Openly defying the Divine King was not without precedent, but those who had done so were either special deities like the Heavenly Empress or the Sea Emperor, or they had already suffered terrible punishments. Hermes did not intend to get involved in this, and when his voice fell, Olympus once again fell silent.
In silence, the clouds once again gathered. The Divine King was still smiling, but his smile now had a trace of coldness.
"An unfamiliar deity... Hermes, this is quite rare."
"Your Majesty, perhaps he was newly born, unaware of your power, similar to what the Goddess of Beauty once was—this is entirely understandable," he replied politely, while blinking in the direction of Aphrodite. The embodiment of love and beauty had intimate relationships with many of the gods of Mount Olympus, and Hermes was no exception.
