The Romance of Administratios and Adulteria

Of all the members of the Main Five, the relationship between Administratios, the god of Stewardship and former king of the gods, and Adulteria, the Goddess of Intrigue is not of clear antagonism as was the case for Bellum and Legatia. While War and Diplomacy are two, in many cases opposing, aspects of the same coin, Stewardship and Intrigue are indeed two quite separated aspects of rule. On one hand, the administration is a public, if in many cases ignored matter, but whose consequences (especially the negative ones) are quite clear. Intrigue on the other hand, is always meant to remain in the shadows, ideally forever, with the consequences of all alternative paths remaining hidden but to a select few. This differing nature is not in direct or even indirect conflict with one another, and so was the initial relationship between the two gods who are the living embodiment of their area of expertise and might.   Of all of the original five, Adulteria was the youngest member, and she mostly kept to herself. However, she was somewhat of a close friend to Legatia, the other only goddess of the small group, while having good interactions with the remaining members (Bellum, Administratios and Superbios), before the uprising against the firstborns, event where she played a key role as double agent for the rebels. It was after the success of the uprising and the Pantheon's rise that she and the other members began to have more...complex relationships.   Adulteria was a thrill seeker, always wanting to try new challenges, and that didn't change even after becoming one of the main members of the new High Council, being the Supreme Spymaster of the gods, preoccupied with dealing with intel gathering and subterfuge against the enemies of Paraborn, both demonic and godly in nature. However, wherever she could trust her job to a capable subordinate, she would do it and therefore be free to try new experiences. She especially enjoyed using her natural beauty and talents to woo any god she seemed to fancy, sometimes just to have fun times...other times to intentionally create scandals for her own amusement. She quickly gained a reputation of a lustful, vain goddess, and quite many didn't like her for that.   But as with most things, she came to experience practically all that there was to offer in her realm, and Adulteria wasn't one to truly abandon her duties, even if it meant being bored practically all the time, only able to remember the good, fun times she once had. With this in mind, it took her little convincing to join Superbios plot to overthrow his twin, and help him become the new monarch of the gods. And she would do it by seducing the one god she had still not tried to and cared to actually seduce: Administratios himself.   She immediately started to work, and as she expected, the king of the gods paid little to no attention to the charms of his chief spymaster, too busy managing and ruling his realm. And this went on for quite a while, reaching a point when Superbios started to privately doubt the Goddess’s capabilities. When he commented on this, it was one of the few times she was offended, and inspired her to go the extra mile she had never gone too, if just to prove the plotting god wrong.   Her constant subtle attempt slowly eroded the focus of the king, allowing Adulteria to gain ever larger bits of information she could and did deliver to her current master. But the effort it took her, combined with the need to get as close as possible to her target, had an unintended consequence on the Mistress of Shadow herself...she actually started to develop feelings for the devoted king.   She grew to admire the collected yet practically infinite passion of the ruler for the management of the realm, the many architectural wonders he ordered and made sure to construct for the benefit of his people, and she even managed to get a bit fond of the intricacies of tax collection. At the same time, the king of the gods himself also started to deeply appreciate his female companion's company, enjoying her beauty, her wits and cunning in regards to the works, and even became a bit...interested in the skills she had gained regarding the "treatment" of prisoners; it took him little to appreciate the potential uses of the knowledge of acting in secret ways.   So, with the two gods getting closer and closer, Adulteria started to get second thoughts about the entire purpose of her mission: she had never actually cared for anyone she had seduced until now, and the bond she was building...was becoming most precious. But the knowledge that it was built in the shakiest of foundations worried her beyond measure: what would happen if her...lover discovered that all this, all of her efforts, were being done with the purpose of gaining his trust for a future betrayal? She...didn't want to see that. Yet, she was willing to go a bit longer, if not for a key event that shaped her future life forever.   That fateful night, she left the king sleeping soundly, and sneakily returned to the meeting post in order to deliver the new information she had learned to Superbios. However, as she got closer, she managed to overhear voices, with only one of them being familiar to her. Instinctively, she hid in the shadows while approaching, and once she was close enough she started listening carefully, discovering that the small group was Superbios and his closest circle. What she heard hurt her deeply: Superbios explicitly spoke to his companions about his actual opinion of the goddess, describing her as a vain, pathetic being, only good in bed and as an exhibition trophy. More importantly, he described her as a little easy-to-manipulate female, who easily obeyed even the simplest of commands like a good sweet doggy. He mocked and slandered her, and worst of all, openly told his companions that he intended to discard her the first moment he could, putting his own partner and woman in her place. All this, without taking any precautions if anyone could have been secretly listening: this fact alone proved that Superbios couldn't care less at this point if the Goddess of Intrigue discovered the truth or not, because as far as he was concerned, she had already delivered what was needed of her.   Adulteria ran until she was sure no one was near to hear her. Then, she started to cry and scream, furious about being used in such a manner, and that she had been so easily tricked. But especially, that she had in essence been delivering the man she had grown to care for deeply to the wolves, wolves that would turn on her immediately after. Superbios was right in so many things: she had been very easily manipulated to aid another who despised and looked down on her.   Once she cleaned away her tears, with a resolute determination like never before, she went straight back with Administratios, awaking the shocked deity with a singular purpose...a truly honest conversation. The exact details of what transpired is only known to them, but what's known is this: Adulteria presented the entire situation, revealing her original motivation behind her actions. She then waited for Administratios voice, telling the guards to arrest her due to her betrayal and secret agenda. She wouldn't put up resistance, for she deserved such a fate.   What happened next was something she wasn't expecting at all: instead of calling the guards, or even angrily lashing out against her...Administratios brought her close, and gave her a brief yet strong hug. Once it ended, in his usual calm manner the monarch exposed all of his feelings regarding the situation: he was indeed hurt that she had been an agent, and that all her actions were done to gain his trust to gather information; yet, he had always suspected a little of her, especially once she started to press on after the initially rejected attempts. Most importantly however, he could feel that this entire situation was not an act: that Adulteria was being honest with all this. He had learned of her many things, one among them being the capability of identifying at a glance if someone was being dishonest with their words, and Adulteria right now gave no sign of that at all. Following this, he hugged her again, telling her that he was willing to give her something very important: a second chance. A second chance to prove where her loyalties truly lay. A second chance as lovers and partners.   Adulteria started crying again, this time of sheer joy and happiness. She wouldn't waste this golden opportunity.   What followed next is more openly known to both mortals and gods: Adulteria started to act as a double agent, delivering false information to Superbios, while at the same time delivering constant updates to Administratios and his loyalist forces. When not doing this, she would spend as much private time alongside her companion as possible, the two of them chatting and bonding on a deeper level than ever before.   And soon after the end of the civil war and Superbios’s escape into exile, all remaining councilors assisted to the greatest wedding of them all: two couples were getting married that day, Administratios and Adulteria, alongside Legatia and her partner Bellum. Scientiar was the "priest" and manager of the mutual wedding, being the god with the greatest experience regarding the ritual of marriage, due to his own personal experiences.   Ever since that day, Adulteria had been a faithful companion to her husband and eventually, former king, only using her charms of seduction if absolutely needed for the good of Paraborn and the entire Pantheon. Thankfully, few times have been dire enough to demand such a course of action; she can rely on two of her children to get the job done instead. Speaking of children, the couple would sire many, with each representing an aspect of one of the parents, the living incarnations of the many areas of both Stewardship and Intrigue.