Livia descended slowly, cradled in Zagreus’s arms. His large wings spread across the sky, casting long shadows on the ground below.
Triton raised his head and stared at his wife being carried down in another man’s arms. In the arms of the raven-black man, Livia gleamed like a red ruby.
It was clear that she wasn’t this lovely only in his eyes. That’s why vermin like these were drawn to her.
A gleam flashed in his azure eyes. Though clearly displeased, his face remained unwrinkled as he simply gazed at the woman he had longed for so long.
‘A long time…’
Strictly speaking, for Triton who lived eternally, a few dozen days were merely a fleeting moment.
Before meeting Livia, he would sometimes spend days on a single nap, or devote a year’s time to just one hunt.
That was how gods spent their time.
Unbearably slow at times, yet infinitely fast at others. Time was that meaningless. The moment Livia entered his life, the meaning of time changed.
Because of the small mortal who had inserted herself into an immortal’s life, his time also began to revolve around her.
So how could she not be precious?
Even though she was a woman who had abandoned him and ran away, even though she was being carried in another man’s arms, Triton could never let go of her.
No matter how many times you betray me, I probably won’t be able to let you go until the end.
Triton, hiding all traces of the fierce demeanor he had shown when confronting Hades, extended his hand toward Livia who had landed on the ground.
“At last, my queen has appeared.”
He directed a spring-like smile and voice at his wife, seemingly never having been angry for a moment.
Did he not realize how eerie he looked, smiling while covered in blood from his battle with Hades? Livia stared at Triton for a moment with an astonished face.
“…What happened to your arm, Livia. Did that b*stard do something to you?”
Yet he only cared about the arm that Livia had mangled herself.
His murderous eyes stared at Zagreus standing behind Livia. What those twisted pupils contained was mockery directed at the man.
“You denied knowing, yet here you are bringing her. Without even being able to protect her properly.”
“Thanks to you, I found out Livia was in the underworld and searched hard for her. Until then, I truly didn’t know.”
“Sure.”
Despite Triton’s sarcasm, Zagreus only stared at Livia. After catching her breath shortly, Livia took a slow step after a deep breath. Her face, pale without a hint of blood, seemed ominous and she staggered without fail.
Unable to bear it any longer, Zagreus grabbed Livia’s wrist to help her up, and their gazes became entangled for a moment.
“……”
Zagreus silently looked down at Livia’s belly. Livia already knew what that gaze meant.
“…I don’t know if you’re aware, but the fate of a b*stard between god and human is usually very harsh. Especially if they inherit the blood of a sea god.”
Zagreus spoke seemingly denying the child that was struggling violently inside its mother.
His tone suggested that child shouldn’t be born. That the child’s fate would be harsh anyway, so give up…
“Perhaps… for the child’s sake, it might be better not to be born.”
Said the man who had to live in hiding from the moment of his birth. In a voice neither too emotional nor too cold. He was telling her that a harsh life was not a blessing.
Life…
If they were to talk about harsh lives, Livia also had much to say.
A life of being abandoned multiple times, a childhood that was endlessly lonely and sorrowful.
If asked whether that life was difficult, she would certainly say it was. However, if asked whether she would give up that life right now, the answer was no.
Even though it was sorrowful and difficult, it was her life. Having been born, it was natural to live on despite the hardships.
It was a life abandoned by everyone, but Livia had never once abandoned herself.
It was also Livia who desperately protected the warm life she had accidentally obtained after much suffering.
The revenge she had resolved upon for the people she loved and the life she had cherished was also her choice.
From beginning to end, she had lived by Livia’s will. Even if it was arduous and difficult, it was hers.
“The baby is struggling because it wants to live, Zagreus.”
“……”
“This child’s life has already begun. So this child’s death is not my choice. I cannot harm my child with my own hands.”
“But that child is trying to harm you right now.”
“No. This is just struggling. What would a child who hasn’t seen the world once know? It’s just instinct.”
“Livia…”
“They say many bastards of sea gods are monsters… I know that too. Even if this child is born a monster, it doesn’t matter. Because it will still be my child just as it is.”
“……”
“I will love it.”
“……”
“No, in fact, I may already love it.”
Livia smiled despite sweating from the pain.
Maternal love, was it? That which she had never experienced herself had already coiled and settled in Livia’s heart.
It was a different feeling from loving Triton. It wasn’t something that could be explained rationally. Though she had never seen the child with her eyes, just from feeling its presence a few times, she felt she had to protect it.
The blind feeling that even she couldn’t understand was strange, but she couldn’t help but accept it.
…Since I created it, I must protect it. Without fail.
“Zagreus. You like warmth, yet you keep nothing by your side. This loneliness seems to make you freeze even more.”
“…Then won’t you stay by my side?”
“No. It’s not me. I’ve already come to love the sea. I cannot be your fire.”
Was it because the child knew its father was nearby, or had the seawater falling from the sky calmed the child? Whatever the reason, Livia’s pain subsided a little.
Livia finally tasted a sense of liberation, breathing freely again. Soaked by the seawater pouring down like rain, she took a deep breath and said:
“Take me to Triton.”
And so Livia stood again before the one she had been running from. Before her love, whom she had fled to avoid sacrificing him.
“Stop testing my patience and come here now, Livia.”
Triton smiled at her without trying to hide his appearance, damaged from the battle with Hades.
It seemed his haggard look wasn’t just due to the traces of battle. Despite his blood-covered face, there was a glimpse of anxiety in his expression as the corners of his mouth curled up in a smile, seemingly afraid she might run away. His deeply sunken eyes stared at her persistently.
A harsh life…
Indeed, it was clear that not a single point in her life had been easy. From before meeting Triton, until now carrying his child.
So if asked whether she regretted loving him…
No, that wasn’t the case.
How could she regret loving that brilliant god? Even those persistent eyes that looked only at her made her heart ache with joy.
She couldn’t have loved anyone else as much as Triton, no matter who she might have met. Likewise, she was certain that no one else would have loved her as much as Triton did.
Livia carefully caressed her belly, which had started to ache again, and shook off Zagreus’s hand that was holding her wrist.
“You should find your own fire, Zagreus.”
Livia neither hated nor disliked Zagreus. That naive and lonely god of death who had blindly given himself to her, longing for her warmth that she had never offered.
No, in her heart, she felt more gratitude, but it was clear that expressing it would only make things more complicated.
“I will protect my child myself.”
Livia stepped toward Triton, leaving behind Zagreus with his face resembling an abandoned child.
Toward my love, my destiny, my merman.
With each step Livia took toward him, Triton’s face visibly brightened. He looked at her round, swollen belly with reverent eyes, and wore an anxious expression as Livia gradually came closer.
And finally, when only a couple of steps remained, Triton couldn’t hold back anymore and reached out to pull her into his embrace.
“…Caught you.”
Just as she had burst into breath in the pouring rain, Triton also panted heavily with his face buried in Livia’s nape.
“I’ve caught you.”
At last…
My wife, my companion, my mortal whom I would give everything to hold onto.
“Let’s go home to our castle, Livia.”
Translator
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Novalee
I want a separate story for Zag. He deserves one too.
I didn’t think I’d grow to like Triton, yet here I am.
And Liv – love her resilience and tenacity. Her truth is infectious.