"Sacrifices are necessary," Hades replied.
Evangeline shook her head almost immediately. "No. A sacrifice is only meaningful if it's made by the person themselves. If others decide it for them… then it's no different from violence."
Hades fell silent.
He simply looked at her, his gaze lingering long enough that it made her shift slightly under it. The weight of it wasn't harsh, but it was searching, as if he were turning her words over, examining them from every angle.
Evangeline hesitated, then frowned faintly. "Did I say something wrong?"
"Something wrong?" Hades echoed, before a quiet breath left him and he shook his head. "No, darling. You've said something entirely true." His lips curved faintly, though there was something thoughtful behind it. "It's just… rare. No one in this world thinks the way you do. That's why I'm impressed."
She blinked, caught off guard by that. Impressed? The word felt too large for something that seemed so obvious to her.
