‘…Fluttering wings?’

She abruptly sat up and looked at the window. The wooden window she had definitely closed tight now stood wide open, and on the windowsill perched a one-eyed black crow, staring intently at her.

“……!”

Though she hadn’t seen a single living creature for days, the crow’s sudden appearance startled her. And those quiet eyes staring at her…

Livia instantly thought of Zagreus. The man who could freely transform into any beast, who could summon the underworld’s birds and command them.

‘…Could it be?’

Belatedly understanding the situation, Livia hurriedly approached the windowsill where the crow perched. The crow, which had been sitting motionless like a statue, only rolling its eyes, spread its four wings and flew skyward as Livia approached.

Where is it going?

As Livia stuck her head out the window, she flinched in surprise and covered her mouth.

“…What, what are these birds?”

All kinds of birds densely perched on the trees surrounding the small cabin, staring at her. She could see their shiny eyes simultaneously following her, rolling in unison.

As Livia retreated hesitantly, the birds that had been staring intensely opened their beaks and began to speak the same words in unison.

“Found her!

Found her!

Found her!

Found her!”

The horrifying sight sent chills down her spine.

Forcing her frozen legs to move, she hurriedly woke Mumu. They needed to escape from those birds immediately. She wasn’t sure who had discovered her, but someone had definitely detected her presence.

‘I hope it’s Zagreus who found me…’

If Zagreus had found her, room for persuasion might exist, but if Hades or another god had discovered her, things could become much more complicated.

“Flap!”

She mounted Mumu’s back and raced through the forest. Behind her, she could hear hundreds of birds following. The sound chilled her so deeply that her body trembled slightly each time she heard wings flapping.

‘Where should I go?’

Where could she go to shake off these birds? Losing them proved difficult when she didn’t know the geography of this place. Moreover, the number of birds following Livia steadily increased. The sight of black birds covering the sky horrified her.

That’s when it happened.

As they raced through the forest at a fierce pace, a black scythe flew from somewhere and sliced the pursuing birds in half.

Startled, she looked back to see Charon in a black cloak swinging his scythe at the distant birds.

‘Iason…!’

Though his face remained invisible because of the cloak, it had to be Iason. Under Iason’s protection, Mumu crossed the forest and entered a steep ravine. Fortunately, the narrow, dark ravine had a structure that made it difficult even for birds to follow easily.

In that state, Mumu leaped into a dark cave.

Though Livia couldn’t see anything ahead, perhaps due to the beast’s keen eyesight, Mumu ran deeper into the cave. After running for quite some time, she suddenly heard the sound of stepping into a puddle, and then a light appeared in the distance. While rubbing her eyes, which had grown accustomed to the darkness, to examine the cave entrance, Mumu slowed down.

Growl.

Breathing heavily, Mumu lowered his body to let her dismount. As Livia hesitantly got down, she finally discovered a thin stream of water leading to the cave entrance and a small boat placed on it. Looking closely, it appeared identical to the ferry that Iason had previously carried her on.

‘Could it be…?’

Could this also be a place that Iason had scouted in advance? Livia turned to look at Mumu. The dog sat obediently, panting. Seeing no sign of moving elsewhere, Livia cautiously approached the cave entrance.

Beyond the stone wall, she could see a shallow black river. It must connect to this cave. She observed quietly, wondering what river it might be, but she could neither see nor hear anything distinctive. She could have gone closer to find out, but the river’s identity wasn’t important right now.

Livia sat close to Mumu, vigilantly watching her surroundings. Perhaps due to the tension of clinging to Mumu’s back while running, her belly suddenly felt sore. After hesitating, Livia placed her hand on her slightly protruding belly. Through the thin fabric, she could feel her firm, round belly.

‘Is there really a baby in here?’

Though she could definitely feel some presence, she still couldn’t believe her pregnancy. She had once heard as a beggar in the village that when someone was pregnant and the baby grew to a certain size, you could feel it moving.

‘Will you move too? If you do… when will I feel it? Judging by how quickly you’re growing, it probably won’t be long.’

As she rubbed her belly with such thoughts, she sensed someone’s presence from inside the cave. Startled, she looked up to see a man wrapped in a black cloak.

“…Iason!”

Livia jumped to her feet and approached him. Iason grabbed her wrist and led her onto the boat.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes! I’m fine. But… what about the birds? Are you hurt, Iason?”

“Don’t worry about me, Livia. I’ve chased away most of the birds, but they still seem to wander around the area. I’ll try to divert their attention. You stay right here. They won’t be able to enter this place.”

At his words, Livia bit her lip with a pale face. She felt bad thinking that Iason faced danger because of her. She felt she had imposed an unnecessary hardship on him.

“…I don’t want Iason to be in danger because of me. I’ll just go out.”

“Livia…”

“I don’t know who it is, but they’re looking for me. And if they’ve found me once… they’ll follow me wherever I run. If I’m going to be discovered anyway, I think it’s better to go out now rather than putting Iason in danger.”

Livia spoke while unconsciously clutching her rounded belly with pale hands.

Her green eyes, shining coolly suggesting she had prepared for everything, trembled slightly. It had only been about ten days since she left Triton. She had hidden all the way to the underworld, but this seemed to be her limit.

If there was any consolation, it was that the week Hecate had mentioned had already passed.

Was his tail safe? Was Echidna dead or alive? What had happened to her curse?

Rather than cutting off his tail or stabbing his heart, it would be better to live without ever seeing Triton again.

If their love became a curse that harmed him, Livia could somehow give up loving him.

But Triton wasn’t that type of person.

He would try to enforce his will somehow. Regardless of the cost, regardless of any sacrifice, definitely.

So, if she were to be captured by him like this… she would have to find another way.

‘But what about this child?’

It represented the biggest unexpected variable. Livia gritted her teeth, trying not to be conscious of the child in her womb. Iason, who had been quietly observing her expression, took her hand.

Appearing to notice the presence in Livia’s womb, he firmly held her hand that rested on her round belly and said:

“Since I couldn’t protect you while alive, I want to protect you in death.”

“But that’s what I want to say…!”

“Because I am your brother, and you are my sister.”

“…Iason.”

“Even if Lete stood before me now, I would act the same way. I think you would do the same. Isn’t that right, Livia?”

His words rang true. If Lete had been in front of her during a crisis, Livia too would have protected her brother regardless of any danger.

Feeling Iason’s sincerity, her eyes reddened. Why had she become so tearful lately? Livia pressed the corners of her eyes firmly with the back of her hand to hold back tears.

Iason silently smiled and tousled Livia’s hair.

“If you stay in here, you’ll be safe for a few days. We’ll think about what comes next when the time comes.”

What comes next… Do I even have such a thing?

Livia felt anxious but didn’t want to hurt her brother’s feelings, so she nodded with a forced smile.

The presence in her womb tightened painfully, seemingly telling her not to forget it for even a moment.

Livia followed Iason’s instructions and hid herself, curled up deep in the cave, but the crisis came immediately, giving her no time to rest.

—

T/N: (typing this with tears in my eyes) I WANT A BROTHER LIKE IASON TOO, WHERE CAN I PLACE AN ORDER?