashen, having reached his limit, his fist, enveloped in death aura, shot forward with thunderous force.
Lorne stood still, calmly closing his eyes, neither dodging nor evading.
However, the life-extinguishing death aura abruptly stopped just before his face as he slowly opened his eyes, looked at the fist that had not yet fallen, and asked with a faint smile.
"You're not going to strike?"
"Alright, you've passed the test."
Hades gave the other party a deep look, then snorted and withdrew his fist.
His daughter Melinoe was in the other party's hands, her whereabouts still unknown; his wife also trusted this young man implicitly, treating him like a half-son.
Even for a moment of satisfaction, he couldn't truly disregard everything and blast this young man to death with one punch.
Everything just now, while partly an excuse to make a point, was mostly to test whether this young man was truly trustworthy and if he would betray Melinoe at a life-or-death moment, choosing to selfishly save himself.
And the result was that, under his continuous pressure, this young man ultimately held his ground and upheld his promise to Persephone.
However, the entire process still left Hades somewhat displeased.
Although the questions raised by the other party indeed hit his sore spots, he admitted that he was indeed powerless to solve them.
But knowing it was one thing; brazenly bringing it up to lecture him was a bit too disrespectful to him as the King of the Underworld.
If not for his wife and daughter, he would have slapped the other party dead long ago.
"Get out! Don't let me see you!"
Hades waved his hand, issuing the order to leave, his gloomy face etched with disdain for a certain arrogant young man.
However, Lorne seemed not to notice the King of the Underworld's displeased expression and spoke with a smile.
"Before I go, I'd like to make a deal with you."
"Not interested! If you don't leave now, this king will throw you out!"
The ill-tempered King of the Underworld impatiently waved him off.
Facing Hades's harsh attitude, Lorne's smile grew even brighter, and he spoke leisurely.
"What if I intend to sacrifice my soul to you?"
Instantly, the King of the Underworld, who had been walking with his hands behind his back towards the interior of the bedchamber, stopped in his tracks, turned around, and looked at the astonishing young man in surprise.