Chapter 36: Ch 36: You chose the wrong master

"Selene, what have you done? I told you that Goddess Apophis was our new lord. Why would you go against her like this?"

Lord Rain’s words shook Selene to her core. Her eyes shook in a way that told Aiden that she had not expected such an outcome.

She had dedicated her whole life to the ex-god who was now abandoning her.

"See, I told you that gods were selfish. They only care about their own survival and their own gain. The reason they pretend to care about their people and even sort them into ranks is because they want to encourage competition. The more people want to get close to them, the more offerings and faith they get in return."

Goddess Apophis explained in a simple voice, and her eyes looked calm.

She looked like she had seen this scene a thousand times before, and her detachment made Aiden sigh.

"Would you abandon me one day if you need to as well, Goddess Apophis?"

Aiden asked, and he immediately got a hiss and a slap on his wrist from the goddess’s tail.

"Don’t joke about it. I am the snake goddess, and I never discard what is mine. You are my possession, and in essence, you belong to me. Our relationship is not like that of a god and its followers."

She declared without a hint of hesitation, and Aiden felt a sense of satisfaction at her words. Even if his goddess was lying, he did not care.

He was just content to be hers for as long as she would have him.

But for now, it was important to deal with the situation at hand. People were choosing to believe his goddess, but this may cause a fissure in the future. So Aiden needed to seal any gaps before they could occur.

"Lord Rain, you may speak up if you know anything about this incident. Do you wish to defend Selene?"

Aiden asked, and he watched Selene’s eyes shining at her lord for help. But Lord Rain just sighed and looked aside, not giving her a chance to even speak.

"I am afraid that this happened because of my negligence. I did not keep an eye on Selene because I trusted her as a person. However, she decided to go behind my back and stab me like this. I...think she deserves the death penalty for trying to harm so many people."

Lord Rain’s voice echoed throughout the room, and everyone heard him.

Selene, who was the closest to him and also the one relying on him the most, went pale, and her mouth opened and closed in succession, unable to figure out what went wrong.

"Lord Rain, I-"

She tried to speak, only to feel as if she needed to keep her mouth shut.

Her lord shook his head and then looked at her with blank dark eyes.

"You have disappointed me enough, Selene. Are you going to deny what you did? It is going to be your words against mine. So think carefully about what you say."

Aiden looked at the way Selene shook, and he wondered if she was going to betray her god this time. He wouldn’t be surprised if she did.

However, Selene shocked him and everyone else by falling to her knees and looking at the former god in front of her.

"My lord, I did this for you. You are the only god I will ever serve, so how could I watch as you were being stripped of your authority? I know you did this because you were forced to, not because you wanted to. So please, come back and-"

There was a loud noise when Lord Rain stood up, and he looked at Selene’s hopeful face.

She was looking at the elder man as if he was the only thing left in this world for her.

"Here, eat! You should enjoy serving me, right? Think of this as my last gift to you."

Lord Rain told Selene, and she looked grateful. She likely knew that she was going to die right here and now, but she did not care.

She grabbed the bowl and, with a thankful look on her face, she brought it to her lips.

"My lord, I will do anything for you. I will even die for you if that is what you want. So please, keep looking at me until the end. And please, keep me in your mind even after you die."

That was Selene’s last wish as she ate the food, and it killed her. Her dead body fell to the ground, and it began to turn purple due to how potent the poison was.

Lord Rain sighed as he looked at her, but his first instinct was not to help her.

Rather, it was to turn toward Goddess Apophis and Aiden to give them a bow of regret and shame.

"Goddess Apophis, I apologize for what just happened. I will ensure such a thing never happens in the future as well."

He told the goddess and begged for a pardon.

Aiden looked at his goddess, who simply sighed to sit beside his collar and look back at him with an annoyed look on her face.

"I am done with this. Aiden, you take care of the rest."

She closed her eyes and went to sleep. Aiden was left in charge of taking care of the fallout, but he did not mind.

"First, let’s take Selene’s body inside and give it a proper funeral. She might have tried to cause trouble, but she was a loyal subject of yours. As such, she deserves the respect."

Aiden looked at the former god, who had yet to move. The former god nodded to show that he understood. But his expression did not look like he supported Aiden’s decision.

Well, it was his problem, and Aiden was going to do what he wanted since he had the authority.

He looked at Selene’s dead face with pity.

’In the end, you chose to serve the wrong god and paid the price. This wouldn’t have happened if you had chosen Goddess Apophis.’

But that was likely not true. Aiden did not realize that he was an exception and also the only one his goddess cared for. Everyone else was also fodder to her.