Chapter 2.10
As much as Cassandra had disbelieved in the god, she was quick to accept the reality. If Apollo truly existed, the various stories about him would also be the truth. The cruel slaughterer who carried death along with his twin sister. The one who unilaterally chased and wooed a nymph until she turned herself into a tree. ……It wasn’t that there were no good stories, but it was certain that like all gods, he was one whose rewards and punishments were strict and who had no mercy.
“Why, you seemed to not expect me to appear in person, despite going around defiling me so much?”
Cassandra opened her eyes, surprised by the unexpected voice. Her vision was filled with flickering red eyes.
“If I had known, I wouldn’t have gone around speaking like that.”
Silence passed. Apollo’s fingertip touched her chin. Contrary to the expectation that it would be hot, surprisingly, not a single bit of warmth was felt.
“You have quite a pretty face. Consider your life spared thanks to that face.”
Her body went stiff. Even her youngest sister, Polyxena, would be able to fully understand the implication. But Cassandra hid her inner thoughts and answered calmly.
“You intend to make the rumors the truth, then.”
Well, to be honest, it wasn’t an answer that hid her inner thoughts all that much. Fortunately, the famous wrath of Apollo didn’t explode just because of a single sentence.
“A useless worry.”
Wrinkles formed on Apollo’s forehead. Cassandra thought. If Helenus had seen wrinkles on the god’s forehead, he probably would have talked about it forever.
“……I do not take women recklessly. Whether they are humans or nymphs.”
“The stories I hear are different, though.”
Cassandra immediately regretted it. It was because Apollo’s flickering light had drawn close enough to cover her. Apollo answered in a voice so sinister it was hard to believe it came from the mouth of one who shone so brightly.
“Yes, after that incident you know of, I do not take anyone by force. Do you need more explanation?”
“……Tha—that is enough.”
Cassandra panted. She couldn’t breathe properly because of the thick heat engulfing her eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. If Apollo’s intention was to torture her to death, she felt he was doing a very good job. Fortunately, Apollo seemingly had no intention of killing her, as he quickly stepped back. Cassandra did not hesitate. She immediately knelt on the ground and gathered both hands to her chest.
“I am sorry that a lowly human has dared to cause trouble.”
“You are quick to change your stance.”
Apollo sneered openly.
“Seeing how considerable your survival skills are, you would have been successful if you had been born a man.”
“Yes. But I am a woman. And if I do not dare to sell Phoebus’s name, only the fate of being sold to a man about twice my age awaits me.”
Apollo bent down very slowly and met her eyes. Cassandra sucked in a breath. It felt as if those red eyes were reading her right as she was.
“Who told you that was your fate?”
“……I simply thought so myself.”
“For something like that, you were very accurate. I shall praise you.”
Her heart hammered loudly. It was for several reasons that Cassandra herself couldn’t properly explain.
“But thanks to selling a god, your fate has now changed. What do you think its end will be? I will give you a gift if you guess correctly.”
Cassandra licked her bone-dry lips. Whether she had gnawed on her lips without realizing it, she tasted the salty flavor of blood.
“……Perhaps, becoming a priestess and living my whole life serving the god……”
“No.”
Apollo spoke as if amused.
“You’re wrong. I have absolutely no need for a priestess who goes around toying with and mocking a god.”
He looked straight at Cassandra.
“Only a god can intervene in a human’s predestined fate. Your fate henceforth depends on how I decide it.”
Cassandra grit her teeth. Even though she was facing Apollo, who possessed the power to burn her to death in just a few seconds, her head simmered with anger. The reason was simple. Did it not mean that no matter how much she struggled, in the end, her future depended purely on Apollo’s decision? Apollo opened his mouth as if amused.
“Your insides are clearly visible.”
Cassandra turned her gaze away. Yes, the fact that she was angry was something even someone who wasn’t a god could tell. But what human…… could hear the fact that despite all efforts, everything ultimately depended on the hand of a god, and not be angry?
“Make your choice, Cassandra, daughter of Priamos.”
Instead of the voice filled with emotions of mockery and disbelief she had heard until now, a voice as dry as parched wood was heard.
“Whether to become my lover and obtain the power to glimpse the future, or to live your whole life in ignorance and oblivion.”
Like a fire engulfing a pile of dry kindling, the heat wrapping around Apollo’s body and descending upon Cassandra grew even stronger.
“I shall do as you wish.”
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