“That child, to you?”

“Yes. Something might change. Perhaps, as you wish….”

Persephone’s words seemed to make Hades thoughtful. Meanwhile, Persephone reached out her hand toward Livia. A red light enveloped her, and in an instant, the skin that had been burned by hellfire healed completely. The pain, too, vanished as if it had never been.

Livia gazed at her restored skin with disbelief. Perhaps, she thought, she understood why humans were merely playthings to the gods.

They were creatures so insignificant that they could be killed or saved with just a snap of the fingers. Although they resembled the gods, humans were more desperate and sometimes displayed unimaginable abilities, making them fascinating to watch.

She felt she would never understand them, just as they would never understand her.

“…Maybe, even that was part of a plan from the beginning.”

The silent king muttered as if sighing. Livia sensed Hades’ gaze on her, and then he suddenly stood up.

“In that case, I leave the handling of this fearless human to you, Persephone.”

“Thank you, Hades.”

As Hades turned away, he looked back at Livia. Though she couldn’t see him, hidden in darkness, she felt his gaze.

“Perhaps, I might see you often.”

Before she could ask what he meant, the king withdrew. He walked into the pitch-black darkness and vanished without a trace, as if his enormous size was meaningless, without a sound. They said Hades was death itself.

That seemed true. Like death, which approached without warning and took breath away in an instant, the god of death’s steps were heavy and silent, yet possessed an unstoppable force.

In retrospect, the sea was the same. No human could stop the flooding sea. Just as resisting the raging waves was futile, humans were powerless against death.

Yet, while there were humans who succumbed to fear, Livia stood on the opposite side. Unbeknownst to herself, she discovered this rebellious nature through her trials with the sea god.

When given pain, she gritted her teeth and endured it, and when someone tried to control her by force, she would escape, even if it meant dying. Just as she had torn open her chest to escape those cold, clammy fingers that pierced through her….

Of course, she was also biding her time to die in his hands.

Suddenly recalling that moment made her head boil with heat. More than anything, reacting to the mocking hand was utterly humiliating. Perhaps that’s why the moment his arrogant smile twisted was all the more satisfying.

“Well then, shall we move to another place, Livia?”

Persephone’s touch on Livia’s back brought her out of her daze. Instantly, the scenery surrounding Livia changed.

When she opened her eyes, Livia found herself with Persephone on a windy hill.

Where was this place?

As she briefly turned her head to survey her surroundings, she heard a rumbling sound from the ground, and rocks began to rise. The rocks, changing shape at will, formed a flat, low table.

What in the world was happening?

With a puzzled expression, Livia looked at Persephone, who gestured for her to sit as she took a seat.

“Sit down, Livia. The tea is getting cold.”

Looking at the stone table, Livia saw that teacups and dessert plates had appeared. Amazingly, the plates were even set with ripe fruit.

Livia followed the queen’s gesture and sat down, but she didn’t touch the tea or the fruit plate offered to her.

“It’s not food from the underworld, so don’t worry and eat. When I’m down here, my mother often sends fruits from the surface. They’re very sweet and delicious.”

Instead of refusing, Livia asked a question.

“The ‘child’ you mentioned earlier, is it Zagreus by any chance?”

In response to Livia’s question, the queen silently smiled and held her teacup. Though she didn’t answer, Livia sensed affirmation in her silence. Who was that man, to make the two rulers of the underworld pay such attention?

What worried her even more was the fact that the man whom the king and queen of the underworld cared about had come looking for her.

“‘That ‘child’ came searching for that woman and ended up with me.”

She was curious about why that man sought her out and what his relationship with Persephone was. However, before Livia could ask, a question came from the other side.

“Why have you come here, Livia?”

The queen’s question was perplexing. She spoke as if she knew Livia had ‘intentionally’ died.

Upon reflection, since they were the ones who judged those heading to the paradise of Elysion and the deepest hell of Tartarus, they could easily see through matters related to Livia’s death.

“If you returned with a purpose, it must be… the usual purpose of humans entering the underworld.”

“…….”

“Are you looking for someone?”

Unintentionally, Livia let her eyes reveal a flicker of emotion. As she lowered her head in embarrassment, Persephone chuckled softly.

“Those who come to the underworld alive usually have similar purposes. So, is it family?”

Persephone’s gaze seemed to see right through Livia.

If Triton’s eyes held the sea and waves, Persephone’s light green eyes resembled sunlight broken into fragments. But it wasn’t just warm sunlight; it was a pale light with the chilly undertone of early spring.

The queen met Livia’s eyes for a moment before slowly closing her own. Her throat vibrated softly as she suddenly whispered as if sighing.

“Your father was a flawless man. His wife waited for him at the entrance of Elysion for a long time. Even without memories, they recognized each other—a pure love. Hmm. It seems they will soon be reborn. On the same day, at the same time.”

Livia’s heart sank at the queen’s words.

It was about her father. The wife he had longed for all his life had been waiting for him here.

Ah, thank goodness. Knowing that death wasn’t entirely unfortunate for him brought her relief. Her tightly closed eyes grew warm with tears.

Hearing they would soon be reborn meant he had committed almost no sins before his death.

Of course. He was foolishly kind. He wouldn’t even kill a sheep unless absolutely necessary. Indeed, her father was such a good and virtuous man.

“Your brother… Oh, it seems he caught Charon’s favor. He’s very skilled at handling boats. He seems to have accepted Charon’s offer and will be a ferryman for a while. He’ll make a good ferryman. Oh dear, he’s already donned Charon’s cloak, so it’ll be hard to find him.”

Livia, covering her mouth with both hands, nodded with tears streaming down her face. Hearing about her family in such an unexpected way left her overwhelmed with emotion.

“Yes. Iason is good with boats. He’s also very good at making them. He has, he has very good hands. Really, really good….”

Unwittingly, she started babbling about such things. Persephone quietly paused and waited for Livia’s tearful voice to subside.

“And finally, your younger sibling….”

Livia snapped to attention at the queen’s voice. The reason she had come here was to hear about Lete.

“Oh dear, how unfortunate. The soul has vanished. It’s rare, but not unheard of. Either it lost its way or perhaps…”

“Or…?”

“Someone stole it.”