Triton’s words caused Selene to tilt her head.

She intensified the brightness of the moonlight illuminating the sea.

With Selene’s moonlight shining brightly over the water, it became much easier to discern the faces at the banquet.

As she attempted to enhance her vision to locate the unwanted guest Triton was seeking, he gently grasped her waist and whispered, “Go back, Selene.”

Selene turned her head to meet the eyes of the sea god.

Within his gaze, waves crashed and a stormy scene unfolded before fading away.

Ah, this banquet is about to become a mess.

Having glimpsed the near future, she nodded with a smile.

“I’ll visit your palace soon.”

The goddess whispered secretly into the sea god’s ear, then vanished into the fractured moonlight. The moon soon ascended into the sky, and the goddess disappeared without a trace.

However, the bright moonlight remained, keeping watch over the place for him.

Triton sat down heavily on a chair made of rolling waves, with the moonlight behind him.

Then, from a short distance away, Dugong and Actius, the generals of the seven seas who had been observing him, quickly ran to their master’s side and asked, “What happened, Lord Triton?”

Triton replied in his usual calm voice, “There is a human among us.”

Dugong and Actius’s eyes widened as if they were about to pop out.

A human!

Oh, heavens! It was an utterly impossible occurrence.

Not just any god’s gathering, but a human at Triton’s banquet?

Everyone knew of Triton’s disdain for humans—gods, spirits, nymphs, and humans alike.

Even the barnacles on the rocks were aware of how much he despised humans, so it wasn’t wrong to say the whole world knew.

The generals standing beside him each reacted with dumbfounded expressions.

“That’s impossible. How could a human come to a banquet on the sea?”

“Sniff, sniff…! That’s odd. No matter how much I smell, there’s no human scent at all… Are you certain, Lord Triton?”

At Dugong’s doubtful words, Triton glanced at him.

It was just a fleeting look, but it felt like being struck by lightning, sending tingles throughout his body.

Dugong quickly buried his nose in the seawater—not that it did any harm—and confessed his mistake.

“How dare I doubt my master! I’ve committed a grave sin and should be confined to the cave of the abyss, eating only seaweed for three days!”

“If it’s a grave sin, why only three days of seaweed punishment?”

“Th-then a week…?”

Triton shook his head in disapproval as he looked at Dugong, who was pleading for a week.

The sea god’s disdain for humans had a long-standing history.

Descendants of the thunder god and humans often tested their fate or flaunted their power by slaughtering ‘monsters.’

Unfortunately, many of the sea’s creatures fell into that ‘monster’ category, and countless beings with seawater in their veins were sacrificed to their heroism.

Every time that happened, Poseidon would rage fiercely.

Though they were ugly and grotesque, they were still his children. Despite being as indulgent as the god of kings, one thing set him apart: his strange paternal love.

These so-called heroes concealed an ugly side.

To make themselves shine, they casually scorned and slaughtered other beings, labeling them as monsters. Humans went even further, treating the sea as if it were a warehouse they could plunder at will.

They viewed the sea merely as a tool for exploitation.

Selfish creatures, always scheming to take more without giving anything back. It was revolting how they treated the sea’s creatures as monsters simply because they were different, despite being crafted from the very essence of gods.

Humans had nothing appealing about them. And yet, one dared to sneak into his banquet…

Pathetic, but he had to admire their nerve.

Triton twisted his lips into a smirk as he sipped his nectar.

Upon reflection, having a human sneak in wasn’t entirely bad. A banquet ought to have some entertainment, after all. The thought of capturing this rude, nasty human and punishing her in every possible way was actually quite delightful.

…Yeah. It wasn’t all bad.

Triton shifted his mood, smiling lazily as he emptied his glass.

He reached out to refill it, but Ganymede was too busy being teased by the mischievous goddesses to notice.

Annoyed, Triton clicked his tongue and turned to find Dionysus’s wine instead.

As he did, a certain color caught his eye.

A pure red, untouched by Nyx’s darkness or Selene’s white light. Perhaps it was closer to blood-red.

“……”

Triton squinted, staring at the woman gathering moonlight.

From neither too far nor too close, the sight of a nymph engaged in such a trivial task as gathering moonlight scratched at his vision like a burr.

Why, why was that?

Just then, the red-haired nymph lifted her head.

Catching her breath, she pretended it was by chance as she turned to look at him.

“……”

Her pale green eyes wavered, seemingly unprepared to meet his gaze.

But with a face that clearly showed surprise, she did not turn away. Instead, she met his gaze with an intensity that seemed almost fierce.

Well, well.

Triton’s eyes narrowed as he quietly met her gaze. In that moment, her once-bold stare seemed to come to its senses and slowly turned aside.

But it was already too late to avoid him.

As Triton lifted his hand and beckoned with his fingers, the red-haired nymph suddenly found herself standing before him.

Triton looked intently into her trembling green eyes and raised his empty glass.

“Fill it.”

Before she knew it, Livia had been drawn near to the sea god.

Somehow, a bottle of wine, which no one had given or handed to her, was now in Livia’s hand.

‘How did this happen…?’

She looked at him, bewildered, and he nodded toward the glass, seemingly questioning what she was doing. Startled and hesitant, Livia quickly composed herself.

She needed to get close to this man somehow, so this was actually a perfect opportunity. Gathering her thoughts quickly, Livia, with trembling hands, poured wine into his empty glass.

As the wine trickled into the glass, Triton suddenly spoke.

“Actius, do you know that Dionysus’s wine is said to reveal the truth?”

Actius, who had been frantically searching for the human alongside Dugong, quickly responded.

“What? Oh, yes! Of course. They say the first glass reveals the truth, and the second brings death. It’s considered a deadly poison for deceitful humans.”

Livia struggled to hide her shock and lowered her gaze. To think that the wine she was holding was such a drink…

She wanted to throw it away and run far, but that wasn’t an option.

Calm down. Forget the goal. Act like an innocent nymph who knew nothing…

Her heart thudded annoyingly, but she gritted her teeth and steadied herself.

“It’s a cruel thing, isn’t it? To die right after tasting the finest wine made by the god of wine?”

“But isn’t that only for the deceitful ones? I heard that those who are truthful can drink this wine without any harm…”

At Actius’s words, Triton burst into laughter.

His deep, powerful laughter echoed, causing the sea to ripple. Sweeping his silver-blue hair back with a bored gesture, he shook his head.

“That’s a foolish answer, Actius. All humans lie. Lying is their way of life. Deceiving, killing, trampling—it’s in their nature.”

Muttering with a tone full of scorn, he extended his empty glass toward Livia once more.

When Livia, maintaining a calm expression as if she hadn’t heard anything, filled his glass with wine, he spoke again.

“What do you think?”