"That woman?" Bell looked for a long time, shook his head, and said, "I don't know, I've never seen her before."
"That's your bride!" Martini exclaimed.
"What?" Linley was utterly confused, not understanding how he could have a bride.
Empton prompted, "This is the temple's bride!"
Only then did Linley finally understand that it was the temple's bride. The gods of Olympus led chaotic lives, especially their private lives were completely chaotic. The establishment of the Cretan Kingdom was caused by Zeus's affair with the Phoenician princess Europa, and even after that, Zeus did not restrain himself, continuing his chaotic lifestyle.
As the king of the gods, Zeus set an example that other gods were quick to follow, competing to imitate him. Sometimes they even had relations with mortals to produce offspring. If these demigod children couldn't be brought back to Olympus, they would be left in temples.
The fate of the boys was relatively simple. When they grew up, they would receive some money to set out into the world. If they made a name for themselves, they would be recognized as sons; if they failed, they would be forgotten. Even if they were mediocre, with their demigod physique, they could still find a job, start a family, and establish a career.
The situation for the girls was much more complicated. If they were simply let out, they could easily be deceived, kidnapped, and taken advantage of by men. At that time, people wouldn't say that a man took advantage of them, but that a god's daughter was taken advantage of. Even if the gods themselves didn't care, persistent rumors would tarnish their reputation and make it difficult for their followers to hold their heads high.
Therefore, the gods would keep their daughters in their own temples. However, as they grew up, this posed a problem. The temples, with their power and wealth, were not immune to corruption. The demigod girls often found themselves unwelcome in such places.
The bloodline of the gods was noble, and marrying anyone would be considered marrying down. But these demigod girls lacked the dowry and political influence, so marrying them would only increase expenses without any benefits, making it difficult for them to marry.
Thus, some gods claimed to marry their daughters to another god, which was the so-called temple bride. Such marriages were mostly symbolic, and actual marriages were extremely rare because they would bring many troubles.
"Which temple is she from?" Linley asked.
"I don't know, probably from Crete," Empton answered.
Bell added, "She's wearing the attire of the Temple of Hermes."
Hermes was the messenger of the gods and the god of travel and commerce. Crete was the transit center of the Mediterranean, with prosperous commerce and many followers of Hermes. His temple was large, and even non-believers, many merchants would go to the temple to donate money and pray for protection.
Because Hermes' followers were wealthy, the followers of other gods inevitably became jealous and made up many jokes about Hermes. The most famous one is the story of Hermes and the sculptor.
Hermes, disguised as a mortal, traveled the world and came to a statue shop. He saw a statue of Zeus and asked, "How much is this one?" The sculptor replied, "One silver coin." Hermes then asked, "How much is Hera's statue?" The sculptor said, "A bit more expensive." Finally, Hermes saw his own statue and thought that as the messenger of the gods and the protector of merchants, people would respect him more, so he asked, "How much is this one?" The sculptor replied, "If you buy the other two, this one comes for free."
Since this girl is dressed in the attire of Hermes' temple, she is likely Hermes' daughter. Although her appearance is indeed striking, Linley obviously wouldn't easily compromise for a woman he has never met.
"Dionysus, if you don't move, I'll kill your bride!" Martini threatened loudly.
"You are mistaken," Linley calmly responded, "I am the Dionysus Linley."
"She is supposed to marry Dionysus, but that doesn't mean it has to be Dionysus," Martini continued.
Is this guy crazy? The marriage of a temple maiden is merely symbolic; no one takes it seriously. If everyone did, each Olympian god would have to marry hundreds of wives.
"Husband!" the girl shouted, "Martini tried to dishonor me, but I didn't let him. I kept my chastity for you!"
It seems that Martini, as the governor, has amassed quite a fortune in his fight against the Olympian gods, even seizing the temple bride. The Roman Empire has already expanded to its limits, and even with the Mediterranean as a transportation hub, maintaining connections with the frontiers has become quite difficult.
With limited resources, expansion is impossible; they can only find ways to better allocate the existing ones. The Olympian gods and their temples and followers are the largest piece of the pie. After losing to Holiness, they were immediately divided.
"Stop immediately and surrender, or I'll kill your bride!" Martini threatened.
Linley pulled out his slingshot, loaded it with a diamond, took aim at Martini, and fired.
Martini wanted to say something but suddenly felt a sharp pain, followed by darkness. His body fell, and the temple bride quickly picked up Martini's sword and ran back.
Martini's guard, wielding a long-handled axe, instinctively swung at the temple bride. The girl rolled forward to dodge the axe and then stabbed the guard in the lower body with a short sword.
The guard clutched his wound and fell to his knees. The other guards, feeling a phantom pain, quickly retreated. The temple bride took the opportunity to bypass the phalanx and run towards Linley.
Linley was about to speak when the temple bride closed her eyes and fell. Linley reached out to catch her, but the girl suddenly opened her eyes and stabbed a sword towards Linley's heart.
Linley was shocked and tried to grab the blade, but divine power emanated from the short sword, cutting his fingers, piercing through his armor and muscles, and embedding deeply into his heart.
In a daze, Linley returned to the divine realm and asked, "Am I dead?"
"No," the system replied, "You're just a little short."
A model of his body appeared before Linley, showing that the blade had almost pierced his heart.
"I never expected her to be an assassin," Linley said.
Sacrificing the governor to gain Linley's trust, the price was too high. No, they didn't know Linley could kill Martini from a distance, right?
The original plan was probably for Martini to reach a compromise with Linley, release the temple bride, Linley leave the church, and then the girl take the opportunity to assassinate Linley. Unexpectedly, Linley killed Martini with a slingshot, so the temple bride adapted to the situation and ultimately achieved her goal.
"Unexpected? Either way, you shouldn't have let a stranger get close enough to launch a sneak attack. You almost got overturned in the gutter. If you sink, it doesn't matter to me; I'll just find another host. But for you, it would be the end," the system said.
Linley nodded, left the divine realm, and returned to the present world.