To the Love Born in the Lowest Place

The moment he heard Louisa’s words, August finally realized all the truth. His face flushed red with anger, and his fists clenched. Even though her hair was gripped more tightly, Louisa tried not to scream.

“That thing again…!”

Yes, something had been strange from the beginning. A child loved by God. If that child was a descendant of the Gracia family, everything made sense. Somehow, since it appeared, his plans had started to go awry. The last descendant of the Gracia family had been interfering with August at every turn.

“Louisa, you dare not tell me about this?”

He wanted to kill Louisa right away, but he restrained himself, remembering that it was better for Louisa, whom he could control directly, to succeed him rather than disobedient collateral descendants.

Instead, he immediately dragged Louisa and shoved her into a carriage. The carriage headed for the Sun Palace.

* * *

“Hey there!”

When he arrived in his domain and shouted loudly, the chief servant quickly bowed before August.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Go and bring Duchess Lartman here immediately!”

“Yes, understood. What reason should I give?”

“Reason? A reason…”

He wanted to rush into the Lartman mansion right away and behead the Duchess without any reason, but remembering that she would never die, August restrained himself once again. And if he treated Duchess Lartman recklessly, the nobles on Duke Lartman’s side might collectively rebel.

No, in fact, the relationship between the Emperor and Duke Lartman was already strained. The man who was once his faithful dog now seemed to have completely changed his heart, fallen for one woman.

Yes, then he should kill them all. He should show who the true master of this country is.

“Tell her there’s something to investigate in advance as a witness related to Saintess Hildegard’s hearing.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“There’s a risk of escape, so send knights. That’s the pretext for now… but act as if dealing with traitors.”

The chief servant flinched for a moment upon hearing his words. It was a sign that a bloodbath would again sweep through Bygen, the capital of the Empire.

Watching the chief servant disappear, August gritted his teeth.

Anyone who dares to covet his throne, he will make them rot in Abgrund for life, breathing only damp air.

* * *

It was the middle of the night when everyone should have been asleep, but bright lights were on in the Lartman mansion. The guard reported with a face about to collapse that knights from the imperial palace had surrounded the mansion. The Lartman couple and the servants woke up and gathered on the first floor. Shortly after, the guard received a letter from outside and delivered it to Liv.

“…His Majesty the Emperor has summoned me.”

Liv’s face was pale as she read the contents of the letter. Emmett, clenching his fists, also had a tense expression. Although the Emperor used the excuse of Hildegard’s hearing, there was only one reason that could be guessed why the Emperor would summon her now that Louisa knew Liv’s truth.

“What should we do…”

As Liv finally couldn’t contain her fear and slumped to the floor, Emmett supported her and lifted her up. However, Liv didn’t feel any calmer even in Emmett’s embrace.

“It’s alright, Liv. I’ll be by your side, and you won’t be imprisoned again. Let’s escape together.”

Hearing those words, the butler looked at them with a surprised face. The relationship between the Lartman family and the imperial family not being the same as before was a topic that even the mansion’s servants had been talking about secretly, and the butler, who served Emmett closely, could guess more than others. Up to the fact that the Emperor didn’t like Liv who could oppose his power and attacked Hamelsvoort, and now was trying to attack Lartman.

“…Duke, should I tell the Lartman knights to prepare for battle?”

The number of knights currently in the Lartman mansion isn’t many, but they should be able to subdue the knights surrounding the mansion for now. In that gap, Emmett and Liv could escape, and if they called the knights from the Lartman Duchy to the capital to fight…

“The Emperor is trying to kill my wife now. After we attack the knights, he’ll send much larger reinforcements, so I’m not sure if we can safely escape the capital. …But if we’re dragged to the imperial palace like this, there’s no guarantee we can come out again, so we’ll try.”

“Y-You say he’s trying to kill the Madam?”

Laga, standing behind the butler, asked, taking a deep breath. The butler gave her a reproachful look, but Laga couldn’t hide her shock. As most of the servants seemed curious like her, Emmett had no choice but to give a brief explanation.

“…It seems that my wife is currently the biggest enemy to the Emperor. She’s the only one who can threaten his position. So he will certainly try to kill my wife.”

“Ah…!”

Laga staggered in surprise and disappeared somewhere, and other servants began to murmur.

“Then what happens to us?”

“Shouldn’t we escape too?”

“But…”

As the mansion was falling into complete chaos, Emmett quickly tried to take Liv into the room.

“Liv, let’s prepare to escape.”

Liv was wearing a thin dress she wore to sleep. She couldn’t escape in this state, so she needed to change clothes. But Liv still couldn’t move.

“If, if I leave, what about the people left behind?”

“…”

“The Hamelsvoort family will be completely destroyed. Hildegard will suffer too. The entire Lartman Duchy will become a target, and the Emperor will try to kill all the servants!”

“Unless there’s evidence that we’ve started a rebellion, he won’t be able to do that. For now, we should at least hide ourselves and plan for the future.”

“Really… do you really think so?”

“That’s…”

“He’s someone who would kill all the servants and still have more to spare.”

There was fear in Liv’s eyes, but no tears flowed. Rather, she felt something dry and parched, and she didn’t think she could cry.

“Can we defeat the Emperor? He…”

In Liv’s mind, he was a god. He was an absolute being that Liv couldn’t oppose. Because of him, Liv had to be imprisoned in Abgrund for life, and occasionally had to suffer from the pain whenever he cast ancient magic. He destroyed Liv’s life, wielding it at his will.

“We can. I’ll make it possible.”

Emmett persuaded Liv again, and Liv, though staggering, finally acknowledged that she had to leave. Whether they escape or not, in fact, the downfall of the Lartman Duchy would be the same.

‘It’s all because of me…’

Because of her alone, both the Lartman and Hamelsvoort families were in danger. Liv found this fact unbearably painful. It felt like everything happened because she was born. If only she didn’t exist, everyone else would have lived happily. Because of her misplaced existence, how many people had to suffer?

“Your Grace, please tell us what we should do!”

“Yes! Are we going to die like this?”

The Lartman mansion became noisy due to the servants who sensed their end. Though they were said to be loyal to Lartman, they couldn’t act calm at all in the face of approaching death. At that moment, what silenced the frightened Liv and the servants was a woman coming down from the second floor.

“L-Laga…”

Everyone couldn’t recognize who that woman was for a moment, but when that name first flowed from Liv’s lips, everyone’s faces became shocked.

Laga was wearing the bright, fancy dress that Liv usually wore. Silver ornaments were inserted in her hair, and a diamond necklace hung around her neck. Anyone could see it was the appearance of a noblewoman. She had dressed up so thoroughly that it would be difficult for anyone to recall Laga who had worked as a maid just by looking at that appearance.

“Laga, you couldn’t…”

One of the servants who had been close to Laga pointed at her with trembling hands. Everyone present could understand what her intentions were.

However, Laga, with a face of firm resolve, smiled brightly without showing a single tear.

“Madam, I’ll go to the imperial palace in your place.”

“…No. You’ll die if you do that.”

“It’s alright. I’d be happy if I could give my life for you, Madam.”

“Why, why go to such lengths…”

Finally, Liv’s voice began to tremble. She couldn’t understand the situation where people around her were sacrificing themselves for her. What was she, such a great being…

“Madam is someone loved by the Supreme God, right? So if I give my life for you, I’ll be treated well in the afterlife, won’t I?”

Unable to answer those words, Liv bit her lip hard. Something hot kept surging up inside her, but seeing Laga’s composed appearance, she couldn’t cry.

“You don’t need to feel so guilty! This isn’t a decision purely for your sake, Madam. Anyway, if someone goes to the imperial palace, won’t it buy time for others to escape? The Lartman servants too.”

At those words, even the servants who had been worrying about their own lives couldn’t say anything and bowed their heads.

“…I enjoyed my time here. I was an orphan and started working in the Duchy from a young age, so, well, don’t worry about me… You all were family to me, and it’s hopeful that there’s still a way to save my family, isn’t it?”

“No, Laga…”

“Madam, it seems like something I can’t even dare to imagine is happening, but please survive.”