I Enslaved The Goddess Who Summoned Me

Chapter 425: Moment with Khione (4)

After their passionate entanglement, the world seemed to still for a brief moment—quiet and breathless in the aftermath of such raw, unrestrained intimacy. Khione, still flushed from exertion, managed to gather her thoughts as her breathing steadied. With a faint shimmer of ethereal magic from her fingertips, she conjured a cleansing aura, enveloping their bodies in a soft glow that whisked away the sweat and stickiness from their earlier union.

Nathan leaned back against the cool stone, his arm slung lazily behind his head as the two of them lay nestled on a makeshift bedding of furs and thin linens. Khione curled into his side, utterly nude, the smooth warmth of her body pressing into his. Her snow-white hair tumbled in loose disarray across his chest, and her soft breasts rose and fell with each gentle breath she took, brushing against his skin.

A faint smile danced across her lips as she murmured, ”You didn’t finish inside again.”

Nathan turned to look at her, amusement flashing in his eyes. ”What, are you disappointed? Or do you already want another child?”

Khione let out a quiet chuckle, the sound like a chime in the silence of the night. ”Want? Yes. But now? No. You already have more children than ordinary humans nobles could dream of, Nathan.”

He sighed, the weight of her words sinking into his chest. ”I’ve been too reckless,” he admitted, his voice tinged with guilt. ”There were times I should’ve been more careful. Even in a world where we can use potions and pills to prevent it, some of the women... well, they chose otherwise. To my surprise.”

He stared up at the shadowed ceiling, thoughts flickering to one woman in particular. ”Like Aisha. I never expected her to keep the baby. But she made her choice, and I didn’t argue. I couldn’t.”

That decision had added another name—another life—for Nathan to watch over, to protect. And while he felt a deep, unshakable love for each of his children, the ever-growing distance between them filled him with anxiety. He wasn’t just a father in name—he wanted to be there for them, guide them, hold them. But time, duty, war... they all pulled him away.

”Thankfully, not everyone insisted,” he continued, glancing sideways at Khione. ”Medea, Charybdis, Scylla... they understood. They wanted children too, especially Scylla—she practically begged for it—but after I explained what being a mother truly meant, the weight of that responsibility, they agreed to wait.”

Khione nodded, her expression softening as her fingers traced idle patterns across his chest. ”It’s not easy. But you’re trying. That’s what matters.”

Nathan’s brows furrowed as a sudden thought struck him. ”Wait... Fulvia. She wouldn’t... she won’t keep it, right?” His voice was uncertain. The prospect of her bearing his child hadn’t crossed his mind seriously until now.

Khione blinked, clearly amused. ”You’re only wondering that now?”

”I just—” Nathan ran a hand through his hair. ”If she really got pregnant... I don’t think she’d keep it unless she wanted something more serious with me.”

He exhaled slowly, his gaze drifting into the flickering firelight nearby. ”I already have too many responsibilities. I want to give the children I do have the attention they deserve before I bring more into this world.”

Khione lifted her head slightly, her icy blue eyes gazing into his. ”Nivea loves you already.”

”I know,” he whispered. ”And I love spending time with her. But what about the others?” He hesitated. ”Sara, Kyra, Karen... and Laios.”

Karen, his daughter with Aisha. Laios, the newborn son he had yet to meet—born of Kassandra, still stationed at Troy. It hurt to admit, but he hadn’t even laid eyes on them yet. Karen was with Aisha, safe within the Light Empire’s borders... but it didn’t stop him from worrying.

There were so many nights when he’d dreamed of pulling them all to Tenebria—his children, his lovers, everyone he cared for—keeping them close, under his watch. But reality wouldn’t permit it. Not yet.

He needed to be patient. Just a little longer.

Aisha had sworn she would reach out if anything went wrong, and Nathan trusted her to keep that promise. For now, his duty lay elsewhere.

Thankfully, there were safeguards in place. Unseen shields he had meticulously arranged. One such protector was Samuel—the Divine Knight who served Khione with unwavering loyalty and he had met the first day of their summoning. The man revered her as a goddess, and more importantly, he was the only person who knew Khione had survived. And he would never betray that knowledge.

Khione had made sure of that. She had perfect control over him.

Yet despite Khione’s comforting presence and the warmth of her bare skin against his, Nathan couldn’t shake the gnawing tension in his chest.

There was a reason for that unease—a reason that had been festering in the back of his mind like a thorn that refused to be dislodged.

Nancy.

Of all people in the Light Empire, she had risen to become its Empress.

Nancy, of all his former classmates. The same girl who had once been laughably ignorant in strategy, shallow in character, and prone to emotional outbursts. And yet the Light Emperor, in what Nathan could only describe as an act of pure idiocy, had chosen her—not only as a lover but as the mother of his heir. He couldn’t have picked a worse candidate if he tried.

Nathan had scoffed when he first heard the news. But the scorn soon gave way to wariness.

Because Nancy now had a son. A son who, according to Khione, had been blessed—perhaps even touched—by the Light Gods themselves.

The boy was no ordinary child.

”Don’t worry,” Khione said, her voice low and calm, as if sensing the spike in Nathan’s thoughts. Her fingers traced lazy circles across his chest. ”He poses no threat to you. Not directly.”

Nathan chuckled dryly, his golden eyes narrowing.

”Direct or not... it’s not the boy I am wary of. It’s the support he’ll be given. The Light Gods have always been opportunistic parasites. They’ll gather around him like moths to a flame. And if they throw their full weight behind him...”

Khione sat up slightly, letting her hair spill over her shoulders like a cascade of moonlight. ”Then we’ll clip their wings,” she said with a dangerous glint in her eyes.

Nathan nodded slowly.

If the Light Gods were indeed preparing a future champion in Nancy’s son, then Nathan needed to be ready. That meant more than just strategy, weapons, or even divine artifacts.

It meant he had to own the gods themselves.

He already had Khione, Amaterasu, and Aphrodite who are loyal to him.

But it wasn’t enough.

Not for what was coming.

If the gods of Light wanted to play favorites, then Nathan would shatter their game board. He would forge a coalition of divinities from across the Pantheons—each from a different realm, each with their own power base. He would own them, seduce them, break them if he must, and make them his.

And then... not even the Heavens would dare oppose him.

As for Hera—

A faint smirk curved his lips.

She remained elusive, proud and cunning. The Queen of Olympus was not so easily won. But Nathan had made progress—real, tangible progress. He was no fool; he knew how to be patient when the prize demanded it.

He was on the right path.

Still, goddesses weren’t his only focus.

There was another force he relied on—one far more grounded, more personal.

His Devil Knights.

He had Medea, Scylla and Charybdis.

But Nathan had bigger ambitions. A single spine could not support an empire.

He needed more.

He needed generals.

He briefly thought of Elin. With her SSS Rank Skill she would’ve been perfect—a crown jewel in his army. But alas, her heart was still chained to her classmates. Her loyalty to them was too deep and visible even from a blind’s perspective.

He didn’t blame her. Not entirely.

There would be others.

The continent of Rome was vast. Surely he might find some,e during his stay?

Then mold them. Raise them into Devil Knights worthy of the world he planned to build—his future haven, a realm untouched by divine judgment or mortal pettiness.

A true sanctuary.

His thoughts flickered darkly. A smile played across his face, feral and ambitious. His golden eyes, touched by demonic lineage, glowed faintly in the low light—pools of molten hunger. He was thinking about the goddesses he’d enslave next. The Devil Knights he’d forge from flame, chaos, and flesh.

That was when a familiar, melodic voice rang through the chamber, light and teasing.

”You two never miss a beat, do you?”

Nathan’s thoughts were gently shattered as he turned his gaze toward the speaker.

There, standing at the threshold of the chamber, was Aphrodite.

”I regret ever granting you access to my world,” Khione said sharply, her voice laced with quiet anger. Her serene, icy expression fractured for a moment, revealing the storm of emotions she usually kept buried beneath layers of cold composure.

Moments like this—where she could be alone with Nathan, free from the watching eyes of gods and mortals alike—were rare, almost sacred. She treasured them, every fleeting second, and now even that delicate peace had been disrupted.

A soft breeze drifted across the sacred grove, rustling the pale-blue petals of the frost-covered blossoms surrounding them. The temperature dropped slightly, as it always did when Khione was upset.

”I understand,” Aphrodite said, her voice calm and honey-sweet. She stood not far from them, her beauty radiant and overwhelming, as if the air shimmered just from her presence. ”I wouldn’t have come if it weren’t important.”

Her gaze drifted toward Nathan, something curious dancing behind her eyes. ”Athena will soon descend upon Rome. I assume you’ve heard the rumors?”

Nathan offered a slight nod, disinterested though. ”Yeah, something about a gladiator tournament and some kind of prize for the victor.”

Aphrodite’s smile curved, subtle and enigmatic, as though she were savoring a secret too delicious to keep for long.

”Indeed,” she said, stepping forward, her bare feet making no sound on the frost-touched earth. ”But this is no ordinary prize. Athena isn’t the only god who will be present—others will watch as well. And do you know what the victor stands to win, Nate?”

Nathan raised an eyebrow. Her tone was playful, almost teasing. ”I wonder,” he murmured, though now his curiosity was fully engaged. Aphrodite wouldn’t have come all this way, interrupting Khione no less, just to speak of a minor reward. No, this had to be something far more significant.

The goddess of love leaned in slightly, her voice a silken whisper. ”The prize,” she said, ”is none other than the most beautiful mortal woman to have ever walked the earth. A woman crafted to be flawless—perfection incarnate. The very first of her kind.”

Khione’s eyes widened in dawning realization, her breath catching ever so slightly in her throat. Her instincts told her what name was about to fall from Aphrodite’s lips.

But Nathan—he didn’t know yet.

He narrowed his eyes, trying to decipher her words. The most beautiful mortal woman to have ever existed? He would have said Helen but she was more described as the most beautiful woman of the world and not ever existed.

Nathan stared at Aphrodite, waiting for her to say the name.

And she did, her smile now a radiant gleam of divine mischief.

”Pandora.”