After a long silence, Persephone replied quietly in an indifferent voice.

“Hades wants this child.”

Her emotionless voice, devoid of even a grain of her own feelings, was infinitely cold. There was no warmth in her words, spoken as if it were something that had nothing to do with her.

What is a mother’s love? If such cold indifference is a mother’s love, how can one explain the love Persephone receives from Demeter?

This faded question circled in Zagreus’s mind, but as always, he didn’t voice it. From the moment of his birth until now, he had never understood or felt it, so there was no point in suddenly yearning for it now.

Zagreus turned his gaze away from Persephone to look into the distance.

It was truly ironic. That the daughter of Demeter, who had the strongest maternal instinct in all of Greece, showed no affection for her own child.

Was it because he was a child she was forced to bear against her will?

To that proud goddess, Zagreus was evidence of submission and humiliation, too much of an eyesore to embrace.

Zagreus understood Persephone.

Being hated was familiar to him. Though his memories may have oxidized and disappeared, he had already experienced death several times due to the intense hatred from Zeus’s wife.

In the end, his body and soul were split apart to live separate lives – that’s how cruel and persistent a god’s life was.

A life where one couldn’t die even if they wanted to.

That woman who had sworn to kill him, her eyes blazing blue.

Before his downcast eyes appeared hair as red as fire. Those green eyes that shone brilliantly, unlike his mother who carried a light green hue like young sprouts….

How warm that soft skin had been….

The man’s drooping fingertips trembled as he recalled that time. The memory of that soft and hot skin wrapped around his pale fingertips.

That warmth that made him want to lose his mind, rush forward, and keep touching and teasing.

‘Livia… Livia….’

He traced her name silently with his tongue, like the sound of wind or whistling.

My prey who had fallen into the deep, vast sea. The prey that had rolled into his grasp, but slipped through his fingers in a moment of carelessness – that small woman.

Her form rose like light in the deep pit of his heart.

Because he had never properly possessed her, he was more tormented by not knowing what taste she would have, how she would shake him. However, he had no intention of taking her by force even if the opportunity arose.

Hadn’t he felt from the moment of his birth how his mother’s heart had grown cold, bearing Zagreus as evidence of humiliation and submission?

What Zagreus wanted was not the relationship of Zeus and Persephone, but that of Hades and Persephone.

“Hmm.”

Demeter responded with a strange sound while scratching her throat.

Though he was the flesh and blood of her most beloved daughter, that was all. Hades, that heartless man, seemed determined to embrace this one too, claiming it was also part of Persephone – truly, he too was mad.

Demeter, moistening her lips with the remaining wine, glanced at the man who kept his eyes lowered quietly under his helmet.

“…How pitiful.”

A light pity passed fleetingly across the goddess’s lips. Sometimes, indifferent pity stung more than indifference. Zagreus silently watched ahead while biting his tongue as bitter water rose in his mouth.

For Zagreus, who didn’t possess a complete physical form, the surface world was more burdensome and challenging than the underworld. Of course, it wasn’t that he had no body at all, but because his physical form had been reborn in the place of the dead rather than the living, this place was too uncomfortable for him now.

Setting aside the sharp pain that occasionally constricted his entire body, his violent instinct to tear apart and hunt living things kept surging.

Demeter’s vast garden felt like a hunting ground, and all those filling this place felt like his prey.

Ah, though he wanted to bare his fangs and claws right now to bite and swallow their necks….

“……”

Zagreus regulated his breathing while gritting his teeth. He had been born as a god of hunting before becoming a god of the underworld. Suppressing that sharp instinct was no small ordeal.

However, the reason he was enduring all this hardship and hanging on here was, of course, just one thing.

Zagreus turned his gaze to look at the entrance where the invited guests were entering.

River gods who became the lifeline of people, gods of vast meadows, nymphs laughing brightly like green foliage. The wind god stepping down to the floor with floating steps as if looking down on them all, and the moon goddess with beautiful but cold eyes….

One after another, beings with relaxed and leisurely expressions stepped into the temple as if dancing.

Their prestige was proud, as if showing the influence of spring permeating the earth.

However, these were not the ones Zagreus was waiting for.

Neither god, nor nymph, nor spirit, but a very insignificant human. Yet one that provoked such intense possessiveness. My lost prey.

When will she come, when….

That’s when it happened.

Along with a moment when everything seemed to stop in the noisy banquet hall where harp and flute sounds were softly spreading, the sound of waves was heard.

A clear water scent resembling the smell of wind rushed in.

As his heart leaped sharply, Zagreus’s intense and shining eyes under the helmet flashed a cold blue.

Finally, he had arrived.

Triton, god of the sea.

And what that meant was one thing.

“…Livia.”

As Zagreus unconsciously whispered her name, his golden eyes caught sight of the small human woman entering, almost cradled in the sea god’s arms.

***

In front of Demeter’s temple.

Passing through the huge arch decorated with various flowers and green leaves, another world unfolded.

Like Triton’s golden palace, an unfamiliar world that wasn’t visible before crossing that gate dizzily shook Livia’s vision.

Livia slowly closed and opened her eyes, gazing with fresh eyes at the vast world of gods spread before her.

Fountains flowing backward, trees walking on their own, tropical fruits and flowers she had never seen before….

It was a different kind of otherworld from the sea. While the underwater scenery had been completely unfamiliar and thus more mysterious and dreamlike, this place stirred Livia’s heart subtly because familiar things were spread out mysteriously.

So this is the world they live in.

Food was scattered at their feet, and the floor sparkled as if starlight had been poured on it. The thought briefly crossed her mind that this must be what the world of kings and nobles she had heard rumors about was like. Those who pretended to be noble through special birth despite being human just the same.

Is this the kind of specialness they pursue?

Erasing these self-deprecating thoughts, Livia crossed Demeter’s garden, led by Triton.

As they went deeper, she could feel the stares and whispers directed at them growing stronger.

“Human…”

“God of the sea…”

“The rumor… true…”

“Selene… why…?”

The whispering was so loud it reached Livia’s ears. Wondering why they were making such a commotion, Livia’s eyes narrowed as she looked around.

“Am I… the only human at this banquet?”

At her whispered question, asked with disbelief, Triton smiled and wrapped his arm around her waist. His steps leading Livia were leisurely, as if the pouring gazes didn’t bother him at all.

“Every being in the world is unique and absolute. There’s no need to be so tense. Being of the same species doesn’t mean there’s any special bond.”

Since he didn’t deny it, it seemed to be true.

‘Oh, my goodness.’

Livia barely maintained an awkward smile while resisting the urge to hold her forehead. Though she had insisted on coming, she hadn’t thought there would be not a single other human at the banquet.

Livia barely calmed the dizziness in her head as she felt the gazes pouring toward her.

Looking around again, there really were only non-human beings everywhere. Strangely enough, though their appearances might have been similar, the sense of alienation felt subtly was clear.

It seemed certain that Livia was such a being to them as well.

Something alien that had suddenly appeared in their world.

If she had known it would be like this, she would have found a way to hide her appearance somewhat, but how conspicuous must she have been, crossing the goddess’s garden so boldly.

“Don’t tell me you’re scared of their gazes?”

When Triton spoke provocatively, Livia glared at him with irritated eyes. This wasn’t about being scared or not. It was already burdensome receiving the gods’ attention, but now she felt completely thrown in as prey, being the only human in their den.

“If you’re scared, stick close to me, Livia. Then no one will dare touch you.”

The man’s hand pulled Livia’s shoulder, trapping her in his embrace. After gripping her shoulder so she couldn’t move, he deliberately pressed his lips firmly near her temple. The whispering seemed to grow louder at that.

“Triton.”

Startled Livia called his name through gritted teeth and pushed him with her elbow, but he didn’t budge at all. Far from yielding, he even let out a soft laugh as if enjoying Livia’s troubled expression. He truly was a man who didn’t care at all about others’ gazes.

“The host of the banquet is over there. We should go greet her. Especially you, being an uninvited guest.”

Speaking as if whispering, he deliberately pressed his lips firmly against Livia’s crown once more.

Why is he doing this? Livia looked at him with a bewildered expression, then approached Demeter’s presence while resigned to being in his embrace.

“It’s a splendid feast, Demeter.”

“Welcome, Triton.”

Demeter and Triton exchanged light greetings with their eyes.

However, the real protagonist of this banquet wasn’t Demeter. Triton turned his gaze slightly to look at Persephone, who was sitting with her mother on a huge cushion.

“It’s been a while, Persephone.”

“To think the day would come when we’d meet the god of the sea at a spring banquet. You are… always full of surprises.”

Her appearance, sparkling with light green eyes as if truly surprised and smiling brightly, was fresh and beautiful like the true queen of spring.

Livia, who had been secretly admiring this appearance that was different from when she reigned as queen of the underworld, had her gaze fall upon the tall man standing upright behind her, wearing a helmet.