Chapter 128

[Third Person's PoV] 

Hades put a hand on his shoulder. "You are now officially Lucian Blackheart, the Son of Hades: The Prince of the Underworld… Welcome home, son."

Lucian had an astonished look as he gazed up at his father. "You mean my name wasn't official before? Then what in the underworld was I before all this!?"

"THAT'S THE PART YOU'RE MOST SHOCKED ABOUT!?" they all shouted in disbelief.

Annabeth practically had stars in her eyes as she looked at Lucian. "That means I'm dating a prince, kyaaa~" she muttered.

"Wait, does that mean I have official duties and responsibilities as the Prince of the Underworld?" Lucian asked, his expression turning serious.

'He's immediately thinking about his duties and responsibilities as a first thought… He's really a good kid,' Hades thought with pride.

Hades nodded. "That's right. I'll be sending you out to collect lost souls that have strayed from the Underworld, and to deal with those who are actively trying to escape death."

"Isn't that Thanatos' job?" Lucian asked, tilting his head in confusion.

Hades put a hand over his chin as he muttered, "How can I put this in a way you would understand... Okay, let's use mortal terms. In this case, you would be a police officer, while Thanatos is an entire FBI SWAT team."

"I can't believe you actually managed to simplify that in modern terms," Lucian said, shaking his head.

Hades shrugged his shoulders. "I'm in charge of mortal souls. It would be weirder if I wasn't that informed about what goes on. Anyway, let's discuss this matter another time. You have someone waiting for you inside. Come follow me," he ordered as he began walking toward the castle.

Lucian petted Cerberus goodbye. "I'll come play with you after I finish settling in." Cerberus whimpered sadly and started licking Lucian in farewell.

As they entered, Lucian let out a whistle in approval. "This place is nice," he said as he studied the black marble floors and the decorations on the walls.

After passing through many doors, they finally arrived at a large one, which Lucian assumed led to the throne room.

As Hades pushed the door open, he announced, "I have brought some guests with me after my little trip."

As soon as Lucian stepped inside, he was barely able to react as he was tackled into a hug. "Lucy!~"

"Mother," Lucian choked out. "I can't breathe."

"Right, sorry," Medea said, a bit embarrassed.

Lucian took a deep breath as she let go of him. Medea then started petting his head. "You cut your hair… It's nice. You look very handsome," she said teasingly.

Lucian just looked down, embarrassed. "Mom, you're embarrassing me," he muttered.

Medea chuckled and kissed his forehead. "Well, it's nice to see you for real this time."

"It's good to see you again too, mother dearest," Lucian said, smiling slightly.

As Medea looked up, her smile disappeared, and her expression turned serious. She walked past Lucian and stared at both Thalia and Annabeth, who gulped lightly as they looked at her.

Annabeth bowed toward Medea. "N-Nice to meet you, ma'am. I am Annabeth Chase. I am your son's girlfriend," she said nervously.

Medea crossed her arms and turned to look at Thalia, who, although not as nervous as Annabeth, was still a bit anxious. "Hello, I'm Thalia Grace, and I honestly don't know what to call the relationship I have with your son, but we've known each other for a long time, and he has really helped me out. I'm really grateful to him"

Medea nodded before hugging them both. "It's finally nice to meet my daughters-in-laws. I am Medea, as you can already tell, Lucian's mother. I always wanted daughters, and now I have two. Thank you for looking after Lucian; I know he can be a handful."

"Your son is right here, woman!" Lucian said, raising his arms and gesturing to himself.

Medea playfully shooed him away. "Shoo, let me get to know my daughters-in-law. Go bother someone else; you've already served your purpose as my son."

Lucian just stared with his mouth open before scoffing. "Fine, I see how it is."

Lucian walked up to Persephone, who was seated on her throne, watching everything with a smile. Lucian bowed to her. "Hello, Stepmother, it's nice to finally meet you after so many years."

Persephone smiled and chuckled lightly. "It's nice to finally see you face to face, Lucian. How have you been?"

"Good, even better now that I have seen your beauty."

Persephone couldn't help but laugh out loud. That earned him a punch on the top of his head from Hades. "Stop flirting with my wife, you stupid brat," Hades said as he walked up and sat next to her.

"Ow!" Lucian exclaimed, holding the top of his head. "Why? Do my good looks make you insecure, old man?"

"Real mature, Lucian. Real mature," Hades scoffed.

"Anyway," Lucian said, ignoring him and focusing on Persephone. "I've come bearing gifts."

Persephone was surprised and interested upon hearing that. Lucian then reached into his shadow and pulled out a packet of flower seeds.

Persephone looked at them in confusion.

"These are seeds I personally created that will grow in the Underworld. I imagine all the flowers that grow here aren't the most beautiful or appealing. So I made these that are vibrant in color and smell. As the Goddess of Spring and Nature, you must miss seeing these, so I hope you enjoy them."

Lucian pulled out more packets. "I actually brought a lot more so you can have your own garden of beautiful flowers."

Persephone covered her mouth in surprise and looked at Hades with teary eyes. "That is so thoughtful."

Persephone walked down from her throne and hugged Lucian. "Thank you, truly."

"Don't thank me just yet. Try them out and see if they work, then you can thank me," Lucian said as he handed her the packets of seeds.

"Sorry to leave so early, but do you mind if I go plant them now?"

Hades nodded with a smile and watched as Persephone walked out of the throne room with a skip in her step.

Hades then smiled at Lucian. "Thank you. It's been a while since I've seen her that happy and excited."

Lucian looked at him weirdly, which caused Hades to look at him in confusion. "What's with the face?"

"That says more about you than anything else. What the hell have you been doing—or not doing—that she hasn't been that happy or excited?" Lucian asked, his expression still wary as he looked at Hades with suspicion.

Hades sighed and rubbed his head. "I didn't mean it like that, you brat. And I do try to make her as happy as I possibly can. She knows I would gladly offer her the world in her palm if I could."

"I was only joking. Sorry. No need to get all sentimental on me now," Lucian said a bit awkwardly, not expecting that reaction.

Medea then appeared and rubbed the top of his head. "So where's my gift? You brought one for Persephone, right? So where's mine?"

Lucian just looked at her and scoffed. "Go ask your daughters-in-laws."

It was Medea's turn to look at Lucian in shock. "Whoa, why are you being so petty? I wonder who you got that from?"

Medea and Lucian stared at each other for a bit before they both began laughing.

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