"What? Say that again. Seduce who?"
Eros genuinely wondered if he'd heard wrong.
Maybe Hephaestus actually meant Ares, right?
"This name, was it really so hard to remember?"
Hephaestus repeated her words with deliberate clarity.
"My condition is that you go and seduce Aphrodite."
Eros frowned.
Was this some kind of strange kink awakening?
He'd heard of people sending others to seduce their rivals, but never their own wife.
Was she testing Aphrodite? But really, Aphrodite, of all people?
Eros couldn't make sense of it at all.
"...And your reason?"
Hephaestus's smile instantly disappeared. Her expression turned cold again.
"A condition is a condition. Why do you need a reason?"
"Just tell me, are you agreeing or not?"
"Tch. How would I know if I'm crossing any of my own moral lines, if you won't tell me the reason?"
Eros stood firm, speaking righteously.
"Besides, isn't Aphrodite your wife? You're asking me to seduce her, what exactly are you trying to pull here?"
"I don't want to get dragged into some messy drama unless I know exactly what I'm signing up for."
He might've long admired the goddess of beauty, but coming from her wife, this just felt... wrong.
There was definitely something twisted going on here.
"You don't have to worry about that. You're not my target."
Hephaestus folded her arms and shot him a sideways glance.
"I just want you to make her fall in love with you. And then... abandon her. Betray her. Right in front of her face."
As she said this, something flashed across her expression.
Satisfaction? Malice? Anticipation?
Maybe all three.
Eros took a deep breath, stunned.
"You guys... really play this dirty?"
Asking someone to seduce your wife just so you can watch her heart shatter,
What was the end goal here?
Was Hephaestus planning to swoop in afterward?
Or...
Eros narrowed his eyes.
"You said 'betray her'... What exactly do you mean by that?"
"Heh. After she falls in love, you'll tell her the truth, that this was all just my order. That you never loved her at all."
Hephaestus let out a laugh like a furnace roaring to life.
"For the goddess of love and beauty... that's the greatest insult imaginable, don't you think?"
Eros fell silent.
For a goddess who represented love itself, discovering that her feelings were nothing more than a game, a command executed by someone else...
Yes. That would be an unforgivable humiliation.
Hephaestus's thirst for vengeance was astonishing.
But Eros had to admit, it wasn't totally unexpected, from Hera's child.
After all, this was the same woman who once got back at Hera for abandoning her, by trapping the Queen of the Gods in a cursed throne that stripped her of all dignity and power.
Hephaestus was a master of vengeance. And Eros couldn't help but be a little impressed.
"...Have you ever considered just building an automated pounding machine to tie Aphrodite to, and then pound her nonstop until she can't take it anymore?"
The words slipped out before he could stop himself.
This level of creative cruelty should've been reserved for the underworld's punishment division.
"Huh? Pounding machine? What's that?"
"...A harmless little invention. Nothing important."
Eros brushed it off casually. Thankfully, Hephaestus didn't press further.
"So, mortal. Do you agree to my condition?"
Receiving a husband's personal request to seduce his wife, this was a first, even for Eros.
"...Why me, though? You that confident I'll succeed?"
Eros asked this playfully, though the confidence in his tone was obvious.
Come on, Aphrodite?
If Hephaestus had named someone like Athena, that might've been tough.
But Aphrodite? The ultimate face-lover?
With his face? Eros was more than confident.
The goddess of spring, Persephone, had already fallen easily. The goddess of love wouldn't be harder.
"...Who knows," Hephaestus said, shrugging. "But I do think you're the most likely to succeed."
"Because you... you're just like her."
That line made Eros pause.
"Just like her?"
Hephaestus's expression darkened.
He was too familiar. Too smooth. Too charming. Too good at playing people's hearts.
Just like Aphrodite.
Once, a long time ago, Aphrodite had said the exact same thing to her:
"I just want to see the real you."
Hephaestus had hesitated, just for a moment.
But it had been enough.
She had fallen head over heels for Aphrodite's trap.
Even though she knew full well that Aphrodite didn't love her. That those sweet words were lies, meant only to make her love more deeply.
Still... she couldn't stop herself from indulging her. From crafting her bracelets and belts, lavishing her with gifts.
But at least, unlike that idiot Ares, she hadn't been played completely.
Still, that toxic mix of love and hate festered in her heart.
So when she realized that Eros was cut from the same cloth,
She had an idea.
Let him and Aphrodite, two of a kind, clash.
Let them charm, manipulate, and outwit each other.
Let's see who ends up broken in the end.
Whether Aphrodite tears Eros apart...
Or Eros drives the goddess of love mad with passion.
Either way, Hephaestus wins.
"...Fine. So how do I go about it? Got any tips or tricks I should know?"
Eros didn't press her for more details.
It was just a battle of seduction between a scumbag and a temptress.
And he never backed down from a challenge.
"That, you'll have to figure out yourself. I can't give you anything useful."
Hephaestus shook her head.
Because everything Aphrodite said or did, every quirk, every taste, was just a carefully crafted illusion.
She'd act sweet and clingy to get Hephaestus to make her gifts.
But then she'd strip off those same gifts and act all cold and commanding with Ares.
So who was the real Aphrodite?
Hephaestus didn't know.
Which meant she couldn't offer Eros a single valid strategy.
"...Then how do I meet her?"
"No rush."
Hephaestus waved her hand casually.
"My condition was never that you complete it right now."
"There will be plenty of chances for you to encounter Aphrodite in the future. Just don't forget our deal."
Now that it was settled, Eros had no more reason to refuse. He nodded.
"Alright. If I run into her, I'll do my best to fulfill your condition."
Hephaestus finally broke into a smile.
"You're such a hassle, mortal. You should've just said yes from the start and saved us both the trouble."
"Well, you have my answer. Time to hold up your end of the bargain, yeah?"
Eros spread his arms, clearly eager to see what lay behind her flawless face.
Even if she really was as disfigured as the myths said, he wanted to know.
Curiosity unfulfilled made him uncomfortable.
"Tch... fine. You've been told already by Prometheus, haven't you?"
With a resigned sigh, Hephaestus gave a cold laugh and raised her hand to her face.
She peeled away the flawless mask she'd crafted herself.
Half of her face remained unchanged, smooth, pale, perfect.
But the other half...
It was like scorched earth after a wildfire. Twisted red scars marred her features like jagged tattoos carved by flame.
"Well? Happy now?"
"Take a good look at this ugliness. Satisfied?"
As her breaths came heavier, the burns on her face seemed to flicker with red light.
"Because I'm just that, an untalented, unlucky fool."
"I was born a goddess of flame... but couldn't even control fire."
"A fire goddess... burned by her own flames. Isn't that the greatest joke of all?"
Eros studied her face, half beautiful, half ruined, and slowly began to understand.
No wonder.
He had wondered how Zeus and Hera could have a child called "ugly."
So it was all because of these scars.
But to him... it wasn't ugly at all.
Flaws didn't always make something lesser.
Sometimes, they made it more real.
He reached out and gently touched her scarred cheek.
Her body flinched.
"You're wrong."
Eros spoke softly.
"If you were hiding it out of shame, maybe that would be tragic."
"But you can face it now, can't you?"
"And your definition of 'ugly', is a little too harsh, don't you think?"
"You're a gem. Maybe flawed, but still a gem. Still rare. Still priceless."