Chapter 774 Starting Anew
"You two," she began softly, her voice laced with sincerity, "first of all, I want to apologize. This all started because of me. I was the original target, but you’re the ones who ended up getting hurt. You’re both victims of this situation, and I know how heavy that must feel. I can see it—how you’re each carrying your own guilt, each feeling responsible in your own way for something neither of you intended."
"But you don’t have to be so hard on yourselves. None of this was your fault—and neither of you should be carrying all this guilt alone." She turned to Zen, her voice gentle but firm.
"Brother Zen, I want to clarify something. I know it may have sounded like Athena was bragging... but she wasn’t. And I’m not just saying that because she’s my best friend. I know her well—she’s the one who’s taught me so much about life, about people. I can tell the difference when she’s boasting and when she’s just... trying to make sense of something difficult. What you heard was her guilt talking, not pride."
She paused, eyes filled with sincerity.
"I know you only stepped in to help, to do the right thing. And because you didn’t want to hurt her, you allowed yourself to carry the weight of that night alone, even when it was never your burden to bear."
"You were trying to protect her... and now you’re both hurting. I’m not asking you to forgive or forget right away—but can we try to figure this out together? Not as people trying to clean up a mess, but as friends who want to make things right?"
"This whole situation really gave you a rough start—and probably a terrible impression of her," Hera said softly, glancing between the two of them. "But please know, Athena isn’t a bad person. She’s someone with a good heart... someone who’d stand by me, even die with me if it came to that."
"I don’t believe there’s a single bad bone in her body. She is annoyingly blunt sometimes, and I get how easy it is to misread her intentions—but if it came down to it, she’d absolutely take responsibility and respect whatever decision you make."
Then Hera added with a teasing grin, "If you asked her to pay you back by becoming your slave, she’d probably agree without hesitation."