As soon as Ares finished speaking, Hecate spat out all the juice in her mouth.
Without bothering to wipe the juice from her books and bed, the Moon Goddess's face flushed red as she stammered,
"W-why are you suddenly saying all this? Even if you're proposing, you're not formal enough now, are you? Given our current situation, if we really got married, would you dare to hold a banquet and invite all the gods from heaven and earth? Besides, your own oath hasn't been lifted yet. What marriage? Don't you want to try harder?"
Ares looked at Hecate's reaction and asked, somewhat strangely, "Teacher, why are you reacting so strongly?"
"Hmm?" Hecate's eyelids drooped instantly. She stared at Ares with some dissatisfaction for a moment, then asked, "Is this 'marriage' you're talking about the 'marriage' I understand?"
"It is indeed marriage, but not the marriage of the goddess Hecate and Ares, but the marriage of the demigod hero Perseus and the Ethiopian princess Andromeda."
Ares explained the whole story to Hecate. After listening, the Moon Goddess also furrowed her brows:
"Is Athena's request from the clone that she hasn't trusted yet?"
"It's also possible that she genuinely wants to reward me and find a good girl for Perseus to marry."
Ares said,
"Of course, considering she is Athena, I think it's more likely that she suspects Perseus."
"So, you came to me because you want me to impersonate this Ethiopian princess Andromeda and marry you and have children?"
Hecate asked with narrowed eyes.
"Yes, but please rest assured, Teacher, because of my special circumstances, we definitely won't make a false show of it. When Athena wants to see, we'll use illusions to show her two stimulating scenes, and as for having children, we can just use the art of creation to accomplish it."
Being stared at by Hecate, Ares felt somewhat guilty for some reason, and his voice gradually trailed off.
Bang!
As soon as he finished speaking, his head was hit by a book thrown by Hecate. Ares looked up and saw Hecate looking at him angrily, scolding,
"You really have a big heart. I am a goddess, after all, and although I haven't made an oath, I am also a goddess who preserves her purity. How could you ask me to act in such a play with you?"
"I thought you were more reliable."
Ares mumbled.
"Ares!"
"Yes, I was wrong, Teacher." Ares immediately apologized, "I shouldn't have asked you such a question. My bad, my bad."
After speaking, he rubbed his head and walked out of the room. Hecate also heard the guy muttering to himself,
"It failed… It seems I can only reluctantly ask that Hydra to fill in. Sigh, if Medea could agree, that would be excellent, but I can't involve her now…"
"Stop!"
Hearing him say that, Hecate called out to him again. Seeing her disciple turn around and look at her with a puzzled expression, Hecate was furious. She asked impatiently,
"Are you really not joking by having Hydra play a princess in front of Athena?"
"Circumstances call for expediency," Ares said, shrugging. "I can't really go and take Andromeda now, can I? Then I'd lose this game."
Hecate pursed her lips, then said helplessly, "Go make a clone of Princess Andromeda, and I will cooperate with your act."
Ares was immediately overjoyed.
…
It didn't take Ares long to create a clone identical to Andromeda, the princess of the Kingdom of Ethiopia. As early as when he decided to take Perseus's place, he had already begun to pay attention to the people closely related to this hero throughout his life.
Princess Andromeda was naturally among them. As Perseus's wife, the woman who bore him the ancestors of the Persians, Ares could not possibly ignore this woman, because this maiden was very likely Athena's trump card to verify his identity.
Therefore, not long after Princess Andromeda was born, during her tender years, Ares quietly infiltrated the court of the Kingdom of Ethiopia as a "prophet."
He conveyed to the King of Ethiopia a prophecy about the Sea God's future invasion of the kingdom. Not long after, the prophecy came true. Because of Queen Cassiopeia's arrogant words, most of the Kingdom of Ethiopia was submerged by the flood stirred up by Poseidon, and the coast was also occupied by the whale-like sea monster sent by Poseidon, preventing the kingdom's ships from going out to sea.
Therefore, Ares's "prophet" clone was also treated as a distinguished guest and remained in the kingdom, offering advice to the King of Ethiopia.
Ares observed Athena from Perseus's perspective and found that Athena was studying the corpse left behind after Medusa's demonization, wanting to extract Medusa's petrifying magic eye, and had no intention of taking Perseus to the Kingdom of Ethiopia to propose marriage. So, he directly switched his account and shifted his energy to the Ethiopian "prophet."
Ares's "prophet" clone was resting in his room at this time. Ares controlled this old and weak body, got up from the bed, then put on a gray robe, picked up a wooden staff, and came to the royal palace of Ethiopia.
His clone's identity was special, and the palace guards did not stop him, letting him walk straight in. When Ares arrived at the palace, he happened to see King Cepheus of Ethiopia, Queen Cassiopeia, and Princess Andromeda all in the palace.
Because of the Sea God's wrath, the rulers of the Kingdom of Ethiopia had now been driven to a desperate situation by the kingdom's citizens. The citizens, somehow learning the reason for the Sea God's anger, launched protests, demanding that the king offer Princess Andromeda to Poseidon to appease the Sea God's wrath.
When Ares arrived in the palace, he saw Princess Andromeda quietly weeping, while the King and Queen comforted her by her side.
"Prophet!"
The moment they saw Ares arrive, King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia of Ethiopia seemed to grasp at a last straw, rushing to meet him. They carefully explained the difficulties they were currently facing to Ares and begged him to use the power of prophecy to help them overcome their hardships.
"This is simple."
Ares said with a smile,
"I have come for this very purpose. There is currently a hero in the world who bears the glory of Athena. He has just slain the monster queen Medusa. I can call him for you; he will appease the Sea God's wrath for your kingdom and drive away the evil ones entrenched in your kingdom."
"Then, Prophet, please help us."
King Cepheus quickly pleaded.
"No rush, before I help you, I have one condition." Ares raised a finger.
"Please speak, Prophet." Cepheus said hastily.
"I hope Princess Andromeda will change her name and live under another identity from now on." Ares looked at Andromeda nearby and stated his request: "And during the time the hero arrives, she must be hidden by me. After the hero leaves, I will return her to you and your wife."