Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

Finally, Samael solemnly stepped forward, took out the guardian artifact that he had secretly treasured for a long time under Metis's guidance, stroked it lovingly, and solemnly handed it to Athena.

"This sheepskin shield is a keepsake left to you by your biological mother. Take it and protect yourself well."

The goddess of wisdom sensed the familiar aura emanating from it, her eyes lit up, and she immediately took the shield, seemingly reluctant to part with it.

But then, the adopted daughter pressed down on Samael's left shoulder, extended her pale fingers in front of him again, and shook her head with a grin.

"This is a gift from my mother. What about yours?"

"One thing at a time. You promised to coax me to sleep tonight, so don't even think about going back on your word!"

Samael's breath hitched, and under the pressure from behind, he nodded helplessly.

"Aaaaaa (I want to be put to sleep too!)!"

Tina, who was next to him, followed suit and grabbed Samael's right arm, making excited sounds.

Under the spotlight, the ancient snake, flanked by women, rolled its eyes back and gave up resisting.

Let's sleep together tonight...

Chapter 71 I, Samael, am a good "father" (1/2)

The grand birthday banquet gradually faded into silence amidst the merriment. The nymphs of the water and the monsters of the Alima Cave rubbed their round bellies and departed in lingering satisfaction.

After bidding farewell to the sage Chiron, Samael and Tina, seemingly to show respect, personally escorted the Serpent Mother to the nearby Arimar Cavern.

As the figures gradually disappeared into the distance, a slightly tipsy Athena turned around and was surprised to find that the cave was empty and quiet.

In a flash, in the corner, "Aunt Themis," who had stayed behind to keep him company, had already set up the chess pieces, smiled and nodded, extending an invitation.

Athena glanced at the deep, quiet night outside the door, yawned slightly, bent down and sat down to play the game, listlessly fiddling with the pieces, seemingly somewhat bored.

"There's something I've been keeping from you for so long, and I feel it's necessary to tell you now..."

Themis advanced the chess piece, and through the black veil covering her eyes, she looked at the ill-fated child with affection, and gently opened her lips.

"Let me guess, you're not trying to say that I'm not that guy's or Tina's, or your biological child, are you? I've known this since I was seven or eight years old."

Athena gave a nonchalant reply, then focused her attention on the battle and raised her hand to respond.

Themis was slightly surprised, paused for a moment, and then spoke softly.

"It seems you've already realized that your real parents are..."

"Zeus, the king of the gods, and Metis, the queen of the gods?"

Athena continued to advance her pieces, a playful murmur escaping her lips.

"Uh, you know all of this?"

The goddess of justice, who was gathering her emotions and pondering how to calmly reveal the truth without hurting the child's feelings, couldn't help but look astonished.

The knight in the hands of the goddess of wisdom charged straight into enemy territory, then rested her chin on her hand and looked at the goddess of justice opposite her with a smile.

"The divine right of the sky and the sea, is that so hard to guess?"

Then, Athena glanced back at the quiet night outside the cave, pursed her cherry lips, and gave a light snort of annoyance.

"Well, it seems that guy and Tina won't be coming back to bother us anytime soon."

"I appreciate your consideration for my feelings. I'll listen to what you have to say about my biological parents and my past."

Athena casually placed her piece, continuing what Themis considered a serious and weighty topic.

Unbeknownst to her, the goddess of justice had been led astray and had no choice but to tell Athena about her origins from a fair and objective perspective.

After listening patiently, the goddess of wisdom stroked her chin and nodded slightly in disapproval.

"Hmm, not much different from what I expected. It's another curse entangled in the bloodline of the God-King, a game of pursuing power mixed with ethics and kinship?"

"So, for such a trivial matter, he didn't dare tell me to my face and had to ask you to relay it?"

Themis gazed wistfully at Athena, feeling a numbness in the muscles of her face.

Clearly, the goddess of wisdom guessed correctly once again.

Then, Athena raised one hand and stroked her slightly flushed face, her smile dreamy.

"Tsk tsk, could it be that he's afraid I'll find out the answer and go to Olympus, abandoning him and running away?"

"Well, at least have some confidence in yourself..."

Looking at the child, whose biological parents reacted unexpectedly calmly, yet whose words revealed a hint of inexplicable smugness while complaining about his adoptive father, Themis felt her thoughts were somewhat disordered.

"You really don't care about your parents at all? Although Zeus's malice is real, at least your mother Metis still loves you..."

Athena rolled her eyes coquettishly, interrupting the goddess of justice's defense, and decided to be frank.

"She loved me? But between me and my father, she still chose my father."

"Reality is reality. Why make things sound so sentimental?"

As the child unabashedly reopened the wounds sealed by time, Themis was speechless.

Zeus and Metis may have felt the love of parents for their children towards Athena, but they loved themselves more.

For those pursuits, children become unimportant.

Athena noticed Themis's somber expression, paused slightly, rubbed her flushed cheeks, which were slightly hot from the alcohol, and softened her tone.

"Alright, whether it's my biological father or my biological mother, from a bloodline perspective, they did indeed create me. Before pursuing her own happiness, that goddess did give me some care as a mother, and I don't deny any of that."

"But that's all..."

The goddess of wisdom, with a hint of mischief, brought her right slender white index finger to Themis's face, waving it slightly, her eyes lingering in reverie as she murmured in contemplation.

“Among Samael’s ramblings, I think there are a few points of logic that just happen to apply here.”

“He gave birth to me, but then saw me as a threat, which led to my abandonment. At most, I am even with that Olympian god-king. As long as he doesn’t come looking for trouble, I can’t be bothered with him.”

“She gave birth to me and was willing to raise and educate me, but due to unforeseen circumstances, she had to give up her responsibilities as a mother. At most, I will try to repay her kindness in the future and free her from her confinement. At worst, I will risk my life to return this flesh and blood that she gave me to her. Of course, the premise is that she herself wants to get out.”

"Even though we're not related by blood, they were willing to raise me, teach me, care about my joys and sorrows every day, lull me to sleep, remember my birthday every year, and mediate conflicts between me and the other children..."

As Athena pondered, she counted the trivial memories of her childhood on her fingers, her eyes shining with an unusual light.

Finally, the goddess of wisdom looked up with a smile and couldn't help but sigh.

"In Greece, where fathers and sons turn against each other and brothers betray each other, you might not find more competent parents anywhere in the world. I'm quite lucky."

In Themis's silence, Athena paused, touched the side of her cheek, recalled the crisis of the day, and couldn't help but smile and murmur.

"Actually, even if he used me as a bargaining chip during the day and actually threw me to Zeus, I would have no reason to resent him..."

"But he chose to protect me, even at the risk of his own life..."

"So, how should I repay this adoptive father?"

Faced with Athena's question, Themis pondered for a moment, frowned and fell silent, finally managing a wry smile, unable to give a definite answer.

"Hmm, actually I don't know either, I'll think about it later!"

The goddess of wisdom rested her smooth, jade-like chin on her hand, her lips curving into a radiant smile.

Then, after glancing back at the silent night at the cave entrance, Athena felt somewhat disheartened.

The girl's listless gaze lingered on Themis, and a playful smile curved her lips.

"Finally, Aunt Themis..."

Athena rose slightly, leaned forward, and whispered softly in the ear of the goddess of justice.

"He'd rather you risk negotiating with Olympus than reveal my existence..."

Does this mean that I am more important to him than you?

Chapter 72 Numb, numb from winning (2/2)

In the bushes, the stars were dim and the long night was silent.

Samael stopped in the woods several hundred meters from his cave entrance, pacing back and forth, glancing occasionally at the cave entrance that was faintly lit and whose aura was magically shielded.

A feeling of uncertainty and anxiety was brewing in his heart, making him somewhat restless.

"Snapped!"

Overcome with increasing agitation, the ancient snake raised its hand and slapped its forehead, trying to clear its head.

However, due to this unexpected action, the figure behind him stepped forward and wrapped his arms around his head, pulling it into his embrace.

A pair of soft hands gently patted his back to comfort him, and cherry-red lips murmured softly, as if humming a gentle lullaby to soothe the unease in the ancient serpent's heart.

Samael raised his head slightly and met Tina's pure eyes, which were filled with worry, and felt even more guilty.

To be honest, he was single in his previous life and had never had any experience raising children.

He originally intended to cultivate Athena as a bargaining chip. She was a banner of following the will of heaven and rebelling against Olympus, and a key piece to help Tina control the Greek world and restrain her divinity.

Everything should have been this way.

However, as time went on, Samael's complex emotions became uncontrollably directed towards this girl.

The more time he spent with someone, the harder it became for him to cut ties, and the harder it was for him to take advantage of them without any scruples.

Even during the daytime life-or-death crisis, he alerted Zeus in advance, directly or indirectly putting the Serpent Mother, Themis, Tina, and himself in danger.

Although Athena's life and secret were saved, there is no doubt that the road ahead will be even more difficult.

But his concern for this girl had already exceeded what a chess player cares about for a chess piece.

Unbeknownst to him, he gradually strayed from his original intention of helping the Mother Goddess return.

"I'm sorry, it's my fault..."

Samael buried his head deep in that all-encompassing embrace, unable to face the ever-pure and comforting look on Tina's face, and murmured with guilt.

"Good boy/girl..."

"It's okay...it's okay..."

Tina blinked her pure, star-shaped eyes and gently stroked Samael's head. Although she was somewhat confused and didn't understand what she meant, she still tried her best to comfort him, albeit haltingly.

It's such a failure. Even when I'm being a bad person, I'm not bad enough.

Samael smiled bitterly, feeling utterly ashamed.

"I've let you down, Tina..."

However, after sensing the loss of the soul in her arms, the Goddess of Origin cupped the drooping face in her hands and looked firmly into his eyes.

"Samael...I like it!"

That unwavering support and affirmation warmed the heart of the ancient snake, dispelling its bitterness and anxiety. It then raised its hand to stroke the back of Tina's head and smiled freely.

"I suddenly realized it's been a long time since I combed your hair. Come on, sit down and let me comb it for you."

Tina's eyes sparkled, and she nodded enthusiastically. At Samael's invitation, she obediently sat on the rocks by the pool, letting her shadow wash her hair, comb her hair by the water, and patiently arrange and tie each strand of her long hair.

She didn't understand what the person behind her was worried about or felt guilty about.

She was already content as long as she could see Samael by her side every day when she woke up.

Yes, just being there for someone is enough.

Ideally, Athena shouldn't leave even when she grows up.

Although she rarely wants to be hugged anymore, she still likes to come over and whisper secrets.

However, what they talked about most was bad things about Samael; they couldn't think about it and had to keep it a secret.

Also, I hope to see Anna, Erkedna, and the others every day...

Themis liked it too, and so did Daphne!

Tina sat in front of the pool, counting on her fingers, but soon realized that she didn't have enough fingers.

That's too much, isn't that greedy?

But I still hope everyone will stay and not leave me alone again…

Unconsciously, the cross-shaped star pupils that drooped onto the water's surface vaguely saw a reflection enveloped in pure white solitude, slowly approaching.

Her consciousness seemed to be soaked by the still water, her five senses were gradually stripped away, and an inexplicable fear came over her, causing Tina's shoulders to tremble.