Metis leaned against Hades's side.
"Since Hecate is always making mistakes, why don't you just replace Hecate..."
Her fingertips gently traced the cold lines on Hades's black robe, her voice still soft, but with a sharpness that cut to the core.
"After all, Hermes is not incapable of exercising magical priesthood; he is very clever and must be a quick learner."
Hades's intellect considered this, acknowledging that Metis's proposal had its 'efficiency'.
Hermes was indeed clever and adaptable, and if he could take over the magical priesthood, he might be more 'obedient' and reduce the risk of secret little schemes like Hecate's.
Key authority, fully in the hands of his own descendants, sounded quite appealing.
However, dominion was not only about absolute crushing power, but also about the fragile balance of people's hearts.
Hecate was not rootless duckweed; her father was Perses, the god of destruction.
Would dismissing his only daughter cool the hearts of those old subordinates who had long followed him?
What would Perses think? How would others, like Hypnos, Thanatos, and even the seemingly muddled Charon, perceive this Hades who so easily dismissed someone just because they 'seemed annoying'?
Indeed, with Hades's current power and authority, even if the gods of Hades were infected with resentment, they could not shake the foundations of his rule.
But in the end, these were the old subordinates who had followed him to establish order in the Underworld.
Pure fear could maintain power, but a little more 'regard' and 'fairness' could make this eternal rule more stable and reduce unnecessary internal损耗.
Hades was not ignorant in matters of power; he usually chose the most direct and efficient path, but Metis's proposal made him weigh long-term hidden concerns.
Not to mention... Hades felt a slight helplessness in his heart.
His son Hermes was shrewd, but also a lively troublemaker.
Making him the god of magic?
I'm afraid it would just be swapping one role that needs controlling for another, and he might create even bigger problems due to the convenient status of messenger.
Catia couldn't stand her brother, no matter what.
Hecate's problems lay in her 'interests' and 'little deeds', whereas Hermes's problems might lie in his 'curiosity' and 'presumptions'.
In essence, the difference was not great, and perhaps the latter would bring even more trouble.
Just as Hades was weighing the pros and cons and hadn't even spoken, Metis's breath beside him quietly changed.
The proposal, which had originally been merely a cautious suggestion, seemed, in Hades's silence and obvious hesitation, to have been injected with some dangerous catalyst.
"Oh, really?" Her voice was still soft, but like the finest silk wrapped around a cold blade.
"Our son Hermes... the 'troublemaker'?"
She repeated Hades's assessment of Hermes with a self-deprecating tone, and the corner of her mouth curled into a chilling arc.
"Is Hecate so important to you? So much so that you need to consider her father's feelings, the mood of those old subordinates? When does the Lord of the Underworld need to watch the faces of his subordinates and act accordingly?"
The temperature in the air seemed to suddenly plummet.
Hades instantly understood that Metis's proposal was not only for solving Hecate's 'problems' from the beginning, but also a temptation, a measurement of the tilt of Hades's internal scales.
Hades was speechless for a while.
He truly couldn't understand what there was about Hecate—a goddess dependent on magic and often causing trouble—that could pose a so-called 'threat' to wisdom like Metis's?
Where did this illogical jealousy and vigilance come from?
However, reason told him that now was not the time to explore Metis's complex mental gymnastics.
The dangerous aura, with its sweetness and cold, clearly showed that soothing the fur of the Queen of the Underworld was the top priority.
Further discussion of Hecate's problems and explaining the pros and cons would only be perceived as excuses and further agitation.
Hades's cold face, unchanged for ten thousand years, relaxed slightly.
He did not look at Metis; his eyes still gazed into the darkness of the void ahead, but the suffocating coercion around him was slightly restrained.
He reached out, covered the back of her hand, and placed her cold, slender palm within his broad one.
"You are overthinking," his voice was still low and level, but it no longer held the absolute coldness of a decisive question, and contained a slight softness only opened for a specific subject.
"In the Underworld, no one can compare to you. Not in the past, not in the present, not in the future... There never will be."
He did not directly answer the question about Hecate, but firmly anchored the essence of the topic on Metis's own existence. This was the most direct answer to her sense of security.
"Hermes being useless is a fact. Perses's loyalty being learnable is also a fact."
He continued in a level tone, but with an undeniable conclusion.
"Maintaining the status quo brings more benefits than disadvantages. That's all."
He slightly turned his head, and those eyes, as deep as night, finally met Metis's, which shone with danger and wisdom.
In his eyes, there was no flicker, no guilt, only calmness.
"My judgment has never deviated because of any external object," he spoke word by word, his voice not loud, but it seemed to carry the weight to shake the soul.
"The only one who can influence me is you, Metis."
This sentence, like a final incantation, instantly touched the main desire of Metis's heart—uniqueness.
The dangerous and sweet sharpness in the air, like frost exposed to the sun, began to slowly melt.
"Remember what you said, Hades," she gently pressed her forehead against the pauldron of Hades's armor, her voice muffled, with a hint of coyness, but also an obvious warning.
"Your wisdom can only belong to me. Your gaze can only stay for me. If it were otherwise..."
She didn't finish, but the unfinished meaning was more pulsating than an explicit threat.
Hades did not answer, simply let her lean close and silently put his arm around her shoulder.
The throne once again sank into silence, but this time the silence was filled not with the cold coercion of power, but with a more complex bond.
Hecate's crisis was temporarily resolved under the invisible jealousy of the Queen of the Underworld and the precise 'smoothing over' by the King of Hades.
Of course, her divine self was still working on the Styx.
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