The clever girl could easily foresee what the future held for the reckless boy, but she chose not to explain it to her younger brother. The best she could do was press her lips tightly, silently urging him to forget about it.

“Thank you, thank you so much…!”

The children, having reached the shore, hurriedly expressed their gratitude to Livia and ran toward the village. Even as their feet sank into the sand, causing them to stumble, they continued to run frantically. Their desperate sprint revealed just how frightened and terrified they had been.

Most of the children left the beach. The last to remain was Nadis, a girl holding tightly onto her younger brother’s hand.

“Um…”

Approaching Livia, the girl spoke cautiously.

“You were sent by ‘him,’ weren’t you?”

Him?

Not knowing whom she referred to, Livia looked down at the girl, who raised her hand to point somewhere.

“I’ve seen him come here before. To his temple.”

Livia glanced in the direction the girl pointed. She could see a steep cliff, but the night goddess had draped her long, dark skirt too far to see any temple.

“The adults were too busy protecting the island. Many died, and many were injured. So, I thought at least we should take care of Triton’s temple. My late mother always said not to forget the lord of the island and the sea.”

The girl’s words shook Livia. Without reading Livia’s expression, the girl bowed her head along with her brother.

“Thank you for saving us. Truly.”

“Thank you…!”

The children bowed several times to Livia, then belatedly ran in the direction where the other children had disappeared.

Livia stood stiffly, staring blankly at the siblings’ retreating figures before slowly turning her head. Confusion spread across her face as she gazed up at the cliff.

***

For several days, the moon had hidden behind clouds, refusing to show itself. As a result, the waves crashed even more violently, and at night, the sea became darker and more forbidding than the underworld.

Yet, just because the sea was unpleasant to look at didn’t mean one could hide forever.

If the sun rising during the day was natural, then the moon had to shine upon the earth at night.

Triton stood on the cliff, looking down at the black sea with an expressionless face. From afar, the sea appeared endlessly calm, but within those deep, dark waters flowed countless stories of life.

Those who committed evil under the cover of darkness and those who sought forbidden love away from prying eyes.

And the witch, who curled herself up like a worm in the shadows, plotting revenge.

It won’t go your way, Echidna.

In the sea, there was nothing Triton couldn’t find. No matter how cleverly one disguised themselves like an octopus or lay flat on the sandy bottom like a stingray.

What would he do once he found her?

First, he would sever the link of the contract made with Livia. After completely ending that ridiculous spell, he would keep that amusing woman entirely for his own enjoyment.

Purely his own, without the interference of someone like Echidna….

Triton’s lips curled into a smile. With his hands clasped behind his back, he gently rolled the red fruit he held in his palm, waiting for the presence he had been expecting.

***

The man stood alone on the wind-swept hill.

A pitch-black night without moonlight.

The man, like a solitary shining star, turned to look at Livia, radiating a beauty like polished brilliance. His broad shoulders and firm chest, devoid of moisture, felt unfamiliar.

The soft light flowing over his smooth skin was dizzying, and Livia gritted her teeth and lowered her gaze.

If she wasn’t careful, she would be captivated. That man was the sea itself, and if she fell in, she would sink deeply without a trace. So she had to stay alert.

Like the sea, which could be serene under the sun but turned fierce by nightfall, getting caught up in Triton’s unpredictable whims would surely lead to drowning without leaving anything behind.

“What exactly are you planning?”

Livia asked, stopping neither too far nor too close to him. He tilted his head, silently watching her. With no moonlight, his silver-blue hair, which seemed to glow on its own, rippled like waves over his muscular shoulders.

Silence divided them. The only sound filling the space was the urgent beating of Livia’s heart.

“Come closer.”

In that moment, his call to approach him frightened her more than when he tried to break, humiliate, or shatter her.

“Livia, come here.”

She wanted to shout at him to stop calling her name in that voice. That cunning and shameless god always toyed with and teased her using that soft tone. Livia shook her head in refusal.

“What do you think you’ll discover by staying away?”

“If you would just say…”

“Humans are always like that. They act as if they’ve entrusted something to a god, demanding what they want with such arrogance.”

“……”

“Come closer, Livia.”

As if issuing a final warning, Triton’s voice lowered. The moment Livia, who had been biting the inside of her cheek to endure, hesitated and took a step, an invisible force snatched her waist and pulled her forward.

Startled and stiffened with shock, a red fruit slipped into Livia’s mouth. The sweet and sour aroma of the fruit made her eyes widen, and Triton chuckled softly.

“Raspberry…?”

“It’s the fruit some siblings tirelessly offer at the altar. Thanks to them, I’ve eaten more than enough.”

The siblings Triton mentioned were undoubtedly Nadis and Rudy. The memory of the girl who claimed to have seen Triton came to mind.

“Offering raspberries to the sea god. Isn’t it amusing? Usually, they throw live animals into the sea, or some humans even offer other humans…”

As Livia’s expression hardened at his words, Triton laughed and pushed another raspberry into her mouth.

“These are the living sacrifices I never asked for.”

“…You dislike humans.”

“To be precise, I despise them.”

Triton didn’t deny it. His shadowed eyes gazed at Livia. Unlike his lips, which spoke of hatred, the look in his eyes revealed a stark, raw desire.

“You have to despise what’s despicable. You’ve seen it too.”

Images of the pirates who kidnapped children flashed through her mind. And before that, there were other pirates who massacred the sirens.

Livia wanted to argue. She wanted to say those were just a few, the actions of some pirates, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak.

How many humans could the sea god see? The island’s residents, merchants, navy, or pirates.

Among them, how many crossed the sea without causing trouble? Soldiers boarding ships for war, pirates roaming the seas to plunder other ships, some trading ships, and fishing boats.

The sea god despised humans.

…But did he truly despise all humans?

The sea god hadn’t crossed onto land to massacre humans. He hadn’t swallowed every human wandering the sea into its depths.

But who feared him? Wasn’t it those who roamed, drifted, and stirred the sea, engaging in plunder and invasion?

…Livia didn’t know. Maybe not. Perhaps he sank human ships as he pleased. Among those who provoked his wrath, many were pirates, but there must have been innocent people too.

However, the same could be said for storms, droughts, and floods.

So how can one say that only the sea god despises humans? Perhaps he simply wanted to maintain peace in the sea…

‘No, let’s stop here.’

The deeper her thoughts went, the more Livia realized she was somehow trying to understand him.

There was no need for this. Such thoughts weren’t important to her at all.

Livia gazed at Triton with confused eyes. His blue eyes seemed to swallow her whole.