That certain soone—whose na was never spoken.
There was only one man who could make dea speak with such complicated emotions: her husband from her past life—Jason. The man for whom she gave her heart, only for him to tear it apart.
For this man to escape safely, she had betrayed her family, killed her brother, and even dismbered his body.
To help this man ascend to the throne, she used magic and trickery to kill his uncle.
But in the end, all her sacrifices didn't lead to a happily-ever-after with the man she loved. In the tenth year after eting him, this poor woman, who had betrayed her own family, was betrayed in turn by the man she loved. Jason shifted his affections to another woman, not only planning to marry his new lover but also to exile dea and their two children.
The deeper the love, the stronger the hate.
dea, already a woman of extre emotions, finally descended into madness. Using her children, she poisoned her rival and the rival's father. Then, fearing her children would be tortured by enemies, she killed them with her own hands. In the end, amid Jason's furious roars, she set the entire city ablaze and left in a dragon-drawn chariot.
This is the tragic legend of dea, the witch of betrayal. Because of the widespread notoriety of Greek mythology, Shinji had read about it long ago. At the ti, he had no deep thoughts about it—he just thought Jason was a jerk, and dea wasn't exactly a saint either.
But after eting dea in person and hearing her talk about Jason, the words he had once read suddenly seed to co to life. Especially dea's words spoken in her despair:
"Among all the sentient and rational beings in this world, we won are the most unfortunate. If a woman doesn't marry by a certain age, she is considered unlucky; but if she does marry, she has to pay a heavy dowry, only to end up finding herself a master. Worse still, if she marries a bad man, her suffering is endless. Divorce brings disgrace to a woman, and we have no power to drive a bad husband out of our ho."
—What kind of pain must one endure to gain such deep insight in those ancient tis?
"Do you regret it?"
Shinji asked, almost as if possessed, a question he would never normally ask.
dea was montarily taken aback, casting a slightly surprised look at Shinji. But she wasn't angry. Instead, she exhaled slowly and resolutely: "If you an regret towards my parents and brother, then yes. If you an towards him, then no. A woman fears many things, but when she's been wronged by her husband, nothing is more venomous than her heart."
"That's an extre way of putting it, but not entirely without truth."
"So, Matou Shinji, be careful. Don't turn the girls around you into another ."
"They won't beco like you; I'm confident of that much."
"I hope so."
"Uh, so... can I go to the kitchen and make sothing to eat now?"
Sensing the atmosphere had lightened, Shinji cautiously tested the waters.
"Don't even think about it! If you don't want to eat, then don't. Skipping a al won't kill you."
dea imdiately turned cold, clutching the plastic bag and preparing to leave.
"Don't be so heartless."
Shinji quickly put on a pleading smile.
"With that attitude, you'll scare away any good n."
"Good n? Are you talking about yourself?"
dea stopped in her tracks, half-turning with a face full of sarcasm.
"Of course not , but there are six billion people on Earth. There's bound to be soone who's your type."
"Even if there is, that man probably wouldn't accept a pitiful woman like ."
"Don't be so pessimistic. Modern tis are different from the Age of Gods. Won's status has improved drastically. There are even many historians who sympathize with you. Don't underestimate yourself. Once the Holy Grail War is over, you can travel the world and see for yourself. Then you'll know whether I'm right or wrong." —If she could et soone like Kuzuki Souichirou, that would be the best outco.
"Fine, I'll rember that. I might give it a try if I get the chance."
dea nodded thoughtfully.
"But your lunch is still this, no negotiations. And no slacking off. I'll be here supervising you until Sakura and the others return."
"Alright, alright, you win. You're the boss."
Shinji raised his hands in surrender.
"But just sitting here is boring. How about you use this ti to tell about the Argonauts like you promised last night?"
"Fine, I have nothing better to do anyway."
dea tossed the plastic bag to Shinji and sat down on a nearby chair.
"What do you want to know?"
"Let's start with Atalanta—sorry, I an Atalante. As one of the few won on the Argo, you two must've had a good relationship, right?"
"Ah, her... yes, we got along quite well. We often helped each other comb our hair."
At the ntion of this, dea's tone noticeably lightened.
"She's a very straightforward person. If she wants to do sothing, she'll do it. If she has sothing to say, she'll say it. And she loves children. Whenever she played with them, she was always so happy, like... hmm..."
"Like a big cat?"
Shinji, understanding her implication, finished her thought.
"Yes, just like a cat."
dea smiled, but then looked suspiciously at Shinji.
"How do you know that? And what about that nickna just now? Do you know her?"
Shinji didn't hide it: "We've crossed paths. In the Holy Grail War that Artoria and I participated in, she was there too. I fought her, and we also fought side by side. I even entrusted her to take care of my daughter—not by blood, but an adopted child. You can probably guess her wish."
"A world where all children are happy?"
"Exactly."
"Just as I thought... she wished for all children to be happy, but she didn't find happiness in the end. Fate is so unfair."
dea said bitterly, her anger directed both at Atalanta's fate and her own. It seed that the won of the Argo rarely had happy endings.
"No need to feel too sad. We may not talk about their first lives, but her second life was quite fulfilling. She survived the Holy Grail War, regained a physical body, and with the support of her companions, she plans to open an orphanage to take care of children. Plus, she has a devoted protector following her around."
"A protector?"
"You probably know him, or at least have t him—Achilles. His father, Peleus, was also one of the Argonauts."
Hearing this, dea imdiately understood.
"Ah, it's him... I rember that Peleus admired Atalanta as well, though he never confessed because he already had a wife."
"Oh? Tell more!"
Shinji's eyes lit up, excited to hear this bit of gossip.
"I'll tell you, but you'll have to tell what happened between Atalanta and Achilles."
dea's curiosity was just as strong as Shinji's, especially since it involved her friend.
"Deal! We've got plenty of ti until sunset, so..."
Before he could finish his sentence, the crystal wall in front of him suddenly began emitting a strong red light.
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