To the Love Born in the Lowest Place

Laga spoke with a bright smile, and when Liv finally almost collapsed as her legs gave out, Emmett quickly made Liv lean against him. While everyone was feeling choked up by Laga’s determination, Emmett opened his mouth.

“…Laga, relying on your sacrifice is such a shameful thing for me as the head of the family. I will do my utmost to ensure we can meet again in the future.”

“That’s something to be grateful for.”

Liv couldn’t accept this situation at all. She couldn’t let Laga die in her place. But she was too powerless to say she would go herself. Above all, Laga was trying to save not just Liv, but all the other servants, and Liv didn’t seem to have the right to stop that.

This time, she felt like she might really cry, with a feeling of her chest burning hot. But since Laga was the one actually sacrificing herself, Liv felt she shouldn’t shed tears, so she bit the inside of her cheek and spoke forcefully.

“Laga, I’m really, really sorry for being so weak… If only I had…”

“Madam.”

Laga looked at Liv with round eyes.

“You must survive for my share too, and be victorious in the end.”

“Laga…”

Then Laga straightened her back and raised her head high. At this moment, she would look like an elegant noblewoman to anyone’s eyes. Laga’s eyes were light brown, but under the dark night sky, there wasn’t much difference in color compared to Liv’s pale pink eyes. Probably the knights who came to take Liv wouldn’t suspect her.

“Laga, thank you…”

“I won’t forget.”

“Sob…!”

The servants gathered on the first floor burst into tears, but Laga walked proudly through them towards the outside of the mansion. Watching that small retreating figure, Liv finally broke down.

“Do we really… have to do this?”

“Liv, this is not the time. We must leave the mansion quickly.”

Liv didn’t even have time to shed tears as she was led by Emmett’s hand to change clothes. As she put on the commoner’s clothes she had worn when she went out with Hildegard last time, Liv didn’t even think about how rough the texture felt.

Meanwhile, Liv might have sensed it instinctively. That there was nowhere left to run.

* * *

“…You say this is Duchess Lartman?”

The moment the soldiers saw the woman they had brought as the Duchess, the corner of the Emperor’s mouth twisted upwards.

“Ha! Hahaha!”

He didn’t expect Duke Lartman to turn his back on him so thoroughly. In the past, Duke Lartman would have come with his wife immediately when the Emperor called for her, begging for her life. But now he had sent a stand-in and fled.

Should he blame himself for not predicting this, or blame the knights who foolishly brought the wrong woman, deceived only by white hair? Or should he blame the God who always turns away from him?

“Why, why…!”

Yes, from the beginning, God was not on his side. August knew this well. God was on Gracia’s side. Despite that, he believed he had overcome adversity and finally achieved victory, but why again…

“Hamelsvoort!”

In fact, the situation hadn’t gone seriously awry. No matter how much they try to escape, there’s a limit to hiding in this country. Even if Lartman starts a rebellion, the soldiers August had nurtured wouldn’t be easily defeated.

…However, the Emperor was irritated that they dared to lie to him and flee. But he wasn’t keen on chasing the two of them either. So let’s make them come back on their own feet.

Duchess Lartman is just a weak girl after all. No matter how afraid of dying, she would have no choice but to return when the people around her start dying. It was concerning that Duke Lartman was by her side, but Duke Lartman wasn’t fundamentally an evil person. Then…

“Contact the informant planted in the temple. Collect all evidence that the temple and the Hamelsvoort family have been in contact to plot rebellion.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

He will start with the Hamelsvoort family first.

In the end, Duchess Lartman will have no choice but to return to the capital on her own.

* * *

With each gallop of the horse, Liv’s body bounced and jolted. Emmett was holding her firmly in his arms from behind, supporting her body. But still, riding a horse was inevitably painful. Her buttocks were sore, and she felt like she might get motion sickness. Her head was throbbing as if it would split. However, Liv endured without complaining. She had no right to complain about the difficulty of merely riding a horse.

“Sob…”

Tears were flowing endlessly from Liv’s eyes. Thinking of Laga who had gone in her place, she simply couldn’t hold back her tears. Although she had exchanged final greetings with her with the most steadfast face possible, as soon as she fled the mansion and was left alone with Emmett, Liv unknowingly shed tears continuously.

Instead of comforting Liv, Emmett silently drove the horse. There was no way to console Liv’s sorrow now. After arriving at a forest near the capital, Emmett stopped the horse.

“…I’m considering where we should go.”

If they went to the Lartman Duchy, the Emperor would soon discover their whereabouts. If they entrusted themselves carelessly to the territory of other nobles, they might be betrayed.

They decided to hide in the forest and spend the night for now. Even if beasts came out, they would eventually end up being loyal to Liv. If soldiers came to the forest, they could send the beasts to attack.

“Sob, hic…”

Liv just wailed, burying her body among the leaves Emmett had gathered. She simply couldn’t maintain her rationality. Everything she had tried to protect until now was collapsing into ruins.

Yes, there was nowhere left to run.

* * *

“Your Majesty, the Hamelsvoort County in rebellion!”

“It must be someone’s false accusation! You must investigate again!”

“They are one of the Five Noble Families!”

The nobles who usually watched August’s mood were now pleading with him in the Sun Room with excited faces. August looked down at them with an annoyed expression.

“I found evidence, what’s the problem?”

His accusing Hildegard of being a fake Saintess was to make Hamelsvoort contact the temple. There was a spy he had planted in the temple, and the more Hamelsvoort lost their reason and hurriedly contacted the temple, the more information was leaked. That’s how August obtained evidence that they were preparing for rebellion.

“Rather, you who are defending those who committed rebellion are more suspicious.”

As August came down the stairs, the nobles tensed and stepped back. August held a sword in his hand with a grinning face. And…

“Y-Your Majesty!”

His sword, which had stopped to strike down one noble, halted in front of the neck. August withdrew his sword with a face that showed his excitement had cooled. After all, killing these people wasn’t as satisfying as destroying Lartman and Hamelsvoort.

Yes, he should have done this earlier. The problem was that he had been overly cautious of the Five Noble Families. What would he worry about when he had already confronted the temple? In the room vibrating with the smell of blood, August smiled with satisfaction.

“The Hamelsvoort family has clearly committed rebellion. And I plan to exterminate them.”

* * *

The Hamelsvoort mansion was in utter chaos. Servants fleeing in protest had their hair grabbed, expensive items decorating the mansion were shattered to pieces, and acrid smoke rose from the burning garden.

“Search every nook and cranny!”

“Aah! No! Nooo!”

Soldiers poured into the mansion like a flood. In front of these soldiers, the Count and Countess Hamelsvoort screamed. Hildegard felt like fainting right there, but her survival instinct, which had been fiercer than anyone’s since childhood, was barely maintaining her rationality.

“Hildegard, we must escape.”

And Walter was holding Hildegard’s wrist beside her.

“It’s unjust, it’s unfair!”

“It’s really not true!”

The voices of the Count and Countess echoed loudly through the mansion. They blocked the soldiers to the end, claiming their innocence, and Hildegard knew this was to allow her and Walter to evacuate. When they received the urgent news that soldiers were coming to the Hamelsvoort family a little while ago, the Hamelsvoort couple had said something to the two of them.

-Walter, Hilda. Run away.

-At least you… at least you must live.

Walter accepted this fact calmly, but Hildegard couldn’t bear it. Although they weren’t close enough to share deep affection, they were still Hildegard’s only family.

-We can all escape together!

-Someone has to stay in the mansion. If we all flee together, we’ll only be caught.

In the end, the Hamelsvoort couple chose not to escape. In front of their stubborn expression that she had never seen before, Hildegard couldn’t dare to stop them.

Walter grabbed Hildegard’s wrist and entered a small room next to the kitchen. When they lifted the carpet in the room, a small door leading downwards appeared. They crawled through that door and came out in the basement of the mansion. Fortunately, the existence of the secret passage didn’t seem to have been discovered. Thus, the two of them succeeded in safely escaping the mansion.

“Hildegard, we can’t let our guard down. We must keep running.”

“…Yes.”

Strangely, tears didn’t flow from Hildegard’s eyes. That’s how much she couldn’t feel a sense of reality.

Just when you think you’ve fallen this far and it’s over, an even deeper fall awaits her. Her life began to shatter overnight.

Even in the midst of this, Hildegard’s legs moved, wanting to live. They ran towards the slums, and Hildegard succeeded in reaching a familiar store.

“Young lady Hamelsvoort!”

“Huff, huff… Please give us clothes to wear…”

The two had not a penny, but as soon as the shop owner saw them, he brought clothes with a hardened face. Then, while watching outside the store, he whispered to them.

“What happened?”

“…”

Hildegard didn’t answer, thinking that if the shop owner heard that the Hamelsvoort family had been accused of treason, he might report them. However, the shop owner continued speaking with an unconcerned face.

“Young lady Hamelsvoort, I believe in you. You are the kindest person of all. I’ve seen you go on secret volunteer activities several times.”

Even if it wasn’t official volunteer work, Hildegard often went to the slums where she had stayed and helped the sick. It wasn’t following the doctrine of the Holy Church that said one should do good deeds. Just, doing so made Hildegard’s heart feel refreshed. So it was solely for Hildegard herself.

However, the shop owner was looking at Hildegard with eyes that saw the ‘Saintess’.