Livia stared at Actius’s fingertips so intently that she stopped her laborious chewing of the flower.

‘That fruit….’

That small, round, purple fruit barely the size of a fingernail was Demeter’s invitation?

If so, that meant having that fruit would allow one to attend her banquet.

Demeter’s banquet that was being held for Persephone…

After swallowing the terribly-tasting flower, Livia’s eyes fixated intensely on Demeter’s fruit.

She didn’t even notice Triton watching her with a curious gaze.

***

After finishing his report, Actius withdrew unsteadily with his haggard face. While following his departing figure with her eyes, Livia pondered.

The spring banquet.

It was exactly where Zagreus had mentioned. Since he said he would bring Lete’s soul, Livia absolutely had to go there.

But how…?

As she contemplated, she looked up at the man who held the quickest and surest way, only to startle. Their gazes had locked immediately as if he had been watching her from the start.

As their eyes met, Triton’s eyes, which held a strange smile, narrowed. Livia quickly lowered her gaze from his eyes that shone so sharply as if they could expose all her inner thoughts. Though she hadn’t done anything wrong, her heart inexplicably dropped.

“You look like you have something to say?”

Trying not to show her startled reaction, she lowered her gaze further, only to see his hand holding Demeter’s fruit. Watching him slowly roll the fruit between his fingers, she couldn’t help but swallow hard.

‘I need to get that….’

Blind and desperate longing filled Livia’s eyes as she stared at Triton’s fingertips. However, wracking her insufficient wisdom didn’t yield any plausible strategies at the moment. Her mind only grew more urgent at the thought that the banquet invitation was right before her eyes yet she couldn’t obtain it.

Then… when you have neither possessions nor time, but are desperate, the fastest way was to confront it directly.

“Um….”

When Livia, who had been frozen stiff, opened her mouth and looked at him again, Triton tilted his head with an apparently interested expression. His dazzlingly beautiful silver-blue hair cascaded toward Livia.

For a moment, she blanked out at the sudden desire to touch it. The fact that he was the most beautiful god of the sea struck her anew. No wonder stories circulated about people being helplessly enchanted.

But beauty and dignity were different matters, weren’t they? Triton, who had been looking down at Livia with a face that seemed capable of enchanting all creation, suddenly grabbed her br*ast like a thug.

Startled out of her wits, she hurriedly grabbed his wrist and shouted.

“W-what are you doing so suddenly!”

“Just… because I wanted to touch?”

“You can’t just suddenly grab someone’s br*ast just because you want to…!”

“So if it’s not sudden, if I give warning, it’s okay?”

“Of course not!”

“See? That’s why from my perspective, it’s better to touch without warning.”

How outrageous.

Either way, she meant don’t touch at all, but this shameless man continued kneading her br*ast, paying no mind to Livia’s restraining hands.

As he massaged her round br*ast with his large hand, at some point he began gently pinching her perked n*pple with his fingertips while whispering.

“So what did you want to say, Livia?”

The tingling sensation momentarily wiped her mind blank of all thoughts before they slowly returned.

Livia squirmed, trying to control her hips that wanted to arch up, but this only resulted in burrowing deeper into his embrace. Barely suppressing her rapidly rising *rousal, she spoke urgently.

“I want to go to Demeter’s banquet. Take me with you.”

Triton’s hands, which had been roaming all over Livia’s skin, stopped. His head tilted slightly as he looked down at Livia quietly.

“Demeter’s banquet? Why there?”

“…I want to go too. Take me with you.”

“How brazen.”

At his reproachful voice, Livia’s cheeks reddened.

She knew he had absolutely no reason to take her there, but right now, this man was the only one who had the means to go there immediately. So she had no choice but to beg…

“Y-you received an invitation, so aren’t you going? Then just take me along too. Please, I’m begging you.”

Triton’s Adam’s apple bobbed suspiciously, and simultaneously his stopped fingers began moving again. As he lightly scratched the pink n*pple that had hardened into a peak with his index finger, he suddenly twisted it hard.

Livia grabbed his forearm in alarm, but it was useless.

“Stop. Stop touching, please…!”

“If you feel wronged, you can touch me too. I’ll be generous and understand.”

“I-I don’t particularly want to touch you!”

“Oh? That’s different from what your explicit gaze says.”

She wanted to refute immediately, but hesitated as his face was too close.

“You tend to be quite honest with your expressions, Livia.”

Could it be… had her earlier thoughts about wanting to touch his hair shown on her face? Having something to feel guilty about made her throat go dry.

“Even now you say you don’t like it, but your face says otherwise.”

As she turned her head away with a deeply flushed face, his lips captured her earlobe while simultaneously twisting her n*pple hard.

“Ahh…!”

As the suppressed moan burst out, Triton let out a low laugh. Livia, who was particularly weak to ear stimulation, couldn’t think straight when Triton took her earlobe into his mouth and rolled it around.

Moreover, his touches caressing various parts of her body were so gentle and delicate that it was harder to resist with disgust like before.

His touch, as if caressing something precious, felt more affectionate than lewd. Without any sense of dislike, thoughts of wanting him to touch more welled up. Such touches were unfair.

“Seems you like being touched like this. Gentle, soft…. Right?”

As he licked her ear shell and whispered quietly, her hips twisted involuntarily. Livia’s body stiffened as she belatedly realized this wasn’t an action to push him away, but rather to press herself against his touch.

…No. This isn’t right. This really wasn’t right.

Had she gotten used to Triton’s touch? Livia was greatly shocked to realize she had unconsciously tried to move her body seeking pleasure.

She urgently pushed him away. Then, rolling off his lap, she hurriedly backed away.

Triton raised his eyebrow crookedly at her sudden escape from his embrace. His voice deepened as if to show his displeasure.

“Come here, Livia.”

“…Do you think I’m your toy? That you can just touch me however you want…!”

“Why not? Me getting excited because of you should be good for you too, right?”

While not wrong, it wasn’t something she could simply accept. After all, even if his heart turned red from excitement now, Livia couldn’t properly attack with her strength.

Livia glared at him with a somewhat wronged expression as she backed away.

She didn’t like how her body was becoming increasingly accustomed to Triton’s touch. It was frightening and uncomfortable. Trying to hide her frightened inner thoughts, she forced out a cold voice and said.

“What good is it to excite you now when I can’t even properly stab you with my current strength?”

Triton’s mouth corner twisted up sharply. He replied in an equally cold voice.

“But do you have any other options?”

Triton’s words silenced her.

Other options…

There couldn’t be any other options. Even knowing his heart could turn red was a weakness she had barely discovered by clinging to him. Hadn’t she said she would do anything for revenge…

Then why was she stopping now, afraid of something?

Confusion overwhelmed her. A faint sense of defeat spread across Livia’s face.

Livia stood still, glaring at Triton. Though irritation welled up at her own ambivalent state of being unable to move either way, she couldn’t act rashly.

He was a predator, and she was merely a weak prey not even worth a single bite to this man…. The vigilance and fear needed to avoid being devoured was always the prey’s burden.

As she stood neither approaching nor retreating, just glaring at him, Triton, who had been observing her, suddenly spoke.

“Earlier, you asked me to take you if I was going to Demeter’s banquet.”

A faint hope bloomed on Livia’s face at this welcome change of topic. Triton’s mouth opened and closed as he stared at this.

He seemed to be thinking something as his gaze moved downward, then suddenly he slowly pulled up the corners of his mouth in a smile and said.

“Aren’t you curious about my answer, Livia?”

It didn’t take long to realize what his smile meant. Livia’s face paled as she glared fiercely, but soon her eyes drooped.

What she wanted was ultimately in Triton’s hands. From the small matter of Demeter’s invitation to the greater power to shake destiny without being swayed by mere witches…

Unlike her who had sacrificed everything for revenge, Triton could majestically control everything at will. Even her desperate feelings were mere entertainment to him.

So, she was ultimately just a pathetic weakling before Triton. While that was the natural position of humans before gods, for some reason, that feeling was particularly humiliating when it came to Triton.

…But that didn’t give her any other choices, so she had to do as he wanted.

Livia moved her feet slowly with a crumbling expression. As she stood before him with reluctant steps, Triton’s expression also sank coldly as he quietly gazed at her.

“…I only asked you to come closer, yet what an expression you made.”

“……”

“If I asked you to suck my c*ck in this state, you’d act like the world was ending.”