“……!”

Aeges woke with a start, but there was nothing visible. He could only sense that ‘something’ was approaching.

‘Who is it…?’

Goosebumps rose all over the small child’s body as he bolted upright. An overwhelming presence choked his breath. He felt his existence becoming infinitely insignificant, like a tiny minnow placed before a massive predator.

He felt extremely bewildered and partly ashamed.

His fingertips tingled and fear swept over him, but hiding this, he positioned himself in front of his mother and bared his teeth at the approaching ‘enemy.’

Whoever it was, he couldn’t tolerate anyone wandering freely inside this golden palace. If they threatened him and his mother, he would eliminate them even at the cost of his own life.

‘It’s coming…’

Though no footsteps could be heard, he felt the presence approaching very close. He took deep breaths and gathered his strength. The strange thing was, except for his grandmother Amphitrite, he had never felt such a powerful presence before, yet somehow it didn’t feel unfamiliar. He sensed he had experienced it once before…

‘When was it…?’

Everyone said he was smart, but why couldn’t he remember at this crucial moment? It was frustrating.

A shadow fell across the bedroom.

A very long, enormous shadow…

“……!”

The child lifted his stiff neck to look at the man walking toward them.

Near the water’s surface where even jellyfish were absent, only the soft moonlight dissolved into the sea. Shimmering silver-blue hair, brilliant like jewels, rippled while brightening the space. A chest that looked solid as rock, straight legs, and blue eyes that sparkled like the Aegean Sea bathed in sunlight…

The ‘man’ approached the bed where Aeges and Livia lay with languid steps.

Aeges knew this man.

In fact, he couldn’t not know him. That face so strikingly similar to his own, that hair that seemed to absorb and reflect all light, those eyes that appeared to have swallowed all the seas of the world.

“So it’s you.”

The casual, languid voice snapped Aeges to attention, and he hurriedly created an ice dagger in his palm. Then, overcoming his suffocating fear, he gritted his teeth and lunged at the man.

The enormous man didn’t flinch at all and just chuckled.

‘Blocked!’

Aeges’s attack had no effect whatsoever. This both aggravated and reassured the boy.

He believed that if the man was truly as strong as his mother had said, he would easily block such a surprise attack. Of course, there was also an underlying desire to get rid of the man before he appeared before his mother, if he had been one to fall from the child’s attack.

Triton lightly caught the wrist of the child who had lunged at him with all his might and lifted it up, whispering:

“Indeed, you’ve inherited Livia’s blood. Pulling a knife first, just like…”

“…Mother said I take after Father exactly.”

“Really? I don’t see the resemblance. Was I ever this ugly?”

“I am not ugly!”

“You must never have looked at your reflection in clear water.”

“That’s not true! Eek! L-let go! Let me go!”

“And noisy too… You’ll wake my Livia.”

At the sound of his tongue clicking, Aeges hastily lowered his voice, but it was too late. Livia, awakened by the commotion, rubbed her eyes and called for Aeges in a drowsy voice.

“What’s wrong, Aeges…?”

Livia, who had been groggily getting up, suddenly froze when she noticed the large shadow cast before her. She had only seen the tip of his feet, but a powerful premonition gripped her heart.

For a moment, she even had the illusion that her heart had stopped. But the heart that Triton had given her couldn’t possibly stop. It was only beating breathlessly with boundless joy…

Her trembling eyelids gradually rose.

Past the long legs, up the smooth waist, over the broad chest and straight shoulders, finally to the face of the man who mesmerized her eyes.

“Tri… ton?”

Her voice, unable to distinguish between dream and reality, trembled with infinite fragility. Triton looked at Livia with the most charming smile he could muster and quietly greeted her.

“Hello, Livia. It seems you’ve been waiting patiently.”

“…Really. Is it really you?”

“Yes. But… is this ill-tempered little shark actually my offspring?”

Just as Livia was about to turn to look at Aeges in surprise, Triton quietly called Phorkys’s name. The old servant appeared immediately, seemingly having waited outside the chamber all along. He quickly caught and held the small child that Triton tossed with one hand.

“Aack! Let go! What are you do—mmph! Moth—er!”

Phorkys skillfully soothed the struggling child and quickly disappeared from sight. As Livia looked in confusion at where the child had vanished, long cool fingers turned her chin toward him and whispered:

“You should be looking at me, where are you looking, Livia.”

“Ah…”

Livia’s lips trembled. The saying about not knowing what to do when too surprised must be meant for moments like this. Her heart was racing fiercely, her head was dizzy, and her lips just kept trembling.

Was it really Triton? Was this not a dream? It could be an auditory or visual hallucination. If so, there was only one way to confirm if this was real.

“Triton… Triton!”

She flung herself into his arms. The strong embrace she had yearned for over the years held her so tightly she could barely breathe.

She buried her nose in his smooth neck and felt the sensation of his hair cascading over her face.

This sensation couldn’t possibly be a dream. It was undoubtedly Triton.

“You waited a long time, didn’t you? I’m sorry for waking up so late.”

No, no.

Triton had nothing to be sorry for. Livia shook her head vigorously, embracing him desperately, afraid her voice would come out mixed with tears.

Triton tilted his head, apparently finding her whimpering lips lovely.

He too, seemingly having waited for this moment for years, completely enveloped his trembling wife’s lips and drew them in. She was so precious that even a single labored breath was sweet and valuable.

“Your heart, your heart? Is it completely fine now? You’re really fully awake, right?”

In Livia’s eyes, which were hastily checking his heart, the red glowing heart was reflected. The shape visible through his skin was perfect to the point of enchantment.

Only then did a true sigh of relief escape her.

“Thank goodness. Really, thank goodness.”

My merman has returned. In his complete form…

Livia, who had been whimpering, didn’t hesitate to kiss his glowing red heart. Triton held her cheeks with both hands and showered kisses all over her face.

“But you know what, Livia? Your heart is just as red as mine right now.”

His words were correct. Livia’s heart, just like Triton’s, had turned so red it seemed about to burst, revealing its red light through her skin. The intense red light surged, fervently welcoming its other half.

“We share one divided heart, Livia.”

They were truly inseparable beings. Only together could they become one whole and complete entity.

A smile spread across Triton’s face, suggesting he found this immensely satisfying.

“You can no longer run away from me anywhere, Livia.”

At his words, filled with deep and intense possessiveness, Livia laughed with tears glistening in her eyes. She hadn’t believed the saying that tears could come from extreme joy, but it was true.

“…Fool, where would I go? Leaving my other half behind. I will be by your side forever now, Triton.”

Livia whispered with possessiveness as deep as Triton’s. Triton’s gaze deepened. His eyes, curving mischievously, shone brilliantly, unable to contain his joy.

How could he not be pleased with the words he had desperately wanted to hear, even at the cost of splitting his heart while alive?

“Welcome back, Triton.”

Livia whispered with all her heart.

Hoping this moment she had desperately waited for wouldn’t vanish like a dream, she embraced and caressed him with all her might. The sensation of him under her palms was simply ecstatic, and the heart he had given her beat seemingly boiling over.

The curse of love that had once targeted Triton’s heart had finally disappeared completely.

Now nothing and no one could separate them.

“I missed you, my beloved Livia.”

Though the prospect of an immortal life was somewhat frightening, Livia would live like the flowing water.

For her brilliant god, with whom she would be together eternally,

Until this sea ran dry.

Triton | The End

Thank you for reading Triton and Livia’s story. I bawled my eyes out in these last few chapters. I also want a handsome, strong, protective,  ̶g̶o̶o̶d̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶b̶e̶d̶, loving man who is willing to give up pretty much anything to be with me for eternity. May this kind of love find all of us.

I highly encourage you to support the author as well in Ridi, or leave a review in NU if you may like.

And until then, see you in my other works!

Love, Adeline.