Hearing the reason made her want to run away. She didn’t even want to hear it before it was spoken.

However, Audike’s fierce gaze was so intense that I couldn’t admit I didn’t want to hear it now.

Hesitating, Livia extended her finger with a reluctant expression.

“Alright. What is it, anyway?”

“Wow. You’re really warm.”

Suddenly, Audike grabbed Livia’s hand, which was hooked around her finger, and looked at her with surprise.

“What?”

“I mean your body temperature. Are all people from the land this warm?”

Livia had always had a higher body temperature since she was young, but it wasn’t to the extent of being called hot.

However, the sea nymph’s hand felt cool enough to be chilly, making Livia’s hand seem unusually warm in comparison.

Audike, seemingly fascinated, squeezed Livia’s hand a few more times before finally sharing the promised information.

“To gather moonlight, you have to go up to the sea where the banquet is held. There will be many gods there, right? As you know, gods are inherently violent and capricious. Some are quite obsessed with beautiful things… That’s why everyone is reluctant to approach the gods. Being close to them never ends well.”

Audike’s words sparked a faint glimmer in Livia’s eyes.

The sea above, the banquet of the gods.

The place where the sea god she needed to strike with her dagger resided.

It felt as if fate was guiding her to the place she needed to go.

The opportunity had come so quickly. Tension tingled at her fingertips. Livia forced herself not to show her excitement and nodded stiffly.

“…I see.”

Whatever Audike interpreted from Livia’s expression, she laughed and patted Livia’s shoulder.

“Are you already scared? No need to be. You’re just following me now, so you only need to gather moonlight from a distance. Come on, let’s go. The night is short.”

The blue-haired sea nymph took her hand warmly and led the way.

“This way.”

They arrived at the center of the spire Livia had seen earlier when gauging time, where many sea fairies with jars like hers were swarming.

“Don’t space out; stay close to me, okay?”

Audike firmly gripped Livia’s hand and warned her. Livia nodded obediently, aware of the cool, smooth touch holding her hand.

It felt like the skin of a snake or the scales of a fish, but strangely, it didn’t feel repulsive. Instead, the smooth, cold sensation was pleasant.

“Oh, by the way, what’s your name?”

Audike, seemingly fond of Livia, kindly asked for her name.

“…Livia.”

Livia felt uncomfortable under the nymph’s gentle gaze. She had come to harm their god, and receiving such kindness felt deceitful.

Her conscience pricked her, but she gritted her teeth and brushed off unnecessary emotions.

No. Stay focused. They’re not even human anyway. Just think about my father and brothers who burned to death.

With clenched teeth, Livia stood by Audike’s side.

Soon, the top of the spire parted, and moonlight touched the heads of the waiting sea fairies.

At that moment.

“……!”

Before she could prepare for anything, her body shook as thousands of water droplets clung around them.

It was a fleeting moment, barely enough to blink, but Livia’s world flipped in an instant.

Before she could even think, “What is this?” the pressure surrounding her body changed.

The dull pressure she hadn’t realized was there vanished, and clear air rushed in like a tidal wave, filling her lungs completely.

“…Phew!”

Livia lifted her head above the water, her chest heaving as she gasped for air.

The air she gulped down was so sweet that it made saliva pool in her mouth. Perhaps because she was breathing so frantically, her head spun for a moment, yet she felt at ease, as if she were home.

‘Outside… I’m really outside.’

She hadn’t realized it while wandering underwater, but now that she was out, the air above was shockingly delightful.

Her entire body, freed from the pressure, seemed to scream with joy at the absence of water. Livia hugged her wet shoulders and shivered.

At that moment, a cold hand suddenly gripped her shoulder. Startled, Livia turned around to see Audike laughing heartily, urging her on.

“They say those from the land can’t get their bearings once they’re out. I guess you’re the same. Sorry, but there’s no time to dawdle. This way, follow me.”

The nymph’s words snapped her back to reality.

Right, there was no time to be distracted by something like this.

Livia composed herself and turned her head to follow Audike.

It was as if her ears had opened, and she slowly began to hear the surrounding noise.

The sound of music blending horns and harps, waves playfully rolling over the sea, and sea fairies dancing busily to avoid the drunken teasing of the gods.

It was a scene that felt like being pulled into a myth painted by an artist, yet this was Livia’s reality.

She gritted her teeth until they bled, constantly reminding herself of her situation.

I am an uninvited guest.

Just a mere unbeliever who had sneaked into this place.

Suddenly, tiny droplets shattered over the rolling waves, and a faint rainbow formed above them.

Though it wasn’t daytime, everything was clear enough to see, indicating that the moon was close. Her head turned, almost entranced, searching for the moon.

Then she saw it, not far away, half-submerged, seemingly merging with the sea—a round moon.

“……”

In Livia’s gaze, which had come to a halt, she saw a man lying leisurely in the embrace of the rising moon.

His hair shimmered silver-blue under the moonlight, and a loosely draped pallium barely covered him.

The man surveyed the sea’s banquet with an arrogant smile, as if ruling was his birthright.

The moon goddess, who had lent him her knees, lovingly stroked the hair on his smooth forehead.

Thump, thump, thump.

Livia’s heart reacted wildly.

“He’s the most beautiful man in this sea,” the witch had said.

“You won’t be able to mistake him.”

The sight of the man under the moonlight pierced Livia’s eyes. Suddenly, the black scar on her wrist burned hotly.

It’s him.

The legitimate son of Poseidon, one of the three great Olympian gods, and the master of the deep sea.

‘…Triton.’

The owner of the heart she needed to pierce.

***

It was the scent of a human.

The smell of human flesh that the sea god, Triton, most despised, loathed, and abhorred.

A pitiful scent—soft, fragile, and warm.

Triton, who lay indulgently on Selene’s knee, suddenly opened his eyes and glanced around the banquet.

The gods and spirits were deeply intoxicated by the nectar Ganymede poured, while nymphs served them in between.

…Who is it? Where are they?

A human, daring to enter my domain without fear.

His indifferent teal eyes, filled with moonlight, narrowed as he searched for the presence he detested.

It wasn’t that, nor was it this.

He even overlooked forms that couldn’t possibly be human.

It was when his gaze, filled with murderous intent, slowly swept over the banquet that he noticed.

“What’s wrong, Triton?”

A cool fingertip touched Triton’s tense cheek. The goddess Selene gently whispered as she drew his face toward hers.

“Why do you look like you’re about to get angry? Did you see something that displeases you?”

In contrast to Triton’s indifferent blue eyes, the goddess’s eyes shone with excessive compassion, like moonlight.

The tale of the moon goddess’s favoritism toward the sea was well-known throughout the world.

Sometimes she acted like a mother, sometimes like a lover, or even like a sister, showering the sea with her one-sided affection.

And how did the sea respond?

When the moon approached, it pretended to welcome her by raising its level, but its heavy foundation always remained in place.

Though aware of the goddess’s favoritism, the sea feigned ignorance, as if accepting her heart by rippling waves to shatter the moonlight, but that was all.

The sea does not tilt.

Not even for an ancient god that had existed since the beginning.

Triton, who had been surveying the gathering, caught Selene’s hand as she stroked his cheek and pulled it down.

His face, smiling serenely, was alluring, but in the teal eyes that turned back to the goddess, she was already absent.

“It would be best for you to return, Selene.”

“What is it? Hmm?”

“An uninvited guest has entered.”