Livia couldn’t speak freely in response to Amphitrite’s question. Whatever words she might offer would likely not satisfy the goddess.

But offering her own answer seemed better than expressing ignorance through silence. Even if wrong, it would surpass no response at all.

“Is it because I received a piece of Triton’s split heart?”

“And?”

The goddess neither confirmed nor denied her answer but urged her to continue. Livia thought deeply again and offered another answer.

“Because I am Aeges’s mother?”

Livia carefully answered while thinking of her child named after the waves.

Aeges had inherited his father’s silver hair and his mother’s deep green eyes.

But while his mother’s eyes resembled summer greenery, the child’s eyes were more like the green of the deep sea, carrying a somewhat deeper and darker energy.

Yet to Livia, they were just lovely and intelligent eyes. Eyes that she wanted to see again and again no matter how many times she looked at them—cute and also… pitiful, my child.

“And what else?”

Amphitrite smiled and urged Livia once more.

…Is there another reason?

Livia thought hard but couldn’t come up with anything else. Thinking there must be reasons she was unaware of, she hesitated before speaking.

“I don’t know what else. No matter how much I think about it, I can’t imagine that Lady Amphitrite would have found me endearing.”

Amphitrite’s smile deepened at Livia’s bold answer. She released the pufferfish she had been admiring in her palm, then reached out to lift Livia’s chin with her fingertip, making her look at her. Livia’s red hair was imprinted like flower petals in the goddess’s deep eyes.

“Why do you think that? Do you really believe I would hate you just because Triton’s heart was split?”

Even if not hatred, there seemed no reason for such affection either. It was too difficult to fathom the mind of a goddess as vast as the sea. Livia looked at her with docile eyes, seemingly waiting for an answer. The cool fingertips, similar to Triton’s touch, caressed Livia’s cheek as she spoke.

“There’s no particularly grand reason why I help you. Of course, the fact that you share Triton’s heart and that you’re the mother of Aeges, my adorable baby shark, are among the many reasons… but there’s a more important reason.”

Amphitrite embraced Livia and leaped powerfully toward the surface of the sea. Held in the giant goddess’s arms, Livia shot up through the surface into the sparkling sunlight outside. The goddess, reclining loosely on the surging seawater, gazed down at the vast blue Aegean Sea spread out before them and whispered.

“It’s because you too have become part of my sea.”

Part of my sea…

Hearing Amphitrite’s words, Livia felt something hot rising from deep in her throat.

Born on land, she had wandered endlessly without being able to put down roots. The family she had barely managed to hold onto had been consumed by malicious flames, and Livia had jumped into the water for their sake.

She had always felt lonely and cold, unable to put down roots anywhere.

It seemed she had believed that avenging those who had stolen her warmth was the only way to make her death worthwhile.

But… Amphitrite’s words blew away the incompleteness that had been lodged deep in Livia’s soul.

The sea was always flowing.

Without needing to put down roots, it continuously moved in the direction it wanted to flow. Even when facing fierce storms or the hot sun, it never shrank back or stood still.

Yes, the sea was a place where one didn’t need to put down roots.

Just flowing, going with the flow…

Realizing this, Livia’s heart surged greatly, and her heart, which had been somehow heavily sunk, became much lighter.

“You are now the mother of the waves and possess the heart of the sea. Take pride in that. There’s no need to be intimidated by whispers or belittling words. How could you be called a ruler if you’re cowed by such things?”

Her words embedded themselves deep in Livia’s heart. It seemed she had shared more than just Triton’s heart. Livia’s chest heaved roughly, suggesting her blocked breath had been freed.

Thump, thump, thump, thump!

Her heartbeat grew stronger, announcing her trembling. Triton had given Livia a gift beyond mere ‘life.’ The meaning of that made Livia tremble.

The brilliantly blue shining sea finally seeped into Livia’s eyes.

***

It was impossible to gauge how much time had passed. Only that enough time had gone by for Aeges, who had been nursing at his mother’s br*ast, to start eating meat.

Strength had also developed in the chubby legs of the baby who had once only squirmed. When he got irritated, a cute little tail would sometimes pop out.

“Mya-mya! Tail, my tail!”

He was a child with an extraordinary temperament, though it was unclear whom he had inherited it from, but he was also simple enough that his mood would quickly improve. Whenever his tail appeared, the baby would spin around in circles hunting for his tail, wanting to show it to Livia.

The sight was so adorable that a whole day could pass just watching him in a daze.

And so days piled up, and the goddesses of the seasons exchanged places numerous times.

Livia was still waiting for Triton.

***

“This is getting a bit too much now, Triton.”

Livia grumbled with dissatisfaction as she caressed Triton’s face while he slept in the spring of recovery.

“I only ran away for a few days, but how many years are you making me wait?”

Aeges was no longer at an age where he played catch-the-tail. Even so, he was still small enough to reach only about Livia’s waist, but she secretly regretted that Triton hadn’t seen any of his son’s growth process.

“…You are coming back, right? You’re really just sleeping?”

Though she hadn’t told anyone, Livia had recently begun to fear that perhaps she had stolen Triton’s immortality. What if she could never see those beautiful blue eyes again? She had shown him her attempts to end her life several times, but what if she never had the chance to make up for that…?

…No. That can’t be. It’s not possible.

He had never made her feel so anxious before, but time was proving to be frightening.

“I’ll never leave you again, so please come back now.”

Livia whispered a plea that no one could hear and desperately kissed Triton’s cold lips.

For some reason, she felt particularly reluctant to leave his side today, and she caressed Triton’s motionless cheek for a long time. Now she could control the waves like Triton. She also understood the language of sea creatures and, though still inexperienced, could read ocean currents.

She was still inexperienced at manipulating water streams as extensions of her limbs as Triton had done, but she had become familiar enough to harness the sea energy surging in her body.

So many things about Livia had changed that her former self as an ordinary shepherd felt distant. She had been working hard so she could show off when he returned.

“When will you ever acknowledge it?”

Out of frustration, she tried pinching his cheek, but it was useless. Livia rubbed his cheek, which didn’t even redden, and eventually left the spring of recovery.

She didn’t see the small, twitching movement that followed her departure.

***

“Tell me how Mother met Father! I want to hear about the underworld again too!”

Aeges, lying with his head on his mother’s lap, stamped his feet and his eyes sparkled. Livia, stroking the child’s fine silver hair, sighed, suggesting she had no choice.

“You’ve heard it more than ten times, and you want to hear it again?”

“Yes! Please!”

“It’s time to sleep. Young gods need to sleep a lot and play a lot to grow big and strong.”

“Hiing. But I’m not sleepy yet…”

“What did I tell you to do at times like this?”

“Umm… count sheep!”

“Yes, shall we count together?”

“…Tch, alright.”

The child, who had been pouting with his plump lips in disappointment, closed his eyes and focused on her voice while resting his round forehead against Livia.

She felt sorry for the child who was still too young to go outside and was confined to the underwater world, but she couldn’t take Aeges out carelessly when his tail and gills would pop out whenever he got excited.

Still, she occasionally took him to nearby islands, but the child seemed unsatisfied with just that and was already curious about the wider world.

“…When Father wakes up, will we be able to go outside?”

“Of course. No one can threaten Triton. He’s a truly powerful god.”

The mother’s voice was filled with pride and love as she recalled the father. The child looked at her with jealous eyes before grumbling.

“No, Mother. Father is not strong! How can someone who leaves you alone for so long be strong?”

“As I’ve told you before…”

“You said he did it to save you? Even so! If he were really strong, he should have been able to save you and still stay by your side. Mama, Father is asleep because he’s weak, not because of you. Absolutely, absolutely not! I’ll become much stronger than Father. So that nothing in this world can harm you!”

Aeges said, his deep green eyes shining. His expression was so full of determination that it was adorable and admirable, making her smile spontaneously.

“That confident personality of yours is just like Triton’s. It’s almost uncanny.”

“I resemble him that much?”

“Yes. Very much.”

“Then… then I’ll stay by your side in Father’s place! I’ll grow up quickly so you won’t need Father, Mama!”

Aeges always resented his father who was asleep while leaving behind his beautiful and special mother.

His mother said his father was very, very strong, but in the child’s opinion, his father wasn’t strong enough. It seemed to him that a truly strong person wouldn’t make their loved one lonely.

Aeges vowed never to cast a shadow on his mother’s face, no matter what. Of course, she had never shown sadness in front of him, but he knew that she spent more and more time at the spring of recovery where Triton was sleeping.

Anyone who made his mother sad didn’t deserve to be by her side. In that sense, he almost felt that his father’s return would not be welcome.

‘I’ll grow up quickly and become the ruler. I can already beat Sympho and Neo, so when I grow a little more, I’ll be much stronger than Father, right?’

The child closed his eyes to his mother’s caressing hand on his forehead, harboring ambitious dreams.

It was a strange day.

Aeges was the type who would sleep so deeply that he wouldn’t notice even if someone shouted next to him, but oddly enough, his eyes snapped open at dawn that day.

He sensed the presence of an enemy.